we have seen a steady increase in the wind out west gusting up to 30 miles an hour in the mountains. as the cold front moves through, the wind will kick in, especially after midnight. in western maryland, the wind will deliver snow. accumulating snow in garrett county. more details on what is heading our way for the weekend coming up. >> the forecast is always at your fingertips. like us on facebook and get the latest updates. >> a national search is on for a key figure in baltimore city government. it is a critical position to turning around the city's jobs picture who is the mayor looking for? jayne miller joins us with details. >> the head of the baltimore development corporation announced his retirement. economists say the mayor needs to look globally.

a purely political appointment will not do. the demolition of an abandoned factory serves as the backdrop for one of his part in acts. >> it is a pleasure to be with you to remove a blighted eyesore. is that a good description of this? >> is retiring as the head of the baltimore development corporation, a job he has held since 1996. the mayor said she is looking across the country for a replacement. >> someone who will be aggressive and inclusive, who understands the vital importance of small business and that we need to attract new businesses to come to baltimore, and figure out what that recipe looks like. >> brody gets credit as a deal maker that has helped baltimore to grow. in 1990, there were more than 508,000 jobs in the city. by 2009, the city jobs plummeted to 384,840.

the script has slipped in baltimore county. thangrew theire to more 505,000 in 2009. >> we need to internationalize the economy. >> the economist says the city needs to capitalize on its proximity to the court a -- port and bwi. >> what i would like to see is someone with a global profile and focus, something we have lacked in baltimore city. >> the future of the paint company site is an example of the challenges. it is being cleared to remove an eyesore. there is no plan for a company to take its place. >> the economist says the new chief should bring in a sense of transparency to the agency, something that has been an ongoing source of public criticism. i am jyane miller fofor wbal-tv

11 news. >> those putting the budget together want their colleagues to make a choice of cuts or tax increases. david collins is following that story from the state house. >> they certainly need a bigger table. everything remains on the table. in terms of tax increases. that is what is fueling the creation of a doomsday budget being proposed by democrats. this is a way to balance the books to cuts only. although not quite as dramatic as the end of the world 2012 movie clip, a doomsday budget will arrive at the state house next week. mike miller predicts this session will be profiles in courage or hell as legislators consider spending cuts as an

alternative to tax and fee increases. the senate takes up the budget first this year before sending it to the house. >> you prepare a doomsday budget in case no one can agree on revenue proposals. you have to have a fallback position. >> public push back on the tax for gasoline is helping to fuel the doomsday approach. boaters are up in arms over the income tax hike on those who earn one under thousand dollars a year or more. >> we do not want to rosh people with 34 revenue proposals. -- we do not want to rosh -- parish -- barrage people. >> cuts include those to social security. there is you and cry over the proposal to tax music and downloads. he repeatedly introduces

legislation designed to save the state millions of dollars. so far few are willing to give it serious consideration. he is urging cooperative purchasing agreements. >> the idea is that we coordinate our purchasing so that we can collectively save money. there are billions of dollars involved. if we save even 1%, we're saving millions of dollars without raising taxes or cutting programs. >> the doomsday budget rollout in the senate could include layoffs and reduced aid to local jurisdictions. david collins for wbal-tv 11 news. >> one day after the senate passed the same-sex marriage bill, opponents took steps to push the measure to referendum. washington county delegate republicans filed an application for a petition with the state board of elections. he also created a website that will allow people to sign the petition on line. the state board of elections has one week to consider it. if approved, the petition drive

will need 55,736 valid signatures to put the question before voters in november. >> it is always difficult to get the signatures you need in maryland. there are stringent rules and tough requirements. we will make sure we follow the rules. we will make sure we get in at least double the amount of signatures we need. we know with all the rules, they will throw a lot of them out. >> the washington county republican has already successfully petitioned for a referendum on the dream act. >> there is increased security at the westfield annapolis mall after a group of men robbed a couple of their brand new computer in the red parking garage yesterday around 5:00 p.m. the thieves were able to take the laptop. fortunately no one was injured during the crime. >> we have received information the vehicle the suspect in is stolen. it is a black bmw with district

