Archive August 9, 2001
Lindsey McLorg says, “Goodbye”

“Dear Kit:

“Today will be my last day at Mellon US Leasing. I would appreciate your redirecting your newsletter to my home e-address (as indicated in the cc above) until I surface elsewhere. The absorption of Mellon US Leasing into GE Capital process is at the halfway mark, with today being 60 days post closing date of the sale by Mellon. The turn out the lights day for the San Francisco operations is October 5, 2001.

“I have been most appreciative of my daily Menkit - dose and hope that you can continue indefinitely what I imagine is a mostly rewarding but perhaps sometimes thankless endeavor. You are performing a real service to the leasing industry for which I thank you.

“As I leave US Leasing behind and look forward to a bit of a sabbatical while I figure out what comes next, it is worthwhile to note in passing that if US Leasing had made it to 2002, this Granddaddy of the leasing industry would have hit its Golden anniversary next year. Instead it must remain forever a 49er, which in the final analysis isn't the worst thing that could happen to a venerable San Francisco based institution now laid to rest!

“Again, thank you for your continuing service and happy trails to you.

Best regards,
Lindsey McLorg
mclorg@home.com

(I asked Lindsey if I could publish her e-mail and she said yes. Here is another good person "on the street" and available. editor))

Today she is:
* VP, Equipment Finance, Secondary Markets at Bank of the West
* Portfolio Collections at Bank of the West

http://www.linkedin.com/in/lindseymclorg

Classified Ads---Controller

Chicago, IL experienced in lease accounting, operations, management, and Sarbanes-Oxley. Seeking position with equipment lessor. Would consider contract assignments or relocating. Email: leasecontroller@comcast.net

Southeastern, MI Controller & Management experience w/ equip lessors &broker. MBA, CPA w/ extensive accounting, management, securitization experience with public and private companies. Willing to relocate. Email: Leasebusiness@aol.com

Acton, MA Strong experience in lease accounting, operations, & systems.   Implemented lease plus, Great Plains, networks. Excellent financial reporting and analysis skills. Looking for new opportunity. LinkedIn alexanderzlenz@gmail.com| Resume

Southern CA 20 years exp. as hands-on leasing CFO, managing accounting, treasury, FP&A, including securitizations, Great Plains/FRx, budgets, risk management.  MBA.  Also available as interim Controller/CFO, consultant. Email: leasecfo@gmail.com

 

For a full listing of all “job wanted” ads, please go to:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted.htm

Other e-Mail Posting Sites:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Posting_sites.htm

Google Finds Dwight Galloway's New Company

(This is Google's cache of http://firstrillion.com/. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on Aug 2, 2010 11:26:40 GMT. The current page could have changed in the meantime.)

New Name. Same Professional Team                                                   
 
First Trillion Funding in Columbia, South Carolina, has the team of credit, funding, and service professionals you  have known since 1990. Headed by one of the most respected men in the industry, we are gearing up with the resources to serve equipment leasing and finance brokers with the professional service they have come to expect from us..
 
Getting Ready to Serve You!
 
At present, our web site is still under construction. We are preparing our entire spectrum of programs geared toward your success. Check this site later, please.  We are looking forward to working with you. In the meantime, you can contact us at our e-mail address: info@firstrillion.com.

In brief, you should know the following about us: First Trillion Funding is managed and populated by a group of professionals known throughout the industry for its dedication to the broker community. Our parent company, a major international investment group, has given us a mandate to create a large volume of clean broker-driven business.
 
Contact Info
 
First Trillion Funding, LLC
Columbia, South Carolina
info@firstrillion.com

LEAF for Sale?

Resource America to explore boosting share price

Resource America (NASDAQ-REXI), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, announced it has formed a committee of independent directors to explore ways to boost its stock price, which has been stuck under $10 per share since the fall of 2008 after reaching $27.95 in February 2007.

Among its possibilities are selling business units, such as LEAF Financial, as well as going private or selling the entire company, it was stated. Advisers announced were law firm Stevens & Lee and FBR Capital Markets.

One of the units, reportedly in escrow, is LEAF Specialty, to First Trillion Funding, LLC, out of Phoenix, Arizona, a start-up. Dwight Galloway denies having any "involvement," stating he is aware his former "team" is working on a company, and in earlier interviews, acknowledged he had the "blessings" of LEAF Financial to find a buyer.

Leasing News was told by four well-informed and reliable sources the original papers were signed on July 28th regarding 1,050 leases worth about 60 million dollars. Several actions were put in place, which appears this is in escrow, and a hang up may be very well from LEAF Financial.

