Far West

Standard & Poor's Tuesday lowered its ratings on $36.5 million of outstanding debt held by the Reno Redevelopment Agency.

The on-again, off-again plans for an extension to a toll road that serves as an alternative to congested Interstate 5, the only freeway linking Orange County to San Diego County, looks to be back on again.

Voters in Vallejo, which recently exited bankruptcy, appeared set to defeat a 1% sales tax hike measure after Tuesday's election.

Moody's Investors Service Tuesday downgraded Stockton's issuer rating to Baa1 from A3 as the city's fragile budget continues to face challenges.

The San Diego city clerk has certified a pension reform measure for the city's June 2012 election.

A crowded bond calendar and the size of Hawaii's $1.27 billion general obligation bond sale next week mean the deal will likely have to be priced nationally to clear the market, according to one market watcher.

A Senate committee Wednesday voted unanimously to approve a bipartisan, $109 billion, two-year surface transportation bill that maintains current funding levels for highways and provides another $2 billion for a program that provides federal credit assistance for projects.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board proposed a revised definition of "sophisticated municipal market professional" Tuesday that, for the first time, would include individuals with total assets of at least $50 million.

WASHINGTON - Wachovia Bank NA, now Wells Fargo & Co., has reached a tentative settlement of a consolidated class- action suit with municipal issuers over antitrust charges of bid-rigging for municipal investment, derivatives and other contracts.

SAN FRANCISCO - The San Diego Unified School District's board, after warning in October that the district could face insolvency and after being downgraded last week, is now talking about placing a $1.5 billion to $2 billion bond issue on the ballot in November 2012.