Mortgage applications surge on refinancing demand: MBA
(Reuters) – Applications for home mortgages surged more than 20 percent last week, fueled by a wave of refinancing demand as interest rates dropped, an industry group said on Wednesday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, jumped 23.1 percent in the week ended January 13.
The MBA’s seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications climbed 26.4 percent, while the gauge of loan requests for home purchases rose 10.3 percent.
“With mortgage rates reaching new lows, refinance volume jumped,” Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics, said in a statement. “Purchase activity also increased as buyers returned to the market after the holiday season.”
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Cardin talks fracking, bay cleanup during tour through Western Md.
Senator backs drilling moratorium, calls for industry transparency
Matthew Bieniek Cumberland Times-News
CUMBERLAND — U.S Sen. Ben Cardin covered a lot of ground in a wide-ranging interview with the Times-News on Friday afternoon. He discussed matters ranging from natural gas drilling in Marcellus shale to the challenge posed by Iran.
The following are some of the highlights of the interview. Cardin is a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works, Foreign Relations, Finance, Budget, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and Security and Cooperation in Europe committees.
Marcellus shale
“I think we can do fracking … we should do it the right way,” Cardin said. That being said, Cardin supports Gov. Martin O’Malley’s moratorium on drilling in Maryland. Fracking is a process by which chemicals are pumped into the ground to free the gas trapped in Marcellus shale.
“I’ve tried to convince the industry they’d be better off with national standards than fight state-by-state,” Cardin said. Each state is using different standards.
“My point is I think we can develop the right practices.” Cardin said the country needs the natural gas trapped in Marcellus shale. ”The process is well-known and the risk factors are well-known,” Cardin said. The senator generally scores high marks from environmental groups for his voting record.
He also called for industry transparency. “We should know what they are using” as fracking fluids, Cardin said. The best way to prevent pollution from the fluids is to require recycling of fracking fluids. Recycling would minimize the risk to clean water, the senator said.
Chesapeake cleanup and farmers
The problems in the Chesapeake Bay are not only the quality of the water, but the ecological system, Cardin said. Unfortunately, farming is the major source of bay pollution, he said, and the largest growing source of pollution is storm water runoff.
“Many, many farmers are doing extraordinary things to protect the bay,” Cardin said.
“Our program should be based on the best science.”
Farm groups have been particularly concerned with the possible effects of bay cleanup efforts. The Maryland Farm Bureau believes farmers are being targeted unfairly by environmentalists.
“We oppose regulations that put farmers who live in the Chesapeake Bay watershed at a competitive disadvantage,” the Maryland Farm Bureau’s 2012 policy statement states. The Farm Bureau believes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is using a flawed model for setting pollution standards. Cardin said he’s relying on the scientists.
“The model that’s being used is the model they think is right,” Cardin said. The most serious challenge to the bay in the area of farming is the poultry industry, Cardin said. Cardin said he won’t be deterred from doing everything possible to clean up the bay.
“I think we need to do a more effective job. I don’t think we’re doing enough,” he said. Cardin thinks the Farm Bureau will work with legislators interested in a nutrient trading program, which would pay farmers to reduce their use of fertilizers and reducing runoff from their farms. It’s much cheaper to pay farmers at the source of the pollution than get nitrogen out of the water system, he said.
“Nutrient trading is a winner for farmers,” Cardin said.
The Occupy movement
“There’s a void and it was filled by Occupy Wall Street. It was sheer frustration,” Cardin said. He’s not sure whether the Occupy movement will have a long-term effect, because the movement’s political aims aren’t clear and there seems to be no interest in electing people to office.
“It’s not like the Tea Party. In many respects, it’s much broader than the Tea Party,” he said, since it includes libertarians and communitarians, he said. “The Tea Party is focused,” Cardin said, and therefore probably has more impact on policy than the Occupy movement.
The movement is a “comfort level for people to express anger and frustration,” Cardin said.
Iran
President Barack Obama is taking the right approach on Iran, Cardin said. “We need to isolate Iran as much as possible and support … enforcing sanctions,” Cardin said. Iran is widely believed to be trying to build a nuclear weapon and is under a variety of international sanctions for refusing to allow inspections of nuclear sites in the country.
