Leasing Veteran Rex Wiggins Passes Away

Rex Wiggins, principal with Jean M. Hamilton in Crosspoint Leasing & Financial Services, Fair Oaks, California, recently passed away; he had Alzheimer’s the last few years of his life.

"He was active in the Leasing Industry for many years from the IFG days in Great Falls, Montana; United Thrift & Loan in Sunnyvale and then with Crosspoint Leasing & Financial Services Inc. in Fair Oaks, California. Prior to entering the leasing industry Rex spent many years with Bank of America throughout the Valley as well.

"We met in the late eighties & married in 1993.

"Rex is definitely in a better place!"

Jean

Obituary

Rex was born in Oklahoma on April 15, 1936; he grew up in Bakersfield and worked throughout the Central Valley of California, Great Falls, Montana and Northern California. Rex passed away on January 20, 2013 with his wife by his side in Fair Oaks. Rex is survived by his wife Jean; sister Polly and husband Elmer Scritchfield; daughter Kathy Wiggins; son Lloyd Wiggins and wife Susanne and grandchildren Anya and Alex; Jean's son Ron Hamilton and grandchildren Megan and Ryan; mother-in-law Margaret Anway; granddaughter Samantha Doan and husband Chuong; grandson Jason Garner and wife Olympia and great-grandson Logan; nephew Jim Scritchfield and wife Myrna and children Kelsey, Kyle, Jake & Josh and many other family members. Rex will be remembered for his love of life, family and friends, fishing and golfing. He will rest in peace with his mother and father, Eva and Frank Wiggins, at the Hillcrest Mortuary and Cemetery.

 

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

All “free” categories “job wanted” ads:
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Comprehensive personal property tax outsourcing services We accept file exports and integrate personal property tax information with all lease management or accounting software. No other firm offers the combination of individual attention, software capabilities expertise, "full disclosure" and web port accessibility to information more than we do.  Click here to learn what our clients say about our service Gary DiLillo, President 440.871.0555 or gary@avptc.com

 

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African-American Religious Bank Fails in Chicago
Bank Beat

Covenant Bank, Chicago, Illinois, was closed with Liberty Bank and Trust Company, New Orleans, Louisiana, to assume all of the deposits. Founded June 20, 1977 the bank had 25 full time employees as of September 30, 2012. Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio 2.19%.

The main problem was Non-Current Loans for this small bank,
with many of the customers members of the church, as well
as the ambitious plans by the chairman of the board.

"The bank, previously known as Community Bank of Lawndale, was bought in 2008 by a group that included Rev. Bill Winston and members of his congregation at Living World Christian Center of Forest Park, according to a June 2012 profile of the bank by Crain's Chicago Business." (1) "...much of the cash supplied by members of his 20,000-member congregation, Living Word Christian Center." (2)

The bank had not been showing a profit for several years,

(in millions, unless otherwise noted)

Profit (Loss)

2006 -$346,000
2007 -$722,000
2008 -$1.1
2009 -$1.5
2010 -$919,000
2011 -$1.6
2012 -$1.5

Primarily from non-current loans (not charge offs).

(in millions, unless otherwise noted)

Non-Current Loans

2006 $3.1
2007 $1.7
2008 $1.8
2009 $1.7
2010 $4.5
2011 $4.9
9/31 $6.4

Charge Offs

2006 $32,000 ($42,000 commercial/industrial, -$10,000 consumer loans)
2007 $28,000 (-$22,000 consumer loans, -$6,000 commercial/industrial)
2008 $299,000 ($207,000 nonfarm/nonresidential, $22,000 individuals)
2009 $175,000 ($126,000 commercial/industrial, $40,000 1-4 family, $7,000 consum.,$2,000 nonfarm/nres.)
2010 $245,000 ($236,000 1-4 family, $5,000 commercial/industrial, $4,000 individuals)
2011 $1.3 ($790,000 1-4 family, $394,000 nonfarm nonres., $77,000 multifamily, $15,000 invid.)
2012 $446,000 ($259,000 1-4 family, $184,000 nonfarm nonres., $3,000 individuals)

(Construction and Land, 1-4 family multiple residential, Multiple Family Residential, Non-Farm Non-Residential loans.)

