Times Are Tough, But Now is the Time
to Join a Surviving Company

100 Word Maximum Free Listing

You can use a Gmail or Yahoo email listing, and give a description of your experience, if you don't
want to include a resume. The ad is free and only limitation is limited to (100) words.

To post your free ad, please email:
kitmenkin@leasingnews.org

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Top Ten Stories
April 13 - April 17

(Stories most opened by readers)

 

(1) Dr. Anthony S.  Fauci
         Salutation
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2020/04_13.htm#fauci

(2) Story Credit Lessors - Lenders List for COVID-19
   "C" & "D" Lessees, Business Loans, Working Capital
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2020/04_15.htm#story

(3) Leasing Veteran John Winchester, CLFP, Passed Away
         He Died March 15, 2020 at 73 in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2020/04_17.htm#winchester

(4) Funders Looking for Broker Business
         During COVID-19 Pandemic
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2020/04_15.htm#looking

(5) Do You Really Want to be a PPP Broker?
         The Requirements Needed for Approval
          PPP Loans What the Lender Makes/What the Broker Makes
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2020/04_15.htm#do

(6) New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
         and Related Industries
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2020/04_17.htm#hires

(7) Funders Taking "New" Broker Business List
      Three Do Not Require that Brokers Be Licensed
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2020/04_15.htm#taking

(8) The Saga of Furloughs in Our Industry
        With Restaurants, Manufacturing, Copiers, Trucks, Not Selling
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2020/04_13.htm#saga

(9) Owner who got Paycheck Protection loan:
          It's an "incredibly bad fit" for what businesses need
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/paycheck-protection-program-heather-sanborn-owner-rising-tide-brewing-loan-sba/

(10) New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
          and Related Industries
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2020/04_13.htm#hires

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

Top 5 Takeaways: Coronavirus and the U.S. Economy
April 15 ELFA/Foundation Webinar Draws Large Attendance

WASHINGTON, D.C. – What is the state of the U.S. economy and the equipment finance industry in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic? That was the focus of the free webinar “Coronavirus and the U.S. Economy: Implications for the Equipment Finance Industry” hosted by the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation and the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association on April 15.

More than 875 attendees participated in the information-packed, hour-long event, which featured highlights from the Foundation's Q2 Equipment Leasing and Finance U.S. Economic Outlook report, produced with longtime partner Keybridge LLC. Speakers Dr. Robert Wescott and Jeff Jensen of Keybridge offered insights on the economic, financial and political effects of the coronavirus pandemic over the next quarter as well as through the remainder of 2020 and answered participant questions during a live Q&A session.

Below are 5 key takeaways from the webinar. For more information, view the webinar recording and download the PowerPoint presentation.

• A global recession is already underway. China is slowly forging a path to economic recovery following its coronavirus outbreak, but that process is slow and uncertain. “China is trying to recover…but it’s now being held back by slowing export demand to Europe and to the U.S.,” noted Wescott. He added that Europe’s economy is being ravaged by COVID-19 and emerging markets such as India and Latin America may be next to suffer sharp downturns.

• The U.S. economy is also already in recession. The service sector, historically a resilient engine of growth, is leading the downturn, particularly in industries that rely on human contact, such as travel and tourism, restaurants, entertainment and personal services. “The U.S. is in the midst of a very notable recession,” said Wescott. “We think second quarter of this year is going to be bloody awful… This morning we got bleak industrial production data for March, we got bleak retail sales data for March, and we think we’re going to see a continuation of really bad numbers for the next couple of months.”

• The economy could be back in growth mode by the end of the year. The Foundation’s Outlook report forecasts a deep contraction in the U.S. economy in Q2. However, Jensen projected a return to growth in Q3 and Q4. Overall, the U.S. economy is expected to contract -5% to
  -9.4% in 2020. “The economy is going to be much smaller at the end of the year than it was at the beginning of the year,” said Jensen.

• This is likely to be a very tough year for the equipment finance industry. After slowing to the weakest growth since 2016 last year, equipment and software investment is expected to plunge along with the rest of the U.S. economy. Overall, investment in equipment and software is projected to contract between -8.6 and -13.5% in 2020. Industries like computers and medical devices may be more resilient, however.

• Small businesses are at heightened risk. Bigger corporations have more financial room to stave off short- and medium-term shocks. A major shakeout in energy is coming, but this will likely lead to consolidation benefiting larger firms. Look for lingering pain in travel and tourism, accommodation and traditional retailing. “There’s a lot of uncertainty both with respect to how we reopen the economy and how many jobs are still there when we reopen the economy, particularly in the small business sector,” said Jensen.

More Free Webinars to Come
The April 15 webinar was part of ELFA’s new “Wednesday Webinar” series designed to help equipment finance professionals navigate the current market and regulatory landscape and anticipate the changing environment in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The free webinars include live Q&A sessions so participants can connect with experts and colleagues on the issues they are grappling with. Upcoming webinars include:

• April 22: Federal Government Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
• April 29: Cybersecurity and Fraud in the COVID-19 Environment
• May 6: e-Signatures and e-Leases in the COVID-19 World  

ELFA will announce additional free webinars as they are scheduled in the coming weeks. Register for upcoming webinars and view recordings of past events.

