Vendors’ Number One Problem, Not the Applicant
By Bernie Boettigheimer, CLFP

One problem that has always perplexed me was the industry’s inability to judge equipment vendors and avoid the "bad apple" vendor before the losses got out of control. They all used all the same data sources with no noticeable effect: Dun & Bradstreet, Lexis-Nexus, Equifax, etc... These data sources filled up page after page with useless information (I might add at great expense) but the truth of the matter was that these reports just do not have the focus and introspection to help them judge a vendor in a leasing transaction.

These existing data services, however, were designed to aid in granting open credit account terms - not for finding vendors who were incompetent or even fraudulent. They show no sign posts of unsatisfactory early terminations or unusual activity reported by another financial source.

And yet, they continue to ignore that a satisfactory vendor is one that sells a good product, with no side representations and who handles service complaints fairly.

These are standard recommendations that we conduct at Leasing Police:

• Verify the phone number (does a stable vendor operates from a cell phone?)
• Verify the physical address (so many vendors operate from a residence)
• Search and examine the vendor’s web site (over 98% have one)
• Search Credit.Net files for time in their files, SIC code and number of employees
• Cross-check our files for Vendor Unusual Activities (we have over 600 at this time)
• Check our files for reports of Lessee Unsatisfactory Early Terminations (they now number over 10,000 with over 560 vendors with 3-55 repossessions)
• Verify the correct business name, date and state of formation and its active status.
• In addition, we have a history of brokers, vendors, and both the good guys and the crooks. We can pull from our Data Base of over 100,000 or receive a new report usually in 3-4 business hours.

There is a crying need of small and medium sized businesses for additional capital and all they need is the availability of funds and a better political comfort level. A few new Funders have popped-up but my business sense tells me the conditions are ripe for leasing and business finance to take a great rebound and allow new money sources to enter the market-place. Let’s hope that this time they get it right!

For those funders that survived, they just will not able to get by on high rates and excessive, unnecessary and useless documentation madness.

After all, this is a credit business and the emphasis should be there!

Financial Technology has greatly improved Credit models with added attention given to vendor performance and equipment evaluation. This is where repossessions happen; not documentation errors and over-reliance on site inspections performed by outside interests. Leasing Police has this information from many of its clients and others who provide their latest experiences.

 

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 New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
and Related Industries

Ryan Araujo was hired as Account Executive, Envision Cap, Laguna Hills, California. Previously, he was Senior National Accounts Manager, Alliance Funding Group (February, 2016 - March, 2018); Certified Training Manager, Nekter Juice Bar (November, 2013 - February, 2016); Financial Planner, Transamerica (March, 2013 - March, 2015); CrossFit Instructor, CrossFit Intersect (May, 2012 - September, 2013); Recreation Facilities Manager, City of San Clemente (August, 2010 - August, 2012); Barista, Starbucks (May, 2009 - September, 2010); Recreation Leader III, City of San Clemente (October, 2002 - August, 2010); Mentor, Boys and Girls Club of America (June, 2004 - August, 2004). Education: Saddleback College, General Studies (2005 - 2008). https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-araujo-438b6775/

Neal Bennet was hired as Global Director GSE, CSI Leasing, St. Louis, Missouri.  He is located in the Greater Seattle Area. Previously. he was National GSE Finance Manager, TCF Equipment Finance (October, 2016 - March, 2018). Prior, he was at Somerset Aviation Capital, starting April, 2014 as Divisional Vice President, Aviation; promoted, September, 2015, Managing Director.  GSE Specialist & Owner, eTug (March, 2006 - April, 2014); President, Compass eGSE LLC (September, 1995 - April, 2014).  https://www.linkedin.com/in/csigse/

Vicki Braches was hired by Wintrust Commercial Finance, a division of Wintrust Asset Finance, Rosemont, Illinois, as Senior Transaction Analyst. "In this role, Braches will assist the credit department and provide oversight of documentation and funding activities." She is located in Addison, Texas. She began her career with GE Commercial Finance, November, 1995; Promoted to GE Capital, Records Special, June, 2009; promoted to RIM Project Manager and Records Control Coordinator, April, 2014).  Education: Texas Lutheran (1980 - 1984).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vicki-braches/

Sara Brewer was promoted to Documentation Specialist, Onset Finance, South Jordan, Utah.  She joined the firm December, 2016, Front Desk Receptionist. Previously, she was Team Lead Supervisor, CaptionCall (February, 2012 - April, 2017); Mentor Assistant, Sorenson Communications (February, 2012 - March, 2013); Front Desk Reception, Deep Powder Marketing (August, 2008 - November, 2011).  Education: Salt Lake Community College (2012 - 2017). Dixie State College (2010 - 2011).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-brewer-26519186/

Marisa Felker was hired by Washington Federal, Seattle, Washington, as Franchise Finance Manager.  She is based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Previously, she was Principal, Felker Consulting (March, 2014 - March, 2018); Director, Freedom Square Group, LLC (June, 2013 - April, 2014); VP Manager/Portfolio Management Team Lead, GE Capital Franchise Finance (April, 2011 - September, 2012); VP, Credit Relationship Manager, Citi (January, 1994 - March, 2011); VP, Business Development Officer, Bank of America (January, 1993 - January, 1994); VP Credit Relationship Manager, City National Bank (January, 1991 - January, 1993); VP, Credit Relationship Manager, Wells Fargo Bank (January, 1984 - January, 1991). Community Service: Volunteer: Driver, Meals on Wheels.  Volunteer, US Marines, Project Valentine. Education: Thunderbird School of Global Management. Master, International Management/Finance (1982 - 1983). Activities and Societies: Toastmaster Spanish Club Team consulting project of Mexican distribution company during summer session in Guadalajara, Mexico. Southern Illinois University. Bachelor of Arts, French Major; Business Minor (1977 - 1981). https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisafelker/

Nate Gibbons, CLFP, was hired as Chief Operations Officer, Innovation Finance USA, Fairport, New York. He began his career at First American Equipment Finance, November, 2006; promoted Vice President, February, 2013. Volunteer: Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Greater Rochester. Board of Directors, Certified Lease and Finance Professional Foundation. Chair, Emerging Talent Advisory Council, Equipment Leasing and Finance Association.  Education: University of Rochester, Simon Business School. Master of Business Administration (M.B.A) (2011 - 2013). University of Rochester, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Spanish. Varsity Football. Universidad Internationale Menendez Pelayo. IES Study Abroad Program, Seville, Spain (Sprint, 2005). Batavia High School. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-gibbons-clfp-b9b9bab7/

Becky Hanley was hired as Indirect Sales Manager for BofI Federal Bank, San Diego, California.  "(She)...will be responsible for building and managing intermediary and secondary market buy-desk relationships with an initiative of growing the bank’s equipment finance portfolio." Previously, she was Stryker Flex Financial, Stryker (January, 2017 - April, 2018); Vice President, Bridge Capital Leasing, Inc., a BankUnited Company (January, 2013 - January, 2015); Vice President, Capital Markets, ATEL Leasing Corporation (October, 2006 - December, 2012); Vice President, Director of Syndication, Kalakane Capital, LLC.(October, 2006 - December, 2012); Vice President, Key Equipment Finance (July, 2003 - May, 2006); Vice President, Capital Markets, CitiCapital Commercial Corporation (Company bought by CitiGroup and became CitiCapital Commercial Corporation) (September, 2001 - July, 2003); Syndication Sales Associate, Associates Commercial Corporation (October, 1996 - September, 2001). Education: Ferris State University, Bachelors, Finance & Business Administration (1993 - 1996).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-hanley-026778b/

Wally Keane has returned to American Leasing Insurance, Sunderland, Massachusetts, as Business Development Manager. He is based out of West Suffield, Connecticut. LinkedIn notes: Business Development Manager, American Lease Insurance (2005 - 2009); Mortgage Originator, GMAC Mortgage and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (2002 - 2005); Account Executive, Structured Computer Systems (June, 1996 - August, 1999); Sales Executive, Digital Equipment Corporation (1978 - 1989). American Leasing Insurance President Steve Dinkelaker remarks “We’re very pleased to welcome Wally back to ALI. His knowledge of financial products, the needs of corporate clients, and the ALI Program makes him a key asset to our company and our continued growth.”  Education: Huthwaite S.P.I.N. Selling, Huthwaite S.P.I.N. Selling Sales Skills (2005). Western New England University, BA, Economics (1972 - 1976). https://www.linkedin.com/in/wally-keane-2460351b/

