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Frozen Credit Market Could Be Thawing

Good news for several public works projects on hold for months in California because of the credit crunch.

Frozen Credit Market Could Be Thawing

Looks like we're beginning to see some thawing in the frozen credit markets. Good news for several public works projects on hold for months in California because of the credit crunch.

Last week California was able to sell six-and-a-half billion dollars in bonds for the first time in months.
The Schwarzenegger administration says half of the money will cover seismic retrofits of bridges to flood control and street repairs.

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Finance Director Mike Genest (Juh-NEST) says there's one key consideration for choosing which projects get money first.

"The major criteria is jobs," he says. "Obviously, everybody is interested in getting projects started where there's going to be an immediate impact in creating jobs."

The state had been unable to sell bonds for months because of the credit crunch and budget deficit.

In December, funding was cut for more than five-thousand public works projects. 
Genest warns many of those projects maybe delayed for at least a year.