Metro Briefs

REGION

Storms puts rainfall near annual levels

Recent storms have brought rainfall amounts in the region close to those normally reached in an entire year.

From the beginning of the year to Saturday night, 38.87 inches was recorded at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The amount is a half inch less than the region usually gets in a year.

The National Weather Service said the amount is 80 percent more than the nearly 22 inches that the region had at this time last year.

Some of the heaviest rains fell Saturday in the Baltimore area, where about 3 1/2 inches of rain fell.

Businesses in the Mount Washington neighborhood were evacuated because of flash flooding.

The city and Baltimore County were under a flash-flood warning until Saturday night.

In the Baltimore County neighborhood of Cockeysville, firefighters responded to help a woman in who was trapped in a building by floodwaters. A fire dispatcher described the operation as routine.

MARYLAND

BALTIMORE

Ehrlich opposes O’Malley’s slots plan

Former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., Republican, said Saturday that he is against a referendum in November, an initiative of Gov. Martin O’Malley, Democrat, to legalize slot-machine gambling in the state.

Mr. Ehrlich dedicated his entire weekly program, on Baltimore radio station WBAL-AM, to the upcoming referendum.

Mr. Ehrlich, who had supported slots while in office, said the referendum is not close to what he had supported, adding that using a constitutional amendment to legalize slots does not make sense.

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