"Best Practice Broker" Rosanne Wilson, CLFP
In Hospital, Expected to go into Rehab

Leasing News is sorry to report that Rosanne Wilson, longtime friend and Leasing News Advisor, very active in the American Association of Commercial Finance Brokers, is in the hospital in Oregon.

Her husband, Richard Wilson, reports, "Rosanne is still in the Hospital for a few more days and then to Rehab facility. When she gets settled, I will have her give you a call. She has shut down her shop until she gets better. I will tell her you ask about her."

Asked what had happened, he explained, "She had a small intestine perforate while we were camping in Sept. She had fluid leak to all parts of her body and had a kidney failure as well. While in ICU, she developed a bed sore that spread to 10 inches to 5 inches deep. She will have to have plastic surgery for that when it heals and she cannot walk or use her arms well yet; walking will take about 1 year.  She can speak, though, but can’t use the computer to email anyone yet, so I am trying to keep people informed on her condition. It will be over 1 year before she really can do much."

Richard

Only photo Leasing News has of Vietnam Veteran Richard Wilson with Rosanne, on the road to recovering via the Portland Veterans Administration in August, 2013.

Leasing News Biography Rosanne Wilson, CLFP
http://leasingnews.org/Advisory%20Board/rosanne_wilson.html

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Last Call --- Salvation Army Christmas Kettle
All Donations Very Much Appreciated

Captain Howard Bennett, Chairman, Santa Clara County
Superior Court Judge Mary Jo Levinger, Kit Menkin, Past Chairman Ken Kelly. 

I am holding the Emeritus Award. This was the first such award in the San Jose four county districts ever given. A perpetual award in his name is to be awarded for volunteer work contributed. This was given for forty years of service serving as chairman, president, welfare secretary, and a list of accomplishments was read.

2019 List of Donors

Larry Armstrong
Brian Carey
Ben Carlile
Edward Castagna
Phil Dushey
Nick Gibbens
Barbara Griffith
Shawn Halladay, CLFP
Rick Jones
Teresa Kabot, CLFP
Edward Kaye
Jule Kreyling
Bruce Kropschot
Mitch Larkin
Bruce Lurie
Klaus Pache
Dan Pulcrano'
Reid Raykovich, CLFP
Susan Robert
Dean Rubin
Jeffrey Rudin
Bob Teichman, CLFP

Please click on the Kettle

Any questions, please contact: kitmenkin@leasingnews.org

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Top Ten Stories
December 16 - December 20

(Stories most opened by readers)

(1) New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
       and Related Industries
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2019/12_20.htm#hires

(2) Top Six Leasing/Finance Company Websites
         in North America
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2019/12_16.htm#websites

(3) Thousands of truck drivers have lost their jobs in 2019
   as the transportation 'bloodbath' unfolds.
  Here's the list of the biggest bankrupt trucking companies.
https://www.businessinsider.com/trucking-companies-bankrupt-list-truckers-react-to-industry-bloodbath-2019-7

(4) Mega-Merger Creates Fourth Largest Car Maker
     The World's Largest Automobile Manufacturer
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2019/12_20.htm#mega

(5)  November, 2019 - The List
    "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2019/12_18.htm#list_nov

(6) The 5 Real Reasons You Didn't Get Hired
           By Ken Lubin, ZRG Partners
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2019/12_16.htm#5

(7) ELFA Reports Borrowings Fell 23% from the Previous Month
     U.S. business borrowing for equipment falls 3%
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2019/12_20.htm#elfa

(8) The Nationalities Deported From The U.S. In 2018
   Removals by Country of Citizenship in 2018
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2019/12_18.htm#nationals

(9) Has California Made Directors Employees?
            By Keith Pau Bishop
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2019/12_18.htm#has

(10) CLFP Foundation Adds 35 New CLFPs
   Plus First CLFP in India, Bringing Year-End Total 860
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Dec2019/12_18.htm#clfp

Principal Financial Well-Being Index Projects Rising Cost
of Healthcare and  Employment Benefits in 2020
Yet a Very Good Business Year
By Mary Miller, Coleman Reports

According to the Principal Financial Well-Being Index, 6 out of 10 small businesses are predicted to experience growth throughout 2020. This trend continues a pattern of year-over-year growth and financial improvement that nearly 30% of small business employers have reported over the past six years. However, the rising costs of healthcare and benefits are expected to continue to impact Main Street.

Challenges for Main Street

Despite high optimism levels, Principal projects that main street will continue to face some challenges. The Index reports:

• 76% of entrepreneurs claim the rising cost of healthcare and growing revenues in highly competitive U.S. markets are the top challenges for their businesses.

• 72% indicate that offering competitive benefit packages is challenging.

• 67% of small business owners state it is hard to find and retain qualified employees.

• 30% of Millennial business owners indicate they are more likely to increase budgets to pay for staff perks and benefits compared to only 14% of Baby Boomers.

Baby Boomer small business owners may offer fewer perks and benefits due to cost, but 68% focus on increased employee satisfaction and morale, and 53% focus more on ethics and team spirit/responsibility for the company.

While 45% of employers are projected to implemented budget cuts to accommodate rising healthcare costs, the overall trend is to offer more creative perks to retain staff. Throughout 2020, expect to see more employers offering flexible work schedules, no dress codes and free food as incentives to attract and retain employees.

Coleman Report,
 28081 Marguerite Pkwy.#4525,
 Mission Viejo, CA 92690
bob@colemanreport.com

Upcoming Coleman Webinar

2020 SBA Secondary Market Summit
Date: Wednesday, January 8, 2020

 

 

 

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Number of Seasonal Workers Hired by Amazon
in Preparation for the Holiday Season

As Christmas is quickly approaching, retailers are gearing up for the final sprint of the holiday shopping season. That goes for brick-and-mortar stores as well as for online retailers, as the latter lure in last-minute shoppers with ultra-fast shipping offers. The weeks leading up to the holidays are not only the most important but also the busiest time of the year for most retailers, as sales typically peak in November and December.

Take Amazon for example: the e-commerce giant’s revenue typically spikes by 40-60 percent in the holiday quarter compared to the rest of the year, putting an enormous strain on the company’s logistics backbone. As our chart illustrates, Amazon hires thousands of seasonal workers every year to help carry the workload across its network of fulfillment and sortation centers and customer service sites.

This year, Amazon hired a record number of 200,000 temporary workers for the holiday season in the U.S. alone, doubling the seasonal hiring spree from 2018. In a written statement quoted by Bloomberg, Amazon attributed the growth in seasonal workers to the increasing breadth of its logistics operations. As of September 30, Amazon had 750,000 full- and part-time workers worldwide, not including the 200,000 workers helping it through the holiday rush.