According to the American Banker, "The bank significantly grew its real estate loan portfolio after the acquisition, but many of those loans have since soured, Crain's said. Covenant has been operating under a cease-and-desist order with state and federal regulators since June of last year and has been trying to raise additional capital since.

"The $61 million-asset Covenant Bank is undercapitalized and nearly 14% of its loans were at least 90 days past due as of March 31, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data. In its annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in late May, the bank said that given "precipitous decline in the value of the collateral securing its loan portfolio and a sharp decrease" in its capital...no assurances can be made about [its] ability to continue as a going concern." (3)

"The bank rapidly increased lending after Rev. Winston's March 2008 acquisition, nearly quadrupling loans to $54 million at the end of 2010 from $14 million. Most of that lending was to owners of two- and three-flats throughout the Chicago area, Ms. Whitfield says. Of Covenant's $22 million in loans to owners of one- to four-unit buildings, $4 million, or 18 percent, are delinquent to the point they're no longer accruing interest...Covenant's tangible equity of $2.7 million is now half of the $5.4 million it had just after Rev. Winston's purchase, thanks to steady losses. The bank has lost $6.2 million since his purchase. Over the last three years, he, along with his shopping mall venture, has pumped about $1.1 million in debt and preferred equity into Covenant to prop up its capital, according to Covenant's securities filing. That investment would be at risk, too, if the bank falls into receivership." (4)

"The African-American owned bank was seeking $3 million of capital. In early November, regulators gave the bank 45 days to get recapitalized or face seizure." (1)

The description on the bank's web site, now taken down, originally stated:

"Covenant Bank is a Christian bank founded on Judeo-Christian principles and culture from where we draw our ethical compass."

Covenant Bank Prayer From the ”Living Word Christian Center” website: Father God in heaven, we, the seed  of Abraham, humbly come before You, to thank You for the honor of establishing  Your storehouse, Covenant Bank, in the earth. In Deuteronomy 28:8, You promised that You  will "command the blessing upon us in our storehouses, and in all we set our hand unto." We come into agreement with Your Word and we now bless Covenant Bank with good success, excellence in banking, and a surplus of capital to exceed regulatory requirements. We bless its board, officers, depositors,  shareholders, customers and the examiners. We bless Covenant Bank with an increase of investors, capital, assets, deposits, branches and Kingdom provisions. We bless Covenant Bank with favor with God and man. We bless Covenant Bank with profit, gold, and a rapidly increasing money supply, that we may  be a blessing to all the families and nations of the earth. In Jesus' Name, Amen. Rev. Bill Winston

“The way the capital was raised is something that's totally out of the box,” says James Hannon, a banking attorney at Gozdecki Del Giudice Americus & Farkas LLP in Chicago. “If this bank does go down, what kind of impact is that going to have on the average shareholder? People may have put their life savings in.” (4)

Sadly there were 770,000 private shares of the bank issued, now worthless.

(in millions, unless otherwise)

Net Equity
2006 $3.1
2007 $2.7
2008 $4.7
2009 $5.5
2010 $3.8
2011 $3.0
2012 $917,000

September 31, 2012 Non-Current Loans: $6.4 million

As of December 31, 2012, Covenant Bank had approximately $58.4 million in total assets and $54.2 million in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, Liberty Bank and Trust Company agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $21.8 million

(1) http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/178_33/covenant-bank-in-chicago-fails-1056858-1.html

(2) http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20130215/NEWS01//pastor-run-covenant-bank-fails

(3) http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/177_123/covenant-chicago-survival-failure-1050438-1.html

(4) http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/2012062/faithful-tested-by-ailing-covenant-bank

Bank Failure Map:
http://www.leasingnews.org/photos/snl_chart1_2142013.gif

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

 

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Bank Problem Real Estate Owned Remains Stubbornly High
By Nathan Stovall and Salman Aleem Khan
SNL Financial

Real estate owned, or OREO, on bank balance sheets has fallen 9.7% from a year earlier and is nearly back to the levels witnessed in 2009

(Note: edited due to length)

SNL data shows that OREO held at commercial banks and savings banks totaled $38.51 billion at the end of the fourth quarter 2012, down from $42.62 billion a year earlier and $47.96 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2010.

