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VA: Va. legislator withdraws support from controversial Loudoun charter school proposal

A Virginia state senator has withdrawn support from a proposed charter school which would be the first in Loudoun and possibly in northern Virginia if allowed to open because of public “misgivings” and other concerns.  Washington Post

CA: TSA Union Gets Sacramento Airport Privatization Revoked

After close to one year of lobbying efforts and a public campaign, the American Federation of Government Employees—the union for TSA workers in Sacramento and nationwide—today applauded the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors for voting to rescind its approval for Sacramento International Airport to be allowed to privatize, or use corporate airport screeners in place of federal employees. The Herald

PA: Union fights effort to privatize Pa. Lottery

With a day to go until the private company’s offer is set to expire, AFSCME Council 13 is waging a strong counterattack against outsourcing the profitable lottery in the courtroom, the Statehouse, and the streets. This week, a particularly edgy – some might consider over-the-top – billboard appeared near the Capitol, skewering the British firm that is the sole bidder for the lottery, which dedicates 100 percent of its profits to programs for seniors. The billboard depicts a caricature of a pig in a suit with a Union Jack on its lapel, holding a vacuum cleaner that is sucking dollar bills out of an elderly woman’s purse.  Philadelphia Inquirer

NY: SUNY Downstate Medical Center: Too big to fail

Facing chronic deficits SUNY brought in a new director and hired Pitts Management to fix the hospital but it’s resulted in layoff notices going out to PEF-represented nurses and others.“What’s happening at SUNY Downstate is a thinly veiled attempt to privatize this public hospital, which provides necessary health care services to hundreds of thousands of patients,” said UUP president Phillip H. Smith.  Albany Times Union

Massive Cuts to Postal Service a Step Towards Privatization?

Activists argue this is part of an ongoing divestiture of assets that, along with $12 billion of annual outsourcing, is a significant step toward the privatization of the US Postal Service…. And now thousands of buildings may be sold and thousands of workers laid off in what USPS says is an attempt to save itself, but critics argue is a step toward privatization. The Real News Network

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NY: Long Island Power Should Be Private, New York Panel Says

The Long Island Power Authority should be converted into an investor-owned utility to end poor management practices that exacerbated slow and halting repairs of blackouts from October’s Hurricane Sandy, a New York state investigative panel said today. Privatization would make management of the state-owned electrical system answerable to the New York Public Service Commission, which should be empowered by the legislature with stronger sanctions including the ability to revoke a utility franchise, the panel told Governor Andrew Cuomo today in a preliminary briefing.  Businessweek

PA: Lawsuit filed over effort to privatize Pa. lottery

A state employees union and seven Democratic lawmakers filed a lawsuit in Commonwealth Court on Monday seeking to stop the state from privatizing the management of the lottery, saying Republican Gov. Tom Corbett doesn’t have the authority to make such a move.  The Mercury

PA: Trial opens for pair accused of bilking municipalities

Two Lackawanna County businessmen pocketed lavish bonuses while a Lehigh Valley town they promised to save money through a streetlight privatization project forked over more than $800,000 to them for work that was never done. Standard Speaker

NC: State report card on mental health care           

North Carolina’s mental health system has been in “chaos” in recent years, partly due to safety concerns at state psychiatric hospitals as well as bumpy efforts to privatize community care.  USA Today

TX: Texas revenue estimate brighter on eve of session

A resurgent Texas economy fueled a strong state revenue projection Monday, but while majority Republicans preached restraint Democrats saw enough money on the table under the $101.4 billion estimate to reverse deep cuts currently on the books….Teachers groups that marched on the Capitol in 2011 used Monday’s figure to again call on lawmakers to restore cuts. “It would be extremely short-sighted for state politicians to stick their heads in the sand and falsely plead ‘austerity’ in order to pander to ideological extremists intent on privatizing public schools and sacrificing our future,” said Rita Haecker, president of the Texas State Teachers Association.  San Francisco Chronicle