Darrel Kida was hired as Lead Program Manager, GE Healthcare, Greater New York City Area.  Previously, he was Regional Sales Manager, CIT (October, 207 - April, 2018); Vendor Account Services, CitiCapital formerly Copelco Capital (1998 - October, 2003). Education: Kean University, Communications (1992 - 1996); Bergen Catholic High School (1988 - 1992).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrel-kida-22071512/

Rahul Lavingia was promoted to Operations Manager, Lending USA, Sherman Oaks, California. He joined the firm April, 2017, as Operations Analyst. Prior he was Commercial Loan Analyst, Westlake Financial Services (August, 2016 - April, 2017); Commercial Loan Analyst, Westlake Financial Services (August, 2016 - April, 2017). Prior, he was Sales Associate, Metro PCS Corporate Store (March, 2011 – November, 2011); Sales Associate, The Smoke Shop (January, 2010 – February, 2011); Intern, TaylorMade Capital and Realty (August, 2009 – December, 2009); Sales Associate, Dreamers (July, 2007 – July, 2009). Education: California State University-Fullerton, Bachelors, Finance (2007 – 2011) Activities and Societies: Vice President, Delta Chi Fraternity Associate Member Councilor, Delta Chi Fraternity Member, CSUF Indian Club & Finance Association. Martin Luther King High School.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-lavingia-54013137

Todd Mauer was promoted to National Sales Manager, Summitt Funding Group, Mason, Ohio.  He is located in their Irvine, California office. He joined the firm in January, 2013. "In his new role, Maurer will continue to lead a dedicated sales team out of the firm’s Irvine, California office, and will work closely with both Richard L. Ross and Vice President of Sales Matt Ross to bolster Summit’s middle market division and deepen its business relationships." Previously he was Regional Sales Manager, First National Capital Corporation (April, 2010 - December, 2012); Vice President, Commercial Lending, Real Estate Investment Banking Firm (September, 2001 - April, 2010). Education: University of California, Riverside. Master of Business Administration, MBA, Finance. William Jewell College, Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Business Administration & Psychology (1991 - 1995). Lake Elsinore High School. https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-maurer-0600b876/

Maria Pepper was hired as Client Consultant, LeasePlan USA, Alpharetta, Georgia.  Previously, she was Sales Support Manager, Premier Financial Services, LLC (June, 2011 - March, 2018); Sales Merchandiser, The Hershey Company (2008 - 2011). Education: North Central College, BA, Organizational Communication, General (1991 - 1994). https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-pepper-02922711/

Ken Popular was promoted to Account Executive, CSI Leasing, St. Louis, Missouri. He joined the firm December, 2015, Technology Finance and Lifecycle Management Specialist. Previously, he was at AAA Missouri, joining August, 2012 as Sales Agent; promoted August, 2014, Project Coordinator of Sales Operations. Prior, he was Sales and Service Intern, A Scientific Company/Ace Labs (December, 2011 - February, 2012). Community Service: Volunteer: Marketing Strategist, Central Missouri Community Action (February, 2011). Education: University of Missouri, Columbia. Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Business Management (2008 - 2012).  Activities and Societies: Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, Club Baseball. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpopelar/

James Teal was promoted to President and COO, Hitachi Capital America Vendor Finance, Edina, Minnesota. He joined the firm June, 2016 as COO, Vendor Services Division. Prior, he was COO, Creekridge Capital (March, 2007 - May, 2016); EVP, Finance and Operations (December, 1993 - August, 2006); Assistant ontroller, Space Center (June, 1999 - December, 1993); Auditor, Arthur Anderson & Co. (1986 - 1990).  Community Service: Director, Peter J. King Family Foundation (2007 - Present).  Director, Christian Cyber Ministries (2015 - President). Education: The University of South Dako, BS., Accounting (1982 - 1986). https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-teal-941a45b/  

 

Leasing Industry Ads---Help Wanted
Now’s the Time to Apply

We are looking for: Account Executive Senior Account Executive National Sales Manager 2018 Interns for Sales, Operations, or Accounting What sets CoreTech apart from other equipment leasing companies is our team members and impeccable reputation. Are you unhappy with the ethics of your company and the promises made to you? Join our team, positions are available in Newport Beach, CA and remotely. To learn more, please click here www.coretechleasing.com CoreTech specializes in assisting medium to large size companies throughout various markets including: Legal, Medical, Manufacturing, Education, Corporate and Semi-Conductor Over 100 law firms trust CoreTech for their leasing needs, why wouldn't you?

 

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How to Successfully Promote Your Brand
Thorough Social Media and Content Marketing

FinTech #102 by Alex Vasilakos

The growth of your financial brand depends on attracting and retaining clients. In the modern market, some of the most successful strategies center on targeted content and social media marketing. If you're ready to make this marketing strategy work for your financial brand, here are some powerful tips to improve your chances of success.

Why Social Media Marketing Is Important

First, it's important to understand where there is room for improvement in terms of social media and content marketing. While many other industries have successfully navigated social media and developed effective sales content, the financial industry as a whole has been reluctant to move away from more traditional marketing methods, such as print.

One of the challenges with traditional sales campaigns is that they can't be effectively tracked or analyzed. However, targeting your audience through social media can be extremely effective. Most of your potential clients are already spending time online, so it's wise to engage with them there.

Benefits of Targeting Content Marketing

A modern content and social media marketing strategy offers many potential benefits, including:

1. Aligning advertising budgets with clients’ behavior
2. Targeting potential clients accurately
3. Efficiently generating leads and referral partners
4. Providing platform for developing relationships

Make Paid Promotion Work for You

The days of being able to connect with potential clients organically through Facebook and LinkedIn are a distant memory. Modern social media feeds continue to fill up with paid promotional content, so if you want to make sure your audience has the chance to see your posts, you need to invest in sponsored content. The upside of this trend toward paid content is that it offers advertisers an array of effective targeting techniques. Whether you are thinking of using LinkedIn, Facebook, or another platform, you can get access to consumer data to help you truly understand your target demographic and tailor your content for maximum impact.

What demographic do you want to target? The data collected and analyzed by social media platforms can provide you access to any number of specific groups and help you target a specific message to the viewer.

Ensure Sales Content Matches Your Target Audience's Expectations

The more customized you can make your content, the better chance you have of making a strong connection with potential customers. A stronger connection means there is a better chance of converting that targeted individual into a client. By its nature, social media encourages users to desire a completely personalized experience, even in terms of advertising. When a customer feels like your post speaks directly to him or her, he or she is much more likely to pay attention and engage with the content.

However, developing unique, customized content can be challenging. Not only do you need to take into account different personalities and ages, you also need to tailor your content to fit the potential client's location in the sales funnel. Content designed for an initial connection with a client should look different than content designed to close a deal. The quality of your posts is also important. People will likely ignore social media content that reads like a high-pressure sales pitch. Instead, focus on creating valuable, helpful posts that help your target audience feel like your company is both knowledgeable and caring.

Put It All Together

What does effective, valuable content look like? It depends on the target audience. For example, if you are creating a campaign to focus on your new and used equipment financing services, your content should evolve based on your client's situation. Your initial contact with your potential client should focus mostly on improving brand awareness and providing helpful information. You want the buyer to be aware of your services as he or she is considering the pros and cons of potentially using your company for financing.

As you continue to target this client with customized marketing content, your focus can move from brand awareness to the reasons he or she should choose your financial institution. You may want to focus on your rates, variety of available loan types, or flexible payment terms. Once you have succeeded in converting this targeted individual into a client, you can also promote your other financial products and services that you might offer.

An effective social media marketing campaign can help you convert and retain clients. When you understand how to correctly engage with your target demographic and ensure your sales and marketing teams are working together, your content has a better chance of success.

