Florida

South Florida environmentalists filed suit Thursday to stop dredging of the channel to ready the PortMiami for opening of the expanded Panama Canal.

West Palm Beach, Fla., city commissioners voted Sept. 29 to create a Municipal Charter School Agency with a nine-member governing board.

S&P lowered its ratings to A-minus from A on bonds sold for Shands Teaching Hospital at the University of Florida, citing an upcoming $250M deal.

Growth in Florida's property insurance market will allow Citizens Property Insurance to defease $418 million in debt two years early.

Palm Beach County, Fla., tells two Major League Baseball teams seeking a new $140 million spring training stadium to revise their proposal for public financing.

The Federal Railroad Administration released a draft environmental statement for the new private passenger rail service All Aboard Florida.

All Aboard Florida, a private venture planning new passenger rail service from Orlando to Miami, is encountering headwinds from impacted communities.

The Village Center Community Development District in Florida, whose status as a political subdivision that can issue tax-exempt bonds has been disputed, is planning to price three issues of taxable refunding bonds next week.

A federal appeals court recently agreed with a lower court that former Miami budget director Michael Boudreaux does not have immunity from Securities and Exchange Commission charges, a decision some experts think could have implications for the SEC's Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation initiative or other enforcement actions going forward.

Problems with a bank loan led Fitch to become the second rating agency to act against Florida Gulf Coast University, placing its ratings on watch negative.

Low interest rates on federal and bank loans for the $2.3 billion Interstate 4 Ultimate project in central Florida saved the state nearly $70 million from estimates, officials said.

The consortium fronted by Sweden's Skanska that is building the $2.3 billion Interstate 4 project in central Florida says it has reached financial close on the concession and loans.

Miami-Dade County will ask voters to approve $393 million in general obligation bonds to replace the county's 90-year-old civil courthouse.

Port St. Lucie, Fla., plans to issue new, long-term debt and use the proceeds to take out bonds issued for the bankrupt Digital Domain special effects studio project.

Fitch downgraded Florida's Pensacola International Airport bonds to BBB-minus from BBB primarily due to "financial underperformance" and airline consolidation risk.

Lake Worth, Fla., voters refused to OK $63.5 million in GO bonds on the Aug. 26 ballot, but other bond referendums are set for November.

Former Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority board member Scott Batterson was found guilty of bribery in a case that highlighted authority business, including bond discussions, being done in a backroom fashion despite state “sunshine” laws.

The consortium building the $2.3 billion Interstate 4 project in central Florida says bank and federal loans are cheaper than bonds for the state's largest public-private partnership project.

Miami-Dade County commissioners will consider placing a $540 million bond issue on the November ballot to build a new courthouse.

The terms of a loan turned the outlook on Florida Gulf Coast University's debt to negative, and could result in a rating downgrade of two notches, Standard & Poor's said.