Bonds

Now that the stock market's offense is sputtering, it's time to play a little defense. If you're addicted to equities, you may be in the market for something that provides the characteristic safety of a bond but still acts somewhat like a stock.

The state Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a technique widely used by local governments to avoid submitting bond proposals to the ballot, ruling that independent joint-government agencies can issue bonds for building projects without voter approval. The unanimous decision was a victory for 113 cities, including Los Angeles, which asked the court for freedom to continue to issue such bonds to pay for public construction.

The Assembly on Wednesday approved legislation requiring HMOs and health insurers to cover the costs of contraceptives for women, sending the bill to Gov. Pete Wilson, who has vowed to veto it. The Assembly also approved, 67 to 9, a measure that will place before voters in November a record $9.2-billion bond for construction of schools and colleges. The state Senate approved the bill Tuesday, and Wilson has said he will sign it.

The state Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted to place on the November ballot a record $9.2-billion bond measure designed to relieve California's needy public schools. The Assembly is expected to follow suit as early as today and send the measure to Gov. Pete Wilson, who announced that the "Legislature has met my challenge" to send him a bond bill he is happy to sign. "This is truly historic," said Sen. Dede Alpert (D-Coronado), who helped write the bill.

All of a sudden, investing in the federal government doesn't seem like such a bad idea. Or, at least, investing in Uncle Sam's IOUs. With global stock markets in turmoil, individual investors who had shunned U.S. government bond mutual funds in recent years--pulling a net $13.1 billion out of these portfolios in 1996-97--have done an about-face in 1998. Through the end of June, investors plowed a net $622 million into government bond funds. They've been rewarded with average total returns of 3.

A $15-million open-space bond issue will not be put before voters on November ballot. Councilman Harold R. Kaufman's proposal would have allowed the city to buy open space anywhere it became available within the city, although he and other residents were focused on possibly buying a cluster of houses and condominiums on the Dana Point Headlands. The city, he said, would eventually "be able to tear them down and return the sites to natural open space."

The school board, which has seen voters reject two school bond issues, has decided to try again in November. The board decided Tuesday night to place a $53-million bond issue on the Nov. 3 ballot. Voters in 1993 and 1994 narrowly rejected $29.1-million bond issues to build a new high school. San Gabriel teenagers attended high school in Alhambra until 1994, when Gabrielino High School opened at the site of a former elementary school.

Holding a clock in one hand and an hourglass in the other, Fernando Cibrian stood outside one of Santa Ana's overcrowded schools Friday, urging residents to push for a $9-billion bond initiative that would raise money to build schools and repair aging ones. "We are running out of time," said Cibrian, a leader of the Orange County Congregation Community Organization.

A $15-million plan to issue bonds so the city can buy open space will go on the November ballot if the City Council gives its consent tonight to the proposal. The money would be set aside to buy open space anywhere it became available within the city, but many residents and council members are focused on an enclave of houses and condominiums on the Dana Point Headlands. Councilman Harold R.

Council members have granted final approval for the issuance of revenue bonds that will provide $25 million for city construction projects. On a 4-1 vote, the City Council this week established a public financing authority, made up of council members, to make the bond payments over the next 24 years. Officials said the authority would get the money from the city's Redevelopment Agency, also made up of council members. Should the agency default, the money would come from the city's coffers.