Alex Vasilakos
Director of Marketing
The Finance Marketing Group
Alex@financemarketing.com 
Office: 518-591-4645x102 / Fax: 518-677-1071
90 State Street, Suite 1500, Albany, NY 12207
Currently, Alex works exclusively with financial services companies but his depth of knowledge and experience can help design and implement long-reaching strategies for businesses across all industries.
Previous Financial Technology Articles
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/fintech.html

 

 

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https://www.statista.com/chart/13232/the-biggest-hotels-worldwide-by-number-of-rooms/

 

Congress Considering Venue Reform
in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Cases

By Marshall Goldberg

On January 8, 2018, Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced a bill (S. 2282) that would alter where corporate debtors file Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases. A large number of lawyers, judges, and professors throughout the country have actively worked on the issue of venue reform since 2011. The legislation aims to increase some fairness and convenience to those that regularly deal with the corporation such as creditors and even employees.

The bill shifts the distribution of Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases throughout the country’s federal districts. If passed, the resulting revisions to the federal statute affecting venue of bankruptcy cases would eliminate the state of incorporation for commencing a bankruptcy case and require corporate debtors to file in the district where their principal place of business or principal assets are located.

An abundance of both publicly traded companies and private companies have filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in Delaware and New York, based either upon domicile or the claim of some minimal business operations “connected” to both jurisdictions. Recent data indicates that 70% of the public companies that filed Chapter 11 cases in the last five years filed in districts other than where its principal place of business or principal assets were located, and 80% of these cases were filed in either Delaware or the Southern District of New York. Is this what Congress intended?

Prior to 1987, corporations filed where the debtor had its principal place of business or principal assets for the preceding six months. Many bankruptcy scholars and professionals believe that Congress did not intend to change this result when it enacted the Bankruptcy Code in 1987.

Nonetheless, since 1987, courts have interpreted the term “domicile” to mean a company’s state of incorporation, thus allowing a corporate debtor to file in a location other than where its principal place of business or principal assets are located. Many have asked whether this result is necessarily fair to creditors, employees, and the local community where the business primarily operates.

The law as it currently stands allows potential corporate debtors to distance themselves from creditors and “forum shop” for jurisdictions that may render the most favorable rulings as to terms regarding the settlement of claims and reorganization of debt payment. Again, is this what Congress intended?

At this point the bill has been read twice and returned to the Committee on the Judiciary.

S.2282
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/2282/text

 

Marshall Goldenberg, Esq.
GLASS & GOLDBERG, ALC
22917 Burbank Blvd.
Woodland Hills, CA 91367-4203.
(818) 888-2220
mgoldberg@glassgoldberg.com

 

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https://www.statista.com/chart/13455/where-home-buyers-need-deep-pockets/

 

##### Press Release ############################

Ascentium Capital Surpasses $4.0 Billion
in Origination Volume

Ascentium Capital LLC, the largest private independent finance company in the United States by new business volume, announced surpassing $4 billion in origination volume since the Company’s founding in August 2011.

Tom Depping,
Chief Executive Officer
Ascentium Capital

“Our award-winning finance platform, elevated levels of efficiencies and our personalized service continue to drive demand for our financial products. We look forward with great confidence,” comments Tom Depping, Chief Executive Officer at Ascentium Capital.

The Company has provided financing to over 60,000 businesses since its inception. Initiatives during 2018 will focus on sales and marketing efforts in key industries including but not limited to healthcare, technology, energy, franchise, hospitality, specialty vehicle, waste and construction.

Richard Baccaro, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Ascentium Capital remarks, “We invest for the long term as we continue on the path to success. We are proud to support businesses and our vendor partners who serve their needs.

“Our growth initiatives continue with on-going recruitment across the U.S. as we plan to hire 50 additional sales professionals during the next 12 months.”

About Ascentium Capital
As a direct lender, Ascentium Capital LLC specializes in providing a broad range of financing, leasing and small business loans. The company’s offering benefits equipment manufacturers and distributors as well as direct to businesses nationwide. Ascentium Capital is backed by the strength of leading investment firm Warburg Pincus LLC. For more information, please visit www.AscentiumCapital.com.

### Press Release ############################

 

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Fernando's View
By Fernando F. Croce

A dazzling blockbuster (“Ready Player One”) and an intimate indie (“Outside In”) make for a double-bill of contrasts at the box-office, while DVD releases offer Oscar-winning drama (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”), all-star mystery (“Murder on the Orient Express”) and a bold classic (“Women in Love”).

In theaters:

Ready Player One (Warner Bros.): Steven Spielberg shoots the pop-culture fireworks with this dazzling big-screen adaptation of Ernst Cline’s sci-fi best-seller. Set in the near future, it envisions a tumultuous world in which escape can only be found inside a virtual-reality realm known as Oasis. With the death of its creator (Mark Rylance), the heritage of Oasis is left up for grabs, with the winner being the first to figure out a hidden prize in a swirling maelstrom of digital figures. Enter unlikely hero Wade (Tye Sheridan), who steps up to the contest only to be hurled into a vortex populated with movie and video-game references. Can this finally be a place where his knowledge of all things nerdy will come in handy? Buzzing with humor and action, Spielberg’s crowdpleaser is a master showman’s extravaganza.

Outside In (The Orchard): A staple of the indie art-house, director Lynn Shelton (“Your Sister’s Sister”) serves up another observant slice of life with this intimate drama. A tale of lost time and second chances, it unfolds in a small Washington town where Chris (Jay Duplass), a man in his late thirties, returns home after a two-decade stint in prison. Re-entering the outside world is not an easy task for him, though he finds solace in his friendship with Carol (Edie Falco), his high-school teacher. When Chris’ awkward neediness and Carol’s loneliness push toward something more serious, however, their lives are changed forever. Following the characters’ paths with intelligence and gentleness, Shelton’s film gets a huge boost from the complex performances of his main actors. The results are engrossing and affecting.

Netflix Tip: One of the founders of beloved Japanese animation studio Ghibli, Isao Takahata (1935-2018) combined lush and precise visual animation with a profound, aching humanism. So check out Netflix for some of his best films, which include “Grave of the Fireflies” (1988), “Only Yesterday” (1991), “Pom Poko” (1994), and “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” (2013).

On DVD:

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Fox): Frances McDormand won her second Best Actress Oscar in this drama from writer-director Martin McDonagh (“Seven Psychopaths”). She plays Mildred Hayes, a woman obsessed with uncovering the truth about the murder of her daughter. With several months having passed and the police in her small town not getting any results, Mildred decides to take things into her own hands and purchases a trio of roadside billboards, hoping to shame the authorities into action with her confrontational messages. Along the way she locks horns with ailing police chief Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) and racist deputy Dixon (Best Supporting Actor winner Sam Rockwell). Bringing his blend of stylized dialogue, dark humor and weighty morality to the heartland, McDonagh gives the hard-as-nails McDormand plenty of dramatic meat to chew on.

Murder on the Orient Express (Fox): Agatha Christie’s durable mystery blockbuster gets a lavish retelling in this splashy, all-star interpretation, directed by Kenneth Branagh (“Cinderella”). Branagh also stars as legendary Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, who seeks some relaxation in a trip to Istanbul aboard the luxurious Orient Express. Vacation plans are swiftly scotched, however, as a businessman named Samuel Ratchett (Johnny Depp) turns up dead the next morning. Facing down a dozen suspicious passengers who had a plausible reason to want Ratchett gone, Poirot finds his obsessive powers of deduction put to a test. Taking a page from the recent “Sherlock Holmes” films by pumping the cozy settings with modern CGI, Branagh’s film blends traditional and modern pleasures. The stellar ensemble includes Michelle Pfeiffer, Willem Dafoe, and Penelope Cruz.

Women in Love (Criterion): British cinema’s perpetual bad boy, director Ken Russell scored a mainstream box-office hit with this acclaimed 1969 adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s celebrated novel. Set in a small mining town in the 1920s, the story follows two contrasting sisters, Ursula (Jeannie Liden) and Gudrun Brangwen (Glenda Jackson, who won a Best Actress Oscar), and the way their very different marriages reflect their temperaments. While Ursula strives for fidelity with her idealistic beloved Rupert (Alan Bates), the more tempestuous Gudrun finds a similar mate in volatile industrialist Gerald (Oliver Reed). Better known for his outrageous look at the private lives of famous musicians, Russell makes the period setting jump with his trademark use of delirious camerawork and intense performances. Like Lawrence’s original, the film is a bold crossroads between the classical and the modern.

