Pennsylvania

Gov. Tom Corbett's hybrid proposal to overhaul Pennsylvania's public employee pension system could pass despite a blitz from both the left and the right, said one Keystone State actuary.

A real estate revenue drop and lowered pension assumptions have triggered a budget deficit in Pittsburgh, said the city's financial recovery consultants.

Pittsburgh, through consultants Public Financial Management and Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, has filed an update to its financial recovery plan under Pennsylvania's Act 47 workout program for distressed communities.

Businessman Tom Wolf won the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania governor and will challenge incumbent Republican Tom Corbett in the general election.

Unfunded pension liability is on the back burner in Pennsylvania's primary while business consultant and actuary Richard Dreyfuss joins others warning about a problem that has bond rating agencies on the alert.

Bond rating agencies are poised to downgrade Pennsylvania again based on unfunded pension liability even if Gov. Tom Corbett's proposals pass, pension expert Richard Dreyfuss said.

Philadelphia School District's responses to its difficult financial situation may lead to even worse financial problems down the road, Moody's said.

More asset sales to offset pension liability will occur nationally, Allentown, Pa., Mayor Ed Pwlowski said at The Bond Buyer's municipal distress conference in Baltimore.

S&P, in the latest bond rating company tongue-lashing to Pennsylvania over its unfunded pension liability, warned of a possible downgrade.

Union-owned Amalgamated Bank has been carving a niche for itself with bond transactions in Harrisburg and Scranton, Pa., and Allen Park, Mich.

Limiting the stays of Pennsylvania cities in the workout program for distressed communities could be counterproductive, said an aide to Gov. Tom Corbett.

Gov. Tom Corbett announced the investment of $41.7 million in 13 nonpoint source, drinking water and wastewater projects across 12 Pennsylvania counties.

Moody's revised its outlook on Bucks County, Pa., to negative, affecting $387 million in general obligation bonds and GO-guaranteed debt.

Public finance experts cite greater awareness about the need to think beyond immediate crisis management.

One judge was used to the limelight, the other wasn't. But Thomas Bennett and Mary France found themselves in the glare as they oversaw high-profile Chapter 9 cases.

The municipal bond system is "set up not to be fair to the issuers," former Harrisburg receiver David Unkovic said at a conference in Pennsylvania's capital.

Harrisburg, Pa., Councilwoman Eugenia Smith died April 11 at Harrisburg Hospital, where she was rushed after becoming ill at home. She was 53. No official cause of death was immediately announced.

Amalgamated completed a $22 million refinancing with Capital Region Water, in the former Harrisburg Authority's first debt financing in more than three years.

The financial plight of Harrisburg, Pa., goes far beyond incinerator debt financing, according to a Widener Law professor who is running a conference on distressed cities.

A Republican state lawmaker and Democratic mayors are behind an effort to overhaul Pennsylvania's municipal pension system.