Classified Ads---Operations

(These ads are “free” to those seeking employment
or looking to improve their position)

SF Bay Area Contract Administrator. Formerly Documentation /Compliance , Pentech; American National Leasing, VP-Operations. 30 years Experience. Available now. Resume gbflinn@gmail.com

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

Nampa, Idaho 30 years equipment leasing, credit, collections experience. I want to work for a funding source with the broker/lessor community. Email - Resume

Seasoned Ops, Broker Development, Credit, Legal, Strategy, P & L Management detail oriented team player seeks position with Small ticket direct lender. Established remote office. Wgriffith61@yahoo.com Resume

Willing to Relocate Experienced Operations Manager, Broker Development – credit & documentation small ticket specialist – team leader with strong analytical, organizational & management skills – willing to relocate f.macdonald@comcast.net

Free Posting for those seeking employment in Leasing:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted-post.htm

All “free” categories “job wanted” ads:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted.htm

How is it? Don’t Ask!
by Christopher Menkin

The loss of independent brokers and lessors continue as both the small ticket and middle-market ticket are drying up as there are less funders willing to do business with them(1) The downturn is more dramatic coupled by the weak demand by companies to acquire equipment, up-grade systems, or even think of expanding. The future is not certain, they feel. Surviving is difficult. You can count the companies active and successful in the small ticket market on both hands only. Fighting over vendor business, franchise lessees and tagging on to SBA business expansions is quite tough. Even with less in the business, meaning less competition, there is not much left on the table. Most of the independent brokers are left to fight over the scraps.

Archie Julian of Exchange Bank Leasing, Santa Rosa, California, describes it as a periodic cleansing of the broker market place that he has observed before in his career: the amateurs leave.

His comments underscore the drop in leasing association membership (2) and participation, and point to the more and more “sub-broker” transactions (broker to broker), including sub-sub broker business (broker-to broker-to-broker-to funder) as most companies active in the industry are non-recourse discounters using a private label contract or a contract approved by their source. They pretend to be funders or being able to “go direct,” but in reality very few meet the qualifications to join the Leasing News Funder list (50% of business full recourse as verified by their bank or investor group). Almost 90% of those who have applied in the last two years do not make the requirement. They are “pretenders.” Most are actual broker/lessors and almost all the complaints about advance rentals come from such companies---and the documents, the procedures, submitted by those with the complaint demonstrate the reality of how they work. It is marketing, they contend, and perhaps anything goes until you are caught.

This has also become evident with all the frauds and the cases filed such as in Allied Health Care Services with nine very large transactions from ACC Capital, Utah, all non-recourse (3-first one) and recent court filings including a Bulletin Board complaint regarding a residual (4). There are many other companies who claim to be “funders,” or “go direct” or “we make the credit decisions.” Perhaps in the past they did, but not today.

One of the common excuses they are more than a broker/lessor is that from their view point, they are involved in the credit decision: they decide who to submit the deals to, this then makes them part of the credit decision process, and therefore they can market that they are indeed “credit decision makers.” They believe it is important to present this ruse.

The reality is they do not fund the transactions. The many “advance rental” and deposit complaints to Leasing News bring this information forward with one of the first that they were told they made the credit decisions. In the last ten years, Leasing News has had returned over $10 million in advance deposits, mostly small amounts, by those who originally claimed they made the credit decisions or were “direct lenders.”

Some of these complaints are now coming from well-established lessors who have great trouble now in placing deals and cash flow is poor. The advance rentals and deposits don’t go into an escrow account but into general funds to pay current demands.

With less actual funders, many have non-recourse sources with smaller banks, community banks, and in fact, the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers exchange is a good example.

Other indications include those no longer listed on the Leasing News broker/lessor list (over 200), who have gone out of business, and the rest (over 100) are involved in insurance, credit card, factoring, site inspection, asset recovery, and other asset lending sales, as well as those asking to be removed from the Leasing News mailing list. When they ask to be removed from the mailing list, they most often tell Leasing News why. Not being automated, there are many things learned from those exiting, as well as those who read Leasing News.

Some tell us they have gone to work for vendors or another leasing company as their income has been inconsistent and they need a "draw" against commissions.

There are also companies out of business who were brokers, perhaps with commission salesmen working out of their homes. With the internet, many today, including even those who review credit or even do collections, work out of their home. This digital revolution started with Capital Stream making available inexpensive software for small companies to fill out lease documents and organize their office, enabling them to compete with the large companies. Then came “fax to fund,” followed by software that allowed mass telephone marketing to specific companies, lease credit card mailings, then trigger leads. It has all of a sudden digitally erupted, perhaps not as fast as what we have seen in Egypt, but marketing by Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and the digital ability of collecting documents, sending documents, funding over the internet at actually a minor cost has created not only a more equal playing field, but companies now have employees all over the United States (and world), who do not physically report to work at the main office, including salesmen who work out of their residence and territory is whatever they can discover. Many companies now have various employees who work from their home on the internet and VOIP telephone, too.

This has also changed other relationships, including leasing association membership and conferences, as “apps” availability, instant very low cost communication, social networks, and the way business is conducted is changing rapidly, faster than many can adjust.

Ten years ago most ads in Leasing News had the salesmen work at the main office, today that is definitely not the case, and it also applies to credit, collection, and all phases of the operation. It has changed the playing field as they all learn how to outwit the credit scoring models, coupled with the rapid changes due to the economy.

The lack of small ticket funders has become so desperate that broker to broker to broker to source is not uncommon. Subprime leases with high rates and conditions continue. More credit card advance sales are common. Actual business lines of credit are not or application only having only very strong requirements or financial statements and tax returns. Those who don't understand how to analyze or “read” financial statements and tax returns are out of the business, or getting out of the business. To many, a full package is a copy of the last six month bank statements.

It is risk vs. return and those with the cash to take a higher risk, also charge a higher rate, often with real "fair market value" residuals, which make the actual profit 60% and higher than the original equipment cost.

The middle market is available where documentation is required from a professional. There are several new companies and others getting into the fray, such as NewStar Financial, Boston, Massachusetts, or former ICON Capital President Paul Weiss reportedly getting back in the game. Again, the banks and other funders are more comfortable because they get a complete financial package and due to the dollar amount involved, spend more time on due diligence. These are not Twitter decision applications.

If there is a trend, it is not only to the middle market, but also to captive lessors and leasing salesman going to work for larger vendor operations to place equipment finance agreements and leases. In addition, the companies who have been shying away from indirect want to rely more on direct sales. In booming times, salesmen want to make the most money and believe being on their own gives them the best opportunity. In tough times, better to work for a company with their own source of funds, back office, and ability to pay vendors in advance or assure vendors they will get paid, as well as you don't have to chase commissions from other brokers don't have the cash flow to pay independent commission on time.

There are many complaints about residuals not being paid or brokers and sub-brokers, and Leasing News has one in the works that went from broker to broker to broker to a bank (who does not allow sub-broker business.) Again, some of those with the complaint are companies masquerading as a funder, when in fact they are discounters, whose distinction is they do not have the funder’s name on the lease contract.

