More Issues In the News

We'll pay the cost of private toll road - Miami Herald (new window)	2008-09-16
Florida PIRG Opinion: Faced with desperate budget deficits, Gov. Charlie Crist has proposed a number of privatization deals to build or operate roads. Private investors would borrow upfront cash to pay the state and then charge decades of escalating tolls to Florida drivers. While the public has focused on the toll hikes that would follow, a number of other dangers deserve attention.
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Lehman Alley bid uncertain after bankruptcy filing - Naples Daily News (new window)	2008-09-15
There was no official word on the impact of Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy filing on the Alligator Alley lease proposal Monday as Wall Street reeled from the news that the 158-year-old firm was going under. “I think the Lehman collapse just gives us pause about selling to private consortia who claim they can better manage financial risk,” said Phineas Baxandall, a senior analyst for tax and budget policy with the Florida Public Interest Research Group.
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State panel to review Alley lease bidders - Napels News (new window)	2008-08-13
Just across Alligator Alley, the road’s very fate will be on the table Thursday. Public interest groups remain opposed to the deal, though, along with a handful of wary local politicians. In July, state Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, called for an independent review of the proposed lease deal.
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