William Donald Schaefer

Comptroller William Donald Schaefer announced yesterday that Maryland is participating in a national online database service that offers visitors a free search for unclaimed funds -- such as from a last paycheck, a utility deposit or an old bank account. The Web site, www.missingmoney.com, includes records of 4.5 million accounts of unclaimed funds worth an estimated $14 billion being held in Maryland and 15 other states. The comptroller's office also has a Web site, www.mary- landtaxes.

As the General Assembly nears the halfway point in its 90-day session, Gov. Martin O'Malley and key legislators have yet to agree on a plan to pay for new roads, bridges and transit lines - a decision many consider critical to Maryland's economy. Business leaders and others are warning that a longstanding erosion of the fund that finances transportation projects is becoming a crisis. Without new money in the form of higher taxes and fees, they say, work on critically needed projects - including Baltimore's Red Line and suburban Washington's Purple Line - will come to a halt.

William Donald Schaefer remembered many people in his will, but only one mermaid. Karen Blair , a longtime aide who received $10,000 in the will made public last week, was a City Hall secretary in August 1978 when the city was about to break ground for the aquarium. A model had been hired to appear as a mermaid, but she showed up that day without the requisite fresh-from-the-sea look. “She came in and she had all this make-up on and her hair was all piled up high,” Blair said.

She had won a string of beauty pageants - and was the original St. Pauli Girl of beer advertising fame - so Debbie Walker, a blond model from Washington, D.C., was accustomed to her fair share of attention. But she'd never seen anything like the morning of July 15, 1981. She had to wear a skin-tight, sequined costume with a 15-foot train for that gig. A team of frogmen carried her across a makeshift pond and placed her on a rock. And as cameras from media outlets around the world clicked, flashed and rolled, three seals swam over to pay her a visit, followed by an equally frisky mayor of Baltimore, William Donald Schaefer.

William Donald Schaefer would have loved Maryland Day this year. It's all about him! A year after of his death, Maryland Historical Society will celebrate Schaefer's memory Thursday with a roast. They'll also be showing off a few Schaefer artifacts including the famous striped swimsuit he wore for that dip at Baltimore's National Aquarium and the rubber ducky he brought along for the swim. The roast will be at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument St. 6 p.m. Tickets are $30 and it could be worth every penny -- and not just to see the bathing suit.

Marylanders have taken to Twitter this morning to remember William Donald Schaefer, the iconic Baltimore mayor, Maryland governor and comptroller. He was 89 when he passed away yesterday.  Here's a sampling of what they're saying. Tweet to us @bthesite to have your thoughts included.   •  MMMcDermott   Here's to Don  Schaefer : the greatest mayor in the greatest city in America. If there are potholes in heaven, there won't be for long. •  MMMcDermott :  H.L. Mencken's gonna have someone to talk to - whether he likes it or not. Rest easy, Mayor Schaefer •  fhyrew   William Donald will be best remembered for his candor.

A tiny church tucked inside Patapsco Valley State Park dedicates a pew Sunday to one of its most famous former congregants, the late William Donald Schaefer. Gary Memorial United Methodist Church has just 80 worshipers most Sundays, but for many years, one of them was the former mayor, governor and comptroller. Schaefer found his way to the stone church in the woods when the pastor was Luther Starnes, his former secretary of human resources. He left Gary Memorial $10,000 in his will.

William Donald Schaefer, the dominant political figure of the last half-century of Maryland history, died Monday after a "do-it-now" career that changed the face of Baltimore while bringing a new burst of energy to the city he loved. Mr. Schaefer was 89. In four terms as mayor and two as governor, he was a champion of big projects that transformed Baltimore: Harborplace, Camden Yards, the National Aquarium, the Convention Center and the light rail among them. Yet he was also intensely involved with the mundane details of city neighborhoods.

