Southwest

For the 46th straight month, Texas saw sales tax rise in January.

A Boulder environmental group has vowed to sue the Colorado Department of Transportation to stop a $490 million public-private project on the main highway to Denver.

A loan guarantee for a $23.5 million water park lowered an Austin suburb's credit rating and delays a bond vote.

Legislative limits on pension increases for retired judges and elected officials violate Arizona's constitution, the state Supreme Court ruled.

The Internal Revenue Service is auditing $51 million of general obligation bonds issued by Garfield School District, No. RE-2 in Colorado in 2006.

With more than $10 billion of publicly financed projects in development, Houston is preparing to host its second-annual investor conference and offering the market $1.5 billion of utility debt.

Voters in Arizona's Maricopa County may be asked in November to approve a $935 million bond proposal to revamp the county's public hospital system.

Voters in six New Mexico school districts approved nearly $200 million of bonds for construction and repairs.

Walt Imhoff, one of the most influential investment bankers in Denver's history, died Feb. 11. He was 82.