There were three facilities set up with Morgan Stanley. Two were paid off (Morgan Stanley/RBS – A & B - $97M) by part of the $210M securitization (REIT Line), along with the $100M PNC warehouse line back in late May, 2010. The other $137.5M loan with Morgan appears still outstanding and not paid or extended. It came due 6/2010.

No one at Resource America or LEAF Financial is talking to Leasing News on how this would be handled. It could be part of the escrow or being refinanced partly elsewhere. It may be an extension or possibly LEAF is in breach/default with Morgan and Wells Fargo right now.

Please see items in red in Leaf 10K "Note 6 Bank Debt:"
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/LeafNoteBankDebt.pdf

Resource America blames it on Leasing
by Christopher Menkin
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2010/8_06.htm#ra_blames

LEAF: 158 Laid Off/Specialty Finance goes dark
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2010/8_02.htm#leaf_dark

Top Stories---August 2--August 6

Here are the top ten stories opened by readers:

(1) LEAF: 158 Laid Off/Specialty Finance goes dark
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2010/8_02.htm#leaf_dark

(2) Clarification: Oliver-Allen Group Closing Larkspur, CA
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2010/8_04.htm#clarification_group

(3) Archives August 6, 2001
Jeff Allard says, “Goodbye”
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2010/8_06.htm#archives_allard

(4) Commercial Equipment Leasing, Eugene, Oregon
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2010/8_04.htm#cel

(Tie) (5) Resource America blames it on Leasing
by Christopher Menkin
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2010/8_06.htm#ra_blames

(Tie) (5) Lease Return Change at CIT
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2010/8_04.htm#cit_change

(6) Ex-Con Sheldon Player still a gambler
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2010/8_02.htm#player_gambler

(7) $37 million plus claims Against Allied Health
by Christopher Menkin
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2010/8_04.htm#allied_claims

(8) Cartoon---Inside LEAF Financial
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2010/8_06.htm#cartoon

(Tie)(9) Archive: August 2, 2001-$330 million securities fraud
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2010/8_02.htm#archives_fraud

(Tie) (9) Maxim Commercial Capital joins “Funder List”
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2010/8_04.htm#maxim_funder

(10) Bank Beat---Commercial Equipment Lease, Eugene, Oregon
108 Bank Failures, 20th in FL & 11th in GA
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2010/8_02.htm#bank_beat

 

Leasing Industry Help Wanted

Looking for experienced vendor reps. across the country. A book of business is a plus... Our value proposition is unmatched in the industry. contact: mscritchfield@homecoastcapital.com www.homecoastcapital.com

Sales Account Executives: Jacksonville, FL/Philadelphia, PA. Small ticket funder with broad funding and exceptional vendor service capabilities. E-mail resume to: garyshivers@navitaslease.com Navitas Lease Finance Corp is an innovator in the Small Ticket Leasing Industry. We offer solutions to small-to-medium-sized businesses looking to acquire and finance equipment.

Territory Managers Originate FMV leases for IT/Communication equipment. 10+ years direct origination required. For more info, click here tipcapital.com

 

Please see our Job Wanted section for possible new employees.

Leasing 102
by Mr. Terry Winders, CLP

Changes in Tax Consequences

When the new accounting classification rules are presented in the very near future, it will be important to realize that the federal income tax requirements will not change! Therefore, the differences between the accounting approach to leasing and the income tax approach will get larger.

When paying the income tax, the Lessor’s income is the total rent received that year and not just the markup over equipment cost. If a broker retains the ownership and sells off the payment stream on a non-recourse basis then the discounted rent from the funding source is immediate income for income tax. In leases that have bargain purchase options, the Lessor reports only interest, or the margin, as income for income tax.

The change coming will undoubtedly put the accounting classification of placing most leases on the balance sheet and creating a net present value of the rent stream to depreciate will differ in term and amount as the income tax requirements follow the MACRS depreciation tables.

Many accountants followed a thought that capital leases where just fancy loans and operating leases where basically tax transactions. While this was not true, it did follow some type of logic. But if the proposed reclassification accounting rules are adopted: most leases will be classified as capital leases and accountants will have to learn the real differences between tax leasing and accounting. So let’s review current income tax requirements for a lessor and lessee engaged in a transaction qualified as a true lease:

To begin with the congress states “Tax rules” generally are not written in the Internal Revenue Code. Instead, they have evolved over the years through a series of court cases and revenue rulings and revenue procedures issues by the Internal Revenue Service. Essentially, summing it up to one sentence:

The law is that the economic substance of a transaction, not its form, determines who is the owner of property for tax purposes.

In this definition, the substance arrives at it being simply a financing arrangement. It then is treated is this manner for tax purposes, regardless of how the parties want to characterize it.