Regulators are encouraging banks to work through their problem assets and move them off their books, but few banks simply have enough capital to withstand the hit they will take when selling foreclosed real estate in bulk, said Bryan Cave LLP Partner Walt Moeling. The Atlanta-based attorney said that five years ago some banks might have thought that the value of problem credits would increase if they held onto the assets long enough but that institutions are now more realistic about their actual worth.

"I don't know of anyone that has capital capacity to do so that is not trying to offload foreclosed assets and bad loans," Moeling told SNL. "I don't see anyone really wanting to hold them. Everybody would love to get rid of them. It's just an anchor."

Despite that desire, the pace of distressed asset sales remained relatively slow through the first nine months of 2012, tracking virtually in line with the pace of sales activity in 2011, when sales fell to $19.37 billion from $29.61 billion in 2010, according to SNL

As Moeling noted, sales activity has not picked up because many banks lack the capital necessary to absorb the hit they would take when selling properties on their balance sheets. Market participants have long said that banks are forced to take the deepest haircuts when selling construction and land-development-related assets. And not surprisingly, construction and land development assets represent the largest portion of OREO on bank balance sheets at $12.04 billion, or 31.26% of all OREO, according to SNL data.

The second-biggest portion of OREO falls into in the commercial real estate category — domestic office loans secured by nonfarm, nonresidential real estate — which totaled $8.90 billion, or 23.1% of all OREO at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012, according to SNL data. The next biggest portion of OREO comes from one- to four-family properties, totaling $8.33 billion, or 21.64% of all OREO on bank balance sheets.

A far greater number of one- to four-family loans are locked up in the foreclosure process. The amount of one- to four-family loans in foreclosure — one- to four-family loans in default but not yet seized by banks — dwarfs the size of one- to four-family properties held in OREO on bank balance sheets, totaling $91.51 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. Even the aggregate amount of the top 20 banks reporting the largest number of mortgages headed for foreclosure stands out against the level of one- to four-family properties held in OREO. SNL data shows that those institutions in aggregate reported $80.92 billion in mortgages in the process of foreclosure, or nearly 10x the amount of one- to four-family properties in OREO for the entire banking industry.

Two of the top five banks in terms of OREO concentrations on their balance sheets — NBH Bank NA and Capital Bank NA — have acquired numerous failed banks and distressed institutions. And Beal Bank USA, which reported the third-largest concentration of OREO to assets, at 2.08% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012, works to acquire distressed credits as part of its regular business strategy.

Some of the other largest relative holders of OREO operate in markets that were badly hit by the credit crisis. For instance, Troy, Mich.-based Flagstar Bancorp Inc. tops the list with OREO accounting for 4.96% of its asset base, and five Puerto Rico-based banks also made the list of the top 20 banks by OREO to assets.

Original Article:
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/Bank%27sOREO2013.pdf

 

 

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Photocopier Leases: Washington Court
Ignores "Integration Clause" in Lease

By Tom McCurnin
Barton, Klugman & Oetting

This Leasing Staple is Fraught With Manufacturers Playing Games

TBF Financial, v Boris Petrenko 2012 WL 5292826 (Wash.2012)

Photocopiers have been ideal leasing targets since they were first made in the 1970’s. For many leasing companies, they are the bread and butter of their portfolio. My experience, both as in house counsel, and as outside counsel, is they are a double-edged sword. If copier leases form the backbone of a company’s portfolio, then one can’t with them and can’t live without them.

