Shelly Sigo

Florida bond director Ben Watkins does not believe public-private partnerships that include private financing benefit the public sector, but P3 proponents disagree.

Hillview, Ky., has filed a motion to dismiss its Chapter 9 bankruptcy case based on a settlement with a creditor that Moody's Investors Service said may prove unaffordable for the small city south of Louisville.

West Virginia took a one-notch Standard & Poor’s downgrade, stemming largely from sharply reduced demand for coal products. Its GO bond rating is now AA-minus.

It will take time to repair Louisiana’s structural budget imbalance but the state is committed to resolving its challenges, Gov. John Bel Edwards said at the National Municipal Bond Summit.

Bond attorney Kareem Spratling, whose career was boosted by timely mentoring, wants to assist the careers of lawyers of diverse backgrounds as chairman of the Diversity Committee for the National Association of Bond Lawyers.

A plan to resolve Hillview, Ky.'s bankruptcy case led Standard & Poor's late Tuesday to lift the bond ratings of the small city south of Louisville to investment grade from junk.

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin said Tuesday that he ordered an investigation into “potentially illegal” contracting and coerced political contributions during former Gov. Steve Beshear’s administration.

Kentucky legislators passed a biennial budget that cuts state agency and higher education funding in order to contribute $1.28 billion toward its underfunded pensions.

Louisiana’s fiscal problems require that the state alter how it prioritizes capital outlay projects, particularly those financed with state bonds, said Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne.

As Louisiana prepares to price $359.3 million of general obligation bonds next week for budget relief, headline risk associated with Illinois and Puerto Rico may factor into borrowing costs.

Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, a Democrat, filed suit Monday contending that budget cuts at nine public colleges and universities ordered by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin were illegal.

UMB Bank N.A., the bond trustee for Texas Pellets, accelerated the outstanding debt on $186.5 million of bonds due to a default at the company owned by German Pellets, which filed for insolvency in February.

Douglass P. Selby will be the new head of public finance at Hunton & Williams, and John O’Neill will lead the public-private partnership practice group.

The South Carolina Public Service Authority’s A1 bond ratings were confirmed Tuesday by Moody's Investors Service, which cited progress on the construction of two first-in-kind nuclear units.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill Monday creating the Florida Department of Transportation Financing Corp., to issue tax-exempt bonds for agency projects that will include public-private partnerships.

A federal judge approved a $20 billion settlement with BP to resolve litigation brought by five Gulf coast states over the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Fitch Ratings downgraded Louisiana’s general obligation bonds by one notch to AA-minus on Tuesday as the troubled state prepares to refund debt as part of a deficit-reduction plan.

Veteran bond attorney Mary Nash Rusher has joined McGuireWoods LLP as a partner in the firm’s Raleigh, N.C., office.

Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear said Friday he will file suit if Gov. Matt Bevin fails to rescind immediate budget cuts the governor imposed at state colleges and universities.

WellStar Health System expanded its hospital network to 11 from five after Friday’s closing on the acquisition of five hospitals from for-profit Tenet Health, and a merger with nonprofit West Georgia Health, but its ratings suffered.