Headlines
OH: State plan for ‘enterprise universities’ on hold
FL: Miami-Dade to close controversial charter school
CA: Costa Mesa to keep fire department, won’t outsource
FL: Augusta privatized city bus company has new boss with legal problems
Shocking conflict of interest: Private water companies partner with fracking lobby
Google, tech execs accelerate space privatization
OH: State plan for ‘enterprise universities’ on hold
Gov. John Kasich has decided not to include the plan to create “enterprise universities,” which are often referred to as charter universities, in the mid-biennial budget review, because of a stalemate between lawmakers and college leaders. After years of steady declines in state support, many Ohio college leaders want more freedom from bureaucratic red tape that they say forces them to waste money, Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Jim Petro said yesterday. But many lawmakers are happy with the current oversight, saying that otherwise, taxpayers would have fewer means to hold the universities accountable…Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said the administration still believes in the concept of charter universities because it would help make higher education more affordable…Petro’s plan would have cost schools 10 to 20 percent of their per-student state funding in exchange for relief from an array of state mandates, such as rules that govern contracts. The money would have gone to a scholarship fund to attract the brightest students. The Columbus Dispatch
FL: Miami-Dade to close controversial charter school
Miami-Dade School Board unanimously voted to close a charter school accused of holding raunchy late-night parties in its cafeteria. The Balere Language Academy in South Miami Heights has the option to appeal to the state Board of Education. The school’s attorney, Marlon Hill, said it had not decided whether it would…The School Board also decided against renewing a contract with another charter school, Lawrence Academy Elementary, in Florida City. The school has received consecutive F-grades from the state and can be closed under state law. Miami Herald
CA: Costa Mesa to keep fire department, won’t outsource
In a unanimous vote late Tuesday night, the council rescinded layoff notices to 87 firefighters, effectively canceling a proposal to use the Orange County Fire Authority, the Daily Pilot reported. Under that plan, the county was expected to have absorbed most — but not all — of the fire department’s employees. Firefighters had received nearly 43% of the 203 layoff notices sent to city employees since March 2011, when the council began its outsourcing research and implementation. The council will now work on a fire department restructuring plan that aims to improve service and save money. Councilman Gary Monahan said the plan would address high overtime costs…”The administrative staff is quite relieved,” interim Fire Chief Tom Arnold said. “The issue has weighed very heavily on staff, and this decision obviously boosts morale. Everyone is working very hard with less.” Los Angeles Times
FL: Augusta privatized city bus company has new boss with legal problems
An official for Mobility Transit Services LLC met accusations from two Augusta Commission members that his firm might be shortchanging city bus driver trainees with a morsel of company news Monday: Mobility has a new president, and he’s Florida taxicab mogul Cullan Meathe…Meathe has a trail of liens and judgments against him and various transportation companies he owns in Florida and Michigan, according to records on file with the Florida Department of State and published reports. Meathe is named as a party in 31 federal lawsuits filed in Florida, Georgia and Michigan district courts, although all but six of them are closed…Money concerns were raised with Mobility by Augusta Commission members Monday during a work session on the city’s transit contract. Commissioner Bill Lockett said Mobility’s delay in reimbursing driver-trainees a $25 per diem and the firm’s late payments to Augusta vendors gave the perception of “a fly-by-night operation,” but he did not point to Meathe’s background…Mason said the firm’s inability to maintain certain staffing levels might indicate a breach but sought to take the conversation behind closed doors at Tuesday’s meeting, which general counsel Andrew MacKenzie agreed was appropriate…“I do this for a living every day for the federal government,” he said. “This is a bad contract.” The Augusta Chronicle
Shocking conflict of interest: Private water companies partner with fracking lobby
Two of the country’s largest private water utility companies are participants in a massive lobbying effort to expand controversial shale gas drilling — a heavy industrial activity that promises to enrich the water companies but may also put drinking water resources at risk. The situation — which some watchdogs describe as a troubling conflict of interest — underscores the complex issues raised by the nationwide push to privatize infrastructure and services like water, prisons, and roads. The water companies — American Water and Aqua America — are leading drinking water suppliers in Pennsylvania, where drilling is booming. They also sell water to gas companies — which use a drilling technique that requires massive amounts of water — and have expressed interest in treating drilling wastewater, a potentially lucrative opportunity. These investor-owned, publicly traded water utility companies are also dues-paying “associate members” of the gas industry’s powerful Marcellus Shale Coalition, a fact confirmed by coalition spokesman Travis Windle, who says associate members pay $15,000 annually in dues. Both water companies serve millions of people across the country — Aqua America operates in 11 states and American Water in more than 30. AlterNet
Google, tech execs accelerate space privatization
Google’s Larry Page and Eric Schmidt and ex-Microsoft exec Charles Simonyi are backing Planetary Resources, a new space exploration company to be unveiled April 24…With cuts in NASA’s budget and the end of the space shuttle program at the agency, NASA will need to play a supporting role if it wants to keep itself involved in manned spaceflight. InformationWeek