SCARY STUFF -It's no surprise that real estate agents and other affiliated professionals are calling for more help to deal with the rising tide of home foreclosures in this county. The number of new foreclosures rose by 50 percent in October, and could reach 270 this month.

The Northern Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce committee that began work this week is looking for ways to get more help from state and local government. Lots of scary words were tossed around; the most worrisome was "depression."

Separate from events in Washington, the state has convinced companies that hold 25 percent of mortgages in Maryland to work...