In following the “Underlying Principles” section, here are decisive requirements to follow:

• The Lessee generally cannot hold title or have a significant equity interest in the property

• The fact that the Lessor has title does not guarantee that the Lessor is the owner for federal income tax purposes.

• The courts do not disregard the form of a transaction simply because tax considerations are a significant motive so long as the transaction also has a bona fide business purpose and the Lessor retains sufficient burdens and benefits of ownership.

• The property must be used for a business or other income producing purpose.

• The Lessor has to have a reasonable expectation that he will derive a profit from the transaction independent of tax benefits.

• The Lessee may not have a option to acquire the property at the end of the lease for a price that either is “nominal” in relation to the value of the property at the time when the option can be exercised (as determined at the time the parties entered into the agreement or which is relatively small when compared with the total payments required to be made.

Where the residual value of the property to the Lessor is “nominal,” the Lessor has been viewed as having transferred full ownership of the property for the rental fee. Where the purchase option is more than “nominal”, but relatively small in comparison with fair market value, the Lessor may still be viewed as having transferred full ownership if the likelihood that the lessee will exercise the bargain purchase option is great.

Perhaps as important, if the Lessor can force the lessee to purchase the property at the end of the lease (a PUT—-Purchase Upon Terms), the transaction might also be denied lease treatment if the PUT eliminates the risk borne by owners of property that there may be no market for the property at the end of the lease.

The most important fact about these rules will be the burden it places on the Lessor for proof. The IRS requires that the tax payer prove that its intent was to create a lease. Without proof--- the benefits are denied.

In addition the tax court cases have added some additional issues such as:

• The maximum term of the lease cannot exceed 80% of the useful life of the equipment.

• The transaction is not a lease if the rentals plus the purchase option approximate the same amount of funds required to acquire title on a conditional sales contract.

• Special purpose or limited use property that only has useful value to the lessee and has no further value upon lease termination cannot be considered a lease for the Lessor.

Do not fail to remember that the tax rules govern both income and expense. A true lease requires the lessor to report all rent income as a taxable event and has the right to deduct MACRS depreciation and interest expense. The lessee has the right to deduct all rent payments as rent expense. If a true lease exists there is no getting away with calling it something else regardless of the accounting approach used.

When the proposed accounting rules are published, this column will compare a tax lease with its accounting classification to compare the differences.

Mr. Terry Winders, CLP, has been a teacher, consultant, expert witness for the leasing industry for thirty years and can be reached at leaseconsulting@msn.com or 502-327-8666.

He invites your questions and queries.

Previous #102 Columns:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Leasing_102/Index.htm

(This ad is a “trade” for the writing of this column. Opinions
contained in the column are those of Mr. Terry Winders, CLP)

Bank Beat---Only 1 Failure, but next week?

The two branches of Ravenswood Bank, Chicago, Illinois, were closed with Northbrook Bank and Trust Company, Northbrook, Illinois, to assume all of the deposits. This was the 109th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the thirteenth in Illinois. There first office opened on West Lawrence Avenue in Chicago, 1996 and the second on East Northwest Highway, Mount Prospect, 2008.

Bank equity had dropped from $17.1 million March 31, 2009 to $5.47 million March 31, 2010 with a sharp increase in non-current loans from $18.1 million to $81.8 million with a $2.2 million loss March 31, 2010 following a $1.2 million write-off of construction and land development loans, $187,000 in nonfarm nonresidential property plus $168,000 in loans, commercial, industrial, other. Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio 2.52%

The FDIC and Northbrook Bank and Trust Company entered into a loss-share transaction on $161.3 million of Ravenswood Bank's assets.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $68.1 million.
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2010/pr10181.htm

Business News Online (http://business.techwoo.com/) predicts more bank failures.

"The four red dots are the number of banks on the official problem bank list as announced in the FDIC quarterly banking profile for Q2 2009 through Q1 2010. The dots are lagged one month because of the delay in announcing formal actions. The FDIC Q2 2010 Quarterly Banking Profile will be released in a two weeks.

"The unofficial count is close, but is slightly lower than the official count – probably mostly due to timing issues – so I expect the FDIC to list around 840 to 870 institutions at the end of Q2. "

http://business.techwoo.com/economics/2010/08/07/unofficial-problem-bank-list-increases-to-811-institutions/

List of Bank Failures:
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/banklist.html

Bank Beat:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Bank_Beat.htm

((click on ad to learn more))
(Leasing News provides this ad “gratis” as a means
to help support the growth of Lease Police)

Ten Worst Places to Live

1. El Centro, California

2. Cleveland, Ohio

3. Detroit, Michigan

4. Las Vegas, Nevada

5. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

6. Los Angeles, California

7. Phoenix, Arizona

8. Newark, New Jersey

9. Miami, Florida

10. Memphis, Tennessee

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/08/05/10-worst-places-to-live/

CLP Spotlight: Mike Arness, CLP, ClearView Financial

From the CLP Foundation August Newsletter

Deb and Mike Arness, ClearView Financial

How did you get your start in the leasing business?
In the mid 1980's I owned a computer company. We actually built the computers and custom wrote programs for point of sale systems. The systems ranged from $15K to $100K which was a lot of money in the mid '80's. Most banks were very computer illiterate in those days, so my clients who really wanted the computer systems were having a hard time finding funding. Since the banks were not funding my deals I started looking for an alternate funding source. That's how I discovered the leasing industry. I hooked up with a leasing company and they started funding my deals.

