the reasons one organization said it is a bad idea. >> rating the pawn shops. new information from police. >> and putting pot on the ballot. why one state may make it legal. >> live in high definition, from wbff tv in baltimore, this is fox 45 news "late edition". >> hello again, i am jeff barnd. >> and i am karen parks. mayor stephanie rawlings-blake is working on a tax package to close the city's $120 million budget gap. the unveiling of the plan is still about two weeks away. >> yeah, but there is already opposition tonight. keith daniels in highlandtown where there is talk against one of her particular ideas. >> well, we are at santoni's grocery store where the owner is part of a beverage industry coalition. and to fight the tax. now the mayor is looking for solutions to close the budget gap. and one of the revenue sources she is considering, is a 5-cent tax on all bottled and canned

beverages. including soft drinks, and the additional tax would mean millions of dollars collected at businesses for the city. but santoni and the coalition call it a bad idea. >> in my opinion, i think that baltimore city has to find their own ways to secure their own deficit. downsizing government. you know, more efficiencies in ring the city. you have to stop trying to take it out on business. >> well similar tax was implemented in baltimore city, and the county. in 1989. and the opposition was so strong it led to a full repeal in 1997. in highlandtown. keith daniels, fox 45 news "late edition". >> the city may also have to make deep cuts to make ends meet. mayor stephanie rawlings-blake met with the department of parks and recommend, which faces massive cuts. the current plan calls for more than 600 layoffs overall. and eliminating 29 recommend centers. closing seven pools and

eliminating support for senior recreation. department officials say there has to be another way. >> any time that we have to cut facilities, or cut opportunities for young people to be engaged in something, then there is a possibility that there could be -- they could be involved in risky behaviors, and activities. >> the police aviation marine and mounted units, as well as seven fire companies, also face elimination. >> the national unemployment rate remains flat. but the number of people without jobs in this state, went up. in the month of february, unemployment in maryland went up to 7.7 percent. and experts put much of the blame on the massive snow storms we had last month. and they also blame increasing layoffs in manufacturing, construction, and retail. meantime, the senate went on vacation for two weeks before agreeing on extending unemployment benefits. senate republicans blocked the measure insisting the $9 billion measure be paid for now. this will likely affect more than 200,000 americans. >> the governor is trying to

encourage companies to hire unemployed workers. yesterday the state began to offer tax credits up to $5000 for hiring unemployed workers. today, governor o'malley toured a company that makes batteries in baltimore county. he said right now maryland is still losing jobs. but he hopes that will change. >> probably, we will start heading into the more positive, some time, in the course of the, you know, end of spring, mid summer, if we keep working hard and companies like this get the little bit of encouragement to hire somebody couple months sooner than planned on. >> tax credit is available until the funding runs out. a limit of $20 million. >> a baltimore county man is dead after a fire breaks out at his home. 2:30 this afternoon in the 7400 block of old battle grove road in dundalk. firefighters found the owner, 60-year-old carl grove dead in the living room. he used a pellet stove. and noticed something strange about the home earlier today.

>> there was just a little heavier smoke than normal coming out of the exhaust vent on the pellet stove. and then the snow was -- smell was stronger than normal. >> neighbors say grove was a former merchant marine battling cancer at the time. an investigation is underway into the cause of the blaze. >> clean up continues tonight after a train derailment. on the csx tracks at baltimore county/howard county line. eight cars of 60 car train jumped the tax around 11:00 today. carrying plastic materials. officials say hazardous materials were also on board. but not in that section where the derailment took place. >> we're teaming up with the baltimore city police tonight tracking down suspects in our fugitive files. joy lepola is live with the team of detectives at the warrant apprehension task force headquarters in north baltimore. joy?

>> karen, detectives are working late tonight hoping you will pick up the phone and call us. the number 410-637-8970. here are the fugitives we are trackingto down. obadele mahone is wanted for the attempted murder of his roommate. obadele mahone goes by the name jimmy martin, and he has the nickname tooney. he is 5'2 and weighs 130 pounds. then we have 17-year-old eric bruce mccree jr., wanted for armed robbery. 5'6 and weighs 100 sick. and finally tonight. 39-year-old sharon day wanted for assaulting her boyfriend. 5'10. and 140 pounds. she goes by the name kim taylor. if you have any information on these suspects. call our hotline. 410-637-8970. and a team of detectives is here. taking your calls. and they will be here until the "late edition" wraps up. but you can call here, with any information, even if you don't

want to call in this evening. you can also go to the objection fox baltimore website and click on fugitive files for more information. or call 866-7-lockup. again, these calls are confidential. officers sigh tonight will not ask you personal information. they just wanted information on the whereabouts of the fugitives. 410-637-8970. i am joy lepola. reporting live at the warrant apprehension task force tonight. fox 45 news "late edition". >> thank you, joy. >> baltimore city police officerss defending themselves in a wrongful death lawsuit. 43-year-old johnson arrested back in 2005. for urinating in public. police handcuffed him. and then put him in the bush administration wagon but he was not buckled in. he died from a fractured spine after the ride. his family claims police intentionally drove erratically to harm him. suing for $100 million. >> baltimore county police released more information about arrest in a major retail theft

