Position Wanted – Sales

                   
Silverton, Oregon  “Will work remotely:”
30 years’ experience, 20 for others and 10 as a broker. Intelligent, innovative and usually exceeded quotas. Have worked most asset and credit types, indirect (vendor and syndications) as well as direct, mainly mid to large ticket. Cross-border and international experience.  Most recently focused on renewable energy and energy efficiency, which remain underserviced as to financing options. I live in Oregon, not interested in relocation (unless it is international), but any level of travel is fine. Dual USA/Canada citizenship. Looking for base salary plus upside, open to any reasonable options.
Rob Aldridge. raldridge@energyfinance.co 

 

 

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Jury Disbelieves Testimony of Balboa’s Employees
Slams Lessor on Million Dollar Action

By Tom McCurnin
Leasing News Legal Editor

Balboa Capital Loses Jury Trial
on Bait and Switch Purchase Option

 

Nostrum v Balboa Capital, 16-1040 (W.D. Mo. 2016).

Two years ago, Nostrum Laboratories sued Balboa Capital for lying to Nostrum in connection with a bait and switch purchase option. Quite frankly, while I was aware of the story, it seemed like a long shot, because it pitted the word of Nostrum’s employees versus all of Balboa’s employees. My assumption was that the terms of the documents, as opposed to the conversations of employees, would carry the day. I didn’t bother writing about it then because it was really a case of parol evidence. Leasing News has sent me many of these, mostly from Balboa Capital. I thought these were unwinnable. I was wrong. 

The Court denied everyone’s summary judgment motions and ruled that the lease was ambiguous.  The case proceeded to trial on the issue of whether Balboa promised a $1 buy out or whether the lease was really a fair market value lease. It seemed the sole issue for the jury was whether Don Hansen promised a dollar buyout and switched the documents on seven schedules. Mr. Hansen testified at trial, and the jury disbelieved his testimony, essentially finding that Mr. Hansen lied to the Lessee and was not truthful in his testimony at trial. (1)

The case is completely without any legal issues, as the document terms were ignored and the jury focused on who to believe—Donald Hansen or the Lessee. (Mr. Hansen was Vice President of Commercial Finance, serving 18 years at Balboa. He is mentioned in several cases, including Shopko. (2). Today he is CEO of his own firm, Regents Capital Corporation. Editor ). The facts follow. 

This relationship between Lessee Nostrum and Balboa started in 2011, when a Master Lease was executed. According to the testimony of Frank Ann, Controller of Nostrum, Mr. Hansen and Mr. Ann discussed a “capital lease.” Mr. Ann believed that because the lease made reference to the fact that the lease was a “finance lease,” it was subject to a nominal purchase option.  Mr. Hansen denied that this conversation ever took place and instead testified that he used the term “operating lease.” The parties subsequently entered into six more schedules each with the same terms.  It was undisputed that the master lease and schedules contained no reference to any purchase option, whether $1 or FMV. 

When it came down to the end of the lease schedules, Balboa claimed the lease schedules were FMV, but again, there was no such reference in the schedules. Balboa sent demand letters on the leases, demanding nearly $1 million dollars in residuals. The Lessee sent back its own demand letters, demanding a nominal buyout, but again, there was no such reference in the schedules. The court denied summary judgment to each party and ruled that the lease was ambiguous. So, the case came down to what we lawyers call a “liars’ contest,” e.g., who is telling the truth. 

The case was tried before a jury over a two day period. The Lessee could have, but did not, sued Balboa for fraud. Instead the Lessee took a reasoned approach, only suing for what it claimed was promised to it—a nominal purchase option on all schedules. Conversely, Balboa took an aggressive approach requested over $1 million dollars in rent, late charges, and even sued the Lessee for conversion. Even more perplexing was the fact that in depositions, Balboa took the position that the schedules were FMV buyouts, even though the schedules were silent on the issue.

As a result of the court ruling the lease was ambiguous, the judge allowed oral testimony (parol evidence) to allow the jury to interpret the terms of the lease, thus setting up the liars contest.  There were quite a few issues in the background to take away from this credibility issue, but at the end of the day, either Don Hansen was telling the truth, or was not telling the truth. 

The jury heard testimony of Don Hansen and representatives of Nostrum. They were instructed, deliberated, and were out less than a court day. The vote was 7-0 in favor of the Lessee, thus implicitly ruling that Don Hansen was not truthful when he testified that the lease was going to be an operating lease.

Nostrum requested, and will likely be granted, its attorney fees in this action, which took nearly two years to get to court and the parties took nearly 10 depositions, many of them involving travel outside the state. I would be surprised if the attorney fees are less than $200,000.

Balboa, on the other hand, also had an investment in its attorney fees, probably equal to that same $200,000. It will have to pay Nostrum its $200,000 in attorney fees and is out the $1 million residual, a $1.4 million dollar turnaround. To add insult to injury, the jury has ruled that Balboa’s business practices violated the covenant of good faith and fair dealing and in doing so, concluded that Don Hansen did not tell the truth to the Lessee and he did not testify truthfully in the trial.  Ouch. 

Although the case has virtually no important legal issues, there are several takeaways here:

• First, Know When to Hold Them and When to Fold Them. This was not a good case for Balboa to take to trial. Evidence was produced that it earned something like 24% on the lease schedules without the residual. You’re really going to put your reputation at risk, based on the testimony of Don Hansen? This would have been a good one to walk away on, having made 24% already. Don’t get greedy. Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. 

• Second, The Lease Documents Sucked. Notwithstanding the claims of each party what the residual might be, the documents were silent on each of the parties’ claims. This is the third time I’ve reported on these documents not being very clear and subject to interpretation. The lessor should want clear, concise, unambiguous documents that a high school senior can understand. That’s not the case in this lease. 

• Third, The Jury Ruled That a Balboa Employee Lied and That Balboa Has Poor Business Practices.  This is no longer subject to debate—a jury has ruled 7-0 on this issue. A company’s reputation is important, well at least to some companies. 

The bottom line to this case is that while it did not plow any new legal ground, it does underscore the necessity of corporation reputation, employees telling customers the truth, and testifying truthfully. More importantly, it emphasizes the need to gauge risk, e.g., when to hold them and when to fold them. This is a case that should have settled, especially given the million dollar turnaround. 

First Amended Complaint  (13  pages)
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/first_amended_complaint2018.pdf)

Answer to First Amended Complaint  (66 pages)
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/answer_fac2018.pdf

Jury Verdict (7 pages)
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/jury_verdict82018.pdf

1. Hansen Deposition (9 pages)
   http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/first_amended_complaint2018.pdf
2. Balboa Capital and Shopko Settle Their Much Litigated
   $1 Million Dollar Plus perhaps $300,000 Attorney Fee Case
   http://leasingnews.org/archives/Oct2017/10_25.htm#balboa

Tom McCurnin is a partner at Barton, Klugman & Oetting in Los Angeles, California.

