What Tom McCurnin Learned from 40 Years
in Banking and Leasing  - Sixth and final part

Before Tom retired, he wrote 13 California Department of Business Oversight cases where the broker or lessor were fined for not being licensed, several of which were from out of state. (1) They were highly read.

In wrapping up, he also wrote advice/memoirs. As editor, I chose the sequence, saving what I thought was the best advice for last.
- Kit Menkin, editor

Part 6
Understand the Regulations - Appoint a Compliance Officer

I don’t want to dive into politics, but since the election of Donald Trump, the present administration has abandoned federal regulations for financial institutions. At first blush, this sounded like a great idea, but there were unintended consequences. The abject failure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to regulate the explosion in finance companies has caused two states (California and New York) to undertake their own regulation of the financial services industry.  California has a comprehensive licensing statute with interest rate disclosure, to be further developed this year by the California Department of Business Oversight. New Jersey to follow. New York may have interest rate disclosure by 2020. 

The California Department of Business Oversight (DBO) has enacted licensing requirements and interest rate disclosure.  It is aggressively policing its requirements as a direct result of the federal government backing out of the space. With licensing, there are a number of other regulations which must be understood by licensees. 

▪ Appoint a Compliance Officer. Most financial institutions have appointed a person to be in charge of regulatory compliance. It is this person’s job to make sure that the company complies with all regulations. Of course, this person should consult appropriate lawyers who know regulations and should attend conferences on the subject. 

▪ Timely File Annual Reports In California, these reports are due in March. If you’ve moved or not received your reminder card, you still have to renew your license. There may be significant fines for letting the license expire. 

▪ Deals Done Without a License Will Subject You To Fines. If your company has done California loans without a license, or while the license was expired, expect to be fined. The fine can be as large as $2,500, but is usually significantly less. Nevertheless doing a couple hundred deals will probably warrant a five figure fine. 

▪ Understand the Regulations. Along with your license, the DBO has enacted about 20 pages of regulations.  They are not difficult to read and understand. Somebody at your company should read them and report back to management. The current trip wires for the DBO are paying commissions to unlicensed brokers or if you are a broker, receiving commissions while not being licensed. 

▪ Understand the Regulations of Other States. Most good leasing attorneys can conduct a 50 state survey of licensing requirements. Some states have no lending license requirements, except for small dollar, less than $10,000 commercial loans. Other states have that threshold at $5,000. Your compliance officer should know all the requirements for loans and leases made by your company in the states you operate. 

Part One
Good Business Practices Matters
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2019/04_03.htm#what

Part Two
Understand Your Debtor - Embrace Settlement
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2019/04_05.htm#understand    

Part Three
Picking an Attorney - Risk Management
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2019/04_09.htm#picking

Part Four
Collection of Payment Stream
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2019/04_12.htm#collection

Part Five
Lease Documentation: Make it Clear
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2019/04_16.htm#5

1. Leasing Cases by Tom McCurnin
   http://leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/leasing_cases.html
   
   

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New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
and Related Industries

Steve DeCarlo was hired as Senior Vice President, Santander, US, Baltimore, Maryland. Previously, he was Senior Vice President, GE Capital (July, 2000 - March, 2019); Vice President, KeyCorp Leasing (March, 1993 - June, 2000); Senior Auditor, KeyCorp (January, 1985 - February, 1993). Education: Siena College, BS, Finance (1980 - 1984). https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevedecarlo/

Paul Gill was hired as Senior Account Executive, TopMark Funding, Tarzana, California. Previously, he was Account Executive, PennyMac Broker Direct (My, 2018 - March, 2019);  Strategic Account Executive, TimePayment (May, 2017 - May, 2018); Regional Sales Manager, Ascentium Capital (August, 2016 - May, 2017); Senior Account Executive, Select Funding (November, 2012 - August, 2016); Account Executive, Oak Capital Group (January, 2012 - December, 2012); Manager Customer Service, Associated Supply Co. (October, 2011 - November, 2012) Marketing Director/Store Manager, Fresh Window Tinting (April, 2010 - September, 2011).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-gill-2806a4104/

Donna Hamel was hired as Vice President, Indirect Originations, Dext Capital, Portland, Oregon.  She is located in Fairfield, Connecticut.  Previously, she was Vice President, Healthcare Finance, PNC Equipment Finance (March, 2004 - March, 2018). Prior, she was at DVI International, starting 1996 as Director Marketing & Sales; promoted, March, 1997, Managing Director International Sales; Vice President, US Concord (1993 - 1996); VP, National Programs, Citicorp (1984 - 1986); Manager, Business Development, Pitney Bowes Credit Corp. (1977 - 1983). https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnahamel/

George Hoeffner was hired as Senior Vice President, Director of Equipment Finance for Cass Commercial Bank, Saint Louis, Missouri.  Previously, he was Senior Vice President, Central Bank of St. Louis (August, 2011 - December, 2017).  Education: University of Missouri-Columbia. BSBA, Business Management Finance. https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-hoeffner-a22b8090/

David L. Lamb was hired as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Sertant Capital, Newport Beach, California. He is based in Sertant's Utah Office. "In his role, Lamb will oversee the financial planning, financial reporting, and operational controls of the company," CEO Dan Krajewski said.  Previously, Mr. Lamb was President, ThinkSmart CFO (December, 2017 - April, 2019);CFO, LiveView Technologies (January, 2017 - December, 2017); President, CFO, Flex Fleet Rental (August, 2013 - August, 2015); CFO, Avid Acceptance (January, 2010 - July, 2013); CFO, Tetra Financial (March, 2008 - January, 2011); Sr. VP of Finance, Prestige Financial Services (April, 2001 - June, 2007). Volunteer: Scout Master, Boy Scouts of America (April, 2007 - June, 2012); Legislative District Chair, Utah County GOP (August, 2011 - September, 2015); Founder & Construction Project Manager, Odyssey Character School (June, 2003 - December, 2004); Founder and Director of Coaches Timpanogos Amateur Hockey Association (June, 1994 - April, 1997); Co-Founder, Utah Angels (Angel Investor Network), January, 1998 - December, 1999). Missionary, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (August, 1990 - August, 1992). Treasurer, Utah County Republican Party (April, 2017 - Present). Education: Brigham Young University. Master of Business Administration (MBA), Finance and Financial Management Services (1995 - 1997). Activities and Societies: Phi Kapa Phi Society; Beta Gamma Sigma Society, President of the Silver Fun (Education Equity Portfolio).  Class of 1997. Studied finance and asset management. Completed 80 credit hours when only 60 credit hours were required to graduate.  Passed the CFA Leve test upon graduation. University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Bachelor of Science (BS), Economics (1995 - 1988). Activities and Societies: President, VP. Education of the Inter-fraternal Council; President, VP & House Manager of Sigma Chi Fraternity; Ice Hockey, 2 Years. Recipient of the President's Student Leadership and Service Award 1988. Recipient of the Outstanding Contributor Award, Sigma Chi 1987.  Fargo South (1980 - 1983).  Played Ice Hockey and Golf, Student Council. https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidllamb1

Jefferson Peters was promoted to Vice President, Program Management, Key Equipment Finance, Superior, Colorado. He is based in West Linn, Oregon.  He joined the firm November, 2013, as Equipment Finance Officer. Previously he was President, JWP Capital, LLC (June, 2009-December, 2013); Regional Sales Manager, FirstCorp (October, 1997 - July, 2009). Education: University of Oregon.  Charles H. Lundquist College of Business, BS, Business Administration.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jefferson-peters-5a93b02/

Justin Rasch was hired as Business Development Team Finance Manager at Everlasting Capital, Rochester, New York. "Mr. Rasch has more than 8 years of experience in franchise, vendor, and direct to client commercial financing. Prior to joining Everlasting Capital, He had successful tenures at Direct Capital, and Beacon Funding."