ring. 15 people arrested after authorities say they were using pawn shops to launder money from stolen property. police say the ring was responsible for taking more than $20 million worth of property. >> this investigation was an important and very critical. because it brought to closure a major organized retail theft ring, that frankly plagued our area, our county. >> the men were arrested yesterday morning. and appeared in federal court today. >> the head of maryland prison industries receives nationwide praise this evening. national correctional industries association honored stephen shiloh with the annual award. prison officials say state prisoners are making a lot more than they did when he took over back in 1986. their labor accounts for nearly $50 million in goods to government agencies and non-profit organizations. >> a beautiful spring day out there. chilly. and now what is in store for the weekend? hopefully you are hoping for

rain to bring down the pollen count to get your throat back. >> exactly. hope it is a nice weekend. here is tony pagnotti to give us good news. hi tony? >> good news if it is rain for you. but most folks do not want it. how do i win on this. karen will not like me or you will not. well half cast forecast, if i might say so. rain that left us this morning. but cold behind t 38. go about 10 degrees chillier than that overnight. looks like high pressure builds in and brings the temperatures, as you can see in western maryland, our temperatures below freezing. a hint of the chill to come. 27 will be the overnight low temperature. and around freezing if you are up early enough tomorrow morning. and temperatures 40 at noon time. 48 degrees for the daytime high. and when i come back in just a bit. i will let you know if there is any warmth at the end of the weather tunnel.

>> recall on wooden gates that keep small children away from stairs. they say the slats in the even-flo top up stairs plus gates break. and occurred more than 140 times. causing injuries to many many children. gates were sold nationwide from october of 2007 through july of last year. now for more information about this recall, you can find it on our website. go to foxbaltimore.com/news links. >> under achieving schools could be getting major financial help. who is footing the bill? it's the first time you're letting your daughter

shop on her own. so here's your moment of truth, mom. which 3g network would you trust to run apps like family locator, when it matters most ? when you want your 3g network to work, you want verizon. upgrade your family now and get an lg env touch.

or get this samsung alias for just $29.99. plus add a line for just 9.99. but hurry - offer ends march 31st ! families can connect for less at verizon. but hurry - offer ends march 31st ! >> the state received serious financial help to turn around area schools. maryland is set to receive $47 million to help low achieving schools from the

school improvement grant program. part of the american recovery and reinvestment ac. additional $550,000 has been allocated for next year. >> and education leaders have major concerns about tenure, new proposal would increase the time it took to be tenured from 2 to 3 years. and it also gives teachers the chance to file grievances. if they don't achieve it. advocates say it could make it difficult to get rid of the poor teachers. they are asking for more clarity in the language of the particular measure. >> baltimore's former mayor has a new job. sheila dixon works for the maryland minority contractors association promoting minority contractors. she left office for february as part of a plea deal for lying about gift cards she received. she is still doing community service. >> and former congressman and naacp president also has a new gig. he is now the executive leader of the national medical

association. it is a national group that represents more than 30,000 black doctors and patients. and he says he hopes to increase the number of minority health care workers and end racial disparity in disease, diagnosis, and treatment. >> four people accused of trying to tamper with phones at senator mary landrieu's office may cop a plea deal. prosecutors filed charges against them for lying to get into a federal building. that's a misdemeanor. face felonies charges when first arrested. james o'keefe is one of the people arrested. he was the person behind the acorn videos shot in baltimore. >> world two largest nuclear powers cutting the number of nuclear weapons on both sides. u.s. and russia expected to walk away with 1500 war heads apiece. secretary of state hillary clinton is confident that the u.s. congress will approve the terms. of the proposal. president is expected to sign

the deal in prague april 8. >> wide spread violence in peru. between police and i will have agers losing homes. judge ordered the illegal 10ments destroyed. fire tear gas to disperse the crowd after they tried to stop bull dozers from destroying homes. >> 150 families affected. many living in the homes for more than a decade. >> a grassroots movement to legalize marijuana in california is one step close to being put to a vote. the bill seeks to make it legal for residents 21 and up to possess an ounce of pot for personal use. there were enough signatures on a petition to put it on the november ballot. marijuana is america's biggest cash crop, out doing corn. proponents say legalizing it would generate millions in revenue. >> that was the question of the day. do you think marijuana should be legalized? 77 percent say yes. 23 percent say no. jennifer writes on facebook.

if alcohol and cigarettes are legal and taxed. there is no reason why marijuana should not be legal. it would create lots of tax revenue. >> tony is in a quandary. brisk, beautiful today. but tomorrow you would like rain, and other people want sun. >> i would. temperatures were chillier then the rest of the week. but still, nice. tony pagnotti is here for a look at what we can expect this week. hi tony. >> hi karen and jeff. well 54 was the daytime high today. but felt so much chillier because of a windchill, believe it or not, as we try to go to the first week of spring. return of wintertime. as you can see, the record for this date was 84 degrees. we're nowhere near that today. nor will we get there in the next several days. promise you that. 41 degrees at the inner harbour right now. the humidity is dried out from what we had last night and this morning with the moisture and rain. do you want at 16. there is the windchills right now. they are actually 32 in baltimore.

