More good news for D.C.

• Position: News & Numbers - District of Columbia bond ratings up - Brief Article

Mayor Anthony Williams and Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi announced in June that Fitch Ratings and Standard and Poor's had upgraded their ratings of the District of Columbia's general obligation bonds to A- from BBB+.

"This is a crowning achievement for the District government," Williams said. "Even at a time when the nation as a whole is facing economic hardships and other jurisdictions are being downgraded or put on negative outlook, we have gained the confidence of Wall Street analysts. And we did it the old fashioned way--we earned it."

The rating upgrades are the latest development in the district's financial turnaround. In January, it announced its sixth consecutive budget surplus and a clean audit opinion on its first CAFR submitted under the reporting requirements of GASB Statement No. 34. The federal enclave was...