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In naming an emergency manager for Atlantic City on Thursday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie left the door open for the seaside gambling resort to file for bankruptcy if it can’t get its finances under control. The Republican governor and likely presidential candidate appointed a corporate turnaround specialist as the city’s emergency manager, and tabbed the man who led Detroit through its municipal bankruptcy as his assistant. Corporate finance consultant Kevin Lavin will have broad powers over Atlantic City’s finances and operations. Kevyn Orr, who helped lead Detroit through a financial crisis, will serve as special counsel to Lavin. Christie...

Kevyn Orr has agreed to step down as Detroit’s emergency manager, saying in a letter released Tuesday that the city will no longer be in a financial emergency once it exits bankruptcy. Orr also told Gov. Rick Snyder in his letter, dated Monday, that he has implemented the city’s two-year budget that reflects the elimination of about $7 billion in debt through the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. […] Orr—a turnaround expert who helped steer Chrysler through the automaker’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy—had been the official face of Detroit government since he was appointed in March 2013 by Snyder. …

The road back for Detroit seems to be getting longer. More than three months after its historic bankruptcy filing, city officials Friday offered up their proposed plan to pay bondholders, pensioners and other creditors holding its $18 billion debt substantially less then they're owed. "We think the plan is reasonable," emergency manager Kevyn Orr told reporters. "We really don't have time for a lot of acrimony and litigation." But even before Orr had a chance to formally unveil it, the plan was under heavy attack from investors, unions representing city workers and other creditors.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, House Speaker Jase Bolger and Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville submitted a $350 million plan to benefit the City of Detroit. But the state has repeatedly given Motown extra cash and allowed special rules to help get the city out of repeated jams. When asked last month if extra state help was on the table, Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr responded: "No. It was made abundantly clear that a state bailout of Detroit's finances was not a possibility." The proposed deal, which would have to be agreed to by the full Legislature, signals an unfortunate about-face....

Dave Bing delivered his final official speech as Detroit’s mayor on Wednesday, proclaiming that the city is much stronger now than it was four years ago despite going through the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. During the luncheon speech to the Detroit Economic Club, the former NBA basketball player lamented that his efforts to fix the city’s beleaguered finances were slowed by rules governing contracts with workers and an often adversarial City Council. […] Detroit has been under state oversight since March when Gov. Rick Snyder appointed turnaround specialist Kevyn Orr as emergency manager. Under state law, Orr has...

What do northwest Washington, D.C., South Beach Miami and upper Manhattan have in common? Less than 50 years ago, the now vibrant communities didn't look much different from most of Detroit, says emergency manager Kevyn Orr—whom Gov. Rick Snyder tapped in March to revive the broken Motor City. This is what gives him hope that Detroit can stage a comeback. "D.C. in '91 was still burned out from the 1968 riots," recalls the youthful 55-year-old attorney who worked for 22 years in D.C., at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Resolution Trust Corporation, Justice Department and Jones Day law firm. "You...

The Talk Shows July 21st, 2013 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Kevyn Orr, Detroit's emergency manager; Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Md.; Ben Carson, a pediatric neurosurgeon and Washington Times columnist.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Gov. Rick Snyder, R-Mich.; Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio; Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League.FACE THE NATION (CBS): House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio; Gov. Rick Snyder, R-Mich.THIS WEEK (ABC): Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Detroit Mayor Dave Bing.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; Reps. Cedric Richmond, D-La., and Xavier Becerra, D-Calif.; Sherrilyn Ifill, president and...

Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr has signed an order opening a joint investigation by the Inspector General and Auditor General into possible waste, abuse, fraud and corruption associated with Detroit's two employee benefit programs.

In Detroit, bankruptcy lawyer turned city manager Kevyn Orr is playing hardball while preparing the city for a likely Chapter 9 bankruptcy. He’d like the various stakeholders to negotiate a “pre-packaged” bankruptcy in order to avoid a drawn-out and extremely costly legal battle, but reaching agreement could be incredibly tough, as Reuters points out: [G]etting everyone on board for a pre-packaged plan is easier said than done, said Douglas Bernstein, a bankruptcy attorney at Plunkett Cooney in the Detroit area.“When it comes to a pre-packaged plan, the big question is whether he (Orr) would have enough acceptance going into court,”...

When the state-imposed manager of Detroit, Kevyn Orr, starts the job on Monday he will wade into a city of crumbling neighborhoods where police fail to respond to some calls, arson fires burn out of control and residents scour charred buildings for scrap metal to sell. Except for the business district and a cultural area including a university, museum and some theaters, the city of Detroit, population 700,000, is in bad shape. Orr, a Washington, D.C.-based bankruptcy lawyer, will have the official title of "Emergency Financial Manager." But his remit as an unelected administrator will range far beyond money. His...