Tom McCurnin
Barton, Klugman & Oetting
350 South Grand Ave.
Suite 2200
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Direct Phone: (213) 617-6129
Cell (213) 268-8291
Email: tmccurnin@bkolaw.com
Visit our web site at www.bkolaw.com
Previous Tom McCurnin Articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org

Previous Tom McCurnin Articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/leasing_cases.html

 

 

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Companies who utilize Evergreen Clauses
for Extra Lease Payments

These companies use language in their lease documents regarding purchase options to confuse, perhaps to deceive, resulting in an automatic continuation for an additional twelve months of payments. Often they win transactions with lower monthly payments as the lessee does not carefully read and prepare for the end-of-lease notification requirement (many are on ACH payments).
Several have continuation of payments and the requirement of replacing the equipment for a new lease. Leasing News has had complaints involving companies who invoke the twelve months on a $1.00 purchase option, as well as on an Equipment Finance Agreements.

Several have appeared in Leasing News "Complaints" Bulletin Board:
http://www.leasingnews.org/bulletin_board.htm

Additionally, Tom McCurnin has written often about Evergreen Clause court cases involving these companies.
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/leasing_cases.html 

Two of the companies on this list do a lot of copier leasing, where it is reported manufacturers are now getting a piece of auto-renewals and as well as insisting that they be in the lease as a condition of the business. Leasing News has heard from a very reliable source that some copier manufacturers also give dealers 4-5 months’ notice of a discontinued model and agree to sell it to the dealer at 40% of list price, on the condition that the captive finance division not receive the business. Also buried in the contract on one is a one month rental return fee including an inspection fee at the location specified by lessor and at lessee’s return expense (often not the local dealer who supplied the copier).

Advice for Broker or Lessor Dealing with a Company that Uses Evergreen Clauses
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Nov2013/11_18.htm#advice

ACC Capital, Midvale, Utah
Balboa Capital, Irvine, California
De Lage Landen, Wayne, Pennsylvania
IFC Credit, Morton Grove, Illinois
Jules and Associates, Los Angeles, California
LEAF Financial Group, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Marlin Business Leasing, Mount Laurel, New Jersey
Marquette Equipment Finance, Midvale, Utah
Mazuma Capital Corporation, Draper, Utah
Onset Financial, South Jordan, Utah
Pacific Western Equipment Finance, Cottonwood Heights, Utah
Republic Bank, Bountiful, Utah
Tetra Financial Group, Salt Lake City, Utah

Full Listings:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Pages/lease_expiration_evergreen.html 

 

Help Wanted

Byline Financial Group Bannockburn, Illinois Positions Open Customer Service Repesentative  Credit Administrator    Sales Coordinator (Click on position to learn more) bylinebank.com/byline-financial-group/ Byline Financial Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Byline Bank, Member FDIC

 

Leasing Funding Coordinator Los Angeles, California Visit: Recent Transactions Visit: Leasing Program Job Description www.dakotafinancial.com Asset-Based Direct Funding Source

 

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Sales Makes it Happen by Steve Chriest

A Manager's Guide to Destroying Trust

Sales managers who want to build trust in their selling organizations might want to examine the results of a survey about trust conducted with managers and employees in the U.S., France, Singapore and the United Kingdom. Survey respondents revealed what managers do to destroy trust, and what they must do to build trust within their organizations. The truth in their answers appears so self-evident that it's not surprising that trust in managers is at an all time low.

Here are some trust-busting behaviors that many managers employ with great success:

- Telegraph mixed messages. Your employees will never know where you or they stand on any issue.

- Get up each morning and ask, before you do anything, what you can do for yourself today. Your employees will catch on, and they'll expect you to always first serve yourself in all situations.

- Blame anything or anyone besides yourself when you screw up. Your employees will soon learn that you were born perfect, remain perfect, and that you don't suffer mistake-prone humans well.

- React immediately when you hear any bad news, and never, ever check the facts before you react. You will train your employees to keep all bad news to themselves, keeping you in the dark, even about urgent issues.

- Withhold the truth from or lie to your employees. As long as you believe that what they don't know won't hurt them, and that there really is a difference between a “white lie” and a “whopper,” your employees will learn to regard everything you say with automatic suspicion.

If sales managers don't want to destroy trust their organizations, it seems obvious that they would be well served by simply avoiding all the above trust-busting behaviors as they work with their sales teams. But building and maintaining trust is perhaps the most difficult challenge facing most managers today. Fortunately, the survey respondents provided the following trust-building behaviors sales managers should employ if they want to build trust:

- Always communicate openly and honestly, and don't distort information in any way.

- Your employees will soon know you as a straight-shooter who delivers information “as it is,” even when it is painful to deliver or hear.

- Treat team members as skilled, competent associates. Remember, in today's business climate, your team members don't work “for” you, they work “with” you.

- Invite input from other sentient human beings. Most people will offer opinions and suggestions if asked, and if they perceive their points of view will be heard, even if you might not agree.

- When you promise and when you commit, always deliver – always – unless you unexpectedly find yourself in a hospital bed.

- Eat your own cooking – or practice what you preach. Your employees learn much more about you from watching what you do than they learn by listening to what you say. They may listen to what you say, but they will watch much more closely what you do and judge how closely your actions reflect what you preach.

The employees and managers who responded to this survey on trust are really telling all managers that what's at risk for managers, ultimately, is their credibility with their employees. Managers cannot have credibility with their employees if they don't have the trust of those employees. The survey provides excellent stop-doing and start-doing guidelines for sales managers who want to avoid trust busting behaviors and employ those behaviors that build trust among their sales team members.

Steve Chriest is the CEO of Open Advance and author of “Selling to the E-Suite, The Proven System for Reaching and Selling Senior Executives and Business Acumen 101.”  He recently re-named his company from Selling-Up.  He produces video and radio blogs, as well as continuing as a columnist for Leasing News since 2005.
www.openadvance.com/contact/
925-263-2702
www.openadvance.com/

 

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

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 Date Correction:
Gerry Egan Last Conference!

The National Equipment Finance Association Funding Symposium should read:
2018 Funding Symposium 10/02/2018 to 10/05/2018

Not as listed in Monday's Leasing News (1)

NEFA Executive Director and CEO Gerry Egan, CEC, wrote running the conference from 10/03/2017 to 10/05/2018:  "I don’t mind telling you, I’d be mighty worn out running a year-long conference!  That’s for young people.
 

"This is my last conference as NEFA’s Executive Director.  When this conference wraps up, I’ll be retired …for my second time.  Who knows, maybe there’ll be a third retirement down the road somewhere.  But first …a bunch of doing nothing seems like a really, really good idea!
 

"By the way, our registrations have been consistently running 15-20% ahead of last year’s Funding Symposium (223 as of a few minutes ago).  That would make it our biggest NEFA Conference to date.

