on the sale of gasoline in the state of maryland and phase in the current 6% exemption. we would have a break in there in case gasoline were to spike in a given year. we would have a mechanism in place with an inflationary break. >> the governor is apparently rejecting a task force recommendation to increase the state gas tax by 15 cents over the next three years. how this plays out in the general assembly will not be known until after the governor has the bill submitted. that will not happen until his state of the state address scheduled for wednesday. david collins for a wbal-tv 11 news. >> the debate over legalizing same-sex marriage in maryland is raging. kai reed continues our coverage from annapolis where opponents are rallying at the state house. >> demonstrators have been

gathering. they are trying to make a strong statement against the same-sex marriage bill one day before it is scheduled to be heard by the senate committee. elected officials will take the podium and express their opposition to the legislation. the governor has highlighted the same-sex marriage bill as a priority. it is part of his legislative agenda. opponents argue the protections include in the bill are not enough. their rallying in support of marriage between one man and one woman. >> the language in the bill suggests we may not as a church may not be responsible or held in contempt of the law. is so ambiguous it suggests that is a possibility. >> god said marriage is between a man and woman. that is the way it should be. it is not according to a man's way. it is god's way.

>> they have just started to take the podium. we will hear from people on both sides of the debate at 11:00. kai reed for wbal-tv 11 news. >> mayor stephanie rawlings- blake announced her choice to replace ed gallagher. some are questioning our choice of harry black. he had a number of issues when he held the same position in virginia. lowell melser joins us with the latest. >> he was the chief financial officer for richmond from 2005 until 2008. according to published reports, he had a difficult time in the job because he was caught in the middle of a political boxing match between the mayor and the city council. there is some question as to whether he will bring any of the drama to baltimore.

>> it is my pleasure to welcome back home to baltimore mr. harry black. >> mayor stephanie rawlings- blake proudly announces her choice for the new director of finance. he is a part heights native and graduate of dunbar high school. he will most likely takeover for ed gallagher who is retiring. he held a similar role in richmond for three years with great controversy. the majority of the richmond city council did not approve of black. in retaliation, wilder claimed the power to hire and fire for the city council and then hired black as steve administrator. the city sued and won after three years. >> the transition from a council form of government to a strong mayor. there was tremendous tension between the city council and mayor. unfortunately a lot of staff got

caught in the middle of that. >> he told 11 news he was just telling the company line, pledging loyalty to his boss. further digging down that was not the only lawsuit he was involved in. according to published reports, the city council and school board also sued black and wilder after they tried to evict the board and administration from city hall offices. both men lost this lawsuit. >> the mayor was a very strong personality. we had to work around that and be flexible to learn how to manage what we were supposed to do in that sort of environment. >> black insists the situation of the mayor made his job difficult, but says he had a good record at his job. his three budgets all came out as unqualified opinion audits, that is accountant-speak for

accurate. >> we talk about second chances. even if there is some background stuff, we will work with him to overcome those issues he had in richmond. i will be looking at that. >> the baltimore city council will have the final say in this. we did try to reach mayor stephanie rawlings-blake to ask her more about her decision. she did not make herself available this afternoon. lowell melser for wbal-tv 11 news. >> a former baltimore city teacher's assistant is fighting for benefits she expected to receive after taking a vantage of an early retirement incentive program. she applied early for retirement and left the school system in june. among players -- a month later,

she received a letter denying her application. she says she just wants what she was promised. >> i just want what is due to me. i do not want a lot. i want to pay off my house and live comfortably. >> baltimore city public school officials called a legal matter and did not comment. >> state senator nancy jacobs has received a key endorsement in her bid for congress. she now has the support of fellow republican former gov. bob ehrlich. he said she is the kind of person taxpayers need to shake a congress. she threw her hat and the rain earlier this month for the second district seat. >> mitt romney and newt gingrich continued the war of words ahead

of the florida primary. nikole killion is live in washington with the latest. mitt new poll shows n romney with a lead over newt gingrich. mitt romney expressed confidence that a victory on tuesday may be in reach. at stops in florida, he made some jokes at newt gingrich's expense. send them to the moon. [laughter] he was paid $one. 6 million to be a lobbyist for freddie mac. they said that is not what we want in the white house. >> newt gingrich countered that mitt romney is running a dishonest campaign and pretending he is somebody he is not. >> we nominated a moderate in 2008 and he lost. mitt romney is more liberal than either of those candidates. >> gingrich was joined on the

trail by his latest endorsers, including one of ronald reagan's sons and herman cain. >> my response was that he was behind in south carolina. how is that working out for you? >> the florida primary is a big prize. this is worth more delegates than all of the other contests before combined. there is a certain prestige also. >> 50 delegates go to the winner. rick santorum and ron paul may be conceding. neither held events in florida today. they plan to campaign out of the state during the primary tomorrow. >> any idea of where they are campaigning? >> rick santorum return to the trail in missouri.

he took a break of the weekend to attend to his sick daughter. he says she is doing better. he will be campaigning in the midwest. he will stop in minnesota and nevada. that is where ron paul will be tomorrow with colorado and nevada being the next states up after florida. >> many people have already voted ahead of the tuesday primary. according to florida officials, over 500,000 ballots have been cast in early and absentee voting. you can follow the candidates in the race for the white house on the politics page at wbaltv.com. >> 11 news has obtained tapes of 911 call made moments before the deadly crash over the weekend. motorists were trying to alert police that a car was going the wrong way on route 50. police say. me and walker was behind the wheel of a car traveling --

brittany and walker was behind the wheel of a car traveling the wrong way. she and two passengers died when they collided with the car driven by wayne davis. he was also killed in the collision. >> the only nfl coach in the country with less interest in minneapolis. indianapolis joined the staff today. >> there is rain and snow to the north of us. a warm front is developing. it will have a significant impact on the weather. it is 39 at the airport and 46 at the inner harbor.

