they have to be a minimum of three months behind in their mortgage and have what the government calls a reasonable likelihood of being able to start paying it again in two years. this has to be the primary home and they can own no second home. the family has to have suffered a minimum of 15% reduction in income and was able to pay the mortgage before the loss. the government stresses it's not free money. it has to be repaid. it's just cash to help homeowners affected by the economy's fall to get out of the woods. >> this allowsen them to hold on to their homes, allows them to keep neighborhoods stabilized. a lot of people don't think about that. when you have a foreclosed property in your block it causes all kinds of problems. property values go down. now the people can stay home, keep their families in their homes. >> reporter: when can you apply if eligible? probably not until the end of the year. however, cummings says the purpose is to get the money out as soon as possible so that folks working -- folks are

going to be working now with housing groups to get the process moved to the fast track. roosevelt leftwich, abc2 news. >> thank you. some patients who received unnecessary cardiac stents from a baltimore county hospital are stepping outside a potential class action suit to have their own day in court. an attorney for more than 100 patients says he's filed more than 100 individual lawsuits against st. joseph's medical center. the cardiologist who allegedly misstated the amount of blockage patients had to justify inserting stents in their arteries no longer works at the facility. >> there's a number of people in this -- 101 people i filed suit for that left that hospital thinking they had some kind of serious heart problem when in reality they had none. there's some people that left that hospital having to take plavix which is a blood thinner. the rest of their life. a blood thinner that is not without serious side effects like fatigue, joint pain, excessive bleeding.

>> each lawsuit will seek at least $10,000 for each stent procedure and potentially hundreds of thousands more per patient's pain and suffering. in a written statement today the hospital says its open to discuss any case with a patient and their attorneys. and adds a letter it sends to patients warning them of the unnecessary procedures, it's not proof of liability. baltimore city crews spent the latter part of the morning fighting a fire at a popular restaurant in fells point. trucks responded to pazo in the 1,400 bloblg around 11:00 this morning. crews say when they arrived most of the fire was coming from the ceiling and roof area. possibly because of the wood-burning stove the restaurant uses. the fire got so involved a second alarm had to be sent out. >> there's difficulty in the accepts of the way the building is constructed. so they are continuing to make progress and as soon as they are able to do so they will

extinguish any more of the fire. >> no injuries reported and no word on how it started. weatherwise today we're talking about a chilly one out there. and a cloudy one. murky. we briefly had sun breaking through especially in the southern half of the state with you a -- but a lot of us stayed overcast. this evening, a cooler than average day and cooler than average night on the way. 56 now out of bwi marshall. we're all the way to 54 in york. the rest of the evening, 50s. cloudy and chilly. check this out, through the day tomorrow, weather pattern holding pretty tough. i mean, mid-50s by noon. we'll probably get to just about 60 degrees again late in the day. but the bottom line is, this pattern just hanging on. there is much better weather in the offing. we'll talk about when it gets here coming up. a bizarre story from odenton. it took nearly half a dozen

anne arundel county police officers to bring down a man who attacked two cops. the drama began to unfold sunday night at wagh chapel and dairy farm roads as it got dark. police say steven wise walked up to a woman's car and sat on her bumper. when police arrived he appeared disoriented. he was told to put his hands behind his back and investigators say that is when he lost it, he became violent, threw one officer to the ground and tried to take his service weapon. >> pepper spray. hoped to gain compliance by distracting him or causing a distraction to him so the officers could take advantage. it incited him more. the officers escalated further. after one officer was attacked and thrown to the ground, an officer arriving with a taser deployed it. it was somewhat ineffective because they couldn't gain control of the person. so more officers arrived. then the baen to strikes were used. that and the officers in

concert working together were able to bring him under control. >> wise faces several charges. including assault on law enforcement. he was taken to an area hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries. all the officers are expected to be ok. the search is underway in yellowstone national bark for a burtopsville man reported missing. 48-year-old stuart isaac was on a cross-country trip. his black 2009 lexus was found last sunday in a section of the grand loop road linking old faithful and west thumb. investigators haven't ruled anything out yet. the crime statistics took front and center in baltimore county today, with serious crime down significantly. compared to this time last year serious crimes including homicides, rapes and burglaries all dropped. >> violent crime in our state is down to the lowest levels it's opinion since 1975. it doesn't happen by accident. it happens because of courageous police officers and