“The question is, what are your options?”
The sanctions are having a major impact and there is at least a possibility the Iranian people will stand up and overthrow their government. Cardin said he had no confidential information, but that it seemed likely the U.S. and other allies had made cyber attacks on Iran. Those actions have slowed their nuclear program, Cardin said.
“We’re taking the steps we should be taking,” the senator said. And keeping the support of the international community is key to effective action against Iran’s government. There are only a few truly dangerous countries in the world, and Iran is one of them, along with North Korea and Pakistan, Cardin said.
“They can’t do it without us, but it’s gotta be international,” he said.
Politics
Changes need to be made to the presidential nominating process, Cardin said.
“The nominating process is so difficult. … It does not attract the people most qualified to be president,” he said. Cardin didn’t discuss details, but said the process is deeply flawed. On the state level, the senator said he thinks a Democrat will likely win the 6th Congressional District seat currently held by Republican Roscoe Bartlett.
“The numbers look like they give the Democrats the edge,” Cardin said. A redistricting map added large numbers of Democrat voters from the metro area late last year. Cardin is up for re-election himself. Eight Democrats and 10 Republicans have filed for the seat. Cardin will be seeking his second term. He spent 20 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and more than 20 years in the Maryland House of Delegates.
His wife, Myrna, said there’s a big difference between being a member of the House and being a U.S. senator. The transition from a small geographic area to the statewide office meant “you don’t get everywhere as often,” Myrna Cardin said. She said she prefers to stay in the background and was looking forward to a rare family weekend once her husband finished his Western Maryland tour.
Contact Matthew Bieniek at mbieniek@times-news.com
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Garrett’s fifth-graders are staying in elementary schools
Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News
OAKLAND — The Garrett County Board of Education Tuesday night decided against a proposed plan to move fifth-grade students into middle schools during a special meeting at Southern Middle School.
School officials are now considering an elementary alternative that will be based on next school year’s kindergarten enrollment. That plan won’t be finalized until enrollment figures become available later in the spring.
“I’m relieved to see another plan on the table. It gives me the confidence on what you, the school board, is doing for our school,” said resident Melissa Long, one of nearly 200 people in attendance.
“I’m against fifth-graders going to middle school. I counsel youth and the number one issue I see is insecurity. Sending them to middle school will only amplify this,” said Mike Robinson, pastor and member of Friendsville Advisory Committee.
The reconfiguration would have provided the maximum effective use of staff and space while providing students optimum educational programing, said Sue Waggoner, interim superintendent of schools. As part of the plan, fifth-graders would have been able to participate in foreign language and tech education classes.
The reconfiguration was part of a five-year plan developed by Waggoner. That plan also calls for the closing of Dennett Road, Kitzmiller and Friendsville elementary schools.
Hearings for those school closures begin today at 7 p.m. in the Friendsville school gymnasium.
Should Friendsville close, the 103 students who attend the school will be sent to Accident and Grantsville elementary schools, according to Waggoner. In addition, school position reductions are proposed as part of the plan.
Kitzmiller Elementary’s 50 students would be redistricted to Yough Glades and possibly Broadford elementary schools as part of the plan.
“We are $3 million short. There is no way around the closings,” said Waggoner.
Hearings are also set for Kitzmiller on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the school multipurpose room and for Dennett Road Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Southern High School gym.
Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com
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GC Program Saving Lives...
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Dec. 15, 2011
The list of the many positive effects of Garrett College on our county and on the students it serves is a lengthy one, considering all of the institution’s fine academic programs, the golden opportunity that the college provides for so many more local students to obtain a college education, the athletic and recreational opportunities, and the overall positive economic impact of the college on the economy of the county, including providing many jobs.
However, one of the more obscure, yet exciting, services of the college is featured on the Garrett College News Beat page in this issue of The Republican (page C-2). The focus of the story is the Garrett-Backbone College Program, which affords the opportunity for wayward youth incarcerated at the Backbone Youth Center to obtain college credit and, more importantly, an avenue for a productive life outside the correctional system.