Five years later I sold the computer company, rented a house on the beach in Washington State and thought I would relax and grow a beard. On my way to the ocean shores I stopped by the offices of my leasing partner to notify them I had sold the business and the owner offered me a job selling financing.

After five years of selling expensive computer systems, working 7 days a week, 12 hours per day, I thought that selling money would be the easiest job I ever had. Yes, I was humbled very quickly. I stayed with this company for nine years, getting more and more into the management end as years passed by.

In '98 the owner I worked for sold out to First Sierra Financial, a publicly traded company based in Houston, Texas founded by Thomas J. Depping, where it later became Sierra Cities. I worked there for two years, so I could complete my two year contract.

I found out that I wasn't much of a big corporate guy and wasn't happy with the direction the company was headed so I resigned and founded ClearView Financial, Incorporated in February of 2000.

I stared ClearView on the spur of the moment as I had a chance to leave First Sierra. I took my first application on my kitchen table. Within 30 days I had my first office and my first employee, who is still with me.

At our peak we had twenty employees and four offices. The recent economic storm reduced our staff to ten so we closed one office and consolidated two others. We now have headquarters in Ephrata, Washington, a branch office in Wenatchee, Washington and two sales offices, one in Washington and one in Texas.

What do you enjoy most about your work?
I am very much a people person so this industry suits me well. I enjoy the interactions with my staff as well as the relationships I have with my lenders. We are fortunate to have great customers and vendors to work with also. After 20 years on this side of the desk I have met many quality people from many different companies like mine.

All in all, we are a great bunch of people to be with. For the first 18 years there was great satisfaction in providing the funding for my client's and vendor's growth. You really felt like you accomplished something at the end of the day.

Lately I come to work wondering what world did I just wake up in? This shakedown will really separate the hobby companies from the lifers and yes I am a lifer. Things will get better.

What are my biggest challenges?
The biggest challenge we have as owners these days is finding opportunity to place our deals. Finding funding that will allow my sales and support staff to stay employed and finding funding to support our vendors and customers is definitely a full time job right now. Keeping morale up is also tough these days.

My wife Deb and I just celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary. We were high school sweet hearts and married quite young. We have two kids and two grandsons.

I choose to live in Central Washington in a small town. Every time I am in Seattle driving through some of the worse traffic in America, I wonder why anyone would live there if they had any choice. As a result, most of my activities are outdoors.

Deb and I own 3-1/2 acres and a cabin in the Cascade Mountains about an hour and a half from our home. We spend most of our free time up there. I enjoy bird hunting with my yellow lab "Sage", fishing, snowmobiling, dirt biking, kayaking, canoeing, hiking, skiing and golfing, just to name a few.

I am a kid at heart who refuses to grow up.

CLP Foundation August Newsletter:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Banner/Banner_post.htm

Great Falls, Montana--Adopt-a-Dog

Zore
Yellow Labrador Retriever
Large Adult Male Dog Pet ID: 101303

Zore was a turned in stray from 2800 blk 9th Ave N. He becomes available July 28.

Zore is spayed/neutered.

Great Falls Animal Shelter
1010 25th Ave NE
Great Falls, MT 59405
406-454-2276
gfanimalshelter@hotmail.com

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/MT74.html

Adopt-a-Pet by Leasing Co. State/City

http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Adopt_Pet.htm

Adopt a Pet
http://www.adoptapet.com/

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

Adopt a Pet
http://www.adoptapet.com/

News Briefs ---

 

Actress Jodie Fisher at center of HP harassment claim
http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_15712227

You May have Missed---

Airports handled fewer passengers worldwide in 2009
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2010-08-09-airportcheckin09_ST_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

 

Sports Briefs----

Don't be surprised if Cowboys and Bengals meet again -- in February
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/football/
cowboys/stories/080910dnspocowlishaw.2a45620.html

Somber Tiger Woods shoots worst 72-hole score of career at Bridgestone Invitational
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2010/08/08/2010-08-08_somber_tiger_woods_shoots_worst_72hole_score_of_career_at_bridgestone_invitation.html

