Privatization

A largely Republican cadre of business leaders and political power-brokers will have Gov. Corbett's ear as he develops policies about whether to sell the state's liquor stores, roads, bridges, and other assets to private industry. Corbett named his 23-member Advisory Council on Privatization and Innovation on Thursday. "This panel will further evaluate potential privatization, public-private partnerships, or managed-competition opportunities with the ultimate goal of streamlining government and saving taxpayers' dollars," Corbett said in a statement.

Unionized city workers and others protest outside the health center at 43rd Street and Chester Avenue yesterday. The protesters oppose Mayor Rendell's plan to privatize operations of the Philadelphia Nursing Home and one of the city's district health centers. The targeted health center is rumored to be the one at 43rd and Chester.

Interested in a piece of New Jersey's government? With Gov. Christie in office, now's the time to buy, buy, buy. In recent months the Republican governor's administration has amped up efforts to privatize government services, which would generate short-term revenue and cut the number of benefit-receiving employees. State parks, public schools, and Atlantic City Expressway toll booths all have been opened to outside companies. At least a dozen functions of state government are being filled by companies or are targeted for privatization, public documents show, with the Christie administration considering proposals from firms to maintain highways, repair state vehicles, cook prison food, and process child-support payments.

It's finally come - privatization that will cost city workers their jobs. The Rendell administration has signed an agreement with Episcopal Hospital to take over operation of the Philadelphia Nursing Home, at at Girard and Corinthian avenues, which serves indigent patients, some of whom have AIDS. Any of the 350 workers now employed at the nursing home who want to stay there will have to work for the new operators. The city's contract with Episcopal preserves the workers' pay, but permits the reduction of some fringe benefits.

Privatization - the use of private and nonprofit organizations for the delivery of public services - can be an effective tool for public administrators if, like any tool, it is used properly. The report issued by President Reagan's Commission on Privatization does a disservice to the concept and undermines public management at all levels of government. The commission's report suggests wholesale changes in the delivery of governmental services. Among its recommendations, it calls for the elimination of the postal service's monopoly, the use of vouchers in education and housing and the selling off of assets.

Remember privatization? The conservative cure-all for government inefficiency, the curse of municipal unions, the hot campaign issue? Some business leaders grumble that Mayor Rendell seems to have forgotten the idea. Not so. Private bids were opened last week for City Hall custodial service and art museum security, and contract awards will follow soon. Bids have been sought on two other functions - trash transfer stations and medical services at the Riverview Home for the Aged - and the city has formally notified its unions that it has run preliminary numbers for 20 other services it may privatize, eliminating 1,700 jobs.

It's nice to have some big friends if you're headed for a rumble, but you'd better check to make sure they're behind you. City blue-collar union president James Sutton said yesterday that City Council President John Street was "without a doubt" on his side in fighting any attempt to privatize weekly trash collection. "Not exactly," Street said in an interview a few hours later. Street said he generally favors keeping trash collection in public hands, but said he's "prepared to take a look at" any privatization scheme Mayor Rendell proposes.

Six of the eight mayoral candidates were quizzed on privatization, municipal services and city finances by an eclectic and enthusiastic crowd of 200 last night on Rittenhouse Square. The forum, sponsored by a coalition of labor and community activists, was one of three major events on the candidates' circuit last night. Steady rain and gusty winds did not deter voters from coming out to learn more about the three Republican and five Democratic candidates. About 500 people turned out for a political rally for women at the Civic Center and an estimated 250 residents of Park Towne Place met with candidates at their high-rise apartment complex on Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

HARRISBURG - The newest buzzword in the Capitol for the future of the much-maligned state Liquor Control Board: modernization. Gone is the sense of urgency that existed last year to auction off Pennsylvania's 620-plus wine and spirits stores - a time when the clarion call from several Republican quarters, not least among them Gov. Corbett's office, was "privatization. " These days, top Republicans in Harrisburg are softening their rhetoric. Though insisting privatization is the ultimate goal, they say that in the interim, the state should implement measures to spiff up the LCB - make it more efficient, consumer-friendly, and profitable.

