[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news at noon. >> you are looking at at live picture of the state house, where we are moments away from gov. martin o'malley's state of the state address. good afternoon. i am sarah caldwell. just a few minutes until gov. o'malley will deliver his state of the state address. he is expected to make the case for what lawmakers call a very ambitious agenda. >> the governor will be making his case to the general assembly, not necessarily the public. his agenda can be summed up in two words -- tough sell. same-sex marriage tops his

legislative agenda, but the public is evenly split on the issue as far as the 6% sales tax on the price of gas, voters say forget about it. a poll finds 70% opposed. the second floor has road projects for the state. splitting the combined cost of teacher pensions and social security with local jurisdictions is being met with resistance. other items on his agenda that will certainly be tweaked include offshore wind development and imposing a digital download tax on apps. the governor is just a few moments away from his state of the state. >> we will check back with you then. mitt romney won the florida

primary, and it is a big prize in the nominating fight. that is bad news for newt gingrich and rick santorum. romney has the money and the time the other candidates don't. >> mitt romney says his win in florida at cents a big message. >> any question about the support of conservatives was cleared up last night in florida. people who called themselves conservative or very conservative overwhelmingly supported my campaign. >> 58% of voters consider romney the most electable, up 41% still believe he is not conservative enough. >> it is now clear that this will be a two-person race between the conservative leader, newt gingrich, and the massachusetts moderate. [applause] >> rick santorum disagrees. >> if you want a strong, principled conservative who will

make barack obama the issue of the campaign -- [applause] >> next up, the nevada at caucuses on saturday. >> if you have been energized group of people who work at the campaign and belief in something, it is better in a caucus state. >> the gop nomination within a romney's grasp but still up for grabs. the arizona and michigan primaries are at the end of the month. brian mooar, wbal-tv 11 news. >> once again we are looking at unbelievably warm temperatures for the month of february. first day of february, we are clocking in at 64 degrees. winds out of the southwest at 8 miles per hour. we are expecting to at least get into the upper 60s.

i bet that some places reached the 70-degree market this afternoon. sunshine today, increasing clouds into the night. we see a new chance for rain beginning after 11:00 p.m. rain chance is all the way through tomorrow morning. after that, the front passes and we see a big drop in temperatures. enjoy the last day of mild weather while we have it. >> meantime, police in prince george's county have a 49-year- old man under arrest in connection with a body found in fort washington in a well over the weekend. we are told that the victim, 53- year-old lenny harris, was a community activist. he had been shot in the head police identified the suspect as linwood johnson and that the two men knew each other. a maryland man who pleaded guilty to the stabbing of a pizza delivery driver will spend 20 years in prison.

tavon brown entered his guilty plea in october for the murder of ghulam farooq. brown and his cousin ordered pizza from the shop where farooq was employed, then robbed him of his cash and car keys when he delivered it. that is when brown stabbed farooq in the chest. the cousin pleaded guilty to murder charges in september. jack johnson gets in a little more time before he has to start prison. a judge granted an extension because plans on where johnson will serve his sentence have not been finalized. the democrat was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for extortion and bribery. controversy out of the patuxent institution where a prisoner is soliciting pen pals over the web. nicholas browning is serving a

-- a life sentence for the shooting death of his parents and brothers in 2008. he confessed to the killings but did not say much about what pushed him to the violence. but he seems more than willing to tell strangers willing to listen. on a website, he writes, "all things considered, i'm still upbeat about life despite my bleak surroundings. if nothing else, i have an interesting story to tell. someone from my background generally does not end up in prison and." while the teenager his regular visits from relatives and friends, the postings on the site are positive because it shows he is trying to establish some kind of relationship. we now know the identity of a man killed during a police- involved shooting on tuesday. monpeet chona was shot by officers from baltimore and anne arundel counties during a confrontation on annapolis road. we first brought you details as

breaking news at 5:00 p.m. on tuesday. chona failed to stop when officers tried to pull them over for driving without headlights. he eventually crashed near the i-95 exit, where the suspect threatened to shoot the officer and then fled in the officer's cruiser. he was ultimately tracked to a motel 6 on caton avenue, where police encountered three other suspects fleeing in an suv. that led to another person, which ended when the suv crashed into a police car and officers fired on chona. >> the suspect who originated this incident was the same individual struck by police. the individuals to get out of the suv are being questioned by homicide detectives. police did warecover a hammer from the vehicle. >> the entire ordeal remains under investigation. preliminary toxicology reports showed that both drivers in the quadruple fatal accident on

route 50 saturday morning were driving under the influence of alcohol. according to investigators, 19- year-old brittany walker was behind the wheel of a car traveling the wrong way on the highway when she collided head- on with another car on davidsonville. she and her two teenage passengers died, along with the other driver, terry davis. still ahead, a major recall involving birth control pills over concerns they may not be effective. you can thank the warm weather for major deals at popular retailers. plus -- >> it is at truth to power, and i am talking to a powerful person and i have one shot. >> a woman takes her plea for a job to the president.