By Felix Richter, Statista

https://www.statista.com/chart/11909/seasonal-workers-hired-by-amazon/

 

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Help Wanted

 

 

 

Recruiter Calls Me Too Much!

Career Crossroads by Emily Fitzgerald

Question: I have been contacted numerous times by a recruiter re: other opportunities. This person doesn’t take” I am not interested,” but he keeps on calling, it seems almost every other week.

Answer: Be courteous – you never know what the future holds! I don’t think you should be rude with anyone, as you don’t know what bridges you will be burning behind you. I would suggest emailing/or texting the recruiter back and letting them know that you are currently not interested in exploring opportunities, and you will keep his number in case things change.

Recruiter will check in with you once in awhile to see how you are doing in your career but not every other week or what appears to be every other week.

You know situations are consistently changing (e.g. moving / lay-off / comp decrease, looking for better quality of life, etc.…)

As a recruiter, I know we appreciate when a potential Candidate is a straight shooter, someone who won’t go down the interview road and then say, “well. I am not really interested in exploring an opportunity.” It is a waste of everyone’s time.

Don’t forget, there are firms (such as ours) that have developed long-term relationships with companies. Often these companies weigh hiring decisions on recruiters’ feedback! Reputation is very important in being respected in the community.

My viewpoint is your relationship with your recruiter should be LONG-TERM. A Recruiter that is only interested in a one-off placement is not a Recruiter planning to be in the industry for a period of time.

My advice: ONLY work with recruiters that are more relationship-driven!

Emily Fitzpatrick
Sr. Recruiter
Recruiters International, Inc.
Phone:  954-885-9241
Cell:  954-612-0567
emily@riirecruit.com

Invite me to connect on LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/pub/emily-fitzpatrick/4/671/76
Also follow us on Twitter #RIIINFO

Career Crossroads Previous Columns
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/crossroad.html

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Dan Harkey Remembrance
Remembering the Rolodex Days

When I started in the real estate business around 1974, the common methods for networking and growing data about your prospective customers was two-fold.  The first was a high-tech box of 3X5-inch blank cards. The second was called a Rolodex which was a rotating spindle that held specially shaped index cards that were referenced in alphabetical place.. Users would write contacts’ information on the cards or tape their business cards into the proper place.  This was thought of as a high-tech method of accumulating business contacts. If you were following up with 100 or 1000 customers, the primary difference is that the box of 3X5’s and the Rolodex got larger. There was prestige and pride in lugging around a large spindle of business cards.

The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the PC Junior, was created in late 1981. Other entrants quickly followed including the Commodore 64, Atari, and then Apple.  Prior to that time, I hired two engineers and created a computer device using components.  Pursi, Sorco, Cume, and Vector were the four components used to create a redundant mail merge marketing platform. The system had no internal memory, only two large floppy disks, one for the operating system, and one for the marketing data. By 1981, we thought we had gone to heaven using the new MS-DOS operating system created by a tiny company called Microsoft. There was no networking with multiple desk-top computers, sharing data with someone else and backing up the floppy disk from the original to a duplicate was cumbersome. On a designated Friday, an employee spent 8 continuous hours backing up 256 floppy disks. I created a software package to use in place of the cumbersome 3X5 cards; I called it 3X5. From that time on if a customer called, you could find their name quickly and add data much more efficiently. Growing the size of a customer base became much more efficient, the only problem with the method was that you were stuck identifying the information when you were setting at a desk, otherwise back to the trusty 3X5’s or pen and pad.

Marketing yourself and your product, goods or services was through personal networking and direct mail. Getting to know as many people as possible and developing friendship relationships was the key.  Even back then, we fully knew that friends do business with friends. Referrals come from friends who like and trust you. That has not changed.  Only the technology to manage those relationships has changed. There was no email, fax machines, cell phones, and black-and-white photo copies were high-tech. Who remembers the phrase “press hard 3 copies,” on carbon paper?  Original typewriters with a written correspondence was the preferred professional approach. Mailing leads using the US postal service was the only practical tool available and using a return envelope or post card was common as a customer response tool or a phone response from the potential customer was preferable.

Data management back then was all mechanical. Either you or an assistant would be responsible to change or update all the data, such as return envelopes, changes of address, changes of phone numbers, and updating all the background data collected.

You could have a conversation today with a young person about the marketing strategies of 40-50 years ago, but, expect little or no comprehension! Caring about what happened 40-50 years ago begs the question.

Dan Harkey
Business and Private Money Finance Consultant
Bus. 949 521 7115
Cell  949 533 8315
dan@danharkey.com

Dan is President and CEO at California Commercial Advisers, Inc. He consults on subjects of Business Growth & Private Money. Dan often creates articles interrelated to these subjects. He has been active in the real estate and financial services industry since 1972 & possesses a lifetime teaching credential for secondary and adult education. He has taught over 350 educational seminars on subjects related to real estate lending, private money lending & loan underwriting for commercial/industrial properties.

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ELFA Reports Borrowings Fell 23% from the Previous Month
U.S. business borrowing for equipment falls 3%

(Chart: Leasing News)

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25) reports new business volume in November 2018 was $7.8 billion, down 23 percent $10.1 billion in October.  Business was also down 3 percent year-over-year.

click to make larger
(Chart: ELFA)

ELFA President and CEO Ralph Petta said, “Reflecting an overall softening in equipment and software investment during much of the year—and particularly in Q3—November’s decline in new business volume reported by MLFI respondents was not terribly surprising. Uncertainty brought on by the prolonged trade frictions with China, which at the time of this writing appear to be significantly mitigated as a result of a recently announced Phase 1 trade deal between the two countries, was also partly responsible for this slowdown.

“Credit markets continue to perform well, with losses and delinquencies still in very acceptable ranges,” he added.

Separately, the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s Monthly Confidence Index (MCI-EFI) in December is 56.2, an increase from the November index of 54.9.

Receivables over 30 days were 1.80 percent, down from 2.00 percent the previous month and up from 1.60 percent the same period in 2018. Charge-offs were 0.43 percent, down from 0.46 percent the previous month, and up from 0.37 percent in the year-earlier period.