 

Chocolate Labrador Retriever/Greyhound
Fairfax, Virginia  Adopt a Dog

Cocoa
Female
Color: Chocolate/White
Spayed
Size: Medium

"Cocoa is a crazy puppy, and oh so cute!!! She is SO energetic and gets the zoomies like ALL THE TIME. She is super fast and agile and loves to play! She is VERY smart and really just needs a person who will devote themselves to her, and she will devote herself to them. Want a dog who will excel at any training classes she's enrolled in? Cocoa is your girl. Looking for a running partner who is great at keeping pace with you? Cocoa is ready to help you train for that half marathon. Do your friends have playful dogs and you're ready to adopt one to join in the fun? Cocoa loves other dogs who can keep up with her rough play style and endless energy. She really is so sweet and just needs a person to truly be her forever person!"

Fairfax County Animal Shelter
4500 W Ox Road
Fairfax, VA 22030  USA

Website: www.fairfaxcounty.gov/animalshelter
Email: AnimalShelter@FairfaxCounty.gov
Phone: (703) 830-1100

Northern Virginia, VA
Take your dog out on the water on a fun Canine Cruise. Plus, you’ll never go hungry again with a great choice of dog-friendly restaurants in Alexandria. If you still have plenty of time in your schedule for some historical sightseeing, you can ramble over to nearby Washington, DC.
http://dogtime.com/reference/dog-travel/2605-dog-friendly-city

Adopt-a-Pet by Leasing Co. State/City
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Adopt_Pet.htm

 

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Top 100 US Newspapers Listed by Circulation
Most Popular and Influential Newspapers in the USA

(Click name, then on Newspaper Headline to view Newspaper)

https://www.thepaperboy.com/usa-top-100-newspapers.cfm

News Briefs----

Bank earnings are coming, and they're going to be huge
  Tax Cuts, Rising Interest Rates, Corporate Profits
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/12/bank-earnings-are-coming-and-theyre-going-to-be-huge.html

And Then There Were None:
   Sears to Shutter Last Chicago Store
https://www.barrons.com/articles/and-then-there-were-none-sears-to-shutter-last-chicago-store-1523563507

Toys ‘R’ Us is having trouble selling its store locations
100's of Toys ‘R’ Us stores will likely remain dark for a long time
https://nypost.com/2018/04/11/toys-r-us-is-having-trouble-selling-its-store-locations/

 

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You May Have Missed---

Justice Department gives millions more to Madoff victims
https://nypost.com/2018/04/12/justice-department-gives-millions-more-to-madoff-victims/

 

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Play at the Plate
From the book

"That Sweet Diamond"

by Paul B. Janeczko, Carole Katchen (Illustrator)

Some
watch the ball
short hop the wall and
the right fielder-who
can't pick it up fast enough -
finally snatch it
sling it
to the impatient cut-off man,
who throws home
almost before he turns.

Some
watch the runner
barely
toe the inside corner of third,
eyes on
the coach's windmill arm
signaling haste.

All
watch the meeting place:
the catcher begging for the ball
so he can sweep the tag
at the runner beginning
his slide
before the umpire,
holding his mask
behind his back
as casually as a satin heart
of valentine candy,
signals the meeting over,
the runner safe

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Sports Briefs---

49ers' Reuben Foster charged with felony domestic violence
 for incident that left girlfriend with ruptured eardrum
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nfl/san-francisco-49ers/article208463294.html#emlnl=SportsBreakingNewsAlert

Grant Cohn: Reuben Foster case biggest test for 49ers GM John Lynch
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/sports/8218419-181/grant-cohn-reuben-foster-case

49ers’ response to Foster charges is shameful
https://www.sfgate.com/49ers/article/49ers-response-to-Foster-charges-is-shameful-12829617.php?t=ddceadec56

49ers' Failure to Promptly Drop Reuben Foster
   Is Just Another NFL Travesty
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2770206-49ers-failure-

Ex-49ers safety Eric Reid interviews with the Bengals
   — it does not go well
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2018/04/11/ex-49ers-safety-eric-reid-interviews-with-the-bengals-it-does-not-go-well/

Seahawks postpone visit after Colin Kaepernick
  won't say if he'll stop kneeling during anthem
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/23135580/seattle-seahawks-postpone-visit-colin-kaepernick-say-stop-kneeling-anthem

NFL's most overpaid players:
 Jimmy Garoppolo, Kirk Cousins highlight list
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2018/04/12/nfl-most-overpaid-players-jimmy-garoppolo-kirk-cousins/512826002/

The evolution of Steve Kerr
https://www.sfchronicle.com/warriors/article/Evolution-of-Steve-Kerr-Warriors-coach-ready-for-12826757.php

2018 NFL Schedule
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000925971/article/nfl-releases-65game-2018-preseason-schedule

[headlines]
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California Nuts Briefs---

I-5 is ‘falling apart,’ and a massive fix is coming.
  Drivers, buckle up.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/transportation/article208619029.html

Investors grab big Palo Alto office building in hot market
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/04/11/investors-grab-big-palooffice-building-in-hot-market/

A huge UC Davis tech campus is coming
     to this neighborhood in Sacramento
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/city-beat/article208716999.html

Beef up border guards says Lt. Gov. Newsom
  instead of deploying California National Guard  
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article208703724.html#emlnl=Alerts_Newsletter 

 

[headlines]
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“Gimme that Wine”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJnQoi8DSE8

California billionaire buys Oregon wine brand Acrobat
https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2018/04/05/california-billionaire-buys-oregon-wine-brand.html

Connecticut Distributors Inc. Acquires New England Wine & Spirits
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataid=197769

Good decade for California wine, fresh market grapes
http://www.westernfarmpress.com/grapes/good-decade-california-wine-fresh-market-grapes

Wine Prices by vintage
http://www.winezap.com
http://www.wine-searcher.com/

US/International Wine Events
http://www.localwineevents.com/

Leasing News Wine & Spirits Page
http://two.leasingnews.org/Recommendations/wnensprts.htm

