Far West

LOS ANGELES - California Assembly Speaker John Perez and Sen. Alex Padilla, both Los Angeles Democrats, introduced legislation on Friday that would help fast-track a $3.1 billion pro football stadium project in downtown Los ­Angeles.

WASHINGTON - A working group of independent financial advisors is close to finalizing a preliminary outline of topics for the first-ever municipal advisor exam, which will be administered by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, sources said.

LOS ANGELES - Downey Regional Medical Center, a not-for-profit hospital located in greater Los Angeles, will emerge from bankruptcy in mid-November, allowing it to close on a planned bond refunding if a bankruptcy judge approves its exit plan.

LOS ANGELES - Arne Croce, the recently appointed interim chief administrative officer of the beleaguered city of Bell, a Los Angeles-area working class community of 50,000 residents, has his work cut out for him.

WASHINGTON - State tax revenues continued to rebound in the second quarter but stock market volatility combined with recession jitters in August could affect tax collections in the third quarter, the Rockefeller Institute said Thursday.

The Office of Management and Budget reported Thursday that the federal deficit is expected to be $1.32 trillion in fiscal 2011, down $329 billion from its February estimate, while it projected the unemployment rate could be 9.0% by the end of 2012, based on its mid-session review of President Obama's fiscal 2012 budget.

LOS ANGELES - The San Diego Association of Governments is leaning away from issuing bonds to fund the $345 million purchase of a toll road from a private operator.

Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded Nye County’s limited-tax general obligation debt to A3 from A1, affecting $28.47 million of outstanding bonds.

Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie has appointed Luis Salaveria as deputy director of the Department of Budget and Finance.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s board of directors will vote on Sept. 29 whether to issue $250 million in bonds.