L.A. still has big deficit

It's not a big enough crisis to shut down city services two days a week, but L.A. faces a deficit of $222.4 million for the current fiscal year ending June 30. Balancing the books will require dipping into the reserve fund, which would be left with about $39 million, far below what the bond ratings agencies consider to be prudent. All that assumes the DWP doesn't fork over the $73 million it owes the city. "We can balance our budget and pay our bills without the $73 million," said Acting City Administrative Officer Ray Ciranna, "but not comfortably." In another development, S&P placed the city's AA- general obligation bond ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications. (Bloomberg, LAT)