Southwest

Sales tax collections totaled $1.57 billion in the month of September, Texas Comptroller Susan Combs said last week, which represents an increase of almost 7% from September 2009.

DALLAS — A nonprofit corporation responsible for heating and cooling 13 million square feet of space at the Texas ­Medical Center in Houston will issue $52 million of revenue bonds to keep pace with the growing campus.

DALLAS — The City and County of Denver is aiming to take advantage of low interest rates and its top credit rating with the competitive sale of $45 million of general obligation bonds and a $40 million refunding of certificates of participation.

DALLAS — Three ballot initiatives that would drastically curtail the ability of Colorado state agencies and local governments to issue debt are winning little support from voters, according to the first public polling on the issue.

DALLAS — Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings downgraded the Utah Transit Authority’s debt as it prepares to issue $200 million of Build America Bonds.

DALLAS — Southern Methodist University will begin a multi-year capital project to build new on-campus residential facilities with proceeds from this week’s sale of $125 million of general obligation revenue bonds.

DALLAS — Kansas revenue collections posted a slight but unexpected increase in September, as all three monthly collections for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 have met or exceeded predictions.

DALLAS — After successfully pricing $825 million of revenue bonds Monday to expand its light-rail system, the Dallas Area Rapid Transit board turned its attention Tuesday to a $1.26 billion budget requiring job cuts and service reductions.

DALLAS — Dallas County District Judge Craig Smith agreed Monday to a one-week delay in deciding whether the Dallas suburb of Irving can issue up to $200 million of revenue bonds for an entertainment center near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

DALLAS — A lawsuit filed in Arkansas state court last week could remove from the November ballot a constitutional amendment to eliminate restrictions on the interest rate carried by tax-exempt bonds issued in the state.