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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The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will earmark about half a billion dollars to renovate the 80-year-old George Washington Bridge, using money from toll and fare increases the bi-state agency recently implemented.
February 15 - Rhode Island
Warning that "Providence is in peril," Mayor Angel Taveras repeated his call for retirees to accept pension cuts and tax-exempt institutions to pay more, to keep the city from running out of money by the end of June.
February 14 - Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania will hold a public hearing on receiver David Unkovic’s financial recovery plan for capital city Harrisburg on March 1.
February 14 - Pennsylvania
Gov. Tom Corbett on Monday night signed a bill that lets Pennsylvania counties impose a fee on natural gas wells in the Marcellus Shale region.
February 13 -
Long-term bond sale volume dropped considerably in 2011 compared with the year before, amid a cautionary environment and the absence of the Build America Bond program.
February 10 -
Stung by a scathing auditor's report that called the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey dysfunctional, its board of commissioners responded by saying it would not be business as usual at the bi-state agency.
February 10 - Rhode Island
The Rhode Island State Investment Commission this week will hear presentations from the four vendors recommended as semifinalists to administer the state’s new defined-contribution program, according to General Treasurer Gina Raimondo.
February 10 -
A Rhode Island Superior Court judge’s preliminary injunction preventing the state’s capital, Providence, from moving retirees who are 65 and older off the city’s health insurance plan and into Medicare is a credit-negative, said Moody’s Investors Service.
February 10 -
The Hudson Yards Infrastructure Corp. learned that the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance has erroneously sent notices to state taxpayers who were holders of the corporation’s bonds, saying that all or a portion of the interest paid on the debt is subject to the state’s personal income tax.
February 10 -
The restructuring of three series of variable-rate demand bonds totaling $500 million by New York’s Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority is a credit-positive because it eliminates the risk of failed remarketings related to the credit of failed Dexia Credit Local, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report.
February 10 - New York
New York’s fiscal 2012-13 executive budget continues the progress made in the currently enacted budget to close an immediate projected gap as well as narrow out-year shortfalls, according to an analysis by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
February 10 - New Jersey
Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded to Baa1 from A3 the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority’s $75 million of Series 2004 hotel room fee revenue bonds.
February 10 - Connecticut
Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy kicked off his second year in office with his state of the state address, proposing a $20.77 billion budget that would take effect on July 1.
February 10 - New York
Long Beach, N.Y., stung by a recent five-notch downgrade by Moody's Investors Service and an independent audit that cited improper budgetary practices, has declared a fiscal emergency.
February 8 -
The state-appointed receiver for financially ailing Harrisburg wants to close on the sale or lease of the city's two main assets by the end of June — the incinerator that's ground zero in the debt crisis in Pennsylvania's capital city, and its revenue-producing parking garages.
February 7 -
Harrisburg's receiver said that recovery for Pennsylvania's capital city starts with finding out how much cash upfront it can get for its assets.
February 6 -
PennsylvaniaShortly after two of the top three credit rating agencies improved their outlooks for the city to stable from negative, Pittsburgh sold $114.5 million of general obligation bonds to provide funds for overdue capital improvement projects and save money through a refunding.
February 3 - New York
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg repeated his cry for pension overhaul while introducing the city's $68.7 billion preliminary budget and four-year financial plan for fiscal 2013.
February 3 - New York
New York City's law department has issued a request for proposals to provide bond counsel and disclosure counsel services.
February 3 - Rhode Island
Unlike many of its Rhode Island neighbors, Jamestown “is in good fiscal shape,” an auditing firm told its Town Council.
February 3