Kelly (Griffin) Reale was promoted to Vice President, Group Head Commercial Digital, Key Bank.  She joined the firm in 1994 as Credit Officer; promoted, 1998, Regional Business Unit Manager; promoted November, 2000, Director, Product & Market Development; promoted 2006, VP, Corporate Development.  Member, Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation Research Committee. She began her career as Credit Analyst, Empire Corporate FCU (1993 - 1994).  Education: The College of Saint Rose, MBA, Finance (1994 - 1996).  University of Albany, SUNY (1987 - 1991). https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-reale-7770b17/

Lee Ritter was hired as Regional Finance Manager, Stryker Flex, Portage Michigan. Previously, he was Vice President, Business Development Officer, Lease Corporation of America (January, 2017 - April, 2019); Business Development Executive, LSG Insurance Partners (September, 2016 - January, 2017). He first joined Lease Corporation of America October, 2012, as Account Executive; promoted January, 2015, Vice President, Business Development Officer. Prior, he was Aerospace Propulsion Craftsman, Air National Guard (April, 2002 – March, 2014; Business Development Manager, Complete Capital Service (April, 2012 - September, 2012); Assistant Branch Manager, Huntington National Bank (2009 - April, 2012); Account Executive/Recruiter, Pulsar IT Consulting (June, 2008 - August, 2009); Financial Service Associate, Prudential Financial (October, 2007 - May, 2008); President/Owner, World Lending, Inc. (May, 2006 - September, 2007); First Officer, Gulfstream International Airlines (2004 - 2005). Licenses & Certifications: Commercial Pilot Airplane Single and Multi-Engine Land. Federal Aviation Administration. Issued December, 2004. No Expiration Date.  Life, Health, Property and Casual Insurance.  Education: Siena Heights University, B.S., Aeronautical Science (2004). Rochester Adams. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-ritter-6078868/

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March 2019: The List
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Women at NEFA Lunch
  National Equipment Finance Association Summit
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2019/03_28.htm#nefa

ELFA Reports Feb. Business Volume $5.9 Billion
   Down 18% Month-to-Month, 24% Year-over-Year
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2019/archives_mar2019.htm

633 Active Certified Lease & Finance Professions/Associates
   as 12 Pass CLFP Exam
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2019/archives_mar2019.htm

Chesswood Group Limited, Canada (03/19)  Reports Eight
   Consecutive Records for 2018, Income before Taxes $32.7 Million      
  Income vs. $27.8 in 2017
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2019/03_15.htm#chesswood

C.H. Brown Co., LLC, Wheatland, Wyoming (03/19) Promotes
   Bradon Marshall to President Http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2019/03_13.htm#chb

Element Fleet Management Corp., Toronto, Canada (03/19)  Element Reports Fourth Quarter and 2018 Results;
Client-Focused Transformation Ahead of Plan  http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2019/03_13.htm#element

Marlin Capital Solutions, Mount Laurel, New Jersey (03/19) Highlights Marlin Business Services Corp. 10K, Fiscal Year End December 31, 2018 http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2019/03_11.htm#marlin

First-of-its-Kind Study Dimensions $4 Trillion
Secured Commercial Finance Market – Specific Market Highlights
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2019/03_08.htm#study

 

Small Business Credit Survey 2019
Use of Financing and Credit -Federal Reserve

"Loans and lines of credit are the most common types of external financing used by employer firms"

Page 7

"A majority of employer firms fund their operations using retained business earnings. Reliance on external financing has been stable in recent years."

Page 7

“Applicant satisfaction is consistently highest at small banks:”  

page 21

The Small Business Credit Survey is an annual survey of firms with fewer than 500 employees.

"Small business respondents recounted a strong end to 2018. A majority of small businesses (57%) reported that their firms had experienced revenue growth in 2018 and more than one-third added employees to their payrolls."

"A larger share of firms reported revenue growth (net 35%, up from 28%) and employment growth (net 23%, up from19%) in 2018 compared to 2017, and 72% of firms expressed optimism for revenue growth in 2019—the same share as in the prior year."

U.S. Small Firm Demographic

page 32

Full Small Business Credit Survey by Federal Reserve Banks
Atlanta • Boston • Chicago • Cleveland • Dallas • Kansas City • Minneapolis New York • Philadelphia • Richmond • St. Louis • San Francisco 

(32 pages) http://leasingnews.org/PDF/sbsc2019.pdf

 

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Summary Current March/Part April
The Beige Book Economic Conditions Federal Reserve

Most of the 12 districts reported "Economic activity expanded moderately...slightly...increased significantly...resumed a slight pace of growth.  The word used the most was the economy "expanded moderately."

Overall Economic Activity
"Reports on consumer spending were mixed but suggested sluggish sales for both general retailers and auto dealers. Reports on tourism were generally more upbeat. Reports on loan demand were mixed, but indicated steady growth. Reports on manufacturing activity were favorable, although contacts in many Districts noted trade-related uncertainty. Most Districts reported stronger home sales, although some Districts noted low demand for higher-priced homes. Among reporting Districts, agricultural conditions remained weak, with contacts expressing concerns over the impact of current and future rainfall and flooding."

Employment and Wages
"...labor markets remained tight, restraining the rate of growth. A
majority of Districts cited shortages of skilled laborers, most commonly in manufacturing and construction. Contacts also reported some difficulties finding qualified workers for technical and professional positions. Many Districts reported that firms have offered perks such as bonuses and expanded benefits packages in order to attract and retain employees. This tight labor market also led to continued wage pressures, as most Districts reported moderate wage growth.
Wages for both skilled and unskilled positions generally grew at about the same pace as earlier this year."

Prices
"Changes in material costs were likewise mixed, with several Districts noting increases in metal prices and decreases in lumber prices. Construction firms across most Districts nevertheless reported net increases in material costs, with several also reporting passing those costs on to their customers. Some Districts noted increasing fuel prices, while others noted increasing oil prices and decreasing natural gas prices. Crop price pressures generally remain historically low, but price changes since the last report have varied by commodity."

Full March/Part April Beige Book Report (32 pages):
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/beigebook_42019.pdf

 

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So You Want to Start a Leasing Company?
By Mr. Terry Winders, CLFP (now retired)

Terry with his granddaughter

One of the problems when you start a leasing company is to determine if you are going to be a broker, packager, or funder. Possibly a bit of all three. A broker gets a fee for introducing the lessee to a lessor. The transaction is not being completed until the lessor approves the deal. Usually the documents are created or supplied by the lessor. It is priced with the lessor in mind so the broker’s fee is part of the deal. Once the transaction is completed and funded, the broker has no further responsibilities and has earned the fee.

A packager usually structures and prices the deal and creates the documents. A packager reviews the credit requirements and any residual prior to approaching a lessor. When the deal is acceptable to the lessor, a complete package is delivered. Income to a packager is a front end fee and they may participate in the proceeds from a residual sale or re-rental that exceeds the booked residual.

If you establish the ability to fund leases by borrowed funds or invested capital, the firm must have at least three years of operating expenses because all the expenses are front end loaded while income is spread over the term of the leases. In addition, a lease loss reserve must be established that reduces income for three to five years until it gets fully established. This means that charge offs or the loss from the sale of capital assets must be taken at the same time that the loss account is being established.

