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DC: Charter school officials diverted millions, lawsuit alleges. Options Public Charter School was founded to improve the fortunes of the District’s most troubled teens and students with disabilities, and the District government sent millions of taxpayer dollars to the school each year for their education and care. D.C. officials alleged in a lawsuit Tuesday that three former managers at the Northeast Washington school diverted at least $3 million of that money to enrich themselves, engaging in a “pattern of self-dealing” that was part of an elaborate contracting scam.  Washington Post

IL: Mayor’s plan to privatize port still afloat. Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to privatize, improve and market one of Chicago’s greatest untapped assets — the nation’s largest inland general cargo port — is still afloat, a top mayoral aide said Tuesday. One day after the Colorado-based Broe Group “amicably suspended” exclusive negotiations on a 62-year master lease, Port Authority Board Chairman Michael Forde vowed to forge ahead with negotiations with Broe’s competitors.  Chicago Sun-Times

OR: More Than 200 Protest Proposal to Clearcut More of Oregon’s Forests. Reps. Peter DeFazio (D.-Ore.), Kurt Schrader (D.-Ore.) and Greg Walden (R.-Ore.) have proposed to effectively privatize 1.5 million acres of public land in western Oregon known as the “O&C” lands, turning it over to a private logging “trust” to be managed under the Oregon Forest Practices Act, where clearcutting is rampant. Sen. Wyden is currently developing his own plan for expanded logging of public lands in the western part of the state. Speakers at today’s rally said management of Oregon’s federal forests should be based on an accurate understanding of the state’s modern economy and of where the greatest opportunities for growth are instead of trying to solve county budget issues by sanctioning ill-advised, unsustainable clearcutting projects.  Center for Biological Diversity