Florida

BRADENTON, Fla.— Standard & Poor's has lowered to AA-plus from AAA the issuer credit rating of the South Florida Water Management District, citing recent legislative changes that "significantly reduced the district's financial flexibility."

Florida plans to advance $3 billion of transportation projects, according to Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who was elected recently following the ouster of the previous mayor in a recall vote, has named a number of senior managers, including a former First Southwest Co. executive.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Credit pressures are on the rise for some of Florida's 67 school districts as effects of the recession linger, according to a report by Fitch Ratings.

Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad has chosen a toll road industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience to be the executive director of Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise.

Florida’s elected Cabinet on Tuesday approved the issuance of up to $613 million of refunding bonds.

The Florida Supreme Court last week upheld a $28.3 million judgment against the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.. The award goes to the relatives of a Pensacola man who died 16 years ago.

BRADENTON, Fla. - A new Florida agency created to fund statewide Property Assessed Clean Energy improvements filed a complaint to validate the issuance of up to $2 billion of municipal bonds.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood signed a full-funding agreement Monday for the first phase of the central Florida commuter train called SunRail.

After two-and-a-half years with a negative outlook, Florida was returned to stable by Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday.

Standard & Poor's last week dropped Sarasota County's limited ad valorem tax bonds four notches to BBB from A-plus.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority bondholders did not get paid July 1, according to the Florida agency's trustee, Bank of New York Mellon.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Miami has suffered several rating downgrades in the last two weeks as the financially stressed city plans to bring a refunding to market.

BRADENTON, Fla. - A last-ditch effort to prevent the Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority in northwest Florida from a bond payment default has failed and the remaining member of the board plans to resign next week.

Nearly two years after first issuing debt to build a performing arts center, Orlando finally broke ground on the long-awaited facility.

Miami-Dade County voters on Tuesday chose former County Commissioner Carlos Gimenez as their new mayor.

Four Jefferson County, Ala., lawmakers are legally opposing the sewer rate increase proposed by the court-appointed receiver managing the county's sewer system and its defaulted debt.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Two Florida issuers plan to sell revenue refunding bonds to refinance variable- and fixed-rate bonds and to terminate swaps at a cost that could top more than $100 million.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Florida's Citizens Property Insurance Corp. next week expects to sell up to $900 million of revenue bonds and notes to provide liquidity for the current hurricane season, which began June 1.

Standard & Poor's on Monday revised its rating outlook to negative from stable and affirmed its BBB-plus rating on $5.7 million of Series 2002B bonds issued on behalf of Martin Memorial Medical Center.