One of the advantages of small companies is the ability to avoid using GAAP accounting requirements in the first few years. Cash accounting will allow for a better control of income and a better control of expenses in the near term. Once a few years elapse and the firm needs to look for institutional capital or bank loans, GAAP accounting and audits will be required.

The territory served by the new leasing entity needs to be more local instead of spread out across several states. There is a fact in the leasing business that as your market size increases, so do your operating expenses. The vendor market is appealing but you need to have vendors that sell in your market and avoid vendors that ask you to fund leases that are across the country. This increases your licensing, state income tax, property tax, and other requirements to do business in each state. The cost of doing business in each State requires a couple of million dollars portfolio to just cover the operating expenses. It takes time to establish this portfolio so it is a further drag on income.

Many start-ups in the commercial equipment leasing business use all three methods of leasing so they can get income from the best source while hoping all goes well for a few years so they can establish a good footing with out many losses.

 

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Fernando's View:
Easter Edition
By Fernando F. Croce

Though Christmas, Halloween and Thanksgiving all boast a long list of holiday-themed movies, Easter-related movies are rarer but no less inspiring. With Easter Sunday right around the corner, take some time off from hunting eggs and chocolate bunnies and check Netflix for these classic holiday choices.

King of Kings (Cecil B. DeMille, 1927): Decades before his splashy 1956 “The Ten Commandments,” director Cecil B. DeMille served up an early Biblical epic with this striking silent. Set in ancient times but made with palpable Roaring Twenties pizzazz, the film follows Jesus (played by H.B. Warner) in Jerusalem. (Imaginatively, the viewer’s first view of the Messiah is through a blind child, whose sight he restores.) The rescue of Magdalene (Jacqueline Logan) and the rising of Lazarus (Kenneth Thompson) are among the deeds depicted, leading to the Last Supper where Judas (Joseph Schildkraut) is revealed as the betrayer. Showcasing his knack for sweeping tales, DeMille makes impressive use of cinematic spectacle as the story heads to the crucifixion, including early Technicolor interludes. Make sure to check out Criterion’s restoration.

Easter Parade (Charles Walters, 1948): In the holiday’s more colorful and melodic side, there’s this classic MGM musical which bounces along as cheerfully as the Easter Bunny. On the eve of holiday celebrations, song-and-dance man Don (Fred Astaire) is crushed to part ways with his stage partner Nadine (Ann Miller). Determined to prove that he can get somebody else, he picks naïve showgirl Hannah (Judy Garland) and sets out to train her for next year’s Easter parade. As her dance steps grow more assured, so does their love for each other. But can their emotions stay strong in time for Hannah’s debut? Combining toe-tapping numbers with comic elements straight out of “My Fair Lady,” the film includes such tunes as “We’re a Couple of Swells” and “Steppin’ Out with My Baby.”

Jesus Christ Superstar (Norman Jewison, 1973): For audiences who prefer their Gospels a little on the tuneful side, check out this exuberant screen version of the famous 1970 stage hit by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. As the story moves from a group of modern-day traveling players to Biblical times, we’re treated to the final days of Jesus (Ted Neeley) from the vantage point of his betrayer Judas (Carl Anderson). Though the beats of the story remain the same, joyous Broadway music makes it a unique experience. Oscar-winning director Norman Jewison, who had already handled musical duties with “Fiddler on the Roof,” brings the same feel for vibrant choreography to the movie. Though certain aspects of it are by now dated, the infectious energy of the songs remains timeless.

Mallrats (Kevin Smith, 1995): Christmastime has “Bad Santa,” so Easter can also enjoy a healthy dose of raunchy humor with this comedy from quirky director Kevin Smith (“Clerks”). Unfolding largely inside a mall, the plot focuses on the misadventures of best friends T.S. (Jeremy London) and Brodie (Jason Lee) as they deal with girlfriend breakup and comic books. Other characters weaving in and out include sharp-tongued ex (Shannen Doherty), sleazy nemesis Shannon (Ben Affleck), and mismatched slackers Jay and Silent Bob (played by Jason Mewes and Smith himself). Things built up to a madcap contest on a TV show, though for the sake of the season the highlight is a tussle with the mall’s resident Easter Bunny. Not for all tastes, but a must for fans of Smith’s humor.

Of Gods and Men (Xavier Beauvois, 2010): French director Xavier Beauvois’s acclaimed account of the real-life plight of a group of monks in volatile territory makes for deeply stirring viewing. Based on controversial events that took place in 1996, the movie takes place in and around a Christian monastery in a small Moroccan village, where eight French monks lead a peaceful life with the Arab locals. Their idyll comes to an end, however, when an organization of religious extremists starts conducting terrorist acts in the area, forcing them to make a decision that might cost them their lives. Full of wrenching moments and strong acting by Lambert Wilson and Michael Lonsdale, the film is a powerful tribute to the strength of human faith during difficult times. With subtitles.

Great Pyrenees Mix
San Bernardino, California  Adopt-a-Dog

Jaspar
Male
Three Years Old
Coat Length: short
House-Trained
Vaccinations up-to-date
Neutered
Good in a home
with other dogs, children

"Jaspar is perhaps three years old. He has all of his shots, is neutered, and micro chipped, Jaspar is being fostered near Yosemite in Northern Ca. He is very affectionate, intelligent, high energy and silly. He knows how to "sit" and "wait." He prefers to always be with his human. He understands an alarm clock going off means GET UP, and "helps" by vocalizing a "woo woo woo!" He does not enjoy the car but eagerly joins his dog pals if they are going. Great with other dogs all sizes."

Great Pyrenees Assoc. of So. CA Rescue Inc.
18122 Rancho Ave
San Bernardino, CA
gpascrescue@aol.com
(909) 887-8201

All About the Great Pyrenees Breed
http://www.greatpyrrescue.org/about.html

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Coming May 3rd Annual AACFB Conference
Las Vegas, Nevada for Brokers and Funders

David C. Lee
Chairman and CEO
North Mill Equipment Finance

30-year finance industry veteran, David Lee, Chairman and CEO of North Mill Equipment Finance on Friday, May 3rd for the opening general session of the 2019 AACFB Annual Conference and learn how YOU can learn and benefit from industry disruptors!

A Benefits Booth will be available to display information on member benefits; attendees can meet with one of our benefit providers.

Women in Leasing Luncheon where leasing and commercial finance are invited to attend a special luncheon to enjoy good food and fellowship to kick off the fun and networking at the 2019 American Association of Commercial Finance Brokers Conference.

Due to the generous sponsorship of Channel Partners Capital, this event is FREE for ladies to attend, however RSVPs are required to reserve a seat.

Shervin Rashti, CLFP, Slim Capital will be reporting on the conference for Leasing News Readers.

61 Exhibitors:
https://annualconference.aacfb.org/exhibitors

Agenda
https://annualconference.aacfb.org/agenda/at-a-glance

Registration
https://annualconference.aacfb.org/registration

Caesars Hotel
https://annualconference.aacfb.org/travel-hotel/about-caesars

General Information
https://annualconference.aacfb.org/general-info-tab/general-info

Sponsors
https://annualconference.aacfb.org/sponsors

News Briefs----

American retailers already announced 6,000 store closures
   this year. That's more than all of last year
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/16/business/store-closures-retail-bankruptcies/index.html

Want to live at the top of the South Loop?
  This view will cost you $25K a month.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/commercial-real-estate/want-live-top-south-loop-view-will-cost-you-25k-month

EU threatens to tax $20 billion of American goods
     over aid to Boeing
https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-boeing-airbus-trade-dispute-20190417-story.html

Vlasic pickle chips are coming
  And they're made with actual pickles
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/04/17/vlasic-pickle-chips/3496718002/

 

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You May Have Missed---

Why Isn't American Express Accepted Everywhere?
https://news.yahoo.com/why-isnt-american-express-accepted-everywhere-133510377.html

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Canadian Winter
        by Jelaluddin Rumi

Sometimes it feels like
it is always winter here
In our "snowy north"
as others call it
while they ask us, with sly smiles,
if we live in igloos, and use dogsleds
to get around.

