Bankruptcy

CHICAGO - Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has declared that Flint is in a state of financial emergency, setting up the long-struggling city for a state takeover.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Jefferson County, Ala., commissioners Wednesday voted to file the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, saying they could not come to terms with creditors over restructuring $3.14 billion of defaulted sewer debt.

SAN FRANCISCO - California redevelopment agency advocates and critics are on tenterhooks this week as the state Supreme Court is set to hear a case that will determine their future.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Jefferson County, Ala., commissioners met Tuesday behind closed doors with attorneys discussing whether to finalize a pending settlement with creditors or to file bankruptcy.

WASHINGTON - Wachovia Bank NA, now Wells Fargo & Co., has reached a tentative settlement of a consolidated class- action suit with municipal issuers over antitrust charges of bid-rigging for municipal investment, derivatives and other contracts.

SAN FRANCISCO - The San Diego Unified School District's board, after warning in October that the district could face insolvency and after being downgraded last week, is now talking about placing a $1.5 billion to $2 billion bond issue on the ballot in November 2012.

The attorney representing the Harrisburg, Pa., City Council in its bankruptcy filing said his endgame is to pay bondholders in full.

A judge last week approved a restructuring plan for the troubled Detroit Water and Sewerage Department that allows the city to maintain ownership but gives the seven-member board more authority over certain matters, including labor negotiations.

CHICAGO - The trustee for $39 million of appropriation-backed bonds sold by a Moberly, Missouri, to help finance an artificial sweetener factory has filed a federal lawsuit against the Chinese company that abandoned the half-built project and defaulted on its city payments to cover debt service.

Retired police officers and firefighters, and unions representing municipal employees in Central Falls, have filed objections in federal bankruptcy court to Rhode Island-appointed receiver Robert Flanders’ plan to change their pensions and contracts.

Pennsylvania Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, who in the past year has sponsored legislation to put Harrisburg under state control and restrict its bankruptcy options, may no longer have parts of the capital city in his district.

CHICAGO - Detroit Mayor Dave Bing on Thursday publicly raised the specter that perhaps only a state-appointed emergency manager will have the tools necessary to solve the long-troubled city's financial woes. He left the door open to the possibility of taking on the role.

Adventist Health closed a deal Monday to take over the formerly bankrupt Sierra Kings Heath Care District’s Central California clinics and hospital.

Vallejo officially exited from Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday after finally satisfying the conditions of its plan that was approved in early August by a bankruptcy judge.

LOS ANGELES - The Reno Redevelopment Agency in Nevada recently went into technical default on a bond issue, and its larger fight for solvency has triggered a funding squabble with Washoe County.

An arbitration award that ends minimum staffing levels for firefighters could save Bethlehem, Pa., about $1 million annually, according to the city's mayor.

Financially strapped Harrisburg wants all sides, including bondholders, to make concessions, the mayor of Pennsylvania's capital city said Wednesday.

Florida is appealing a judge’s September ruling that struck down its attempt to privatize 29 of the state’s prisons.

The Birmingham City Council Tuesday urged Jefferson County to file for bankruptcy immediately, and asked Gov. Robert Bentley not to call a special session of the Legislature to assist the county with its debt and budget problems.

A bankruptcy judge in Harrisburg said Tuesday that special court approval for payments to vendors is unnecessary in Pennsylvania's capital city.