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

Advantage Business Capital, Lake Oswego, Oregon
AEL Financial, Buffalo Grove, Illinois
(No longer taking new broker business) 
Alliance Financial, Syracuse, New York 
Balboa Capital, Irvine, Ca
Bankers Healthcare Group, Weston, FL.
*C and J Leasing Corp, Des Moines, Iowa
*Carlton Financial Corporation, Wayzata, Minnesota
*Chesterfield Financial, Chesterfield, Missouri 
*Churchill Group/Churchill Leasing, Jericho, NY
CIT Group (limited)
Columbia Bank Leasing, Tacoma, WA
Commercial Equipment Lease, Eugene, Oregon 
Concord Financial Services, Long Beach, California
Court Square, Malvern, Pennsylvania
*Creative Capital Leasing Group, LLC, San Diego, CA
Direct Capital, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Diversified Financial Service, Omaha, NE
Dolsen Leasing, Bellevue/Yakima, Washington
Equipment Finance Partners, a division of Altec, Birmingham, Alabama 
Evans National Leasing, Inc., Hamburg, NY
Enterprise Funding, Grand Rapids, Michigan 
*Excel Financial Leasing, Lubbock Texas
*First Corp.(IFC subsidiary), Morton Grove, Illinois
First Federal Financial Services, Inc., Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin
First Republic Bank, San Francisco, CA
Frontier Capital, Teaneck New Jersey 
*GCR Capital, Safety Harbor, Florida 
GE Capital, Conn (limited)
Global Funding LLC., Clearwater, FL
*Greystone, Burlington, MA
*Heritage Pacific Leasing, Fresno, CA
Hillcrest Bank Leasing, Overland Park, KS (Parent bank sold)
Huntington Equipment Finance, Vendor Finance Group, Bellevue, Washington
*IFC Credit Corp., Morton Grove, Illinois
Irwin Financial (Irwin Union Bank), Columbus, Indiana 
Irwin Union Bank, F.S.B. (Louisville, Kentucky)
Lakeland Bank, Montville, NJ
LaSalle Systems Leasing
*Leaf Specialty Finance, Columbia, South Carolina
*LEAF Third Party Funding, Santa Barbara, Ca.
*Latitude Equipment Leasing, Marlton, New Jersey
Lombard, part of Royal Bank of Scotland, worldwide
Marlin Business Services, Mount Laurel, NJ (accepting no new brokers, they may have opened for a select fee, but no more at this time, they say.) 
M&T Credit (Bank)
*MericapCredit, Lisle, Illinois
Merrill Lynch Financial
Midwest Leasing Group, Livonia, Minnesota
National City, Cleveland, Ohio
*Navigator (Pentech subsidiary) San Diego, California
OFC Capital, Roswell, Georgia
Old National Bank, Evansville, Illinois
Pentech Financial, Campbell, CA
*PFF Bancorp, Inc, Pomona, CA
Pinnacle Business Finance, Fife, Washington
*Pioneer Capital Corporation, Addison, Texas
PredictiFund, a subsidiary of Capital Access Network, Inc
Popular Finance, St. Louis, Missouri
Radiance-Capital, Tacoma, WA
Rational Technology Solutions, Rolling Meadows, IL
Sandy Springs, Olney, MD
Sovereign Bank, Melville, New York
Specialty Funding, Albuquerque, NM
Sun Trust Equipment Finance & Leasing, Baltimore, Maryland 
*SunBridge Capital, Mission, Kansas
Suncoast Equipment Funding Corp., Tampa, Florida
TCF Equipment Finance, Minnetonka, Minnesota 
TechLease, Morgan Hill, California
Textron Financial
*Triad Leasing & Financial, Inc., Boise, Idaho
*Union Capital Partners, Midvale, Utah
US Bank, Manifest Funding, Marshall, Minnesota
(new requirement: large yearly funding, really cut back) 
US Bank, Middle-Market, Portland, Oregon 
Velocity Financial Group, Rosemont, Illinois
VenCore, Portland, Oregon (former company Len Ludwig)
Vision Capital, San Diego, California
Wachovia Bank Leasing
*Washington Mutual Financial
Western Bank, Devils Lake, ND
*Westover Financial, Inc., Santa Ana, California

More details are available in this list by company name:
http://www.leasingnews.org/list_alpha_new.htm

(2) Leasing Association Membership Count
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2011/1_10.htm#count

(3) Kingsbridge Files against Allied Health for $1 Million
http://leasingnews.org/archives/May2010/5_14.htm#kingsbridge

(4) ACC Capital Bulletin Board Complaint
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2011/1_10.htm#bbc_acc

Funders Looking for New Broker Business

Send company name, contact/email or telephone number as well as a URL to attach or description to
kitmenkin@leasingnews.org

There is no advertising fee or charge for a listing. They are “free.”Leasing News makes no endorsement of any of the companies listed, except they have qualified to be on this specific list.

Leasing News reserves the right to not list a company who does not meet these qualifications.

We encourage companies who are listed to contact us for any change or addition they would like to make. Adding further information as an "attachment" or clarification of what they have to offer would be helpful to readers are very much encouraged.

Leasing Associations: All non-profit leasing associations are abbreviated. To see the full name and learn more about the association, please click here.

BBB - Better Business Report | CBB - Leasing News Complaint Bulletin Board
| CNI - Current News Information

A -Accepts Broker Business | B -Requires Broker be Licensed | C -Sub-Broker Program
| D -"Private label Program" | E - Also "in house" salesmen

N/R (not reported)
* (no response---these listing do not come from the company directly, but from our research from many sources. It is our policy not to put anything in this section without confirmation.)

Business Reports: Companies listed may make any netiquette comment about their company or reports or other information in the footnote section of their listing. Leasing News recommends readers also view the footnote as well as the section itself or searching reports on the business.

It also should be noted that if a BBB report listing is found by a reader, as there may not have been one when this was last up-dated, please send the link to kit@leasingnews.org so Leasing News may up-date this section.

Leasing Associations: All non-profit leasing associations are abbreviated. To see the full name and learn more about the association, please click here.

BBB - Better Business Report | CBB - Leasing News Complaint Bulletin Board
| CNI - Current News Information

A -Accepts Broker Business | B -Requires Broker be Licensed | C -Sub-Broker Program
| D -"Private label Program" | E - Also "in house" salesmen

N/R (not reported)
* (no response---these listing do not come from the company directly, but from our research from many sources. It is our policy not to put anything in this section without confirmation.)

Leasing 102
by Mr. Terry Winders, CLP

Should you file a UCC lien?

Let’s look at what is happening in today’s market place. First, a bargain purchase option that fails Article 2A, puts the lease into Article 9. This is a very important occurrence. Here’s why:

Some small ticket Lessor’s that place bargain options in their leases know it is wise to file, but feel filing the lien is only an exercise because the legal expense to engage counsel and file a repossession action may cost more than the equipments value. They prefer to increase their lease loss reserve and recognize that if a small ticket transaction goes wrong, it’s cheaper to just walk away from it and charge it to the reserve. I have checked around and it appears the size of the transaction, and the long term value of the equipment, seems to be the deciding factors to file the UCC. This does not mean they fail to file but filing late is often the case and a decision for filing a lien depends on the market they are serving.

Filing late only occurs if a blanket lien has been filed or someone else has filed on the same equipment. If there is no opposing lien then even though you have over stepped the 20 days you are first filed and the undisputed lien holder.

A “Purchase Money Security Interest” (PMSI) is a Uniform Commercial Code (UCC- 1) filing that if filed within 20 days of the customer taking possession of the “first piece” gives the Lessor preferential treatment over a blanket lien holder in cases of default. I use the “customer” instead of “lessee” because the filing of a UCC-1 is an Article 9 requirement. If the lessee fails the legal test for Article 2A, then the lease transaction is governed by Article 9. A lease that fails Article 2A and is governed by Article 9 is called a lease “intended as a security”.

The current procedure of placing in the lease agreement a phrase allowing the Lessor to file the lien to protect the equipment as security means it can be filed anytime after the lease agreement is signed as opposed to the old days when a lessee had to sign a UCC form.

It should be noted that a lease with a fair market value purchase option (FMV) that is for less than 80% of the equipments useful life usually qualifies as an Article 2A lease and the Lessor is recognized as the owner of the equipment and no lien filing is necessary. However, you may still want to file if you want to put the world on notice that the lessee is in possession of your equipment and is not the owner. An Article 2A lease makes the legal expense for replevin a lot cheaper.

Even though a lien is filed late, it is still wise to do so. If you discover that it is late and you want to clear it you can send a letter to the blanket lien holders and ask for a subordination agreement. If they agree to the subordination they agree to accept your lien as superior to theirs. Usually most lenders will agree to this because it happens to everyone at some time.

Sometimes it is wise to do a UCC filing check to determine who the other lien holders are because it may support your credit analysis.

In pre-funding a UCC-3 is strongly recommended upon the final funding of the transaction.

If you are leasing or financing assets of little resale value, I recommend a large lease loss reserve but if your asset retains value then filing is important. In early days, many funders required hold backs or reserves from sellers of equipment. In equipment with a lot of soft costs or early obsolescence, this should be a requirement of a holdback or reserve, even if a split referral fee to the vendor and reserve.