Credit approvals totaled 75.7 percent, down from 76.3 percent in October. Total headcount for equipment finance companies was down 2.9 percent year-over-year.

click to make larger

click image to make larger

click image to make larger

(Chart: ELFA)

Full Listing of MLFI Participants

Bank of America Global Leasing
Bank of the West
BB&T Bank
BMO Harris Equipment Finance
Canon Financial Services
Caterpillar Financial Services
CIT
Citizens Asset Finance
Dell Financial Services
DLL
Fifth Third Bank
First American Equipment Finance, a City National Bank Company
Frost Equipment Leasing and Finance
GreatAmerica Financial Services
Hitachi Capital America
HP, Inc.
HPE Financial Services Company
Huntington Equipment Finance
John Deere Financial
Key Equipment Finance
LEAF Commercial Capital Inc.
M&T Bank
Marlin Capital Solutions
Merchants Bank Equipment Finance
PNC Equipment Finance
Societe Generale Equipment Finance
Siemens Financial Services
Stearns Bank
Stonebriar Commercial Finance
TCF Capital Solutions, a division of TCF National Bank
TD Equipment Finance
TIAA Commercial Finance, Inc.
US Bancorp Business Equipment Finance
Volvo Financial Services
Wells Fargo Equipment Finance

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Centra Funding Celebrates Christmas
"Be of Good Cheer to All and To All Good Night"

 
President John Boettigheimer, fourth male to right; standing next to his mentor Bernie Boettigheimer

Centra Funding LLC (and 4 Hour Funding, LLC). ,celebrated its office Christmas party on Friday, December 20th at Maggiano’s in Plano, Texas. Over 45 employees and spouses were in attendance as Centra celebrated a record year. John Boettigheimer, President of Centra, remarked that this group is the most professional, efficient and hard-working group he has ever with whom he had the pleasure of working.

Centra maintains its main processing office in Plano, Texas but also has offices in Newport Beach CA and Vero Beach FL. It is currently finalizing its first securitization on its portfolio and should complete the securitization in the next month. Centra prefunds all vendor invoices and operates solely with electronic contracts and will soon be publishing its first customer phone app which will be available on both the Apple and Android Play Stores.

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Fernando's View
Special Christmas Edition, Part II
By Fernando F. Croce

When it comes to celebrating Christmas with your loved ones, a great movie is as much of a seasonal staple as eggnog and mistletoe. So check out Netflix for the rest of our Yuletide recommendations!

Holiday Inn (Mark Sandrich, 1942): Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby team up in this musical comedy, which, though not as well-known as its 1954 remake (“White Christmas”), is the superior movie. Jim (Crosby), Ted (Astaire) and Lila (Virginia Dale) are a trio of popular New York entertainers who split up when Ted and Lila fall in love and Jim turns a country hotel into a venue reserved specially for holiday shows. Jim becomes smitten with new dancer, Linda (Marjorie Reynolds), but when a recently dumped Ted turns up, another romantic triangle quickly emerges. Deftly directed by Mark Sandrich, a veteran of classics like “Top Hat,” the movie features a variety of memorable Irving Berlin songs, including “Easter Parade,” “Let’s Start the New Year Right,” and of course “White Christmas.”

Susan Slept Here (Frank Tashlin, 1954): A veteran of Looney Tunes cartoons, director Frank Tashlin (“The Girl Can’t Help It”) would always bring a feeling of giddy abandon to his films. Such is the case with this underrated 1954 comedy, which charts a welter of romantic complications in Hollywood at Christmastime. The eponymous Susan (Debbie Reynolds) is a rebellious teenager who runs away from juvenile court and hides in the home of Mark (Dick Powell), a cynical, broke screenwriter. To keep her away from jail, Mark impulsively marries the young runaway, which does not sit well with his frosty fiancée, Isabella (Anne Francis). The situation gets even more complicated once the newlyweds start to actually fall in love. Brimming with snappy quips and dream sequences, Tashlin’s ticklish movie deserves to be better known.

A Christmas Story (Bob Clark, 1983): It’s amazing to think that Bob Clark, the director of the enduring horror classic “Black Christmas,” was also behind a very different but equally iconic Christmas staple with this charmer, which has become a cable favorite due to its nostalgia and humor. Based on Jean Shepherd’s writings, it depicts the holiday through the eyes of a precocious nine-year-old boy, Ralphie (Peter Billingsley), who’s trying to survive the pitfalls of childhood while hoping for a BB gun from Santa. Things rarely go as planned, however, when your parents (Melinda Dillon and Darren McGavin, both wonderful) think pink bunny suits make good gifts. In a movie filled with classic scenes, none is more memorable (or funnier) than Ralphie’s visit to a very cranky department-store St. Nick.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (Jeremiah S. Chechik, 1989): The Griswolds, possibly the country’s most bumbling family, bundle up for mistletoe and reindeer games in this very funny and surprisingly poignant holiday farce. Clark (Chevy Chase) is planning a solid Christmas with his wife Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo) and kids, but instead finds an endless series of disasters, from the Christmas lights that refuse to work to the relatives who can’t stop fighting. When the bonus he was expecting from his boss never comes, Clark is pushed to the edge of sanity. Re-teaming several of the characters from the earlier films (including Randy Quaid in a scene-stealing role as Clark’s hick cousin) but introducing a more family-friendly tone it shows how even the most absurd mishaps ultimately only bring the Griswolds closer together.

Go (Doug Liman, 1999): Christmas Eve serves as the backdrop for this rollicking crime-comedy, directed by Doug Liman (“Swingers”) and structured like a junior version of “Pulp Fiction.” Unfolding in the netherworld of Los Angeles at night, the film follows a group of interlocked characters as they toe the thin line between pleasure and danger. There’s a supermarket clerk (Sarah Polley) and her friend (Katie Holmes), who find themselves in over their heads as they try to trick drug dealers; a trio of joyriders (Desmond Askew, (Taye Diggs, and Breckin Mayer) on the run from an angry bouncer; and a pair of soap-opera actors (Scott Wolf, Jay Mohr) who end up in the home of an eccentric police officer (William Fichtner). Studded with sharp turns, this is one wild Yuletide ride.

Shepherd Mix
Hillsboro, Oregon  Adopt a Dog

Beverley
ID 42651265
Female
3 Months, 22 days
Black/White
Spayed
Location: In Home

"I am one of a litter of 7. Our momma was sick when she was pregnant with us but no one knew that. She had Anaplasmosis Tick-Borne Disease. Doctors said we are all good and momma May is all healed and going strong and looking for her forever home just like us. We are all happy & healthy but 3 of us have had seizures that are controlled by a medication (about $ 20 a month). It may be something they can grow out of. There is really no way to know if any of the rest of us will develop health issues in the future.

"NO apartment life for us."

Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals
http://ofosa.org/articles-posts/

All of our animals are in private foster homes or at our corporate foster location, Fido's-World's First Dog Tap House (7700 SW Dartmouth, #110, Tigard, Oregon

If you are interested in a specific pet, please call 503-747-7818 or email info@ofosa.org to arrange a meet & greet and/or before you visit an adoption event. Because our pets are in foster care, it may take 24 to 48 hours for a response. We answer inquiries in the order received.

PLEASE NOTE!  Before you can adopt one of our pups, ALL members of your household, including other dogs, must participate in a meet & greet with the new pup.

