Far West

The effort to build a commuter rail line through the two counties north of California's Golden Gate has been a story of ups and downs mimicking the rolling countryside of Marin and Sonoma counties.

WASHINGTON — State tax revenues at the end of last year rose for the first time above the peak levels at the beginning of the Great Recession after two straight years of growth, the Rockefeller Institute said in a report issued Thursday.

Fitch Ratings this week upgraded the Oregon Health and Science University to A-plus from A as the school prepares to come to market next week with $268 million of revenue bonds.

California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office Tuesday issued a report recommending that lawmakers reject Gov. Jerry Brown’s funding requests for the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

Standard & Poor’s Monday raised the senior-lien rating on Los Angeles wastewater revenue bonds to AA-plus from AA, and the subordinate-lien rating to AA from AA-minus, in advance of a $360 million refunding.

Standard & Poor’s Monday lowered its long-term rating and underlying rating to BBB from A-minus on tax allocation bonds issued by the Banning Community Redevelopment Agency in California. The outlook was revised to stable from negative.

Alaska lawmakers adjourned their annual session Monday, only to have Gov. Sean Parnell call them back to Juneau for a special session that began Wednesday.

Speakers at a municipal analysts' conference here urged the muni bond community to educate lawmakers and regulators about the importance of tax-free financing, noting that few officials in Washington, D.C., understand the role muni bonds play in financing critical state and local infrastructure projects.

A Senate subcommittee hearing on bridge and tunnel tolls turned into a battleground as state and authority officials defended rising tolls and opposed legislation sponsored by subcommittee chairman Frank Lautenberg, warning it could cripple their abilities to raise revenue and finance projects.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has revoked the tax-exempt status of American Health Foundation Inc., raising questions about the tax-exemption of $28.96 million of refunding and revenue bonds that issuers in five states sold for three of its subordinate entities.