Since the financial meltdown of 2006, my experience is that copier manufacturers know exactly where they stand and take advantages over leasing companies, who, if they want the business, have to bend over and take it.

This case from the Washington Court of Appeal
aptly demonstrates this:

Lawyer Boris Petrenko leased two photocopiers with Konica which was assigned to TBF Financial. Five years later, the lessee defaulted and TBF sued. The lessee then made a novel claim that the lease term was not supposed to be 60 months, but only 36 for one copier and 48 months for the other. The lessee submitted declarations which supported the claim that Konica orally modified the deal, prior to assignment to TBF. So of course, the lessee didn’t make the payments during the last year—the lease had expired, so he claimed.

By the way, given my experience with copier deals, I have no reason to doubt the lessee’s story, but more on that later.

The lessor lawyer filed a summary judgment motion which of course claimed that the lease had “no oral modification” clause. The Court gave lip service to the claim, but ultimately set aside the granting of the summary judgment based on the declarations of the lessee, which went uncontroverted at trial.

I understand why no controverting evidence may have been offered. First, the allegation might be true and a Konica representative may have actually modified the leases. Second, even if false, TBF might have had a hard time finding a witness at Konica to controvert the statements. Finally, TBF may have not wanted to voluntarily create a “he said she said” issue at the hearing, a guaranty that the motion for summary judgment might be denied.

In any event, the Washington Court of Appeals reversed the granting of the motion and sent the case back to the trial court. Details are sketchy here, but I offer the following lessons.

First, if the paper came directly from the manufacturer, most program agreements have indemnity language that the assignor has not orally modified the lease and upon any such allegation will pick up the defense of the assignee. I’m not sure these were direct assignments, as the Court mentions there were a series of assignments, so this could be third hand paper.

Second, most copier manufacturers will not sign anything that obligates them to anything since 2006. Indeed, their position is that the lessor should drop down on its knees and praise God that the manufacturer is condescending to throw the lessor some crumbs of business.

Third, I couldn’t tell from the decision how much was involved, but if these are one-off assignments from strangers, the lessor might have considered getting an estoppel agreement from the lessee as to the lease terms and the balance owed. We do this all the time for bigger dollar leases, and it’s a one page form, and it’s a pre-condition, so usually the manufacturer’s sales rep gets us the estoppel certificate.

Fourth, as inviting and as vanilla as copier leases are, they are fraught with collection issues 48 months downstream. Our firm has 4 copiers now, and I haven’t seen a single copier yet that performed worth a darn much after 48 months. The thing starts jamming and service calls become more frequent. If the lessor is taking a 60 month piece of paper on a photocopier, that is asking for trouble.

Fifth, many clients have been reporting to me that copier manufacturers now give their dealers advance notice that a particular model is going to be phased out, and clear their inventory to those dealers at a huge discount. The dealers, in turn, place the copiers in offices at full face value knowing full well that the model is obsolete. Of course, the dealer does not inform the lessor that the equipment is obsolete and worth half its price when delivered. The customer finds out, and naturally wants concessions from the lessor.

The bottom line to copier leasing is that it is a specialized, manufacturer based program, in which large concessions are given for the business, and some deals will not end well. Don’t expect to treat these leases the same as typical equipment, because the manufacturer has the upper hand.

TBF Case:
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/TBFCase22013.pdf

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

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

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

 

 

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Leasing Industry Help Wanted  

Los Angeles, CA Credit Analyst  Review and Approve Applications/Vendors Documentation/Funding Staff  Leasing/Banking experience a plus Sales Experience preferred. Salary, Commission Bonuses and Benefits. For more description of duties, please click on position www.pacificcapco.com At Pacific Capital Companies our mission is to provide the American business sector with fast, innovative, financing solutions to grow their companies and exceed their goals.