In the four years since the last race for mayor of Philadelphia, polls show that voters' views of the divisive issue of privatization have shifted dramatically. Put simply, as the city's financial picture has turned more bleak, certain voters seem willing to abandon old ways of doing business in City Hall. Democrat Edward G. Rendell, the front-runner in this fall's contest for mayor, has proposed allowing private companies to bid against municipal unions, especially in the area of trash collection, to save money.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The world's first private supply ship flew tantalizingly close to the International Space Station on Thursday, acing a critical test before the actual docking. The unmanned SpaceX Dragon capsule flew within a mile and a half of the orbiting lab as it performed a practice lap and checkout of its communication and navigation systems. Officials at NASA and the SpaceX company declared the rendezvous a success and said the historic linkup was on track for Friday.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has quietly hired a private investigator from Western Pennsylvania to examine the turnpike's purchasing and contract-compliance practices. The turnpike authority hired Corporate Security and Investigations of Monaca, Pa., for $75,000 a year to provide "confidential investigative and audit services related to procurement, contract compliance and invoicing policies and practices as they apply to vendors providing supplies, services or construction.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Opening a new, entrepreneurial era in spaceflight, a ship built by a billionaire businessman sped toward the International Space Station Tuesday, with a load of groceries and other supplies, after a spectacular, middle-of-the-night blastoff. The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket and its unmanned Dragon capsule marked the first time a commercial spacecraft has been sent to the orbiting outpost. Cutting a brilliant, fiery arc through the darkness, the rocket lifted off just before 4 a.m. and smoothly boosted the capsule into orbit.

Higher prices for visits to doctors, surgery, and drugs were the main cause of higher health-care costs for privately insured Americans in 2010, when overall utilization of health-care services was down, a report by the Health Care Cost Institute in Washington, said Monday. The report, using data provided by Aetna, Humana, and United Healthcare, analyzed three billion claims for 33 million individuals covered by employer-based health insurance from 2007 through 2010. "For the first time, we have comprehensive data on the privately insured.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A new private supply ship for the International Space Station remained stuck on the ground Saturday after rocket engine trouble led to a last-second abort of the historic flight. All nine engines for the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket roared to life Saturday morning. But with a half-second remaining before liftoff, the onboard computers automatically shut everything down. So instead of blasting off on a delivery mission to the space station, the rocket stayed on its launchpad amid a plume of engine exhaust.

HARRISBURG — State-owned colleges and universities confront crushing cuts in state funding. Students face higher tuition, along with hikes in interest rates for subsidized federal loans. Meanwhile, private liberal-arts schools are holding their ground, even growing. Dickinson College is the latest to announce a major expansion. Projects totaling $46 million make up the school's largest upgrade plan. It seems an astonishing outlay, especially now. Higher education increasingly is perceived as an extravagance.

LAST WEEK, the Philadelphia School District announced plans to completely overhaul itself and close more than 40 public schools next year. By closing the schools, for what it describes as considerable financial, academic, and safety concerns, the district claims that it will be able to restructure in ways that are more effective and efficient. While not surprising, given our city's consistent bungling of education reform over the past two decades, this move was nonetheless disturbing for many reasons.

Interested in a piece of New Jersey's government? With Gov. Christie in office, now's the time to buy, buy, buy. In recent months the Republican governor's administration has amped up efforts to privatize government services, which would generate short-term revenue and cut the number of benefit-receiving employees. State parks, public schools, and Atlantic City Expressway toll booths all have been opened to outside companies. At least a dozen functions of state government are being filled by companies or are targeted for privatization, public documents show, with the Christie administration considering proposals from firms to maintain highways, repair state vehicles, cook prison food, and process child-support payments.

When it comes to creating a more secure financial future, there's just no substitute for planning ahead. That's exactly what Pennsylvania aims to do through Gov. Corbett's initiative to ensure Pennsylvania Lottery-funded programs for older adults can keep up with the huge wave of baby boomers nearing eligibility age. To be better prepared to serve those citizens, we're exploring establishing a private management agreement for the lottery....