Economy

WASHINGTON — The executives of United and Continental airlines yesterday assured members of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee that airline service would not be cut if their companies merge.

DALLAS — The winning bidder for Denver’s 23-mile rail line from downtown to Denver International Airport says it can bring the project to completion 11 months earlier than expected and $300 million under budget.

DALLAS — The Louisiana State Bond Commission on Thursday selected an underwriting team for the planned sale of $500 million of fuel tax revenue bonds to finance a constitutionally mandated road and bridge construction program.

Here comes the private sector.

The nascent nationwide push for high-speed rail still needs a specific funding plan and a mix of federal, local and private sources are now being explored, U.S. Department of Transportation officials said yesterday.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed Tuesday appointed Robert Kennedy as acting general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, effective June 30.

With an eye toward reducing risk and increasing returns, the Florida State Board of Administration last week voted to revise investment strategies at the country’s fourth-largest public pension fund and to invest in infrastructure projects, including airports and roads.

Democratic governors and senators yesterday pushed for the Senate to add an amendment to a tax-extenders bill that would provide federal funds to states to help them through their budget crises, with members expected to begin voting on the bill today.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Georgia Department of Transportation Monday announced the appointment of Sandra Burgess as the new director of its public-private partnership program.

CHICAGO — Ohio’s bankrupt Forum Health this week announced an agreement to sell its assets to a for-profit health care provider, marking the third proposed sale of a financially struggling nonprofit provider to a for-profit entity in the last few months.

The Michigan Department of Transportation last week released revenue projections for a second bridge spanning the Detroit River as the Senate gears up for one of the most debated and controversial votes of the session.

Illinois regulators last week approved nonprofit Chicago-based Resurrection Health Care’s sale of two suburban Chicago hospitals to Tennessee-based for-profit Vanguard Health Systems.

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.

A Port Authority of New York and New Jersey official reassured New Jersey lawmakers yesterday that the agency is moving quickly to update or replace the Bayonne Bridge, a move that would potentially increase shipping activity in the area.

CHICAGO — Wisconsin will competitively sell $800 million of one-year operating notes tomorrow and is gearing up to issue about $200 million of new-money transportation revenue bonds next month, while a planned general obligation refunding remains on hold.

Transportation stakeholders are concerned that the Obama administration has not released a set of reauthorization principles by the time Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said it would.

WASHINGTON — A group of Senate Democrats sent a letter yesterday to Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., urging them to add billions of dollars for transportation-related investments to the draft climate and energy bill the two recently unveiled.

Several Democratic governors are lobbying to extend through June 2011 the increased federal Medicaid match they have been receiving since the passage of the stimulus last year.

CHICAGO — The Illinois Finance Authority board this week gave final approval to deals for OSF Healthcare System and NorthShore University Health System that will raise new money for each and shift outstanding variable-rate debt to fixed rate to reduce market and liquidity risks.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority wants ideas on how to create a new credit with revenue streams enacted in last year’s state bailout, according to its first request for proposals for underwriting services in five years.