This Day in History

     1721 - John Hanson (d. 1783), first President of the US under the Articles of Confederation, was born in Port Tobacco, MD. He was the heir of one of the greatest family traditions in the colonies and became the patriarch of a long line of American patriots.  His great-grandfather died at Lutzen beside the great King Gustavus Aldophus of Sweden; his grandfather was one of the founders of New Sweden along the Delaware River in Maryland; one of his nephews was the military secretary to George Washington; another was a signer of the Declaration; still another was a signer of the Constitution; yet another was Governor of Maryland during the Revolution; and still another was a member of the first Congress; two sons were killed in action with the Continental Army; a grandson served as a member of Congress under the new Constitution; and another grandson was a Maryland Senator. Thus, even if Hanson had not served as President himself, he would have greatly contributed to the life of the nation through his ancestry and progeny.  The new country was actually formed on March 1, 1781 with the adoption of The Articles of Confederation. This document was actually proposed on June 11, 1776, but not agreed upon by Congress until November 15, 1777. Once the signing took place in 1781, a President was needed to run the country. John Hanson was chosen unanimously by Congress (which included George Washington). In fact, all the other potential candidates refused to run against him, as he was a major player in the Revolution and an extremely influential member of Congress.
He was the first President to serve a full term after the full ratification of the Articles of Confederation.  Like so many of the Southern and New England Founders, he was strongly opposed to the Constitution when it was first discussed.  The Articles of Confederation only allowed a President to serve a one-year term during any three-year period. He remained a confirmed anti-federalist until his untimely death. Six other presidents were elected after him:  Elias Boudinot (1783), Thomas Mifflin (1784), Richard Henry Lee (1785), Nathan Gorman (1786), Arthur St. Clair (1787), and Cyrus Griffin (1788) - all prior to Washington taking office. George Washington was the first President of the United States under the Constitution we follow today. And the first seven Presidents are forgotten in history.
    1787 – “The Contrast,” by Robert Tyler, became the first professional United States play to be presented on the stage.
    1813 - The first federal government mandate of factory standardization was made with a contract specifying interchangeable parts. The contract was with Colonel Simeon North of Berlin, CT. The contract was for 20,000 pistols at $7 each to be produced within five years. It stipulated that the “component parts of the pistols are to correspond so exactly that any limb or part of one pistol may be fitted to any other pistol of the 20,000.” Colonel North established his pistol factory in 1810 in Saddle Hill, a suburb of Middletown. The factory produced about 10,000 pistols a year.
    1818 - The US Senate ratified the Rush-Bagot amendment to form an unarmed US-Canada border.
    1849 - A severe freeze from Georgia to Texas killed cotton while snow lay on the ground at Charleston, South Carolina.
    1850 - California Legislature passed the Foreign Miners Tax that required non-American born miners to pay a monthly $20 tax. This was the first anti-Chinese legislation in California. It was a lot of money in its day.
    1851 – Famous lighthouse storm occurred in New England, a massive tidal flooding with storm-force winds. Gigantic waves destroyed Minot Light at Cohasset, Massachusetts with two keepers lost. Great shipping losses and coastal erosion occurred.
    1854 - Birthday of Lucy Craft Laney (d. 1933), Macon, GA.  A free black woman opened what became the Haines Normal and Industrial Institute in Augusta, Georgia that grew from five students in a basement to a four-acre campus of almost 1,000 students.
    1861 - President Abraham Lincoln made a call for volunteers to serve three months, the day after the surrender of Fort Sumter, South Carolina. His call was for 75,000 volunteers. The first regiment to respond to the call was the Ringgold Light Artillery of Reading, PA, known as the "First Defenders," commanded by Dr. John Keys. Their first engagement took place on September 24, 1861, at Hanging Rocks, West Virginia. When men were not volunteering, a draft was called with a fee if you did not join. More than one hundred thousand soldiers were hired to fight for the North. Many of these were immigrants, expressly brought over, says Shelby Foote,” by companies newly formed to supply the demand.”  More than eighty-five thousand Americans who were drafted in the war got out of going by paying a $300 commutation fee. Among these were banker J.P. Morgan and Theodore Roosevelt, Sr., father of President Theodore Roosevelt. So many young men with means remained civilians that northern universities were able to enroll about as many students from the North during the war as they had before when students came also from the South. No doubt the people who stayed home later suffered guilt feelings, but the fact is they did stay home. And more than two hundred thousand Americans who joined the Union Army subsequently deserted. (Shelby Foote, “The Civil War: A Narrative” (1863).
    1863 - Congress abolished slavery in the District of Columbia. One million dollars was appropriated to compensate owners of freed slaves and $100,000 was set aside to pay District slaves who wished to emigrate to Haiti, Liberia or any other country outside the US. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/apr16.html
    1865 - Birthday of Grace Livingston Hill (d. 1947), Wellsville, NY.  She was an author who published more than 78 novels from 1887 to 1947 that sold more than four million copies. Almost all of the books use a girl protagonist, usually in a rural environment, who faces a series of moral and physical challenges and solves them with great moral fortitude and certainty. They are being reprinted today.
    1868 - The Senate voted on one count in the impeachment proceedings of President Andrew Johnson. The vote fell one short of the two-thirds majority needed to take action. On May 26, further charges similarly failed and he was acquitted.
    1867 - Birthday of Wilbur Wright (d. 1912), born at Millville, IN, aviation pioneer.  The Wright brothers are considered the "fathers of modern aviation."  They followed the research of German aviator Otto Lilienthal and when Lilienthal died in a glider crash, the brothers decided to start their own experiments with flight. Determined to develop their own successful design, Wilbur and Orville headed to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, known for its strong winds.  On December 17, 1903, they succeeded in flying the first free, controlled flight of a power-driven airplane. An extraordinary achievement, Wilbur flew the plane for 59 seconds over 852 feet.  The Wright brothers soon found that their success was not appreciated by all. Many in the press, as well as fellow flight experts, were reluctant to believe the brothers' claims. As a result, Wilbur set out for Europe in 1908, where he hoped he would have more success convincing the public and selling airplanes. In France, Wilbur found a much more receptive audience and, in 1909, Orville joined his brother in Europe, as did their younger sister, Katharine. The Wrights became huge celebrities there, hosted by royals and heads of state, and constantly featured in the press. The Wrights began to sell their airplanes in Europe, and then returned to the United States in 1909.  The brothers went on to become wealthy businessmen, filling contracts for airplanes in both Europe and the United States.
    1869 - The first African-American US Consul was Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett, Consul General to Haiti, where he served until November 27, 1877.
    1873 - In the Colfax Massacre in Grant Parish, Louisiana, 60 blacks were killed. The dispute over the government of Louisiana continued to escalate. Republican officers of Grants Parrish were holed up in the city of Colfax. Blacks from the surrounding area feared an attack, so they entrenched themselves in front of the court house. A huge white mob attacked. The day was a massacre, as somewhere between 60 and 100 local blacks were killed even as they tried to surrender. The white mob suffered only 3 casualties. The battle for the courthouse of Colfax, Louisiana has been renamed the Colfax Massacre. All of the blacks in the area and governor Kellogg were spared only because the President ordered the federal troops to intercede and stop the white mob before they moved to another area, killing all the blacks and their white sympathizers. The New Orleans Times' headline the next day read, "War at Last!!" They also warned other white sympathizers to beware. The majority of the white people in Louisiana supported the "Colfax Massacre," and the systematic annihilation of blacks and the white sympathizer governments.
    1880 - A tornado near Marshall, MO, carried the heavy timbers of an entire home a distance of twelve miles.
    1889 - Birthday of Charles Spencer Chaplin (d. 1977), better known as “Charlie Chaplin,” famed film comedian, who portrayed “The Little Tramp,”
born in London, England. Film debut in 1914. Knighted in 1975. In his autobiography Chaplin wrote: “There are more valid facts and details in works for art than there are in history books.”
http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~pringle/silent/chaplin/filmography.html
    1900 - The first book of postage stamps was issued, selling two-cent stamps in books of 12, 24 and 48 stamps.
    1905 - An endowment for a college teachers’ pension fund was established by Andrew Carnegie, who donated $10,000,000 of personal money to create the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
