Southeast

BRADENTON, Fla. — Standard & Poor’s Thursday changed its outlook on the A rating it assigns to Atlanta’s general obligation bonds and other credits to negative from stable, citing concerns about the city’s weak liquidity and internal fund borrowing practices.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the validation of $29 million of bonds that Sarasota and Sarasota County want to sell to renovate the spring training ­facilities of Major League Baseball’s ­Baltimore Orioles.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Like other cities ­dealing with congestion, Atlanta has been searching for ways to move people around downtown without building new roads or ­adding more vehicles.

DALLAS — A transportation coalition is seeking legislative sponsors for Louisiana state constitutional amendments that would raise the gasoline tax and establish a $3 billion bond program for highway efforts.

WASHINGTON — California and Florida are the biggest winners of high-speed rail grants, securing $1.7 billion out of a total of $2.5 billion to help close ­funding gaps for ambitious rail projects that have already received large federal grants.

DALLAS — Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will eliminate a $106.8 million deficit in the $25.5 billion budget for fiscal 2011 mostly by cutting expenditures for higher education and health care.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority expects to sell $280 million of tax-exempt bonds Tuesday.

DALLAS — The Louisiana State Bond Commission allocated the state’s remaining $232.7 million of Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds Thursday to three applicants that had sought the right to issue $700 million of the tax-exempt private-activity debt.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Kentucky State Property and Buildings Commission is selling $315 million of revenue bonds next week, with most of the deal structured as taxable Build America Bonds.

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.