Paul Burton

Rhode Island’s legislature Thursday night passed a sweeping public pension overhaul bill, which Gov. Lincoln Chafee signed.

The University of Connecticut plans to issue $200 million of general obligation debt-service commitment Series 2011A new-money bonds, and $20 million of Series A refunding bonds, beginning with a two-day retail period that commences Friday.

The board of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority discussed the proposed four-year budget and capital plan for 2012 to 2014 on Wednesday amid the hovering shadow of labor negotiations.

Westchester County, N.Y., is maintaining its rainy-day fund to protect its triple-A status from all three major bond rating agencies, county Executive Robert Astorino said in his $1.7 billion budget presentation to the Westchester legislature.

East Providence has joined Central Falls as a Rhode Island municipality under state oversight.

While Pennsylvania officials prepared to implement a takeover of Harrisburg after a deadline passed for the city to submit a recovery plan, another domino fell in the capital city.

The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York plans a sale of $135 million revenue bonds under its school districts revenue bond financing program Wednesday, after a one-day retail period.

The attorney representing the Harrisburg City Council in its bankruptcy filing is asking the Internal Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate the financing of the incinerator renovation project that left Pennsylvania's capital city with $310 million of bond debt and on the cusp of a state takeover.

Massachusetts is scheduled to sell $1.2 billion of general obligation revenue anticipation notes in two $600 million series by competitive sale on Tuesday.

Moody’s Investors Service late Friday placed the Aa1 revenue bond rating of Pennsylvania State University on review for possible downgrade, saying it must assess the risks evolving from criminal charges involving child sexual abuse that led to Wednesday night’s firing of long-time head football coach Joe Paterno and president Graham Spanier.

The Vermont treasurer's office recently accepted $282,056 in unclaimed property as a result of a breakthrough agreement with national insurance giant John Hancock.

The city that envelops it is a financial mess, but Harrisburg Area Community College had Standard & Poor's affirm its bond rating at A, with a stable outlook. "The Harrisburg name is not a taint on the credit quality of all related issuers," Janney Capital Markets said in a report.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the underlying general obligation rating of Lancaster County two notches to A1 from Aa2, affecting $268 million of parity and debt.

Nassau Off-Track Betting Corp. has filed an appeal in its prolonged legal fight with New York harness tracks, Newsday reported, quoting OTB officials.

Standard & Poor's has lowered the long-term general obligation debt of Amityville to A-minus from A, with a negative outlook.

The New York City Transitional Finance Authority sold $900 million of future tax-secured, fixed-rate new money subordinate bonds on Wednesday. They consisted of $600 million of tax-exempt bonds, $200 million of taxable bonds, and $100 million of taxable qualified school construction bonds.

Fitch Ratings assigned a AA to the Maine Health and Higher Educational Facilities Authority's $37.25 million of Series 2011C revenue bonds, which are expected to sell by negotiation this week.

The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority closed two bond sales on Nov. 3, and was able to make a third through a complicated maneuver.

Landmark pension overhaul legislation cleared Rhode Island's House and Senate finance committees in amended form Thursday night, and the General Assembly is scheduled to vote on the measure, proposed by Gov. Lincoln Chafee and General Treasurer Gina Raimondo, later this week.

When Jackson Laboratory of Bar Harbor, Maine, scuttled plans to establish a research facility in Florida, several other states came banging at the door of the genetics research company. Connecticut won out.