Fells Point is about to lose a celebrity, somebody famous for jumping into a pool. Michael Phelps is still headed there, but William Donald Schaefer is on his way out. The former mayor, governor, comptroller and seal-pool dipper just put his Lancaster Street rowhouse on the market for $225,000. The 2BR, 1BA built in 1820 has a waaay outdated kitchen but unbeatable political provenance, even if Schaefer never really lived there. Though never accused of being a material guy - Schaefer adores fast food and political-convention freebies - he collects houses like John McCain.

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot posted this letter to supporters Tuesday on his website. Dear Supporter,   As we approach the heart of the holiday season and the end of 2012, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued friendship. Indeed, I have so much to be thankful for this year - from my good health and wonderful family, to the support of so many good friends and the opportunity to serve the people of Maryland in what is undoubtedly the best job I have ever had.   In that spirit of sincere gratitude, I would also like to let you know that I have decided to seek re-election as Comptroller of Maryland in 2014.

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, considered one of the leading prospective Democratic candidates for governor in 2014, said Tuesday that he will instead seek a third term in his current post. In an interview, Franchot, 65, said he made his decision after considering internal polls that showed him a much stronger candidate for re-election than for governor. He said he's happy with what he's doing now — running Maryland's tax system and serving as the state's fiscal watchdog.

Mildred Otenasek, a pioneering force for women in Maryland Democratic politics and a much-loved professor and mentor at her alma mater, Notre Dame of Maryland University, died Nov. 19 at her home in Roland Park. She was 98. A diminutive, soft-spoken woman with a fierce intellect and a determination to both succeed and blaze a path for the women who would follow her, Mrs. Otenasek became a driving force in politics, including a stint as the first female member of the Democratic National Committee for Maryland.

Doris J. Spriggs, a former Social Security Administration specialist who later became an aide to six Baltimore mayors, died Tuesday of heart failure at Mercy Medical Center. The longtime Edmondson Village resident was 79. "Doris was really one of the characters at City Hall and was such a part of all of our work. She loved the city and loved what we were doing," said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. "As a volunteer, she put in more hours than the people who work there full time.

William Donald Schaefer sang Baltimore's praises loudly, so it's only fitting that a new musical should be singing his. The title of "Do It Now!" — music by Baltimore Symphony Orchestra member Jonathan Jensen, book by Baltimore-born playwright Rich Espey — comes from Schaefer's signature phrase during his 1971-1987 tenure as mayor of the city. The musical, which gets a public reading Sunday at Theatre Project , remains a work in progress, but the focus on Schaefer's Baltimore career is firmly settled.

A Las Vegas man who claims the estate of William Donald Schaefer owes him $28,000 for restaurant checks he picked up and time he spent visiting with the former governor and comptroller for five years lost another round in court on Monday. Michael Schaefer, who is no relation to the former Baltimore mayor, was appealing last year's decision by the Baltimore County Orphan's Court to reject the claim. Circuit Court Judge Dana M. Levitz on Monday ruled that there was no evidence that the former governor, who died last April, agreed to pay for Michael Schaefer's time or compensate him for restaurant meals, and no verification of the $28,000 sum. Schaefer -- who once owned a small downtown Baltimore hotel and now lives in Las Vegas -- said after the 30-minute trial in which he acted as both attorney and sole witness that he would pursue the case to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.

William Donald Schaefer would have loved Maryland Day this year. It's all about him! A year after of his death, Maryland Historical Society will celebrate Schaefer's memory Thursday with a roast. They'll also be showing off a few Schaefer artifacts including the famous striped swimsuit he wore for that dip at Baltimore's National Aquarium and the rubber ducky he brought along for the swim. The roast will be at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument St. 6 p.m. Tickets are $30 and it could be worth every penny -- and not just to see the bathing suit.

Baltimore and/or Maryland has very limited experience when it comes to automobile racing as compared to all our surrounding states. Look at the Formula One project that hopes to get underway next year in Austin, Texas. Or you may want to look to the cost incurred for seven races in Indianapolis. Then you can look at Richmond, Va., Dover, Del., and Pocono, Penn., for a NASCAR flavor. And then publish comparison findings. I think, in general, you had some very inexperienced promoters willing to accept inflated costs by different Baltimore authorities.