Karen is a senior reporter covering the Southwest. She has covered the municipal bond market for more than 30 years at The Bond Buyer and Reuters. Prior to that she wrote about futures and options markets for magazines and was an award-winning reporter for a suburban Chicago newspaper chain.
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Despite declining enrollment, Texas school district paper remains popular among investors because of the AAA-rated Texas Permanent School Fund pledge.
April 1 -
The filing of a writ of mandamus with the state Supreme Court, comes a day after S&P revised its outlook on Otero County to negative.
April 1 -
Capital needs and state actions were on the minds of two top local government officials at The Bond Buyer's Public Finance Conference in Austin.
March 31 -
The bill creates a sports facilities authority for a $3 billion partly bond-financed NFL stadium and makes changes to a sales tax and revenue bond program.
March 31 -
The review, which included mostly Texas and Colorado bond issuers, comes as the amount of voter-approved debt authorized for districts is exploding.
March 31 -
Otero County addressed an Open Meetings Act violation by reapproving a contract with ICE that generates revenue to pay off bonds for a detention facility.
March 26 -
A lawsuit filed this week seeking to end Austin's transportation user fee comes as the Texas city is launching its fiscal 2027 budget process.
March 25 -
The AA-minus-rated bonds come to market as the hospital sector continues to navigate through rising expenses and other challenges.
March 24 -
Otero County's March 13 emergency meeting to avoid a bond default did not comply with the Open Meetings Act, the state's Justice Department determined.
March 23 -
A Fitch rating analyst pointed to the school system's elevated long-term liability burden that could be exacerbated by future voter-approved bonds.
March 19 -
The drought-stricken Texas city could face a water emergency as soon as May or October under scenarios presented to the city council.
March 18 -
Otero County commissioners approved an agreement with the federal immigration agency to avert a bond default despite a state law banning such contracts.
March 17 -
Upper and Lower Basin states are at odds over post-2026 operations for the drought-stricken river, raising litigation risks and highlighting credit uncertainty.
March 17 -
State authorization for $1.35 billion of taxable ratepayer-backed bonds sold in 2022 for Oklahoma Natural Gas Company is being contested in court.
March 16 -
The authority would own and oversee a $3 billion partly bond-financed domed stadium for the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs.
March 13 -
The rating agency cited the state's sustained improvements in fiscal management and robust reserves.
March 13 -
The Texas city's bond issue will mostly refinance short-term commercial paper into long-term debt and refund some callable Series 2015 bonds.
March 12 -
The 10th annual event, which was originally scheduled for Oct. 1, will take place next week with the participation of some key city officials.
March 10 -
A detailed plan for issuing the bonds, which will be backed by an extension of a 1% special sales tax, is expected by May 15.
March 10 -
The audit did not quell calls for greater transparency and oversight for the authority as it continues a bond-financed expansion program.
March 10
