Florida

BRADENTON, Fla. - Ten volunteers are interested in serving on the Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority that oversees the defaulted bonds sold to build the 3.5-mile-long tolled Garcon Point Bridge in North Florida.

After the recession temporarily derailed discussions about building the Tampa Bay Rays a new ballpark, area chambers of commerce have joined forces in recent months to study financing options for the team.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott last week asked the state’s elected Cabinet to withhold approval of $15 million of new capital outlay bonding for education.

BRADENTON, Fla. - The trustee for the Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority's $115.9 million of defaulted bonds is providing financial support to entice volunteers to serve on the authority's board, according to the Florida state representative who negotiated the deal.

Fitch Ratings on Friday lowered the rating on Hollywood, Fla.’s general obligation bonds to A from A-plus, citing a structural budget imbalance and “consistently optimistic revenue projections.”

The Internal Revenue Service has completed an audit of $51.1 million of auction-rate securities the Orange County, Fla., Health Facilities Authority issued in 2005 for an Orlando health care provider without changing the tax-exempt status of the bonds.

The new Florida PACE Funding Agency is seeking a financial advisor and third-party administrator to assist with financing and start-up services.

BRADENTON, Fla. - The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority said in a notice that Florida has refused to pay its monthly bill under a lease-purchase agreement for facilities built with toll-backed debt.

BRADENTON, Fla. - With a deal uniquely structured to meet investors' demands, a Florida conduit issuer has sold one of the largest tax-exempt bond financings to date for an airport fixed-base operator.

The Internal Revenue Service has completed an audit of $60 million of hospital revenue bonds issued in 2002 by Lakeland, Fla., finding no change to the bonds’ tax-exempt status.

Moody’s Investors Service last Thursday downgraded the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority’s revenue bonds to A1 from Aa3. The move affects $692.4 million of outstanding debt. The outlook is stable. The HCAA oversees Tampa International Airport on Florida’s west-central coast.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority bondholders, in limbo since a majority of authority board members resigned and having seen a payment default July 1, may see some relief soon.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Tampa, Fla., Tuesday priced $121 million of water and sewer revenue bonds in a deal where more than half the sales went to retail buyers after the underwriters were incentivized to find them.

BRADENTON, Fla. - A federal bankruptcy judge in Tampa on Monday issued a final ruling in a developer's Chapter 11 filing that could have a chilling effect on owners of Florida community development district bonds, observers said.

The termination of NASA’s space shuttle program, primarily located at the Kennedy Space Center in central Florida, is a credit negative for Brevard County and surrounding areas, Moody’s Investors Service said in Monday’s Weekly Credit Outlook.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Emmet & Co. and First Manhattan Co. have filed suit against Catholic Health East and Merrill Lynch claiming that $132.26 million of escrowed bonds issued by conduit entities in three states were improperly called.

BRADENTON, Fla. - South Miami, has reached a closing agreement and settlement with the Internal Revenue Service over impermissible uses of tax-exempt bond and bank loan proceeds to build a parking garage.

BRADENTON, Fla. - A stalled beltway project near Jacksonville in northeast Florida will get a partial kick-start with the construction of a bond-financed segment, state officials announced Wednesday.

Miami City Manager Johnny Martinez Monday declared a financial urgency to open new talks on collective bargaining agreements with four unions covering police, fire fighters and city workers.

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service has closed an audit of the Highlands County Health Facilities Authority's 2005 refunding bonds with no change to their tax-exempt status.