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Suncoast Pasco News

Letters to the editor, Oct. 21

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FROM OUR READERS

Published: October 21, 2009

No abuse

Editor:

I received an e-mail from a community member responding to the front-page photo spread in your Oct. 7 editions about the YMCA Kids Fishing Festival in New Port Richey. The message objected to what the caption said was the children painting fish before they were released.

In fact, the fish that the children paint and do fish rubbings with have already been caught and are dead. We bring them to the Fishing Festival to use specifically for this purpose. We absolutely do not paint the fish that are caught on the day of the tournament. We pride ourselves on having a catch-and-release tournament and feel good about educating the kids on why we do that.

Mary Gentry Roberts

New Port Richey

The writer is district vice president, West Pasco County, of the YMCA of the Suncoast.

Human faces

Editor:

On Aug. 17 the Task Force on Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Cases of the Florida Supreme Court recommended "adoption of a uniform, statewide managed mediation program to be implemented through a model administrative order issued by each chief circuit judge." The report addresses the "traffic jam" of foreclosure cases involving "bundled" mortgages, in which many individual mortgages are grouped and "bought and traded" by investors.

Several circuits have issued such orders and programs and they appear to be working well. As a mediator, I can state confidently that the process is moving foreclosure cases to conclusion. The mandatory mediation process mandates that lending institutions assign a live body with settlement powers to these cases.

I hope the Pasco-Pinellas Circuit Court will not only look at the logjam of foreclosures on its docket but also take into consideration that families live in many of the homes undergoing foreclosure. A boutique industry of lawyers has evolved to "defend" lending institutions' foreclosure actions. Homeowners, however, deserve a system that forces the lending institutions to unbundle mortgages and move to a conclusion that is best for all.

The problem of bundled mortgage foreclosures is systemic and nationwide. Forcing a lender to put a face and phone number of the problem is a big step in the right direction. If Florida barks the loudest, perhaps its residents and lenders can unravel the bundled mortgages mess as first in line.

James Mathieu

Port Richey

The writer, an attorney, is a Supreme Court-certified mediator.

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