 

 

California Nuts Briefs---

Candidates Tackle Jobs in California
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/08/MNEI1ELTVJ.DTL

“Gimme that Wine”

Ten Most Overrated Wines
http://wblakegray.blogspot.com/2010/08/10-most-overrated-wines.html

V. Sattui Winery follows a populist path
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/06/FD801EK4J4.DTL&type=wine

Randall Grahm: radical new project
http://www.decanter.com/news/news.php?id=300707

Italy Remains Number One Imported Wine Producing Nation
http://www.winemag.com/Wine-Enthusiast-Magazine/August-2010/Italy-Remains-Number-One-Imported-Wine-Producing-Nation/

Free Mobile Wine Program
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2010/2_26.htm#mobile

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

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

Winery Atlas
http://www.carterhouse.com/atlas/\

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

     1607-History records the first “ Thanksgiving Worship Service” at Phippsburg, Maine, by colonists on “ The Gift of God” and the “Mary and Jahn,” who landed at “ St. Georges Illand” under the leadership of George Popham. Services were held by the Reverend Richard Seymour, “ gyvinge God thanks for our happing metinge & saffe arval into the country.”
    1673- The Surrender of New York was demanded by a Dutch force of 23 ships and 1600 men anchored near Sandy Hook. They held possession of the colony until February 9, 1674, when the English regained control.
    1814-General Andrew Jackson signed the Treaty of Fort Jackson, ending the Creek War. The US received 23 million acres. This vast territory encompassed more than half of present-day Alabama and part of southern Georgia.
    1854 ---Henry David Thoreau publishes "Walden", an American classic and is his most famous work. There is controversy regarding his “lifestyle: about living in “nature, “ but there is no debate he wrote a series of 18 essays, alleged on his two years spent close to nature. The book stresses simplicity and holds that happiness is not be had by pursuit of wealth. Descriptions of plants, bird, and animals are interspersed with reflections on life
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/aug09.html
    1842-Before the UC declared its independence, the annexation of Canada appeared to be one of the goals of the colonials at the time. The Webster-Ashburton Treaty signed this day was to end this “conflict.” The treaty delimiting the eastern section of the Canadian-American border was negotiated by the US Secretary of State, Daniel Webster, and Alexander Barin, president of the British Board of Trade. The treaty established the boundaries between the St. Croix and Connecticut rivers, between Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods, and between Lakes Huron and Superior. The treaty was signed at Washington, DC.
    1862- in the Battle of Cedar Mountain, VA., near the Rappahannock R. northwest of Richmond, Confederate troops under Gen. Stonewall Jackson, planning a move northward in advance of Gen. Lee's larger forces, defeated two full brigades of Union forces led by Gen. John Pope and Gen. N.P. Banks. Badly outnumbered, the Union Army suffered 2381 killed or wounded, the Confederates, 1276. Jackson was to continue his victories, seizing the Union arsenal at Harpers Ferry on September 15, and throughout the rest of the year, the Union took many loses, including the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13 where 12,653 Union soldiers were killed or wounded to the Confederate casualties of 5300.
http://www2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/battles/va022.htm
http://home.adelphia.net/~73rdovi/cedarmountain.html
http://www.aphillcsa.com/index/print/CM.html
http://www.americancivilwar.com/cwstats.html
    1878 - The second most deadly tornado in New England history struck Wallingford CT killing 34 persons, injuring 100 others, and completely destroying thirty homes. The tornado started as a waterspout over a dam on the Quinnipiac River. It was 400 to 600 feet wide, and had a short path length of two miles.
    1882- The long-simmering tension between the two Appalachian families who lived by Tug Fork on the Kentucky-West Virginia border erupted into full-scale violence on Election Day 1882. Brothers Tolbert, Pharmer and Randolph McCoy knifed and shot Ellison Hatfield. The Hatfield family captured the three McCoys. When Ellison Hatfield died on August 9 th , the Hatfields executed the brothers. The feud continued withmuch loss of life. In 1888, when Kentucky authorities sought to detain feud murder suspects and Ewst Virginia authorities complained, the dispute went all the way to the US Supreme Court, who decided in Kentucky's favor. The feud sputtered out by the end of the century. It was estimated over a 100 family members died.
    1892- Thomas Alva Edison of Newark, NJ, filed a patent on the most practical two-way telegraph. It enabled two telegraph operators to send over one were simultaneously. Edison received many patents for many inventions and his biography is fascinating to read.