"I think it’s drawing a lot of people because they want to come and make sure I really go away!!!"

Best regards,
Gerry E.

1. National Equipment Finance Association
   2017 Funding Symposium 10/03/2017 to 10/05/2018
   http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2018/08_13.htm#nefa

(Note: Associate Publisher Ralph Mango on vacation, otherwise I think he would have caught the wrong year. Editor) 

 

 

 

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

Dominion Leasing Software Announces Acquisition
of Seritus Solutions’ Seritus-CoS and Seritus-CRM

Powhatan, Virginia,  – Dominion Leasing Software LLC (www.domls.com) announced it has acquired the assets of Seritus Solutions LLC (www.seritussolutions.com), a leading provider of credit origination software and services.

 Seritus’ flagship product, Seritus-COS™, provides an intelligent workflow process to automate the flow of lease and loan transactions through the credit adjudication process.  It allows deals to be initiated in-house, by end customers or directly from the lessor’s dealer, vendor, or broker network, and followed throughout the review, funding, and post-closing lifecycle via a workflow tailored for each client’s unique needs.

 
Clinton Dunlow, President and CEO of Dominion, said,  “For nearly a decade, Dominion and Seritus have enjoyed an excellent working relationship, performing a number of joint implementations to provide our clients with the best-of-breed end-to-end solution.

“This acquisition is simply the evolution of that partnership, allowing Dominion to solidify the integration and to provide all customer services under our umbrella.”

 
Charles Lyles, Partner of Seritus Solutions, noted, “Seritus Solutions, utilizing our vast knowledge of the marketplace, created a state-of-art configurable credit origination system that has serviced the industry well over the last 10 years.

“Having the opportunity to integrate multiple joint customers with Dominion, led us to the decision that now was the best time to transition our customers and products to Dominion, given their great reputation with their customers and the overall marketplace.”

Dominion Leasing Software LLC is a leading provider of software solutions and services to the equipment finance industry throughout the United States and Canada.  Since 2001, our flagship LeaseComplete© System has been the product of choice for banks, credit unions, captives, and independent finance companies requiring a custom solution for their unique business needs.

 http://domls.com/

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

 

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

Chesswood Announces Portfolio Growth First Six Months
More than $100 Million/Operating Income Up

TORONTO, Chesswood Group Limited (“Chesswood” or “the Company”) (TSX: CHW), a North American commercial equipment finance provider for small and medium-sized businesses, reports its second quarter results for the periods ended June 30, 2018.

Chesswood’s gross finance receivables grew to $804 million in the quarter driven by record second quarter originations of $114 million, a 31% increase from $87 million in the second quarter of last year. Net income also increased to $5.6 million from $3.7 million in the second quarter of 2017, and to $11.5 million in the first six months of this year compared to $8.4 million in the same period last year.

Between the adoption of IFRS 9 in 2018, the repayment of the Company’s convertible debentures in early January 2018 and the lower foreign exchange rates compared to last year, there are a number of meaningful adjustments required in order to compare the second quarter and six-month operating income(1) this year with the same periods in 2017. These adjustments are provided for in the chart below:

Barry Shafran, Chesswood’s President and CEO, said, “We continue to expand our business relationship with our customers. As we fund transactions from A to C in credit quality, we offer our broker-customers a one-stop shop for their funding needs.

“Our customers have responded by embracing our programs along with our high service levels,” he added.

Net income in the second quarter of 2017 was lowered by a non-cash loss of approximately $1.1 million on Chesswood’s holdings of shares of Dealnet Capital Corp.

Non-GAAP Measures
Operating Income is not a recognized measure under International Financial Reporting Standards and does not have a standard meaning. Accordingly, this measure may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Please refer to the Company’s Management Discussion and Analysis in Chesswood’s 2017 Annual Report and 2018 Second Quarter Report for additional information concerning these measures and a reconciliation of these measures to the Company’s consolidated net income.

About Chesswood
Through two wholly-owned subsidiaries in the U.S. and Canada, Chesswood Group Limited is North America’s only publicly-traded commercial equipment finance company focused on small and medium-sized businesses. Our Colorado-based Pawnee Leasing Corporation, founded in 1982, finances a highly diversified portfolio of commercial equipment leases and loans through established relationships with over 600 independent brokers in U.S. In Canada, Blue Chip Leasing Corporation has been originating and servicing commercial equipment leases and loans since 1996, and today operates through a nationwide network of more than 50 independent brokers. Based in Toronto, Canada, Chesswood’s shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol CHW.

Learn more at www.chesswoodgroup.com, www.PawneeLeasing.com and www.BlueChipLeasing.com

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

 

 

Shepherd Puppy
Silverton, Oregon  Adopt a Dog

“Meet Miss Jasmine – Jazzy for short!  This girl has a lot going on and loves to romp and play!  At approximately 11 weeks old, Jazzy has overcome quite a lot in her short life (see her birth story below).   Jasmine is a spicy “in charge” sort of puppy who is not afraid to get out there and explore the world.  She is potty-trained (though she has a small bladder still) and does well in a crate.  She is medium to high activity and would do well with a very active family, running partner or dog sports!

“This girl is showing us how smart an 11 week old puppy can be!  She is very clever and is learning new tricks quickly.  She is looking for a very active family with children over the age of 8.  Jasmine will need a patient structured adopter who can help her be the best girl she can be!

“Jasmine is microchipped and has begun her vaccine series.  She is not yet spayed due to her age.  To apply to adopt Jasmine or another rescued GSD, click here:  Adoption Application”
https://shepherdswithoutborders.org/adopt/adoption-application/

Facebook:   Shepherds Without Borders Rescue
email:  rescue@shepherdswithoutborders.org
https://www.shepherdswithoutborders.org/

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

 

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National Equipment Finance Association
2017 Funding Symposium 10/03/2018 to 10/05/2018

Charlotte Marriot City Center
100 W. Trade Street
Charlotte, North Carolina 28202

Funding Sources Exhibiting:

    36th Street Capital Partners LLC
    4 Hour Funding
    Advantage Funding
    American Lease Insurance
    AMUR Equipment Finance
    Ascentium Capital LLC
    Baystone Government Finance
    Beneficial Equipment Finance Corp
    Boston Financial & Equity Corp
    Bryn Mawr Funding
    C.H. Brown Co., LLC
    Channel Partners Capital
    CLFP Foundation
    Copernicus
    Dakota Financial, LLC
    Dedicated Funding, LLC
    ECS Financial Services, Inc.
    Financial Pacific Leasing, Inc.
    FirstLease, Inc.
    Fleet Evaluator
    Great American Insurance
    Hanmi Bank
    Infogroup
    instaCOVER, LLC
    LEAF Commercial Capital
    Leasepath
    LTi Technology Solutions
    Marlin Business Bank
    Monitor
    Navitas Credit Corp
    NEFA Newsline
    Neumann Finance
    North Mill Equipment Finance, LLC
    Orange Commercial Credit
    Orion First Financial, LLC
    Pawnee Leasing Corporation
    Providence Equipment Finance, dba of Providence Bank & Trust
    Quality Leasing Co., Inc.
    Quiktrak, Inc.
    RapidAdvance
    Tamarack
    TradeRiver USA, Inc.
    Unisearch, Inc.
    VFI Corporate Finance

