Far West

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the senior and mezzanine structured-finance ratings on a 1999 series of single-family mortgage bonds issued by the Idaho Housing and Finance Association to A1 from Aaa and Aa2. The outlook is negative.

A missed deadline has put a crimp in Costa Mesa, Calif.’s plans to ask voters to amend the city charter so it can legally lay off employees and outsource services.

Los Angeles could have saved $700,000 on commodity purchases made in 2010 if it had made better spending decisions, according to a report from the city controller’s office.

A coalition has launched a bid to force Sacramento leaders to put the city’s $250 million commitment to a new National Basketball Association arena on the ballot.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Miami officials have been told that civil charges may be brought against the city for failing to disclose serious budget problems in recent bond offerings.

WASHINGTON — House Transportation Committee chairman Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., will introduce a three-month extension of temporary law reauthorizing highway and transit programs — the ninth such extension — before the end of the month.

Rep. Bob Gibbs has drafted legislation that would create a TIFIA-type program to lower the cost of capital for water utilities, but state and local officials testifying at a hearing on Wednesday worried that it might eventually be used to replace, rather than supplement, state revolving loan funds.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday approved a proposal by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to make yields for interdealer trades available on EMMA beginning April 30.

WASHINGTON — Reps. Steve LaTourette and Marcia Fudge of Ohio have introduced a bill that would provide $4 billion for states and land banks to issue newly-created 30-year tax credit demolition bonds to demolish vacant, foreclosed and abandoned homes across the country to prevent "a tsunami of blight."

The Internal Revenue Service unveiled a voluntary closing agreement program for certain tax-exempt student loan bond issuers, giving them until July 31 to apply for relief under the settlement program.