Southeast

WASHINGTON — Fairfax, Va., yesterday was upgraded one notch to AAA by Standard & Poor’s because the city’s economic base has remained strong throughout the recession.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The long-awaited pay-to-play trial of Birmingham, Ala., Mayor Larry Langford is slated to start Monday with jury selection.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has asked that a statewide grand jury be impaneled to investigate government corruption in the Sunshine state.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Alabama Public School and College Authority next week plans to sell $775.8 million of revenue bonds, much of which will refund outstanding debt associated with swap options that the issuer is challenging in federal court.

WASHINGTON — In an attempt to save schools money while promoting green technology, Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine announced yesterday that the state’s remaining $119 million qualified school construction bond allocation will be used to finance energy-efficiency projects rather than new construction.

The Lexington County School District No. 4 expects to competitively sell $9.75 million of general obligation new-money debt today.

The five-week old state tax amnesty program has generated more than $40 million. The program began Sept. 1 and is set to expire Oct. 31.

A planned March 2010 election for $200 million of bonds requested by the Jefferson Parishwide School District has been postponed until October 2011.

Voters in Louisiana’s Iberia Parishwide School District will decide on a $60 million general obligation bond package Saturday that would finance projects contained in a capital improvement plan adopted by school trustees in July.

Atlanta officials announced Friday that in preparation for the upcoming sale of debt for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, a due-diligence review found a number of errors in classifying expenses dating back to 2003.