know them. >> reporter: schaefer was born in baltimore, november 2, 1921. he served in the army, became a lawyer, then got into politics, winning most elections by a landslide. >> reporter: for all of his impatience with excuses in bureaucracy, he always had time for a citizen to approach him in any setting and had a problem. he wanted help. he went to work every day, committed to doing the work of the people. >> reporter: schaefer's favorite job was mayor. he tackled problems hands-on and promoted the city with humor. >> he was big so the city could be big. and that he used all of his personality to promote the city. because he had a deep faith that baltimore's best days were yet to come. >> here it is. >> reporter: in november of 2009, schaefer was honored with a statue at harbor place, one of his proudest accomplishments. the ceremony was one of his last public appearances. >> thank you for coming. you don't know what it means to me. in the sort of the twilight of your life. you live a long time, and there are ups and downs. and mostly, there are ups. >> reporter: schaefer never married. his long-time companion, first hostess, hilda may snoops, died 12 years ago. >> he loved her so much. they went back and forth like an old married couple. >> he's lost a lot. we owe it to ourselves to pick up that legacy and carry it on. >> reporter: the governor was recently treated for pneumonia. he passed a hand to a long-time political aide. >> reporter: the church only holds around 800 people. there will be some overflow seating in the building next door. and a lot of people, big crowds here after the rain went away. they're all thanking the governor for creating such a beautiful space. people here enjoying it today, saying they are doing it in his honor. reporting live, adam may, wjz eyewitness news. >> thank you very much, adam. live complete coverage continues now in fells point. ask mike hellgren talks to some of the many people whose lives the former governor touched. >> reporter: denise, he was a sour beef and dumplings kind of guy. he liked regular food and regular folks. and although he had a big shot title, he was always looking out for the little guy. >> the harbor place, the greatest place in the united states. >> reporter: william donald schaefer never forgot who he worked for. and they never gor not him. -- forgot him. >> we lost a great man. he was a name that was all about the city of baltimore. >> reporter: they set out breakfast for schaefer. scratchoffs on the side. around here. he wasn't mayor, or governor, just a regular joe. and that's how he liked it. >> he makes scrambled home fries and fried toast. he liked to play a little bit of the scratchoff and a mega millions power ball. always a good time. always made everybody laugh. >> william donald schaefer was the building block of baltimore. no question he was bricks and mortar, he built the city. >> reporter: schaefer was the kind of servant people hoped for but never would get. ron rogers worked with schaefer at city hall and was his neighbor in retirement. >> he just wanted to help people. he was always willing to help people. that was his agenda for each and every day he got out of bed. >> right near the end of schaefer's career. >> reporter: on the radio, smith said schaefer had an undeniable magnetism. >> he would call you names. and it was just part of the game. but you were always there. you were always wanting to come back. because he was always new. >> reporter: schaefer is gone now. but so much of what he achieved in baltimore remained. a city he loved. a city that defined him as much as he defined it. >> i can honestly say, he had no regrets in what he did in life. >> reporter: if all politics is local, sliffer was a master politician. -- although schaefer was a master politician. he loved to get out, fix every pothole and every complaint. >> he had a life dedicated to public service. >> reporter: william donald shayer had -- schaefer had the ability to think big and worry about the small details of public life like getting potholes filled. his motto was do it now and boy did he. >> five, four, three, two, one. >> reporter: from the start, william donald schaefer saw what baltimore could become when no one else did. for him, it was about tangible results. progress people could really see. in a span of over three years, schaefer presided over the opening of three huge projects n.1979, the baltimore convention center opens. >> come down to the harbor place. >> reporter: a year later, harbor place, with more than a million people in attendance opened. and in 1981, the very next year, the aquarium opened. >> reporter: there's probably not a major project you can think of in the city that he did not touch, either as mayor or as governor, when you look at the inner harbor. when you look at the buildings surrounding the inner harbor, that's our international calling card. that's what