MuniLand

“I pledge my aloha to you all in that spirit. Mahalo nui” — a clip of Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie’s State of the State address on Jan. 23, 2012. Full speech here.

Good Links

Building America’s Future: Another report on the value of building more infrastructure and creating jobs

Van Eck Global: Big welcome to the latest municipal bond blog: Muni Nation

Seeking Alpha: Benchmark Bond Ratings evaluate securities’ “protection margin”

Reason: California redevelopment agencies leave behind $30 billion debt

Bloomberg: New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority may refinance up to $6.7 billion in debt this year

OK Policy Blog: What the coming federal budget cuts could mean for Oklahoma

Cleveland.com: Cuyahoga County, Ohio approves $100 million economic development fund

DerivActiv podcast: How to follow GASB standards for derivatives accounting for governmental entities

@Twitter Talk

@standardpoors Standard & Poor’s   Not-for-profit health care ratings are expected to be stable in 2012 but will face a difficult environment in 2013: ow.ly/d/tC0

@Govistics Govistics by CGR   U.S. Mayors Form Technology and Innovation Task Force govtech.com/e-government/U… (to examine tax reform, access to public data, etc)

@blackrockusinvs BlackRock®  Which region will see the biggest jump in its retirement population? bit.ly/xpd6PE

@StatesAndCities Bloomberg State/Muni   JerryBrown’s Tax-Increase Proposal Wins Favor From Most Californians, Poll Says: ow.ly/8FP3M

@AtlanticCities The Atlantic Cities  New York State: No reason not to replace the Tappan Zee bridge bit.ly/yJuh9S

@randalljensen Randall Jensen  Santa Clara City Council rejects petition for referendum on $850 million in bank loans to fund new 49er stadium ow.ly/8FUXP

@TransportNation TransportationNation Maryland County Explores Bikeshare in the ‘Burbs shar.es/f3rxC