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

 

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By Felix Richter, Statista

 

Sales Make it Happen
--- by Anonymous

Ten Sales Points

1. Believe in your leasing services.
2. Gather as much information as you can before talking to a decision maker.
3. Ask everyone you talk to how decisions about leasing are made.
4. Have two objectives set before making a call. For example, one objective could be to obtain their email address; a second objective would be to have them go to your web site.
5. Listen to the prospect-listen to understand-if they take the conversation to a different place than you wanted the conversation to go-just go with it. The goal is to establish a relationship.
6. Bring something of value to each prospect call. A new idea, sales tips, an interesting article or web site to visit. It's not about you, it's about them.
7. Ask them: "What is most important to you in a leasing company?"
8. Make your calls with confidence and enthusiasm. I became eager and anxious to make calls because I had thought about the vendor,  studied their situation, and had some ideas I believed might be of value to them.
9. Find out what your prospects want and help them get it.
10. Never give up!

Sales Makes it Happen articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Legacy/index.html

 

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No Longer taking Broker/Discounting Business
plus Leasing Companies Out of Business

Companies with an * are no longer in business. The others are companies that were taking broker business, but announced that they no longer are accepting broker business. Many have also down-sized or are managing an existing portfolio.

More details are available in this list by company name:

http://www.leasingnews.org/list_alpha_new.htm

*ABCO Leasing Inc., Bothell, WA
*ACC Capital, Midvale, Utah
Advantage Business Capital, Lake Oswego, Oregon
AEL Financial, Buffalo Grove, Illinois
(No longer taking new broker business)
Agility Solutions Corp., Prescott, Arizona
Allegiant Partners, Bend, Oregon 
Alliance Financial, Syracuse, New York
*Alternative Capital, Apollo Beach, Florida
*AMC Funding, Charlotte, North Carolina
American Bank Leasing, Alpharetta, Georgia
*American Equipment Finance, Warren, New Jersey
American Leasefund, Tigard, OR (no longer a funder)
Balboa Capital, Costa Mesa, California
Bank of Ozark Leasing/Finance, Little Rock, Arkansas
*Bank of West Indirect Leasing, Dublin, California
*Bank of the West Leasing Indirect, San Ramon, California
*Bank Midwest Leasing, Overland Park, KS
Bankers Healthcare Group, Weston, FL
*BBVA Compass Equipment Leasing, Houston, Texas
*Blackstone Equipment Financing, Orange, California
*BusinessFinance.com (on line aggregate funder)
*Business Leasing NorthWest, Seattle, WA
*Capital One Equipment Finance, Towson, Maryland
*CapitalSource Healthcare Finance, Chevy Chase, Maryland
*CapNet, Los Angeles, California
*C and J Leasing Corp, Des Moines, Iowa
*Carlton Financial Corporation, Wayzata, Minnesota
*Chase Industries, Inc., Grand Rapids, Michigan
*Chesterfield Financial, Chesterfield, Missouri
CHG-MERIDIAN U.S. Finance, Ltd, Woodland Hills, CA
(Sales Management focuses very selectively on certain brokers.)
*Churchill Group/Churchill Leasing, Jericho, NY
CIT Group (limited)
Citizens Business Bank, Ontario, CA
Columbia Bank Leasing, Tacoma, WA
*Columbia Equipment Finance, Danville, California
Commercial Equipment Lease, Eugene, Oregon 
Concord Financial Services, Long Beach, California
*Court Square, Malvern, Pennsylvania
*Creative Capital Leasing Group, LLC, San Diego, CA
Crossroads Equipment Lease & Finance, Rancho Cucamonga, Ca
Diversified Financial Service, Omaha, NE
* Dolsen Leasing, Bellevue/Yakima, Washington
Equipment Finance Partners, a division of Altec, Birmingham, Alabama 
Evans National Leasing, Inc., Hamburg, NY
*Enterprise Capital Partners dba Enterprise Leasing, Spokane, WA
Enterprise Funding, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Enverto Investment Group, LLC, West Los Angeles, California
*Evergreen Leasing, South Elgin, Illinois
*Excel Financial Leasing, Lubbock Texas
*First Corp.(IFC subsidiary), Morton Grove, Illinois
First Federal Financial Services, Inc., Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin
First Republic Bank, San Francisco, CA
Frontier Capital, Teaneck New Jersey 
*GCR Capital, Safety Harbor, Florida 
GE Capital, Conn (limited)
Global Funding LLC., Clearwater, FL
*Greystone, Burlington, MA
*Heritage Pacific Leasing, Fresno, CA
*Hillcrest Bank Leasing, Overland Park, KS (Parent bank sold)
Huntington Equipment Finance, Vendor Finance Group, Bellevue, Washington
*IFC Credit Corp., Morton Grove, Illinois
Irwin Financial (Irwin Union Bank), Columbus, Indiana 
Irwin Union Bank, F.S.B. (Louisville, Kentucky)
Lakeland Bank, Montville, NJ
LaSalle Systems Leasing
*Latitude Equipment Leasing, Marlton, New Jersey
*Leaf Specialty Finance, Columbia, South Carolina
*LEAF Third Party Funding, Santa Barbara, Ca.
Lease Corporation of America, Troy, Michigan
Lombard, part of Royal Bank of Scotland, worldwide
M&T Credit (Bank)
Manufacturer's Lease Plans, Inc., Phoenix, Arizona
*MarVista Financial, Villa Park, California
*MericapCredit, Lisle, Illinois
*Meridian Healthcare Finance, San Diego, California
Merrill Lynch Financial
Midwest Leasing Group, Livonia, Minnesota
*Mount Pleasant Capital, Wexford, PA
National City, Cleveland, Ohio
*Navigator (Pentech subsidiary) San Diego, California
*Northwest Leasing Company, Clyde Hill, WA
OFC Capital, Roswell, Georgia
Old National Bank, Evansville, Illinois
*Pentech Financial, Campbell, CA
*PFF Bancorp, Inc, Pomona, CA
Pinnacle Business Finance, Fife, Washington
*Pioneer Capital Corporation, Addison, Texas
PredictiFund, a subsidiary of Capital Access Network, Inc
*Podium Financial Group, Inc.,Costa Mesa, CA
Popular Finance, St. Louis, Missouri
Puget Sound Leasing, Seattle, Washington
Radiance-Capital, Tacoma, WA
Rational Technology Solutions, Rolling Meadows, IL
*Reliant National Finance, Jacksonville, Florida
Sandy Springs, Olney, MD
*Securities Equipment Lsg. (SEL, Inc.), Glendora, CA
*Select Equipment Leasing Co., Concord, CA
* Sharpe Financial Network, Phoenix, Arizona
Sovereign Bank, Melville, New York
Specialty Funding, Albuquerque, NM
Sterling National Bank, Montebello, New York
*Studebaker-Worthington Leasing, Corp., Jerico, NY
(part of sale from Main Street Bank to Ascentium Capital)
*Summitt Leasing, Yakima, Washington
Sun Trust Equipment Finance & Leasing, Baltimore, Maryland 
*SunBridge Capital, Mission, Kansas
Suncoast Equipment Funding Corp., Tampa, Florida
TCF Equipment Finance, Minnetonka, Minnesota 
TechLease, Morgan Hill, California
*Tennessee Commerce Bank, Franklin, Tennessee
Textron Financial
*Triad Leasing & Financial, Inc., Boise, Idaho
*TriStar Capital, Santa Ana, California
*Union Capital Partners, Midvale, Utah
US Bank, Manifest Funding, Marshall, Minnesota
(new requirement: large yearly funding) 
US Bank, Middle-Market, Portland, Oregon 
Velocity Financial Group, Rosemont, Illinois
VenCore, Portland, Oregon (former company Len Ludwig)
*Vision Capital, San Diego, California
Vision Financial Group, Inc. (VFG Leasing & Finance), Pittsburg, PA
Wachovia Bank Leasing
*Warren Capital, Novato, California
*Washington Mutual Financial
Western Bank, Devils Lake, ND
*Westover Financial, Inc., Santa Ana, California

