Buying a house?

Glimmerings of an end to the price dive might be emerging, given trends reported by Zach Fox this past week.

North County house sales jumped 22 percent in July -- mostly buyers going after perceived foreclosure bargains.

Some 2,000 houses in San Diego County still are tumbling into foreclosure monthly, which raises a question we're struggling to answer -- where are all the people leaving foreclosed homes going?

Some are moving into apartments and some are moving in with relatives and friends -- but 2,000 households a month?

No reliable stats on where the foreclosed are going.

And just wondering, but with interest rates, inflation and jobless rates rising, how are people going to buy the foreclosed houses?

New stats show we're driving less -- 12 billion miles fewer nationally in June than the year before as Americans cut back on trips because of high gasoline prices.

But boaters are going back on the ocean as Bradley J. Fikes found in speaking to someone who knows for sure -- the owner of a fuel station at Oceanside Harbor.

Coming up in the week ahead:

In what surely will be a tough day of work, Chris Bagley will be visiting all six North County casinos in one day. His mission: To compare and contrast the visitor experience. That will be the last we'll see of Chris for about two months -- he will be on a fellowship in Germany and Austria, reporting on business topics there.

We'll report on Bagley's casino tour next Sunday.

And finally, you're invited to view the documentary "I.O.U.S.A." this coming Wednesday evening at 7, right here at the main office of the North County Times.

"I.O.U.S.A." is about what director Patrick Creadon says are America's "four key deficits: budget, savings, balance of payments and leadership."

If we don't solve these problems, an "economic crisis of epic proportions awaits," the filmmakers say.

Backers of the documentary include Warren Buffett, chair of Berkshire Hathaway investment company; Peter Peterson, chair of the Blackstone Group; and Dave Walker, former U.S. Comptroller General.

The following day, Aug. 21, the documentary will be shown across the nation followed by live satellite-broadcast discussions with Buffett, Peterson and Walker, all of whom will be in Omaha, where Buffet is headquartered.

All hope the film will bring attention to America's financial crisis in the same way that former Vice President Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" documentary spotlighted global warming.

"Our nation suffers from a fiscal cancer that threatens the future economic well-being of our country, children and grandchildren," says Walker. "This isn't just a financial issue -- it's a moral issue. It's immoral to keep kicking the can down the road for younger generations to grapple."

After the viewing here, we'll convene a half-hour discussion on the documentary and its recommendations. Our plan is to report on the discussion in the Thursday edition of the North County Times.

To reserve a seat for the discussion and the post-screening discussion, e-mail me at jrowe@nctimes.com