is how it feels with the winds kicking in. but an air temperature going below freezing tonight. how low will we go? yeah, 27. for overnight low temperature. grab the blankets and kick up the heater for tonight. tomorrow a chill in the air. coming from the west. out in colorado. they have had snow and it has been filtering the way through the upper midwest. no snow here. but brisk bright day tomorrow. as the rain builds in. clearing skies through the overnight. and again tomorrow. this is the precipitation i was telling you about. this is the system that will come in here late sunday into monday. bringing us some rain. not snow. clouds and radar. future scan right now. shows us clear tomorrow. and here comes the rain sunday. probably by late afternoon into sunday night. into monday. and yeah, maybe about half an inch. not all day washout by any means. 49 degrees on the eastern shore. and in central maryland tomorrow. beautiful. beautiful day.

and 49 to 50 we will post. so like today minus the winds. so you can handle it. and then western maryland, 46 degrees. with partly sunny skies. and here is the five-day forecast. sea say 48 to 50 tomorrow. clouds on sunday. karen parks day because the rain arrives. and she will feel better. and get some of the pollen out of the air. 55 degrees. in to monday. but then it clears out. sunshine. 59. 57 on wednesday. and when i come back in a bit. we will take the seven-day forecast. and take a peek at april 1st. how about that? no fooling. >> a dog finds an unusual tube toy. find out the punishment. >> o's second

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>> a dog uses a police car as a chew toy. get this. this dog seems to be a bone to pick with police. last week an officer's dash cam captured video of the animal ripping off the front bumper of a police car. dog named winston was considered

dangerous and placed in a shelter. but winston's owner said the dog has never lashed out before. since he was a well behaved inmate, winston was released thursday. but a judge has ordered him to obedience school. >> wreckage of a airplane has been discovered in oregon. curtis helldiver found last week by loggers. debris scattered in a wooded area. significant find because there is only one helldiver still flying in the world. authorities believe there may be human remains at the site. it is not clear where the plane came from. but crashed within 20 miles of a naval air station that was decommissioned in 1948. >> this wiley coyote dodged police in new york for two days. they caught him thursday and knocked it out with a tranquilizer dart. ki yao taken to animal protection society. four coyotes has been found this year. >> patrice harris fox 45 news

"late edition". >> the birds have just one more week of spring training in sarasota before they break camp and tonight the future is looking brighter. sec baseman brian roberts recovering from herniated disc in the back, finally made the spring debut tonight against the twins. unfortunately though it was not the start the b rob was hoping for. but he is back out there. went 0-3 in the loss to the twins. tillman with a rough start. went 4 and a third. giving up two runs on four hits. but walked four. burk enthrough four shutout innings in relief. and reimold his hit a first homer. they host red sox tomorrow. >> orioles announced today, they have sent nine players to the minors. josh bell and schneider will report to triple-a norfolk and hughes and aubrey.

relief pitcher heads to minor league camp. >> a big lacrosse match up tomorrow as virginia hosts johns hopkins, and annual showdown for the doyle smith cup. cavaliers are ranked number one for the third straight week and blue jays struggle, have fallen to 12 and trying to break a losing streak. blue jays lost to virginia last year twice. once in the regular season and again in the quarter finals of

the ncaa turn and look closer at the series. this is the 82nd time the two schools will face each other. blue jays lead all time series with 53 wins. but virginia has just been dominant lately. winning the last five games and handed hopkins a 19-8 defeat in the quarter finals last year. which is the biggest loss in the series since 1969. the cavs are one of four remaining unbeaten schools. hopkins has gotten off to a slow start. you can see the game tomorrow at noon. on espn 2. >> you can see johns hopkins and virginia at noon. back to you guys.

>> much nicer today than the rain from yesterday. but what about tomorrow? >> i know. meteorologist tony pagnotti is going south. hi tony? >>well, going through a chilly night. frigid, 27. put on the heat. get the extra blankets. and tomorrow, a lot of sunshine. but a brisk day. but pleasant one. no problem with the rain sunday is the day you need the umbrella, for later part of the day. squeeze in dry air 4:00. and then the rain. he did ends monday morning. clearing out monday to tuesday. and then the 67 degrees come friday. back to you. >> good to see you tony.

>> and you can be in charge of your own personalized forecast. i-radar is available at foxbaltimore.com. use the tools to track storms down to your street. go to foxbaltimore.com and click on i-radar. >> and that will do it for the "late edition". thanks so much for joining us tonight. i am jeff barnd. >> and i am karen parks. see you tomorrow night. goodnight. real time closed captioning provided by u.s. captioning