Ocean City

Maryland Live brought in more than $38.3 million in revenue in February - a new record by $2 million - despite a shortened month and the temporary removal of 700 video lottery terminals to accommodate table games. In all, Maryland's casinos brought in $47.8 million, the second-highest amount since last July, which was Maryland Live's first full month of operations. All but $15.8 million of the money brought in by casinos went back to the state. Hollywood Casino in Perryville generated a little less than $6 million, representing a drop of 48 percent year-over-year.

In reading the article about Maryland's transportation finances ("State plan for funding roads, transit elusive," Feb. 20), I'm surprised the money lasted this long. Why is it always on the taxpayers' back to pay for the deficits the state makes? Now, it's "Let's raise some taxes so we can fix the roads and continue with road building projects. " Has anyone ever really read the questions when voting about government borrowing? Maybe voters should. I always vote "no. " I've said for years the roads in Maryland are the worst in the country.

Michelle LeM. Flesher, a retired Towson artist who had been an art restorer and therapist, died Feb. 14 of heart failure at St. Elizabeth Hall Apartments at Stella Maris in Timonium. She was 87. Born Michelle LeMay in Saginaw, Mich., she moved with her family in 1931 when she was 5 to Nice, France, where she received her education. She studied art and design and earned degrees from the Ecole nationale superieure des Beaux Arts and Les Arts Decoratifs, both in Paris. "Possession of U.S. papers in war-torn France made daily life difficult at best, harrowing at worst," said a son, Robert W. Flesher of Towson.

The Eastern Shore town of Bellevue saw the heaviest rains in the U.S. during Superstorm Sandy, according to an official report on the storm the National Hurricane Center released Tuesday. The town, across the Tred Avon River from Oxford and just south of St. Michael's in Talbot County, recorded 12.83 inches of rain. Nearby Easton was not far behind with 12.55 inches. The bullseye of Sandy's deluge was on the middle Eastern Shore, though storm surge levels were higher to the northeast around New York.

Anita R. Sody, former corporate secretary and treasurer of a Baltimore meatpacking business, died Jan. 21 of pneumonia at Season's Hospice at Good Samaritan Hospital. She was 88. Anita Ramming was born in Baltimore and raised on Harford Road in Northeast Baltimore. She was a 1942 graduate of Eastern High School. In her youth, she enjoyed singing with the choir at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church. A former resident of Sparks and Towson, Mrs. Sody had been secretary and treasurer of A.W. Schmidt & Sons, a family-owned meatpacking business in the old Belair Market, from 1978 to 1991.

Dorothy V. Perry, former owner of a Towson travel agency, died Jan. 16 of a heart attack at her daughter's Lutherville home. She was 90. The daughter of a streetcar conductor and a homemaker, Dorothy Wertz was born in Baltimore and raised on 30th Street. A 1940 graduate of Eastern High School, Mrs. Perry worked as a secretary at Commercial Credit Co. and did volunteer work. After World War II, she married Urner "Bo" Perry, who had served in the merchant marine and later became a Westinghouse Electric Corp.

Some Baltimore legislators, determined to win state approval for the city's ambitious plan to launch a $2.4 billion, 10-year overhaul of its aging school facilities, are considering bringing in the Maryland Stadium Authority to provide construction expertise and financial oversight. The lawmakers are concerned that some state leaders are questioning whether the city school system has the ability to manage a project of that scope. One proposal is to set up a new authority to oversee construction contracting and monitoring of projects.

A 20-year-old Ocean City man awaiting trial on more than a dozen charges in connection to six house burglaries in the beach town this spring was arrested again this weekend for allegedly stealing a car and fleeing police, Ocean City Police said Monday. Alexander George Ellis, of the 100 block of Sandy Hill Drive in Ocean City , was eventually caught early Saturday morning after ditching the stolen vehicle and trying to escape police by jumping into the water, police said.

After taking a vacation from much of the mid-Atlantic coast last winter, migrating seals have been spotted making a return to Ocean City 's bays and beaches. Two or three gray or harbor seals have been spotted so far, according to reports relayed to the Maryland Coastal Bays Program. The creatures typically migrate from Canada and Maine as the water cools, but during last year's mild winter, few were seen, with little explanation. Seal trackers are encouraging spectators to report and document sightings.

A 63-year-old man was found dead outside the Golden Sands Condominium building in Ocean City on Thursday morning, according to police. The body of the man, whom police have not identified publicly, was found after officers responded to the 10900 block of Coastal Highway for a report of a fall from the 22-story building, Ocean City police said. The body has been taken to the chief medical examiner's office for an autopsy, police said. An investigation is ongoing, they said.