for you: >> hundreds of thousands of dollars of your stuff laying around. abc 2 shows you thou get what is yourself from the state of maryland. home prices have soar and sunk in a short amount of time. why haven't your property taxes changed? plus, why some of your neighbors are already saying the city's new garbage plan is just foul. >> now abc 2 news, the latest at 11. >> it has only been in place eight days, but some are already trashing the city's new garbage pickup plan. good evening, everybody. i'm terry owens. in an effort to save millions and encourage recycling, the city went from two trash pickups a week to just one in most communities. delia goncalves spoke to some neighbors tonight who say the new schedule stinks. she joins us life now with more. delia? >> reporter: neighbors say a week's worth of trash sitting all day until it's picked up later that evening. on a hot, steamy day like we had today, it stinks, literally. something doesn't smell right to these residents of the 1200 block of north carey. >> and the odor in this area, when i came home today, the odor was phenomenal. >> reporter: it's the city's new one plus one system. one day of trash pickup, plus one day of recycling per week. a challenge in some neighborhoods where some folks carelessly throw trash on the streets. >> we clean up the gutter. so half of the trash in our can doesn't even belong to us. that's ludicrous. it's ridiculous. come on, mayor dixon, that's not right. >> i went to wal-mart and paid $55 for my trash can. the real big ones with the top, they're gone. people either steal them or the trash truck damage them. one of the two. >> reporter: the mayor admits it will take some time, but eventually the system should make the city cleaner, allowing crews more time to tend to messy alleys. in the future, folks may be fine for this. piles of garbage bags left out overnight. this sign indicates trash won't be picked up for another two days. >> i have no problem with recycling. but also i think six days, going six days without a trash pickup is too long. >> reporter: back on north carey, folks followed the rules and put the garbage out early on trash morning. but the collection came at 5:00 in the evening. creating the smell and the trouble. >> the rats is horrible. and they start early because of the trash being left on the ground. >> reporter: residents continue to tell me that they're upset at certain neighborhoods in the city like downtown and mount vernon are still getting trash pick upped twice a week. that's an exemption to the rule that the city is reconsidering. the city is also thinking about distributing trash cans to each and every home with bar codes so they know wherthe cans belong. and any residents who still have problems are encouraged to call 311. we're live in north baltimore, delia goncalves, abc 2 news. yet another carbon monoxide leak at the covillage town homes in essex. baltimore county fire crews were called there around 5 today after a carbon monoxide detector went off. they did find low levels of co, but luckily no one was sickened. bge crews also responded to try and help neighbors resolve the it is is weighs. tonight there is a new movement to try and drastically reduce the property tax rate in baltimore. people who live in the city paid by far the highest property tax rate of any jurisdiction in the state. and some say they're getting tired of waiting for tax relief. christian schaffer joins us with that story. chris? >> reporter: yeah, terry. baltimore county has the second highest tax rate in maryland. 1.1 cents per $100 of assessed value. next door in baltimore city, the rate is 2.26 per $100, more than double the county and triple what some counties collect. a new group is getting organized to try and change that the owner of a $200,000 home in baltimore city pay morse than $4,500 a year in property taxes. if the home were in baltimore county, the owner would pay $2,200 a year. city leaders know their tax rate is a problem. for years they've been trying to figure out how the lower it. frank conaway is the chief clerk at the baltimore city circuit court and a former state delegate. he says they haven't been working quickly enough. >> i don't think it's impossible. i think it can be done if our elected officials want it to be done. >> reporter: conaway drew about 60 people to the announcement of a new plan to cut property taxes in the city. the goal, reduce the city's rates to match the county's in just five years. city mayor sheila dixon favors a more measured approach. >> revs are coming up short. we have to balance our books. very tough right now to attack the property tax rate in this manner. >> reporter: that's because each cent of property tax reduction in baltimore city equals about $3 million in revenue for the city. so a cut the size conaway is talking about would cost nearly $350 million a year, more than a quarter of the entire city's revenue. but he says he