of columbia plates. we're trying to get that information out to the public. if anyone saw or heard anything, we want them to conform to expedite the investigation. -- come forward to expedite the investigation. >> police have increased patrols. the black bmw has d.c. tags. we're told of three suspects took off in it. if you recognize the vehicle, contact detectives. >> a change in the state university system in tonight's education alert as the president of the university college is placed on indefinitely. the chancellor announced believe in a short letter sent to students and staff. we requested more information the spokesperson declined to elaborate. umuc is the largest public university in the united states with more than 90,000 students,

many of whom live overseas and take classes online. the vote of no-confidence for president avery. members of the faculty pointed to problems including the number of cabinet level staff members, increasing debt levels, and the failure to give up hundreds of thousands of dollars in need- based aid to student. a letter sent to avery will be forwarded to the university maryland system leadership. he was named president in 2008. >> howard county is searching for a new school superintendent. the district has whittled down the list of finalists -- the district will whittle down the list of finalists in the next few weeks. >> the official search to replace the retiring superintendent started late last year. that is when howard county hired a consulting firm to conduct a national search. the school system held public hearings and conducted on-line surveys in the attempt to find the right person for the job. >> we think we are on schedule.

the board hopes to be meeting with the consultants the week of march 6. we should have a list of candidates at that point. >> the county executive will not have a say in who is hired for the top education job but is hoping the board will pick someone to keep the district on track economically. the same can be said for howard county teachers. >> we're hoping for a superintendent who listens to his or her educators. we have some processes for that now. there are a few seats on policy review committees for teachers. that can be done better. more people can be brought into it. " school officials say they will make sure the public is allowed to meet finalists' before they cast the final vote. >> this is the leader of our school system. it is important decision for the board to make. they want to make sure they get

all the best candidates possible in our pool to look at them. >> this is very much a work in progress. if all goes as planned, howard county could hire a new superintendent by the spring. tim tooten for wbal-tv 11 news. >> coming up, and updates on the ravens in sports. >> a mysterious older -- odor filled the air. we will tell you about that, coming up. >> heavy showers and severe thunderstorms in maryland. the insta-weather plus

>> it was a stinky way to start the day. >> a major oil leak in south jersey left many people in maryland in a plume of what smelled like natural gas. lowell melser has more from harford county. >> something stinks in harford county. at least it did this morning. a mystery odor caused hundreds of people to call the local fire departments. over of the bellaire volunteer fire department, the action started early. >> we received and responded to approximately 40 calls for service. >> just before 7:00 a.m., calls started coming in about a

possible gas leak that seemed to be concentrated in a large area that consumed most of the northeastern part of the county. >> something was not adding up to the calls were so concentrated. >> after a few phone calls to other jurisdictions and with help from the county emergency operations center, the smell was linked to the refinery in south new jersey. overnight it had a major oil leak to the tune of 6.6 million gallons, affecting folks in pennsylvania, delaware, and counties in maryland. >> it smelled like natural gas. that is what was concerning me. anytime you have a strong odor of natural gas, there is the issue of explosions. that was a concern. >> bob thomas, the public information officer for the emergency operations center, said he smelled as he left his

home this morning. thomas says atmospheric conditions were just so that the oil fields stayed close to the ground. he did point out that there were no threats to anyone's help. >> none of them have opposed any significant risks to the citizens of the county. >> fire and emergency officials feel the odor should have cleared the air. they are reminding anyone if they do smell something suspicious, call 911 immediately. lowell melser for wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank goodness that smell is gone. >> the ms. conditions were perfect -- the atmospheric conditions were perfect for it to travel. the low air was trapped. it was coming in and out of the east. it perfectly transported into that part of maryland. it looks like that will change overnight. the wind will shift to the west

as the cold front comes in and out of western maryland. it will move all the wet weather off the coast. they're still showers and thunderstorms across parts of delaware and the coastal areas. we are still under a tornado watch for the lower eastern shore. the threat is rapidly diminishing. when the rain showers move out, the emphasis will be on wind and cold weather. 54 today at the airport. the warm front made its approach and then stalled. it did not get to baltimore. it did make it to southern maryland. richmond was 80 degrees today. we barely got into the 50's today. we did not get to the record high of 79 set back in 1985. the heavy showers and storms have been on the lower eastern shore where a tornado watch remains in effect. temperatures are much warmer there.

