California

SAN FRANCISCO — Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa ended a standoff with the City Council over electricity rate hikes, bringing to a close a political battle of wills that had hurt the city’s ratings and delayed a $720 million power revenue bond deal.

SAN FRANCISCO — Los Angeles was making progress reducing its budget deficit before a political standoff derailed a planned electricity rate increase, a new report from the office of the city administrative officer says.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the nation's largest municipal utility, said its finances remain strong, even amid a stalemate between local elected officials that has held up a planned electricity rate increase.

SAN FRANCISCO — California's receipts exceeded forecasts for a fourth consecutive month in March, adding to the evidence that the state has turned a fiscal and economic corner, according to Controller John Chiang's monthly cash report.

Los Angeles, the nation's second-biggest city, may lose its double-A-level ratings over a 10th of a cent. That's the per-kilowatt-hour difference between the most recent electricity rate hike proposals from the City Council and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's appointees at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

Standard & Poor's cut its rating on the City of Industry's sales tax revenue bonds to A-minus from A-plus Wednesday ahead of a $44.8 million bond sale.

California's three biggest pension funds face a shortfall of $500 billion, according to a study published by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.

Los Angeles city administrative officer Miguel Santana, who was leading efforts to close the city's $212 million budget deficit, took a leave of absence last week after being arrested for alleged drunk driving.

SAN FRANCISCO — Moody's Investors Service downgraded $3.2 billion of Los Angeles bonds yesterday, as elected officials in the nation's second-biggest city battled over a plan to raise electricity rates.

The California State Assembly's public retirement and investment subcommittee heard testimony today regarding Assemblyman Ed Hernandez's (D-West Covina) controversial bill proposing limitations on contingency fees for placement agents.

SAN FRANCISCO — Los Angeles Controller Wendy Greuel said the nation’s second-biggest city will run out of money within a month without action from elected officials, who are stuck in a acrimonious standoff over electricity rates.

SAN FRANCISCO — Caltrain, the commuter rail line that connects San Francisco to San Jose, is facing a fiscal crisis that could force it to cut half its service next year.

WASHINGTON — A group of California cities and localities are urging a federal judge in Manhattan not to dismiss the 13 cases they brought against Wells Fargo & Co. and 44 other banks, broker-dealers and investment brokers, charging they conspired to rig bids and fix prices of guaranteed investment and derivatives contracts in the muni market.

SAN FRANCISCO — A disagreement between Los Angeles Mayor Antonio ­Villaraigosa and City Council members over the size of an electric rate increase at the city utility turned into a standoff last week — meaning there will be no rate increase at all for now.

SAN FRANCISCO — After California granted a franchise to build a private toll highway in San Diego County, it took almost 17 years before the 10-mile road opened to the public.

SAN FRANCISCO – The Los Angeles City Council unexpectedly shot down Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s plan to raise electricity prices to fund city electric utility’s transition to renewable energy late Friday.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Vallejo, Calif., City Council approved a new contract with firefighters, cutting its costs and unfunded liabilities as the city moves closer to exiting bankruptcy.

SAN FRANCISCO — The California Department of Education said 12% of the state’s school districts may be unable to meet their financial obligations between now and fiscal 2012.

The City of Industry Urban-Development Agency in California has agreed to pay $500,000 to the federal government to settle alleged tax-law violations and preserve the tax-exempt status of $68.1 million of tax allocation bonds it sold in 2003.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s Board of Commissioners late Thursday approved the first part of a big rate hike to fund the utility’s renewable energy efforts, and approved the sale of $720 million of power revenue bonds.