Rich Saskal

A group of Washington and Oregon leaders signed off this month on important parameters for one of the Northwest's biggest planned public works projects — a replacement for the Interstate 5 crossing of the Columbia River.

Democrats fell short Tuesday in their effort to pick up an additional seat in the California Senate.

Fitch Ratings dropped its ratings on Bell to junk Tuesday, as the small Southern California city continued to reel from its unusual financial practices, which included paying a former city administrator almost $800,000 a year.

California Controller John Chiang said the city of Bell has been illegally taxing property owners for its retirement obligations, undercutting assumptions the city used to sell more than $9 million of pension obligation bonds in 2005.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Issuers in the Far West sold $43.36 billion of municipal bonds in 672 transactions during the first six months of 2010, according to Thomson Reuters, down from $47.12 billion in 600 transactions in the first half of 2009.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — National Public Finance Guarantee Corp. this week asked the judge handling the Vallejo bankruptcy case to order the resumption of state intercept payments that back one of the California city’s debt issues.

The city of Fairfield announced that it has closed a recovery zone facility bond financing to construct a liquor bottling plant.

Standard & Poor’s Tuesday dropped its ratings for Bell to junk status, the latest blow to the working-class California community since reports emerged last month that it was paying its city manager almost $800,000.

The California government received less money than expected in July while spending more, according to data released Tuesday in Controller John Chiang’s monthly cash report.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — California lawmakers voted late Monday to remove an $11.4 billion general obligation bond measure from the November ballot, and delay it until 2012.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Public power utilities in the Pacific Northwest face unique credit risks by virtue of their heavy reliance on hydroelectric power, but are managing them appropriately, according to a report released last week by Fitch Ratings.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — A year and a half after Seattle-area voters approved a sales tax hike to finance $18 billion in mass transit projects, a quarter of that amount has evaporated due to reduced economic activity.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — California Treasurer Bill Lockyer has spent more money this year trying to elect his wife to a new job than he has spent on his own re-election campaign.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Officials in Beverly Hills, Calif., were concerned about the city’s growing liability for the future health care costs of its current employees.

Standard & Poor’s Wednesday withdrew its BBB rating on the Maywood Public Financing Authority’s Series 2008A lease revenue bonds because of a lack of timely information from the city of Maywood.

California Controller John Chiang announced that he will begin requiring cities to report the salaries they pay employees and elected officials.

Former Assemblyman Keith Richman, a Republican from the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, died of brain cancer Friday. He was 56.

Democratic lawmakers this week unveiled a new proposal for California’s overdue budget, which did not garner any of the Republican support that would be needed for the spending plan to pass.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Former California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission staffer Mark Campbell has returned to take the reins as executive director of the state clearinghouse for debt-issuance information.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders has pulled the plug on one of his pet projects.