    1900 - Birthday of Polly Adler was born Pearl Adler (d. 1962) in Russia.  She was the operator of the most famous New York house of prostitution. After having been raped while working as mill girl in a Brooklyn factory, she had an illegal abortion from the resulting pregnancy. She then abandoned her orthodox Jewish life and sought the bright lights of show business. Almost accidentally she began procuring women for gangster friends to avoid poverty. She vowed "to be the best goddamn madam in America." With a combination of panache, publicity, and bribery she did so, hosting the sensual pleasures of government officials, actors, business tycoons, and gangsters for several decades. Arrested a number of times, she served only 24 days in jail (her male clients none) from 1924 to 1943 when she retired and moved to Los Angeles. Even "reformer" Thomas Dewey, the New York city district attorney who parlayed crime into a bid for the presidency, was unable to close her down. Her autobiography “A House is Not a Home” (1952) was an international best seller translated into most languages and it was made into a movie.
    1908 - The first Oakland car is sold to a private owner. The Oakland Car Company was the creation of Edward Murphy, the founder of the Pontiac Buggy Company. Murphy was one of the most respected designers in the carriage industry. He decided to enter the car business, and invited Alanson Brush, the designer of the Brush Runabout, to join him. Brush had been a chief engineer at Cadillac; his contract with Cadillac included a no-competition clause that had just ended when he met Murphy. Anxious to get back into the design race, Brush built a car for Murphy that was ready in 1908. Oakland ran independently for less than a year before it was purchased by William C. Durant and absorbed into Durant's holding company, General Motors. Durant's purchase of Oakland is often regarded as mysterious, considering the company had enjoyed little success and had produced less than a thousand cars at the time Durant purchased it. Often accused on "intuitive" business practices, Durant claimed that his purchase of Oakland, while exhausting his cash flow, provided GM with a more impressive portfolio on which to base their stock interest. Nevertheless his decision to purchase Oakland, later called Pontiac, forced Durant out of control of GM.
    1908 - Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah was established http://www.americansouthwest.net/utah/natural_bridges/national_monument.html
    1909 - Birthday of Eudora Welty (d. 2001), Jackson, MS.  Short story writer and novelist, her stories focus on small town Mississippi. She won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize in fiction for “The Optimist's Daughter.”
    1914 – The Baltimore Terrapins hosted the very first game in Federal League history, defeating Buffalo, 3 - 2, behind the strong pitching of Jack Quinn. A crowd estimated at 27,000 stands 15 rows deep in the outfield to witness the return of big league baseball to Baltimore whose Orioles were taken over by the American league after the 1901 season, then moved to New York as the Highlanders.  The Federal League began play in 1913 as a six-team minor league. The league expanded to eight clubs for the 1914 season and declared war on the other two major leagues. Federal League clubs lured away stars from the established leagues.  In January, 1915, the Federal League filed an antitrust suit against organized baseball.  After the season, a peace treaty was signed between the Federal League and Major League baseball. The Federals' lawsuit- which had been stalled by Judge Kenesaw Landis in the hopes of provoking a settlement- was dropped. In exchange, owner Charles Weeghman of the Whales was allowed to purchase the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Terriers owner Phil Ball was permitted to buy the St. Louis Browns. The other owners were offered a cash settlement. The players from the other six clubs were sold to the highest bidders.  The only holdouts in the settlement were the owners of the Baltimore Terrapins, who desperately wanted to return Major League baseball to their city. They launched a separate anti-trust lawsuit against the established major leagues and the other Federal League owners who had accepted the settlement. This resulted in the famous Federal League ruling, in which the Supreme Court ruled that baseball did not constitute interstate trade and consequently wasn't subject to federal anti-trust law.
    1919 - Birthday of American composer Arthur St Germaine (d. 2010), Worcester, MA.
    1919 - Singer and actor Howard Keel (d. 2004) was born in Gillespie, Illinois. Keel's strong baritone was featured in such 1950's movie musicals as "Annie Get Your Gun," "Show Boat, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" and "Kismet." His career was revived in the 1980's with a featured role on the television series "Dallas."
     1924 - Birthday of Henry Mancini (d. 1994), born Enrico Nicola Mancini at Cleveland, OH. Mancini made his mark in Hollywood composing film scores and songs. Newly discharged from World War II service, Mancini entered the music industry in 1946, becoming a pianist and arranger for the newly re-formed Glenn Miller Orchestra, led by 'Everyman' Tex Beneke. After World War II, Mancini broadened his skills in composition, counterpoint, harmony and orchestration during studies opening with the composers Krenek and Tedesco.  In 1952, Mancini joined the Universal Pictures music department. He was a perennial winner at the Oscar and Grammy award ceremonies.
   1929 - The New York Yankees become first Major League team to wear numbers on uniforms.
    1933 - Franklin Falls, New Hampshire was buried under 35 inches of snow.
    1935 - The radio comedy program, “Fibber McGee and Molly,” starring Jim and Marian Jordan, premiered on the NBC Blue Network.
    1937 - One of Stan Laurel's and Oliver Hardy's best features, “Way Out West,” opened in theaters. Critics liked it, saying the film moved well, and the comic duo performed a charming soft-shoe dance. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Film Score.
    1935 - On snowy day and near freezing day as the band plays Jingle Bells at Boston's Braves Field, Babe Ruth makes his National league debut as he homers and singles off Giants' legend Carl Hubbell. Although the Braves beat New York, 4-2, the team will go on to win only 37 more games this season.
    1938 - Gene Krupa’s first big band debuts at Steel Pier, Atlantic City.
    1939 - Dusty Springfield, Britain's leading female vocalist in the mid-1960's, was born Mary Isobel Catherine O'Brien (d. 1999) in London. She took her stage name from a folk group called the Springfields, which she formed with her brother Tom. After the Springfields broke up in 1963, Dusty had a successful solo career, with such hits as "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" and "Wishin' and Hopin'." She also sang the original theme song for "The Six-Million-Dollar Man," but the song was later dropped from the television series.  In 1987, Springfield combined with the Pet Shop Boys for a top-ten hit, "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" The Pet Shop Boys later co-wrote and produced tracks for her 1990 album 'Reputation' - which included the PSB penned hits “In Private” and “Nothing Has Been Proved,” the latter included in the Bridget Fonda film, “Scandal.”
    1940 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit:  “In the Mood,'' Glenn Miller Orchestra. It topped the charts for 13 straight weeks in 1940 in the U.S. and one year later was featured in the movie, “Sun Valley Serenade.” The recording receives a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1938.  In 1983, the Glenn Miller recording from 1939 was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.  In 1999, NPR included the 1939 Glenn Miller recording on RCA Bluebird on the NPR 100, the list of "The 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century".  In 2004, the 1939 Glenn Miller recording on RCA Victor was inducted into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry which consists of recordings that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
    1940 - The first Major League no-hitter on opening day.  Bob Feller of the American League Cleveland Indians retired 15 men in a row from the fourth inning to the eighth inning against the Chicago White Sox, winning 1-0.
    1940 - On Opening Day, Franklin D. Roosevelt's errant ceremonial first pitch smashes a Washington Post camera. The Chief Executive is not charged with a wild pitch as Red Sox hurler Lefty Grove blanks the Senators, 1-0.
    1941 - German troops entered Sarajevo and the city's main synagogue was destroyed.
    1943 - Hallucinogenic effects of LSD discovered in Basel, Switzerland, Albert Hoffman, a Swiss chemist working at the Sandoz pharmaceutical research laboratory, accidentally consumed LSD-25, a synthetic drug he had created in 1938 as part of his research into the medicinal value of lysergic acid compounds. After taking the drug, formally known as lysergic acid diethylamide, Dr. Hoffman was disturbed by unusual sensations and hallucinations.  Widespread use of the so-called "mind-expanding" drug did not begin until the 1960s, when counter-culture figures such as Albert M. Hubbard, Timothy Leary, and Ken Kesey publicly expounded on the benefits of using LSD as a recreational drug. The manufacture, sale, possession, and use of LSD, known to cause negative reactions in many of those who take it, was eventually made illegal across the United States.
    1944 - The destroyer USS Laffey survives horrific damage from attacks by 22 Kamikaze Japanese aircraft off Okinawa.
    1944 - An F4 tornado tracked 40 miles through Franklin, Hart, and Elbert counties in Georgia and through Anderson and Abbeville counties in South Carolina. 25 were killed and 120 were injured. Damage totaled $1 million.
    1944 - Jack Casady, bass player with Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna, was born in Washington, DC. The Airplane was one of the most important groups to emerge from the San Francisco area during the 1960's. "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit" were their big hits. Jack Casady and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen from the Airplane formed the group Hot Tuna in 1970.