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January Is the Perfect Time to Hone Your Skills
Education Focus 20/20  Secured Finance Network

Account Management
Level One

New relationship managers need a solid foundation to effectively manage secured credit facilities of all sizes. This 3-day online course covers topics specifically related to managing asset-based lending relationships. Our instructors help you develop valuable technical skills to address loan restructures, anticipate credit issues and mitigate risk, as well as learn the finer points of the role.

January 14-16, 2:00-3:30 pm ET
$695 Members, $945 Non-Members
                
Operations
Level One

This online course focuses on the daily duties of the Operations Specialist and how to glean important data from information submitted by the borrower. Instructors teach you how to extrapolate and analyze key indices so that risk is properly managed.

Participants should have 6 months to two years’ experience.

January 28-30, 2:00-3:30 pm ET
$695 Members, $945 Non-Members

For More Information:
https://www.sfnet.com/home/contact-us

Secured Finance Network Course Calendar
https://www.sfnet.com/home/education/course-calendar

News Briefs----

Large fleets reduce driver count;
    turnover rate hits 96%
https://landline.media/large-fleets-reduce-driver-count-turnover-rate-hits-96/

China to Lower Import Tariffs on Frozen Pork,
 Avocados from January 1
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-imports/china-to-lower-import-tariffs-on-some-products-from-january-1-idUSKBN1YR02Z

Boeing Dismisses CEO Muilenburg
  to Restore Confidence over 737 MAX Crisis
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-737-max-ceo/boeing-dismisses-ceo-muilenburg-to-restore-confidence-over-737-max-crisis-idUSKBN1YR1FL

Boeing Propels the Dow Jones Industrial Average to Record
   All Three Major Averages Notching Records
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/12/23/boeing-737-max-fallout-stock-jumps-ousted-ceo-propels-dow-toward-record/2734254001/

Gaming Stock Rise as Draftkings Takes $3.3 Billion
   Stock Market Bet
https://www.investors.com/news/gaming-stocks-rise-online-gambling-draftkings-stock-market-bet/

36 Corvettes, Hidden For Years in a Garage
    Will Be Given Away
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/23/business/peter-max-corvettes-contest.html

 

 
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You May Have Missed---

Here's What FinTech Pros Say Are Their Top Predictions
  for 2020,  and which trends never materialized in 2019
https://www.businessinsider.com/fintech-pros-predict-2020-trends-2019-12

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American Football Poem

Hope Is a Tattered Flag
By Carl Sandburg

Hope is a tattered flag and a dream of time.
Hope is a heart spun word, the rainbow, the shadblow in white
The evening star inviolable over the coal mines,
The shimmer of northern lights across a bitter winter night,
The blue hills beyond the smoke of the steel works,
The birds who go on singing to their mates in peace, war, peace,
The ten-cent crocus bulb blooming in a used-car salesroom,
The horseshoe over the door, the luck piece in the pocket,
The kiss and the comforting laugh and resolve—
Hope is an echo, hope ties itself yonder, yonder.
The spring grass showing itself where least expected,
The rolling fluff of white clouds on a changeable sky,
The broadcast of strings from Japan, bells from Moscow,
Of the voice of the prime minister of Sweden carried
Across the sea in behalf of a world family of nations
And children singing chorales of the Christ child
And Bach being broadcast from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
And tall skyscrapers practically empty of tenants
And the hands of strong men groping for handholds
And the Salvation Army singing God loves us…. 

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Pete Carroll says there's a 'really good chance' Seahawks
    sign RB Marshawn Lynch
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28359335/pete-carroll-says-there-really-good-chance-seahawks-sign-rb-marshawn-lynch

Lessons from six disappointing NFL teams:
  Barnwell on what went wrong and what's next
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28348064/lessons-six-disappointing-nfl-teams-barnwell-went-wrong-next

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs look
  as if they're peaking at perfect time
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/nancy-armour/2019/12/22/patrick-mahomes-kansas-city-chiefs-healthy-and-hitting-their-stride/2731823001/

Mike McCarthy interviewed with Panthers
http://www.theredzone.org/Blog-Description/EntryId/79783/Sources--Mike-McCarthy-interviewed-with-Panthers

Alameda County agrees to sell its share of Oakland Coliseum to A’s
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Alameda-County-agrees-to-sell-its-share-of-14928431.php

Barber: Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer thriving at 66
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/sports/10501087-181/barber-stanfords-tara-vanderveer-thriving

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California Nuts Briefs---

California population nearly hits a milestone,
  but growth is slowing. Here’s why
https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article238591568.html?

San Francisco Bay Area job growth surges in November,
    led by South Bay and Peninsula
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/12/20/bay-area-job-growth-surges-in-november-led-by-south-bay-and-peninsula/

Living in her car, she was afraid and harassed.
    Then she found an unexpected refuge
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/23/us/homeless-living-in-vehicles-los-angeles/index.html

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“Gimme that Wine”

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

Democrats spar over wine cave fundraiser.
   Cave’s billionaire owners aren't happy about it
https://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/industrynews/wineindustry/10504987-181/hall-wines-napa-democratic-party-debate

UC Davis Releases 5 New Wine Grape Varieties
https://www.ucdavis.edu/food/news/uc-davis-releases-five-new-wine-grape-varieties

Third of Adelaide Hills Vineyard in Australia Lost in Wildfires
https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2019/12/third-of-adelaide-hills-vineyards-lost-in-wildfires/

Symington Family launches Quinta da Fonte Souto wines
https://www.decanter.com/premium/quinta-da-fonte-souto-launched-429151/

Double Zero Wines  Impactful Debut 2019 James Suckling
  Top 100 Wines of U.S. as the Only Featured Oregon Chardonnay
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataId=224019

How the Tariffs Will Affect Your Wine (video)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2019-12-22/how-the-tariffs-will-affect-your-wine-video

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

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

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

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

This Day in History

    . . But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"
Clement C. Moore, "A Visit from St. Nicholas"
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/dec24.html

