Economy

Roads and streets in every city and all 75 counties of Arkansas would be improved and upgraded with revenue from a proposed 0.5% increase in the state sales tax, highway director Scott Bennett told lawmakers last week.

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority doesn't plan to issue bonds this year because it is securing a $546 million federal loan to help fund the $1.74 billion Crenshaw Line light-rail project.

The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York’s board has approved $534 million in financings for higher education and health care institutions.

The tug of war between Los Angeles World Airports and Ontario city officials over control of LA/Ontario International Airport has picked up steam over the past few weeks, but the issue appears unlikely to be resolved any time soon.

A day after Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood stunned the transportation community by saying it is "highly unlikely" Congress will pass a long-term reauthorization bill to fund highway and transit programs this year, lawmakers and industry lobbyists vowed to keep pushing for such legislation despite considerable obstacles.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is proposing lightening the burden of Medicaid expenses on New York City and the state's counties.

San Francisco-based Catholic Healthcare West has changed its name to Dignity Health to appeal to a broader patient audience.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority may get needed relief from New York State for high borrowing fees connected with refunding bond sales, its executive director said Wednesday.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear is proposing to fund his state's half of the massive $2.6 billion Ohio River Bridges Project with federal funds and toll revenue bonds over the next six years.

CHICAGO — The nonprofit health care sector's brief post-2008 recovery is about to deteriorate in the face of myriad pressures, credit analysts warned in a pair of reports Wednesday.

The West Virginia Legislature is considering a plan to ask voters to approve $1 billion of bonds for state road projects, according to the Charleston Daily Mail.

The Virginia Department of Transportation and the office of transportation public-private partnerships have released a request for information to develop a procurement strategy for the state’s five transportation operations centers.

A Louisiana panel studying the tolls on twin state-toll bridges across the Mississippi River in New Orleans has cautioned against removing the fees.

Citing three years of declining passenger counts, Moody's Investors Service downgraded Albuquerque International Sunport's senior debt to A1 from Aa3 and returned the outlook to stable from negative.

The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York on Wednesday is scheduled to refund $122 million of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center fixed-rate, tax-exempt revenue bonds, 2003 Series 1.

The Ohio Department of Transportation warned it was going to have to slice its budget and delay some projects by up to 20 years due to insufficient funds.

Minnesota’s not-for-profit hospitals provided 27% more charity care in 2010 than in 2009, according to the community benefits report released last week by the Minnesota Hospital Association.

Moody’s Investors Service last week upgraded to Baa2 from Baa3 its rating on Ball Memorial Hospital, affecting $101 million of bonds.

The House on Tuesday approved a 23d short-term extension to fund the Federal Aviation Administration for another three weeks, the first step in averting a shutdown and giving lawmakers time to craft a long-awaited multi-year reauthorization bill.

CHICAGO — Fitch Ratings hit St. Louis' public transit agency with a downgrade late last week as it continues to work on details of a debt restructuring and reduction plan planned for next year that would bolster its long-term fiscal health.