    1945 - Troops of the United States 7th Army entered the German city of Nuremberg.
    1945 - The Nazi concentration camps at Belsen and Buchenwald are liberated by British and American forces respectively. Jena is captured by US 3rd Army units. To the south, US 7th Army forces take Bamberg.
    1946 - Singer Al Green was born in Forrest City, Arkansas. Such hits as "Let's Stay Together," "I'm Still In Love With You" and "You Ought To Be With Me" made him one of the leading soul music stars of the 1970's. Many of his later recordings were gospel records, and he became a minister in a Memphis Pentecostal church.
    1946 - The musical, “Annie Get Your Gun,” featuring songs by Irving Berlin and starring Ethel Merman, debuted on Broadway.
    1947 - Considered the worst industrial disaster in US history, the French-owned Grandcamp, docked at the oil and port town of Texas City, TX, and carrying a load of ammonium nitrate, was discovered to have a smoldering fire in her hold. At 9:12am, as onlookers gathered and a small firefighting team attempted to extinguish the blaze, the ship exploded with tremendous force, immediately killing everyone at the dock area. The resulting fires destroyed the nearby Monsanto Chemical Company and spread through oil pipelines into the city. At 1:00am, another ship, the High Flyer, exploded. The city was left defenseless due to the deaths of almost the entire fire department. There were 576 known casualties, but the most estimate that at least 100 more died in the conflagrations. Thousands were injured. The fires burned for a week. The disaster prompted new regulations on handling chemicals. With thousands of lawsuits, the US Congress passed a special act to settle claims in 1956.
    1947 - Bernard Baruch coins the term "Cold War." Multimillionaire and financier Bernard Baruch, in a speech given during the unveiling of his portrait in the South Carolina House of Representatives, describing relations between the United States and the Soviet Union, says: "Let us not be deceived — we are today in the midst of a cold war."  He called for longer workweeks, no-strike pledges from unions, and no-layoff pledges from management. It was imperative that US business and industry pull itself together, Baruch warned. His complete statement:  "Let us not be deceived-we are today in the midst of a cold war. Our enemies are to be found abroad and at home. Let us never forget this: Our unrest is the heart of their success. The peace of the world is the hope and the goal of our political system; it is the despair and defeat of those who stand against us. We can depend only on ourselves."  The phrase stuck, and for over 40 years, it was a mainstay in the language of American diplomacy. Baruch had served as an advisor to presidents on economic and foreign policy issues since the days of Woodrow Wilson. In 1919, he was one of the US advisers at the Paris Peace Conference that ended World War I. During the 1930s, he frequently advised Franklin D. Roosevelt and members of Congress on international finance and issues of neutrality. After World War II, he remained a trusted adviser to the new administration of Harry S. Truman.
    1947 – Zoomar, a device that create close-up and long distance camera shots from a stationary camera lens, was demonstrated by NBC-TV in New York City. The lens would later be scaled down to be used by regular photographers and not just for television. Today there are many kinds of close-up/long distance lenses, including the zoom lens which was named after the original Zoomar.
    1949 - Birthday of American composer Robert E. Cucinotta, Brooklyn.
    1951 - Peabo Bryson is born Robert Peapo Bryson in Greenville, S.C. He scores several top 10 hits on Billboard's R&B and Soul charts, the biggest of which is the No. 2 song “I'm So into You,'' a 1978 release by Michael Zager's Moon Band featuring Peabo Bryson. Bryson's biggest pop hit is the top 10 song “If Ever You're in My Arms Again'' in 1984.
    1953 - Bill Haley and His Comets made it to the "Billboard" music charts for the first time with "Crazy Man Crazy." It is notable as the first recognized rock and roll recording to appear on the national American musical charts, peaking at #12 on the Billboard Juke Box chart for the week ending June 20, 1953, and #11 for two weeks on the Cash Box chart beginning for the week of June 13. It is also believed to be the first rock and roll recording to be played on national television in the US.    
    1953 – “Titanic,” starring Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Wagner, and Thelma Ritter, opened in United States theaters. Filmed in black and white, this gripping film about the sinking of the mighty ship Titanic won an Oscar for Best Script for producer Charles Brackett, Walter Reisch, and Richard Breen.
    1954 – Rookie Henry Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves went 0-for-5 in his Major League debut.
    1956 - CBS unveiled the first national rock & roll show, ABC airs its own: "Rhythm on Parade," which is broadcast live from the Flam Show Bar in Detroit.
    1957 - Polly Bergen starred in "The Helen Morgan Story" in CBS television's presentation of "Playhouse 90."
    1957 - For the first time, television showed an annual stockholders’ meeting. Shareholders of the American Machine and Foundry Company (AMF) watched TV screens in New York City and Chicago, Illinois.
    1957 - Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up" went to #1 on the Cash Box best seller list and The Billboard Pop chart, where it would stay for the next eight weeks.
    1958 - Van Cliburn became the first American to win the Tchaikovsky International Piano Contest in Moscow. As a result of his success, Van Cliburn's debut album, a recording of Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto Number One," became the first classical LP to sell a million copies.
    1959 - Five weeks after it entered the Billboard Hot 100, "Pink Shoelaces" by 13 year old Dodie Stevens tops out at #3. She would go on to sing with Sergio Mendes and Brazil '77 as well as Mac Davis, but never had another Top 40 hit.
    1960 - A research study reported that TV commercials “in living color” were over three times more effective than black and white commercials.
    1962 - Top Hits
“Johnny Angel” - Shelley Fabares
“Good Luck Charm” - Elvis Presley
“Slow Twistin’” - Chubby Checker
“She’s Got You” - Patsy Cline
    1963 - "Surfin' USA" by the Beach Boys was released in the US, where it will become the group's second Billboard chart-maker, reaching #3. The song was a note-for-note copy of Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" with new lyrics. After Berry sued, he was granted royalties and all further issues of the song gave him writing credit.
    1964 - The Mets new home, Shea Stadium, is christened with Dodgers' Holy Water from the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn and Giants' Holy Water from the Harlem River at the location where it flowed past the Polo Grounds.
    1965 - The Hollies began their first US tour at the Brooklyn Paramount in New York. It wasn't until the following year that the group cracked the US top ten with "Bus Stop." The English group has had only one very minor hit in America, their Hot 100 cover of Doris Troy's "Just One Look."
    1965 - "Dang Me!" Roger Miller wins in five categories at the seventh annual Grammy Awards.
    1965 - Bob Dylan's "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" is released.
    1967 - Random House published Ira Levin's controversial novel “Rosemary's Baby.” The best-selling novel was about satanic worshippers and how they involved an innocent woman to bear the child of Satan. The novel was later adapted into a successful film, with ingenue actress Mia Farrow cast in the role of Rosemary. The Catholic Church condemned the film, which contained a disturbing rape scene with the Devil. During its filming, her husband, Frank Sinatra, filed for divorce.
    1968 - Although he had written many of his earlier hits, Bobby Goldsboro enjoys his only US number one record with "Honey," a song composed by Bobby Russell.
    1968 - Baseball’s longest night game came to a close after 24 innings. The game, won by the Houston Astros, took six hours, six minutes to play.
    1970 - Top Hits
“Let It Be” - The Beatles
“ABC” - The Jackson 5
“Spirit in the Sky” - Norman Greenbaum
“Tennessee Bird Walk” - Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan
    1971 - Birthday of famed Tejana singer, Selena, born Selena Quintanilla at Lake Jackson, TX. Died March 31, 1995 at Corpus Christi, TX, murdered by the president of her fan club.
    1972 - Apollo 16: Astronauts John W. Young, Charles M. Duke, Jr and Thomas K. Mattingly II (command module pilot) began an 11-day mission that included 71-hour exploration of moon (Apr 20-23). Landing module (LM) named Orion. Splashdown in Pacific Ocean within a mile of target, Apr 27.
    1972 - US resumes bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong after 4 years. In an effort to help blunt the ongoing North Vietnamese Nguyen Hue Offensive, the United States resumes bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong after a four-year lull. In the first use of B-52s against both Hanoi and Haiphong, and the first attacks against both cities since November 1968, 18 B-52s and about 100 US Navy and Air Force fighter-bombers struck supply dumps near Haiphong's harbor. Sixty fighter-bombers hit petroleum storage facilities near Hanoi, with another wave of planes striking later in the afternoon.
    1972 - The orchestral rock ensemble known as the Electric Light Orchestra played its first live show at the Reading Festival in England. Their debut album, released in 1971, featured guest soloists from the London Symphony Orchestra.
    1973 - Ex-Beatle, Paul McCartney, with the group, Wings, starred in his first television special, "James Paul McCartney." The show featured the new group, which included Paul’s wife, Linda on keyboards and backing vocals.
    1974 - Paul McCartney's LP "Band On The Run" topped the Billboard album chart. It went on to sell over 6 million copies world-wide.