Mr. Terry Winders, CLP, has been a teacher, consultant, expert witness for the leasing industry for thirty-five years and can be reached at leaseconsulting@msn.com or 502-649-0448

He invites your questions and queries.

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

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

[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------

Store/Restaurant Credit Card Devices Now Obsolete?

Co-founded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and Brando Arnovick of Mission Minis is a free credit card reader that plus into a phone or iPad. No extra equipment, no contracts, or monthly fees or merchant account required.

Fees are:
2.75% + 15 cents for swiped transactions.
3.5% + 15 cents for keyed-in transaction.

Every credit or debit card they accept (Visa, MasterCard, Amex and Discover) have the same flat rate.

https://squareup.com/

Gary DiLillo, President 216-658-5618 or gary@avptc.com To learn more about the benefits of outsourcing personal property tax, please click here.

Leasing Industry Help Wanted

Vehicle Lenders Group, LLC is looking for dynamic sales associate. Either work out of one of our offices in Calif. , Dayton, or Oyster Bay, NY or your own office. Draw w/benefits after three month probation period. Must have excellent references, honest, self motivated, able to generate $500,000 a month by the end of 12 months of employment. Curt Webster, CVLE 516-922-7447 ext 104 http://www.trucklendersusa.com/

Business Development/Credit Experience 3+ yrs. equip. finance, sales, marketing, credit. Base plus incentive commission full benefits with 401K plan. Resume/Ref. to rose@warrencapital.com Warren Capital is a 27 year old, well-established financial company located in Novato, California www.warrencapital.com

Please see our Job Wanted section for possible new employees.

Growth of Large Banks

American History magazine in its February issue has an excellent article with graphs showing that around 1921 there were 31,000 banks, and by the time of the creation of the FDIC in 1933 there were 14,000---meaning 17,000 banks had failed. The next major group was from 1980 to 1995 where 2,800 banks failed, including 1,200 savings and loans.

So when we talk about bank failures, in the last four years to date there have been 343, with the most in 1910 at 157. These banks were insured and most taken over by other banks, all arranged by the FDIC and its programs, supported by bank insurance. There is no need to panic, except there are less community banks.
http://www.calculatorplus.com/savings/advice_failed_banks.html

(The above is a February 11, 2011 well documented article, recommended reading when you have the time. Editor)

The February American History magazine points out an interesting phenomenon in 1984, 28 banks had more than $10 billion in assets, and held more than a fourth of the industrial assets. Only two banks then have more than $100 billion in assets.

Today, 105 banks have3 more than $10 billion in assets and comprise 78% of the banking industry. 18 banks have more than $100 billion in assets.

The top five commercial banks (Bank of America, JP Morgan, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, US Bancorp) hold assets roughly equal to 60% of the nation's gross domestic product. This has been happening in many industries.

To understand more about what is happening today, it is a good idea to study the past, not the myths passed on the internet or spotted by politicians so many times you begin to believe it is the truth.

There are more articles here from previous issues, and recommend a subscription to the History Net magazines:
http://www.historynet.com/magazines/american_history

[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------

Palm Spring Bank closed by Country Club, Golf Course Losses
Small Banks continue to be swallowed by larger banks

Bank Beat

(under the logo, "Locally Owned and Managed")

The three branches of Canyon National Bank, Palm Springs, California were closed with Pacific Premier Bank, Costa Mesa, California, to assume all of the deposits. Formed July 10, 1998 the bank had 70 full time employees with two branches in Palm Desert and Palm Springs.

"A golfer tees off at the La Quinta Resort Dunes Course. PGA West and La Quinta Resort now have new ownership after the previous owner defaulted on loans made five years ago. "
Photo: Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun

The entire real estate area has turned up-side down, affecting all life, including the many country clubs and golf courses, struggling with membership. Nine have closed in the last two years. After a year of foreclosure, a group is finally raising money to buy Woodhaven Country Club. Palm Desert Country Club, closed since last summer after its ownership filed for bankruptcy, was recently taken over by a Riverside bank.

"Palm Springs city officials said (last) week they are still working to resolve issues with the owners of Palm Springs Country Club, which has been closed for two years," reports mydesert.com." PGA West and La Quinta Resort, with a total of nine golf courses, now have new ownership after the previous owner defaulted on loans made five years ago when the real estate market was booming."

"Experts say golf courses, from private to public to resort courses, have been hurt on two fronts. First, the number of golfers in the country — approximately 26 million — has remained flat for 20 years despite the explosion of more than 3,500 golf courses being built in the 1990s and into the 2000s."

December 31, 2010 the bank loss was $10 million following almost $3 million in construction and land development charge offs, plus almost $2 million charge offs in 1-4 family residential properties and almost $2.4 million in commercial and industrial loans.

Tier 1 risk-based capital was 1.8%.

As of December 31, 2010, Canyon National Bank had approximately $210.9 million in total assets and $205.3 million in total deposits. Bank equity had dropped from $27.8 million year-end 2008 to $12.6 million year-end 2009 to $3.1 million. A bare profit was made in 2008 of $83,000, but 2009 saw a loss of $17.8 million following charge offs of $3.6 million in construction and land development, $1.9 million in nonfarm nonresidential properties and almost $9 million in commercial and industrial loans. There were almost $21 million in noncurrent loans.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $10.0 million. http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2011/pr11035.html

Premier American, Miami, Florida, has now acquired over $1.6 billion of failed bank assets from the FDIC. They just acquired the six branches of Sunshine State Community Bank, Port Orange, Florida.

Premier American Bank has made three previous acquisitions of failed banks, including Peninsula Bank in June 2010, and Florida Community Bank and Premier American Bank in January 2010. Premier American Bank was newly chartered in 2010 and is a subsidiary of Bond Street Holdings, LLC, Naples, Florida, formed especially with capitalization of over $400 million with the express purpose of purchasing failed banks in the hard hit state of Florida. Premier American Bank will pay the FDIC a premium of 0.50 percent to assume all of the deposits of Sunshine State Community Bank.

As of December 31, 2010, Sunshine State Community Bank had approximately $125.5 million in total assets and $116.7 million in total deposits.

Year-end 2010, Sunshine State Community Bank showed a $6 million loss following charges offs of $2.6 million in construction and land development, $1.3 million in 1-4 family residential properties, $720,000 in nonfarm nonresidential properties, $382,000 in commercial and industrial loans. Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio was 1.97% Sunshine Community Bank was formed July 24, 2000 to service Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond with three branches in Port Orange, one each in Holly Hill, Ormond Beach, and South Daytona. The bank was down to 45 full time employees September 30, 2010 from the previous September which had 57 full time employees.

Bank equity was $13.2 million year-end 2008 to $7.3 million year-end 2009, $1.68 million year-end 2010. Noncurrent loans in the same periods were $6.8 million year-end 2008, $12.2 million 2009, $17.3 million September 31, 2010.

The bank lost $1.3 million year-end 2008, lost $6.8 million year-end 2009 following charge offs of $1.4 million in construction and land development, $1.3 million in nonfarm nonresidential properties, $1 million in 1-4 family residential properties and $889,000 in commercial and industrial loans plus $253,000 in loans to individuals.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $30.0 million.
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2011/pr11032.html

The 2010 year-end FDIC shows a .0035% Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio.

The ten branches of Peoples State Bank, Hamtramck, Michigan were closed with First Michigan Bank, Troy, Michigan, to assume all of the deposits. In the last two years the bank had gone from 146 full time employees to 111 full time employees. the bank was established February 11, 1909, survived the Great Depression, and became FDIC insured December 20, 1934. There were two branches in Sterling Heights and Warren, and a branch each in Farmington Hills, Fenton, Grosse Pointe Woods, Hamtramck, Madison Heights, Southfield, and Troy.

First Michigan previously acquired CF Bancorp in April 2010, then First Banking Center in November 2010. According to www.problemlist.com, "First Michigan is a well capitalized, privately held community bank with $1.3 billion in assets...had raised $200 million of fresh capital through a private placement transaction. One of the lead investors in First Michigan is billionaire Wilbur Ross, who previously profited in the last banking crisis by making smart acquisitions of failed banks."

As of December 31, 2010, Peoples State Bank had approximately $390.5 million in total assets and $389.9 million in total deposits. First Michigan Bank will pay the FDIC a premium of 0.25 percent to assume all of the deposits of Peoples State Bank.