(Note: Should a company policy have changed, please contact kitmenkin@leasingnews.org)

Funders looking for new Brokers:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Funders_Only/New_Broker.htm

 

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Historic U.S. Jobs Losses

Charts: In Perspective-Great Lockdown: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/charts-historic-u-s-job-losses-perspective/

Shepard/Labrador Retriever/Pit Bull
Beverly Hills, California   Adopt a Dog

Hansel

Male
3 Years old
Size: 70 lbs.

Hansel is a good ball.  He loves to hop around a yard, throw his toys in the air and sneak into bed for a cuddle

Diety Animal Rescue
148 South Doheny Dr.
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
DeityAnimalRescue@Gmail.com

Please call or message us before coming to visit to ensure we are open!

424•512•9088

Application: https://www.deitydogsandgoods.com/adopt

 

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Three of Six Original Alternate Finance Associations
Are No Longer Active

Coalition for Responsible Business Finance has merged and is now part of Innovative Lending Platform Association.

Commercial Finance Coalition reportedly had 20 members, but site has not been updated since original announcement.

Small Business Finance Association latest press release is January 10, 2019.  No updates.  Group required $950 a month for large ISO/broker; $475 month small ISO/Broker’

Here is the original group listings:http://leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/afa_membership.htm

News Briefs----

Labor experts say it may be time for grocery stores
  to ban customers from coming inside
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/19/business/grocery-stores-coronavirus-pickup-delivery/index.html

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan slams Trump claim states have
   enough coronavirus testing to reopen as ‘absolutely false’
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/19/coronavirus-maryland-gov-says-its-absolutely-false-states-are-ready-to-reopen.html

U.S. sent millions of face masks to China early this year,
   ignoring pandemic warning signs
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/us-sent-millions-of-face-masks-to-china-early-this-year-ignoring-pandemic-warning-signs/2020/04/18/aaccf54a-7ff5-11ea-8013-1b6da0e4a2b7_story.html

Big restaurant chains take $30M in coronavirus loans
    meant for small businesses
https://nypost.com/2020/04/17/potbellys-ruths-chris-snag-coronavirus-loans-meant-for-small-business/

Airlines withholding $10 Billion in Cash
   from customers, lawmakers say
https://nypost.com/2020/04/17/us-airlines-withholding-10-billion-cash-from-ticket-buyers-who-didnt-fly-lawmakers-say/

Car Sales Down 54%, New York City Nears Zero
    Very few dealers cash on their balance sheets to last the year
https://247wallst.com/autos/2020/04/16/car-sales-down-54-new-york-city-nears-zero/

Neiman Marcus to file for bankruptcy after furloughing
   nearly 14,000 employees/ skipping interest payments worth millions
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8234583/Neiman-Marcus-file-BANKRUPTCY-furloughing-14-000-employees.html

Bank of America customers sent $27 billion
    through Zelle in Q1 
https://bankinnovation.net/allposts/biz-lines/payments/bank-of-america-customers-sent-27-billion-through-zelle-in-q1/  

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You May Have Missed---

This free app can help you quickly file for unemployment
https://www.today.com/money/free-app-donotpay-can-help-you-quickly-file-unemployment-t178657

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Sports Briefs---

A ‘last hurrah’ on hold: Dusty Baker waits out coronavirus
    for last chance to manage
https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article242071736.html?