 

 

Seeking career minded business development officer- leasing experience helpful Grow with us as we expand our business lending & leasing Call Exec. VP Salvatore Venuto 515-576-9000 x1704 or email: SVenuto@macrolease.com Since 1969, Macrolease has been operating as a full service national equipment leasing company, a subsidiary of Bank Rhode Island

  

For information on placing a help wanted ad, please click here:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Hwanted/Hwanted-post.htm

Please see our Job Wanted section for possible new employees.

Leasing News Alexa Rating Improves Since Feb. 3

	U.S.	World Wide		Links	Web Site
1	26,668	180,647		216	LeasingNews.com
2	86,159	390,159		97	Lessors.com
3	87,138	539,486		172	Monitordaily.com
4	186,251	1,103,087		84	Worldleasingnews.org
5	187,132	1,013,684		299	ELFAonline.org
6	265,754	1,715,405		113	NAELB.org
7	266,902	2,539,191		153	Commercial Finance Association
8	296,757	1,602,639		49	Equipment Finance Advisor
9	311,834	2,407,281		64	NEFAssociation.org
10	583,350	3,799,827		30	CLPFoundation.org
11	648,339	3,014,762		116	Equip. Leasing Finance Foundation
12	No Data	22,791,903		18	Assoc. Gov. Leasing/Finance

Alexa ranks web sites in the order of most read, meaning number one is the most read, which is Google, and the rest follow. In the finance and leasing trade, a relatively small niche on the world wide web, ratings are in "most read" in the United States and the most read "World 'Wide." There are, of course, more web sites in the world than just one country, thus the numbers.

All news editions are actually part of the web site and when a headline is clicked, it goes to the web site. This is also true of those members of an association going to a web site not just for news, but a forum, or multiple forums such as at ELFA and NAELB.

In addition, many do not have daily news editions, but perhaps monthly as CLP Foundation, National Equipment Finance Association, or the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers.

Lessors, Monitordaily, ELFAonline, EquipmentFinance Advisors have five news editions a week; Leasing News has generally has three (holidays for both daily and three times a week will change the schedule).

Companies also can employ Google Analytics or a Google relationship, such as Lessors.org.

Sites linking in refer to other sites who connect readers to the web site, as Alexa notes “can serve as a measure of a site’s reputation.”

 

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Leasing 102
by Mr. Terry Winders, CLP

Asset Description and Use

A commercial lease is a contract for the use of equipment not its ownership. Therefore the description of the equipment needs to be very complete and descriptive. However, you cannot describe the equipment properly unless you know how it is going to be used. It is the use as well as the physical description on the lease schedule that needs to be complete.

I have written often on the need to completely describe the equipment on the lease agreement and have tried to explain that usually the description on the vendors invoice is only a brief presentation and is rarely complete. You usually need to request a better description that includes all attachments or accessories. In addition you should request what represents a proper use and how long is a normal life span for the equipment.

If you are creating a number leases for a vendor then the description and knowledge of the average types of use can be determined in advance reducing operations time. When you have a request from the lessee and do not know the vendor this process sounds like overkill unless the price of the equipment is above your cost threshold. Below that at least get a complete description.

There is a lot of equipment like medical, data processing, and food processing that would not need much description but they all have accessories and occasionally the environment that they are used in can have an impact on the condition of the equipment. Therefore use on any equipment includes the location and environment for that use.

Sometimes the description is so tied to the type of equipment that it does not make sense to the average person. It is advisable to get a picture to add to the schedule. Also you may ask the vendor to define as much as possible the equipment in simple terms to both purpose and structure.

If the equipment is hard to identify like pipes, or anything that has large amounts of pieces, than in addition to the description it is wise to send labels and have them placed on each piece. This becomes critically important if there are multiple lessors with like equipment.

The last point is to have language in the lease requiring notice of location change. Sometimes location change indicates a change of use and may require a change in lease payments if the lease is tied to actual use.

A lease is not a loan and the protection of the asset should be of primary interest to the lessor. Too many leases look like loans regardless of the purchase option. Also the amount of losses is directly tied to the way you investigate the equipment’s use, as you do the credit. The better you know the equipment the better you leases.