Peoples State Bank net equity dropped from $30.5 million year-end 2008 to $17.4 million year-end 2009, to $8.6 million, year-end, 2010. The last numbers available from the FDIC on noncurrent loans shows they grew in the same period from $12.5 million, $38 million, to $42.7 million. The bank lost $13.6 million year-end 2008, $12.6 million year-end 2009, following $5.6 million in 1-4 family residential properties charge offs, $5.8 million in loans secured by nonfarm nonresidential properties, $1.6 million in commercial and industrial loans, and $212,000 in loans to individuals.

The FDIC shows a $9.1 million loss September 30, 2010, following $2.9 million in charges off loans secured by nonfarm nonresidential properties, $1 million in construction and land development, $972,000 in 1-4 family residential properties, $384,000 in multifamily residential properties, and over $1 million in commercial and industrial loans. Note the noncommercial loans were at $42.7 million in the September 30, 2010 time period. Year-end 2010 not noted in the FDIC call report.

The FDIC and First Michigan Bank entered into a loss-share transaction on $331.0 million of Peoples State Bank's assets.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $87.4 million.
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2011/pr11033.html

Badger State Bank, Cassville, Wisconsin, was closed with Royal Bank, Elroy, Wisconsin, to assume all of the deposits. This small bank was formed January 1, 1910 and was not one of the 17,000 banks that failed during the great depression to the creation of the FDIC in 1933. It had 17 full time employees.

Denniston House
In 1836, Cassville was competing for the honor of becoming capitol of the new Wisconsin Territory; The Denniston House was built that year to house legislators.

Cassville Ferry
Between 1833 and 1858, the ferry was a large rowboat.
Ferry service powered by horses on a treadmill started in 1858. Later, the ferry was used to transport vegetables from rich Iowa bottomland fields to the Klindt Geiger Canning Company, founded in 1893. Gasoline engines replaced "horsepower" in 1913

http://www.cassville.org/histor.html

According to the Wisconsin State Journal, "In November 2009, the FDIC notified Badger State Bank that it was undercapitalized, meaning it did not have enough of a cushion in case of losses, and in May 2010, regulators ordered "prompt corrective action" such as recruiting investors or finding another bank to acquire it.

"At that time, chief executive officer Louis Okey told the State Journal the problems stemmed from failed real estate development loans in California, Arizona and Florida in which the small bank had participated."

As of December 31, 2010, Badger State Bank had approximately $83.8 million in total assets and $78.5 million in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank.

Year-end 2008 bank equity was $7.7 million, 2009 $3.7 million, 2010 $1.7 million. Noncurrent loans had decreased in this time period from $5.3 million to $4.3 million. The bank lost $879,000 in 2008, almost $4 million 2009 following charge offs of $1.7 million in loans secured by nonfarm nonresidential properties and $202,000 in "other loans." 2010 the loss was $1.56 million following a charge off of $1.4 million in commercial and industrial loans and $311,000 in "all other loans." Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio was 2.9%.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $17.5 million.
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2011/pr11034.html

Tracking Bank Failures Map:
http://graphicsweb.wsj.com/documents/Failed-US-Banks.html

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

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

[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------

Top Stories February 7---February 11

Here are the top ten stories opened by readers:

(1) Alphabetical Up-date---the Bad Boys
Charles K. Schwartz, Sheldon Player, Rudy Trebels, Et. Al
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2011/2_09.htm#bad_boy

(2) Archive February 7, 2000
The List: 70 Companies
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2011/2_07.htm#archive_feb7

(3) Marquette Equipment Finance Joins “Funder ‘A’ List”
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2011/2_11.htm#marquette

(4) $87 Million & Criminal Case continued against Schwartz
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2011/2_07.htm#continued

(5) Leasing 102 by Mr. Terry Winders, CLP
Prefunding Documents
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2011/2_07.htm#prefunding

(6) American Screw…and they really did!
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2011/2_09.htm#american_screw

(Tie) (7) Bank of the West sees dramatic rebound continue
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_17321296

(Tie) (7) New Hires---Promotions
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2011/2_11.htm#hires

(8) Jim Merrilees Brings Site Inspection Up & Running
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2011/2_11.htm#site

(9) Leasing Brings Resource America to a serious loss
by Christopher Menkin
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2011/2_09.htm#serious_loss

(10) Bank Beat---Two More Georgia, One Chicago Bank Failure
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2011/2_07.htm#bank_beat

Saluting Leasing News Advisory Board member Andrew Lea

The Leasing News Advisory Board does not participate in editorial decisions, meaning reviewing or choosing stories or subjects. Their role is to participate with policy and business advice as well as contribute in discussions on matters brought up by the publisher in a private internal blog.

Andrew joined the Leasing News Advisory Board on February 5, 2004. He has always contributed his ideas, his opinions, his viewpoints, and been extremely helpful to our success.

Andrew Lea
andrew@andrew-lea.com
(510) 236-3766
Point Richmond, Ca.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewlea

Andrew Lea is a technology marketing professional with deep experience in the commercial equipment finance technology sector. He has built a reputation in the industry for effective marketing campaigns, thought-provoking presentations, and attention-grabbing ads and articles in equipment leasing publications.

For over 25 years, he has worked with leading technology companies as a branding and marketing communications strategist. Under his marketing leadership since 1999, McCue Systems, Burlingame, California vied effectively against rival providers many times its size for brand awareness and positive perception. Leveraging its strong commitment to the leasing industry and the acceptance of its equipment leasing solutions by lessors throughout the U.S. economy, McCue Systems enjoyed steady growth in its industry standing, as both solution provider and thought leader.

In 2005, McCue Systems was acquired by NetSol Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:NTWK), a U.S.-based global provider of enterprise applications and managed services for commercial finance. Andrew managed corporate global branding and marketing communications for the NetSol Technologies Group of service and solution providers.

Andrew's articles and white papers on equipment finance trends and technology have appeared in The Journal of Equipment Lease Finance, Equipment Leasing Today, The Monitor, The World Leasing Yearbook, and The Equipment Finance Journal. He served as a technology panel moderator at the 2006 Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (formerly the Equipment Leasing Association) Annual Convention, one of many such appearances as a speaker at industry events.

He holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of California at Berkeley and a Masters Degree from the New School University in New York City.

Palm Springs, California -- Adopt-a-Dog

A021674
Breed:
German Shepherd Dog Mix
Size: Small 25 lbs (11 kg) or less
Neutered
Sex: Male
Age: Adult

Shelter: Palm Springs Animal Shelter
Pet ID #: 3207309-A021674
Phone: (760) 323-8151

- Let 'em know you saw "A021674" on Adopt-a-Pet.com!

E-mail: animal.control@palmsprings-ca.gov
Fax: (760) 416-5721
Address: 4810 Camino Parocela
P.O. Box 1830
Palm Springs, CA
92264