I could move, I suppose.
Someplace warm, where
I could grow
Morning Glories instead of Marigolds
And not have to read about hockey
eight months of the year.

But here, there is a breathless anticipation
of the seasons change.
We are all watchful eyes
for the first buds on trees,
And the last of the ice
flowing away down the river.

So I think I will stay
In my "snowy north".
Where the hoarfrost on the trees stands out
so clear against the cold air
it makes your heart hurt just to look at them
And the borealis dance over the fields in May
Calling me to remember
the joyous flow of life.

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Sports Briefs---

 With Cubs' commercial excess mostly in check,
  Wrigley Field's nearly complete multiyear renovation is a hit
  https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/kamin/ct-biz-wrigley-field-renovation-kamin-0412-story.html

Home, away opponents for all 32 NFL teams
   in 2019 regular season
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2019/04/16/nfl-schedule-2019-home-away-opponents-teams/3483182002/

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California Nuts Briefs---

Big expansion proposed for San Jose
  mega tech campus near airport
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/04/16/big-expansion-proposed-for-san-jose-mega-tech-campus-near-airport/ 

Gavin Newsom’s bid to negotiate lower drug prices
    gets boost from LA County
https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Gavin-Newsom-s-bid-to-negotiate-lower-drug-13775910.php

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“Gimme that Wine”

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

U.S. Wine Sales Rise 9 Percent in March Despite Headwinds
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataId=212565

Two Worlds, One Grape: Tasting French and Argentine Malbec
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataid=212519

Ground Zero for Malbec
https://www.winebusiness.com/blog/?go=getBlogEntry&dataid=212509

CEO of Francis Ford Coppola's wine pursuits talks
    reading the consumer Zeitgeist
https://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/northbay/sonomacounty/9478087-181/ceo-of-francis-ford-coppolas?artslide=0

Two Napa Valley Wines Capture the Crown
   at the Rosé Competition 2019
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataId=212589