Distressed toll roads

Toll road revenues have been adversely affected by the economic recession and rising gas prices, which drove down traffic overall. The availability of alternative, free public roads has also dissuaded drivers from using toll roads. In some instances, toll roads have not achieved revenue projections because they were built in anticipation of new housing and commercial developments that never materialized.   Lexology

 

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TX: Rick Perry Versus the School Children of Texas

The conservatives of the Texas legislature are about to try again to fool the state’s taxpayers into funding private schools with a voucher program. The Republican argument, which falls apart under scrutiny, has been that no child should be condemned to attend a failing public school. No conservative wants to talk about why the public school system might be troubled, however, nor do they contemplate the even greater long-term damages to be wrought by school choice.  Huffington Post

WA: Advocates decry, Kansas defends welfare cuts

Advocates point to Gov. Brownback’s refusal to expand Medicaid under the federal health care overhaul, which could leave 120,000 to 140,000 low-income Kansans without insurance. They also fret about the administration’s decision to turn the delivery of Medicaid services over to three private health insurers in a system known as KanCare that started Jan. 1. Private insurers, advocates fear, will boost their bottom lines by refusing or restricting services to the 380,000 poor, disabled and elderly Kansans on Medicaid. The state counters that KanCare will be more efficient, and that privatization will stem rapidly growing Medicaid spending and save Kansas close to $500 million over five years.

DC: Frontline’ raises questions about test-score tampering under Rhee

Student standardized-test scores at an award-winning D.C. school dropped dramatically in 2011 after the principal tightened security out of concern about possible cheating, according to a new “Frontline” television documentary to be broadcast Tuesday. The hour-long program raises questions about whether District officials have adequately investigated persistent suspicions that public school employees may have tampered with tests during the tenure of former schools chancellor Michelle A. Rhee.  Washington Post

DC: D.C. charter schools expel students at far higher rates than traditional public schools

The District’s public charter schools have expelled students at a far higher rate than the city’s traditional public schools in recent years, according to school data, highlighting a key difference between two sectors that compete for the District’s students and taxpayer dollars.  Washington Post

MI: Editorial: Michigan right to avoid privatization mandate

Among things lawmakers got right during last month’s lame-duck session was their decision to permit — not require — privatization of one Michigan prison if that will produce adequate savings. Their original legislation would have all but forced the corrections department to create a privately run prison.  Detroit News

FL: Privatization means 60 workers at 2 area prisons to be laid off

Healthcare employees at two areas prisons will be laid off in the next three months as part of a privatization plan, the Department of Corrections announced Friday.  TCPalm.com

FL: Threatened Tortoises Make Way for Central Florida Toll Road

Construction of a 25-mile long toll road that will complete a beltway around Orlando is due to begin in February, but before building on the Wekiva Parkway can start, threatened gopher tortoises have to be moved out of the way.  Transportation Nation

‘Disciplinary fees’ show the trouble with charter schools and privatization

Our neighbors at MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry report that Chicago’s Noble Network of Charter Schools is making some cash on the side by charging “disciplinary fees” to unruly students. The parents of one teenager, writes Traci Lee, had to pay close to $2,000 in fines for infractions including “an unkempt appearance and not making eye contact.”   MSNBC

Students Rush to Web Classes, but Profits May Be Much Later

New companies are partnering with universities to offer online courses, in an effort that could define the future of higher education — if anyone can figure out how to make money. New York Times

12 States Get Failing Grades on Public School Policies From Advocacy Group

In just a few short years, state legislatures and education agencies across the country have sought to transform American public education by passing a series of laws and policies overhauling teacher tenure, introducing the use of standardized test scores in performance evaluations and expanding charter schools. Such policies are among those pushed by StudentsFirst, the advocacy group led by Michelle A. Rhee, the former schools chancellor in Washington. Ms. Rhee has generated debate in education circles for aggressive pursuit of her agenda and the financing of political candidates who support it. In a report issued Monday, StudentsFirst ranks states based on how closely they follow the group’s platform, looking at policies related not only to tenure and evaluations but also to pensions and the governance of school districts.  New York Times