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California Nuts Briefs---

Coronavirus live updates: Bay Area hospitalizations reach April low
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Coronavirus-live-updates-news-bay-area-15192855.php

Here’s the list of California nursing homes
   with COVID-19 among residents and employees
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/health-and-medicine/article242095051.html?

Gavin Newsom taps Trump critic Tom Steyer
   to jumpstart California’s economy
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article242092621.html?ac_cid=DM176601&ac_bid=516641298

Debunking Berkeley's greatest bit of liquor lore
https://www.sfgate.com/sfhistory/article/claremont-hotel-one-mile-dry-zone-berkeley-15206437.php

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“Gimme that Wine”

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

US Wine Losses from COVID-19 Could Reach $5.94 Billion
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataid=229578

One-third of Australia's wineries could go under
   because of coronavirus pandemic, industry warns
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-17/coronavirus-cellar-door-shutdown-risks-australian-wineries-close/12153858

Malbec World Day in its 10th Year, Pays Homage
   to the Star Variety of Argentina on April 17, 2020
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataid=229544

Staying Home: Taking Comfort in a Favorite Red

https://www.winespectator.com/articles/staying-home-taking-comfort-in-a-favorite-red-wine

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

     1534 - French explorer Jacques Cartier set sail from St. Malo to explore the North American coastline during which he discovered Canada and Labrador.
    1657 - Asser Levy of New Amsterdam (later New York City) was admitted as a town citizen. Jews were denied the privilege of standing guard and keeping watch, compulsory for all citizens, and Asser Levy and Jacob Barsimson objected to the discrimination.  After being denied, Levy appealed. He became a prosperous trader, the first Jew to own land in America, and the first to serve on a jury, in 1671, after the colony had been taken over by the English.
    1718 - Birth of David Brainerd, colonial American missionary to the Indians of New England. Following his premature death from tuberculosis at 29, Brainerd's journal (published in 1649 by the Jonathan Edwards) influenced hundreds to become missionaries after him.
    1775 - British troops began the siege of Boston.
    1777 - New York adopted a new constitution as an independent state.
    1789 – The first Presidential inauguration was held in Philadelphia for President George Washington.
    1799 - Napoleon issues a decree calling for establishing Jerusalem for Jews
    1815 - Boston's Handel and Hayden Society, which claims to be the oldest singing group in the United States, was made up of members of nine Boston churches. It excluded women from membership.  However, the chorus of ninety men "permitted" ten women to perform at its first concert 12-25-1815 of Handel's Creation because it was *written* with women's parts and solos. The barring of women was based on the church's rulings that women were not to lead. 
The melodies were converted to male voices and women were only allowed to sing harmony.  Oddly enough, the society hired Miss Sophia Hewitt, the only woman they have ever employed in its history, as organist and accompanist. She also served as organist at the two major churches in Boston and performed in New York and other parts of New England in concerts and benefits. Following her marriage, the receipts for her pay were signed for by her husband since married women at the time had no legal rights to their own money and could not own property.
    1832 - Hot Springs National Park, the first national park in the United States, was established by an act of Congress. It had been a reservation prior to becoming a national park. 
    1836 - Wisconsin Territory is established. Wisconsin, formerly governed as part of the territories of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan, was established as a separate US territory, with Madison, located midway between Milwaukee and the western centers of population, to be founded as the territorial capital. In 1634, French explorer Jean Nicolet landed at Green Bay, becoming the first European to visit the lake-heavy northern region that would later become Wisconsin. In 1763, at the conclusion of the French and Indian Wars, Wisconsin, a major center of the American fur trade, passed into British control. Two decades later, at the end of the American Revolution, the region came under US rule, and was governed as part of the Northwest Territory. However, British fur traders continued to dominate Wisconsin from across the Canadian border, and it was not until the end of the War of 1812 that the region fell firmly under American control. In the first decades of the nineteenth century, settlers began arriving via the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes to exploit Wisconsin's agricultural potential, and in 1832, the Black Hawk War ended Native-American resistance to white settlement. In 1836, after several decades of governance as part of other territories, Wisconsin was made a separate entity. By 1840, population in Wisconsin had risen above 130,000, but the people voted against statehood four times, fearing the higher taxes that would come with a stronger central government.  Finally, in 1848, Wisconsin citizens, envious of the prosperity that federal programs brought to neighboring Midwestern states, voted to approve statehood. On 29 April 1848, Wisconsin entered the Union as the thirtieth state.
    1841 - "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," Edgar Allen Poe's first detective story, was published. The story featured C. Auguste Dupin, the first-ever fictional detective. Poe considered his work an example of ratiocination - the process of logical and methodical reasoning.
    1850 - Birthday of American sculptor of Daniel Chester French at Exeter, NH. One of the most important artists of the 19th and early 20th centuries as a sculptor of public monuments, French is best known for his 1875 “Minute Man” statue at Concord, MA, and his 1922 statue of the seated Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial at Washington, DC
