Michelle Kaske

Financing for road-widening projects and upgrades to its two toll roads will keep the New Jersey Turnpike Authority issuing debt in 2010 after selling $1.75 billion of new-money bonds in 2009.

Pennsylvania officials plan to price $775 million of new-money, general obligation debt in mid-January after legislators yesterday passed the state's fiscal 2010 Capital Debt Act.

The Delaware River Port ­Authority plans to issue roughly $715 million of new-money and refunding debt in late February to finance capital projects and replace fixed-rate debt with variable-rate bonds under terms of a swap option that will be exercised Jan. 1.

The U.S. House last week approved a renewal of a $13.50 per-gallon tax on rum produced in Puerto Rico and the U.S. ­Virgin Islands.

The Federal Housing Administration, insurer of nearly $20 million of North Philadelphia Health System Series 1997A bonds, will not acquire the borrower’s property and outstanding debt, as Bank of New York Mellon, trustee of the 1997 bonds, agreed to withdraw its notice of mortgage assignment to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Fitch Ratings Monday downgraded Philadelphia to BBB from BBB-plus and removed the credit from negative watch, affecting $1.1 billion of general obligation debt. The outlook is stable.

New York City this week will price roughly $1.4 billion of general obligation debt, including $616 million of taxable Build America Bonds, to help finance capital improvements.

New Jersey’s total bonded debt inched up to $33.87 billion at the end of fiscal 2009, up from the $31.86 billion outstanding in fiscal 2008, according to an annual debt report released last week.

Harley-Davidson Inc. announced last week that it will keep its motorcycle plant in York after considering moving operations to other states to save on costs.

Local New Jersey governments could save more than $39 million through reforms of compensation and benefit packages to municipal employees, according to a report compiled by the State Commission of Investigation.

New Jersey lawmakers are working on legislation that would create a new authority to oversee the redevelopment of Fort Monmouth as the U.S. Army plans to leave the nearly 1,200-acre base in 2011.

The Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority Tuesday will sell $39.4 million of tax-exempt rum-tax bonds to help finance a new wastewater facility plant on St. Croix for spirit-maker Cruzan VIRIL Ltd.

New Jersey will issue more than $700 million of combined new-money and refunding debt in four sales next week to help finance transportation projects, open space initiatives, and clean water programs.

Construction of Linden Ponds, an ­Erickson Retirement Communities development in the Boston area, will resume late next year, and investors in the project’s $156 million of tax-exempt bonds will be paid, Erickson executive staff told bondholders and market participants last week in an investor call.

Pennsylvania’s unpaid bills are piling up, and the state is about $375 million short of funds needed to pay contractors and vendors on infrastructure projects, Budget Secretary Mary Soderberg warned yesterday.

New Jersey pharmaceutical maker Theragen Inc. must immediately now pay all of the outstanding principal and accrued interest on its Series 2005 bonds because the borrower has been in default for more than 60 days, according to trustee Bank of Oklahoma NA.

Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s recently downgraded Elliot Hospital’s Series 2003B revenue bonds to the triple-B category due to declining liquidity and growing debt levels.

Gov. Deval Patrick last week began a series of public hearings on the fiscal 2011 budget in order for Massachusetts residents to weigh in on next year’s spending plan.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is watching for an opportunity to refinance nearly $600 million of floating-rate debt, including variable-rate bonds now owned by banks.

Like many mayors, it’s been a difficult year for Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, as the city was forced to cut its five-year budget by $2 billion and watch state lawmakers delay action on measures that eventually helped close the city’s current budget and avoid enormous layoffs and service cuts.