county governments that are working, state's attorneys offices that are working and yes, a state government working and moving our state forward in the toughest of times. >> jim johnson says his force is fighting to make baltimore county one of the safest places to live in the country. a sanitation worker is recovering tonight after nearly losing his life on the job. he fell from a garbage truck wand was run over. it happened 2:00 this morning on delaware avenue near lorraine avenue in essex. police say the man was trying to climb back into the cab, when he slipped and fell. the truck then ran over both his legs. he's expected to recover from his injuries. bge wants to add up to $50 to your utility bill. the utility wants to raise the delivery fee for electricity by just under $2 a month. and gas by more than $2. bge says while the actual price of the energy always fluctuates

it's not increased its delivery fee for electricity since the early 1990s and costs have gone up. >> we've not had a distribution increase on the electric side since 1993. that is 17 years ago. 17 years ago the ravens weren't here. 17 years ago we didn't have dvd's. inflation has risen 50% since that time. >> the public service commission is holding hearings for the public to speak out about the proposed fees. it's 7:00 at the bel air town hall in harford county. check the web site for a list  of other meetings near you. we'll have complete details on the meeting on abc2 news at 11:00. one family is getting help from the federal government. the cecil county healthy marriage initiative received a $500,000 grant to pay for programs to help strengthen marriages and relationships. some of the money will fund marriage enrichment weekends and the sixth annual marriage summit in january. they are also in the middle of

developing new programs called facebook and marriage which looks at social media and relationships. in washington, president obama praised community colleges all across america today for being the backbone of education. two people were offered, both who teach at anne arundel county in arnold. >> these colleges are the unsung heroes of america's education system. they may not get the credit they deserve, they may not get the same resources as other schools but they provide a gateway to millions of americans to good jobs and a better life. >> the summit was hosted by dr. joe biden, a longtime college professor and wife of vice president joe biden. jill biden. he served our great country as the 39th president of the united states.

and tonight hear how president jimmy carter is also serving the citizens of baltimore. with habitat for humanity. and everyone needs iron but somehow doctors are finding that newborns don't have enough iron to produce healthy growth. parents, you can't afford to miss tonight's "health alert." >> i'm wait wyett everhart. only 61 degrees. 10 degrees below average today but your 2-degree guarantee was 62. so our weather winner is going to be emily robinson from essex. home of some of the best crab houses in the world. we'll be right back.

two governors, two different approaches. even in good times bob ehrlich didn't make education a priority. he increased college tuition by 40%,

cut school construction by $200 million, and ehrlich voted to eliminate the department of education while serving in congress. but in the toughest of times, martin o'malley has made record investments in public schools, new school construction, and o'malley froze college tuition four years in a row. with martin o'malley, our children always come first. president jimmy carter always crusaded for the world's poorest and most neglected people. he and his wife stopped in baltimore to do what they do best, give back to the needy. >> reporter: jefferson street buzzes with excitement as more than 150 volunteers rebuild, rehab and repair 10 vacant properties into new homes. in the middle of it all, former president jimmy carter and his wife rosa listened. for 27 years the carterings have been a big part of habitat

for humanity. this time baltimore is one of six cities taking part in the carter work project. overall 86 homes will be built in honor of the president's 86th birthday. >> almost everywhere you go in the united states you can find a place to work on a habitat project. >> reporter: work is what they came to do. >> it's kind of inspiring. at their age, they have such a busy schedule, they come out and build houses for habitat and know how to swing a hammer and nail. >> this is part of a blitz all across the country. this week. celebrating neighborhood revitalization. we hope to help fight back what the effects of the recession and this housing crisis and lift back up some of the tough neighborhoods. >> i can't believe it. they are actually in my house. >> reporter: for tamyra butts and her 4-year-old daughter this represents a new beginning. >> a foundation to be part of a community, a family and stability for me and my family. >> reporter: providing opportunities for families like