 

 

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Think tank to study privatizing most Postal Service operations

As members of Congress pledged Thursday to revive legislation to save the financially ailing U.S. Postal Service, a Washington think tank announced it will conduct an independent study of how the quasi-government agency could cede much of its operation to private companies. The review by the nonprofit National Academy of Public Administration will analyze the benefits of restoring the agency’s financial health by using a “hybrid” model, which would farm out to the private sector postal operations other than the last delivery mile. A letter carrier would still drive or walk that last part, dropping letters and packages in mailboxes.  Washington Post

GA: Court petition contends woman jailed because she can’t pay fines

A woman jailed for nearly three months is too poor to pay-court ordered fines and fees is being held illegally, a habeas corpus petition filed this week contends. The petition, filed in Richmond County Superior Court on Wednesday, seeks the release of Virginia Cash, 32, and a declaration that privatizing probation services is unconstitutional… Cash’s petition contends Sentinel has an economic incentive to have judges extend probation sentences by ordering sentences to run consecutively and stopping the clock on sentences when probation violation warrants are obtained. The Augusta Chronicle

FL: State, vendor OK deal to privatize S. Fla. inmate care

Gov. Rick Scott’s administration announced Thursday the state has signed a contract with a Pennsylvania based company, Wexford Health Sources, to outsource all medical care to more than 15,000 inmates in several South Florida prisons. Miami Herald

PA: Lottery privatization: Camelot would look to get more people playing the lottery a little

The private company that is vying to takeover running the Pennsylvania Lottery says it would seek to boost profits by encouraging Pennsylvanians to think of buying lottery tickets as they would any consumer good.  The private firm looking to takeover running the Pennsylvania Lottery wants to attract more players to play a little rather than a few to play a lot. “We think lottery is like a can of Coke or a bar of gum,” said Alex Kovach, managing director of British-based Camelot Global Services, in an interview in Harrisburg. “Our philosophy is to broaden the player base, to get to as many people and get them playing a little bit as opposed to many lotteries which are focused on core players playing a lot.”  Patriot-News

IL: Advancing Privatizing Midway

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration is advancing the idea of privatizing Midway Airport but suggests having a lease agreement much shorter than the $2.5 billion 99-year proposal backed by former Mayor Richard M. Daley that fell through in 2009. Southwest News-Herald

NJ: Closter privatization of trash pickups rejected for now

The Borough Council’s rejection of a proposal to privatize trash collection does not end the discussion of outsourcing pickups to cut costs, said officials. NorthJerseycom

CA: LA County to ‘Privatize’ Janitorial Services at 15 Libraries

County Librarian Margaret D. Todd is asking the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to approve an initial four-year contract with a janitorial firm for custodial services at 15  county libraries. SCVNEWS.com

CA: Opinion: Let’s prevent public resource from being peddled for profit

Natural resource privatization, especially water privatization, is a huge threat to the way of life of citizens in the state and will continue to cause further problems. Bakersfield Californian

 

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PA: Gov. Corbett’s trip paid for by a businessman is subject of a complaint

Harrisburg area activist Gene Stilp wants federal, state and county prosecutors to review Gov. Tom Corbett’s acceptance of a trip from a Pennsylvania businessman who contributed to Corbett’s campaign and serves on his privatization council….Moran and his wife, Ann, gave Corbett’s campaign more than $100,000 since 2009, according to state campaign finance reports. Moran was appointed last year to Corbett’s Advisory Council on Privatization and Innovation. He also co-chairs the Team Pennsylvania Foundation, a not-for-profit business group that receives funding from the state. Stilp’s complaints point to the Code of Conduct for executive branch officials that bars the governor from accepting gifts from parties that have or are seeking to do business with the commonwealth.  The Patriot News