>> on the outside, it looks like a typical new york city commercial building, but inside, police discovered an extensive five-story marijuana-growing facility. police confiscated more than 800 plants treat each floor of the building was used in a different phase of the growing and distribution operation. so far three people are in custody. a fort worth man who has been

out of work for three years is getting help from the highest office in the u.s., all thanks to his wife, who shared his story with president obama and the rest of the nation. she got to speak with president obama during his recent town hall on google + when she mentioned it at her husband has been out of work. >> we should get his resume and i will forward it to some of the companies that tell me if they cannot find enough engineers in the field. >> they sent him the resume. legendary record producer and creator of "soul train", don cornelius, has died of a self- inflicted gunshot wound. he was found with a single gunshot wound. he was taken to cedars-sinai medical center and was

pronounced dead. a very sad news. still ahead, details on a major birth control recall. and a change in recommendations for kids when it comes to immunization. >> just a few sprinkles showing up on hd doppler. temperatures are warming up. 64 at b.w.i.

>> we now want to take you live to the statehouse in annapolis, where governor o'malley is giving his state of the state address. >> let me thank god for the greatness of maryland. let me also begin by thanking the maryland men and women who serve in our countries armed forces. [applause]

and i also at the outset what you think the parents -- to thank the parents and loved ones of our fallen heroes for the sacrifices they make and continue to endure. thank you, governor glendening for your continued service to the people of maryland. thank you president miller and speaker bush for so ably and effectively leading your chambers during these challenging and difficult years. [applause] through these challenging years of recession and now a jobs recovery. thank you, attorney general gansler, comptroller franchot,

for your work in protecting the dignity of every individual and advancing the common good night and thank you, my colleagues in county and municipal government who have the battle now believe on the front lines of the jobs recovery and dance of the quality of life in these extremely challenging times. thank you to the men and women of law enforcement, corrections officers, committed u.s. attorneys and state attorneys throughout our state, it was hard work has driven a violent crime down to the lowest levels in 30 years. [applause] and thank you, mayor stephanie rawlings-blake, for baltimore's extraordinary leadership in saving lives and driving a violent crime down to record lows. [applause] thank you and welcome to

embassador -- the ambassador of mexico, ambassador michael collins of ireland, the ambassador from japan, and the ambassador of korea. and thank you, katie o'malley and attorney general current, and meet members of the cabinet for your high confidence, effectiveness, delivering results and caring about every citizen that we serve. and thank you to the men and women of the maryland general assembly, for putting the best interests of the families of maryland first and for making the right decisions, however tough, however unpopular, with the sake of the better future our children deserve. my fellow marylanders, we are here because we care about people, all people, every person, every family. and we know that in order to

tackle the challenges we have and get all our citizens back to work, we must act as the people. five years ago in our first state of the state together, i declared before you the goals of this administration -- to strengthen and grow our middle class and our family-owned businesses and our family farms. this remains the single overarching indicator of progress for our state and a better future that we seek for our children. there is nothing more important for family's security and future than a job. we are all in this together, and in this important work, the state of our state is strong. [applause] with tough but fiscally responsible choices, we are moving our state forward out of an era of recession, foreclosure, and job loss and into a new era of job creation

and greater opportunity for all. we have not yet recovered all the jobs that we lost during the bush recession, but we are moving forward steadily. as president obama stated last week, we must create an economy that is built to last, and in this work, maryland is once again leading the charge for our country's better future by improving education and harnessing innovation, by modernizing our port, opening the intercounty connector, expanding broadband, building new schools, a modern classrooms, critical infrastructure, making college and skills training more affordable for families. we together have strengthened connections and improved conditions that allow businesses to create jobs. expanding opportunity to strengthen and grow our middle class is a choice, and because of your choices, more marylanders are working in this year than last, marylanders like

kevin reed of prince george's county, because you chose to make investments in the economy. after completing the training for the solar skills training program, kevin landed a green job installing solar panels at fedex field, home of our washington redskins. [applause] more marylanders are working again because of the small business owners like susan, who moved her eco-friendly home furnishing company from west virginia at to baltimore with the support of an investment by the maryland venture fund. [applause] and get this -- last year she hired nine new employees, this year she plans on hiring 10 more of our fellow citizens.