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/apr20.html
    1853 - Harriet Tubman starts Underground Railroad.
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/tubman
http://www.nyhistory.com/harriettubman/life.htm
    1854 - Capt. Creesy sets a world record by sailing from New York to San Francisco in 88 days.
    1861 - Colonel Robert E. Lee resigns from the United States army two days after he was offered command of the Union army and three days after his native state, Virginia, seceded from the Union. Lee opposed secession, but he was a loyal son of Virginia. His official resignation was only one sentence, but he wrote a longer explanation to his friend and mentor, General Winfield Scott, later that day. Lee had fought under Scott during the Mexican War, and he revealed to his former commander the depth of his struggle. Lee interviewed with Scott on April 18, and explained that he would have resigned then "but for the struggle it has cost me to separate myself from a service to which I have devoted the best years of my life and all the ability I possess." Lee expressed gratitude for the kindness shown him by all in the army during his 25-year service, but Lee was most grateful to Scott. "To no one, general, have I been as much indebted as to yourself for uniform kindness and consideration..." He concluded with this poignant sentiment: "Save in the defense of my native State, I never desire again to draw my sword." But draw it he would. Two days later, Lee was appointed commander of Virginia's forces with the rank of major general. He spent the next few months raising troops in Virginia, and in July, he was sent to western Virginia to advise Confederate commanders struggling to maintain control over the mountainous region. Lee did little to build his reputation there as the Confederates experienced a series of setbacks, and he returned to Richmond when the Union gained control of the area. The next year, Lee assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia after General Joseph Johnston was wounded in battle. Lee quickly turned the tables on Union General George B. McClellan, as he would several other commanders of the Army of the Potomac. His brilliance as a battlefield tactician earned him a place among the great military leaders of all time.
    1865 - Safety matches advertised for the first time.
    1871 - Ku Klux Klan Act passed by US Congress. With passage of the Third Force Act, popularly known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, Congress authorized President Ulysses S. Grants to use military force against the Ku Klux Klan. Founded in 1865 by a group of Confederate veterans, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) rapidly grew from a secret social fraternity to a paramilitary force bent on reversing the federal government's progressive Reconstruction Era-activities in the South, especially in regard to the region's African-American population. The name of the Ku Klux Klan was derived from the Greek word kuklos, meaning circle, and clann, a Scottish Gaelic word for the traditional tribal units of Scotland that reflected the Scottish ancestry of many of the KKK's founding members.  Under a platform of philosophized white racial superiority, the group employed violence as a means of pushing back the radical reforms underway in the post-Civil War South. Thriving in counties where the two political parties or races were relatively balanced, the KKK engaged in terrorist raids against African-Americans and white Southern Republicans at night, employing intimidation, destruction of property, assault, and murder to achieve its aims and influence upcoming elections.
    1880 - Sacramento, California had its heaviest 24 hour rainfall when 7.24 inches fell.
    1893 - Harold Lloyd, a comic genius of early American film, was born at Burchard, NE. Lloyd began acting at 20 years of age, and his career took off when he teamed with producer Hal Roach in the comic “Lonesome Luke” shorts (1916-1917). Lloyd then created the “glasses” character: the boy-next-door whose distinguishing feature was his round horn spectacles. This character thrilled audiences in “daredevil” comedy featuring dangerous stunts. (Lloyd never used a double). Lloyd’s hits included “Safety Last” (1923), where he dangled from a building’s clock face, “The Freshman” (1925) and “Speedy” (1928), the biggest box-office star of the 1930s. Lloyd survived with lesser success in the talkie 1930s. He was given an honorary Oscar in 1953 for being a “master comedian and good citizen.” Lloyd died on March 8, 1971 in Hollywood, Ca.
    1908 – Vibraharp/Bank Leader Lionel Hampton birthday. The jazz great was born at Louisville, KY. Hampton started out on piano and rums, but Louis Armstrong urged him to take up the vibraphone in 1930. Hampton went on to make that his signature instrument. He recorded and played with Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter, and other legends, before becoming a bandleader himself. He played almost up until his death on August 31, 2002, at New York, NY.
    1901 - A spring snowstorm dumped very heavy snow over northeastern Ohio. Warren was buried under 35.5 inches in 36 hours and 28 inches fell at Green Hill. Akron established April snowfall records with 15.6 inches in 24 hours and 26.6 inches for the month.
    1912 - After two days of rain, the first game ever is finally played at Fenway Park with a comeback eleven-inning Red Sox win over the New York Highlanders, 7-6.
    1912 – Tiger Stadium in Detroit, originally known as Navin Field, opened to the Tigers 6-5 win over the Cleveland Indians.  Long gone, it was the site of Babe Ruth’s 700th career HR and Roger Maris’ first of the 1961 season.
    1916 - In Chicago, the Cubs play their first game at Weeghman Park beating the Reds in 11 innings, 7-6. The ballpark will be renamed Wrigley Field in 1926. 
    1918 – Baron Manfred von Richthofen, a.k.a. The Red Baron, shot down his 79th and 80th victims, his final victories before his death the following day.