everybody knows baltimore as. >> reporter: but no doubt, it was schaefer's famous stunt at the aquarium. kathy marion remembers it well. she was working hand in hand with the governor. >> there was news coverage all over the world. i don't know if people remembered that. but it went international instantly. and that really set baltimore, on the international landscape at the time. not just for having a very interesting mayor. but also for what was going on at the harbor at the time. >> reporter: schaefer is also remembered for camden yards and making ravens stadium a reality. >> hi. how are you? >> reporter: but it was his everyday people. >> i used to wrap on doors and saying anything we can do for you? >> his instincts were always spot on. we're going to miss him terribly. >> reporter: and governor schaefer last visited the aquarium for its 20th anniversary. however, when it last opened, he was given a ceremonial key. so schaefer, as you can imagine, often startled the staff with unannounced visits. he would walk through at night, vic, just to view the fish by himself. >> if only to get a key like that. he was very deserving of it. his body will lie in repose at the state house next monday, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. later that day, a procession will go through some of schaefer's favorite spots. his body will then be brought to baltimore city hall, where he will lie in state from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. that will continue on tuesday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. schaefer's funeral service is next wednesday at old st. paul's church at 11:00 a.m. he will be buried at dulaney valley memorial gardens. stay with wjz for complete coverage of william donald schaefer for a slide show of his life. log onto wjz.com. turning now to the weather. things have mostly cleared up after more mostly wet weather today. take a live look outside. looks like the sun has made its return. meteorologist bernadette woods is in the first warning weather center. will we see the rain return as well? bern? >> reporter: well, i hope they're watching the radar. yes, we've gotten a nice break right now. but there's another round of storms on the way. you can see this batch, making its way quickly across the western part of the state. it's moving about 60 miles an hour. it will be heading eastward and again, skirting across northern parts ofed of maryland. we have already seen a lot of rain coming down from some of these storms. and because of that, flood warnings have been extended. we have a flood warning in effect for 7:15 for garrett county. 10:45 for allegheny county. the thing is, we've dropped that flood watch in effect from earlier. things looking a little better from that front. we'll watch as this next round comes by. and we will have a full forecast. vic? >> anne arundel county police are asking for your help in solving the brutal murder of a schoolteacher. january 28th, 63-year-old myra cason was shot to death in her car in glen burnie. police are asking anyone who saw cason in her 1994 suzuki sidekick on the morning of the murder to contact them at 410- 222-8610. a howard county man is fighting for his life, after a shooting overnight in ellicott city. police were called to the 3600 block of mount idadrive. they found terrell young with multiple gunshot wounds. young was rushed to the hospital where he is in critical condition. anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call howard county police. a maryland man is killed after an unusual car crash. tonight, the investigation continues as we learn more about the victim. wjz is live. kelly mcpherson has more from a colleague. and has the calls from 911. >> reporter: the maryland transportation authority is investigating this crash. they'll decide if any charges should be filed. but tonight, we are learning more about this maryland man who died when he fell off of the bridge. i spoke to a former colleague of his at usa today. a bizarre car accident on the bay bridge monday morning. pushed 24-year-old harry blauvelt over the bridge and into the bay. this killed the sports journalist who had retired on kent island. >> harry just loved stories. whether it was a scoop or not, he loved the good stories and he chased the good stories. >> reporter: his former usa today editor and friend described him as passionate and colorful. >> when i was harry's editor, tiger had a streak in which he never won a major unless harry was in intendance. attendance. we would joke about that. there was a couple of tournaments he couldn't get to, like the british open. and tiger never won. and the next tournament harry was at, tiger won. a truck ran into the honda, pushing it into blauvelt. drivers called 911. >> the whole vehicle went into the water? >> no. just the passenger. >> reporter: lonnie schumacher was driving directly behind the truck. >> i think he