susan is with us today. susan, raise your hand. [applause] marylanders like jacqueline from brandywine who have been able to save their homes because you have taken action to drive down all foreclosures -- home foreclosures. she operates a day care business out of her home, and when the recession hit, with fewer moms and dads able to send their kids to day care, she fell behind on her mortgage. at risk of losing her home and her business, jacqueline tried it to no avail to negotiate with your mortgage servicing company. then she heard one of your advertisements for the hotline, and she was connected with the development corporation, a nonprofit in prince george's. she was able to negotiate a loan modification that reduced monthly payments by more than $1,000 a month, allowing jacqueline to save both for

business at her home -- both her business and her home. [applause] by investing in our one-stop centers, you are helping marylanders liked dave go from unemployment to reemployment. while training in cybersecurity, he participated in weekly study groups, and with hard work and resilience, he recently landed a cybersecurity job in emmitsburg. linda of will, pope county was able to find a new job with the help of our state's one-stop centers. i want to share with you some of her own words. "i lost my job in the middle of june. being able to use computers was a real lifesaver for me. i do not have the internet at home. the staff behind the desk at the

one-stop the center --" state employees, by the way -- "we're always helpful. they always give good suggestions. what i feel helped me most was susan's coaching on interview technique. susan called me the day before to ask if it would be a help to me to practice questions. i got the job. i'm grateful to have had such in valuable resources and assistance. it is part of the reason i have a position i call my dream job." her dream job pays more than the job she lost, and she and coach susan are both with us today. would this dynamic duo please stand? [applause]

while more marylanders are working this year than last, still too many of our people continue to search for work. we know that. better isn't good enough for the mom and dad who continue to search for a job. that is why the most important jobs we create is the next one, this is why everyone is needed, and this is why i am asking everyone to do more. over the last six years, i've asked you to make my decisions, and admittedly, oftentimes the very tough decisions to create jobs and move maryland forward into better times. in a period of our nation's history when shortsighted choices have severely under- capitalized the job-creating potential america, you have made better and stronger prices for maryland. because of your wives and balanced decisions about where to cut and you're smart decisions about where to invest, maryland it's businesses

are creating jobs again. maryland's businesses create more new jobs wthat we have in any year since the recession hit and at twice the rate of our good neighbors in the commonwealth of virginia. [applause] together we have driven down unemployment to the three-year low by restoring fiscal responsibility with a balanced approach. you have secured maryland's place as one of only a handful of states which achieved a aaa bond rating from all three bond rating agencies. [applause] because of your decisions, and a leaner government that works to deliver results, colleges more affordable, health care is more available, and more months and dads in maryland are working in

this year than last. because you had the courage to make the right investments, maryland schools have been named number one in america for an unprecedented four years in a row. [applause] our high school students are now achieving the best ap test scores in the nation. our high schools are graduating a record percentage of our students. our colleges are graduating 21% more students in science, technology, engineering, and math. [applause] this has never happened before. and it did not happen by accident. hard-working teachers, hard- working students, caring parents have all been supported by your strong choices.

with a balanced approach of cuts and revenue, you chose to invest in education even as he made it record cuts in almost everything else. likewise, our state's innovation economy is not merely the product of geography. it is also the product of important choices and investments we made together in initiatives like invest maryland, the biotechnology tax credit, the r&d tax credit, the healing power of stem cell andearch, the cyber-marylqan initiative, and rural broadband. none of these things happen by themselves. progress is a choice. strengthening and growing our middle-class is a choice. we can build a better future. as we discussed last year, there are costs and there are values. we cannot kid ourselves that i think to invest in our future it we are saving resources, -- that

by failing to invest in our future we are saving resources. everything has a cost. failing to make decisions that are consistent with the best interests of the next generation -- this, too, has a cost. without any sugar coating, let me plainly lay out the tough choices and the costs and the trade-offs before us. this year's budget is a jobs budget. after cutting the growth rate to 1.9%, it does more for job creation than any budget in recent history. the capital budget allowed is projected to support 52,000 jobs building modern schools, water and roads, water transit, modern clean water infrastructure, to create jobs that aer