215 Registered for Funding Symposium to date
https://www.nefassociation.org/events/RSVPlist.aspx?id=995092

Register:
https://www.nefassociation.org/events/register.aspx?id=995092&itemid=0c076a01-2ff3-438a-91b1-17e781e15f1f

News Briefs----

FinTechs Sound Cautious Note on Offer of U.S. Bank Charter
"concerns over legal challenges and requirements"
https://www.usnews.com/news/technology/articles/2018-08-14/fintechs-sound-cautious-note-on-offer-of-us-bank-charter

U.S. Household Debt Jumps to $13.3 Trillion
    While Student Loan Delinquencies Dip
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-14/elon-musk-s-vast-oil-conspiracy-ends-with-saudi-billions

McDonald's plans to modernize 550 California outlets
   with ordering kiosks and table service
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mcdonalds-renovation-20180813-story.html 

McDonald's to spend $317 million to upgrade 400 Illinois      
  restaurants -  Nearly Two-Thirds of Illinois Stores
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-mcdonalds-restaurant-remodel-modernization-20180814-story.html

 

Leasing Funding Coordinator Los Angeles, California Visit: Recent Transactions Visit: Leasing Program Job Description www.dakotafinancial.com Asset-Based Direct Funding Source

 

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You May Have Missed---

Natural Disasters Impacting Delinquency Rates
https://dsnews.com/daily-dose/08-14-2018/natural-disasters-impact-delinquency-rates

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 The Base Stealer
Poised between going on and back, pulled
Both ways taut like a tight-rope walker,
Fingertips pointing the opposites,
Now bouncing tiptoe like a dropped ball,
Or a kid skipping rope, come on, come on!
Running a scattering of steps sidewise,
How he teeters, skitters, tingles, teases,
Taunts them, hovers like an ecstatic bird,
He's only flirting, crowd him, crowd him,
Delicate, delicate, delicate, delicate - Now!
----Robert Francis

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Sports Briefs---

Broncos Fans Start Crowdfunding Page
    so Team Can Cut Paxton Lynch
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2790812-broncos-fans-start-crowdfunding-page-so-team-can-cut-paxton-lynch?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

John Elway says he might still seek a veteran backup QB
http://www.theredzone.org/Blog-Description/EntryId/71574/John-Elway-says-he-might-still-seek-a-veteran-backup-QB

Ben Roethlisberger Leaves Steelers Practice
   with Possible Concussion After Fall
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2686115-ben-roethlisberger-leaves-steelers-practice-with-undisclosed-injury-after-fall

49ers sign veteran Alfred Morris
 to bolster banged-up backfield corps
https://49ers.pressdemocrat.com/49ers-sign-veteran-alfred-morris-to-bolster-banged-up-backfield-corps/ 

Alex Smith's presence helps unify long-divided Washington Redskins
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/columnist/mike-jones/2018/08/14/washington-redskins-drama-free-qb-alex-smith-arrival/982987002/

He Signed the Denial Letter.
   Now He Helps Former N.F.L. Players Get Benefits.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/14/sports/football/nfl-retirement-benefits.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

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California Nuts Briefs---

Wildfires still rage.
They also shine light on California’s environmental challenges
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/influencers/article216471525.html

Firefighter who died battling Mendocino Complex fires
  mourned by Utah town - Hit by Falling Tree
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/8634595-181/firefighter-who-died-battling-mendocino

This Napa County home is America's most expensive foreclosure
https://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/America-s-Most-Expensive-Foreclosure-Is-in-13155269.php

 

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“Gimme that Wine”

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

Mendocino County Fair Wine Competition Announces 2018 Awards
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataid=202108

$18 Billion Southern Glazer's Wine And Spirits' CIO
     Drives Excellent Digital Customer Experience
https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterhigh/2018/08/13/18b-southern-glazers-wine-and-spirits-cio-drives-excellent-digital-customer-experience/#4dbdf0247777

Here Are the Canned Wines You Should Actually Drink, Ranked
http://www.grubstreet.com/2018/08/best-canned-wines-ranked.html

Viticulture briefs: Sonoma winery introduces cannabis-infused wine
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/business/8622819-181/viticulture-briefs-sonoma-winery-introduces

