Mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures are at an all-time high. It’s shocking to review statistics about millions of people who’ve fallen behind on their mortgage payments. It’s alarming to read stories about people you don’t know struggling to keep their homes. It takes on an entirely different perspective when you meet face-to-face with real people who are on the brink of foreclosure.

In recent months, I’ve worked with hundreds of people who are depressed and scared out of their mind because they’ve fallen behind on their mortgage and cannot catch up. These are real people, some of whom you see and mingle with everyday.

Federal Community Development Bloc Grants were designed during the Carter administration as a mechanism to revitalize depressed urban neighborhoods. Increasingly, however, cities like Pittsburgh used the funds to pay salaries for administrators, buy equipment or pave roads—and rarely roads in the qualifying neighborhoods.

Now Pittsburgh councilman Rev. Rickey Burgess has had enough. He has introduced legislation that would require the grant funds to be allocated and used as intended.

Teleseminar

MAY 19—Pittsburgh Coaches Association will host “Internet Marketing Crash Course—Identifying the Biggest Bang for Your E-Marketing Buck” Teleseminar from 12-12:30 p.m. William Weil, managing director of Pittsburgh SEO Consulting Group, will help individuals to identify the right site for marketing their business. Registration is required. For more information, call 412-820-9731 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Spring brings a mix of beauty through color and fragrances that linger from the flowers of the season. Nestled in the business district of Verona, Blossoms of Verona Floral and Gift Shop, the signs of spring last all year. From roses, and carnations, to lilies and daisies, this gift shop offers its customers flowers filling the trends of all seasons.

In the floral business for three years, owner Cathy Horne says her floral designs are a way of self-expression and her way of helping people. “I like to see the joy on people’s faces when they see their arrangements for the first time,” she said.

SOMETHING FOR ALL OCCASIONS —At Blossoms of Verona Floral and Gift Shop, owner Cathy Horne offers such unique items as a diaper cake.

A designer of silk flower arrangements for more than 20 years, Horne points out that transforming from a hobby to a full-fledged florist came by happen­stance. Formerly working in the classified department of a newspaper, she said a lady called to list her floral business for sale. After taking all her information, Horne said the lady offered it to her. Still astonished to this day, she said she dismissed the thought until one day when she was in the Forest Hills area where the shop was located. “I couldn’t find it but while turning to leave there it was. I toured the establishment and later showed my husband and the rest is history,” she said.