Free Wine App
https://www.nataliemaclean.com/mobileapp/

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

     1631 - English colony of Massachusetts Bay granted Puritans voting rights and John Winthrop was elected the first governor of Massachusetts. 
    1675 - Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-80), a Mohawk-Algonquian, was baptized as Catherine. She was the first Native American proposed for sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church. Raised by an anti-Christian uncle after her parents died when she was four, when she was 19, she followed in her mother's footsteps and was baptized Christian. It is said she faced bigotry by Mohawks who opposed Christianity and saw it destroying their way of life. She was pious and refused to marry, taking a devout vow of perpetual virginity, further separating her from the Indian culture. It is said she lived a "life of great spirituality and asceticism." After her death at age 24, miracles were attributed to her and, in 1884, a plenary council of the Roman Catholic Church, meeting in the U.S., petitioned Rome for her canonization. The move was seen as a step to influence Indians to accept the church that accepted them as well as to recognize miracles attributed to her. Under the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, she was beatified in 1980 and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 21, 2012.  Various miracles and supernatural events are attributed to her intercession.    
    1689 – Bostonians rebelled against Sir Edmund Andros. He was the governor of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. At other times, Andros served as governor of the provinces of New York, East and West Jersey, Virginia and Maryland. His tenure in New England was authoritarian and turbulent, as his views were decidedly pro-Anglican, a negative quality in a region home to many Puritans. His actions in New England resulted in this overthrow.
    1775 - Paul Revere, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott started at about 10pm to warn American patriots between Boston and Concord, Massachusetts of the approaching British. Revere never completed the ride as he was captured by the British. The poem only remembers the one rider. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem about Paul Revere, published in 1861, was written to impress northerners during the Civil War of the necessity of fighting for liberty:
“One, if by land, and two, if by sea:
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm
For the country fold to be up and to arm.”
From Richard Shenkman’s “I love Paul Revere whether he rode on Not:
President Harding worries about Paul Revere:
“Imagine for a moment in 1923, Al Capone is assembling an army of gun-toting henchmen in Chicago. (They will number 700 before he is through.) Cotton farmers in the South are sunk in depression. The Ku Klux Klan is on the rise. Newspaper headlines tell of corruption in the Veterans Bureau (the director has had to resign). Rumors in the capital hint of the coming Teapot Dome Scandal (Eventually two secretaries in the cabinet will go to jail, convicted of corruption.) But these are not the things that concern the president of the United Sates. What worries Warren Harding---touring the country on a campaign swing that will prove to be his last---is a recent attack on the legend of Paul Revere. An iconoclast had noted that Revere never completed the ride made famous by Longfellow. Before giving warning to Concord, Revere was discovered by the British and captured. They kept his horse, but released him, not knowing his mission, but wanting his horse as “tribute.” Dawes horse fell during the long and rough trip and could not finish. Harding, however, told the crowd he didn’t care. “I love the story of Paul Revere,” the president intoned in his most presidential-sounding voice, “whether he rode or not.” The fact is Paul Revere did ride, but it was Samuel Prescott who finished and actually made the warning known. The Minutemen were prepared for the British attack on April 19.
    1818 - A regiment of Indians and blacks is defeated at the Battle of Suwanna, in Florida, ending the first Seminole War.
    1829 - Birthday of Katherine Russell, Mother Mary Baptist (d. 1898), Newry, Ireland.  She established homes in San Francisco for prostitutes, unemployed women, the aged and infirmed, and founded St. Mary’s Hospital
in San Francisco. A House of Mercy for unemployed women opened in 1855, a Magdalene Asylum for prostitutes in 1861, and the home for the aged and infirmed in 1872. The daughter of a well-to-do family, she became a nun in her native Ireland. She headed a group of eight sisters sent to San Francisco to establish a convent and school. During a cholera epidemic, her order worked with the city to care for dependent patients at a government hospital. Religious problems arose and Mother Mary purchased the building and named it St. Mary's Hospital, the first Catholic hospital on the Pacific coast. Under her direction the convent opened branches and hospitals in several California cities.
    1831 – The University of Alabama was founded.  UA is the oldest and the largest of the public universities in Alabama. The General Assembly of Alabama established a seminary on December 18, 1820, named it "The University of the State of Alabama" and created a Board of Trustees to manage the construction and operation of the university.  The board chose as the site of the campus a place which was then just outside the city limits of Tuscaloosa, the state capital at the time.  The university's charter was presented to the first university president, Alva Woods, in the name of Christ Episcopal Church.
    1839 - Violinist Frantz Jehin-Prume (d. 1899), the first musician of international reputation to choose Canada as his home, was born in Spa, Belgium. He made many successful concert tours of Europe and in 1863 was appointed "violinist of the king's own music" by Leopold the First of Belgium. Jehin-Prume later visited Mexico, then toured the US and Canada. He settled in Montreal in 1871, becoming a Canadian citizen. Jehin-Prume and his wife, the singer Rosita del Vecchio, played an important role in the development of Montreal's musical life. In 1891, he formed Quebec's first professional chamber music society. Jehin-Prume continued to give concerts and also was a prodigious composer. But in 1896, failing health forced him to reduce his activities. Frantz Jehin-Prune is considered one of the most accomplished musicians in Canadian history.
    1847 - U.S. forces defeat Mexicans at Cerro Gordo in one of the bloodiest battles of the war, one of the turning points of the war. After
purchasing all the land from France, the Southwest was seized in
war with Mexico.
http://www.multied.com/mexican/cerramore.html
    1856 - Senator J.B. Weller of California urged passage of a bill to authorize and facilitate the construction of a railroad and magnetic telegraph to the West.
    1857 - Birthday of Clarence Darrow (d. 1938), at Kinsman, OH. American attorney often associated with unpopular causes, from the Pullman strike in 1894 to the Scottsboro case in 1932.  At the Scopes trial, July 13, 1925, Darrow said: "I do not consider it an insult, but rather a compliment, to be called an agnostic. I do not pretend to know where many ignorant men are sure--that is all that agnosticism means."
    1861 – Col. Robert E. Lee rejected an appointment to command the Union Army.  The son of Revolutionary War officer Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee III, Lee was a top graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point and an exceptional officer and military engineer in the US Army for 32 years. During this time, he served throughout the United States, distinguished himself during the Mexican-American War, and served as Superintendent at West Point.  When Virginia declared its secession from the Union in April 1861, Lee chose to follow his home state, despite his personal desire for the country to remain intact and his opposition to slavery.
    1864 - At Poison Springs, Arkansas, Confederate soldiers under the command of General Samuel Maxey capture a Union forage train and slaughter black troops escorting the expedition. The Battle of Poison Springs was part of broad Union offensive in the region of Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. General Nathaniel Banks had led a Yankee force through Louisiana in March and April, but a defeat in northwestern Louisiana at the Battle of Mansfield on April 8 sent Banks in retreat. Union forces nearby in Arkansas were moving towards Banks' projected thrust into Texas with the intention of securing southwestern Arkansas for the Federals. Union General Frederick Steele occupied Camden, Arkansas, on April 15. Two days later, he sent Colonel John Williams and 1,100 of his 14,000-man force to gather 5,000 bushels of corn discovered west of Camden. The force arrived to find that Confederate marauders had destroyed half of the store, but the Yankees loaded the rest into some 200 wagons and prepared to return to Camden. On the way back Maxey and 3,600 Confederates intercepted them. Maxey placed General John Marmaduke in charge of the attack that ensued. Williams positioned part of his force, the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry, between the wagon train the Confederate lines. The regiment was the first black unit in the army, comprised primarily of ex-slaves. The determined soldiers of the 1st Kansas stopped the first two Rebel attacks, but they were running low on ammunition. A third assault overwhelmed the Kansans, and the rout was on. Williams gathered the remnants of his force and retreated from the abandoned wagons. More than 300 Yankee troops were killed, wounded, or captured, while the Confederates lost just 13 killed and 81 wounded. Most shocking was the Rebel treatment of the black troops. No black troops were captured, and those left wounded on the battlefield were brutally killed, scalped, and stripped. The Washington Telegraph, the major Confederate newspaper in Arkansas, justified the atrocity by declaring "We cannot treat Negroes taken in arms as prisoners of war without a destruction of social system for which we contend."
