| Catholic Vote Critical For Dems In Pa.
Understanding Pennsylvania's rich Catholic tradition and responding to it is an article of faith for Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama as the April 22 primary looms in the still unsettled and intense Democratic presidential race.
It's a way of life _ and of thinking _ well-known to the people of Scranton, a working-class city nestled in northeast Pennsylvania where earlier generations worked in the factories, mills and coal mines _ and kneeled in prayer in Catholic church pews on Sunday morning.
On Election Day of yesteryear, large numbers of Pennsylvania Catholics evoked the name of Franklin D. Roosevelt and voted Democratic.
This year, Clinton has fared well among Catholic voters in early primary states and she holds a substantial lead over Obama among Catholic Democrats in Pennsylvania polls.
Private mortgage insurers doing business as usual
Montgomery mortgage lenders are still able to make loans that require private mortgage insurance, despite a national report that says the rules are changing for mortgage lenders. Private mortgage insurance is coverage that is purchased by the homebuyer to protect the lender in case of default and is required on most conventional mortgages when the buyer doesn't have a 20 percent down payment. The PMI company has the greatest risk if a home goes to foreclosure. So if a market is in decline and home prices are dropping significantly, it increases the PMI company's risk because a home likely won't bring as much at foreclosure. That means PMI sellers generally require larger down payments in areas with falling home prices. The Radian Group announced last week that it considers much of the Montgomery area to be among 9,600 ZIP codes that are in declining markets, which is requiring lenders to change the way they do business.
Captain's decision balanced economics, risk
The difference between a tragic ending to a fishing trip and the Coast Guard's rescue of the two-man crew of the dragger Miss Sonya may have been the result of a decision by the captain to return home a day early. Matteo Ferrara, 52, was operating the 36-year-old, steel-hulled boat for its owner, Corrado Buccheri, who had purchased it three years ago. Like Ferrara, the Miss Sonya's mate, Joseph Lucido, 54, is a freelance fisherman rooted in the community. On Monday, Ferrara took aboard Lucido and 750 gallons of diesel fuel and headed the Miss Sonya out for two days of targeted fishing on or around Stellwagen Bank, the nearest and most convenient grounds for the fleet from Gloucester — only 15 miles or so from port. In the current regulatory environment, Stellwagen opened on Dec.
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