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 - Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) formed the Society of Jesus, more commonly known as the Jesuits. In the chapel of the Church of Saint Peter, at Montmartre, Loyola and his six companions, of whom only one was a priest, met and took upon themselves the solemn vows of their lifelong work.   He sent his companions as missionaries around Europe to create schools, colleges, and seminaries.
    1620 - Mayflower set sail from Southampton, England with 102 Pilgrims.
    1635 – The first recorded hurricane hit the Plymouth Colony.
    1787 - Tornadoes were reported in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Wethersfield, CT was hard hit by the tornado outbreak.
    1812 - William Wells migrated with his family to Kentucky when he was nine years old. Five years later, he was captured by Miami Indians and adopted into the family of the Wea village chief Gaviahatte. The young boy quickly adapted to Indian ways. He became a distinguished warrior and married the daughter of a prominent Miami war chief. For several years, Wells fought with the Miami against American soldiers attempting to push them off their land. In 1792, however, the army captured his wife and adopted mother. In exchange for their freedom, Wells agreed to join the American army as an interpreter. A reunion with a long lost brother helped reinforce the allegiance of Wells to the Americans, though his loyalties remained conflicted for the rest of his life. For several years, Wells was an invaluable scout and interpreter for the U.S. Army, helping the Americans defeat the hostile factions of the Miami and other tribes. In 1797, he was appointed Indian agent for the Miami, Delaware, Potawatomi, and other tribes of the Old Northwest (the modern-day Midwest). Yet, increasing pressure for the Indians to give up their lands to white settlers led to renewed conflicts, and Wells was often caught between the two groups. The outbreak of the War of 1812 with Great Britain heightened an already tense situation as some Indians saw the war as chance to join forces with the British to push out the Americans. Concerned about the safety of the Americans at Fort Dearborn (now Chicago), where his niece was married to the fort commander, Wells quickly raised a rescue party of 30 Miami Indians who were loyal to him and the United States and headed north. When he arrived on August 13, he found the fort surrounded by hostile Indians. Wells argued for staying at the fort and making a stand until a larger force of American soldiers could arrive. But the commander insisted on evacuation. On this day in 1812, Wells led a small company of men, women, and children out of the fort. They had not gone far before hundreds of Potawatomi Indians ambushed the party, killing more than 50 and taking the remainder captive. Wells, who was dressed and painted as a Miami warrior, fought heroically but was eventually shot through the lungs. When he fell from his horse, witnesses claimed the Potawatomi swarmed over his body, cut out his heart, and divided it among them.
    1824 - Freed American slaves formed the country of Liberia.
    1824 - The Marquis de Lafayette, the last surviving French general of the Revolutionary War, arrives in New York and begins a tour of 24 states.
    1843 – The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu is dedicated. Now the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, it is the oldest such cathedral in continuous use in the United States.
    1843 – The National Black Convention was held in Buffalo, NY.  Free and fugitive Black delegates and attendees had gathered at national colored citizens conventions for over a decade to organize for social, political, educational and labor rights. The fifty-eight delegates and a lively audience convened at Park Presbyterian Church in Buffalo, New York to consider "their moral and political condition as American citizens."  Delegates highlighted the economic progress of Black communities around the country. Entrepreneurial pursuits, occupations and personal wealth were thought to reflect Black people's agency and place within American society.   
    1850 - Fifty firemen from the Protection Engine Co. went to Sacramento to put down squatter rioting on Capt. Sutter’s property, under the direction Mayor Geary and Capt. McCormick of the California Guards
    1859 – Birthday of Black Sox owner Charles Comiskey (d. 1931) in Chicago.  After his playing and managing careers, he took ownership of the Chicago White Sox in 1900.  He oversaw the building of Comiskey Park in 1910 and won five American League pennants (1900, 1901, 1906, 1917, and 1919) and two World Series (1906, 1917).  Comiskey was notoriously stingy (his defenders called him "frugal"), even forcing his players to pay to launder their own uniforms.  Combined with salaries below the other players in Major League baseball, it has been concluded that these contributed to the players’ interest with gamblers in throwing the 1919 World Series to an inferior Cincinnati Reds team.   
    1876 - US law removed Indians from Black Hills after gold was discovered there. Sioux leaders Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull led their warriors to protect their lands from invasion by prospectors following the discovery of gold. This led to the Great Sioux Campaign staged from Fort Laramie. Gold was discovered in Deadwood in the Dakota Territory by Quebec brothers Fred and Moses Manuel. The mine was incorporated in California on Nov 5, 1877, as the Homestake Mining Company.
    1878 - The temperature at Denver, CO, soars to an all-time record high of 105 degrees.
    1879 – Actress Ethel Barrymore (d. 1959) was born in Philadelphia.  She was the sister of actors John and Lionel Barrymore, the aunt of actor John Drew Barrymore, and the grand-aunt of actress Drew Barrymore.  Her stellar career on stage preceded her as one of the film industry’s first mega stars that later followed into television.  She married Russell Griswold Colt, grandnephew of the American arms maker. 
    1885 - Birthday of Edna Ferber (d. 1968), Kalamazoo, MI.  Author and Pulitzer Prize winning novelist for “So Big” (1924). Her books “Show Boat,” “Cimarron,” “Saratoga Trunk,” “Giant,” and “Ice Palace” were all made into popular Hollywood movies.
    1904 – Puppeteer Bill Baird (d. 1987) was born at Grand Island, NE.  Baird was the creator of the Baird Marionettes who played multiple venues…theater, film, and television. 
    1909 – Hugo Winterhalter, American composer and bandleader (d. 1973), was born in Wilkes-Barre, PA.
    1912 - Birthday of Julia Child (d. 2004) in Pasadena, CA.   Cooking expert, author, and television personality. She won a Peabody Award in 1965 and an Emmy in 1966 for cooking shows that centered on traditional French cuisine. But the shows became a general viewing audience favorite as she conducted them in her inimitable aplomb and down-to-earth methods. She went on to write other books demystifying cooking in general and French gourmet cooking in particular. Bon Appetite!
    1914 - The American-built waterway, the Panama Canal, across the Isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, is inaugurated with the passage of the U.S. vessel SS Ancon, a cargo and passenger ship. The rush of settlers to California and Oregon in the mid-19th century was the initial impetus of the U.S. desire to build an artificial waterway across Central America. In 1855, the United States completed a railroad across the Isthmus of Panama (then part of Colombia), prompting various parties to propose canal-building plans.
    1914 - A male servant of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright sets fire to the living quarters of the latter's Wisconsin home, Taliesin, murders seven people and burns the living quarters to the ground.
    1915 - A story in the New York World newspaper reveals that the Imperial German government had purchased excess phenol from Thomas Edison that could be used to make explosives for the war effort and diverted it to Bayer for Aspirin production.
    1916 - At Fenway, Babe Ruth outdueled Washington ace Walter Johnson, winning, 1-0, in 13 innings. Johnson allowed just five hits through 12 innings, while, from the 7th inning on, Ruth surrendered just an infield single in the 11th. Ruth was robbed of a homer in the 12th. Ruth at this point was 3-0 in his meetings with Johnson.
    1918 - Russia severed diplomatic ties with US.