believes the lower rate would bring residents and businesses back to the city, and they would make up for lost revenue. >> the problem is nobody wants to make a change. and i'm like obama, yes we can. we can make that change. >> reporter: the mayor believes the best hope for property tax relief will come from the opening of a slots parlor in south baltimore. she is expecting revenue from that facility to allow the city to cut 8 cents from its property tax rate that would equal about $160 a year on the $200,000 home. christian schaffer, abc 2 news. president obama made his case for change tonight. change to our nation's overburdened and overpriced health care system. but the question remains, is this a change that congress and the american people can believe in. abc's viviana hurt tad doe has more on the suspect's speech. >> good evening. >> reporter: speaking to americans in prime time, president obama argued that the economic well-being of the country depends on health care reform. >> but i think that's a good thing. because ultimately we can't afford this. we just can't afford what we're doing right now. >> reporter: the president laid out some of his plan's details. for those with insurance, he promised more stability and more security. >> it will prevent insurance companies from dropping your coverage if you get too sick. >> reporter: mr. obama also promised a government-funded plan for those without insurance. he vowed to reject any measure that would be mainly fund by taxing the middle class. the president acknowledged the public's unease with the ballooning federal deficit. >> i've also pledged that health insurance reform will not add to the deficit over the next decade, and i mean it. >> reporter: the president accused his opponents of playing politics. >> i've heard the one republican strategist told his party that even though they may want to compromise, it's better politics to go for the kill. another republican senator that defeating health care reform is about breaking me. >> reporter: the gains he said will hurt american families, businesses and the government that can no longer afford the current system. >> i want to do this right. but the american people need some relief. >> reporter: the president takes his pitch for health care reform on the road. on thursday hi, is in ohio, where he'll take questions at a town hall meeting. viviana hurtado, abc news, washington. now an absolutely disturbing story out of st. mary's county. an 18 is-month-old girl is recovering tonight after getting caught in a fire in her home. a fire the girl's mother is accused of starting. state fire official says 19- year-old jenny navarro locked herself and her daughter inside their lexington park home and then set it on fire. navarro's husband and neighbors were able to rescue her and the child. back in baltimore, 27-year- old letter carrier has pleaded guilty to mail fraud, theft of mail, and identity theft. mailman leonard jenkins confessed to stealing over $100,000 of u.s. treasury checks. authority says he would steal the checks and then exchange them for cash with his co- conspirators. the checks would then be cashed using fake ids. jenkins faces up to 20 years in prison. other defendants have already pleaded guilty. putty hill liquors is open for business again, just a week after the owner was shot and killed. the store on putty hill avenue was reopened earlier this week by stale shaken employees. police say the killers are still at large because of surveillance video from the parking lot was of little help. that has employees starting a petition to increase security patrols as well as getting better cameras. >> push the extra mile, spend the ramon to make sure the vendors and employees and customers are safe. i think it would be a -- things would be a lot better. things like this would not happen. >> so far baltimore county police say they have very few leads. there were showers and thunderstorms around the region this evening. but they were all up in southern pennsylvania, making their way northward right now, going up towards the harrisburg region where they're getting very heavy rain from gettysburg northward. it was a very rainy night, but here in the baltimore area again, we were a bridesmaid. no precipitation. here is the forecast for tonight. cloudy and humid. the showers have basically ended. 