Bob Goldfield, chief executive of the Port of Dover, said the decision was frustrating.

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He is also nostalgic for the days when Goldfield was a rip-roaring, hard-drinking, sinful boom town.

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He actually left the ring a popular winner in successfully defending his title against Battling Nelson, a Danish-American, in Goldfield, Nevada.

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The city had no choice, said Steven Goldfield, a senior counselor at Public Resources Advisory Group and a financial adviser to the receiver.

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Burton Goldfield, President and Chief Executive, TriNet, San Leandro, Calif.

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"When you have to patch up deficits year after year like this, and defer capital expenditures, that's when bad stuff happens, like sinkholes, " Mr. Goldfield said.

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Since the New Year, Mr. Goldfield and other advisers to the receiver have been negotiating almost daily with the city's debtholders and public-employee unions, seeking concessions.

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