Shelly Sigo

Standard & Poor's on May 5 revised its outlook to negative on Atlanta’s Morehouse College bonds due to declining enrollment and increasing operating pressure.

The Tennessee State School Bond Authority closed on a bond offering May 7 that saved the state $12.9 million in addition to financing construction projects at colleges and universities.

Florida Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments May 7 in two appeals challenging the Florida Development Finance Corp.’s validation of $2 billion in bonds for a PACE program; one appeal says Florida’s PACE law is unconstitutional.

Attorneys for All Aboard Florida told a federal judge that the private passenger train owners could close on $1.75 billion in tax exempt private activity bonds around June 8.

Madison County, Miss., disputes its obligation to backstop some public improvement district bonds in a lawsuit with Radian Asset Assurance Inc.

Louisiana plans to move forward with the competitive issuance of $335 million in general obligation bonds amid ongoing questions surrounding the state’s budget deficit.

The North Carolina DOT picked a consortium headed by Cintra Infraestructuras S.A. to build a 26-mile express toll lane project.

Standard & Poor's upgraded Jefferson County, Ala.'s limited-obligation school warrants two notches to A-minus from BBB.

Louisiana State University emphasized that it is not filing for bankruptcy; the school was criticized for a clumsy explanation of its financial position, leading to cancellation of a bond deal.

Uncertainty about Louisiana's higher education funding led Standard & Poor's to place five institutions on negative CreditWatch on April 28.

Jacksonville, Fla., will hire a forensic specialist to audit the city's severely underfunded Police and Fire Pension Fund.

After 42 years at Moody's Investors Service, John Incorvaia is retiring after spending most of his analytical career covering Florida. April 30 is his last day on the job.

A second federal lawsuit has been filed challenging the private activity bond financing for the All Aboard Florida train project; the latest suit comes from Martin County, Fla.

The Florida House of Representatives abruptly ended their session Tuesday afternoon following a standoff with the Senate over Medicaid expansion. The session was to run through Friday.

The Athens-Clarke County Unified Government in Georgia won two rating upgrades ahead of pricing $208 million of water and sewerage revenue bonds.

The Route 460 Funding Corp. of Virginia plans to use extraordinary redemption provisions to call $293.3 million of revenue bonds now that the state has terminated the project.

Moody's Investors Service changed the outlook to positive just ahead of a $225.8 million deal by the Florida Department of Transportation to pay for turnpike improvements.

Louisiana State University on Friday pulled a $114.5 million bond offering that had priced two days earlier after investors withdrew from the deal when concerns emerged over the institution’s financial status.

The Kentucky International Convention Center will close for two years to complete a $180 million bond-financed expansion within the facility's existing footprint.

Jefferson County, Ala., can proceed with an appeal related to the county’s bankruptcy exit plan, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta ruled Wednesday.