    1920 - Tornadoes in Mississippi and Alabama killed 219 persons.
    1923 - Birthday of Tito Puente, The King of the Mambo—or “El Rey” ---was born Ernesto Antonia Puente, Jr. at Spanish Harlem, New York City, to Puerto Rican parents.  The legendary Puente had a career that spanned more than six decades, starting in 1937. He popularized the timbale, but played many percussion instruments and was also a composer, arranger and bandleader. His album “Dance Mania” (1948) was an international bestseller, and he released more than 100 albums. His song “Oye Corno Va” was covered by Carlos Santana and has become a classic. Puente won five Grammies, was inducted into the Jazz and Hispanic Halls of Fame and received a Smithsonian Lifetime achievement Award. President Jimmy Carter pronounced him “The Goodwill Ambassador of Latin American Music. “ Puente died on May 31, 2000, at New York, NY.
    1931 - On Okeh Records, Louis Armstrong recorded, "When It’s Sleepy Time Down South", which would be his theme song for decades. The song was recorded in Chicago, Illinois. 
    1934 - Child actress Shirley Temple's first major movie, “Stand Up and Cheer”, was released to New York theaters on this date. It was the beginning of the most successful child actor's career in the history of Hollywood.
    1939 - Ted Williams made his major league debut for the Boston Red Sox, getting one double in four at-bats, as the Sox lost to the New York Yankees, 2-0.
    1939 - Billie Holiday records Strange Fruit.
    1939 - New York World's Fair opens
    1939 - Country-pop singer Johnny Tillotson was born in Jacksonville, Florida. Between 1958 and 1965, he had more than 25 records on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart, including "Poetry in Motion," "Without You" and "Talk Back Trembling Lips." 
    1939 - Birthday of Katherine V. Forrest in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.  She is a novelist and editor whose erotic lesbian novel “Curious Wine” has sold more copies than any lesbian-centered novel since “Well of Loneliness”. She crossed over to mainstream novels using some lesbian characters, especially a mystery series that features a Los Angeles detective. The detective series is strong on technical police work.
    1945 - Soviet troops enter Berlin.
    1945 - US 7th Army and Allied forces capture Nuremberg and Stuttgart in Germany.
    1945 - Allied bombers cut off German retreat in Italy as Hitler celebrates his birthday. Allied bombers in Italy begin Operation Corncob, a three-day attack on the bridges over the rivers Adige and Brenta to cut off German lines of retreat on the peninsula.
Meanwhile, Adolf Hitler, who has only 10 more days to live, celebrates his 56th birthday as a Gestapo reign of terror results in the hanging of 20 Russian prisoners of war and 20 Jewish children.  Of these, at least nine are under the age of 12. All of the victims had been taken from Auschwitz to Neuengamme, the place of execution, for the purpose of medical experimentation.
    1945 - American forces liberated Buchenwald. 350 Americans were imprisoned at Berga, a sub-camp of Buchenwald, following their Dec, 1944, capture at the Battle of the Bulge. Charles Guggenheim's (d.2002) last documentary film was title "Berga."
    1945 - HAYASHI, JOE, Medal of Honor
Private Joe Hayashi distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 20 and 22 April 1945, near Tendola, Italy. On 20 April 1945, ordered to attack a strongly defended hill that commanded all approaches to the village of Tendola, Private Hayashi skillfully led his men to a point within 75 yards of enemy positions before they were detected and fired upon. After dragging his wounded comrades to safety, he returned alone and exposed himself to small arms fire in order to direct and adjust mortar fire against hostile emplacements. Boldly attacking the hill with the remaining men of his squad, he attained his objective and discovered that the mortars had neutralized three machine guns, killed 27 men, and wounded many others. On 22 April 1945, attacking the village of Tendola, Private Hayashi maneuvered his squad up a steep, terraced hill to within 100 yards of the enemy. Crawling under intense fire to a hostile machine gun position, he threw a grenade, killing one enemy soldier and forcing the other members of the gun crew to surrender. Seeing four enemy machine guns delivering deadly fire upon other elements of his platoon, he threw another grenade, destroying a machine gun nest. He then crawled to the right flank of another machine gun position where he killed four enemy soldiers and forced the others to flee. Attempting to pursue the enemy, he was mortally wounded by a burst of machine pistol fire. The dauntless courage and exemplary leadership of Private Hayashi enabled his company to attain its objective. Private Hayashi’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army. 
    1948 - Labor leader Walter Reuther is shot and seriously wounded by would-be assassins. Reuther was previously victim of an attempted abduction in April 1938. His brother Victor was shot & nearly at his home by police in 1949. In 1949 the UAW’s headquarters in Detroit was bombed .He later died in a plane crash in 1970 (of the media reports apparently only one paper addressed the possibility that he may have been murdered; In October 1968, both Walter and his brother Victor were almost killed in a small private plane near Dulles Airport).
http://www.is.wayne.edu/mnissani/media/reuther.htm
    1949 - Willie Shoemaker won his first race as a jockey aboard Shafter V at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, CA -- not far from San Francisco.
    1950 - Top Hits
“If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d’ve Baked a Cake” - Eileen Barton
“Music, Music, Music” - Teresa Brewer
“Peter Cottontail” - Gene Autry
“Long Gone Lonesome Blues” - Hank Williams
    1951 - Luther Vandross is born in New York City. His biggest pop hit is “Power of Love/Love Power,'' which hits No. 4 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1991. The album “Power of Love'' reaches No. 1 on both Billboard's pop and R&B album charts.
    1952 - The tankers Esso Suez and Esso Greensboro crashed in a thick fog off the coast of Morgan City, LA. Only five of the Greensboro's crew survived after the ship bursts into flame.
