MuniLand

Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee, possibly feeling left out by all the national attention state treasurer Gina Raimondo is getting, creates a promo piece for himself.

Good Links

Stateline: At last, a year for state budgets in which the sky is not falling

Pension Dialog: Another decline in state and local levels of public pension payments

Citizens for Tax Justice: Trending in 2012: destroying the personal income tax

Bond Buyer: Pay-to-play 2.0: Dealers underwrite school-bond initiatives, then get underwriting business

Safari Books Online: Muniland’s bible available online

Bloomberg: Struggles between state and local governments over fracking heat up

Sacbee.com: Jerry Brown’s budget plan would strip demands, payments from local governments

Our Downtown Hilo: Hawaiian town crowdsources civic improvements

Bloomberg: What is the Tennessee Energy Acquisition Corp. and why is it nonprofit?

@Twitter Talk

@IpreoMuni IpreoMuni  Holiday volume versus demand. Here is this week’s muni deal calendar: bit.ly/ySmPhY #muniland

@GreeneBarrett Barrett and Greene  Will privatizing Ohio prisons save $?  While Gov. says yes, Policy Matters Ohio says numbers don’t add up ow.ly/8tT4Q

@tmaniccia Tim Maniccia  New York state agencies cutting spending 2.5 percent | silive.com/news/index.ssf…

@NCSLorg NCSL  Stateline reports big Medicaid savings thanks to programs that help people quit smoking: goo.gl/Z8TgG

@CenterOnBudget Center on Budget  Updated: The basics of the SNAP program foodstamps ow.ly/8qaUu

@rachelsterne Rachel Sterne   Mayor @MikeBloomberg announces new Software Engineering Academy supported by @fredwilson and opening in September

@Birmingham_News Birmingham_News  Jefferson County ends budget hearings where it began — seeking legislative help: bit.ly/zZB3TT