    1975 - A single storm brought 119 inches of snow to Crater Lake, Oregon, establishing a state record.
   1976 - The ban on women attending West Point is lifted with the admission of 119 female cadets.
    1977 - Stevie Wonder enters the soul chart with what will be another of his many Number One hits. "Sir Duke" is a tribute to Duke Ellington which will top the charts next month.
    1977 - Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" is released
    1978 - St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Forsch tossed a no-hitter, downing the Phillies 5-0. A year later, his brother, Ken, would repeat the feat with the Houston Astros, making them the first brothers to pitch Major League no-hitters. Bob tossed a second no-hitter in September, 1983, setting a record for Cardinal pitchers.
    1978 - Top Hits
“Night Fever” - Bee Gees
“Stayin’ Alive” - Bee Gees
“Lay Down Sally” - Eric Clapton
“Someone Loves You Honey” - Charley Pride
    1978 - At the first US power-lifting championships held in Nashua, NH, Jan Todd, a teacher from Nova Scotia, broke her own world record with a dead lift of 453 ¼ pounds. Cindy Reinhoudt won the award for best lifter after squatting 385 pounds, bench pressing 205 pounds and dead-lifting 385 pounds for a 975-pound total.
    1979 - The first female Coast Guard ship commander was Lieutenant (j.g.) Beverly Gwin Kelley, who was appointed to command the 95-foot cutter Cape Newhagen, with a crew of 14, based in Maalaea, Maui, HI. Her assignment included search missions, boating safety, antipollution patrols, and law enforcement.
    1979 - Gloria Gaynor earns a platinum 45 for her hits "I Will Survive." It's the biggest hit of her career and a Number One record for three weeks in March.
    1981 – “Bette Davis Eyes,” by Kim Carnes, rocketed to the Number 1 spot on Billboard's record charts on this date, and remained there for 9 weeks. Carnes received a personal thank-you letter for the song from actress Bette Davis, saying that it had impressed her young grandson.
    1980 - US boycotted the Summer Olympics in Moscow.  The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December, 1979 spurred President Jimmy Carter to issue an ultimatum on January 20, 1980: If Soviet troops did not withdraw from Afghanistan within one month, the United States would boycott the Moscow Olympics in summer, 1980.
    1980 - The 1950s musical “Grease” finally closes its Broadway show after 3,883 performances and earning over $8 million. To this day, it is twelfth on the all-time appearance list.
    1982 - Queen Elizabeth proclaimed Canada's new constitution, severing the last colonial links with Britain.
    1985 - Mickey Mantle, banned for several years from baseball for taking a job as a greeter for an Atlantic City casino, was reinstated. His first act was to throw the first pitch at a home game in New York between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox. Mantle was given a standing ovation.
    1985 - "We Are The World," the Quincy Jones produced effort that raised millions to help feed starving people in Africa, topped the Billboard singles chart. The 45 artists that recorded the effort on January 28th were asked to "check their egos at the door."
    1986 - Jack Nicklaus won his sixth Masters Tournament with a 9 under par 279.  At the age of 46, Nicklaus claimed his 18th and final major championship, becoming the championship's oldest winner.
    1986 - Top Hits
“Rock Me Amadeus” - Falco
“Kiss” - Prince & The Revolution
“Manic Monday” - Bangles
“She and I” – Alabama
    1987 - A slow moving storm system produced heavy rain over North Carolina and the Middle Atlantic Coast States. More than six inches of rain drenched parts of Virginia, and flooding in Virginia claimed three lives. Floodwaters along the James River inundated parts of Richmond, VA.
    1987 - It was a grand day in New York Harbor. "Bobro 400", a huge barge, set sail within eyesight of the Statue of Liberty with 3,200 tons of garbage that nobody wanted. The floating trash heap soon became America’s most well-traveled garbage can as it began an eight-week, 6,000 mile odyssey in search of a willing dumping site. "Bobro 400" returned to New York Harbor after the lengthy journey - and brought all that garbage back with it!
    1987 - Twist king Chubby Checker, jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and conductor Leopold Stokowski were among the first ten inductees of the Philadelphia Music Foundation Hall of Fame. The others honored for making their mark on music in Philadelphia were singers Pearl Bailey, Mario Lanza and Bobby Rydell, jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, rock 'n' roll pioneer Bill Haley and blues singer Bessie Smith.
    1990 - Thunderstorms developing along a stationary front produced large hail and damaging winds across Oklahoma, with 99 reports of large hail and damaging winds during the evening and early nighttime hours. Thunderstorms produced baseball size hail south of Carney, and wind gusts to 100 mph in the Oklahoma City area which swept away many Federal tax returns being transported from a mail cart to a waiting truck about the time of the midnight deadline. Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City reported a record wind gust of 92 mph.
    1991 - Queen Elizabeth, on a tour of the United States, became the first monarch to address Congress.
    1993 - The quirky film “Benny and Joon,” starring Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson, Aidan Quinn, and Julianne Moore, opened across the country. Depp received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance.
    1995 - The European Union and Canada ended a bitter dispute over fishing rights in the north Atlantic with a deal both sides said would protect threatened fish stocks.
    1996 - The Chicago Bulls became the first NBA team to win 70 games in the regular season by defeating the Milwaukee Bucks, 86-90. After this game, Chicago’s record stood at 70-9. The Bulls finished the year at 72-10 and won their fourth NBA title in six years.
    1989 - Madonna's hit single “Like a Prayer” was certified platinum.
    1996 - France Telecom starts Web service. France Telecom unveils a new consumer Internet service, Wanadoo, designed to bring the Internet to a mass audience. Some fourteen million French customers already used the Minitel, a national online system introduced in 1984, which allowed customers to view train schedules, book tickets, and perform other transactions. The company said it would work with Microsoft to develop the network but would distribute both Netscape and Microsoft Internet browsers. France Telecom hoped to avoid cannibalizing its Minitel online service by building Minitel access into Wanadoo. Contrary to popular belief, over 20 countries have a better internet system with a higher percentage of users, including a very high percentage of users with high speed capabilities.
    1997 - Extending their losing streak to 12 with a 4-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies, Cubs set the record for worst start in league history surpassing the overall NL record of 0-11 established by the Detroit Wolverines 1884.
    1998 - Pentagon computers found vulnerable to hackers. The Pentagon announces that a team of ethical hackers discovered security flaws in Defense Department computers. After two weeks of hacking, the security team accessed a US electric power grid that would let the hackers shut down power across the country. The previous February, the Pentagon's unclassified computers had been hit with an organized hack attack targeting personnel records. The Pentagon said it planned to spend about $1 billion a year for several years to improve its computer security.
    1998 - Apple outpaces profit expectations. Apple bounced back from two years of losses: Quarterly reports, released on 16 April 1998, showed that Apple exceeded analysts' profit expectations for the second straight quarter. For the first time in two years, Macintosh shipments began to increase. Apple's recovery would continue with the introduction of the popular iMac the following May.
    1999 - VH1 debuts an Internet radio station, VH1 atWork, with the exclusive live webcast of the "Divas Live" concert. The 24-hour service at www.vh1.com and America Online (keyword: VH1) is the first major branded audio service from MTV Networks.
    2001 - First Union Corp., the 6th largest US bank, announces that it is buying competitor Wachovia Corp. for $13.4 billion in stock, to make under the Wachovia name the 4th biggest US banking company, with $324 billion in assets, trailing only Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America. In 2010, it was merged into Wells Fargo.
    2005 - Switchfoot, the Crabb Family and Casting Crowns are the big winners at the 36th annual Gospel Music Assn. Dove Awards, held at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry. Switchfoot is named artist of the year and wins honors for rock contemporary song and shortform video for "Dare You to Move."
    2011 - After four days of deliberation, the jury in the trial of Barry Bonds returned a guilty verdict on the charge of obstruction of justice, while failing to reach a decision on the three charges of perjury the slugger was also facing. Bonds faced up to 10 years in jail for the felony conviction, although probation is a more likely.  Bonds admitted to using the ‘cream’ and the ‘clear’ but said he did not know they were banned substances.
    2012 - Owner of the New Orleans Saints, Tom Benson, purchased the New Orleans Hornets from the National Basketball Association for an estimated $338 million.  They would change their name to the New Orleans Pelicans beginning with the 2013–14 season.
    2013 - China and the U.S. agree to work towards eliminating nuclear weapons in the Korean Peninsula…how’s that working out?
    2014 - Bubba Watson won the Masters Tournament for the second year in a row.

Stanley Cup Champions:
1939 - Boston Bruins
1949 - Toronto Maple Leafs
1953 - Montreal Canadiens
1954 - Detroit Red Wings
1957 - Montreal Canadiens
1961 - Chicago Blackhawks