Far West

Stockton's official bankruptcy exit set for Wednesday may be anticlimactic to some as a bankruptcy judge approved the city's plan of adjustment needed to exit in October.

Almost 300 House Democrats and Republicans joined in a letter pushing for passage of a long-term highway bill by May 31.

The SEC concluded without charges an investigation it launched into Bell, Calif.'s bond debt in 2010 after fraud perpetuated on the city by the former administration came to light.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is still seeking a leader for its Office of Municipal Securities, and is keeping its search open until next month.

Public policy scholar Dall Forsythe will join the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board as a public member to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Robert Fippinger, who is becoming the MSRB's chief legal officer.

Recent trends in the public pension arena "are not all gloom and doom," as most cities' pension funding ratios appear to have stabilized since the low point in 2010, Merritt Research Services said in a recent report.

The debate over the appropriate amount of public funding for professional sports facilities has been reignited in part because of growing revenue in the sports market, according to a report from Wells Fargo Securities.

California will experience favorable fiscal conditions through 2017 benefitting both the state and its local governments, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Standard & Poor's placed Samaritan Healthcare's BBB-plus long-term rating and underlying rating on credit watch with negative implications after the Washington state healthcare provider failed to provide timely information.

Securities and Exchange Commission officials are seeking changes to practices in the municipal market and more stringent actions to enforce rules protecting investors.