68 degrees for the overnight low. tomorrow we've got another chance for some rainfall, and we're watching the coastal storm. we'll have all the details coming up. >> all right, thanks, norm. tonight both the dea and the l.a. pd could be mounting a criminal case against michael jackson's physician. both agencies raided the houston offices of dr. conrad murray today. murray was in the room with the king of pop when he died. the agents were reportedly looking for evidence. dr. murray administered drugs to jackson in a reckless manner, action that could lead to manslaughter charges. tonight authorities are looking over several documents they found, as well as the hard drive on the doctor's computer. still to come tonight, something you never thought you'd hear from your state government. >> i owe you money. i'm holding it for you. please come and get it. >> hundreds of thousands of dollars in unclaimed property awaits you. how to go about getting what you may be entitled to. plus, baltimore could play a huge role in keeping the swine flu at bay come flu season. details and how you could help, ahead. the city of baltimore will contain control of the historic senator theatre. that said, it was a pretty bizarre scene at today's auction. >> sit down and let everyone chill out a little bit. and let the auctioneers do what they have agreed to do. >> clearly this is rigged! this is bull. >> no bids came close to the theater's $950,000 mortgage. one person did bid $800,000. the city ended up repurchasing the mortgage, which averted a foreclosure auction. [ applause ] [ closing bell ] your money now. and yes, all good things must come to an end. the dow snapped a seven-day winning streak, the nasdaq managed to gain more than 10. its 11th straight day posting gain. and the s&p lost about a half a point. mixed day locally, but still plenty to be happy about. t. rowe price managed to finish up just shy of 1%. marriott international gain in order than 1%. and linthicum heights based foundation cole continued to post gains this summer. it is up more than 1% today. another sign the economy may be rebounding. a new survey few americans plan to cut become on back to school spending when compared to last year. the more than one thousand people surveyed. 70% said economic conditions will affect their shopping this year. 64% said they'll be spending less. that percentage is actually down from the 71% who said the same thing last year. as many students prepare for the upcoming school year, the race is on to produce a vaccine for the h1n1 virus before the flu season picks up. federal health leaders have tapped the university of maryland's school of medicine to put one of two experimental vaccines to the test. in a few weeks, researchers will begin trials on healthy adults and seniors in baltimore to test the vaccine's immunity. those trials are successful, children will test the vaccine in frederick and annapolis. researchers say the tests are safe and carry few side everythings. the most common reactions are a flu-like illness where you can get some fever and aches and not feel very well. that usually goes away in a couple days. >> university is one of 8 in the u.s. elected to conduct the test. researchers in australia are testing another experimental vaccine. if you're interested in volunteering for the maryland trials, you can call the center for vaccine development at 410- 706-6156. and now for a pleasant surprise. the state comptroller's office is trying to give away a ton of stuff, but millions of marylanders are missing out. tonight joce sterman explains how you can get your hands on some forgotten treasures that actually belong to you. >> official. everything will -- >> reporter: you can consider it the state's lost and found. from a treasured jim palmer baseball card to a shining silver tea set, this stash and millions in cash are being held as we speak by comptroller peter franchot. but here is the catch. it really belongs to you. >> i owe you money. i'm holding it for you. please, come and get it. >> reporter: the problem is many marylanders don't know that. in fact, the state's unclaimed property division is holding nearly $800 million in assets for 787,000 of you. which means approximately one in six in the state are owed money. >> this is very much like the lottery. except you have a much better chance of winning. >> winning back money you might not know you're owed. it comes from things like stock dividends, insurance payouts and safety deposit boxes that get turned over the state if you can't be found. we decided to try. to hunt down marylanders who made the list we started matchling names and addresses. >> this is joce sterman calling with channel 2. >> reporter: then we made calls, and even went door to door to let dozens of people know they could be in for a payday if they only asked for their cash. >> who has it? >> reporter: the state has it. the comptroller of maryland has it. >> well, let's go get it. >> reporter: and we did. >> there it is. there it is there. >> reporter: after finding kelly's family on the list, we let her know. and she soon found out they were owed more than $100 from an insurance company. it had been sitting on the proverbial unclaimed property shelf since 2004. >> i think that you need to make a better attempt at notification in tracking the people down. >> reporter: but the comptroller's office does try different ways to track people down. including this directory. inside you'll find nearly 54,000 names on nearly 127 pages. they're owed about $38 