Southwest

With traditional transportation funds running short, the North Texas Tollway Authority has become the de facto highway builder in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The flagship Dallas North Tollway is the spine of a system that extends into five counties. With about $6.3 billion of first-tier debt, NTTA carries ratings of A-minus from Standard & Poor's and A2 from Moody's Investors Service. About $1 billion of second-tier debt is rated a notch lower. Maintaining those ratings while managing explosive growth remains a constant challenge for the system.

The North Texas Tollway Authority expects to reduce its maximum annual debt service by $80 million with an $871 million refunding, chief financial officer Horatio Porter said.

A bill authorizing $1 billion of pension bonds for state retirees is on its way to Gov. Sam Brownback after winning approval in the Kansas Legislature.

The North Texas Tollway Authority is undergoing an Internal Revenue Service Examination of its 2009 variable-rate bonds as it prepares to refund $871 million of second-tier bonds, according to an addendum to the preliminary official statement.

Lower tax refunds helped lift Arkansas' March revenues $43.3 million or nearly 8% above forecast for the month, according to state Department of Finance and Administration director Richard Weiss.

A $110 million Glendale, Ariz., plant designed to turn debris into energy has fallen to the junk-bond category after the private operator required another $8 million of debt to make the plant operational.

Even under lowered expectations, Kansas’ revenues fell $11.2 million below projections in March, according to state Department of Revenue secretary Nick Jordan.

The Internal Revenue Service has determined that multifamily housing revenue bonds issued by the Tulsa County Industrial Authority in 2003 are taxable, but it is unclear to what extent bondholders will be affected by the Service's conclusion.

A day after the dedication of its new $1 billion hospital, Standard & Poor's downgraded Dallas' Parkland Health and Hospital System one notch to AA.

Despite an $11.5 billion backlog of maintenance at national parks across the country, the National Park Service continues to take on new properties in New Mexico and other states.