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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Fitch Ratings said the trajectory of the city's AA rating could depend on how Mayor John Whitmire, who took office this week, resolves the years-long impasse over firefighter pay.
January 4 -
The cost of empowerment scholarship accounts, which became universally available in 2022, has exceeded projections and raised concerns about how money is spent.
January 3 -
Municipal bond issuance in the Lone Star State totaled $59 billion in 2023, spurred by utility rate securitizations and school bonds.
December 29 -
The case, which was refiled last week without federal claims from an earlier lawsuit, will have its first hearing in January.
December 27 -
The proposed pipeline, which dates back to 2006, would transport Colorado River water from the Lake Powell reservoir to the southwest corner of Utah.
December 26 -
Cities and states in the Southwest are making affordable housing a funding priority through voter-approved general obligation bonds or in their budgets.
December 22 -
The Water Infrastructure Financing Authority will use information it received from banks, businesses, conservation groups, and others to solicit water augmentation projects next year.
December 22 -
The nation's fourth-largest city will have new officials at the helm of its government and finances for the first time in eight years.
December 18 -
The Arizona Board of Regents adopted a report recommending greater oversight of its three universities after the University of Arizona hit financial trouble.
December 14 -
A project to build a new arena for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder will move forward after voters approved the extension of a sales tax.
December 13 -
The state would raise $500 million through internal debt sales backed by oil and natural gas severance tax revenue to fund long-term water purchase contracts.
December 11 -
A constitutional amendment approved by Texas voters Nov. 7 will reduce public school property taxes, leaving the state to make up for the revenue reduction.
December 8 -
The approval last month by Texas voters of a constitutional amendment to create an endowment fund led S&P Global Ratings to revise the school's outlook to positive from stable.
December 7 -
The decision by the District of Columbia-based U.S. Appeals Court will officially vacate the Surface Transportation Board's environmental approval for the project.
December 5 -
Court-approved asset sales and bond exchanges are pushing a participant sports venue, a hospital, and a senior living community closer to exiting Chapter 11.
December 4 -
City Controller Chris Brown called for more due diligence on financing plans for a $2.6 billion project to renovate Bush Intercontinental Airport's Terminal B.
December 1 -
The outlook revision from negative comes as the school system prepares to tap more of its record $2.44 billion of voter-approved bond authorization next year.
November 29 -
A new law creates a commission to recommend changes to address rising property tax bills and ensure the system is sustainable for local governments and school districts.
November 29 -
Owners of $284 million of defaulted bonds will get only $2.4 million in cash, along with a minority equity stake in Legacy Park's new owner.
November 27 -
Litigation brought by a state public pension recipient challenges the constitutionality of a 2022 law prohibiting governmental contracts with companies the Oklahoma treasurer determines are "boycotting" energy businesses.
November 22