million, and that's just the people added since last year. >> i don't think it's overwhelming. more challenging. and a responsibility. >> reporter: a responsible to return what rightfully belongs to you. the cache valley is yours forever. but the state uses the money in the meantime. and even auctions off some of the assets on ebay if the owner isn't found after a year. >> it's theirs, and we sold it on ebay, we'll give them their money. >> reporter: money you can find with a simple web search. just check the database for your name. and if it turns up, call the comptroller's office. >> unclaimed property. >> reporter: that office fields as many as 7,000 inquiries a month. this year with our help, kelly will be one of them. >> i think it's great. i think it's great. i would like for you contact more people. i mean, there are people out there who are well deserve to have had money, who can use the money. it's their money. >> reporter: joce sterman, abc 2 news. >> if you want to see if you're owed anything, you can head to our website, abc2news.com. we'll show you to search the state database, what you'll need to claim your stuff, and even give you the forms you'll need to fill out. it's all in our investigators section. now the forecast certified baltimore's most accurate. here is chief meteorologist norm lewis and maryland's most powerful doppler radar. >> i did check that database. and my name son there. >> what is the catch? >> i now own the senator theatre. actually, there is a norman lewis on there, but i don't know if it's me or some other norman lewis. hey peter, what is going on? let's take a look outside right nowful show you what is going on in the baltimore area downtown. pretty nice evening, but we have had some pretty rough thunderstorms from gettysburg northward into pennsylvania. our temperature right newt bwi thurgood marshall 75 degrees. 82% humidity there is no wind. it's calm, and the pressurizing 30.06. here are your tides tomorrow at fort mchenry. high tide 7:22 in the morning low tied 2:22 in the afternoon. winds 8 to 14 miles per hour. sun comes up at 5:58. our low was 66 degrees. the high today 87, which did hit our 2-degree guarantee. current temperature outside, 2 in york, 74 in hagerstown. 72 in easton. dover, delaware at 72 degrees. and down on the boards at ocean city 79 degrees. throughout the day, we had some sunshine early this morning. then the clouds rolled in. we had some showers here in baltimore, but then the heavy thunderstorms developed out to the west of us, now moving up into pennsylvania. that's where the majority of the rainfall is. but that's not the whole story. take a look at the larger picture. we've been talking for the past couple days about these series of low pressure forming and moving along the coastline. here is a real good look at this area of low pressure that is now forming off the georgia- south carolina coastline, moving northward at one point in time it looked like this could develop into some kind of a tropical system. but that's not going to happen. it doesn't have enough support int the upper atmosphere on top of that. as it moves northward and passes the outer banks, it's going to run into much cooler water. and for any kind of a tropical system to form, it's going to have to have warmer water. but it is going to provide clouds with shower activity. but up into new england where they're going to be getting some heavy rain. the whole systems kind of converge on the maryland region, which is going to give us a better chance for general rainfall tomorrow. but again, unfortunately, it's not going to be raining everywhere all the time. but we are going to see some more scattered showers around the region there is the heavy thunderstorm activity that formed up right here just north of the mason dixon line, and then has now moved up into pennsylvania with very heavy shower and thunderstorm activity. in baltimore we are dry, needing rain badly. 72 in moncton right now. 76 in perry hall. churchville at 73 degrees. 73 in northeast and rock hall right now 75 degrees. here is your forecast for the overnight period. that shower and thunderstorm activity you just saw in pennsylvania continues to move northward. during the day tomorrow, that system moves along the eastern seaboard. we've got a chance for shower activity, mostly in the afternoon and evening. same kind of situation on friday. but again, no general rainfall on tap. better chance tomorrow man what we had. but again, no soaking rains, unfortunately. overnight your forecast cloudy and humid. the showers are done for us. 68 degrees for the overnight low. during day tomorrow, mostly cloudy, showers and storms spotted through the area with a high of 82 degrees. and the extended outlook. there is friday with scattered showers. now look at summer, rolling back in with high heat, high humidity. hazy, hot, and humid on saturday and sunday. monday some showers come back into the weather