    1919 – Henry Richard ‘Huntz’ Hall (d. 1999), one of the original Bowery Boys, was born in NYC.  Fictional NYC characters, portrayed by a company of New York actors, were the subject of feature films released by Monogram Pictures from 1946 through 1958.  The Bowery Boys – Hall, Leo and David Gorcey, Booby Jordan and Billy Benedict - were successors of the “The East Side Kids," who had been the subject of films since 1940. The group originated as the “Dead End Kids", who originally appeared in the 1937 film “Dead End” which starred Sylvia Sydney, Joel McCrea and Humphrey Bogart.
    1923 – Actress, singer Rose Marie was born Rose Marie Mazetta (d. 2017) in NYC. Child star (Baby Rose Marie) of the 1930’s and part of the cast of the long-running and Emmy winning “Dick Van Dyke Show.” 
    1924 - American activist Phyllis Schlafly’s (d. 2016) birthday in St. Louis.  She is known for her staunch social and political conservatism, her opposition to modern feminism and for her campaign against the proposed Equal Rights Amendment. Her self-published book, “A Choice, Not an Echo,” was published in 1964 from her home
    1925 – “Mannix.”  Actor and producer Mike Connors was born Krekor Ohanian (d. 2017) in Fresno, CA.  During World War II, he served in the US Army Air Force.   After the war, he attended UCLA on a basketball scholarship, where he played under Hall of Fame coach John Wooden before Wooden became THE John Wooden.  After an early film career, Connors moved to television where he played in several episodes of “Wagon Train” and “Perry Mason,” among others.  “Mannix” was a popular Saturday night show that ran from 1967-75.
    1925 – Bill Pinkney (d. 2007), one of the Original Drifters, born in Dalzell, SC. Before his career with the Drifters, Pinkney pitched for the Negro Leagues’ New York Blue Sox. He also served in the US Army in World War II, earning a Presidential Citation with five Bronze Stars (for battles including Normandy and Bastogne under General Patton).  After the war, Pinkney, brothers Andrew and Gerhart Thrasher, and bass singer Willie Ferbie were approached by Clyde McPhatter, who had just quit as the lead tenor of Billy Ward and The Dominoes to form the Drifters for Atlantic Records where they sang a string of rock ‘n’ roll’s early hits in the 1950s and early 1960s.  Pinkney became active in a Drifters’ revival for the PBS series, “My Music” in the 1990s-2000s before passing in 2007.
    1932 – Jim Lange (d. 2014), “The Dating Game” host, born in St. Paul, MN.  Wrapped around his stint as the game show’s host, Lange was a DJ in both LA and SF. 
    1933 – Bobby Helms (d. 1997) was born in Bloomington, IN.  He rules the airwaves every year during the Christmas holiday season. His single ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ first became a hit in 1957, and it reappeared on the charts four of the following five years to become an all-time Christmas classic. Before he was pigeonholed, though, Helms had a successful country career with two number one hits to his credit… Helms' first single in 1957 titled ‘Fraulein’ went to No. 1 on the country music chart and made it into the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Later that same year, he released ‘My Special Angel,’ which also hit No. 1 on the country charts and entered the Top 10 on Billboard's pop music chart, peaking at No. 7. 
    1934 - 19 years of occupation ended as the 1st Marine Brigade departed Haiti.
    1935 – Will Rogers and Wiley Post are killed after their aircraft develops engine problems during takeoff in Barrow, AK.
    1935 – Vernon Jordan, one of President Clinton’s close advisors, born in Atlanta.
    1938 – Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer born in San Francisco.
    1939 - After five directors, several script drafts, and endless casting changes, the movie musical “The Wizard of Oz” premieres at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
    1942 - The Japanese submarine I-25 departed Japan with a floatplane in its hold. It was assembled upon arriving off the West Coast of the US and used to bomb U.S. forests.
    1944 - After several postponements, Allied forces began Operation Dragoon, the landing on the south coast of France during World War II.  More than 2,000 transports and landing craft transported 94,000 men to an area between Toulon and Cannes, with only 183 allied losses.  they encountered minimal opposition, and by the end of August, the French coast from the mouth of the Rhone to Nice was in Allied hands. Sgt. Connor received
a medal of honor for his role, and you can read more about this event below.
    1944 - CONNOR, JAMES P., Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, 7th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Cape Cavalaire, southern France, 15 August 1944. Entered service at: Wilmington, Del. Birth: Wilmington, Del. G.O. No.: 18, 15 March 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. On 15 August 1944, Sgt. Connor, through sheer grit and determination, led his platoon in clearing an enemy vastly superior in numbers and firepower from strongly entrenched positions on Cape Cavalaire, removing a grave enemy threat to his division during the amphibious landing in southern France, and thereby insured safe and uninterrupted landings for the huge volume of men and materiel which followed. His battle patrol landed on "Red Beach" with the mission of destroying the strongly fortified enemy positions on Cape Cavalaire with utmost speed. From the peninsula the enemy had commanding observation and seriously menaced the vast landing operations taking place. Though knocked down and seriously wounded in the neck by a hanging mine which killed his platoon lieutenant, Sgt. Connor refused medical aid and with his driving spirit practically carried the platoon across several thousand yards of mine-saturated beach through intense fire from mortars, 20-mm. flak guns, machineguns, and snipers. En route to the Cape he personally shot and killed 2 snipers. The platoon sergeant was killed and Sgt. Connor became platoon leader. Receiving a second wound, which lacerated his shoulder and back, he again refused evacuation, expressing determination to carry on until physically unable to continue. He reassured and prodded the hesitating men of his decimated platoon forward through almost impregnable mortar concentrations. Again emphasizing the prevalent urgency of their mission, he impelled his men toward a group of buildings honeycombed with enemy snipers and machineguns. Here he received his third grave wound, this time in the leg, felling him in his tracks. Still resolved to carry on, he relinquished command only after his attempts proved that it was physically impossible to stand. Nevertheless, from his prone position, he gave the orders and directed his men in assaulting the enemy. Infused with Sgt. Connor's dogged determination, the platoon, though reduced to less than one-third of its original 36 men, outflanked and rushed the enemy with such furiousness that they killed 7, captured 40, seized 3 machineguns and considerable other materiel, and took all their assigned objectives, successfully completing their mission. By his repeated examples of tenaciousness and indomitable spirit Sgt Connor transmitted his heroism to his men until they became a fighting team which could not be stopped.
    1944 – Former NBC News anchor Linda Ellerbee was born Linda Jane Smith in Bryan, TX.
    1945 – NFL Hall of Famer and Players Union head Gene Upshaw (d. 2008) was born in Robstown, TX.  He was an original Oakland Raider from the AFL days. 
    1945 – World War II gasoline rationing in America ended on this day. Rationing was just one of the special measures taken in the U.S. during wartime. Civilian auto production virtually ceased after the attack on Pearl Harbor, as the U.S. automotive industry turned to war production. Automotive firms made almost $29 billion worth of military materials between 1940 and 1945, including Jeeps, trucks, machine guns, carbines, tanks, helmets, and aerial bombs. After the war, rationing ended and the auto industry boomed.
    1945 – Celebrations mark the end of World War II — VJ Day. A two-day holiday is proclaimed for all federal employees. In New York, Mayor La Guardia pays tribute to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the deceased president, in a radio broadcast.
    1945 – US Task Force 38 launches massive air strikes on the Tokyo area, encountering numerous Japanese fighters but the aircraft are recalled upon receipt of the surrender announcement. Meanwhile, Vice-Admiral Ugaki, commanding Kamikaze operations, leads a final mission but the 7 dive-bombers are shot down off Tokyo before they can reach Okinawa.
