Ideology
Nevada’s hidden accountability wars

Disdain for parents’ goals for their
kids is built into the public education establishment. But most politicians never get it.

By Steven Miller
BusinessNevada

Senator Bill Raggio had his doubts.

Minutes of the 2005 Legislature’s hearings make that clear.

But Gov. Kenny Guinn was eager to try something “new” with Nevada’s huge number of at-risk public schools, and he’d announced the idea in his State of the State message.

An unprecedented $100 million, said Guinn, should be given out to failing Nevada schools during the coming biennium — the money should be “fast-tracked,” and distributed as quickly as possible. Moreover, said the governor, the grants should be made and overseen, not by lawmakers, nor by the state Department of Education, but by his own, hand-picked appointees.

Raggio’s skepticism about the Guinn approach revealed itself in multiple ways.

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Authoritarianism
Cab venture
faces tough road

By Richard Velotta
InBusiness Las Vegas

A partnership between three managers of two existing taxicab companies has proposed forming a new cab operation in Clark County.

The request by Ray Chenoweth and Jaime Pino of Nellis Cab Co. and George Balaban of Desert Cab Co. to form City Cab is expected to meet heavy opposition, even as residents clamor for more taxi service, particularly in the residential areas outside of the tourist corridors.

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Extortion
Fed judge rejects
attack on Wal-Mart

By Kris Hudson
Wall Street Journal

A federal judge in Baltimore struck down a Maryland law aimed at forcing large employers, namely Wal-Mart Stores Inc., to spend more on health-care coverage for their employees.

Maryland's Fair Share Health Care Fund Act, enacted in January, was the catalyst for more than 30 similar bills pushed in other states this year by the AFL-CIO and other groups.

[continued] This article will be available to non-subscribers of the Online Journal for up to seven days after it is e-mailed.

Government contracts
Medicaid decision means
NevadaCare will cut jobs

By Cristina Rodriguez
InBusiness Las Vegas

Nevada's largest health insurance carrier and a newcomer have entered negotiations for the state's $500 million Medicaid contract, and a family-owned company that likely lost the contract expects to drop 175 jobs.

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Strategies
Tearing up the
Jack Welch playbook

The Six Sigma master was once the undisputed authority in management. But evidence suggests smart CEOs are now following a different set of rules.

By Betsy Morris
Fortune Magazine

NEW YORK - Once upon a time, there was a route to success that corporate America agreed on. But in today's fast-changing landscape, that old formula is getting tired.

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Public ed
Great schools
do it differently

Out-performing schools’ secrets
distilled by important new study

By Debra Viadero
Education Week

A national nonprofit group has released a report that distills the "best practices" used by elementary and secondary schools in 20 states that have proven track records of success.

Researchers at the National Center for Educational Accountability at the University of Texas in Austin based their findings on studies over the last six years of more than 250 schools across the country. The researchers singled out 140 schools that consistently outperformed demographically similar schools for at least three consecutive years and across several grades, on state exams.

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Excellence
The big surprise
is Enterprise

Quietly beating out Hertz and Avis, this privately held outfit is the No.1 car-rental company in America.

By Carol J. Loomis
Fortune Magazine

There are a couple of things you might not know about Enterprise Rent-A-Car of St. Louis. One is on the order of business trivia: The privately held company hires more college grads than any other American corporation (and promptly puts them to work washing cars). The second one is a bit more significant: Though the fact amazes many businesspeople, Enterprise is by far the largest and most prosperous rental-car company in the U.S. For its fiscal year ending July 31, Enterprise will have about $9 billion in revenues, against the $7.5 billion that the runner-up, Hertz, recorded in calendar 2005.

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