they were in the 80-degree range. they are dropping into the 60's. there is a high wind warning in garrett county and the mountains. there are wind advisories around baltimore and the eastern shore. the wind has not kick in. when the front passes by, the strong wind out west will sweep into baltimore. overnight, we will have the strongest winds gusting over 40 miles an hour. a snow advisory in garrett county. they will get several inches over the weekend. the wind will turn to the west. temperatures will drop into the 30's. the chilly air will filter into the weekend behind the front. the stationary front was the warm front. it was marching north and installed across southern maryland. the cold front is now coming in from the west. high pressure will build in. the chilly air will race south and east. snow showers in abundance in the months tomorrow. very cold. partly cloudy skies. there is a slight chance we will

catch a flurry the generally drive through the weekend. lots of sunshine on sunday. temperatures will stay chilly. the next warm-up gets underway on monday with sunny to partly cloudy skies. the wind will be gusting to 35 tomorrow. there will be a windchill to factor in tomorrow. there is the slight risk of a flurry or shower in the afternoon. there is a gale warning tonight and a small craft advisory tomorrow. sunshine on sunday. eastern shore locations will be partly cloudy with gusty winds and cooler temperatures. down towards ocean city, the skies will clear. highs will be in the upper 40's to low 50's. a chilly weekend with sunny to partly cloudy skies. we will warm up again on monday and tuesday. perhaps another round of showers on wednesday. >> from the susquehanna bay sports center, this is 11

sports. >> as the ravens settle into indianapolis this week, they do not have to put replacing ed reed on their list of priorities. the general manager said today that he has spoken with had coached and told him he will return next year for his 12th season with the ravens. the final home game tonight for the women's basketball team. the terps have a chance to head into the postseason as a team on a major role. >> the game is over. >> the swat earned a spot in the top 10 for the week. -- the swat earned a spot in the top 10 for the week. >> anytime you have to come into our building ranked no. 5 at the time, for us to be able to execute and finished at the end, it was very exciting.

>> i had a lot of family at the game. a lot of people were back home watching. for me to get that, a lot of people are really excited about that. i am from a small town. people are still talking about that block. >> a practice, she chided the team for a lack of emotion. north carolina comes to town desperate for its own signature when -- win. >> which should help the senior night. >> i want to play hard. the makings of a championship are well underway in college park. >> we will have highlights for you tonight at 0:00. brian roberts took part in some of today's workouts for the orioles in sarasota. he remains as uncertain as anyone as to whether he will play again. he suffered a concussion last may. the doctors have still not cleared him to play in the game. he said he cannot predict

whether he can play in time for opening day. the lack of a timeline for the return of a concussion remains a major frustration for roberts. he won his appeal of returning the suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs. he arrived at spring training. we've heard plenty of denials from players in the past. braun insists he won on more than a technicality and never used performance-enhancing drugs. >> if i had done this intentionally or unintentionally, i would be the first one to step up and say i did it. by no means am i perfect, but if i never made any mistakes in my life, i am taking responsibility for my actions. i truly believe in my heart and would bet my life that this substance never entered my body at any part. dew point. >> tom tasselmyer is back with the forecast.

>> here is a look at what we're working on for 11:00 tonight. legislation to make talking on the cell phone a primary offense. we take a look at the life -- latest nike shoe craze. we will have that and

>> we did not get a chance to wear shorts today. >> they did down in florida. [laughter] >> in the warm air did not want to come north. quickly kind of got ripped off. i am disappointed. -- >> we kind of got ripped off. >> we have chilly conditions for the weekend. another warm-up gets underway on monday. >> we are complaining about not being 70. [laughter]

>> nbc nightly news is next. we will see you at 11:00.