Project freeze

The hits just keep on coming. A state board this morning shut off $3.8 billion in financing to dozens of infrastructure projects because the available money is drying up. That means work on the 405 carpool lane between the 10 and 101 freeways will be put off (sorry commuters). So will emergency repairs at nine LAUSD high schools and five Compton schools. From the LAT:

At this morning's meeting, finance experts from the state treasurer's office laid out a despairing picture of California's financial situation. Paul Rosenthiel, a deputy treasurer, said the troubles in the international credit markets have made investors skittish about all but the safest bonds, making them uninterested in anything the state has to offer. "In a market where investors are looking for quality, we do not feel they are going to want to buy the bonds of the state of California," Rosenthiel said. "We don't hear from the investment bankers at all these days." Instead, he said, there is a thriving market in investors betting that the state will go bankrupt. That has driven the interest rates on credit default swaps -- contracts that promise to pay investors off if the bonds become worthless -- from 0.2% to 4%, higher than what similar items fetch in protecting investors in Turkey or Mexico.