The young people housed at the Backbone Youth Center are there because they have selected a path of juvenile delinquency. They are typically from dysfunctional – often downright destructive – home environments, from which there is often little hope of ever escaping. The prospect of becoming law-abiding, productive adults is generally slim. In fact, as the story notes, the recidivism rate of juveniles who get into trouble is from 70 to 80%.
However, since the Garrett-Backbone College Program has been in existence (since 2006), the recidivism rate of youth who have been in the program is 38%. Not only have nearly two-thirds of the participants converted to a law-abiding way of life, but a number of them have become highly successful. Several have continued in college – both at Garrett and elsewhere – obtained good jobs, and/or enlisted in the military, where they have also excelled. One alumnus of the school is now a student in the University of Maryland School of Law!
Since its beginning, some 180 young people have earned a total of over 1,000 college credit hours.
This program proves that so many of the nation’s youth who get into trouble for a variety of reasons can indeed overcome huge odds and get their lives back on a positive track if they are provided the kind of opportunity generated by programs such as these, and come into contact with adults who truly care about them.
As noted by GC professor Elizabeth Grant, this program also provides an excellent learning environment for other Garrett students who are enrolled in justice studies or various education-related classes, as the program provides some real-life practical situations and experiences.
Kudos to all involved with this outstanding program that is truly “making a difference,” and probably literally saving the lives of some of our young people who just need a second chance.
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Superintendent Waggoner Asks BOE To Consider Closing Schools
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Dec. 15, 2011
A somber tone was struck at Tuesday’s monthly Garrett County Board of Education meeting, which centered around the projected budget shortfalls faced by the school system and the possibility that those financial woes may cause some major changes. Most notably, the financial deficit may force the BOE to vote to close a number of Garrett County schools.
Before a pair of presentations were given on the subject, extra chairs were brought into the board room of the Board of Education building to accommodate the larger than usual crowd in attendance.
The first informative talk was given by Larry Mc-Kenzie, director of finance, who presented tentative estimates on Maryland’s state aid wealth formula and its effects on school budgets. McKenzie explained that according to the formula, Garrett County was on track to become the fifth wealthiest county in Maryland, and therefore receive increasingly less funding from Annapolis.
This trend was attributed to reductions in local student population, as well as to increases in real estate value, presumably properties in the Deep Creek Lake area and those connected with utilities. Estimates for immediate budget losses were thought to be somewhere between $1.5 and $3 million.
Following McKenzie’s presentation, Sue Waggoner, interim superintendent of schools, addressed the board with proposals for balancing the budget. These proposals were to be taken under advisement by the board, and will be considered over the coming months.
Through the first year of Waggoner’s five-year proposal, the board was asked to first consider eliminating the high school driver’s education program. This action would reportedly net a saving of $200,000 per year. Coupled with this measure was a proposal to also consider the elimination of the full-time school-enrichment positions, allowing those duties to fall to the primary teaching staff and perhaps to part-time employees. The removal of these positions would reportedly reduce the budget deficit by around $165,000 per year.
Waggoner also asked the board to consider reconfiguring the current grade structure of schools, moving fifth graders to middle schools. This new configuration would have pre-K through fourth graders attend elementary schools and fifth through eighth graders attend middle schools. High schools would see no change.
Having middle school begin at the fifth grade level, Waggoner explained, was a somewhat common practice in the neighboring states of Virginia and West Virginia and would also allow for a smoother transition into the redistricting of students brought about by school closings.
The first school that the board was asked to consider for closure was Dennett Road Elementary, as its location would allow those currently enrolled there to be relocated to Broad Ford, Yough Glades, and Crellin. Dennett Road was also targeted because of its need for extensive renovations in the near future – renovations which could not be completed given the school system’s current financial situation.
This maneuver would also allow for the removal of 16½ teacher, principal, and custodial positions throughout the school system.
