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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Facing big demand for housing, the state's efforts to spur development have spurred litigation by cities challenging recent laws and a compliance crackdown.
By Karen PierogMay 27 -
The revenue bonds, which would help finance a bigger convention center to replace the city's current facility, would be issued in the first half of 2026.
By Karen PierogMay 22 -
The Phoenix-based university will not have to pay a $37.7 million fine after the U.S. Department of Education dropped its case.
By Karen PierogMay 20 -
Some bills seeking to restrain local government debt issuance are still alive as the Texas Legislature's 2025 session heads towards its home stretch.
By Karen PierogMay 20 -
The rating agency, which gave the state a positive outlook a year ago, upgraded its general obligation rating a notch to AA-plus ahead of a $25 million bond sale.
By Karen PierogMay 16 -
The agreement includes $12.6 billion in spending for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and an income tax cut estimated to cost $160 million.
By Karen PierogMay 15 -
State officials called the one-notch rating cut to Aa1 with a stable outlook "a Trump downgrade" due to the state's heightened exposure to presidential policies.
By Karen PierogMay 14 -
The up to $385 million of sales and use tax revenue bonds will finance sewer projects to address sanitary system overflows under a federal consent decree.
By Karen PierogMay 14 -
The $839.5 million Harris County Hospital District bond sale will tap $2.5 billion of voter-approved debt authorization for a $3.2 billion expansion project.
By Karen PierogMay 13 -
The outlook revision to positive from stable comes ahead of the airport's planned refunding and plans to issue bonds to help finance a $2.7 billion capital program.
By Karen PierogMay 7