Far West

SAN FRANCISCO — The California State Public Works Board abruptly removed more than half a billion dollars from last week’s lease-revenue bond sale after two state lawmakers issued a last-minute letter warning of legal challenges to a project that was slated to receive bond funding.

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department this week allocated $29.1 billion to state and local housing finance agencies for temporary new-issue bond purchase and liquidity programs, but some small HFAs are warning the fees they would have to pay to participate in the purchase program are prohibitively expensive.

SAN FRANCISCO — Even as the market for qualified school construction bonds is taking off, many California school districts appear to be stuck on the sideline because of questions over the way the state allocated QSCB authority to the districts.

SAN FRANCISCO — Washington’s official economic forecaster sliced $760 million from the state’s revenue outlook yesterday, citing a “revenue-less recovery.”

Oregon’s unemployment rate held at 11.3% in October, holding at an eight-month low, according to the Oregon Employment Department.

Declining property values were a key factor in a two-notch downgrade Moody’s Investors Service dealt Tuesday to the Ripon Redevelopment Agency.

Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge was elected president of the National League of Cities Saturday.

San Francisco Controller Benjamin Rosenfield this week said that the city faces a general fund deficit of $53 million in fiscal 2009-10.

WASHINGTON — Senate transportation leaders are in a standoff with their House counterparts over a six-month extension of the current transportation law, as states are experiencing a 30% reduction in their federal highway and bridge funding.

WASHINGTON — State securities regulators reached settlements in principle with Wells Fargo & Co. under which the firm will pay $1.9 million in penalties and buy back about $1.4 billion of illiquid auction-rate securities primarily held by its subsidiaries’ retail customers since early 2008 when the ARS market collapsed.