    1945 – Following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6, Emperor Hirohito gave a recorded radio address across the Empire during which he announced the surrender of Japan to the Allies.
    1945 – Major League Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler sold the radio rights for the World Series for $150,000 to Gillette. Ford had been the World Series sponsor since 1934, paying $100,000 annually.
    1946 – One of 20th century America’s most prolific songwriters, Jimmy Webb was born in Elk City, OK.  His songs have been performed by many popular contemporary singers, including Glen Campbell, the 5th Dimension, Thelma Houston, the Supremes, Richard Harris, Johnny Maestro, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Isaac Hayes, Art Garfunkel, Amy Grant, America, Linda Ronstadt, R.E.M., Michael Feinstein, Donna Summer and Carly Simon. Inducted in 1986 into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.  As a co-writer in 1968 with Glen Campbell of “Wichita Lineman”, he was inspired by the isolation of a telephone-pole worker he saw on the Kansas-Oklahoma border. Campbell then asked if Webb could come up with another, so he wrote “By the Time I Get to Phoenix.”  According to BMI, “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” was the third most performed song in the fifty years between 1940 and 1990. Webb is the only artist ever to have received Grammy Awards for music, lyrics, and orchestration. 
    1946 - Saint Louis, MO, was deluged with a record 8.78 inches of rain in 24 hours.
    1951 - Top Hits
“Too Young” - Nat King Cole
“Mister and Mississippi” - Patti Page
“Because of You” - Tony Bennett
“I Wanna Play House with You” - Eddy Arnold
    1953 - Perry Como's "No Other Love" hits #1
    1955 - Elvis Presley attends a meeting in Memphis with his manager Bob Neal, Colonel Tom Parker and his father, Vernon Presley, at which a new contract is signed that names Colonel Parker as "special advisor" with control of virtually every aspect of Elvis' career. Parker was not really a Colonel at all, but a Dutch immigrant named Andreas Cornelius van Kujik, whose honorary title was given to him in 1948 by Governor Jimmie Davis of Louisiana. He was a flamboyant promoter whose pre-Elvis experience included shows called “The Great Parker Pony Circus” and “Tom Parker and His Dancing Turkeys” and was a veteran of carnivals, medicine shows and various other entertainment enterprises.
    1951 – In a play that will be repeated more famously in the World Series three years hence, Giants rookie CF Willie Mays made a miraculous play in the 8th. With the score 1-1 and Billy Cox on third, Mays sprinted to deep right centerfield, made a running catch of a Carl Furillo’s drive going away from home plate, whirled counterclockwise and threw out the astonished Cox at home. The Giants beat the Dodgers, 3-1.
    1955 - After a suggestion that RCA bid $20,000 to land Elvis Presley, company executive Mitch Miller replies "no singer is worth that much."
    1958 – Buddy Holly and Maria Elena Santiago are married in a private ceremony at his parents’ home in Lubbock, TX.
    1959 - Top Hits
“Lonely Boy” - Paul Anka
“A Big Hunk o’ Love” - Elvis Presley
“My Heart is an Open Book” - Carl Dobkins, Jr.
“Waterloo” - Stonewall Jackson
    1960 - Elvis Presley's "It's Now or Never" sits on top of the Billboard singles chart, where it would stay for a month. The record would have international sales of over 20 million and become a personal favorite of The King.
    1961 – Two days after sealing off free passage between East and West Berlin with barbed wire, East German authorities begin building a wall–the Berlin Wall–to permanently close off access to the West. For the next 28 years, the heavily fortified Berlin Wall stood as the most tangible symbol of the Cold War–a literal “iron curtain” dividing Europe. The end of World War II in 1945 saw Germany divided into four Allied occupation zones. Berlin, the German capital, was likewise divided into occupation sectors, even though it was located deep within the Soviet zone. The future of Germany and Berlin was a major sticking point in postwar treaty talks, and tensions grew when the United States, Britain, and France moved in 1948 to unite their occupation zones into a single autonomous entity–the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). In response, the USSR launched a land blockade of West Berlin in an effort to force the West to abandon the city. However, a massive airlift by Britain and the United States kept West Berlin supplied with food and fuel, and in May 1949 the Soviets ended the defeated blockade. By 1961, Cold War tensions over Berlin were running high again.  In 1989, East Germany’s communist regime was overwhelmed by the democratization sweeping across Eastern Europe. On the evening of November 9, 1989, East Germany announced an easing of travel restrictions to the West, and thousands demanded passage though the Berlin Wall. Faced with growing demonstrations, East German border guards opened the borders. Jubilant Berliners climbed on top of the Berlin Wall, painted graffiti on it, and removed fragments as souvenirs. The next day, East German troops began dismantling the wall. In 1990, East and West Germany were formally reunited.
    1964 - Despite the fact that the US record charts are dominated by Rock ‘n’ Roll, crooner Dean Martin has the number one record with his biggest hit, "Everybody Loves Somebody.” The song had been around since 1949 and had been previously recorded by several well-known artists without success.
    1964 - A race riot took place in Dixmoor, a suburb of Chicago, Ill.
    1965 - The Beatles' third North American tour kicks off at Shea Stadium in front of a record crowd of 55,000 fans and 2,000 security guards. It grossed $304,000, of which The Beatles' share was $160,000. At 8 pm EST, the Beatles take the stage at Shea Stadium in New York City, marking the very first time a rock band would headline a stadium concert and a major victory for promoter Sid Bernstein, who had arranged the gig after his gamble of booking the then-unknown group at Carnegie Hall had paid off. Tickets for the show, sold merely by word of mouth created by kids who asked Bernstein about the next Beatles show while he strolled in Central Park, sold out in just three weeks, beating the stadium's old seating record with 56,000 seats sold. Two thousand professionals were pressed into service for security. The concert, filmed for BBC and NBC both, also featured openers Brenda Holloway, The King Curtis Band, and Bernstein's new obsession, the Young Rascals.
    1965 - The Japanese community of San Francisco held Masanori Murakami Day at Candlestick Park to honor the first Japanese player to have reached the Majors in the US.  Ordinarily a reliever, Murakami made his first big league start as the Giants outslugged the Phillies, 15-9.
    1966 - The Mamas and Papas cut short their act at the Forest Hills Stadium as some 20 teen-agers spoiled the show. In the midst of “Monday, Monday,” several teen-agers charged across the grass and attempted to leap on stage. They were deterred by a heavy detail of New York police. On the last note of the song, the group ran off the stage and did not return, even though they were called back for an encore.
    1966 – Bobby Darin stages a crossover, releasing “If I Were a Carpenter.”
    1967 - Top Hits
“Light My Fire” - The Doors
“All You Need is Love” - The Beatles
“A Whiter Shade of Pale” - Procol Harum
“I’ll Never Find Another You” - Sonny James
    1967 - At the San Francisco Fillmore Auditorium: Count Basie & His Orchestra, Chuck Berry, Charles Lloyd Quartet, The Young Rascals, Steve Miller Band, Hair.
    1967 - The Sundance fire in northern Idaho was started by lightning. Winds of 50 mph carried firebrands as much as ten miles in advance to ignite new fires, and as a result, the forest fire spread twenty miles across the Selkirk Mountains in just twelve hours, burning 56,000 acres. The heat of the fire produced whirlwinds of flame with winds up to 300 mph which flung giant trees about like matchsticks.
    1968 - The Beatles record "Rocky Raccoon."