On Christmas Eve, traditionally one present is exchanged in the evening in many Christian countries. Often all gift giving is done this evening with Church service the next day; however, in the United States, many of the Christian faith attend late evening or midnight mass. Easter is considered the major event but the most popular of Christian observance is Christmas as a Feast of the Nativity, dating from the 4th century. Although Jesus' birth date is not known, the Western church selected December 25 for the feast, possible to counteract the non-Christian festivals of that approximate date. Many customs from non-Christian festivals (Roman Saturnalia, Mithraic sun's birthday, Teutonic yule, Druidic and other winter solstice rites) have been adopted as part of the Christmas celebration (lights, mistletoe, holly and ivy, holiday tree, wassailing and gift-giving, for example). Some Orthodox Churches celebrate Christmas on January 7th based on the “old calendar (Julian). Theophany, recognition of the divinity of Jesus, is observed on this date and on January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany, especially by the Eastern Orthodox Church, considered by history as the first organized Christian church.
http://ocf.org/OrthodoxPage/intro.html
http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Orthodox-Faith/Doctrine/Revelation.html
    1777 - Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is discovered by Capt. Cook.
    1784 - The first Methodist bishop was Francis Asbury, who was appointed in 1784 by Thomas Coke, to whom the title really belonged. They were known as the joint bishops of the Church in North America. Bishop Asbury was elected by the first General Conference called the Christmas Conference, which met this date in 1784 in the Light Street Church, Baltimore, MD. Asbury preached in myriad places: courthouses, public houses, tobacco houses, fields, public squares, wherever a crowd assembled to hear him. For the remainder of his life he rode an average of 6,000 miles each year, preaching virtually every day and conducting meetings and conferences. Under his direction, the church grew from 1,200 to 214,000 members and 700 ordained preachers. Among the men he ordained was Richard Allen in Philadelphia, the first black minister in the United States.
    1809 - Christopher “Kit” Carson’s (d. 1868) birthday at Madison County, KY. American frontiersman, solider, trapper, guide and Indian agent.  My father, Lawrence Menkin, was writing the “Kit Carson” radio series, so when I was born, I received this name. My parents always called me “Kit.”
    1814 - The War of 1812 between America and Britain ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent.
    1818 – The Christmas carol "Silent Night" was composed by Franz Xaver Gruber and was first sung at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, Austria.
    1826 – Eggnog Riot at the US Military Academy at West Point began, wrapping up the following morning.  It was caused by a drunken Christmas party in the North Barracks of the academy. Two days prior to the incident, a large quantity of whiskey was smuggled into the academy to make eggnog for the party, giving the riot its name.  The riot eventually involved more than one-third of the cadets by the time it ceased on Christmas morning. A subsequent investigation by academy officials resulted in the implication of 70 cadets and the court-martialing of 20 of them and one enlisted soldier. Among the participants in the riot, though he was not court-martialed, was future Confederate States President Jefferson Davis.
    1832 - The first hospital and asylum of African-Americans founded by whites was chartered in Savannah, GA, as the Georgia Infirmary for the Relief and Protection of Aged and Afflicted Negroes. The organizational meeting was held at the Exchange on January 15, 1833, and the first president was Richard F. Williams.
    1851 - A devastating fire at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroys about two-thirds of its 55,000 volumes, including most of Thomas Jefferson's personal library, sold to the institution in 1815.
    1860 - Joseph Jefferson's "Rip Van Winkle" premieres in NYC.       
    1865 - Several Confederate veterans formed Ku Klux Klan in Pulaski, TN.  The name combines the Greek word for circle (kyklos) with the Gaelic word clan. Nathan Bedford Forrest, a former Confederate cavalry general and slave trader, served as the KKK’s first grand wizard or leader-in-chief.  At first, the group focused as much on intimidating Northern “carpetbaggers” as on putting down the freed slaves. By 1869, however, the group regularly engaged in wanton destruction of property, assaults and murder, prompting Forrest to seek in vain to disband the organization. In 1869, Forrest expressed disillusionment with the lack of discipline among the various white supremacist groups across the South, and issued a letter ordering the dissolution of the Ku Klux Klan and the destruction of its costumes; he then withdrew from the organization. In the last years of his life, Forrest publicly denounced the violence and racism of the Klan, insisted he had never been a member, and made a public speech in favor of racial harmony. In 1871, a Republican-led Congress passed the Ku Klux Act, authorizing President Ulysses Grant to use military force to suppress the terrorist group.  Its white-hooded members advocated white supremacy, anti-Semitism, anti-Catholicism, racism, homophobia, anti-Communism and a virulent form of nativism.
    1872 - Chicago, IL hit its all-time low of 23 below zero. Minneapolis dropped to 38 below zero and then rose only to -17.
    1889 - Daniel Stover and William Hance of Freeport, Illinois, were up late assembling bicycles for their children when they patented the back-pedal brake. Later their invention would be known as the safety brake, becoming a standard feature on most bikes. Today, there are 18 gears on a bike and we need two hands to brake instead of just pedaling backwards with our feet.
    1893 - Henry Ford completes his first useful gas motor.
    1905 - Birthday of Howard Hughes (d. 1976), the manufacturing magnate, Hollywood mogul, and record-setting aviator. Born in Houston, Hughes entered the business world at age seventeen, taking the reins of his family's Texas-based tool company after his father passed away. Movie producer who spent his later years as a recluse, after taking pain relieving drugs from an airplane crash. He died in an airplane en route from Acapulco, Mexico to Houston, April 5, 1976.    
    1906 - Canadian-born radio inventor Reginald A. Fessenden became the first person to broadcast a music program over radio. The program was transmitted from Brant Rock, Massachusetts. It featured a female vocalist and Fessenden himself playing "O Holy Night" on the violin. Fessenden made several fundamental discoveries in radio, including one -- the superheterodyne principle -- which is the basis for all modern broadcasting
    1920 - Enrico Caruso gives his last public performance, in NYC.
    1922 – Ava Gardner was born in Grabtown, NC.  She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for “Mogambo” (1953).  Gardner married Mickey Rooney in 1942. Largely due to Rooney's serial adultery, Gardner divorced him in 1943.  Gardner's second marriage was brief as well, to jazz musician and bandleader Artie Shaw, from 1945–46. Gardner's third and last marriage was to singer and actor Frank Sinatra, from 1951 to 1957. She would later say in her autobiography that he was the love of her life. Gardner used her considerable influence, particularly with Harry Cohn, to get Sinatra cast in his Oscar-winning role in “From Here to Eternity” (1953). That role and the award revitalized both Sinatra's acting and singing careers. 
    1924 - Rhythm-and-blues singer Lee Dorsey (d. 1986) was born in New Orleans. His hits in the 1960's, most of them produced by Allen Toussaint, included "Ya Ya," "Working in the Coal Mine" and "Ride Your Pony."
    1927 - Birthday of Mary Higgins Clark, The Bronx.  Best-selling U.S. author of suspense novels. Her daughter also writes mystery novels. Originally a short story writer and crafter of radio scripts, she began a string of best selling suspense novels with “Where Are the Children?” (1975). Her slick style coupled with intricate plots carried through a dozen books such as “A Stranger is Watching” (1978), “The Cradle Will Fall” (1980), “Loves Music, Loves to Dance” (1991), “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” (1995), and “Moonlight Becomes You” (1996).
    1931 - Jazz pianist Raphael Homer "Ray" Bryant (d. 2011) was born in Detroit, Michigan.  He is perhaps best known for "Monkey Business" and "Little Susie." 
    1939 – As Nazi Germany continues its aggression across Europe, Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas Eve appeal for peace.
    1941 - Lionel Hampton cuts first big band session for Decca records.
    1941 – The first ships of Admiral Nagumo's Pearl Harbor attack fleet return to Japan.
    1942 - New York City had 26 inches of snow in 24 hours with up to 32 inches in the suburbs. The snowstorm killed 27, cost $8 million and brought the city to a standstill.
    1943 - President Roosevelt appointed Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower Supreme Commander of Allied Forces as part of Operation Overlord. Almost everyone had believed the position would go to American Chief of Staff George C. Marshall.
    1944 - The German Ardennes offensive is exhausted by the end of the day. The furthest advance has been achieved by elements of the German 5th Panzer Army. The 2nd Panzer Division has reached the outskirts of Dinant with the 116th Panzer Division on the right flank near Hotten and the Panzer Lehr Division on the left flank to the west of St. Hubert. American forces in Bastogne continue to resist; some 260 Allied transports drop supplies to the defenders. Allied fighter-bombers fly over 600 sorties in the Ardennes.