VA: Bill would give Legislature say on ports privatization deals

A bill the state Legislature will take up this session would give lawmakers the power to say “yea” or “nay” to any sale of state-owned ports. The bill’s author, Del. Harry R. “Bob” Purkey, R-Virginia Beach, said he is targeting the type of port privatization deals currently before state officials.  Daily Press

VA: Latest Dulles Toll Road price hike fueling renewed protest

The latest toll hikes on the Dulles Toll Road that went into effect on Jan. 1 may have rekindled the protest over how the new Silver Line is being financed, WTOP reported. The tolls went up 25 cents to $1.75 at the main toll plaza, and a larger hike is scheduled for the next two years. NoTOLLincrease.org, a citizens group that has been fighting the tolls for months, is now circulating a petition asking the state to consider two other alternatives to the tolls. Washington Business Journal

AR: Arkansas privatizes high school diploma program

Individuals seeking a GED have always enrolled and tested for free in Arkansas–one of the last states to offer it at no cost. But by 2014, the program will be privatized and digitized–and students will be charged a hefty fee.  KUAF/NPR

TN: School vouchers debate continues

The six municipal mayors in Shelby County will return to closed door talks Thursday about the future of a merged school system….Memphis Education Association President Keith Williams said school vouchers are not a friend of public education.“Vouchers take public money and give it to private coffers. I have never supported it.  Nor has the NEA, TEA nor MEA,” said Williams.  WMC-TV

Food & Water Watch Criticizes USDA on Australia’s ‘Privatized Meat Inspection’

Food & Water Watch is calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to review its decision to allow the newly privatized meat inspection system of Australia to be considered equivalent to U.S. inspection, according to a press release by the group. “Documents from USDA and Australian officials reveal that this is not an isolated problem,” said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. “The repeated problems with products coming from Australia in 2012 show that this is a systemic problem and that privatized meat inspection in Australia is not working.” Food Safety News

 

 

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PA: Talks to privatize Pa. Lottery management extended

A potential deal to privatize management of the Pennsylvania Lottery was put off for an additional 10 days on Monday after Gov. Tom Corbett and a British company agreed to extend negotiations. Hours before the $34 billion bid by Camelot Global Services PA LLC was set to expire, Corbett’s Revenue Department announced the bid was extended until Jan. 10.  GoErie.com

PA: Democrats question bid to privatize Pa. lottery

Democratic lawmakers are taking aim at Republican Gov. Tom Corbett administration’s move to privatize the Pennsylvania Lottery’s management, saying it is shrouded in secrecy and will result in a corporate giveaway that diverts hundreds of millions of dollars from the state’s services for the elderly.  Reading Eagle

NJ: Editorial: Legislative hearings needed on lottery bid

If it isn’t broke, why fix it? That’s the question many people have been asking since Gov. Chris Christie announced plans last year to privatize New Jersey’s successful state lottery. And while the executive branch is within its right to pursue privatization, the importance of lottery revenue to the state’s budget picture would argue for legislative hearings before any final agreement is signed — especially since the governor last week accepted a single bid, by Northstar New Jersey, on the 15-year contract. At the very least, the Legislature should insist that Christie explain precisely how the contract wound up with a single bidder — a consortium of three companies that had originally expressed interest. Industry sources said that such a consortium making a single bid is often necessary, given how complicated running a state lottery can be. All the more reason to hold hearings on precisely how the arrangement will work.  Asbury Park Press

