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 board of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday authorized, without debate, the negotiated sale of up to $500 million of tax-exempt Series 2011A transportation revenue bonds.
By Paul BurtonJune 29 - Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's House of Representatives on Wednesday was expected to send to Gov. Tom Corbett a $27.15 billion budget for fiscal 2012 that marked a 3% cut in spending.
By Paul BurtonJune 29 -
Pennsylvania lawmakers continued to debate the $27.15 billion budget as the Thursday midnight deadline for passage loomed.
By Paul BurtonJune 28 -
Pennsylvania's Senate late Tuesday approved a bill that would force a state takeover of Harrisburg and other financially strapped cities if they don't approve a recovery plan, and prohibit them from filing for bankruptcy protection.
By Paul BurtonJune 28 - New York
New York has enacted the first-ever cap on local property taxes in the state. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the measure after the House and Senate approved it late Friday.
By Paul BurtonJune 28 -
Massachusetts legislators on Monday approved an interim 10-day $1.25 billion budget while they finish their spending plan for fiscal 2012.
By Paul BurtonJune 27 -
The Pennsylvania Higher Educational Facilities Authority plans to sell $118.4 million of Series AM fixed-rate, tax-exempt revenue bonds through competitive bid on Wednesday.
By Paul BurtonJune 27 -
As Tuesday's public hearing nears on the proposed fiscal recovery plan for Harrisburg, many agree that regardless of whether Pennsylvania's distressed capital city files for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, getting all parties to look beyond their own interests is a major task.
By Paul BurtonJune 24 -
Rhode Island's public colleges have proposed legislation to establish their own purchasing departments to spend money raised from tuition and fees.
By Paul BurtonJune 24 - New Hampshire
Gov. John Lynch on Friday let the state's budget become law without his signature. "This is not a budget I can endorse," Lynch, a Democrat, said two days after the Republican-controlled legislature approved the $10.2 billion, two-year spending plan.
By Paul BurtonJune 24 -
Linden Ponds Inc., operator of a retirement community in Hingham, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
By Paul BurtonJune 24 -
WASHINGTON - Amid a lackluster housing market, additional downgrades of military base projects and budgetary uncertainty, adjustment was the theme Thursday at The Bond Buyer's sixth annual military housing privatization conference.
By Paul BurtonJune 23 -
NEW YORK - A Pennsylvania Senate committee passed a bill Wednesday calling for a state takeover of Harrisburg and other distressed communities that don’t approve a financial recovery plan under the Act 47 program.
By Paul BurtonJune 23 -
NEW YORK - Harrisburg’s City Council passed a resolution Tuesday night requesting Mayor Linda Thompson to prepare for a bankruptcy filing, should Pennsylvania’s capital city not receive approval for a financial recovery plan proposed last week.
By Paul BurtonJune 22 -
New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday will remarket $347.7 million of dedicated tax fund variable-rate refunding bonds originally sold in 2008.
By Paul BurtonJune 21 -
Central Falls, R.I., received more bad news: The 2012 budget plan approved by the state House Finance Committee eliminated $6.7 million in aid to the struggling community.
By Paul BurtonJune 20 -
Warning about a "heightened potential" for a default this summer and greater risk that Central Falls, R.I., cannot stabilize a pension plan without filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, Moody’s Investors Service on Friday downgraded the city’s general obligation rating one level to Caa1 from B3, affecting about $20.8 million of outstanding debt.
By Paul BurtonJune 17 -
The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York will issue $260 million of Series 2011A lease revenue bonds on Tuesday through negotiated bid.
By Paul BurtonJune 17 - Vermont
Vermont expects to finish its fiscal year ahead of its revenue target by about $20 million, according to Secretary of Administration Jeb Spaulding.
By Paul BurtonJune 17 -
The Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority has agreed to borrow $98 million to help Erie County Medical Center Corp. build a nursing home at its campus on Buffalo’s East Side.
By Paul BurtonJune 17