    1944 - BIDDLE, MELVIN E., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company B, 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Place and date: Near Soy, Belgium, 23-24 December 1944. Entered service at: Anderson, Ind. Birth: Daleville, Ind. G.O. No. 95, 30 October 1945. Citation: He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy near Soy, Belgium, on 23 and 24 December 1944. Serving as lead scout during an attack to relieve the enemy-encircled town of Hotton, he aggressively penetrated a densely wooded area, advanced 400 yards until he came within range of intense enemy rifle fire, and within 20 yards of enemy positions killed 3 snipers with unerring marksmanship. Courageously continuing his advance an additional 200 yards, he discovered a hostile machinegun position and dispatched its 2 occupants. He then located the approximate position of a well-concealed enemy machinegun nest, and crawling forward threw hand grenades which killed two Germans and fatally wounded a third. After signaling his company to advance, he entered a determined line of enemy defense, coolly and deliberately shifted his position, and shot 3 more enemy soldiers. Undaunted by enemy fire, he crawled within 20 yards of a machinegun nest, tossed his last hand grenade into the position, and after the explosion charged the emplacement firing his rifle. When night fell, he scouted enemy positions alone for several hours and returned with valuable information which enabled our attacking infantry and armor to knock out 2 enemy tanks. At daybreak he again led the advance and, when flanking elements were pinned down by enemy fire, without hesitation made his way toward a hostile machinegun position and from a distance of 50 yards killed the crew and 2 supporting riflemen. The remainder of the enemy, finding themselves without automatic weapon support, fled panic stricken. Pfc. Biddle's intrepid courage and superb daring during his 20-hour action enabled his battalion to break the enemy grasp on Hotton with a minimum of casualties.
    1944 - *CASTLE, FREDERICK W. (Air Mission), Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Brigadier General. Assistant Commander, 4th Bomber Wing, U.S. Army Air Corps. Place and date: Germany, 24 December 1944. Entered service at: Mountain Lake, N.J. Born: 14 October 1908, Manila P.I. G.O. No. 22, 28 February 1947. Citation: He was air commander and leader of more than 2,000 heavy bombers in a strike against German airfields on 24 December 1944. En route to the target, the failure of 1 engine forced him to relinquish his place at the head of the formation. In order not to endanger friendly troops on the ground below, he refused to jettison his bombs to gain speed maneuverability. His lagging, unescorted aircraft became the target of numerous enemy fighters which ripped the left wing with cannon shells. Set the oxygen system afire, and wounded 2 members of the crew. Repeated attacks started fires in 2 engines, leaving the Flying Fortress in imminent danger of exploding. Realizing the hopelessness of the situation, the bail-out order was given. Without regard for his personal safety he gallantly remained alone at the controls to afford all other crewmembers an opportunity to escape. Still another attack exploded gasoline tanks in the right wing, and the bomber plunged earthward. carrying Gen. Castle to his death. His intrepidity and willing sacrifice of his life to save members of the crew were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.
    1944 - *KEFURT, GUS, Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company K, 15th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Bennwihr, France, 23-24 December 1944. Entered service at: Youngstown, Ohio. Birth: Greenville, Pa. Citation: He distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty on 23 and 24 December 1944, near Bennwihr, France. Early in the attack S/Sgt. Kefurt jumped through an opening in a wall to be confronted by about 15 Germans. Although outnumbered he opened fire, killing 10 and capturing the others. During a seesaw battle which developed he effectively adjusted artillery fire on an enemy tank close to his position although exposed to small arms fire. When night fell he maintained a 3-man outpost in the center of the town in the middle of the German positions and successfully fought off several hostile patrols attempting to penetrate our lines. Assuming command of his platoon the following morning he led it in hand-to-hand fighting through the town until blocked by a tank. Using rifle grenades he forced surrender of its crew and some supporting infantry. He then continued his attack from house to house against heavy machinegun and rifle fire. Advancing against a strongpoint that was holding up the company, his platoon was subjected to a strong counterattack and infiltration to its rear. Suffering heavy casualties in their exposed position the men remained there due to S/Sgt. Kefurt's personal example of bravery, determination and leadership. He constantly exposed himself to fire by going from man to man to direct fire. During this time he killed approximately 15 of the enemy at close range. Although severely wounded in the leg he refused first aid and immediately resumed fighting. When the forces to his rear were pushed back 3 hours later, he refused to be evacuated, but, during several more counterattacks moved painfully about under intense small arms and mortar fire, stiffening the resistance of his platoon by encouraging individual men and by his own fire until he was killed. As a result of S/Sgt. Kefurt's gallantry the position was maintained.
    1944 - Henry Vestine (d. 1997), guitarist for the blues-rock band Canned Heat, was born in Takoma Park, MD. Vestine joined Canned Heat in 1966 after playing with the Mothers of Invention. "On the Road Again" in 1968 and "Going Up the Country" in 1969 were Canned Heat's two biggest hits. Vestine left Canned Heat in mid-1969 to form a new band but returned the following year after the death of group member Al Wilson. Vestine departed Canned Heat for good in 1975.
    1944 - The Andrews Sisters debut their radio show, “The Andrews Sisters' Eight-To-The-Bar Ranch” on the ABC network.
    1945 - Top Hits
“It Might as Well Be Spring” - The Sammy Kaye Orchestra (vocal: Billy Williams)
“White Christmas” - Bing Crosby
“It's Been a Long, Long Time” - The Harry James Orchestra (vocal: Kitty Kallen)
“Silver Dew on the Blue Grass Tonight” - Bob Wills    
    1948 - “The Perry Como Show” premiers on TV. Singer Perry Como hosted “The Chesterfield Supper Club” when it came to TV from radio. Also featured were the Mitchell Ayres Orchestra and the Fontane Sisters. When the show moved from NBC to CBS in 1950, announcer Frank Gallop was added. In 1955, Como moved back to NBC, and the show was retitled, “The Perry Como Show” during the 1955-59 seasons and then “The Kraft Music Hall” during 1959-63. The Ray Charles Singers and the Louis DaPron Dancers were featured. Como's theme song was “Dream Along with Me.”
    1948 - The first solar heated house was occupied at Dover, MA. The experiments were sponsored by Amelia Peabody, house designed by Eleanor Raymond, and the heating system developed by Dr. Maria Telkes. It was cheap and effective and promptly ignored by industry.
    1950 - In a major feat of naval arms, the U.S. amphibious fleet, Task Force 90, commanded by Rear Admiral James H. Doyle, completed evacuation of X Corps from Hungnam. Supported by the Seventh Fleet, commanded by Vice Admiral Arthur D. Struble aboard the battleship USS Missouri, TF 90 evacuated 105,000 U.S. and ROK Marines and soldiers, 17,500 vehicles, 350,000 tons of cargo and 91,000 Korean civilians in just over 190 ships. This enormously complex operation has been termed "Inchon in Reverse."
    1950 - In a daring helicopter rescue, the U.S. Air Force's 33rd Air Rescue Squadron snatched 35 U.S. and ROK soldiers from behind enemy lines.
    1950 - The Cleveland Browns defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 30-28, to win the NFL championship. The Browns claimed the title in the first year in the league as one of three teams (Baltimore Colts and San Francisco 49ers) from the defunct All-American Football Conference.  The Rams, incidentally, had been the Cleveland Rams before they left for the West Coast after the 1945 season, relocated to St. Louis and are now back in LA.   The Browns relocated to Baltimore to become the Ravens since the city of Cleveland retained the Browns name under an eminent domain suit.  An expansion Cleveland Browns team began play in 1999.
    1950 - Pianist Glenn Gould made his network broadcast debut on the C-B-C's "Sunday Morning Recital." The broadcast marked the beginning of what Gould called his love affair with the microphone. He gave up the concert stage in 1964 to concentrate on the possibilities of recording technology.
    1953 - Top Hits
“Ebb Tide” - The Frank Chacksfield Orchestra
“White Christmas” - Bing Crosby
“Ricochet” - Teresa Brewer
“Let Me Be the One” - Hank Locklin
    1953 – “Dragnet,” starring Jack Webb as Detective Joe Friday, became the first network television show to have a sponsor, Fatima cigarettes.
    1954 - Singer Johnny Ace accidentally killed himself while playing Russian roulette backstage at a Houston concert on Christmas Eve. Ace was well known for singing and playing piano with such Blues legends as Bobby Bland and B.B. King. He later signed with Duke Records and had a string of R&B hits, including "My Song," "Saving My Love," "Please Forgive Me," "Cross My Heart" and "The Clock," along with two more hits after his death, "Pledging My Love" and "Anymore." Cashbox Magazine had named Johnny Ace as its Most Promising New Artist earlier in the month.