    1865 - Union General William Tecumseh Sherman and Confederate Joseph Johnston signed a broad political peace agreement at Durham Station, North Carolina. The agreement promised a general amnesty for all Southerners and pledged federal recognition of all Southern state governments after their officials took an oath of allegiance to the US. The new administration reneged on this and Sherman was roundly criticized publicly in drawing up the agreement that former President Lincoln and General Grant had instructed him to negotiate. The agreement was rejected by President Andrew Johnson and Sherman and Johnston were forced to reach a new agreement with terms virtually the same as those given Robert E. Lee.
    1879 – After several relocations to reservations and resulting skirmishes with the Army, Standing Bear's eldest son, Bear Shield, was among those dead of starvation and disease. Standing Bear had promised to bury him in the Niobrara River valley homeland, so he left to travel north with about 30 followers.  When they reached the Omaha Reservation in Nebraska, word of their arrival in Nebraska soon reached the government. Under orders from the Secretary of the Interior, Brigadier General George Crook had the Ponca chief arrested for having left the reservation in Indian Territory.  Although the official orders were to return them immediately to Indian Territory, Crook was sympathetic to the Ponca and was appalled to learn of the conditions they had left. He delayed their return so the Ponca could rest, regain their health, and seek legal redress.  Crook told the Ponca story to Thomas Tibbles, an outspoken advocate of Native American rights and an editor of the Omaha Daily Herald, who publicized the Poncas' story widely. The attorney John L. Webster offered his services pro bono and was joined by Andrew J. Poppleton, chief attorney of the Union Pacific Railroad.  They aided Standing Bear, who in April 1879 sued for a writ of Habeus corpus in US District Court in Omaha in the case known as United States ex rel. Standing Bear v. Crook. General Crook was named as the formal defendant because he was holding the Ponca under color of law.  The judge allowed Chief Standing Bear to make a speech in his own behalf. Raising his right hand, Standing Bear proceeded to speak. Among his words were, "That hand is not the color of yours, but if I prick it, the blood will flow, and I shall feel pain," said Standing Bear. "The blood is of the same color as yours. God made me, and I am a man."  On May 12, 1879, Judge Elmer S. Duffy ruled that "an Indian is a person" within the meaning of habeas corpus. He stated that the federal government had failed to show a basis under law for the Poncas' arrest and captivity.  It was a landmark case, recognizing that an Indian is a “person” under the law and entitled to its rights and protection. “The right of expatriation is a natural, inherent and inalienable right and extends to the Indian as well as to the more fortunate white race,” the judge concluded.  The Army immediately freed Standing Bear and his followers. The case gained the attention of the Hayes administration, which provided authority for Standing Bear and some of the tribe to return permanently to the Niobrara valley in Nebraska.
    1880 - Birthday of Samuel Earl “Wahoo Sam” Crawford (d. 1968), Wahoo, Nebraska. Wahoo Sam played in the Majors for 20 years with the Detroit Tigers, racking up a career batting average of .309. His record of 312 career triples still stands. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1957.
    1880 - A major tornado outbreak occurred from Arkansas to Michigan with 22 tornadoes rated F2 or greater. Three F4 tornadoes in Missouri did most of the killing with 68 people killed at Marshfield, Missouri. Another F4 tornado in Missouri was on the ground for 93 miles. 165 people were killed in this outbreak and over 500 were injured.
    1899 - At age 26, John McGraw made his managerial debut with the Baltimore Orioles of the National league. McGraw leads them to a 5 - 3 victory over the New York Giants, a team he will later manage for more than 30 years.
    1906 - Over 3,000 lives were lost in the San Francisco earthquake, subsequently measured at approximately 7.8 magnitude as the Richter Scale had not been invented yet, primarily due to the fire that practically destroyed San Francisco; some 10,000 acres were affected, as far as Mendocino, where farms near the coast actually fell into the ocean. While much damage was caused by the earthquake, it was the seventh Great Fire that burned for four days that contributed to the deaths. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of trapped persons died when South-of-Market tenements collapsed as the ground liquefied beneath them. The earthquake shock was felt from Coos Bay, Oregon, to Los Angeles, and as far east as central Nevada, an area of about 375,000 square miles, approximately half of which was in the Pacific Ocean. There were 135 aftershocks on April 18, and 22 on April 19.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/apr18.html
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0418.html 
    1913 - Birthday of American composer Kent Kennan (d. 2003), Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
    1921 - Birthday of Barbara Hale (d. 2017), DeKalb, IL.  Actor best known for her TV portrayal of Perry Mason's dutiful secretary Della Street.
    1922 - Birthday of calypso music pioneer Lord Kitchener (d. 2000), born Aldwyn Roberts in Trinidad and Tobago. 
http://www.calypsoworld.org/noflash/artists-20.htm 
http://www.nalis.gov.tt/Biography/History_LORDKITCHENER_PeopleOfTheCentury.htm
    1923 - More than 74,000 fans attended Opening Day festivities as the New York Yankees inaugurated their new stadium. The stadium was built from 1922 to 1923 for $2.4 million ($33.9 million in 2016 dollars). The stadium's construction was paid entirely by Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert.  Babe Ruth christened it with a game-winning three-run homer into the right-field bleachers. In his coverage of the game for the New York Evening Telegram, sportswriter Fred Lieb described Yankee Stadium as “The House That Ruth Built,” and the name stuck.  This Yankee Stadium was the home of 26 World Series championship teams; the New York football Giants from 1956-1974 that included the so-called ‘greatest game ever played’ – the 1958 NFL Championship between the Baltimore Colts and the Giants; boxing championship bouts, concerts, Jehovah’s Witnesses conventions (see record attendance) and three Papal Masses. Over the course of its history, it became one of the most famous venues in the United States, also known as the Cathedral of Baseball. Yankee Stadium closed following the 2008 baseball season and the new stadium opened in 2009, across the street, adopting the "Yankee Stadium" moniker. The original Yankee Stadium was demolished in 2010 and the 8-acre site was converted into a park called Heritage Field, open to public baseball and softball teams.
    1924 - Simon and Schuster, Inc. published the first "Crossword Puzzle Book." 
    1925 - The Woman's World Fair, in Chicago opened. The exhibits showed women's progress in major industries and professions and historians considered it as a landmark in the recognition of women's contribution to civilization.
    1927 - Canadian composer and pianist Marian Grudeff (d. 2006) was born in Toronto. She and another Canadian, Ray Jessel, were engaged by producer Alexander H. Cohen to write songs for the musical "Baker Street," which premiered in Boston in December, 1964. After revisions, the show opened in New York the following February. "Baker Street," based on the story of Sherlock Holmes, was called one of the best musicals of the 1960's.
    1929 - Red Nichols and his Five Pennies recorded the Glenn Miller arrangement of "Indiana" for Brunswick Records in New York City. Players included Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa and Jack Teagarden.  The movie “The Five Pennies.” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052809/mediaviewer/rm2283656448
http://www.duke.edu/~cfc/
http://www.redhotjazz.com/redn.html
Again," his signature song that he co-wrote with Ray Whitley.  Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. 
   