http://www.adoptapet.com/adoption_rescue/75902.html

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

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

      1760- Birthday of Richard Allen, the first black ordained in the Methodist Episcopal Church (1799), and founder of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in 1816, was born in slavery in Philadelphia.
http://www.brightmoments.com/blackhistory/nrallen.html
http://earlyamerica.com/review/spring97/allen.html
    1779-A monument in Waimea, Kauai notes the spot of the death of Captain James Cook. Not the chamber of commerce statue in the middle of town, but by the actual landing spot where the river meets the ocean. It was quite defamed and the islanders to this day obviously still have no respect for him. The Kauai islanders in Wampei evidently still hold a grudge about the way they were treated. Investigating the alleged theft of a boat that had landed from his ship, he was stabbed to death by natives this date. There were many explorers of the new world who did not make it home. He was one of them.
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95oct/jcook.html
    1784- James Davenport received a patent for a carding and spinning machine, the first textile machinery patent. He later established the Globe Mills, Philadelphia, PA..
    1797 --Battle of Cape St Vincent, known as Nelson’s forgotten battle. It was a great and welcome victory for the Royal Navy - 15 British ships had defeated a Spanish fleet of 27, and the Spanish ships had a greater number of guns and men. But, Admiral Jervis had trained a highly disciplined force and this was pitted against a Spanish navy under Don José Cordoba that was little more than a panic stricken mob. Of 600-900 men on board his ships, only some 60 to 80 were trained seamen, the others being soldiers or inexperienced landsmen. The Spanish men fought courageously but without direction. After the San Josef was captured it was found that some her of guns still had their tompions in the muzzles. The confusion amongst the Spanish fleet was so great that they were unable to use their guns without causing more damage to their own ships than to the British. This was a turning point that affected the colonies as Britain began her dominance over the seas and fight for real estate in the new world from the Spanish and French, who would rather see the United States obtain the land than the British.
http://www.stvincent.ac.uk/Heritage/1797/battle/index.html
    1801- Birthday of Mary Ann Prout, known as “ Aunt Mary Prout.” It is believed most likely that this American--social activist, humanitarian, educator--was born free on this date at Baltimore, MD. Prout became a teacher and in 1830 founded a day school. Actively involved in her church, she founded a secret society that became the Independent Order of St. Luke to help with the cost of medical care and burial services for needy blacks, an organization that grew to have 1,500 chapters across the nation by 1900. Prout died at Baltimore in 1884.
    1805- Colonial American theologian Henry Ware, 41, was confirmed as the first Unitarian professor to teach at Harvard University. Soon after, the Trinitarian Congregationalist teachers began withdrawing from the school, and in 1808 established Andover Theological Seminary.
    1817-Believed to be the birthday of Frederick Douglas, perhaps the beginning
leader of the Civil Rights movement; a confident of President Abraham Lincoln.
http://www.history.rochester.edu/class/douglass/home.html
http://www.frederickdouglass.org/douglass_bio.html
http://www.americancivilwar.com/colored/frederick_douglass.html
http://www.nps.gov/frdo/freddoug.html
http://www.baltimoremd.com/monuments/douglass1.html
http://www.cr.nps.gov/muse
http://www.nps.gov/frdo/um/exhibits/douglass/overview.htm
    1819-Birthday of Christopher Sholes, a printer and newspaper editor by trade, developed a page numbering machine in the mid-1800s. A friend suggested he modify the machine into a letter-printing device. Sholes patented the typewriter in 1868 and sold the rights to Remington in 1873. The typewriter served as the basis for the modern computer keyboard.
    1824-Birthday of Winfield Scott Hancock, born at Montgomery, PA, died Feb 9, 1886 at Governor’s Island, NY. After serving as Union general in the Civil War, his command of the military division of Texas and Louisiana won him much favor form the Democratic Party because he allowed local civil authorities to retain their power. He pleased the Democrats so well they made him their presidential candidate in 1880. The presidential nominations of 1880 were wide open. The tariff was the only major issue and Hancock was inept at discussing it. The candidates for the most part stayed home, and for the first time interested supporters came in large numbers to visit them at their homes. James A. Garfield especially received gifts and poems composed for the occasion, watching silently as supporters trampled his flowers and shrubs. Garfield was elected president and Chester A. Arthur was elected vice president. The electoral vote was Garfield, 214; Winfield S. Hancock, 155. The popular vote was Garfield 4,449,053; Hancock, 4,443,035, a very narrow victory. Less than six months in his office, President Garfield would be shot July 2, 1881 at the Washington, DC railroad station. Chester A. Arthur would be acting president until Garfield’s death on September 19, 1881.
    1838-Birthday of Margaret E. Knight who held 27 patents including the machinery that makes flat-bottomed paper bags (rather than the envelope type). The basic machinery concept which she patented in 1870 is still in use today. A remarkable inventor, she failed to realize great financial profit from her inventions which included a safety valve for power looms (invented when she was 12) to six patents for shoe manufacturing machinery, plus valves, rotors, even engines.
    1842-Fans of Charles Dickens organize the Boz Ball, an elite party for the celebrated writer who had arrived in the United States in January for a five-month tour. (Dickens' earliest works had been published under the pseudonym Boz.) Only members of New York's aristocracy were invited to the ball, with each guest's background and pedigree thoroughly inspected. Tickets were priced at the outrageous sum of $10. The event, held at the Park Theater in New York, sold out, and event organizers later held two more sold-out balls, open to the general public.
    1849-President James Polk became the first US president to be photographed while in office. The photographer was Mathew B. Brady, who would become famous for his photography during the American Civil War.
http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3g00000/3g06000/3g06700/3g06742v.jpg
http://www.whitehousehistory.org/08/subs/08_b.html
    1859- Oregon became the 33rd state in the Union. Oregon’s many national parks and recreational areas are home to the state animal, the beaver, which also provides the state with its nickname, the Beaver State. Oregon’s agricultural industry raises more hazelnuts than any other state, hence the state nut is the hazelnut. The fishing industry is also very large in this northwestern state, making the Chinook salmon the official fish. The Douglas fir, a popular Christmas tree in many American households, comes from the forests of Oregon and is the state tree. Other official Oregon state symbols are state bird: western meadowlark; state flower: Oregon grape; state insect: swallowtail butterfly. “She flies with her own wings” (Alis volat Propriis) is Oregon’s state motto. The state gemstone: sunstone; state rock: thunder egg; state song: "Oregon, my Oregon"; and state dance: square dance. Contrary to popular belief, Portland is not the capital; it is Salem.
    1859- Birthday of George Washington Gale Ferris, American engineer and inventor, at Galesburg, IL. Among his many accomplishments as a civil engineer, Ferris is best remembered as the inventor of the Ferris wheel, which he developed for the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, IL, in 1893. Built on the Midway Plaisance, the 250-feet-in-diameter Ferris wheel (with 36 coaches, each capable of carrying 40 passengers), proved one of the greatest attractions of the fair. It was America's answer to the Eiffel Tower of the Paris International Exposition of 1889. Ferris died at Pittsburgh, PA, Nov 22, 1896.
    1864-Union General William T. Sherman enters Meridian, Mississippi, during a winter campaign that served as a precursor to his "March to the Sea." This often-overlooked campaign was the first attempt by the Union at total warfare, a strike aimed not just at military objectives but also at the will of the Rebel population.
Sherman launched the campaign from Vicksburg, Mississippi, with the goal of destroying the rail center at Meridian and clearing central Mississippi of Confederate resistance. Sherman believed this would free additional Federal troops that he hoped to use on his planned campaign against Atlanta, Georgia, in the following months.
Sherman led 25'000 soldiers east from Vicksburg and ordered another 7000 under General William Sooy Smith to march southeast from Memphis, Tennessee. They planned to meet at Meridian in eastern Mississippi. The Confederates had few troops with which to stop Sherman. General Leonidas Polk had less than 10'000 men to defend the state. Polk retreated from the capital at Jackson as Sherman approached, and some scattered cavalry units could not impede the Yankees' progress. Polk tried to block the roads to Meridian so the Confederates could move as many supplies as possible from the city's warehouses, but Sherman pushed into the city on 14 February under a torrential rain.
After capturing Meridian, Sherman began to destroy the railroad and storage facilities while he waited for the arrival of Smith. Sherman later wrote: "For five days, 10'000 men worked hard and with a will in that work of destruction...Meridian, with its depots, storehouses, arsenals, hospitals, offices, hotels, and cantonments no longer exists." Sherman waited until 20 February for Smith to arrive, but Smith never reached Meridian. On 21 February, Confederate troops under General Nathan Bedford Forrest waylaid Smith at West Point, Mississippi, and dealt the Federals a resounding defeat. Smith returned to Memphis, and Sherman turned back towards Vicksburg.
Ultimately, Sherman failed to clear Mississippi of Rebels, and the Confederates repaired the rail lines within a month. Sherman did learn how to live off the land, however, and took notes on how to strike a blow against the civilian population of the South. He used that knowledge with devastating results in Georgia later that year.
    1867-Less than two years after the Civil War ended, Morehouse College was founded as Augusta Institute in Augusta, Georgia. The college was relocated to Atlanta in 1879 and received its present name in 1913. Morehouse is the nation's only historically black, all-male, four-year liberal arts college. Prominent alumni include Martin Luther King Jr., JET magazine publisher Robert Johnson, two-time Olympic gold medal hurdler Edwin Moses, former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson, filmmaker Spike Lee, and actor Samuel L. Jackson.
http://www.morehouse.edu/
    1870 -- Esther Morris becomes the nation's first woman justice of the peace.
Morris is credited with winning women's suffrage in Wyoming territory last year. She arm-twisted two Democratic lawmakers into sponsoring legislation giving women the vote after giving a dinner for twenty ( one of those who did not attend, opposed the legislation, some feel because he was not invited to the dinner; or perhaps he knew what was the purpose of the dinner and did not want to attend). Most Wyoming lawmakers treated the measure lightheartedly, hoping their bold step would attract more women to the territory. Democrats, for their part, were counting on a veto by Governor John Campbell. After the bill passed, however, Campbell promptly signed the bill, making Wyoming the first state or territory to enact women's suffrage. In 1872, the Democrats try to repeal the bill, offering Campbell 2,000 dollars to cooperate. The governor firmly refused.
http://www.womenofthewest.org/exhibits/suffrage/justice_full.html
http://www.wyomingtalesandtrails.com/photos9.html
http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/nsh/morris.htm
    1880-Birthday of Dei Gratia Emperor Norton of the United States & Protector of Mexico.
http://www.zpub.com/sf/history/nort.html
http://members.aol.com/VirtualOle/norton.html
http://www.discordia.org/~keeper/norton.html
http://jubal.westnet.com/hyperdiscordia/principia.html
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/norton.html
http://www.notfrisco.com/nortoniana/index.html
    1886-. Destined to become one of the state's major exports, the first trainload of oranges grown by southern California farmers left Los Angeles this day via the transcontinental railroad.