    1957 - Westinghouse first to use FORTRAN computer language. The Westinghouse-Bettis nuclear power plant became the first commercial users of FORTRAN, soon to be the dominant computer language for scientific applications. FORTRAN, or Formula Translator, was the first widely used high-level computer language. Developed by IBM researcher John Backus, FORTRAN greatly simplified programming by translating simple English instructions into machine language, saving the programmer hundreds of steps.
    1957 - Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up" starts an eight week stay at the top of the US record charts. Songwriter Otis Blackwell would later say that he wrote the tune at the suggestion of an associate who was shaking a bottle of Pepsi. The song went on to be the biggest single of 1957, selling over 2 million copies.
    1958  - Top Hits
“He’s Got the Whole World (In His Hands)” - Laurie London
“Book of Love” - The Monotones
“Don’t You Just Know It” - Huey (Piano) Smith & The Clowns
“Oh Lonesome Me” - Don Gibson
    1959 - CBS-TV's "Desilu Playhouse" presented a two-part show titled, "The Untouchables" starring Robert Stack. When the program became a weekly show in 1959, Stack became a star. It ran until 1963 and beyond in re-runs.  Based on the memoir of the same name by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, it fictionalized Ness' experiences as a Prohibition agent, fighting crime in Chicago in the 1930s with the help of a special team of agents handpicked for their courage, moral character and incorruptibility, nicknamed the Untouchables. The book was later made into a film in 1987 by Brian DePalma with a script by David Mamet, and a second less successful TV series in 1993.  A powerful, hard-hitting crime drama, and a landmark police series, “The Untouchables” won series star Robert Stack an Emmy for Best Actor in 1960.
    1959 - Goldband Records releases "Puppy Love" by Dolly Parton, a song that was recorded two years earlier when she was just eleven years old. The record will flop and Dolly would have to wait until 1967 to make her first Billboard chart appearance.
    1960 - Elvis Presley's return to Hollywood to film "G.I. Blues" is greeted by tremendous fanfare. Of course, it's the top story on the nightly news and even makes page one of the local newspapers.
    1961 - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved FM stereo broadcasting, but it would be another five or six years before FM stations went ‘underground’ to attract listeners tired of poor audio quality on AM stations. Until then, FM stations broadcast in monaural sound. 
    1961 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit:  “Runaway,'' Del Shannon. Shannon is the first artist to take a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney onto the U.S. pop charts. His version of “From Me to You'' hits the Hot 100 on June 29, 1963, before the release of the Beatles debut American single, “I Want to Hold Your Hand.''
    1962 - The New Orleans Citizens Committee gives free one-way ride to blacks to move North.
    1963 - The movie soundtrack album of “West Side Story” hit Number 1 on the pop LP chart and stayed there for 2 weeks:  music by Leonard Bernstein, libretto/lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and conception and choreography by Jerome Robbins.  It was inspired by Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”.
    1963 - Ricky (he wasn’t Rick yet) Nelson married Kris Harmon, daughter of Tom Harmon, the 1940 Heisman Trophy Winner from the University of Michigan. Six months later, on October 25th, Tracy Kristine Nelson was born at St. John's Hospital near Santa Monica.
    1964 - The Elvis Presley movie “Viva Las Vegas'' premieres.
    1966 - Top Hits
“The Ballad of the Green Berets” - SSgt Barry Sadler
“(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration” - The Righteous Brothers
“Daydream” - The Lovin’ Spoonful
“I Want to Go with You” - Eddy Arnold
    1968 - Pierre Elliott Trudeau sworn-in as Canada's PM
    1968 - The Rolling Stones record "Jumpin' Jack Flash", which will reach #1 in the UK and #3 in the US by next July.
    1969 - Ken Harrelson almost quit Major League baseball when he found out he was being traded from the Boston Red Sox, an American League contender, to the Cleveland Indians, a perennial American League non-contender. He stayed for money and played for Cleveland after all. 
    1969 - On the site of a parking lot owned by the University of California, Berkeley a diverse group of people came together, each freely contributing their skills and resources to create People’s Park. This is to be the site of a student revolution.
    1971 - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the use of busing to achieve racial desegregation in schools.
    1971 - Barbra Streisand records "We've Only Just Begun"
    1974 - Top Hits
“TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” - MFSB featuring The Three Degrees
“Best Thing that Ever Happened to Me” - Gladys Knight & The Pips
“The Loco-Motion” - Grand Funk
“A Very Special Love Song” - Charlie Rich
    1977 - The theme song from the TV show “Soul Train” called TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia) topped the Billboard Hot 100. 
    1979 - It was reported Johnny Carson was leaving "The Tonight Show". Newspapers in the United States offered ideas why the comedian and late-night host was unhappy after 17 years on the show. More money, more vacation time and a four-day week (he got Mondays off) was just what ‘The Great Carsoni’ needed to stay at NBC for another 12 years.
    1980 - 84 year old George Burns, who starred in the movie “Oh God” with John Denver, reaches the Billboard Hot 100 with "I Wish I Was 18 Again".
    1982 - Top Hits
“I Love Rock ’N’ Roll” - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
“We Got the Beat” - Go-Go’s
“Chariots of Fire” - Titles - Vangelis
“The Clown” - Conway Twitty
    1982 - With a 4-2 win over the Reds, the Braves record their 12th consecutive victory to establish a major-league record for the most victories from the beginning of the season. The previous mark had been set a year earlier by the Oakland A's.  The Braves, under Manager Joe Torre, won the NL West Division title.