    1939 - Announcer Red Barber called the action in the Brooklyn Dodgers’ 7-3 loss to the New York Giants, marking the first time a regular-season Brooklyn game was broadcast on the radio.
    1941 - Sidney Bechet, playing six instruments, records “Blues of Bechet,” (Victor 27485)
http://www.lahamjat.com/video/moonoverharlem.html
    1941 - Birthday of singer Wilson Pickett (d. 2006), Prattville, AL.  A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100. Among his best-known hits are "In the Midnight Hour" (which he co-wrote), "Land of 1,000 Dances," "Mustang Sally," and "Funky Broadway."  Pickett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, in recognition of his impact on songwriting and recording. 
http://www.rockhall.com/hof/inductee.asp?id=167
    1940 - Mike Vickers, saxophone player and guitarist with the British group Manfred Mann, was born in Southampton, England. Leader Manfred Mann, whose real name is Manfred Lubowitz, immigrated to England from South Africa in the early 1960's. His group became part of the "British Invasion" of the North American record charts with such hits as "Do Wah Diddy Diddy," "Pretty Flamingo" and "Mighty Quinn." After the demise of his group, Manfred Mann formed another band called Chapter Three in 1969. In the following decade, this evolved into Manfred Mann's Earth Band, a heavy metal group.
    1942 - Birthday of Peter Kornel “Pete” Gogolak, Budapest, Hungary.  The son of a physician, Gogolak came to the US with his family as a teen, following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and settled in upstate New York.  He played college football at Cornell University as a place-kicker, where he was a member of Delta Upsilon Fraternity (Ralph Mango’s Fraternity brother).  He is generally regarded as the first soccer-style kicker in pro football as he was selected in the twelfth round of the AFL draft by the Buffalo Bills, bringing yet another innovation to the upstart league that had become known for its experimentation.  In 1965, he scored 115 points and was selected by his peers as a Sporting News All-AFL player. He made 28 of 46 field goal attempts and connected on all 31 extra point attempts.  In 1966, after playing two seasons for the AFL's Bills, he joined the NFL's Giants in May after playing out his option, sparking the "war between the leagues" and effectively expediting the subsequent AFL-NFL merger agreement in June.  In 2010, the New York Giants announced that Gogolak would be included in the team's new Ring of Honor to be displayed at all home games in their new stadium.
    1942 - The Toronto Maple Leafs completed the greatest comeback in Stanley Cup playoff history by defeating the Detroit Red Wings, 3-1, in Game 7 of the finals. The Leafs were down three games to none before they evened the series with 4-3, 9-3, and 3-0 victories.
    1942 - 16 B-25 airplanes of the 17th Bombardment Group, 8th Air force, led by Colonel James Harold Doolittle, took off from U.S.S. Hornet, the first air raid to strike the Japanese homeland and provided a terrific boost to US morale.  Up to that point, the war was going poorly for the US after the Pearl harbor attacks. Traveling low over the water, they dropped bombs on the cities of Tokyo, Kobe, and Nagoya, and then continued straight on until they ran out of fuel and crash-landed in the Chinese countryside. Fifteen aircraft reached China, but all crashed, while the 16th landed in the Soviet Union. All but three of the 80 crew members initially survived the mission. Eight soldiers were captured by the Japanese Army in China; three of those were later executed. The B-25 that landed in the Soviet Union was confiscated and its crew interned for more than a year. Fourteen complete crews, except for one crewman who was killed in action, returned either to the United States or to American forces.  The damage to Tokyo was more psychological than physical and it cast doubt in Japan on the ability of its military leaders to defend their home islands. It also contributed to Admiral Yamamoto’s decision to attack Midway, an attack that turned into a decisive strategic defeat of the Japanese Navy by the U.S. Navy.  Doolittle, who initially believed that loss of all his aircraft would lead to his being court-martialed, received the Medal of Honor and was promoted two steps to brigadier general.    
    1943 - Traveling in a bomber, Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the mastermind of the attack on Pearl Harbor, is shot down by American P-38 fighters.
    1944 - California experienced its worst hailstorm of record. Damage mounted to 2 million dollars as 2 consecutive storms devastated the Sacramento Valley destroying the fruit crop.
    1944 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit:  “It's Love-Love-Love,'' Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians. It is one of Lombardo's 26 No. 1 pop songs. Lombardo's is the only dance band to ever sell more than 100 million records.
    1945 - Ernie Pyle was killed by enemy fire on the island of Ie Shima. After his death, President Harry S. Truman spoke of how Pyle "told the story of the American fighting man as the American fighting men wanted it told." He was buried in his hometown of Dana, Indiana, next to local soldiers who had fallen in battle. Pyle, born in Dana, Indiana, first began writing a column for the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain in 1935. Eventually syndicated to some 200 U.S. newspapers, Pyle's column, which related the lives and hopes of typical citizens, captured America's affection. In 1942, after the United States entered World War II, Pyle went overseas as a war correspondent. He covered the North Africa campaign, the invasions of Sicily and Italy, and on June 7, 1944, went ashore at Normandy the day after Allied forces landed. Pyle, who always wrote about the experiences of enlisted men rather than the battles they participated in, described the D-Day scene: "It was a lovely day for strolling along the seashore. Men were sleeping on the sand, some of them sleeping forever. Men were floating in the water, but they didn't know they were in the water, for they were dead." The same year, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished correspondence and, in 1945, traveled to the Pacific to cover the war against Japan.
    1945 - The last German forces resisting in the Ruhr Pocket surrender. Field Marshal Model, commanding German Army Group B inside the pocket, commits suicide. About 325,000 German prisoners have been taken in this area by the Allied forces. Meanwhile, the US 9th Army captures Magdeburg and troops of US 3rd Army cross the Czechoslovakian border after a rapid advance.
    1945 - DALY, MICHAEL J., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Captain (then Lieutenant), U.S. Army, Company A, 15th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Nuremberg, Germany, 18 April 1945. Entered service at: Southport, Conn. Born: 15 September 1924, New York, N.Y. G.O. No.: 77, 10 September 1945. Citation: Early in the morning of 18 April 1945, he led his company through the shell-battered, sniper-infested wreckage of Nuremberg, Germany. When bl1stering machinegun fire caught his unit in an exposed position, he ordered his men to take cover, dashed forward alone, and, as bullets whined about him, shot the 3-man gun crew with his carbine. Continuing the advance at the head of his company, he located an enemy patrol armed with rocket launchers which threatened friendly armor. He again went forward alone, secured a vantage point and opened fire on the Germans. Immediately he became the target for concentrated machine pistol and rocket fire, which blasted the rubble about him. Calmly, he continued to shoot at the patrol until he had killed all 6 enemy infantrymen. Continuing boldly far in front of his company, he entered a park, where as his men advanced, a German machinegun opened up on them without warning. With his carbine, he killed the gunner; and then, from a completely exposed position, he directed machinegun fire on the remainder of the crew until all were dead. In a final duel, he wiped out a third machinegun emplacement with rifle fire at a range of 10 yards. By fearlessly engaging in 4 single-handed fire fights with a desperate, powerfully armed enemy, Lt. Daly, voluntarily taking all major risks himself and protecting his men at every opportunity, killed 15 Germans, silenced 3 enemy machineguns and wiped out an entire enemy patrol. His heroism during the lone bitter struggle with fanatical enemy forces was an inspiration to the valiant Americans who took Nuremberg.
    1946 - MERRELL, JOSEPH F., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army, Company I, 15th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Lohe, Germany, 18 April 1945. Entered service at: Staten Island, N.Y. Birth: Staten Island, N.Y. G.O. No.: 21, 26 February 1946. Citation: He made a gallant, 1-man attack against vastly superior enemy forces near Lohe, Germany. His unit, attempting a quick conquest of hostile hill positions that would open the route to Nuremberg before the enemy could organize his defense of that city, was pinned down by brutal fire from rifles, machine pistols, and 2 heavy machineguns. Entirely on his own initiative, Pvt. Merrell began a single-handed assault. He ran 100 yards through concentrated fire, barely escaping death at each stride, and at pointblank range engaged 4 German machine pistol men with his rifle, killing all of them while their bullets ripped his uniform. As he started forward again, his rifle was smashed by a sniper's bullet, leaving him armed only with 3 grenades. But he did not hesitate. He zigzagged 200 yards through a hail of bullets to within 10 yards of the first machinegun, where he hurled 2 grenades and then rushed the position ready to fight with his bare hands if necessary. In the emplacement he seized a Luger pistol and killed what Germans had survived the grenade blast. Rearmed, he crawled toward the second machinegun located 30 yards away, killing 4 Germans in camouflaged foxholes on the way, but himself receiving a critical wound in the abdomen. And yet he went on, staggering, bleeding, disregarding bullets which tore through the folds of his clothing and glanced off his helmet. He threw his last grenade into the machinegun nest and stumbled on to wipe out the crew. He had completed this self-appointed task when a machine pistol burst killed him instantly. In his spectacular 1-man attack Pvt. Merrell killed 6 Germans in the first machinegun emplacement, 7 in the next, and an additional 10 infantrymen who were astride his path to the weapons which would have decimated his unit had he not assumed the burden of the assault and stormed the enemy positions with utter fearlessness, intrepidity of the highest order, and a willingness to sacrifice his own life so that his comrades could go on to victory.
    1946 - Lead vocalist Skip Spence (d. 1999) of Moby Grape is born in Windsor, Ontario.
    1946 – Jackie Robinson made his minor league debut for the Montreal Royals, the International League farm club of the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first black person to play Organized Baseball in the 20th century.  Robinson smashed a home run and three singles on his way to winning the league batting championship.
