Paul Burton is the Northeast Regional Editor for The Bond Buyer. His major coverage has included New York City and MTA finances; the Harrisburg, Pa., debt crisis; the 38 Studios bond financing fiasco in Rhode Island; and unfunded pension liability. Paul hosts podcasts and videos and has moderated at Bond Buyer conferences. Previously, Paul was senior editor and copy chief at M&A-oriented financial media company The Deal LLC. His award-winning career has spanned financial, sports and political journalism. A Boston native, Paul is the author of the book “Tales from the Newsrooms.” He is a frequent public speaker and has appeared as an expert on municipal debt on radio and television shows, including former CBS News White House correspondent Sharyl Attkisson’s public-affairs program, “Full Measure.”
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Moody's Investors Service downgraded the long term rating of Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education to Aa3 from Aa2, affecting $1.5 billion of debt.
October 24 -
Cranston, R.I., Mayor Allan Fung conveyed a sense of urgency in advance of a special City Council meeting on his proposal to reduce pension benefits for retirees.
October 23 -
The second scheduled auction of property belonging to Curt Schilling's failed video-game company 38 Studios will be held in Providence Tuesday.
October 22 -
The sudden breakup of hospital operator West Penn Allegheny's affiliation with insurer Highmark heightens uncertainty over hundreds of millions in bonds in a turnabout driven by adulterous sex and violence.
October 19 - New York
New York City Comptroller John Liu launched a website to enable workers paid less than the prevailing wage on city public works projects to search online for the money they are owed.
October 19 - Massachusetts
Fitch Ratings affirmed its AA-minus rating for Worcester, Mass. as the city prepares to competitively sell $72.1 million general obligation municipal purpose loan bonds.
October 19 -
Walter Timpone, the defense attorney for one of the three convicted former banking executives in the muni bond bid-rigging trial is confident about an appeal.
October 19 -
After hearing tearful requests for leniency, federal Judge Harold Baer imposed prison and fines on three former bankers convicted of municipal bond bid rigging.
October 18 - New York
New York City officials announced changes to the four-year capital commitment plan to accelerate work on more than $1 billion of critical infrastructure projects.
October 17 -
West Penn Allegheny Health System countersued crosstown Pittsburgh insurer Highmark Inc. over the breakup of their proposed $475 million affiliation agreement.
October 17 -
Insurer Highmark, which sued West Penn Allegheny Health System over their canceled $475 million agreement, announced a $65 million affiliation deal with Saint Vincent of Erie, Pa.
October 16 -
Potential liabilities from the Jerry Sandusky child molestations prompted Standard & Poor's to revise its outlook to negative on Penn State's long-term bond rating.
October 16 -
New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joseph Lhota announced four options for fare and toll increases that he says are needed to help fill a budget gap.
October 15 -
Officials from Highmark and West Penn Allegheny Health System spoke with an eye toward resuming talks about a $475 million affiliation agreement.
October 12 -
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is selling New York City bus and subway transit MetroCards with front-facing ads for the first time.
October 12 -
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority administrator Beverly Scott will become the new general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
October 12 -
Acting on an emergency basis, the City Council in cash-strapped Scranton, Pa., adopted a 1% commuter tax, which still needs approval from a Lackawanna County Court.
October 12 - Rhode Island
Rhode Island's $81.4 million GO bond sale priced at the lowest cost-of-capital ever for the state, said Treasurer Gina Raimondo and lead underwriter Barclays.
October 11 -
Roger Nutt will resign as chief executive of the embattled Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, which the state auditor said was "drowning in debt."
October 11 -
The Citizens Budget Commission watchdog group, calling the financing arrangements of New York's MTA "volatile and insufficient," proposes an alternative that it said would curb deficits.
October 10
