Bankruptcy

The troubled city of Vernon has made important reforms but still needs to do more, according to a watchdog report on the city released this week.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Commissioners in Jefferson County, Ala., planned to meet Thursday to continue discussions about settling with creditors who own $3.14 billion of troubled sewer debt, or else file the largest-ever municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

While the speculative hysteria about across-the-board municipal debt defaults has calmed, many investors are still wondering what bonds remain at risk and how many municipalities will end up in bankruptcy.

As soon as Central Falls, R.I., filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, questions emerged.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Attorneys representing Jefferson County and a financial adviser for Alabama told the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday that there is room for improving disclosure practices while striking a balance with the needs of financially struggling issuers.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Jefferson County, Ala., Thursday agreed to take the next week to review a counteroffer submitted by creditors holding $3.14 billion of variable- and auction-rate sewer warrants on which the government has defaulted.

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Monday that requires city officials to disclose their compensation for attending simultaneous or back-to-back meetings. The new law forces a clerk or member of the local legislative body to verbally announce the amount paid to the members.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Jefferson County, Ala., on Tuesday hired a national bankruptcy law firm to help determine whether to proceed with the largest Chapter 9 filing ever in the United States.

The Florida Supreme Court last week upheld a $28.3 million judgment against the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.. The award goes to the relatives of a Pensacola man who died 16 years ago.

SAN FRANCISCO - The California Treasurer's Office has admitted law firm Polsinelli Shughart PC into the state's bond counsel pool.

WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Inc. and SunTrust Investment Services Inc. a total of $5 million for disclosure and other failures related to underwriting and selling auction-rate securities.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court last week overturned an appeals court ruling and upheld the tax-exempt status of an outpatient facility operated by nonprofit Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare.

SAN FRANCISCO - The city of Vallejo, Calif., could see its plan to exit bankruptcy sail through a final hearing Thursday with only one objection from two individuals.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Commissioners in Jefferson County, Ala., will again meet in a special closed-door session this week in Birmingham to discuss a wide range of issues, including the possibility of filing for municipal bankruptcy.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Commissioners in Jefferson County, Ala., hired the California law firm Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern LLP as a consultant on strategies to resolve the county's financial crises.

One city is a capital in a large state often considered a battleground in presidential elections. The other occupies a blighted square mile in the nation's smallest state.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. on Aug. 9 at Quincy High School on the proposed $38 million sale of Quincy Medical Center Inc. to Steward Health Care System LLC.

BRADENTON, Fla. - The trustee for Lambuth University on Wednesday notified the bond market that the Jackson, Tenn.-based school filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy three weeks ago.

The Maine Turnpike Authority is suing former chief executive Paul Violette, demanding he repay $524,000 it alleges he cost the agency between 2003 and 2011.

A California appellate court will hear a public employee union’s appeal next month after a court denied a lawsuit over the Presidio Parkway public-private partnership.