    1955 - The Lennon Sisters debuted as "The Lawrence Welk Show’s” featured singers on ABC. In just a month they became regulars and remained on the show until 1968.
    1955 - The Weavers played Carnegie Hall in New York, ending three years on Senator Joseph McCarthy's blacklist because of their support of left-wing causes. Many of the groups in the folk music revival of the following decade were inspired by the Weavers' topical songs and fervent style.
    1956 – The “I Love Lucy Christmas Show” aired for the first time and was never syndicated.
    1958 – Bobby Darin released “Beyond the Sea” to follow up the smash hit “Mack the Knife”.
    1959 - The Philadelphia Orphan's Court gives Chubby Checker a raise in his weekly allowance from $150 to $200. The 19-year-old singer (whose real name is Ernest Evans) has already put three songs, "The Class," "The Twist" and "The Hucklebuck" in the US Top Forty.
    1961 - The Tokens reached the top of the US charts with "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." An adaptation of a South African folk song, it first reached the best-seller lists in 1951 in a recording by the Weavers under the title "Winoweh" (WIN'-OH-WAY). Singer Robert John also had a hit with the song, again under the title "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," in 1971.
    1961- Top Hits
“The Lion Sleeps Tonight” - The Tokens
“Run to Him” - Bobby Vee
“The Twist” - Chubby Checker
“Walk on By” - Leroy Van Dyke
    1961 – The Houston Oilers defeated the San Diego Chargers, 10-3, in the American Football League championship.
    1962 – Designer Kate Spade was born Katherine Noel Valentine Brosnahan (d. 2018) in Kansas City.  After working in the accessories department at the fashion magazine Mademoiselle, she and her husband, Andy Spade, identified a market for quality stylish handbags, and founded Kate Spade New York in 1993. The handbags Spade designed and produced quickly found popularity, owing to their sophistication and affordability, and have been described as a symbol of New York City in the 1990s.  The company then expanded into other product lines. In 1999, Spade sold a 56-percent stake in her business to Neiman Marcus, and in 2006 she sold the rest of her shares.  She committed suicide in NYC.
    1963 - New York’s Idlewild Airport was renamed John F Kennedy International Airport in honor of the murdered President Kennedy.
    1963 - Memphis sets its all-time cold record with 13 below zero, two days after a heavy 14.3 inch snowstorm
    1965 - The Beatles earn yet another gold record for the album "Rubber Soul," just two-and-a-half weeks after its release. The record, which includes, "I've Just Seen a Face," "Norwegian Wood," "Girl," "Michelle," "In My Life" and "You Won't See Me," is seen by critics as a turning point in their career, marking their progression to a more serious brand of pop music.
    1966 - At a Christmas Eve taping session, Tommy James and The Shondells record "I Think We're Alone Now," which will go on to be the group's fourth number one song in the US, selling over a million copies.
    1967 - New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath passes for 343 yards in a 42-32 win at San Diego to become the first player to throw for 4,000 yards in a season (4,007).
http://images.nfl.com/history/images/1224.jpg
    1968 - After their release from North Korea, the crew of the United States Navy ship, "Pueblo," walked across the Bridge of No Return between North and South Korea. The "Pueblo's" captain, Commander Lloyd M. Bucher, and 82 of his crew were held for 11 months after their ship was seized by North Korea as a suspected American spy vessel.
    1968 - The crew of Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so. They performed 10 lunar orbits and broadcast live TV pictures that became the famous Christmas Eve Broadcast, one of the most watched programs in history.
    1969 - Top Hits
Leaving on a Jet Plane - Peter, Paul & Mary
Someday We'll Be Together - Diana Ross & The Supremes
Down on the Corner/Fortunate Son - Creedence Clearwater Revival
(I'm So) Afraid of Losing You Again - Charley Pride
    1971 - Actor/Singer Ricky Martin, born Enrique Jose Martin, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
    1972 - Yoko Ono's first husband, Tony Cox, kidnaps their daughter Kyoko and heads for New York.
    1973 - District of Columbia Home Rule Act is passed, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to elect their own local government.
    1974 – TV host Ryan Seacrest was born in Dunwoody, GA.  American radio personality, television host, and producer. Seacrest is known for hosting the competition show “American Idol,” the syndicated countdown program “American Top 40” and iHeartMedia’s KIIS-FM’s morning radio show, “On Air with Ryan Seacrest.”  After years as Clark’s protégé, in 2006 Seacrest became co-host and executive producer of “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.” Seacrest remained a co-host and executive producer following Clark's death in 2012.  He began co-hosting “Live with Kelly and Ryan” on a permanent basis on May 1, 2017.
    1974 - A supergroup of West Coast singer-songwriter royalty -- James Taylor, Carly Simon, Linda Ronstadt and Joni Mitchell -- spontaneously decide to go caroling door-to-door in the suburbs of Los Angeles.
    1975 - "Hotel California," The Eagles' sixth album and their first with Joe Walsh, goes Platinum and begins an eight-week run at the top of the Billboard album chart. One of the best-selling albums of all-time it has sold over 32 million copies sold worldwide. The album was ranked number 37 on Rolling Stone’s list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”
    1977 - Top Hits
“How Deep is Your Love” - Bee Gees
“Blue Bayou” - Linda Ronstadt
“(Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love Again” - L.T.D.
“Here You Come Again” - Dolly Parton
    1977 - The Bee Gees' “How Deep is Your Love” became Number 1 on the music charts, and stayed there for 3 weeks.
    1977 - Linda Ronstadt lived up to her nick-name of "Linda Photostat" by copying two more songs that had been hits for other artists. Both "Blue Bayou" (Roy Orbison in 1963) and "It's So Easy" (Buddy Holly in 1958) made it into Billboard's top five. Two other songs from the same "Simple Dreams" album, "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" and "Tumbling Dice" couldn't crack the top 30.
    1977 - "The Ghost to the Post:" Oakland Raiders tight end Dave Casper ("The Ghost") catches a 42-yard pass on a post pattern from QB Ken Stabler to set up the Raiders' tying field goal near the end of regulation (Raiders win in 2 OT)
    1978 - Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog, one of ABBA's two married singer/songwriter couples, announce their divorce after seven years. The other pair of lovers in the group, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, would divorce in 1981.
    1980 – Americans remember Iran hostages by shining lights for 417 seconds
    1981 - Reggie Jackson chose Christmas Eve to announce he was joining Gene Autry's California Angels for the 1982 season.  He had played out his contract with the Yankees and spent the better part of the 1981 season sparring with owner George Steinbrenner, who has just signed Dave Winfield to then richest contract in history.  Steinbrenner often relented later that his not signing Jackson was the biggest mistake of his career.
    1983 - A massive cold outbreak occurred. About 100 low temperature records were broken. Chicago set a new all-time cold record with 25 below. Dayton, OH reached 13 below.
    1985 – Top Hits
“Say You, Say Me” - Lionel Richie
“Party All the Time” - Eddie Murphy
“Alive & Kicking” - Simple Minds
“The Chair” - George Strait
    1985 - Stevie Wonder turned down an invitation from the White House in order to accept the key to the city of Detroit for recording "Don't Drive Drunk." During the ceremony, Wonder dedicated a moment of silence to the 258 American servicemen killed in a plane crash at Gander, Newfoundland.
    1988 - Franklin, TN is hit with a violent F4 tornado killing 1 person and injuring 7. Damage was estimated at $8 million.
    1989 - Fifty-seven cities in the south central and eastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date, including Elkins, WV, with a reading of 22 degrees below zero. Key West, FL equaled their record for December with a morning low of 44 degrees. The high of just 45 degrees at Miami, FL was an all-time record for that location. It smashed their previous record for the date by twenty degrees.
    1990 - 35 cities in the western U.S. reported record lows, 18 in Utah alone. Historic Farm in the Cache Valley reached -44, Roosevelt, UT reached 34 below, Milford, UT 33 below, Salt Lake City 7 below. Denver, CO concluded 85.5 hours at or below zero.
    1990 – Saddam Hussein says Israel will be Iraq's first target
    1992 - President George Bush pardoned Caspar Weinberger and five other Reagan aides involved in the Iran-Contra affair.
    1989 - Fifty-seven cities in the south central and eastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date, including Elkins, WV, with a reading of 22 degrees below zero. Key West, FL equaled their record for December with a morning low of 44 degrees. The high of just 45 degrees at Miami, FL was an all-time record for that location. It smashed their previous record for the date by twenty degrees.
    1992 – President Bush, the first, pardons Caspar Weinberger for Iran-contra affair
    2002 - Laci Peterson was reported missing from her Modesto, Calif., home, by her husband, Scott, who was later convicted of murdering her and their unborn son.
    2009 - The Senate passed health care legislation, 60-39, in the chamber's first Christmas Eve vote since 1895.
    2019 – ASCAP’s top 25 most-played Christmas songs for 2018:

1. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Walter Afanasieff (1994)
2. “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” by Meredith Willson (1951)
3. “A Holly Jolly Christmas” by Johnny Marks (1964)
4. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Johnny Marks (1958)
5. “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of The Year” by Edward Pola and George Wyle (1958)
6. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by Johnny Marks (1949)
7. “Last Christmas” by George Michael (1984)
8. “Jingle Bell Rock” by Joseph Carleton Beal and James Ross Boothe (1958)
9. “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow” by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne (1945)
10. Sleigh Ride” by Leroy Anderson and Mitchell Parish (1948)
11. “The Christmas Song” by Mel Torme and Robert Wells (1946)
12. “Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane) by Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman (1947)
13. “White Christmas” by Irving Berlin (1941)
14. “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” by Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie (1934)
15. “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” by Dr. Seuss and Albert Hague (1966)
16. “Home for the Holidays” by Robert Allen and Al Stillman (1954)
17. “Feliz Navidad” by Jose Feliciano (1970)
18. “Frosty the Snowman” by Steve Nelson and Walter E. Rollins (1950)
19. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin (1944)
20. “Santa Baby” by Joan Javits (1953)
21. “Blue Christmas” by Billy Hayes and Jay Johnson (1949)
22. “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24” by Robert Kine, Paul O’Neill and John Oliva (1995)
23. “Underneath the Tree” by Greg Kurstin and Kelly Clarkson (2013)
24. “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Bob Geldof and Midge Ure (1984)
25. “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney (1979)

It is estimated that McCartney earns approximately $500,000 annually from :Wonderful Christmastime"