Far West

The future of Medicaid, which eats up nearly a quarter of states' budgets, will play a key role in governments' fiscal health over the next several years, Standard & Poor's said in a new report on the federal program.

Public finance law firm Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP has opened a new office in Portland, Ore., after K&L Gates' public finance group in the city jumped over to the firm.

Having already assigned a negative outlook to Garvees, Fitch Ratings said downgrades could occur for such bonds without a backup pledge of revenues if lawmakers don't approve a longer-term reauthorization of highway and other surface transportation programs by March 31.

Republicans complained about the skyrocketing cost and lack of administrative transparency surrounding the construction of the California high-speed rail project, while Democrats and regulators steadfastly defended the partially bond-financed project as an antidote to gridlock and a way to create jobs.

Nearly a year after an entirely new slate of City Council members were elected to replace corrupt officials, Bell, Calif., a Los Angeles-area working-class city of 50,000, is beginning to find its financial footing.

Los Angeles County supervisors are balking at a proposal from the county sheriff's department to issue $1.4 billion of bonds to rebuild the 5,000-bed Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles.

After an arena in Washington State defaulted earlier this month, investors still got paid, but it is unclear who made the mistake.

Standard & Poor's said California's midyear budget cuts are a credit positive, but its efforts to improve its budget through those cuts could be undermined if the cuts are thwarted.

Nevada revenue projections came in $21.2 million higher than expected, signaling that the state might not have to take out a $160 million line of credit to balance next year’s budget, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Moody’s Investors Service Tuesday withdrew its ratings on the Vallejo Unified School District’s general obligation bonds, certificates of obligation, and special tax bonds, citing insufficient information.