WEATHER
sunny skies, with a high temperature near 83 degrees. It is expected to be mostly cloudy tonight, with a chance of showers and thunderstorms, and a low temperature around 57 degrees.
TRAFFIC
for this morning's issues as you plan your commute.
FROM LAST NIGHT...
: The last minute change to the Senate plan adds $30 million in new revenue to the state coffers. The funds are divvied for aging schools and municipalities.
: Gov. Martin O'Malley delivered a typically polished performance Wednesday as he appeared before three General Assembly committees to testify for his plan -- but he appeared to be putting on a show to an audience that had already tuned out.
: Gov. Martin O'Malley, who continues to campaign for same-sex marriage in advance of a likely referendum aimed at overturning the law he signed this month, will speak Friday at a conference in Baltimore for gay and lesbian Catholics.
: Firefighters from Darlington, Level, Aberdeen, Susquehanna Hose, York County and Cecil County were dispatched to working house fire in Darlington late Wednesday afternoon.
TODAY'S FRONT PAGE
: Installation of the first set of slots moved Maryland Live! Casino, the state's largest, another step closer to its scheduled opening in three months. That's progress for Maryland's lackluster gambling program, which has yet to be fully implemented more than three years after voters approved five slots locations statewide.
: Three members of the Blake family died within days of each other earlier this month from complications of the flu -- a cluster that state officials acknowledged was unusual. Their deaths caused a stir in the community of Lusby in Calvert County.
: The Baltimore school system has paid its employees about $65 million for unused leave over the past five years, a rare perk that many employers have abandoned and that has come under fire as school districts have experienced shrinking budgets.
: The Anne Arundel County Police Department acknowledged Wednesday that a statewide police criminal records database was accessed in order for County Executive John R. Leopold to investigate political opponents.
[Compiled by Dean Jones Jr.]