Financial Support

Baltimore homeowners could receive counseling and financial support - including short-term loans to help avoid foreclosure - if the city wins the predatory and discriminatory lending lawsuit it filed yesterday against Wells Fargo Bank, Mayor Sheila Dixon said. After reviewing foreclosure data, city attorneys concluded that the leading mortgage lender was steering black homebuyers into high-cost, subprime loans, a contention Wells Fargo denies. City officials believe theirs is the first attempt by a municipality to recoup losses as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis.

WASHINGTON -- Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani ran a frugal presidential campaign during the first three months of this year, leaving him with nearly as much money in the bank for next year's Republican presidential primaries as the party's most formidable fundraiser, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Giuliani reported $10.8 million in cash available for the primary season from contributions of $13.6 million for those elections as of March 31. Romney showed a balance of $11.9 million from $20.7 million in contributions.

It's flu season, and many Americans have been to the doctor or school clinic for a flu shot. These shots protect us - especially the most vulnerable, our children and the elderly - from the season's harshest bugs, and prevent a simple infection from turning into something much worse. In the world's poorest countries, the picture is much different. Each year, 2 million to 3 million children in developing countries, mainly in Africa, die from diseases that could be prevented by vaccines available today.

THE ISSUE: Even as Howard Community College prepares to open its $20 million visual and performing arts center, the Columbia Association's board has turned down a proposal to donate $200,000 to the facility. Some board members were concerned about adding to the association's debt, though they stressed the importance of close ties between the college and the community, and the importance of the arts. What formal role, if any, do you think the Columbia Association should have in relation to the community college's arts programs?

ICAT Logistics breaks ground for building ICAT Logistics Inc. broke ground last month for its 20,646- square-foot building on Douglas Legum Drive in Elkridge. The company, near Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, provides expedited transportation and logistics services. The company, which has outgrown its quarters, organizes and guarantees delivery of critical freight such as medical products, rollouts for retailers, hazardous and biological waste, trade-show booths and displays, airplane engines, helicopter blades, automotive parts and other items.

The Naval Academy has extended a big helping hand to a fellow institution made homeless by Hurricane Katrina. When New Orleans-based Tulane University visits Saturday for the Midshipmen's homecoming game, it will truly be the honored guest, courtesy of the academy. Navy will pick up virtually all the expenses for Tulane's trip, including airfare, hotel rooms, meals and ground transportation after having forwarded the visiting team's guarantee (about $125,000) in advance. "We're just doing everything we can to support them," said academy athletic director Chet Gladchuk.

CONSIDERED IN the context of the U.N. reform policy approved by the House last week, John R. Bolton seems the perfect choice to represent the United States in the world body. An outspoken bully with nothing but contempt for the United Nations, Mr. Bolton is just the guy to carry out House orders to cut off financial support for the United Nations if it fails to dance to America's tune -- especially if he goes in with an attitude as a recess appointment lacking Senate approval. Those who want to destroy the institution have hit upon an efficient way to do it. But that result would be tragic and dangerous for this country.

A Baltimore developer has bought the historic Dundalk Village Shopping Center, and Baltimore County officials have offered $2 million in loans and grants to help him overhaul the old, underused retail, office and apartment strip. The recent purchase of the 87-year-old center by JMJ Dundalk Properties of Pikesville from Dunleer Co. will go a long way toward the continuing revitalization of Dundalk, an effort that includes a $2 million Dundalk Avenue streetscape, governM-Wment and community leaders said.

Arafat leaves a legacy of lies and destruction Yasser Arafat had a genius for dissimulating, and he hoodwinked everyone, including his own people ("Yasser Arafat dies," Nov. 11). He was a genius, but unlike Yitzhak Rabin and Anwar el Sadat, he failed to rise to practically every opportunity where an actual solution presented itself. Personal survival, even when this meant lying to his people about what they could expect from a peace settlement with Israel - which included most of the West Bank, all of Gaza, and parts of Jerusalem - seems to have predominated in his thinking.