    1983 - President Ronald Reagan signs a $165 billion bail-out for Social Security
    1984 - A temperature of 106 degrees in Del Rio, Texas set a new record high for April.
    1986 - Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls scored a record 63 points in the NBA Playoffs against the Boston Celtics. This NBA Playoffs record included two overtime periods. 
    1986 - Pianist Vladimir Horowitz gave his first concert in the Soviet Union for 61 years. He had emigrated in 1925. 
    1987 - "Starlight Express", the roller-skating musical, posted the largest week’s gross in the history of Broadway, earning $606,081 at the box office. The revival of "The King and I" starring Yul Brynner was the old record holder in 1985.
    1987 - In Columbus, OH, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was organized, making it the largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S. It represented the merger of three smaller Lutheran bodies, and was officially born on Jan 1, 1988.
    1987 - Fifty-two cities in the central and eastern U.S. reported new record high temperatures for the date. The high of 92 degrees at Memphis, TN was a record for April, and the high of 94 at Little Rock, AR equaled their April record.
    1988 - Helen Thayer, New Zealand-born American reaches the North Pole on foot and on skis with no mechanical assists. Using a rope attached to her belt, she pulled a sled which held her tent and all her food (and her dog’s food). Her sole companion was a husky who would warn her when polar bears were approaching. (The big bears are absolutely silent when they attack.) Temperatures in storms dropped to minus 100 degrees. The 345-mile, 27-day journey marked the first time a woman had reached the North Pole alone. Thayer, a mountain climber and U.S. Luge Champion in 1975, was 50 years old at the time. In 1990 she would serve as the leader of the first International U.S./Soviet Arctic Women's expedition.
The website at
http://www.goals.com/thayer/expfrm.htm
that explains the arctic trip in detail.
    1988 - Claudell Washington hits the 10,000th home run in Yankee history. 
    1988 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit:  “Where Do Broken Hearts Go,'' Whitney Houston.
    1989 - Hot weather spread from the southwestern U.S. into the Great Plains Region. Twenty-three cities reported new record high temperatures for the date. The afternoon high of 104 degrees at Tucson, AZ was an April record, and highs of 87 at Provo, UT, 90 at Pueblo, CO, and 85 at Salt Lake City, UT, equaled April records.
    1990 - Top Hits
“I’ll Be Your Everything” - Tommy Page
“Don’t Wanna Fall in Love” - Jane Child
“Nothing Compares 2 U” - Sinead O’Connor
“Five Minutes” - Lorrie Morgan
    1990 - A fast moving Pacific storm produced heavy snow in the central mountains and the Upper Arkansas Valley of Colorado, with a foot of snow reported at Leadville. Thunderstorms in the south central U.S. produced wind gusts to 76 mph at Tulsa, OK, and heavy rain which caused flooding of Cat Claw Creek in the Abilene, TX area. Lightning struck the building housing a fish farm in Scott, AR killing 10,000 pounds of fish. Many of the fish died from the heat of the fire.
    1991 - Wendy and Carnie Wilson, daughters of The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, along with Chynna Phillips, daughter of The Mamas and Papas' John Phillips, combined their talents to hit #1 on the Billboard singles chart for the third time with "You're In Love". 
    1992 - 100th episode of "Murphy Brown" airs
    1996 - In a case that sparked an uproar reminiscent of the Rodney King case in Los Angeles, two Riverside County, Calif., sheriff's deputies were videotaped repeatedly clubbing a Mexican man and woman after a 70-mile highway chase involving a pickup truck suspected of sneaking across the border.
    1997 - Mark McGwire becomes the fourth major leaguer to hit a home run over the left field roof at Tiger Stadium. The A's first baseman joins Harmon Killebrew (1962), Frank Howard (1968), and Cecil Fielder (1990) as the only players to accomplish the feat.
    1998 - Digital TV and Internet over copper wires. US West announced it would deliver digital TV programming and high-speed Internet access using traditional copper telephone wires. The company said it would first offer the service, called VDSL (Variable Digital Subscriber Lines), in Phoenix, providing some 120 television channels, forty digital music channels, Internet access, and telephone services through television sets.
    1999 - At Columbine High School, Littleton, CO, students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 other students, a teacher and then themselves. 24 were seriously wounded.
    1999 - Billy Joel performs what he says is his last public pop music concert at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. He plans on devoting his efforts to classical music.
    2006 - Appearing as a pinch hitter at PETCO Park, Julio Franco becomes the oldest major leaguer to hit a home run. The 47-year, 240 days old’s eighth inning blast, which put the Mets ahead in their 7-2 victory over the Padres, surpasses Jack Quinn who accomplish the feat as a pitcher for the Philadelphia A’s at the age of 46 years, 357 days.
    2006 - As the Nationals beat the Phillies, 10-4, Frank Robinson becomes the 53rd manager to win 1000 big league games. The first black skipper in Major League history, who has also been the dugout leader for the Indians, Giants, Orioles, and Expos, has compiled a 1,000-1,095 in 16 seasons.
    2006 - Up to five feet of snow falls in the Dakotas. I-94 and other highways were closed, power was out for thousands and caused at least four deaths.
    2008 – Danica Patrick became the first female driver to win an Indy car race, winning the Japan 300.
    2010 – In the Gulf of Mexico, BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded, killing eleven workers and beginning an oil spill that would last six months. It is the largest oil spill in American waters.  Damage estimates approached $200 billion.

Stanley Cup Champions
    1958 - Montréal Canadiens