CA: California Toll Bonds Hampered by Freeways: Muni Credit

Even in traffic-clogged Southern California, too few drivers want to spend as much as $6.25 to travel 12 miles on toll roads. Their reluctance is leading one highway agency to extend $2.4 billion in debt payments by as much as 12 years as investors demand more to hold its securities. Orange County’s 51 miles (82 kilometers) of toll highways, the most extensive system in the world’s ninth-biggest economy, have fallen short of revenue projections since opening in the 1990s as the two managing agencies raise fares and refinance $4.5 billion in outstanding debt issued to build them. State Treasurer Bill Lockyer is looking into whether the authorities even will be able to raise money for escalating bond payments.  Bloomberg

IN: Indiana a changed state under 8 years of Daniels

Efforts to privatize the state’s welfare system, cut funding to Planned Parenthood, bar employers from requiring union dues of workers and create the voucher program sparked numerous legal battles, some of which will continue long past the end of his term Jan. 14.  San Francisco Chronicle

FL: Letter: Privatization helping middle class disappear

Since privatization almost always results in a union job being replaced with a non-union one, management can pretty well dictate the terms. Compared to a government job, salaries in a private firm are usually not too much lower, but benefits will be radically reduced, and anyone who complains about it can be laid off without cause. The net result is top management receives a much bigger share of the pie, while the rank and file have to make do with less. And we wonder why the middle class is disappearing. I submit that privatization is a major factor. Florida Today           

VA: New year brings increased rates on Dulles Toll Road

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority announced the fare increases in November, saying they were necessary to finance the completion of the ongoing Dulles Metro Project.  Washington Business Journal

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NJ: Just one bid for privatizing sales, marketing of NJ Lottery

An effort to privatize the sales and marketing of the New Jersey Lottery has drawn just one bidder. The joint venture making the bid consists of GTECH Corporation, Scientific Games International, and the largest pension fund in Canada. But the lack of competition concerns Assemblyman Vinnie Prieto, D-Hudson, budget committee chairman. “It sends kind of mixed signals to me because you would figure if it’s that attractive to somebody, you would have had multiple bidders,” he said. Newsworks.org

OH: Auditors uncover problems at private prisons in Ohio

During the past year, unsafe and unsanitary conditions were documented by state monitors at one of Ohio’s privately-run prisons forcing the new operator to make major changes less than one year after taking control of the facility.  Dayton Daily News

WA: Privatizing liquor hasn’t brought price down

More than six months after privatization of the state’s liquor industry, the goal of lower prices has yet to materialize. In fact, prices overall took a jump immediately after the changeover and have stayed near that level since.  HeraldNet

PA: Editorial: Legislature gets seat at the table on lottery bid

Any breathing space created by the Senate hearing also lets policymakers reconsider whether it’s even wise for Harrisburg to expand its lottery offerings. Growing lottery sales could squeeze the state’s take from slot machines and table games at the casinos. And boosting the lottery to aid seniors could mean hardship for retirees struggling with their own gambling problems.  Philadelphia Inquirer

 

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PA: Corbett officials to attend hearing on privatizing lottery

Corbett administration officials are willing to appear before a Senate Finance Committee hearing on a proposal to hire a private company to manage the $3.5 billion Pennsylvania Lottery. A spokeswoman for Gov. Tom Corbett’s Department of Revenue said Thursday that officials are happy to answer questions in any format. The hearing date was set for Jan. 14.  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

PA: Corbett pushes for extension on Lottery privatization deadline

The Corbett administration says it’s trying to push a year-end deadline back by two or three weeks to decide whether to lease the operations of the Pennsylvania Lottery to a private company. The main reason the commonwealth is pushing for more time has to do with the union that represents some of the Lottery’s employees. The union is allowed to make its own counteroffer to the private bid on the Lottery, and it just got an extension, making its offer due in early January.  Newsworks

CA:  Trash Privatization Opponents Launch Petition

Although the Fresno City Council voted in favor of privatizing residential trash service last week,  it’s not a done deal yet. Opponents of privatization of city residential trash service are hitting the streets and are going door to door hoping that a petition drive will lead to a vote by the people of Fresno on the issue.  Proponents of the petition drive say they don’t want the Mayor and the City Council alone to make the decision.  KMJ Now

