Shelly Sigo

BRADENTON, Fla. — Three Louisiana issuers have seen movement in their federal lawsuits against insurers and underwriters that were involved with their failed variable- and auction-rate securities.

BRADENTON, Fla. — A biomedical institute on Florida’s east coast is exploring replacing its planned conduit issuer in hopes of lowering the cost of selling $70 million of bonds to finance the construction of a research ­facility.

The Atlanta Development Authority last week named Ernestine Garey as interim president until a permanent replacement is found. The change came after current president Peggy McCormick submitted her resignation. She will remain at her post until Wednesday.

Faced once again with less revenue to support the state’s general fund budget, Florida lawmakers are looking at taking money set aside for transportation projects for the second year in a row.

Jefferson County commissioners last week failed to support a measure that would have explored whether the county could sell $26.8 million of recovery zone economic development bonds for public capital projects allocated to it under the federal stimulus program.

BRADENTON, Fla. — With President Obama’s signature barely dry on the massive health care reform bill, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Treasury Department and the Department of Labor, alleging that the bill is unconstitutional.

Standard & Poor’s last week raised the Jones County School District’s underlying general obligation bond rating to A-plus from A-minus.

Moody’s Investors Service on Monday removed the negative outlook that was assigned to the Hancock County School District’s general obligation bonds following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The Kentucky House last week passed a $17.5 billion general fund budget for fiscal 2011 and 2012 that would plug a projected $1 billion shortfall.

A federal judge Friday sentenced John Katopodis, a former Jefferson County commissioner and Birmingham City Council member, to three years and 10 months in jail on fraud convictions linked to his theft of taxpayer money intended for a poor children’s charity.

The Alabama Senate last week approved a bill that would let voters decide on Nov. 2 if the state should take $1 billion from its biggest savings account over the next decade to pay for road, bridge, and rail projects.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority in central Florida expects to be in the market today with retail pricing of up to $375 million of revenue bonds.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Miami-Dade County Commission today will review a financial crisis that has enveloped the public health system whose flagship is Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Miami, which tangled with the Securities and Exchange Commission over financial disclosure issues earlier this decade, has hired the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius to represent it in the SEC’s latest probe.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The South Florida Water Management District yesterday unanimously extended a key contract deadline for its controversial plan to purchase land owned by U.S. Sugar Corp.

BRADENTON, Fla. — With the 2010 hurricane season set to begin June 1, Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is preparing to price between $2 billion and $2.4 billion of debt to raise ready cash in case it is needed to pay claims for storm-related damages.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Attorneys for Larry Langford Tuesday filed a notice with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta stating they intend to appeal his conviction.

Florida’s elected Cabinet members Tuesday authorized the issuance of nearly $500 million of new debt.

Miami on Monday fired budget director Michael Boudreaux amid continuing questions about the city’s deficit and the budgets’s structural balance.

Moody’s Investors Service on Monday affirmed its Aa2 rating on Alabama’s $664 million of outstanding general obligation bonds and the Aa3 rating on another $171 million of debt that is subject to appropriations. The outlook is stable.