California

SAN FRANCISCO — Bell, Calif.’s mayor, former city manager, and current and former City Council members have been arrested on charges of misappropriating more than $5.5 million from city coffers, according to the Los Angeles district attorney.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Fitch Ratings washed its hands of the troubled Bell, Calif, on Monday, withdrawing its ratings after issuing a final downgrade to the city’s already junk-rated debt.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — This week, ­California is on track to set a record for its latest-ever budget.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating bonds issued by Victorville, Calif., and its enterprises, a city official has confirmed.

SAN FRANCISCO — The first public-private partnership project under a program championed by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger could lead to the sale of almost $600 million of private-activity bonds to fund a six-lane roadway to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.

SAN DIEGO — The future of toll roads in California lies largely in managed lane projects, according to participants at a conference here this week.

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority will sell $417 million of subordinate-lien bonds next week to fund part of a $1.4 billion overhaul at San Diego International Airport.

Fearing a national precedent may be set that could affect billions of dollars of municipal debt across the country, the National Federation of Municipal Analysts has filed a brief in Vallejo, Calif.’s bankruptcy case.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The California economy is recovering, but so slowly that it’s hard to notice.

MENLO PARK, Calif. — The University of California will sell $670 million of mostly taxable Build America Bonds next week, its largest foray into the market this year, to help pay for campus upgrades.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — California can make it through September without starting to issue IOUs, Controller John Chiang said Thursday when he released his monthly report on the state’s cash position.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — California school districts will ask their voters for almost $4 billion of general obligation bond authority this November, a much smaller amount than was at stake in the last general ­election.

MENLO PARK, Calif. — Sacramento’s sanitation district may be forced by California to spend more than $2 billion to raise its wastewater purification standards to comply with more stringent environmental rules.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — California can probably keep money flowing to bond-financed capital projects through the end of the year, even if the state’s continuing budget crisis keeps it off the bond market, a state spokesman said Tuesday.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — California’s statewide property tax roll declined 1.8% this year, according to a report released last week by a state agency.

MENLO PARK, Calif. — An independent study calls for California to overhaul management of its water supply system and give a newly created commission oversight of billions of dollars of bond money.

MENLO PARK, Calif. — California veterans general obligation bonds Thursday landed a ratings upgrade to Aa2 from Moody’s Investors Service, affecting $1.17 billion of outstanding debt.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — A bill to limit the ability of California local governments to file for bankruptcy expired Tuesday in the last-minute frenzy that marked the end of the regular 2010 session for the state’s stalemated Legislature.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — California lawmakers are rushing through hundreds of bills as they face a looming deadline to adjourn their 2010 session.

ALAMEDA, Calif. – Standard & Poor’s Thursday placed Bell, Calif.’s redevelopment agency bonds on negative CreditWatch, marking the latest setback for the small Southern California city in the wake of revelations of its unusual financial practices, which included paying its former city administrator almost $800,000 a year.