Gomers: What's going wrong

MORATORIUM FALLOUT: The moratorium on home foreclosures may fix recent problems in the lender process, but it's also slowing recovery of the residential real estate market - the troubled sector at the heart of the recession. In Iowa, the inventory of homes in foreclosure rose 2.8 percent in October, adding to the backlog of homes. Lender Processing Services also reported that 9 percent of Iowa mortgage holders are not current with payments, an increase of 7.7 percent from six months ago. Nationally, the figures were even worse.

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WHERE'S JUSTICE? Cedar Rapids prosecutors found cause to file charges last month against owners of a dog that Sarah Hickok said attacked her and inflicted a dozen wounds. The trial was dismissed because the magistrate denied a request for a second continuance after the prosecutor was delayed in another trial. Hickok was hospitalized for four days with infection, sustained nerve damage, lost her job and has thousands of dollars in medical bills. Any justice served?

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POOR TREND: Nearly 45 percent of Cedar Rapids school district's students qualify for the free or reduced-price lunch program, an indicator of family income levels. The percentage has increased steadily for the past decade; it was just under 25 percent in the 2000-01 school year.