as-vts5midw's blog

Scottish soccer team Rangers F. C. sought bankruptcy protection last week over a tax dispute involving 9 million pounds, or approximately $14 million. Additionally, a tax tribunal has yet to issue a ruling on further liabilities of up to 75 million pounds ($117 million).

The Alabama state legislature’s 2012 session begins on Tuesday. The Jefferson County crisis, and particularly the ongoing struggle to create a plan to operate the sewer system, will be arguably the most urgent--and most intractable--problem lawmakers will address. A statement released by the Alabama State Bar, however, raises another important issue: the lack of funding for the state’s court system, which has disrupted crucial public services.

The 2012 regular session of the Alabama Legislature will begin on Tuesday, but there is still little agreement on a solution to the financial problems posed by Jefferson County’s record-breaking bankruptcy. The county will not be able to exit bankruptcy until it demonstrates the ability to manage its own operations and meet its fiscal obligations.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the first round of bidding for the bankrupt Los Angeles Dodgers has been completed. The club’s financial advisers approved around 10 of the bids. A second round of bidding will now take place among those 10 bidders.

The consequences of the bankruptcy case of Jefferson County, the largest such case in U. S. history, have extended well beyond Alabama’s borders. A judge has ordered Jim Crane, now owner of Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros, to furnish the court with certain details of his settlement with J. P. Morgan Chase.

John S. Young, the court-appointed receiver once tasked with administering Jefferson County’s sewer system on behalf of bondholders, is no longer accruing billable hours. County Commissioner Jimmie Stephens and W. Patton Hahn, Young’s lawyer, both confirmed that Young is effectively no longer on the county’s payroll.

Judge Thomas B. Bennett ruled on Friday that operating expenses for Jefferson County’s sewer system must be paid before receiver John S. Young can distribute revenues to bondholders. The ruling imposes new limits the power of the receiver, who had previously been granted a greater degree of authority by the state court that appointed him.

In explaining his ruling, Bennett noted that the elected officials responsible for prior mismanagement had since been replaced, and that the new crop of officials was not “of the same ilk.”

The CEO of Center Stage Alabama’s parent corporation has stepped down. Resorts Development Group II LLC announced the departure of CEO Jeff Rubin in a recent statement. The statement also addressed the company’s decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to remain open for business.