Enhancing the Security Behind Municipal Obligations: Flushing and U.S. Trust Lead the Way

When bond counsel\u27 render their legal opinion approving the issuance and delivery of a municipal obligation, one of the opinions traditionally expressed is that the obligation is valid and legally binding according to its terms. Significant, here, are the words valid and binding. The validity of a municipal obligation can usually be determined by straightforward observation. Bond counsel must be satisfied that (1) the issuer has statutory and sometimes constitutional authority to borrow and incur indebtedness (2) the funds borrowed are to be used for a public purpose and (3) the issuer has complied with the preconditions to issuing debt obligations and incurring indebtedness. Two recent cases, Flushing National Bank v. Municipal Assistance Corp. and United States Trust Co. of New York v. New Jersey, suggest that the pledge of security to the holders of municipal obligations is something more than a mere promise to pay principal and interest assuming tax or enterprise revenues are presently available or could be raised. The holdings of these cases clearly point to a new judicial direction favoring strict construction of the terms binding the issuer to the obligation holders. The general result of these cases is to enhance substantially an obligation holder\u27s creditor interest in municipal obligations against competing claims for public funds

Toward Equal Delivery of Municipal Services in the Central Cities

Urban living has become inevitable for most Americans in central cities and government assistance has risen steadily to help the masses crowded in the urban complex. Legislation has been aimed at equalizing the opportunity for employment, decent housing, voting, education, basic social welfare, and a host of other concerns considered elemental for the fulfillment of the “American dream.” Until recently, the courts have been slow to act affirmatively to remedy the inequities related to the enforcement of such legislation. Recent cases suggest an attitude of benign complacency in the Supreme Court, allowing it to ignore critical socio-economic problems in the central cities even though lower federal courts are clearly focusing on these problems and the legal issues they raise. In the area of equalizing municipal service delivery in the central cities, there is a developing scenario which now calls for judicial intervention under the equal protection clause

Municipal Bankruptcy Under the 1976 Amendments to Chapter IX of the Bankruptcy Act

This articles examines the new Chapter IX of the Bankruptcy Act, particularly its effectiveness in providing insolvent or financially distressed municipalities with a simpler and more efficient method of obtaining financial relief. The articles discusses the differences under the new Chapter IX as compared to the old Chapter IX and argues that the new Chapter IX, although not designed to accomplish more than its predecessor, is a better tool for financially distressed municipalities because it simplifies the bankruptcy process while increasing the changes of a successful reorganization of debt

Toward Equal Delivery of Municipal Services in the Central Cities

Urban living has become inevitable for most Americans in central cities and government assistance has risen steadily to help the masses crowded in the urban complex. Legislation has been aimed at equalizing the opportunity for employment, decent housing, voting, education, basic social welfare, and a host of other concerns considered elemental for the fulfillment of the “American dream.” Until recently, the courts have been slow to act affirmatively to remedy the inequities related to the enforcement of such legislation. Recent cases suggest an attitude of benign complacency in the Supreme Court, allowing it to ignore critical socio-economic problems in the central cities even though lower federal courts are clearly focusing on these problems and the legal issues they raise. In the area of equalizing municipal service delivery in the central cities, there is a developing scenario which now calls for judicial intervention under the equal protection clause

Long memory and non-linearity in Stock Markets

In this paper the long memory and non-linear properties of share prices in the UK’s Stock Exchange and AIM are explored. The results suggest that the most commonly traded shares exhibit long memory thus raising interesting issues about the validity of normal assumptions of market efficiencies

Long memory and non-linearity in Stock Markets

In this paper the long memory and non-linear properties of share prices in the UK’s Stock Exchange and AIM are explored. The results suggest that the most commonly traded shares exhibit long memory thus raising interesting issues about the validity of normal assumptions of market efficiencies.Efficient Markets; Long Memory; Nonlinear Models

Effects of Professional Learning Communities on Instructional Revisions in Secondary Mathematics Classrooms

This non-experimental, descriptive study examined the effect(s), if any, that professional learning communities have had on the professional practices of secondary (grades 9-12) mathematics teachers in Boone, Clay, Putnam, and Kanawha counties in West Virginia. Also investigated were the potential differences in instructional-practice change(s) based on selected demographic variables: sex, degree level, the grade level taught, the total years of teaching experience, the total number of years in their current position, the specific math subject taught, the total number of years of PLC participation, and the composition (e.g., departmental, cross-curricular, or both) of participants’ PLC. Data were collected from a 19-question researcher-adapted survey administered to 81 secondary mathematics teachers in the participating counties. Results indicated that the majority of participants had changed their instructional practice, their collaborative practice, their data study practice, and their assessment practice as a result of their participation in PLCs

A Distributed Leadership Perspective for Critical Consciousness in Middle Grades

In middle-grades settings, students are cultivating critical consciousness to apply general knowledge of equity to their local context(s) (Nojan, 2020). As educators work to foster environments that allow middle-grade students to cultivate critical consciousness, expectations have shifted in the area of leading for equity. We have outlined a leadership framework we believe will advance the collective critical consciousness with examples for middle-grade contexts. Our focus is working toward equitable outcomes through one’s sociopolitical development and creating ways to further the collective critical consciousness of the entire school community through a distributed leadership perspective. Through this lens, our hope is to outline how educational leaders may develop their critical consciousness in the context of their priorities as well as work towards a shared sense of critical consciousness and sociopolitical action in the classrooms, schools, districts, and the wider community

Supply Chain Finance: Impact on Supply Chain Competency and Organizational Performance

Supply chain finance (SCF) has begun to garner some attention in the supply chain management literature, yet we find no empirical works assessing the role that SCF plays within a supply chain context and the impact it has on supply chain competency (SCC) and organizational performance (OP). This paper is an attempt to fill this literature gap in supply chain management and provide empirical evidence on the role of SCF. This study employs a structural equations model to investigate the role of SCF in the context of supply chain management on U.S. manufacturing firms. The results map SCF in the center of the supply chain management spectrum with supply chain management strategy (SCMS) and information sharing (IS) as the antecedents to, and SCC and OP as the consequences of SCF. Supply chain finance, together with supply chain competency positively impacts 51% of the variations in organizational performance.  

Characterization of Ichthyoplankton in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico from Seamap Plankton Surveys, 1982-1999

Data for 61 selected ichthyoplankton taxa from 1,166 bongo and neuston net samples at 72 stations comprising the USGS Northeastern Gulf of Mexico Ichthyoplankton Synopsis (UNIS) study area were analyzed. These data were taken during annual spring and fall Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (SEAMAP) Gulfwide plankton surveys over the period 1982-1999. The UNIS study area contributed disproportionately more fish eggs, total larvae and net-caught zooplankton biomass to survey totals than would be expected from the number of samples taken in the study area. This pattern was more evident during spring than fall surveys and is probably related to the close proximity of UNIS study area stations to the Mississippi River and the inshore penetration of nutrient rich deep slope water via the DeSoto Canyon. Statistical comparison of the percent frequency of occurrence of the 61 selected taxa revealed that the larvae of many were taken significantly more often in the UNIS study area than expected based on their occurrence Gulfwide. Thirteen of these taxa were taken more often in the study area during the season and collecting gear combination that accounted for the highest catches. These taxa represented fishes from mesopelagic, continental shelf, and reef assemblages reflecting the wide diversity of habitats available in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Distinct distribution patterns were observed among larvae in the UNIS study area that appear to be associated with the presence of the DeSoto Canyon. The consistent presence of fish eggs throughout the UNIS study area at mean abundances exceeding 100 eggs under 10 m² sea surface indicates that this region of the Gulf of Mexico is an important spawning area