    1916-The first Japanese beetle appeared in Riverton, NJ. Its grubs were believed to have arrived in the roots of imported nursery stock.
    1930-Betty Boop debuts in Max Fleischer's animated cartoon Dizzy Dishes.
    1936 - Jesse Owens became the first American to win four medals in one Olympics. Owens ran one leg of the winning 400-meter relay team in Berlin. His three other gold medals were won in the 100-meter, 200-meter and the long jump events.
    1938-Benny Goodman Orchestra, on a CBS Camel Caravan show from New York City, plays its first Eddie Sauter arrangement, “Bolero.”
    1941— Baritone sax player/arranger/producer Willie Henderson birthday
http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Bmve097q7krdt
    1942-Birthday of drummer Jack DeJohnette, Chicago, IL.
    1944--LINDSEY, DARRELL R. (Air Mission) Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army Air Corps. Place and date: L'Isle Adam railroad bridge over the Seine in occupied France, 9 August 1944. Entered service at: Storm Lake, lowa. Birth: Jefferson, lowa. G.O. No.: 43, 30 May 1945. Citation: On 9 August 1944, Capt. Lindsey led a formation of 30 B-26 medium bombers in a hazardous mission to destroy the strategic enemy held L'lsle Adam railroad bridge over the Seine in occupied France. With most of the bridges over the Seine destroyed, the heavily fortified L'Isle Adam Bridge was of inestimable value to the enemy in moving troops, supplies, and equipment to Paris. Capt. Lindsey was fully aware of the fierce resistance that would be encountered. Shortly after reaching enemy territory the formation was buffeted with heavy and accurate antiaircraft fire. By skillful evasive action, Capt. Lindsey was able to elude much of the enemy flak, but just before entering the bombing run his B-26 was peppered with holes. During the bombing run the enemy fire was even more intense, and Capt. Lindsey's right engine received a direct hit and burst into flames. Despite the fact that his ship was hurled out of formation by the violence of the concussion, Capt. Lindsey brilliantly maneuvered back into the lead position without disrupting the flight. Fully aware that the gasoline tanks might explode at any moment, Capt. Lindsey gallantly elected to continue the perilous bombing run. With fire streaming from his right engine and his right wing half enveloped in flames, he led his formation over the target upon which the bombs were dropped with telling effect. Immediately after the objective was attacked, Capt. Lindsey gave the order for the crew to parachute from the doomed aircraft. With magnificent coolness and superb pilotage, and without regard for his own life, he held the swiftly descending airplane in a steady glide until the members of the crew could jump to safety. With the right wing completely enveloped in flames and an explosion of the gasoline tank imminent, Capt. Lindsey still remained unperturbed. The last man to leave the stricken plane was the bombardier, who offered to lower the wheels so that Capt. Lindsey might escape from the nose. Realizing that this might throw the aircraft into an uncontrollable spin and jeopardize the bombardier's chances to escape, Capt. Lindsey refused the offer. Immediately after the bombardier had bailed out, and before Capt. Lindsey was able to follow, the right gasoline tank exploded. The aircraft sheathed in fire, went into a steep dive and was seen to explode as it crashed. All who are living today from this plane owe their lives to the fact that Capt. Lindsey remained cool and showed supreme courage in this emergency.
    1944---Top Hits
I'll Be Seeing You - The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (vocal: Frank Sinatra)
Amor - Bing Crosby
Swinging on a Star - Bing Crosby
Is You is or is You Ain't (Ma' Baby) - Louis Jordan
    1945,-Three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, an American B-29 bomber named Bock's Car left its base on Tinian Island carrying a plutonium bomb nicknamed “Fat Man' Its target was the Japanese city of Kokura, but because of clouds and poor visibility the bomber headed for a secondary target, Nagasaki, where at 11:02 AM, local time, it dropped the bomb, killing an estimated 70,000 persons and destroying about half the city. Memorial services are held annually at Nagasaki and also at Kokura, where those who were spared because of the bad weather also grieve for those at Nagasaki who suffered in their stead. August 14 President Harry S. Truman announced the “unconditional” surrender of Japan. V-J Day was August 15. August 30 General MacArthur landed in Japan with occupational forces. September 2 the formal document of surrender was signed about the U.S. Miss our in Tokyo Bay.
    1947-Birthday of Barbara Mason, Philadelphia, PA.
    1952---Top Hits
Walkin' My Baby Back Home - Johnnie Ray
Auf Wiedersehn, Sweetheart - Vera Lynn
I'm Yours - Don Cornell
Are You Teasing Me - Carl Smith
    1959 - Pioneer of the rap genre, Kurtis Blow, is born Curtis Walker in New York.
    1960-Race riot in Jacksonville Florida
    1960---Top Hits
Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini - Brian Hyland
