Alabama

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Birmingham, Ala., City Council approved the sale of up to $75 million of revenue bonds Tuesday for the construction of a 300-room Westin Hotel and creation of a downtown restaurant and entertainment district near the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a distribution plan allowing ­Jefferson County, Ala., to receive a $25 million disgorgement and civil penalty that ­JPMorgan paid into a “fair” fund to compensate harmed investors and issuers.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Although Jefferson County, Ala.’s sewer debt has been rated at junk level for quite some time, Moody’s Investors Service said Monday that the appointment of a receiver for the sewer system is a positive credit development for the county and bond insurers.

BRADENTON, Fla. — An Alabama judge said Wednesday that bankruptcy is not a feasible alternative for Jefferson County and appointed a receiver with rate-setting powers to take over the county’s sewer system.

The Birmingham City Council approved a resolution Tuesday supporting an increase in the lodging tax rate by 3.5% to support the development of sports and entertainment facilities.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Alabama Circuit Court Judge Albert Johnson ruled Tuesday that he would appoint a receiver to take over Jefferson County’s sewer system, which is saddled with nearly $3.2 billion of variable- and auction-rate warrants.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Three Gulf Coast states are trying to beat the deadline to sell billions of dollars of private-activity bonds allocated by Congress in the 2005 Gulf Opportunity Zone Act.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Gilt-edged Huntsville in northern Alabama plans to price $174 million of new-money and refunding general obligation capital improvement warrants on Wednesday.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Securities and Exchange Commission is recommending that Jefferson County, Ala., receive a $25 million disgorgement and civil penalty that JPMorgan paid into an SEC “fair fund” designed to compensate harmed investors and issuers.

Jefferson County commissioners last week hired Warren, Averett, Kimbrough & Marino LLC to audit fiscal year 2008, which ended Sept. 30, 2008.

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley signed an executive order last week capping compensation for lawyers representing the state just hours before Attorney General Troy King filed two lawsuits against BP PLC and other companies for negligence in the Gulf oil disaster.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Alabama Attorney General Troy King late Thursday filed lawsuits against BP PLC and BP America Inc. as well as drilling contractor Transocean Ltd. and related companies for their roles in the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Former Birmingham Mayor and Jefferson County commissioner Larry Langford said Wednesday that his conviction should be reversed, mail fraud counts against him dismissed due to insufficient evidence, and he should be given a new trial.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Boosted by the popularity of Build America Bonds and refunding opportunities, issuers in the 11 states that comprise the Southeast region sold $34.5 billion of municipal bonds in the first half of 2010, up 7.4% over the same period last year.

A federal judge in Birmingham last week denied motions filed by two former JPMorgan bankers to dismiss a Securities and Exchange Commission suit that alleges they committed securities fraud in connection with municipal bond and swap transactions with Jefferson County, Ala.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Former Jefferson County commissioner Gary White has become the latest of nearly two dozen people and companies in Alabama convicted for corruption involving the county’s debt-clogged sewer system.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking a summary judgment against former Jefferson County, Ala., commissioner Larry Langford on three counts of violating the federal Securities Act.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Based on settlements recommended by the Securities and Exchange Commission, a federal judge in Alabama has issued permanent injunctions prohibiting future violations of securities laws by Montgomery bond dealer William Blount and his firm, Blount Parrish & Co., and local lobbyist Al LaPierre.

BRADENTON, Fla. — An Alabama judge has set Sept. 7 for trial to begin in the Bank of New York Mellon's quest to obtain a receiver to take over control of Jefferson County's sewer system, which is saddled with close to $3.2 billion of troubled variable- and auction-rate debt.

Assured Guaranty last week filed a civil suit in New York alleging that JPMorgan, along with Jefferson County, "fraudulently induced" it to provide more than $378 million in insurance coverage for the county's nearly $3.2 billion of variable- and auction-rate sewer warrants.