A crucial California pension case heads to the state’s Supreme Court.

While Detroit is not out of the woods yet, its experience points to the fact that troubled cities’ most needed structural reforms may only be possible under extraordinary circumstances.

A California judge expresses skepticism about Calpers’ claim that it can fine Stockton if the city reduces its pension contributions. The fight isn’t over yet, but this can’t be a good sign for the pension fund.

Over 30,000 Participants in Detroit’s pension funds are preparing to vote on whether to accept the city’s bankruptcy deal or to take their chances in bankruptcy court.

Unions are waging an aggressive campaign against nonprofit groups that fund research into problems with public pensions.

Yesterday we reported that Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr had frozen the pensions of city employees while replacing their defined-benefit plans with a 401(k)-style defined contribution plan. But only hours after the decision was made known to the public, Orr abruptly reversed course, planning to delay the freeze until bankruptcy negotiations with the city’s retirement funds play themselves out.

Last month’s ruling that Detroit could reduce pensions in bankruptcy was a major setback from the city’s unions, but the latest defeat may be even bigger. Effective January 1st, all public workers in the city, with the exception of police and firefighters, will find their pensions frozen. What’s more, new and existing employees will find their defined-benefit plans replaced with a defined-contribution plan along the lines of a 401(k).

Chicago’s attempts to address its pension crisis show an ugly picture of blue failure and the fracturing of the coalitions that so long gave the blue model political dominance. Blue pols who rose to power on blue principles are now increasingly alienated from the blue constituents who put them in power. But even more importantly, the constituents themselves are now divided against each other, because the pension crisis pits the interests of providers of government services against the recipients of those services.

It’s been an up-and-down week for public pensions. In San Jose, a judge struck down a significant piece of the city’s pension reform plan, setting the stage for a big ballot fight next year. In Puerto Rico, on the other hand, the Senate finally passed a measure to put the Teachers Pesion Fund on solid footing.