    1950 - The first transatlantic jet passenger trip is completed.
    1950 - At Fenway Park, to the delight of 31,822 fans, Boston ripped Yankees starter Allie Reynolds with a five-run 4th inning to drive him from the game and take a 9 - 0 lead. But the Yankees scored four runs in the 6th off Mel Parnell and then, down 10 - 4, unloaded for nine runs in the 8th. Billy Martin became the first player in Major League history to get two base hits in one inning in his first game.  Boo Ferriss, pitching in his last game, allowed the last two runs in the 9th inning as the Yankees chalked up a 15 - 10 victory, the biggest blown lead the Red Sox have ever had at Fenway Park until June 4, 1989 when they blew a 10-run lead at home.
    1954 - Birthday of American composer Robert Greenberg, Brooklyn.
    1956 - Top Hits
“Heartbreak Hotel/I Was the One” - Elvis Presley
“The Poor People of Paris” - Les Baxter
“Long Tall Sally” - Little Richard
“Blue Suede Shoes” - Carl Perkins
    1957 - Army reserve Lieutenant Buddy Knox whose "Party Doll" was a recent Number One, is called up for six months of active duty. Roulette Records' A&R team, Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore rush Knox to the studio to cut over 20 songs to ensure his career does not stall while he's in uniform. It does anyway.
    1958 – In LA, the Dodgers played their first game at the Coliseum in front of a crowd of 78,672. Carl Erskine won, besting Al Worthington and the SF Giants, 6-5.  It was the Dodgers first home game in California after moving from Brooklyn the previous winter.
    1959 - Birthday of Susan Faludi in Queens, NYC.  Author and journalist.  Known especially for her exploration of the depiction of women by the news media, she won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism. Her best known book is “Backlash, the Undeclared War against Women.” She worked for the New York Times, San Jose Mercury, and Miami Herald among other newspapers and was managing editor of the Harvard Crimson when she attended that university.
    1960 - Dr. William M. Chardack inserted a wire implant into the heart of Frank Henefelt, a cardiac patient, to test the invention by Dr. Chardack and engineer Wilson Greatbatch, both of Buffalo, NY, patented this day. The battery-powered pulse generator unit tested successfully and was implanted into Henefelt’s abdomen. He lived for 2.5 years with the device. Swedish doctors first implanted a similar device in 1958.
    1964 - Top Hits
“Can’t Buy Me Love” - The Beatles
“Twist and Shout” - The Beatles
“Suspicion” - Terry Stafford
“Understand Your Man” - Johnny Cash
    1965 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit:  “Game of Love,'' Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders.
    1966 - 38th Annual Academy Awards celebration at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles. Bob Hope was the host, for the sixth time. He received a gold medal, the Honorary Award for unique and distinguished service to the film industry and the Academy. Other award recipients included Shelley Winters for her Best Supporting Actress role in "A Patch of Blue;" Martin Balsam, Best Supporting Actor for his performance in "A Thousand Clowns." The Best Actor Oscar went to my former Latimer Road neighbor in the Pacific Palisades, Lee Marvin ("Cat Ballou"); and Julie Christie picked up the Best Actress Oscar ("Darling"). The Oscar for the Best Music/Song from a 1965 movie was "The Shadow of Your Smile" from "The Sandpiper" (Johnny Mandel-music, Paul Francis Webster-lyrics). It’s a good thing that the "Oscars" were being broadcast in color this night (the first time) because the Best Director and Best Picture winner was "The Sound of Music" (Robert Wise, producer and director). 
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0149013.html
    1971 - The Diana Ross television musical special “Diana,” featuring guest stars Jackson 5, Bill Cosby, and Danny Thomas, airs on ABC.
    1972 - Top Hits
“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” - Roberta Flack
“I Gotcha” - Joe Tex
“Rockin’ Robin” - Michael Jackson
“My Hang-Up is You” - Freddie Hart
    1974 - James Brown, the ‘Godfather of Soul,” received a gold record this day for the single, "The Payback." Of the 44 hits that Brown would put on the charts over three decades, he received only one other gold record -- for "Get on the Good Foot - Part 1" in 1972. His biggest pop hits include: "I Got You (I Feel Good)" at number three in 1965, "Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag" at number eight in 1965, "It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World" at number eight in 1966, "I Got The Feelin’" at number six in 1968 and "Living in America" at number four in 1986. This song was featured in the Sylvester Stallone film, "Rocky IV." He had been in and out of jail for spousal abuse and other ailments, but started the singing-dance craze imitated by all those followed him in R & B, including Michael Jackson.
http://www.funky-stuff.com/jamesbrown/ 
http://www.godfatherofsoul.com/
    1975 - James Benton Parsons (1911-93) was appointed chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court by President John F. Kennedy. He is the first African-American chief justice of a state supreme court.
http://www.jtbf.org/five_firsts/james_b_parsons.htm
    1975 - Alice Cooper's first TV special, "Welcome to My Nightmare: The Making of a Record Album" airs.
    1977 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit:  “Don't Leave Me This Way,'' Thelma Houston.
    1978 - The U.S. Senate approves the transfer of the Panama Canal to Panama. 
    1980 - Top Hits
“Another Brick in the Wall” - Pink Floyd
“Call Me” - Blondie
“Ride like the Wind” - Christopher Cross
“Honky Tonk Blues” - Charley Pride
    1981 - British progressive rock band Yes announces its break-up. During its 13-year career, the group became one of the world's most popular exponents of intricate, mystical, symphonic rock, despite the fact that they only had one big chart hit, "Roundabout." It went to #13 in 1972. Of course, they reunite on numerous occasions over the years.
    1981 – The longest professional baseball game in organized baseball history began at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, RI. The game was suspended at 4:00 the next morning and was finally completed on June 23.  The Pawtucket Red Sox played the Rochester Red Wings for 33 innings, with eight hours and 25 minutes of playing time. 32 innings were played April 18/19 and the final 33rd inning was played June 23, 1981. Pawtucket won the game, 3–2. Future Red Sox Hall of Famer Wade Boggs drove in the tying run in the bottom of the 21st inning after a Rochester run.  The PawSox included Marty Barrett and Rich Gedman who went on to star for the Boston Red Sox, while future Orioles Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr played 3B for the Red Wings.
    1983 - A suicide bomber kills 63, including U.S. Marines at the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon.
    1983 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit:  “Come on Eileen,'' Dexys Midnight Runners.
    1985 - Tulane University abolished its 72-year-old basketball program, and shocked the college sports world with the announcement. The school said that charges of fixed games, drug use and payments to players contributed to the shutdown of the basketball program. 
    1985 - Wham's "Make It Big" LP is released in China, making it the first Western album to be released there.
    1985 - Liberace breaks his own record at Radio City Music Hall, pulling in two million dollars for his latest engagement.
    1987 - When her newest release reached the top of the Billboard chart, Aretha Franklin set a record for the artist with the longest gap between US #1 singles. It had been 19 years, 10 months from "Respect" (June 1967) to "I Knew You Were Waiting for Me" (With George Michael).
    1987 - The Philadelphia Phillies’ Mike Schmidt hit the 500th home run of his career with two outs in the sixth inning of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The Phillies rallied to win, 8-6. Schmidt finished his career with 548 homers, seventh on the all-time list at the time.
    1988 - Miles Davis played at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House view the Original Poster for this event at Wolfgang's Vault.
http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/
    1988 - Top Hits
“Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car” - Billy Ocean
“Devil Inside” - INXS
“Where Do Broken Hearts Go” - Whitney Houston
“I Wanna Dance with You” - Eddie Rabbitt
    1990 - Heavy snow blanketed the west central valleys and southwest mountains of Colorado with up to 18 inches of snow. Nine cities from the Mid-Mississippi Valley to the Middle Atlantic Coast Region reported record low temperatures for the date, including Fort Wayne, IN, with a reading of 23 degrees.
    1992 - Albums by Def Leppard, Bruce Springsteen and Wynonna debut in the top four spots on Billboard's pop album chart. The albums are Def Leppard's “Adrenalize,'' Springsteen's “Human Touch'' and “Lucky Town'' and Wynonna's “Wynonna.'' (Wynonna Judd launches her solo career with the album and drops her last name to distance herself from her success as half of the mother-daughter duo, The Judds.)
    1994 – Former and disgraced President Richard Nixon suffered a stroke that would end his life four days later.
    1995 – Arguably, still the NFL’s greatest QB, Joe Montana retired in front of a huge crowd at Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco.  In 16 seasons, 14 of which were with the San Francisco 49ers, he won four Super Bowls and was the first three-time Super Bowl MVP. He also held, at the time of his retirement, Super Bowl career records for most passes without an interception (122 in 4 games) and the all-time highest quarterback rating of 127.8. Montana was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000, his first year of eligibility, with teammate Ronnie Lott.
    1995 – The Houston Post ceased publication after 116 years.
    1998 - Country group Diamond Rio are inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. The band opens their performance with their first number one hit "Meet in the Middle.
    2001 - The San Francisco Board of Supervisors committee approved a plan to give sex change benefits to city employees.
    2003 - In four barricaded cottages in conquered Baghdad, Iraq, US troops find $656 million in US currency, in $100 bills stacked inside galvanized aluminum boxes sealed with blue strapping tape and green seals stamped "Bank of Jordan." On 22 April 2003, in the same Baghdad neighborhood, US troops would find another $112 million, similarly packed, hidden in seven dog kennels.
    2004 - Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker opens a franchise of the popular restaurant chain Wahoo's Fish Taco in Norco, Calif.
    2007 - The Supreme Court upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in a 5–4 decision.
    2013 - Viacom lost a billion-dollar copyright infringement suit against YouTube.  In November 2006, it was bought by Google for $1.65 billion. 

NBA Champions:
    1962 - Boston Celtics
Stanley Cup Champions:
    1942 - Toronto Maple Leafs
    1959 - Montreal Canadiens
    1963 - Toronto Maple Leafs