Caitlin Devitt

CHICAGO — Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm Wednesday night delivered her eighth and final state of the state address, saying 2009 was a dividing line after a “a decade of hell.”

CHICAGO — The Ohio legislature yesterday approved a bipartisan measure to put a $700 million general obligation bond proposal on the May ballot to finance one of the state’s largest jobs program through 2016.

CHICAGO — The Indianapolis Local Public Improvement Bond Bank will enter the market today with about $200 million of bonds, in the first of two borrowings that will finance construction of a new, $754 million safety-net hospital for ­Marion County.

Three months after Ohio voters approved casino gambling in the state, they will weigh in on another gaming issue on the May ballot: whether to allow a proposed Columbus-based casino to change its location.

The state would privatize the Ohio Lottery and the Ohio Turnpike and use the money to fund a college scholarship program under a bill introduced last week by Sen. Kevin Coughlin.

A plan to build a new hospital advanced last week when the Merrick County Board of Supervisors approved a plan by Litzenberg Memorial County Hospital to build a new $25 million facility and a $9 million long-term care facility.

The Michigan Department of Transportation last week put out a request for proposals seeking construction bids from companies interested in work on a new, $1.8 billion, bond-financed bridge across the Detroit River. The deadline for responses is March 17.

CHICAGO — The Michigan Department of Transportation last week significantly cut its five-year construction plan, warning the state faces the loss of $2.4 billion in federal aid through 2014 because it lacks matching dollars.

CHICAGO — Suburban Cincinnati’s largest mall has failed to make its last two debt service payments — and is not expected to make its upcoming payment in February — leaving the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority and a pair of suburbs scrambling to figure out how to pay the debt once the reserve fund is drained.

CHICAGO — Cleveland’s single-A rated University Hospitals Health System Inc. plans to open a retail order period Monday for roughly $92 million of refunding bonds in a transaction that will shift a chunk of the system’s variable-rate debt into a fixed-rate mode.

CHICAGO — Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland used his fourth state of the state address yesterday to highlight a growing alternative energy industry he said would help spark an economic renewal and push lawmakers to approve a $950 million bond program that would finance a technology jobs program.

A state representative has introduced a bill that would require Michigan to detail the financial impact of all proposed new laws on local government and state revenues.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing last week appointed a pair of new city executives, including a former finance chief for the Bing Group.

Chippewa Valley Schools and Berkley Public Schools are seeking to borrow a total of roughly $260 million to finance capital projects. They plan to seek voter approval for the new debt on the Feb. 23 ballot.

An Indiana Senate committee was poised to vote late yesterday on a bill that would allow casinos on Lake Michigan and the Ohio River to move onto land.

CHICAGO — Ohio’s Kenyon College will enter the market today with $102.4 million of refunding bonds to refinance all of its variable-rate debt into fixed-rate mode.

CHICAGO — Ohio would create up to 24 new bond-issuing authorities across the state with the ability to impose tolls to finance transportation projects under a bill the House passed last week.

CHICAGO — Indiana stands out “like a peony in a parking lot” among the states for the relatively small size of its budget problems, Gov. Mitch Daniels said in his annual state of the state address Tuesday night.

CHICAGO — The Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority will enter the market today with $160 million of lease-backed taxable Build America Bonds to finance construction of a Hilton hotel in downtown Columbus, adjacent to the Ohio city’s convention center.

The Findlay City School District plans this week to sell $54.2 million of school facilities construction and improvement bonds. The debt includes $50.3 million of taxable Build America Bonds and $3.9 million of tax-exempt general obligation bonds. Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. is the underwriter.