In 1880, just before the first trainload of oranges departed, Los Angeles had 11,183 inhabitants A decade later, the population had ballooned to 102,479. By 1920, there would be more than half a million residents. Los Angeles was already well on its way to becoming the largest urban center in the American West. The Spanish had established Los Angeles, one of the oldest cities in the Far West, in 1781 to help colonize the region. For several decades, the city was the largest center of population in Mexican California. Mexican settlement and development of California, however, proceeded very slowly, and Los Angeles developed little real economic or political power during this period. By the time the U.S. took control of California in 1848, Los Angeles still only had just over 1,610 inhabitants. As Anglo-Americans began to assert their control over California, they gradually broke up the large Hispanic ranches and replaced them with a more diversified farming economy. With irrigation, southern California proved an ideal environment for growing many crops, particularly valuable fruits like oranges. During the 1870s and 1880s, state railroad lines linking Los Angeles into the new system of transcontinental railways created additional moneymaking opportunities. Settlers, tourists, and health seekers all boarded trains to travel to the Pacific, where the sunny climate and beautiful scenery promised a new and better life. The healthful new California lifestyle became closely associated in the public mind with the sweet fruits that grew so abundantly in the orchards around Los Angeles. Taking advantage of the rapid transportation capabilities of the transcontinental lines, Los Angeles area orchard owners began shipping their oranges to the East in 1886. As the city grew, it subdivided many nearby orchards and pushed the orange growers out into regions like Orange County. There the orange growers steadily increased the size of their orchards to the point where local supplies of water for irrigation were inadequate. Determined to sustain their agricultural and real estate booms, Los Angeles residents undertook a massive program of hydraulic engineering in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Engineers took water from the distant mountains to transform the arid southern California ecosystem into a green agricultural and residential paradise. The resulting growth was astonishing.
    1893-Birthday of singer/pianist/songwriter Perry Bradford, Montgomery, Al
http://www.redhotjazz.com/bradford.html
http://www.theiceberg.com/artist/25838/perry_bradford/
http://www.jass.com/lonesome.html
http://64.33.34.112/.WWW/b8.html
    1894-,Jack Benny Birthday, American comedian. Born Benjamin Kubelsky, Jack Benny entered vaudeville at Waukegan, IL, at age 17, using the violin as a comic stage prop. His radio show first aired in 1932 and continued for 20 years with little change in format. He also had a long-running television show. One of his most well-known comic gimmicks was his purported stinginess. Benny was born at Chicago, IL, and died Dec 26, 1974, at Beverly Hills, CA.
    1899 - A great blizzard struck the eastern U.S. Washington D.C. received 20.5 inches of snow to bring their total snow depth to nearly three feet. The storm produced 36 inches of snow at Cape May NJ
    1912 – Arizona became the 48th state (in Indian, Arizona means ‘little or young spring’). From its beautiful deserts come the state bird: the cactus wren; the state flower: the saguaro cactus’ flower, the state reptile: Arizona ridge nose rattlesnake; state fossil: petrified wood; state gem: turquoise; the oasis, the capital city of Phoenix. More American Indians live in Arizona than any other state, representing over 14 different tribes. But the Spanish influence is everywhere, including the official state neckwear: the bolo tie. State motto: Ditat Deus (God enriches).
    1913 –Birthday of American labor leader (gangster) Jimmy Hoffa lives, born Brazil, Indiana. Died we do not know date nor where. (Where is this guy?)
http://boozers.fortunecity.com/brewerytap/586/hoffa.html
http://www.hoffa.com/
http://www.who2.com/jimmyhoffa.html
    1914- Birth of Ira F. Stanphill, Assemblies of God clergyman and song evangelist. He is best known today for the hymn, "Room at the Cross," which he penned in 1946.
1946, Edith Houghton - signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as the first woman to scout for a major league baseball team.
    1918 - The film, "Tarzan of the Apes", was released. It was based on stories written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The movie centered on 10-year-old Gordon Griffith who played the young Tarzan, the older Tarzan was played by Elmo Lincoln. Famous baseball player, Lou Gehrig, turned down an offer to play Tarzan. Four Tarzan actors have won Olympic medals: Johnny Weissmuller, Herman Brix, Buster Crabbe and Glen Morris. Johnny Weissmuller made the Tarzan yell famous.
    1920- Leaders of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) approved the formation of a new organization-the League of Women Voters. With the vote for women just a few months away, the new organization was created to help American women exercise their new political rights and responsibilities. www.lwv.org
    1921 -- In New York, Jane Heap & Margaret Anderson face obscenity charges for publishing a portion of James Joyce's Ulysses in the Little Review. They got fined $50. Here is a picture of the "Little Review" reunion:
Jane Heap, Mina Loy, & Ezra Pound, Paris, c. 1923
http://jacket.zip.com.au/jacket05/pix05/mina_pound.jpg
    1922- Murray “The K” Kauffman, WINS NYC DJ, born Richmond, VA.
    1925 -- A close-up of a lottery list shows the winning numbers drawn in the Mexican National Lottery, dated February 14, 1925. The camera pulls back to the hands of a man holding a lottery ticket. The scraggly-looking bum, a dirty, ragged scrounger [later identified as Fred C. Dobbs "Dobbsie" (Humphrey Bogart)], tears his losing ticket to pieces.
--- From John Huston's film script of the anarchist B. Traven's book, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
http://www.riverart.com/books/traven.htm
    1925-Birthday of bandleader Elliot Lawrence (Broza).
http://www.theiceberg.com/artist.html?artist_id=27416
http://www.fantasyjazz.com/catalog/lawrence_e_cat.html
http://www.jazzmanrecords.com/ellawbigban.html
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?PID=1020872
    1928- the Dorsey Brothers record their first record, Okeh Label.
    1929- in the gangland struggle for control of the Chicago trade in bootleg liquor, gunmen in the employ of mobster Al Capone machine-gunned seven members of the George “Bugs” Moran gang in garage on North Clark Street. It made national headlines as the “the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.”
    1930—The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett is published. Ex-Pinkerton agent turned author Dashiell Hammett’s crime novel introducing Sam Spade was published this day by Alfred A. Knopf in New York, NY. (The novel has been serialized in Black Mask magazine in the fall of 1929, but Hammett revised the text.) The novel was a milestone in American literature, offering the model by which all “hard-boiled” crime fiction would follow. And in terse tough guy San Spade ( who “looked rather pleasantly like a blood satan.”, the world found a new pop icon. The notably dark haired Humphrey Bogart played Spade in the 1941 film version directed by John Huston.
    1930-Birthday of trumpet player Dwike Mitchell, Dunedin, FL
http://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/linernotes/zinsser.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0966491343/inktomi-bkasin-20/
002-5861649-1425657
    1931-Ted Lewis' "Just A Gigolo" hits #1 on the pop singles chart. Over a half century later, "Diamond" David Lee Roth scores a major hit with the same song
    1932 - The U.S. won its first Olympic bobsled competition (both the two-man and four-man races) at the Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid, NY. Twelve other teams competed in the event. This was also the first bobsledding competition in the United States. The four-man team included Edward Eagan, who was also the 1920 Olympic light heavyweight boxing champion. Eagan's winter gold medal made him the first person to take home gold in both the Summer and Winter Olympics.
    1935-Birthday of trombonist Rob McConnel, London, Ontario
http://www.concordrecords.com/bios/mcconnell.html
http://www.jazzfest.markham.on.ca/McConnell.htm
    1933 – Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak of Chicago is fatally wounded in Miami, Florida, by an assassin's bullet intended for President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt.
http://cermak.com/mayor/
http://www.iarelative.com/cz1933/cermak.htm
    1940 - The first porpoise born in captivity arrived at Marineland in Florida.