picture. same thing on tuesday. wednesday partly cloudy and 86 degrees. check in with meteorologist justin berk early tomorrow morning. i'll see you tomorrow night at 5, 6, and 11. let's throw it over to rob. >> thanks, norm. coming up, derrick mason spoke to john harbaugh about possibly playing for the ravens this year. we'll tell you how that went. plus, it's official. the o's have a new spring training home, next in large part to cal ripken. we'll explain next in sports. america, whattaya say to big cheesy-steaky-ness! - subway. eat fresh! - eat fresh! when you wanna kick it up with zesty chipotle sauce. - eat fresh! - eat fresh! the flavor-fullest sub only subway can offer. - eat fresh! - eat fresh! try the new subway big chipotle cheesesteak. an updated all-time favorite: juicy steak layered with zesty chipotle sauce... and melted cheese, piled high with only... the toppings you love. subway. eat fresh! to silence headaches... doctors recommend tylenol... more than any other brand... of pain reliever. tylenol rapid release gels... release medicine fast. so you can stop headaches... and feel better fast. to silence headaches... doctors recommend tylenol... more than any other brand... of pain reliever. tylenol rapid release gels... release medicine fast. so you can stop headaches... and feel better fast. the orioles are official will leaving fort lauderdale. the o's will hold spring training in sarasota starting next season. the sarasota county commission approved the deal tonight, thanks in large part to the promise of a youth baseball academy, which will go on premises by ripken baseball. the o's will upgrade ed smith stadium and help rebuild an entire minor league complex. the o's in new york today. another rough start for jason berken. bottom 1, 2 out, bases loaded. brian robert can't make the play. could have potentially ended the inning. 2-0 yanks. next up, nick switcher makes them pay, drops in a 2-run single to center. hideki matsui, won the game a couple days ago. jorge posada both score. the yanks up 4-0 after 1. that ty wigginton lines it to right. but swisher again, climbing the fence. bottom 3, berken right down the middle. again, with 2 outs. it's jorge posada, his 12th. berken goes 6. top 9, 6-2 now. adam jones off brian rooney. his 14th of the year. he went 4-5 with a homer, a double, scored a pair of runs. made it 6-3. next up, nick markakis, another solo shot. back-to-back. but that's as close as they would get. the o's lose 6-4. they're off tomorrow. then play 3 in boston over the weekend. john harbaugh is, quote, optimistic and hopeful that derrick mason will return to the ravens this year. the ravens coach spoke to mason last night. he tells espn mason needs to decide if he, quote, mentally ready. willis mcgahey was at the grand opening of a boost mobile store today, accepting a $5,000 donation on behalf of his charity which supports victims of domestic violence and less fortunate kids. ravens runningback said he is healthy, but not really excited about training camp. >> camp is camp. nobody looks forward to camp because it's a grueling process where you're looking at dudes all day, you know, and living with the same guys for the next month. and staying in a hotel. it's really not fun, but it's a job. >> doesn't like looking at dudes all day. joe flacco has officially entered a new level of fame, or at least fortune. flacco filmed one of those awesome reebok commercials that people still debate if it's real or tv magic. >> accuracy is one of the most important things for an nfl quarterback. here is how i like to work on mine. pull! last year was just the beginning. >> fake. it's fake! but you know what? no wide receivers, no one catching that. they still need a wide receiver, even in commercial land. that's sports. i'm rob carlin. we wrap up the news right after this. it's july 16th, and i'm julio perez with a look at the past 24 hours on royal caribbean's liberty of the seas. stingrays in the caymans gave the murrays a honeymoon to remember. ulrich from germany kissed a dolphin, right on the lips. back on the ship, the afternoon bridge action was almost non-stop. and finally, an ice cream cone was rescued... on deck 11. that's the news. i'm julio perez cruising with royal caribbean. why aren't you? well, hazy hot and humid weather is on the way. get ready. >> welcome to b-more. that's going to do it for us tonight. remember, you can follow all the stories on twitter and online. abc2news.com. good night, everybody. abc 2 works for you, and your wallet. investigating local scams. >> waited and they waited. it was sad. >> so more of your money is protected. helping you pocket every last penny. >> what if i just gave enough money, would that be okay? >> making sure you get what they promise. and helping you cash in. >> we saved some money. >> on big savings, no matter where you shop. in these uncertain times, make sure to bank on abc 2. your wallet will thank you.