Amidst the foreboding headlines, there is a not-so-noticeable success story for small-business borrowers. SBA's Community Express Program continues to chug along at a brisk pace.

I lost a friend last week. Innovative Bank of Oakland, Calif. is kaput. Just like with other bank failures, the regulators swooped down on the floundering bank after the stock market closed on Friday.

The on-again-off-again stimulus funding for small businesses is giving me a bad case of heartburn. The' lack of adequate funding for lending programs through the Small Business Admin. is myopic.

Although small business, economic stimulus lending is being widely criticized, $5,000 to $25,000 is available to you if you have a reasonable credit score and meet basic underwriting criteria.