Far West

SAN FRANCISCO - Moody's Investors Service said the San Jose Redevelopment Agency's $1.7 billion of outstanding senior bonds could suffer should the RDA be forced to default on a floating-rate bond issue.

SAN FRANCISCO - Windrush School, a 35-year-old private school located in the East Bay suburbs of San Francisco, filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Oakland last week when it couldn't reach a forbearance agreement with bondholders on $13 million of bonds issued in 2007.

WASHINGTON - There are perceptible signs that a long-awaited surface transportation bill may actually be approved by Congress early next year.

SAN FRANCISCO - California Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed legislation that would have helped the San Jose Redevelopment Agency avoid a $100 million default.

WASHINGTON - Market participants urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to reject or delay the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposed interpretive guidance for Rule G-17 on fair dealing for underwriters, saying it would impose a fiduciary-like regimen of disclosure obligations that would only confuse issuers.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has adopted rule changes allowing it to have 21 board members on a permanent basis after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the larger size.

WASHINGTON - As lawmakers and regulators debate improvements to secondary market disclosure, the new chairman of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board stresses it is ready to expand its role to disseminate issuers' interim financial information through its EMMA system.

LOS ANGELES - Montebello officials claim that what they call an ill-timed report released by the California controller's office is impeding the city's ability to get short-term financing.

With the stroke of a pen, California Gov. Jerry Brown could avoid one of the largest municipal bond defaults of 2011. If not, the San Jose Redevelopment Agency could default on nearly $100 million of variable-rate debt this November.

Fitch Ratings warned it may have to lower ratings on Garvee bonds if Congress only approves more short-term extensions of a surface transportation bill through 2012 instead of a multi-year bill.