News and Information from Bond Buyer

The Georgia Supreme Court will not reconsider its decision to validate $200 million in bonds for the Atlanta Falcons' new $1.4 billion stadium, clearing the way for the financing to be marketed.

The weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, stayed the same at 4.22% from the week ended April 2.

The Texas House of Representatives has passed Rep. John Zerwas's House Bill 100 that allocates $3.1 billion of tuition revenue bonds for colleges and universities across the state. No TRBs have won legislative approval in nearly a decade.

The Milwaukee Bucks unveiled plans for a $500 million multi-use downtown arena to house the National Basketball League team and an adjacent $500 million mixed use development with hopes of soon locking in a public financing package.

The new Florida Development Finance Corp. board on Tuesday delayed reconfirming the agency's decision to be the conduit for $1.75 billion in private activity bonds for the All Aboard Florida train project.

Prices on top-rated municipal bonds ended weaker on Thursday, traders said, with yields up by as much as three basis points on some maturities as the market absorbed more than $1 billion of debt from the New York State Dormitory Authority.

Moody's Investors Service has assigned an underlying Aa2 rating to Multnomah County School District No. 1J's general obligation bonds in advance of the Portland Public Schools' $245.7 million sale next week.

Moody's Investors Service said it has downgraded Frazier School District, Pa.'s outstanding general obligation debt to Baa3 from Baa1.

Voters in Ferguson, Mo., elected two African Americans to their city council in the first city election following a controversial police shooting inspired efforts to cut Missouri governments' reliance on court fines to support budgets.

U.S. cities have significant long-term liabilities other than pensions that warrant attention, Merritt Research Services president and chief executive officer Richard Ciccarone argues in a report.

Port of Oakland hopes a 360-acre trade and logistics center currently under construction will enable it to grab business from southern California's ports.

Moody's Investors Service has assigned a Aa2 to the city of Annapolis, Md.'s $11.5 million public improvement bonds, 2015 Series A and $21.3 million public improvement refunding bonds, 2015 Series B.

With the election now behind him, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel needs to make quick headway on solving the city's severe pension and budget woes if he hopes to avoid a rating downgrade, Standard & Poor's warned Thursday.

Tax revenue from oil and gas production in Oklahoma has fallen to a 12-year low, according to the latest report from state Treasurer Ken Miller.

Texas sales tax revenues grew for the 60th straight month in March, but the 1.5% increase was the weakest in the past two years.

The Treasury Department Thursday auctioned $13 billion of 29-year 10-month bonds with a 2 1/2% coupon at a 2.597% high yield, a price of 97.990952.

California water experts say the state should look to Australia, which suffered an epochal 12-year drought starting in 2003, for solutions and lessons learned as it crafts a solution to California's drought.

Moody's Investors Service said it downgraded Vassar College, N.Y.'s $253 million in rated debt to Aa3 from Aa2.

Prices on top-rated municipal bonds were weaker at mid-session, traders said, with yields up by as much as two basis points, while the last of the week's large new issues came to market.

The more than $3.5 billion coming to market from Puerto Rico in coming months will be geared to non-traditional buyers, further distancing retail investors from debt they once coveted for its universal triple-tax exemption.