Two other facilities – Kitzmiller and Friendsville elementaries – were also presented to the board as candidates for closure. If this were to occur, Kitzmiller students would presumably be redistricted to Yough Glades, while Friendsville students would be sent to Accident and Grantsville. Waggoner estimated a savings of around $279,000 per year if Kitzmiller were closed, while closing Friendsville would reportedly save around $674,000.
Beyond the closing of schools, reductions in spending on transportation, maintenance, and staff were proposed in order to balance the budget. Waggoner felt that the transportation budget could be reduced by around $128,000.
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Commissioners Review Building Permitting, Assistance Prog., Economic Dev. Issues
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Dec. 15, 2011
The Garrett County commissioners reviewed a wide variety of issues during their public session last Tuesday at the courthouse in Oakland. Topics discussed included building permits, the Energy Assistance Program, a building purchase, and a bid award for standing timber.
Permits and inspections chief Jim Torrington reported that building permits were down in the county by more than 24 percent for the first 11 months of this year, compared to the same time period in 2010. Permits issued between January and the end of November 2011 were 368, compared to 486 in 2010, 459 in 2009, 513 in 2008, and 638 in 2007.
Torrington noted there were 16 modular home permits issued in the county last year, compared to only five this year. He attributed the decrease to a new code requiring that modular homes be equipped with fire suppression systems.
“It definitely has had an impact on the modular home industry in the county,” Torrington said about the regulation.
That industry, as well as the home construction one, will also be affected by new energy standards recently adopted by the Maryland Codes Administration. One specific regulation requires that new homes undergo a blower-door test. Energy auditors use the test to determine a home’s airtightness, which affects energy consumption.
The new requirement for modular homes goes into effect in the state on Jan. 1, 2012. For new home construction, counties have until July 1, 2012, to adopt the code. Torrington noted that since the requirement pertains to an energy code; it cannot be amended by the county. He indicated he wants to hold a meeting with local contractors sometime in the spring to educate them on the new energy code requirements.
Also last Tuesday, Community Action president Duane Yoder updated the commissioners on the Energy Assistance Program. He indicated that numerous local residents are in need of assistance to heat their homes this winter but because of issues at the federal level, funding has been tied up.
The program provides help with heating costs to low- and moderate-income households. It serves about 3,000 households in Garrett County each year.
“The program affects about a quarter of the households in Garrett County,” Yoder said. “And, to date, we’ve not been given permission to release any of the money.”
He explained that the federal government has not yet decided on a final budget for the program this year. As a result, Maryland does not know how much money it is going to get for the program, and, therefore, is not granting Community Action the authority to release any of the money that has already allocated to the agency.
“So, we’re sitting on money that has already been deposited in our account,” Yoder said about the $1 million that has been earmarked for energy assistance.
In the last few weeks, he noted, residents who are already certified for the program are calling his office, stating they are out of fuel. He said Community Action was working with Social Services and the faith-based community to help with the real dire emergencies.
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Commissioner Jim Raley asked.
Yoder suggested the commissioners contact the governor about the issue, which has become a life-threatening one for some households. He noted that the decision on the funding releases has been moved from Maryland Department of Human Resources to the Governor’s Office.
“A minimum benefit release would at least give us the ability to get through this until they decide what they are going to do,” Yoder said.
Further complicating the issue, he noted, is that federal officials are proposing cutting the program by 40 percent. Last year, beneficiaries received an average of $540. That could be cut to $224 this year, creating energy assistance needs again for local families in February and March.
Following the meeting, the commissioners, Yoder, and county administrator Monty Pagenhardt conducted a conference call with Governor’s Office officials about the funding issue.
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County Residents Reminded To Buy Refuse Site Permit
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Dec. 15, 2011
The Garrett County Department of Solid Waste and Recycling reminds residents that they could be left “holding the bag” on Monday, Jan. 2, unless they have purchased a 2012 Residential Refuse Site Permit. The new permits went on sale on Oct. 1 and will be valid through Dec. 31, 2012.
Residents may purchase their 2012 permit in person at the landfill or the Garrett County tax office.
Permits are also available online to anyone who has previously held a permit or the application can be submitted by mail.
