A bankruptcy judge said that creditors of San Bernardino, Calif., have until Oct. 24 to decide whether they will try to have the city's bankruptcy petition thrown out, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith M. Jury approved the deadline after creditors, including bondholders and firefighters, asked for more time. The city said a fiscal emergency, brought on by a $46 million budget shortfall, forced it to file despite a state law that normally requires towns and counties to negotiate with creditors first in a process overseen by a neutral arbitrator. By declaring an emergency, the city sidestepped that requirement.
