Far West

SAN FRANCISCO — Voters in California' statewide primary Tuesday approved 23 local general obligation bond measures, authorizing $1.856 billion in debt, according to a preliminary report from CaliforniaCityFinance.com.

In 2011, North Dakota and Oregon enjoyed strong gross domestic product growth, but Wyoming, Mississippi and Alabama suffered shrinking economies. That was among the findings of a study released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has notified Cañon City, Colo., that it has closed an audit without changing the tax-exempt status on $12.73 million of certificates of participation issued in 2008 to provide financing for improvements to its water treatment facility.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has agreed to pay $44.6 million to settle a 2008 class-action lawsuit in which municipal bond issuers accused the firm of bid-rigging of muni contracts.

Confusion over the law ending redevelopment agencies in California has raised the specter of defaults on San Jose redevelopment debt as city officials squabble with Santa Clara County officials over tax revenue.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge has delayed sentencing of CDR Financial Services and its founder David Rubin for several months, granting the Department of Justice additional time to complete complex calculations of restitution.

WASHINGTON — The chairman of a House Ways and Means Committee panel will hold a hearing on June 8 to examine a host of expiring tax provisions while the panel’s ranking Democrat called for renewal of the Build America Bonds program as part of a larger jobs bill.

The MSRB has proposed to discontinue the practice of temporarily masking the exact par value of large muni bond trades disseminated on a near real-time basis over the online EMMA system.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department are seeking public comments on the arbitrage restrictions that pertain to tax-exempt bonds.

State aid and property taxes are dropping simultaneously for the first time since 1980, while demand for government services continue to rise, according to a report published by the Pew Center on the States Friday.