    1940 - A "Saint Valentine's Day Blizzard" hit the northeastern U.S. Up to a foot and a half of snow blanketed southern New England, and whole gales accompanied the heavy snow stranding many in downtown Boston
    1941 - Frank Leahy was named head football coach at the University of Notre Dame.
    1941- Anita O’Day joins Gene Krupa’s Band. ( as I compile this, I am listening to “Anita O[Day swings Cole Porter with Billy May.” I think I like Ella singing the songs better, but the arrangements
here are the best Billy May---Lean, Baby, Lean.)
    1945--Allied fire-bombing of Dresden, killing more than 135,000 German citizens, enters into its second day. Many die of suffocation as firestorms, purposely created by dropping incendiary bombs in the raids, consume all the oxygen over large areas of the city. Hitler’s days are numbered as he believes the V-3 will soon be dropping over the United States.
    1945--BIGELOW, ELMER CHARLES Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Watertender First Class, U.S. Naval Reserve. Born: 12 July 1920, Hebron, 111. Accredited to. Illinois. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving on board the U.S.S. Fletcher during action against enemy Japanese forces off Corregidor Island in the Philippines, 14 February 1945. Standing topside when an enemy shell struck the Fletcher, Bigelow, acting instantly as the deadly projectile exploded into fragments which penetrated the No. 1 gun magazine and set fire to several powder cases, picked up a pair of fire extinguishers and rushed below in a resolute attempt to quell the raging flames. Refusing to waste the precious time required to don rescue-breathing apparatus, he plunged through the blinding smoke billowing out of the magazine hatch and dropped into the blazing compartment. Despite the acrid, burning powder smoke which seared his lungs with every agonizing breath, he worked rapidly and with instinctive sureness and succeeded in quickly extinguishing the fires and in cooling the cases and bulkheads, thereby preventing further damage to the stricken ship. Although he succumbed to his injuries on the following day, Bigelow, by his dauntless valor, unfaltering skill and prompt action in the critical emergency, had averted a magazine explosion which undoubtedly would have left his ship wallowing at the mercy of the furiously pounding Japanese guns on Corregidor, and his heroic spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of almost certain death enhanced and sustained the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.
    1946- J.Presper Eckert and John W. Mauchly demonstrated the Electronic Numerical integrator and Computer (ENIAC) for the first time at the University of Pennsylvania. This was the first electronic digital computer. It occupied a room the size of a gymnasium and contained nearly 18,000 vacuum tubes. The Army commissioned the computer to speed the calculation of firing tables for artillery. By the time the computer was ready, World War II was over. However, ENIAC prepared the way for future generations of computers. Compare today's 32mb Palm Pilot with the .5kb ENIAC.
    1949—Top Hits
A Little Bird Told Me - Evelyn Knight
Powder Your Face with Sunshine - Evelyn Knight
Far Away Places - Margaret Whiting
I Love You So Much It Hurts - Jimmy Wakely
    1951- Sugar Ray Robinson, often regarded as the greatest boxer of all time, won the world middleweight championship by knocking out Jake LaMotta in the 15th round of a fight in Chicago.
    1953- Teresa Brewer's "Till I Waltz Again with You" hits #1.
    1956- birthday of Dave Dravecky, former baseball player, Youngstown, OH.
    1957 - Lionel Hampton’s only major musical work, "King David", debuted at New York’s Town Hall. Dimitri Mitropoulos conducted the four-part symphony jazz suite.
    1957 -- Georgia Senate unanimously approves Senator Leon Butts' bill barring blacks from playing baseball with whites.
    1957—Top Hits
Too Much - Elvis Presley
Young Love - Tab Hunter
You Don’t Owe Me a Thing - Johnnie Ray
Young Love - Sonny James
    1962 - A televised tour of the White House, led by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and hosted by Charles Collingwood, was broadcast simultaneously by CBS and NBC. The tour was watched by an estimated 46,500,000 viewers, offering them their first opportunity to see many of the rooms of the President's home. The First Lady was praised on her astute knowledge of the antique furniture in the White House, as she explained the history of many of the pieces during the tour.
    1962-President John F. Kennedy authorizes U.S. military advisors in Vietnam to return fire if fired upon. At a news conference, he said, "The training missions we have [in South Vietnam] have been instructed that if they are fired upon, they are of course to fire back, but we have not sent combat troops in [the] generally understood sense of the word." In effect, Kennedy was acknowledging that U.S. forces were involved in the fighting, but he wished to downplay any appearance of increased American involvement in the war. The next day former Vice President Nixon expressed hopes that President Kennedy would "step up the build-up and under no circumstances curtail it because of possible criticism." Contrary to popular belief, it was not President Kennedy who authorized the first military assistance to the government of Viet Nam. It was President Harry S. Truman in 1946. Each president since then inherited this decision to halt communism and increased participation in the South East.
    1965—Top Hits
You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’ - The Righteous Brothers
This Diamond Ring - Gary Lewis & The Playboys
All Day and All of the Night - The Kinks
You’re the Only World I Know - Sonny James
    1966-Simon and Garfunkel receive their first gold record for "Sounds of Silence," which had hit Number One on the pop charts on the first day of this year.
    1966 - Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers set a National Basketball Association record when, after 7 seasons of pro basketball, he hit a career high of 20,884 points.
    1967 -- Jim Morrison and The Doors performed at Whisky A-Go-Go, 568 Sacramento St., San Francisco, California.
http://www.thedoors.com/
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/2914/
http://doors.iscool.com/
    1967-Aretha Franklin records her signature song "Respect" at New York's Atlantic Studios
    1968 – Tired of traveling, The Jefferson Airplane opens at the Carousel Ballroom, Van Ness Avenue and Market Street, Frisco, California.
http://www.starship.pp.se/history/part1.html
http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/id_10021/bio.jhtml
http://grove.ufl.edu/~number6/Jefferson.Airplane/airplane.html
http://www.starship.pp.se/
    1968-Frank Zappa releases “We’re Only in it for the Money” album.
http://www.science.uva.nl/~robbert/zappa/
    1968-The Airplane opens at the Carousel Ballroom at Van Ness Ave. and Market Street, San Francisco.
    1970—45% favor or “have no opinion” regarding the war in Viet Nam. Despite an increasingly active antiwar movement, a Gallup Poll shows that a majority of those polled (55 percent) oppose an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam. Those that favored American withdrawal had risen from 21 percent, in a November poll, to 35 percent. President Nixon had taken office in January 1969 promising to bring the war to an end, but a year later the fighting continued and support for the president's handling of the war had begun to slip significantly.
    1970-The Jaggerz, a six piece group from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, entered the Billboard chart with a song called "The Rapper". Although the tune would rise to #2 during an eleven week run, it would be the band's only chart appearance.
    1970 -- The Chicago Seven Trial, case goes to the jury.
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/Chicago7/chicago7.html
http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Exhibits/Track16.html#Poster
http://theaction.com/Abbie/
http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/Graphics/Track16/chicago_8.gif
    1970-- In US, 55% oppose immediate withdrawal from Vietnam. Despite an increasingly active antiwar movement, a Gallup Poll shows that a majority of those polled (55%) oppose an immediate withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam. Those that favored American withdrawal had risen from 21 percent, in a November poll, to 35 percent. President Nixon had taken office in January 1969 promising to bring the war to an end, but a year later the fighting continued and support for the president's handling of the war had begun to slip significantly.
    1970- Sly and the Family Stone's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" hits #1.
