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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The city faces the loss of $110 million in Texas public safety grants while a $174 million deficit is projected for its current general fund budget.
April 15 -
A temporary injunction issued Monday blocks the removal of minority- and women-owned firms from the state's Historically Underutilized Businesses program.
April 14 -
The $1.18 billion revenue bond issue will commence long-term financing for a $5.5 billion expansion program at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
April 14 -
The Texas city is facing a potential level 1 emergency, indicating the water system is 180 days from supply not meeting demand.
April 8 -
The state Supreme Court's decision did not address the 2022 law's governmental contract ban for businesses deemed to be "boycotting" the fossil fuel industry.
April 8 -
The state's latest water plan outlines $174 billion of capital water needs over the next 50 years. "The era of cheaper water is over," said one state water official.
April 7 -
The exemption from state income taxes for Native Americans who live and work on federally designated tribal reservation land was at issue in the case.
April 6 -
The current 18,000-seat facility cost $87.7 million, and the city covered the cost with cash from its penny sales tax.
April 6 -
The $12.78 billion fiscal 2027 budget agreement unveiled by Republican officials comes as lawmakers prepare for looming federal Medicaid funding cuts.
April 2 -
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