hers, drives habitat for humanity, its many volunteers and the carters. >> it's always exciting and adventurous and challenging and unpredictable but i would say in the end it's really gratifying. >> reporter: in east baltimore, bill fink, abc2 news. >> the president and his wife will continue on to minneapolis st. paul and birmingham, alabama, throughout the rest of this week. howard county executive ken you ulman joined the men and women of the volunteer fire department for the groundbreaking their new fire station. once complete it will have individual sleeping quarters and physical fitness training room among other amenities. ulman is most excited about how savage has gotten its response times down by one minute, the time he says could be the difference between life and death. >> we're a great community for a lot of reasons, schools, parks, libraries. all the nonprofits in the community but we're a great place because we're safe. nothing else matters unless

we're safe. the fact that together we've been able to drive down response times over the last year, by over a minute, means that we've all come together to work toward collaboratively. construction begins in november. the station is expected to open in the late fall of 2011 providing quick and easy access to routes 1 and 32. also in howard county the board of education is asking people who are interested in learning more about solar power to come out and join them tonight. they are working to develop solar panels to supply worthington elementary school in ellicott city with electricity. to learn more about the project come out to the school's media center between 7:00 and 9:00 tonight. worthington is 4570 round hill road in ellicott city. feeling a lot

cooler than fall these days. >> we've fallen no the tail end of fall. it's supposed to be that beautiful part of the season on the front end. the leaves beginning to change. not too hot. we've gone from hot and humid to freezing. we will see a return to the golden autumn days coming up this weekend. in time for the weekend. i know that is when you want it. >> right. let first look outside. looks gray. it is. has been gray most of the day. most of yesterday. most of sunday. yeah, enough already, right? i think tomorrow is going to be more cloudy than not but there will be some improvement after that. 56 degrees now. that's chilly winds, northwest at 8. at the maryland science center, bottom line, it stayed murky out there. had some sunshine break through the clouds. further west to frederick and you can see a little more sunshine squeaking through there but not a lot. tomorrow we're going to see a

similar story, i believe. wind have gusted up to 22. there's that breeze. just makes it feel chillier. you throw in a gray day, chilly temperature. and if you have the old bone injuries that kind of ache when you get this weather going on. current wind now 8 to 10 but we'll see those breezes lighten up a little overnight. tomorrow, less breezy but still mostly gray because we have a circulation offshore. temperatures in the upper 50s. this is unseasonably cool by 10 to 12 degrees, not as chillying a yesterday at least. as we check the neighborhood forecast, bottom line, we'll squeak back close to 60 tomorrow but it will take all day to get there under general cloudy skies. a chance for hit or miss shower tomorrow. not a lot of rain but could see a shower or two. your neighborhood to the west here, mount airy 61. cockeysville to the north may be 59 or so in the afternoon. again under a generally cloudy sky. here's the culprit, circulation centered off of good old new jersey here.

off to the west. we've got some rain wrapping around this thing. none of it really made in here today. we thought it could tonight, we don't think it will. tomorrow i think the back edge of this thing will sweep around as this finally ejects to the north and east. it's been cut off from the jet and just kind of stalled out over the last couple of days. keeping it chilly. canadian high to the west, that's also pumped in the cold winds but that area of high pressure coming over us tomorrow is a good thing. not really tomorrow i should say but into the weekend, is a good thing because that is going to clear the skies and make for mighty fine weather around here, eventually. but tomorrow, tonight, still cloudy, still kind of on the chilly side and then as we go into the day on thursday, finally the the clearing that we've been, just wanting to see happen. sunshine back thursday, friday and i think all the way through sunday. tonight 46, mostly cloudy. a chilly and isolated shower toward daybreak. tomorrow the chance of a few showers, hit or miss basis. probably the best chance is going to be toward the evening. and again, most of the day in the 50s.

