Northeast

The Connecticut Bond Commission voted 8 to 2 to spend $800,000 for a new electronic-vote tally board for its House of Representatives, over the objections of the two Republicans on the commission.

Harrisburg, Pa., Mayor Linda Thompson has requested that the judge overseeing the City Council's bankruptcy filing authorize expenses to vendors.

With the appointments two weeks ago of Joseph Lhota and Patrick Foye as heads of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, respectively, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has his own people in charge of the two major agencies.

The initial cleanup and stabilization of Vermont’s state office complex in Waterbury will cost $20 million to $25 million in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene, officials said.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has announced the investment of $84 million in 18 non-point source, drinking water, and wastewater projects in 14 counties.

Auditor general Jack Wagner called for increased investment in Pennsylvania’s crumbling roads and bridges, echoing suggestions made by Gov. Tom Corbett’s advisory commission over the summer.

Hispanics are among the most potent market forces in the American economy, yet inadequate access to capital constrains them, New York City Comptroller John Liu said at a banking conference last week.

Time is running short for Nassau County officials to have a new arena in place for the New York Islanders, National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman implored last week.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s $30.1 billion of outstanding debt contains about $5.2 billion of variable-rate debt, of which $3 billion is in synthetic fixed-rate mode achieved through interest-rate swaps, according to a derivatives portfolio report.

Moody’s Investors Service has assigned a Aa2 to the University of Massachusetts’ $28.1 million of tax-exempt, fixed-rate Series 2011 revenue refunding bonds.