saw it and tried to avoid it. and as he tried to get around it, he probably hit the end of it. and as soon as he hit it, the car spun around, and his truck went into the side of the bridge. >> reporter: an mdta boat pulled blauvelt out of the water. >> it took him a few seconds to get out. he immediately ran to the car. and then the next thing you know, he looked over both sides of the bridge. >> reporter: the former reporter leaves behind his wife. >> reporter: harry was a man of great passion. and once he latched onto something, it was all-or- nothing. >> reporter: mdta recommends in most cases, though not all, that if you have trouble on the bridge, you should stay in your car, turn your flashers on, and call for help. reporting live, kelly mcpherson, wjz eyewitness news. >> kelly, thank you. two other people were pulled out of the water within six hours of this accident. one of them also died. a bit of a scare today at bwi thurgood marshall airport. when a small plane ran off the side. the corporate jet was preparing to take off when it veered off course this afternoon. the two pilots on board at the time. no word yet on how the plane went off course. mixed news today for maryland's work force. kai is in the newsroom with a look at how it breaks down. kai? >> maryland's unemployment rate improves and now stands at 6.9%. this is the first time it's been under 7% since march of 2009. but according to the department of labor, maryland employers actually cut 5900 jobs in march. the conflict could be explained by more maryland jobs in other states. nearly 17,000 are unemployed now. >> right now, the national unemployment rate stands at 8.8%. and governor o'malley has announced an agreement to begin work on the financial portion of the inner county connector, a move that could bring thousands for the state. it will run through prince george's county. allowing access to the development area. the state estimates that project could generate $100 million in revenue. still to come tonight on eyewitness news. hiring blitz. why mcdonald's is saying it is adding 50,000 employees to make over the image. looking for the upside of a blue crab rebound. that story as eyewitness news continues. a 13-year-old in custody for doing this. and it could have caused a catastrophe in midair. that's coming up next. and taking another live look outside at a gloomy evening. your updated first warning weather forecast is just ahead. your lawn is a living, breathing thing. it depends on you. it needs food. you have to feed your lawn. that's a must. i use scotts turf builder. it makes the roots really strong. 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[ male announcer ] scotts turf builder. feeding pays. it is the best thing you could do for your lawn. it could have ended in disaster. now, suzanne collins was tracked to a parkville home and arrested. >> a crew averts disaster tonight. they are blinded by a pointer. >> this is potentially lethal. parents, as well as people who own these pointers need to understand, this is not a game. this is not a video game. this is serious business. >> reporter: and there will be consequences. >> reporter: a 13-year-old boy from parkville has been charged with misuse of a laser and reckless endangerment. the chopper was not on emergency detail, so it turned around and tracked down the location of the green light to a specific house. county police moved in. >> reporter: when the flight crew is flying at night,their eyes eyes have adjusted and their pupils have dilated so they can see. suddenly they get a flash of light and their pupils can be blinded. >> it's extremely dangerous when you're flying around objects in this area. >> it can even hurt the human eyes. it reflects on gauges and other parts of the shiny cockpit and causes a big flash. >> in an instant, you're now capacitated. and you're traveling at 175 miles an hour across the sky. >> reporter: the problem is affecting other police agencies, private pilots and even large aircraft. police say it's happening more and more. suzanne collins, wjz eyewitness news. >> now, that 13-year-old boy is charged as a juvenile. police say this incident illustrates the importance of telling your children that light misuse is a violation of the law and could be deadly. police in anne arundel county say the teen overpowered a guard and ran from the new beginnings youth development center in laurel. the teen stole the guard's keys, grabbed a ladder. the teen is still at large. if you have a taste for blue crabs, the population estimates show the chesapeake will deliver this week. but they won't be delivering quite as many. >> reporter: this past winter, state violence -- biologists spent months on the number of estimates of the crabs in the bay. a small indicator of the harvest to come. those numbers show -- >> well, our population isn't at the numbers of last year. they do show significant progress