Shelly Sigo

MIAMI BEACH — While there are signs that state revenues are slowly growing again in the Southeast, experts here warn that negative budget pressures will persist in coming years as governments struggle to meet their obligations.

The Virginia Port Authority has released a request for proposals seeking firms interested in becoming managing and co-managing underwriters for deals.

The Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority’s finance and construction committee was scheduled to meet this week to review the results of a two-day industry forum held in February that drew many international firms involved in public-private partnerships, as well as top investment banks.

Standard & Poor’s Monday lowered its long-term rating on DeKalb County, Ga.’s general obligation bonds to BBB from AA-minus.

Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in February was 11.5%, down 0.4% from January, Agency for Workforce Innovation director Cynthia Lorenzo announced Friday.

Mobile is scrambling to find a replacement cruise liner because Carnival Cruise Lines has announced it will move its 2,052-passenger ship the Elation to New Orleans in October.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Florida lawmakers are moving forward to consolidate three toll-road authorities in a revised plan that now excludes the financially ailing Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority, which appears headed for a bond payment default this year.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Delta Air Lines Inc.’s 25% service reduction at Memphis International Airport could be a harbinger of future cutbacks at the Tennessee hub and other airports as carriers respond to sharply increasing fuel prices, according to rating agency analysts.

BRADENTON, Fla. — A Florida Senate transportation committee is entertaining a proposal to merge four expressway and bridge authorities with outstanding debt into Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise.

The Kentucky Legislature is in overtime trying to come up with an agreement to plug a $176 million deficit in the state’s Medicaid program this year.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has unveiled a plan to reduce the annual and long-term costs of the city’s pension program.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said Friday that there is little hope that Florida can come up with a plan to regain $2.4 billion in federal funds for a high-speed rail line between Tampa and Orlando.

Jefferson County will not ask the Alabama Supreme Court for a rehearing on its occupational tax ruling, the Birmingham News reported Tuesday.

A federal trial challenging Alabama’s school-funding formula started Monday in Huntsville before Judge Lynwood Smith. The suit was filed two years ago by parents in rural north Alabama counties who claim that state funding for the public education system is based on a discriminatory formula that includes the lowest property-tax rate in the country.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal’s new Water Supply Task Force began mapping a strategy on Monday for the use of $300 million of bonds to help finance critical drinking facilities in the state.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam proposed a $32 billion spending plan for fiscal 2012 that is down 5.6% from the current year and largely reflects a 14.7% drop in federal funds.

BRADENTON, Fla. — As Miami-Dade County prepares for a $361 million general obligation bond sale near the end of the month, Florida’s largest county is undergoing a top-down shake-up of government.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Alabama Supreme Court Wednesday struck down an occupational tax that provided one-third of Jefferson County’s general fund revenues, potentially setting the stage for the county to file for the largest municipal bankruptcy in history.

The Georgia Department of Transportation announced Monday that it selected a development team that includes Atlanta-based Cousins Properties Inc. and Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises Inc. to negotiate a contract to become the master developer of a multi-modal passenger terminal in downtown Atlanta.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced Friday that he will not make a decision about moving forward with the $1.2 billion SunRail project until July despite the fact that the project had been approved by the Legislature.