    1971 – President Richard Nixon orders secret taping system in the white House. Instructs Bob Haldeman to install it also in the Nixon’s White House office. The purpose was to obtain historic information for his autobiography and the idea of a Nixon Library. There are those who say it was also a device to spy on his staff, which Nixon avertedly did, not trusting anyone, including his own Secretary of State Henry Kissinger ( as the tapes eventually revealed.)
    1972 - The musical, "Grease", opened at New York's Eden Theater, a musical with a 1950's rock score by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, opened off-Broadway. The play later moved to Broadway's Broadhurst Theatre Among the original cast members were Barry Bostwick and Adrienne Barbeau. The show moved to Broadway later in 1972, and when it closed in 1980, it was one of the longest running musicals in history with 3,388 performances. A hit movie based on the play starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John produced the hit songs: "Grease" The movie included several additional songs. Among them were Barry Gibb's title tune, which became a hit for Frankie Valli, and John Farrar's "You're the One That I Want," a million-seller for the film's stars, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. by Frankie Valli, "You’re the One That I Want" and "Summer Nights" by Travolta and Newton-John.
    1972-Birthday of football player Drew Bledso, Ellensburg, WA.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=2359
http://www.shopthedotcoms.com/drew_bledso_jersey.htm
    1973- birthday of football player Steve McNair, Mount Olive, MS.
http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/1069
    1973—Top Hits
Crocodile Rock - Elton John
Why Can’t We Live Together - Timmy Thomas
Oh, Babe, What Would You Say? - Hurricane Smith
She Needs Someone to Hold Her (When She Cries) - Conway Twitty
    1974- Daryl Dragon and Toni Tennille - the Captain and Tennille - were married in California.
http://www.captainandtennille.net/
http://www.tonitennille.net
Feb 14
    1974-"Americans", a spoken word record by Byron McGregor, hit number one on the Cash Box Best Sellers Chart. McGregor was a newsman at Windsor Ontario's CKLW radio and recorded an editorial that was written by Canadian journalist Gordon Sinclair. The record described how Americans donate food, medicine and millions of dollars to those in trouble around the world and are rewarded with protests and flag burnings in other nations.
    1977- Clifford Alexander, Jr. first Black Secretary of Army State, confirmed.
Retired October 1, 2003 as Chairman of Moody’s Investment Firm.
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/sw-sa/Alexander.htm
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m0EIN/2003_August_1/106171152/p1/article.jhtml
    1978 -- First 'microcomputer on a chip' patented by Texas Instruments
http://www.ti.com/corp/docs/company/history/tihistory.htm
    1980 - As Walter Cronkite announced his retirement from the "CBS Evening News", Dan Rather was chosen to replace television’s most trusted journalist. Cronkite announced Rather would take over the anchor desk in 1981.
    1981—Top Hits
Celebration - Kool & The Gang
9 to 5 - Dolly Parton
I Love a Rainy Night - Eddie Rabbitt
Who’s Cheatin’ Who - Charly McClain
    1984- the publicly bisexual Elton John married sound engineer Renate Blauel in an Anglican church in a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Their engagement was a mere five days. The pair seldom lived together and they divorced in 1988. Blauel was reported to have received a 45-million-dollar divorce settlement.
    1985- The U.S. Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative Judaism announced their decision to begin accepting women as rabbis.
    1986- Frank Zappa appeared on "Miami Vice" as a crime boss named "Mr. Frankie."
    1987- Singer Paul Simon performed before 20,000 people in the first of two shows at a soccer stadium in Harare, Zimbabwe. Sharing the stage with Simon were the black South African artists who helped him record his best-selling "Graceland" LP. Simon performed for free, and proceeds from the concerts went to charity.
    1987- George Strait became the first artist to debut an album at number one on Billboard's country chart when "Ocean Front Property" went to the top spot in its first week.
    1987 - The largest crowd to see an NBA game was at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, as 57,745 people watched the Detroit Pistons beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 125-107.
    1987 - A powerful storm spawned severe thunderstorms in Texas and Oklahoma, and produced heavy snow in the Rocky Mountain Region. Snowfall totals in Colorado ranged up to 27 inches at Telluride. Straight line winds gusting to 104 mph howled through Guadalupe Pass in West Texas.
    1987 - Dick Baldwin beat Adolph Rupp’s record for the most college career coaching wins as his Broome County Community College won game number 876. Baldwin was with the Upstate New York college for New Jersey's hometown favorites
    1987- Bon Jovi hit #1 with their tune "Livin' On A Prayer." It was from their album "Slippery When Wet" which went to #1 for 8 weeks and sold over 9 million copies!!!
    1988- Bobby Allison became the first 50-year old driver to win the Daytona 500 when he out dueled his 26-year-old son Davey.
    1989—Top Hits
Straight Up - Paula Abdul
Wild Thing - Tone Loc
Born to Be My Baby - Bon Jovi
Song of the South – Alabama
    1990 - Valentine's Day was a snowy one for many parts of the western and central U.S. Five to ten inches of snow fell across Iowa, and 6 to 12 inches of snow blanketed northern Illinois, and strong northeasterly winds accompanied the heavy snow. Air traffic came to a halt during the evening at O'Hare Airport in Chicago, where 9.7 inches of snow was reported. More than 250 traffic accidents were reported around Des Moines IA during the evening rush hour. An ice storm glazed east central sections of Illinois, causing twelve million dollars damage in Champaign County alone.
    1994- Michael Jackson sang a cappella passages from his songs "Billie Jean" and "Dangerous" in a Denver, Colorado, courtroom while testifying in a copyright infringement case. Crystal Cartier had claimed Jackson stole one of her songs but the case was dismissed. The court later began selling audio transcripts of Jackson's testimony, including his singing, at $15 a tape.
    1996 - The artist formerly known as Prince, age 37, returned to his hometown of Minneapolis and, under his given name Prince Rogers Nelson, married his backup dancer Mayte Jannell Garcia, age 22. Church workers were not allowed to watch the 40-minute candlelight service in the sanctuary, which was decorated with pink and white roses. It was the first marriage for both. The eccentric artist had announced a few years earlier that he would no longer use the name "Prince", and would be known by an unpronounceable sign that merges the symbols for male and female.
    1998 - Eric Rudolph was declared the suspect in the bombing of a Birmingham, Alabama abortion clinic. A $100,000 reward was offered for his arrest and conviction. As of early 2002, Rudolph was still at large, among the top ten most wanted.
    1999-Elton John plays himself in animated from for a Valentine's Day episode of "The Simpsons."
    1999-Matt Drudge reports:
<BILL GIVES HILLARY LOVE PIN, VOWS NEVER TO CHEAT AGAIN
On Sunday evening in Mexico, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was spotted wearing a heart-shaped gold pin on her dark suit — a pin, sources say, that was given to her by her husband with a vow that he would never cheat on her again!
"It was a Valentine's Day gift," says a well-placed White House source traveling with the president. "He promised her that he will not hurt her anymore. The pin was a gift from his heart that came with a promise that he would remain faithful."
En route to Mexico, Mrs. Clinton walked through the press cabin aboard Air Force One and showed off the pin. But one reporter who witnessed Mrs. Clinton's walk through the cabin felt that the First Lady was deliberately displaying the pin to show that all is now well between her and her husband. "I think they were spinning us with all the fuss surrounding the pin," a network reporter e-mailed the DRUDGE REPORT from Mexico. "Monica's book is about to come out, and then the TV interview. I think they are trying hard to diffuse all of that." Also on the plane ride down to Mexico the president shared a huge box of candy with reporters. "Happy Valentine's Day," the president smiled.
    2001- The two astronauts from the space shuttle Atlantis took the 100th space walk; the first had been taken by American Edward White in 1965. On their excursion Thomas Jones and Robert Curbeam Jr. put the finishing touches on the International Space Station's new science lab Destiny.