It's Now or Never - Elvis Presley
Image of a Girl - Safaris
Please Help Me, I'm Falling - Hank Locklin
    1961- James B Parsons is the first black appointed to the Federal District Court.
    1963-Singer Whitney Houston is born in New Jersey, the daughter of singer Cissy Houston and cousin of Dionne Warwick. Her first seven solo singles go top five on Billboard's Hot 100. (She was featured earlier on a Teddy Pendergrass single that failed to reach the top 40.) Her career is interrupted with a very poor marriage and addiction to drugs.
    1965 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "I Got You Babe," Sonny & Cher. The song, which sells more than 1 million copies, is the duo's only No. 1 hit. A remake of the song by UB40 with Chrissie Hynde hits No. 28 in September 1985.
    1966--LEE, HOWARD V. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Marine Corps, Company E, 2d Battalion, 4th Marines, 3d Marine Division (Rein). place and date: Near Cam Lo, Republic of Vietnam, 8 and 9 August 1966. Entered service at: Dumfries, Va. Born: 1 August 1933, New York, N.Y. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. A platoon of Maj. (then Capt.) Lee's company, while on an operation deep in enemy territory, was attacked and surrounded by a large Vietnamese force. Realizing that the unit had suffered numerous casualties, depriving it of effective leadership, and fully aware that the platoon was even then under heavy attack by the enemy, Major Lee took 7 men and proceeded by helicopter to reinforce the beleaguered platoon. Maj. Lee disembarked from the helicopter with 2 of his men and, braving withering enemy fire, led them into the perimeter, where he fearlessly moved from position to position, directing and encouraging the overtaxed troops. The enemy then launched a massive attack with the full might of their forces. Although painfully wounded by fragments from an enemy grenade in several areas of his body, including his eye, Maj. Lee continued undauntedly throughout the night to direct the valiant defense, coordinate supporting fire, and apprise higher headquarters of the plight of the platoon. The next morning he collapsed from his wounds and was forced to relinquish command. However the small band of marines had held their position and repeatedly fought off many vicious enemy attacks for a grueling 6 hours until their evacuation was effected the following morning. Maj. Lee's actions saved his men from capture, minimized the loss of lives, and dealt the enemy a severe defeat. His indomitable fighting spirit, superb leadership, and great personal valor in the face of tremendous odds, reflect great credit upon himself and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service.
    1968---Top Hits
Hello, I Love You - The Doors
Classical Gas - Mason Williams
Stoned Soul Picnic - The 5th Dimension
Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash
    1968-Steppenwolf opened at the San Francisco Avalon Ballroom.
    1969 - "Hot Fun in The Summertime", by Sly and the Family Stone, and "Easy to Be Hard", from the Broadway production "Hair", were released on this day. "Hot Fun" made it to number two on the music charts (10/18/69) and "Easy to Be Hard" climbed to number four (9/27/69).
    1969 - Cult leader Charles Manson and his disciples committed one of Los Angeles' most heinous crimes. They entered the home of movie director Roman Polanski and brutally murdered Polanski's wife (actress Sharon Tate), movie director Voityck Frykowski, famous hair stylist Jay Sebring, student Steven Parent and coffee heiress Abigail Folger.
    1969 - A tornado hit Cincinnati OH killing four persons and causing fifteen million dollars property damage. The tornado moved in a southeasterly direction at 40 to 50 mph.
    1971 - LeRoy Satchel Paige, one of baseball's pitching legends, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
    1971-the first airport baggage scanning system that converted electronic data to a visible X-ray format was the Pep-720 baggage X-ray system manufactured by Princeton Electronic Products, New Brunswick,NJ. The US. army had it installed at the Army's Picatinny Arsenal
    1972-Gilbert O'Sullivan receives a gold record for "Alone Again Naturally." It's Number One for six weeks in the summer.
    1974- Richard Milhous Nixon's resigned from the presidency of the US, which he first announced in a speech to the American people Thursday evening, August 8, and it became effective at noon. Nixon, under the threat of impeachment as a result of the Watergate scandal, became the first person to resign the presidency. He was succeeded by Vice-President Gerald Rudolph Ford, the first person to serve as vice-president and president without having been elected to either office. Ford granted Nixon “full, free and absolute pardon” September 8,.1974. Although Nixon was the first US president to resign, two vice presidents had resigned earlier in history: John C. Calhoun, Dec. 8, 1932, and Spiro T. Agnew, October 10,1973. 1989, President George Herbert Walker Bush appointed Colin Luther Powell chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He became the first African-American appointed to this position. Powell, born in New York City in 1937, served from 1987 to 1989 as national security advisor to President Ronald Wilson Reagan. In 1989, he was promoted to four-star general, thus becoming the highest-ranking African-American officer up to that time. During his service as chairman, he oversaw the 1991 Gulf War military campaign. He resigned in 1993. He was appointed Secretary of State by President George Walker Bush in 2001.