Helium prices soar as supplies shrink

Texas is home to the country’s only Federal Helium Reserve, a site outside Amarillo where more than one-third of the world’s helium supply is produced, and the federal government has worked for years to deplete that supply. Congress more than 15 years ago created a law requiring reserve officials to sell off their helium — therefore privatizing the helium industry — by 2015. Now a handful of congressional leaders are trying to prevent the reserve from depleting its helium supply and closing its doors.  Kansas City Star

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ID: Washingtonians Coming to Idaho for Liquor

Liquor sales are on the rise in Northern Idaho, a trend officials link to the privatization of liquor stores across the state line in Washington. Washington closed its state-run liquor stores in May, prompting many people to come to the Gem State for booze. East Idaho News

PA: Report: Privatizing Lottery a Losing Ticket for PA, Seniors

As the clock ticks on a bid to privatize the Pennsylvania Lottery, a new report says the deal is a bad one for the state and its seniors. Stephen Herzenberg, executive director of the Keystone Research Center and study author, says the upside to the lottery being taken over by Camelot Global Services exists only from the company’s perspective. “This deal looks lousy for the Commonwealth, which would lose some of the critical funding that goes to senior programs like low-cost prescription drugs, senior centers and transportation for Pennsylvania seniors.”  Public News Service

VA: Virginia signs agreement with public/private partnership to build 55-mile section of U.S. 460

Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Thursday that the state has reached a commercial and financial close with U.S 460 Mobility Partners (a partnership of Ferrovial Agroman S.A. and American Infrastructure) and the Route 460 Funding Corp. of Virginia to finance, design and build a new 55-mile section of U.S. Route 460 in southeastern Virginia. Project development will begin immediately for the $1.4 billion roadway, the governor said, with the bulk of the money for construction ―$1.1 billion ― coming from public sources. Some opponents of the project are questioning the amount of public funding spent on a road that is expected to have between 5,000 and 6,000 vehicles per day.  Virginia Business

VA: Toll rates on Dulles Toll Road to rise

The cost of a one-way trip on the Dulles Toll Road will rise by 50 cents starting Jan. 1. The Washington reports that the cost of a one-way trip for cars will go up from $2.25 to $2.75. That means commuters who rely on the road daily will pay about $260 more in 2013.  WTOP

 

 

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PA: Rendell tied to consultants on lottery privatization

As Gov. Tom Corbett considers whether to hand the reins of the Pennsylvania Lottery over to a British company, he’s been getting advice from a firm with ties to his predecessor.  Former Gov. Ed Rendell is a senior adviser to Greenhill Partners, which stands to make millions if Corbett signs off on a private management agreement with the North American subsidiary of The Camelot Group, which runs the National Lottery in the United Kingdom.  The Morning Call

IL: Skyway’s sky-high tolls

At $3.50, the Chicago Skyway is among the most expensive tollways in the nation. And that’s going to remain true heading into 2013. On Jan. 1, tolls on the north-south bridge will increase by 50 cents for a grand total of $4…. “I use that way for work to get to Chicago and I’m outraged,” said Northwest Indiana resident Justin Hauser. The Indiana Toll Road and the Skyway are run by the same privately-held consortium based in Madrid, Spain. The Chicago Skyway and the Indiana Toll Road are operated by the same consortiums of Cintra Infraestructuras, S.A. (Cintra), Macquarie Atlas Roads, and Macquarie Infrastructure Partners.   WBEZ

RI:  Privatization of Higher Ed Violates State Constitution

Excessive administrative spending is but one of many results of nationwide privatization of public education.  Particularly distressing in this context is the root cause of this development, namely the decline of the fraction of the URI budget that comes from the Rhode Island general revenue, a percentage that has dropped from 60% in the 1950s to less than 10% currently. Privatization has resulted in an explosive increase in tuition.  RIFuture.org