>> you have probably noticed how great the weather has been for january. we caught up with some people today enjoying the mild winter. >> it is remarkable. it is really something. it cannot be better than this. >> this weather is beautiful. i like it. >> very mild. >> i like the warm weather more than the cold. it has been pretty good so far. >> last night it was snowing.

tomorrow will be hot. it is very strange. i love it. >> we may have news of even warmer temperatures on the way. >> the warm temperatures contributed to record numbers of the polar bear plunge benefiting special olympics of maryland. more than 14,000 plungers raised over $2 million. you can still done a. -- you can still donate. there is a link at the top of our home page at wbaltv.com. >> the weather was not terrible on that day. >> this time around, the water temperatures were around 40 and there was some sunshine. we want to say hello to the folks at st. james academy. that is a beautiful view from

their library. the fourth graders were on top of the game. they've been studying the weather. they had all the answers before i could finish the question. it was a nice day today. it was a little bit closer to normal but still a warmer than normal day. the record high was up to 72. the record low was below 70 in 1873. -- the record low was below zero in 1873. there is no snow here. to the north, there is some snow. it is chilly in pennsylvania. it is freezing on the boardwalk in ocean city. western maryland is holding in the 30's. we will call it partly cloudy tonight. the most important indication on this graphic is the southwest

wind that develops tonight increases tomorrow. that warm front will lift towards new england tonight and tomorrow. behind it is a steady southwest breeze that will bring the mild air in our direction. this warm front will have a major impact on temperatures. it will probably be 20 degrees above normal for a couple of days. chicago is 51. kansas city is 65 degrees. denver is 59. cincinnati is 54 degrees. that is going to flood across our region beginning tomorrow. we will see some cloud cover with the warm front goes by. the clouds will start to move back in on wednesday. it will still be a mild day. there will be a front south of us that may trigger some showers. temperatures will try to cool off again towards the end of the week. the next few days will feel like spring.

the wind will be out of the southwest at 8 to 15 miles an hour. a couple of showers are coming into the mountains on wednesday. these temperatures are way above normal for them. western maryland mountains will be around 50 degrees. the eastern shore will be in the low 60's on tuesday and wednesday. it may stay in the 50's on the shore of the day. 61 tomorrow at ocean city. if you are on the day tomorrow, the wind will be out of the southwest. those are the milder water temperatures. enjoy it while it lasts. we begin feb. the way january ends. groundhog day is on thursday. around here, we will have clouds

in the morning. the sunshine will return for friday. clouds will move in for the weekend. there will be a chance of rain on sunday and monday. >> from the susquehanna bay sports center, this is 11 sports. >> the head coach continues to reshape his staff. he added jim caldwell as the new quarterback coach. he brings plenty of credibility to the job. he served as peyton manning's coach for seven seasons before going to the colts. that will give them another resource as joe flacco's makes a change. cameron returns next season as a coordinator and play caller. jim caldwell should fit right in with the ravens organization. he likely does not want to see what happens in indianapolis.

the patriots arrived yesterday. the giants arrived today. new york has already beaten most of the odds just getting this far. the giants finished the season with a 9-7 record. four years ago, the giants showed up at the super bowl as 12 point underdogs and still managed to beat the new england patriots. that brings us to our text question tonight. text this number. are you looking forward to watching the game or will you be all about the commercials? 74% will be watching for the commercials. i can understand why this year. in less than three weeks from the orioles will hit the field

for their first workout of spring training. they look on scheduled to arrive without a big name signing or major trade. they added the right-handed pitcher today as a non-roster invitee. he became something of a sensation two summers ago when he almost pitched a perfect game for the tigers. his career has veered off course since then. he spent last season and splitting time between the diamondbacks and the farm team. virginia will open the season as the no. 1 team with hopkins not far behind in the first division one top 20 pull, hopkins ranked no. 3. the blue jays will open the season at home on february 17 against telson -- towson. the forecast is straight ahead.

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>> officials have released the 911 call from moments before the deadly accident on route 50 that killed four people over the weekend. motorists tried to alert police of a car traveling in the wrong direction. the same-sex marriage to rate -- debate rages in annapolis. these stories and more

>> it has been nice and warm. >> it will get warmer. we will finish up january tomorrow at 61 degrees. we will start february at 60 degrees. we will have slightly cooler temperatures on groundhog day. we will have a chance of rain this weekend. >> i was waiting for you to say it will all fall apart. >> you could write a book. >> i will be working on it. >> we will see you back here tonight at 11:00.