    1976---Top Hits
Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Elton John & Kiki Dee
Let 'Em In - Wings
You Should Be Dancing - Bee Gees
Golden Ring - George Jones & Tammy Wynette
    1978 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Three Times a Lady," Commodores. Band member Lionel Richie was inspired to write the song at a 37th anniversary party for his parents.
    1981 - Major-league baseball teams resumed play at the conclusion of the first mid-season players' strike. The first game on the schedule following the bitter strike was the All-Star Game. The National League won the game 5-4. 72,086 diehard baseball fans (a record) came out to see the game at Cleveland's cavernous Municipal Stadium -- and welcome the players back.
    1982-Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger," which is the theme song for the hit movie "Rocky III," goes gold.
    1984---Top Hits
When Doves Cry - Prince
Ghostbusters - Ray Parker Jr.
State of Shock - Jacksons
Mama He's Crazy - The Judds
    1987 - Florida baked in the summer heat. Nine cities reported record high temperatures for the date, including Jacksonville with a reading of 101 degrees. Miami FL reported a record high of 98 degrees.
    1987 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," U2. The album "The Joshua Tree" is U2's first top 10 album in the U.S.
    1988 - President Reagan nominated Lauro F. Cavazos to be secretary of education. Cavazos was the first Hispanic in U.S. history to be named to a cabinet position. On Sep 20, 1988, he was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. President George Bush (I) asked him to continue as Secretary following the Nov 1988 election and he remained in that position until resigning in December 1990.
    1988-After a postponement the night before, the first night game in Wrigley Field saw the Chicago Cubs defeat the New York Mets, 6-4.
    1989---Top Hits
Right Here Waiting- Richard Marx
On Our Own (From "Ghostbusters II")- Bobby Brown
Batdance (From "Batman")- The Artist
So Alive- Love And Rockets
    1990-The US Navy formed a naval blockade and all export of oil from Iraq and Kuwait was cut off. August 10, at a meeting in Cairo, 12 of the 21 member nations of the Arab League voted to support the UN and US Actions. It would not be until November 29, that the UN Security Council voted to authorize the US and allies to use force to expel Iraq from Kuwait, it its troops did not leave by January 15, 1991. by the end of 990, 580,000 Iraqi troops were believed to be in Kuwait or southern Iraq. Facing them were 485,000 troops of 17 allied countries, an armada of ships, carriers, jets based in Italy, Turkey, and many other surrounding countries, and guided missiles with video cameras to not only steer toward the target, but show viewers on home television everything up to impact.
    1994---Top Hits
Stay (I Missed You) (From "Reality Bites")- Lisa Loeb
I Swear- All-4-One
Fantastic Voyage- Coolio
Wild Night,-John Mellencamp With Me Shell Ndegeocello
    1995- Grateful Dead singer, guitarist and spiritual leader Jerry Garcia dies of a heart attack while undergoing drug rehabilitation at Forrest Farm, Marin County. He was 53.
http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~mleone/dead.html
    1999---Top Hits
Genie In A Bottle- Christina Aguilera
Tell Me It s Real- K-Ci
Bills, Bills, Bills- Destiny s Child
All Star- Smash Mouth
    1999 - “On a grand night for hitters, pitchers got slammed,” as AP sports writer Ronald Blum put it, “for the first time in 129 years of major league baseball, five grand slams were hit in one day.” 1) Fernando Tatis (St. Louis Cardinals), 2) Jose Vidro (Montreal Expos), 3) Mike Lowell (Florida Marlins), 4) Bernie Williams (NY Yankees) ... 5) Jay Buhner of the Seattle Mariners, being the last to hit the slam, actually set the record.
    2003---Top Hits
Crazy In Love- Beyonce Featuring Jay-Z
Right Thurr- Chingy
Never Leave You - Uh Ooh, Uh Oooh!, Lumidee
P.I.M.P.- 50 Cent

Baseball Poem

First Time At Third

by Jacqueline Sweeney © 
Published: At The Crack Of The Bat (1992)

First time at third
nothing but nerves.
He fist-whomps his glove,
tucks in his shirt,
kicks up the dirt
for the twenty-fifth time.

Gets in position
pumped up to win,
jump sweeps the plate.
Will it ever begin?

A quick-line drive!
He leaps for the sky.
His body's an arrow,
glove aimed high. 

What's this?
He stumbles,
he tumbles to earth.
His glove is still empty,
face red as his shirt.

The game hasn't started?
"Play Ball!" can be heard
and he's tried to snag
a low-lying bird;
fast flying, line driving
feathers and all.

How could he think
that a bird was a ball!