“Purchasing online is the fastest way to renew, and there is no additional charge for using your credit card online,” said department manager Dave Baker.
Applications are not mailed out, but are available at all collection sites, online, the Grantsville library, the Garrett County tax office, and at the landfill.
“Residents are encouraged to avoid the New Year rush and renew today,” Baker said.
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Fracking Commission Wants To Make It Easier For Landowners To File Suit
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Dec. 15, 2011
by Greg Masters
Capital News Service
ANNAPOLIS – A commission tasked with advising Maryland on possible shale gas production supports a change in the law that would make it easier for landowners to bring claims against drillers regarding water contamination and other damages near hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” sites.
The new law, which commission chair and Towson University professor David Vanko said has “pretty broad support” from the commission, would shift the burden of proof to energy companies by creating a “rebuttable presumption” that drilling activity causes certain kinds of damages occurring close in time and in proximity to natural gas operations.
“I think (asymmetry of resources) always has been an issue in litigation, particularly where an aggrieved party, Joe Homeowner, is suing a Fortune 500 company,” said Harry Weiss, a lawyer in the Philadelphia-based law firm Ballard Spahr and a member of the advisory commission. Weiss said Pennsylvania already has a similar presumption statute for damages that occur near natural gas operations.
This and other changes to the state’s liability structure, as well as potential revenue sources from gas drilling, will be included in a set of recommendations due Dec. 31 – the first milestone in a three-year study that Gov. Martin O’Malley required by executive order in May.
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Advocacy Group Seeks Legislation To Expand Energy-Leasing Protection
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Dec. 15, 2011
A local organization that has advocated for making more information available to land-owners who wish to lease their property for energy development announced this week it would ask western Maryland’s Annapolis delegation to sponsor a “Fair Energy-Leasing Act” in the upcoming session of the Maryland General Assembly.
CitizenShale acting director Natalie Atherton said the organization would present its suggested legislation this Saturday to Sen. George Edwards and Del. Wendell Beitzel at the delegation’s annual pre-legislative public meeting, which is slated to begin at 10 a.m. in Garrett College’s Room 205. The legislators traditionally use the opportunity to discuss proposals for new legislation, and the public is always encouraged to attend.
“Leases are both individual landowners’ and our county’s first line of protection against poor industrial practices that might harm our land, our water, or our economy,” said Atherton.
CitizenShale’s proposed legislation would require licenses for leasing agents and “land men” who represent the many out-of-state energy corporations that have, since 2006, negotiated leases in Garrett and Allegany counties. The bulk of the leasing activity has been for shale gas extraction, which has not yet occurred in Maryland, but Atherton noted that other forms of industrial energy development, such as wind-power, raise many of the same land-use and consumer protection issues.
All such leases, as well as the outright purchase of mineral rights, are the foundation of energy development in Maryland – including shale gas extraction, should it occur.
Edwards and Beitzel have in the past sponsored bills dealing with gas leasing. The issue has also caught the attention in the last year of Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler, whose office has issued two “public information notices” to assist lessors, most recently in October.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
The organization’s proposal follows a public meeting it sponsored last Thursday at which a Garrett County Board of Realtors initiative for a state gas lease registry was introduced. Roughly 60 people attended the event at Garrett College, where a PowerPoint presentation prepared by the board was shown.
In November, the realtor board petitioned a governor-appointed commission studying shale gas development for a lease registry that would require all holders of leases to register them with the state. The lease registry would provide a way for buyers and sellers of real estate to easily learn details on mineral leases held on land adjacent to or near properties offered for sale.
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Local Lawmakers Scheduled Annual Prelegislative Mtg.
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Dec. 8, 2011
Sen. George Edwards and Del. Wendell Beitzel will hold their annual prelegislative forum on Saturday, Dec. 17, at 10 a.m. in the Garrett College Continuing Education Building, Rooms 205-207.
The local lawmakers encourage citizens to attend the event and make , ask questions, or offer suggestions for the upcoming General Assembly session in Annapolis.
Edwards and Beitzel will be available to discuss any questions pertaining to state issues or legislative matters.
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