Far West

The draft environmental impact report for Anschutz Entertainment Group’s proposed downtown Los Angeles football stadium will be released April 5, according to published reports.

The Alaska Railroad faces a big budget cut from the U.S. Senate that could potentially put railroad bonds in jeopardy, news reports say.

Alaska’s Knik Arm bridge project has run into hurdles in the Legislature over $150 million of early funding for the controversial public-private toll crossing.

In recent years the SEC has sanctioned municipal bond issuers for not fully disclosing pension information or for understating pension liabilities in bond documents because officials feared political fallout. Now the opposite may be occurring.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service is auditing two special assessment bond issues totaling $64.46 million that were sold in May 2006 by the Wentworth Estates Community Development District in Florida and went into default.

The Bond Dealers of America has urged federal agencies to issue guidance clarifying how obligations of municipal market participants will change if federal regulators fail to finish writing the controversial Volcker Rule by the July 21 deadline — an outcome officials have warned is possible.

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles officials hope to capture a combined $36 million in savings through two refundings they have planned in April.

As the Government Accounting Standards Board prepares to hold its first public hearing on a proposal for state and local governments to provide five-year projections with their financial statements, groups are complaining the plan is costly, burdensome and outside GASB's mission.

WASHINGTON — A trend towards more detailed regulation of muni markets by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board could have negative, long-term consequences on market participants, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association warned the board in a recent letter.

SAN FRANCISCO — San Jose officials said Monday's downgrade of its lease revenue bonds by Moody's Investors Service will cost the city more than $350,000 a year.