Far West

Urban Futures, the company acting as financial advisor to San Bernardino during its bankruptcy, hired John Phan as a principal in the firm's Orange, Calif., office.

The California State Public Works Board is planning to sell $793 million of revenue bonds next week to finance on behalf of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation construction costs for a state prison and correctional facility.

The postponement of a pension reform measure that was headed for the November ballot is a credit negative for California's local governments, Moody's Investors Service said.

Detroit's treatment of its general obligation bonds could have broader implications in the municipal bond market, but California's GO bond pledge will remain strong, market experts say.

Hercules, Calif., officials said Tuesday they may default on electric system revenue bonds if a tender offer fails to draw enough buyers by March 28, the end of the offer period.

Detroit's bankruptcy proceedings are on hyper speed compared to San Bernardino's Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

Los Angeles CAO Miguel Santana told the mayor and city council that they need to continue to rein in expenses including labor costs, and seek voter-approved tax increases for infrastructure repairs, if they want to eliminate the structural deficit.

The Washington State Legislature adjourned last week without passing two large bond sales that would fund school construction projects in the state.

A judge denied a challenge filed by San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and other supporters of the Pension Reform Act of 2014, causing them to delay placing the measure on California's November 2014 ballot.

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is undergoing a reorganization to shrink what a consultant's report called a "top heavy" executive structure, and Chief Financial Officer Terry Matsumoto is leaving.