WASHINGTON-The continuing specter of sequestration and the debate over the debt ceiling will likely cause many in government and the private sector to give pause to making large deals in the Washington D.C. and the surrounding area.

PHILADELPHIA-If Flower Foods purchase of Hostess Brands is successful; a shuttered Hostess bakery in Philadelphia will not be one of the 20 industrial bakeries Flower plans to buy as part of the deal.

BLOOMINGDALE, NJ-Passaic County freeholders are debating whether to allocate dwindling public funds on open space purchases or for park improvement projects in urban areas.

NUTLEY, NJ-The seven planning firms that were candidates for the redevelopment of the Roche Nutley-Clifton campus are now down to four.

NEW YORK CITY-Eastern Union Funding expects it will close $3 billion in commercial mortgage financing deals this year, a sharp increase from 2012 levels.

SANDY SPRINGS, GA-Regency Centers Corp. has acquired the 115,794-sf Sandy Springs Shopping Center here for $35.3 million.

MIAMI – The high-rise office tower Southeast Financial Center reports that it has signed the restaurant Spris to take space at its retail plaza in downtown Miami.

DULUTH, MN-Mayor Don Ness says the city of Duluth will appeal the latest court ruling that says Fond-du-Luth, the nation's first urban tribal casino, does not have to honor an agreement to pay millions of dollars in rent to the city.