Florida

BRADENTON, Fla. — Crews this week began geotechnical and survey work on the first phase of Florida’s $2.6 billion high-speed rail project from Tampa to Orlando, which is set to be built in the median of Interstate 4.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences has closed on a rare municipal bond offering from a Florida charter school.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Miami-Dade County, Fla., next week is pricing $524 million of tax-exempt aviation revenue bonds in what is expected to be the last major financing for Miami International Airport’s $6.49 billion capital improvement plan.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Florida Gov. Charlie Crist last week called for a special session of the Legislature on an oil-drilling ban in state waters, but the move has elicited criticism from lawmakers who say it’s a waste of money and others who say the limited scope of the session is disappointing.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has closed an audit of $52.5 million of bonds issued by the Ave Maria Stewardship Community District in southwest Florida with no change to the tax-exempt status of the debt, the district disclosed this week.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Port of Palm Beach, located in one of Florida’s wealthiest areas, saw one of its revenue bond ratings drop below investment grade last week.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Fitch Ratings on Wednesday downgraded the Seminole Indian Tribe of Florida to below investment grade because of spending irregularities cited in a recent notice of violation by the National Indian Gaming Commission.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Moody’s Investors Service yesterday downgraded Miami’s general obligation ratings just ahead of a financing to build parking garages for the Marlins’ new baseball stadium, which is under construction.

U.S. attorneys last week filed a motion to dismiss the federal lawsuit filed in March by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum challenging the massive health care reform bill.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Fitch Ratings on Friday maintained a negative outlook on Collier County, Fla.’s sales and gas tax bonds in part because of “the potential impact of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.”

BRADENTON, Fla. — Homebuyers either are shying away from buying homes on the beach or requiring a 60-day guarantee that the oil will not affect the beach before signing real estate contracts, a Naples, Fla., Realtor claimed in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Standard & Poor’s Wednesday dropped Miami’s general obligation bond rating to A-minus from A-plus. The agency also downgraded debt backed by the city’s covenant to budget and appropriate to BBB-plus from A.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority in central Florida today hopes to begin retail pricing of a two-pronged transaction — including up to $250 million of fixed-rate refunding revenue bonds and a restructuring of $250 million of variable-rate bonds with the termination of associated swaps.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Florida’s elected Cabinet yesterday expressed frustration at the failure of BP and the federal government to shut off the flow of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico and perform cleanup efforts.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Broward County in southeast Florida later this month plans to sell $220.2 million of revenue bonds, most of which will be taxable Build America Bonds. The deal represents the county’s first use of BABs and the first time it will leverage a local half-cent sales tax.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Florida Gov. Charlie Crist Friday signed into law a $70 billion budget for fiscal 2011.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Florida last week received $66.6 million out of $80 million in federal grants distributed by the U.S. Department of Transportation for high-speed rail development.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Florida’s AAA implied general obligation rating is “not affected at this time” because of the oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico, Standard & Poor’s said in a special bulletin released yesterday.

BRADENTON, Fla. — As the Deepwater Horizon oil spill expands, attorneys in Florida have begun talking about devising an emergency financing program for a quick clean-up response.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Miami-Dade County commissioners on Tuesday said they stand ready to take over the Jackson Health System should the current board overseeing South Florida’s largest public hospital fail to rectify the financial crisis it now faces.