compared to where we were headed a few years ago. >> reporter: this year, the crab population stands at 450 million crabs. that's down from 658 million in 2010. but it's still nearly double the record low of 249 million in 2007. >> what we have are still a healthy abundance of crabs, which is great. that's what we're looking for. what we're managing for. >> reporter: lower numbers are still considered good, given what happened this winter. >> reporter: a sudden freeze in early december hit maryland crabs hard, killing off 31% of the adult population. >> they were comfortable up here. and all of a sudden, the winter onset came quickly. and they were trapped and stuck. >> reporter: dnr says crabbing restrictions helped uncover that loss. now, watermen are hope restrictions would ease. >> watermen always hope that. >> reporter: there may be some opportunities for very minor adjustments to this year's harvest that will allow the industry a greater opportunity to reach their harvest at sustainable levels. >> reporter: meaning while not unlimited, there should be plenty of crabs to go around. alex demetrick, wjz eyewitness news. >> reporter: now, what the state can't survey is what crabs will cost you this summer. although the fuel prices are very high. and odds are, they won't be very inexpensive. >> i don't think they have been inexpensive in recent memory. >> they are so good. yes. okay. weatherwise. we have been in and out of the areas of rain and thunderstorms and sunshine even popping up out there. but there are more thunderstorms on the way. in between all of that, this is where we sit right now. 64 degrees. temperatures jump back up a little bit here. but we have more to come. and we'll have that forecast after this break. ,,,,,,,, mary! hey! wow, you look great! thanks! it's this new wish yourself thin program. i just wish it and it happens. it's probably those fiber one bars you're eating. i know they help me stick to my diet. the bars are 90 calories and the fiber helps you feel full. 90 calories and high fiber. so that's why this diet thing is working. but it's weird because my wish for lorenzo came true. [ male announcer ] fiber one 90 calorie bars. welcome back, everyone. we got raid of one round of thunderstorms. there's another on the way already. watch when i put you into motion. look how quickly they have moved they have basically moved from west virginia to hagerstown. may interfere with some of the o's game. and we're also looking at the history of some small towns. some of these thunderstorms out of this. that's what we're looking at, coming our way. flood warning resmain in effect for allegheny and garrett counties. what we have, 7:15, garrett county. but since earlier, the flood watch has been dropped. looking in and out of the shower and thunderstorms. a little break. but when we get the break, here comes the sunshine. winds out of the southeast. and that's trying to bring up warm air. we have been kept down in the 60s today in baltimore. it is 70 degrees in easton. it was 72 last hour in ocean city. so far today, our high has been 64 degrees. we may go up another degree or two before we start falling during the rest of the evening hours. now, the average is 66. we'll be way above that tomorrow, as this warm front pushes off to the north and we get in on that warmer air. before that happened, though, we're still seeing these rounds make their way across the east. surely, this put us enough. this is going to drag off to the southwest when they come off tomorrow afternoon. not as wet of a day as today has been. but if we get a round of showers and storms coming through. and the storm prediction center has put us in the area for that to happen. if any watches or warnings come out, we'll let you watch them. warm front to the north. cold front thursday. by tomorrow, it's all gone. get a nice break in the action. on the water, we see a small chance for storms. tonight, 55 for the low. still areas of rain and thunderstorms. then tomorrow, we go up to 83 degrees. we'll be watching to see if any of those thunderstorms do get going. but not nearly as wet of a day as we looked at for today. >> 83? >> yes. >> that is like summer. >> it is going to feel that way. still to come. moving forward. the southeastern u.s. is picking up the pieces after record-setting tornadoes. but now they're bracing for another hit. how president obama says he will slash the deficit, one day after ominous news for the economy. and how the gulf coast is belting back. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, it is 6:30. 64 degrees and mostly cloudy. here are some of the stories people are talking about tonight. clip continues today around maryland, after a destructive weekend storm batters the state. take a look here at the damage. carroll county, where the storm leveled a large field of trees. in north carolina, that same system is now blamed for 23 deaths