overnight back down in the 40s. but that is about it. enough already, right? 70 or so on thursday. we've got the sunshine back in force friday through sunday. it just looks like it's going to be some of that great fall weather that we expect here in maryland in early october but it just takes one more day to get in here. kelly? >> thank you. coming up tonight at 11:00 -- some big changes on the way for one of america's biggest luxury car brands. hundreds of lincoln dealerships set to close their doors but it's not all bad news. plus, as we all know it's now illegal to text or talk on a handheld cell phone behind the wheel in maryland. businessmen came up with a device to make sure you don't violate the law. that and much more tonight at 11:00. are kids getting enough iron? pediatric experts say no but there are some ways to boost your child's iron levels. here's pat saint clare with

today's health minute. >> reporter: iron helps build strong muscles and is essential for healthy blood, without it the body can't make red blood cells and the body doesn't get the oxygen it needs to grow. coosheding to the american academy of media tricks, iron deficiency in children is a major problem. parents often don't know because experts say the tests for iron deficiency aren't reliable. currently children have their blood iron checked between 9 and 12 months of age and between 15 and 18 months. but doctors say the test is imperfect an can miss iron deficiencies. now the aap is advising its guidelines to increase iron intake in children as well as looking to improve vehicle methods for the deficiency. the revised guidelines say healthy infants are born with enough iron stored in their bodies for the first four months of life. because human breast milk contains very little iron breast-fed infants should have be supplemented with one millie

gram a day of oral iron for four months along with iron-rich baby foods. children up to a area should be fed an iron supplement as well as foods with iron. ed a lessients should be given --ed ed a lessgents should be given a chewable vitamin. and iron-rich diet. tomorrow is walk to school day. it's an idea being promoted as a way to not only keep students healthy but also improve the environment. organizers say it's a way to help fight the obesity epidemic. to read how police are helping with tomorrow's walk in baltimore, log on to our home page and click on the health tab. on abc2news.com let's check out that drive home is looking tonight. we're going to look live at 50 and sandy point. not a lot of traffic. we'll be right back. - ( music playing ) - we know technology can make you more connected.

but now it can make you more connected to your doctor through e-mail. test results from home. check records. change appointments.

now doctors, nurses, techs, pharmacists are all digitally connected to each other. and ultimately connected to you. at kaiser permanente, we believe that if knowledge is power, shared knowledge is even more powerful. kaiser permanente. thrive.

stocks are surging to their highest level in five months after activity in u.s. service companies powered ahead in september. lots of green on that board

today. the dow up 193. nasdaq up 55 and the s&p 500 up 23. if we can only get the numbers to go that that direction in your department. >> it's great to see the stock market bounce up and our temperatures will bounce up but just not for like another 24, 36 hours. this evening, 50s, cloudy, chilly conditions tonight. and tomorrow, we get back to 60 or so. maybe a patch or two of rain. we look for much better weather though as we go into the rest of the week and into the weekend. in time for the weekend. >> get it out of the way now. don't forget "dancing with the stars," the elimination show tonight. we're back at 11:00. >> have a great evening. two different approaches. even in good times bob ehrlich didn't make education a priority. he increased college tuition by 40%, cut school construction by $200 million, and ehrlich voted to eliminate the department of education while serving in congress.

but in the toughest of times, martin o'malley has made record investments in public schools, new school construction, and o'malley froze college tuition four years in a row. with martin o'malley, our children always come first.

i'm frank kratovil and i approve this message. the real andy harris. his past attacks have been called deceptive, his new attack, false. harris voted for deregulation increasing our electric bills by 72% it's not surprising, harris always sides with the big guys. he opposes cracking down

on wall street and supports tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. harris even opposed making big insurance cover cancer screenings. andy harris' extreme ideas will cost us. jobs over seas. i think we need tax breaks to send kids to college. so i worked for a $2,500 tax credit to help pay for college. fought to get pell grants expanded and insisted that college loans go directly to kids instead of through banks. i'm barbara mikulski. i approve this message. because it's not about the next election, it's about the next generation. right? yeah!!! tonight on "world news," burning sludge. a town drowning in a river of toxic chemicals. shifting sands. a new poll sending a wakeup call