    1969 - The Woodstock Music and Art Festival began on Max Yasgur's 600-acre farm in Bethel, New York, promising "three days of peace, love, and music." Featuring two dozen of the country's hottest bands, the festival draws over 450,000 hippies to the tiny town, causing unimaginable traffic and logistics problems but nevertheless impressing the ordinary citizens. Three deaths, two births, four miscarriages, and a wedding are all reported before Jimi Hendrix ends the festivities with his legendary rendition of the US national anthem. Also appearing were (in part) Joe Cocker, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Santana, The Who, Credence Clearwater Revival, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, Canned Heat, Joan Baez, Santana, Melanie, Ten Years After, Sly and the Family Stone, Johnny Winter, Jefferson Airplane, Ravi Shankar, Country Joe and the Fish, Blood Sweat and Tears, and Arlo Guthrie. Among those who elected not to attend were Tommy James and the Shondells, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Jethro Tull, and The Moody Blues.
    1969 - Three Dog Night are awarded a Gold record for their self-titled debut album. The LP featured two modest selling 45s, "Nobody" and "Try A Little Tenderness" and the group had moved on to record their second album, "Suitable for Framing" when ABC Dunhill released a third single, "One." It shot to #5 in the US and subsequent copies of the LP were labeled "Three Dog Night – One."
    1970 - "Looking Out My Back Door" by Creedence Clearwater Revival enters the Billboard Hot 100 on its way to #2. Although some fans speculate that the song is about drugs because of its colorful, dream-like lyrics, writer John Fogerty said it was actually written for his then three-year old son, Josh.
    1970 – Patricia Palinkas becomes the first woman to play professionally in an American football game.  She was a holder for her husband Steven Palinkas for the Orlando Panthers in the Atlantic Coast Football League.
    1971 – President Nixon completes the break from the gold standard by ending convertibility of the US dollar into gold by foreign investors.
    1972 – Ben Affleck was born in Berkeley, CA.  He won the Academy Award in 1997 for “Good Will Hunting,” co-written with Matt Damon.
    1973 - Baltimore, MD, declares today "Cass Elliot Day" in honor of the native singer for The Mamas and the Papas, who was born there September 19, 1941.
    1973 – US bombing of Cambodia during the Viet Nam War ends.
    1975 - Top Hits
“One of These Nights” - Eagles
“Jive Talkin’” - Bee Gees
“Please Mr. Please” - Olivia Newton-John
“Just Get Up and Close the Door” - Johnny Rodriguez
    1979 - After years of production and financial troubles, “Apocalypse Now” finally opens in American theaters, three months after its premiere at Cannes.
    1981 - Lionel Richie and Diana Ross saw their duet "Endless Love" rise to the number one position in the US for the first of nine weeks. Because of scheduling difficulties, the song was completed at a Reno, Nevada recording studio at 5 A.M., after one of Diana's concerts. Richie was dividing his time between the next Commodores album and work with Kenny Rogers.
    1983 - Top Hits
“Every Breath You Take” - The Police
“Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” - Eurhythmics
“She Works Hard for the Money” - Donna Summer
“Your Love’s on the Line” - Earl Thomas Conley
    1987 - Less than three months after they go to No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 for the first time with "With or Without You," U2 return to the top of the chart with "I Still Haven't Found what I'm Looking For," the second single from "The Joshua Tree." (A birthday present for the Edge.)
    1987 - Thunderstorms developing ahead of a sharp cold front produced severe weather in the Upper Midwest during the afternoon and evening hours, with Minnesota and eastern South Dakota hardest hit. A thunderstorm in west central Minnesota spawned a tornado at Eagle Lake which killed one person and injured eight others. A thunderstorm in eastern South Dakota produced softball size hail at Warner.
    1988 - Thirty five cities in twenty states in the north central and northeastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, including Lamoni, IA and Baltimore, MD, where the mercury hit 105 degrees. Temperatures 100 degrees or above were reported in twenty-two states. Pierre, SD was the hot spot in the nation with a high of 114 degrees. Bluefield, WV reported eight straight days of record heat.
    1989 - Evening thunderstorms in eastern New Mexico produced wind gusts to 66 mph at Clovis. Evening thunderstorms in West Texas produced baseball size hail around Hereford, Dimmitt, Ware and Dalhart.
    1989 – In his second start after coming back from cancer surgery, Giants lefty Dave Dravecky suffered a broken arm beating the Expos, 3-2. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his left arm in severe pain after throwing a wild pitch to Tim Raines. The bone will heal but Dravecky will break it again during the Giants on-field celebration when they clinch the pennant later that season. Dravecky never pitched again in the Majors.
    1990 – Actress Jennifer Lawrence was born in Louisville.  Her performance in “Silver Linings Playbook”, opposite Bradley Cooper, won her the Best Actress Oscar, making her the second-youngest Best Actress winner.  She followed that with an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress in “American Hustle”.
    1991 - Top Hits
“(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” - Bryan Adams
“P.A.S.S.I.O.N.” - Rhythm Syndicate
“Summertime” - D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
“She’s in Love with the Boy” - Trisha Yearwood
    1991 - Paul Simon gave a free concert in Central Park, New York in front of 600,000 people. The performance was released later in the year as "Paul Simon's Concert in the Park".
    1994 - Janet Jackson tied Aretha Franklin for the most gold singles by a female artist - 14 - when "Any Time, Any Place" was certified as having sold more than 500,000 copies. 
    1995 – Shannon Faulkner becomes the first female cadet matriculated at The Citadel (she drops out less than a week later).
    1995 - The Canadian stage production of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" opened at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto. At $17 million, it was the most expensive stage production in Canadian history.
    1995 - At request of the Mantle family, Bob Costas delivers the eulogy at Mickey's funeral. The popular broadcaster, known for his love of the game and his admiration of the Yankee superstar, describes the Hall of Famer as "a fragile hero to whom we had an emotional attachment so strong and lasting that it defied logic."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr-tcB3L3g4&feature=player_embedded
    1996 - A New York women's shelter refuses to take money raised by a recent benefit concert when they learn that one of the performers was James Brown, often accused of emotional and physical abuse of women.   
    2000 - Club owner Ted Turner and two-time National League MVP Dale Murphy are inducted into the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame joining Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Phil Niekro and Warren Spahn.
    2002 - A memorial to John Lennon was unveiled in the remote Scottish village of Durness, where Lennon had spent his holidays from age seven to fifteen. The lyrics from "In My Life" were inscribed on three stones.
    2006 - Deana Martin's album "Memories Are Made of This" was released. The album featured her versions of many of her father's hits and other hits by Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.
    2007 - The Osmond Brothers, joined by siblings Donny, Marie and Jimmy, took the stage for the taping of a 50th anniversary reunion show to be aired on PBS. A meeting of no less than seven singing Osmonds onstage hadn't happened in more than 20 years, although no one could remember the exact date of the last full family concert.
    2011 - Jim Thome becomes the eighth player to reach the 600 career home runs plateau when he hits a two-run homer in the sixth (599), followed by three-run blast an inning later off Detroit's Daniel Schlereth. Needing fewer at-bats to reach 600 than anyone except for Babe Ruth, the 40-year-old Twins slugger accomplishes the feat in his 8,167th at-bat, compared to the Bambino's 6,921.  Thome finished seventh all-time with 612 HRs across a 22-year career that ended in 2012.  He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018.
    2013 - The Smithsonian announces the discovery of the olinguito, the first new carnivoran species found in the Americas in 35 years.