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

 

Mr. Terry Winders available as Expert Witness. 35 years as a professional instructor to the top equipment leasing and finance companies in the United States, author of several books, including DVD's, as well as weekly columnist to Leasing News. He also performs audits of leasing companies as an expert on documentation, and has acted as an expert witness on leasing for litigation in legal and tax disputes, including before the IRS. He also has taught the senior bank examiners, how to review a bank leasing department, for the Federal Reserve in Washington D.C. and has trained the examiners for the FDIC on how to prepare a lease portfolio for sale. Mr. Winders received his Master of Business Administration and his Bachelor of Science degrees from the College of Notre Dame. 502.649.0488/Leaseconsulting@msn.com

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

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Changing Career to Sales
Career Crossroad---By Emily Fitzpatrick/RII

Question: I am strongly considering changing my profession and beginning a career in sales. What are the pros and cons?

Answer: That is a very broad question, as sales has many aspects, and the larger the company, the more diverse the responsibilities.

Sales professionals are responsible for creating and organizing effective sales programs, devising marketing strategies, identifying customers, maintaining relationships and trying to gain / keep the largest possible market share. It takes a certain type of person to be able to create and maintain a successful Sales Career – Sales Professionals are hunters NOT gatherers.

A sales person who meets with customers MUST be self-motivated and possess a “fire-in-the-belly” to succeed. These professionals must be able to work under stress, retain information and calculate quickly (and accurately) sound judgments, which are often based on intuition and historical data.

Additionally, these Sales Pros have to possess a “sense of urgency” which is the innate ability to drive the sales process from lead generation to closing the deal. Competition is fierce so you must be able to maintain (and possess the desire) to be one of the best – mediocrity will NOT lead to success in this profession!

The sales process begins by contacting and cultivating leads (warm or cold) which is an arduous process that requires focus, dedication and, often times, phone work / cold-calling. Few people “enjoy” this responsibility – if you are one of them, then a career in sales is not for you! Additionally, long-hours and travel are typically required, and it is difficult for some in this profession to tell where business ends, and private life begins. If you are not eager and willing to make this your lifestyle, then again, this career path is probably not for you!

Compensation for this type of career can be lucrative with base offerings that run the gamut (large spectrum based upon many factors, including geography, experience, etc…) HOWEVER; the REAL money is in commissions; earned commissions will be a reflection of your success as a Sales Professional. Obviously, the larger the company, the larger the base salaries offered – HOWEVER, the commission structure is typically not as hefty as it would be with a smaller organization.

One major perk is that all companies in one way shape or form need employees who will generate income; if an industry implodes, “Tony” can still sell widgets. Again, your production (regardless of industry or product) will be a direct reflection of your success and marketability for your future career path. Aim to be the most successful Sales Pro and skies the limit!

“Aim at perfection in everything, though in most things it is unattainable; however, they who aim at it, and persevere, will come much nearer to it than those whose laziness and despondency make them give it up as unattainable”

- Lord Chesterfield

 

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.htm

Top Stories February 11-February 15
(You May Have Missed)

Here are the top ten stories opened by readers:

(1) Bank of West Leasing Indirect Leaves NAELB
by Christopher Menkin
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2013/2_11.htm#bow

(2) Why Bank of West Leasing Indirect Has Left
the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers
by Christopher Menkin
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2013/2_13.htm#bow

(3) Stan Nathanson Passes Away
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2013/2_13.htm#nathanson

(4) TFC Equipment Finance Up-Dates "Funder A" List
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2013/2_15.htm#tfc

(5) Leasing Companies Out of Business
plus No Longer taking Broker/Discounting Business
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2013/2_15.htm#out

(6) Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform Act
And Its Effect of Leasing
By Tom McCurnin
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2013/2_11.htm#dodd

(Tie) (7) Direct Capital Ranked Among Top Ten Best Places to
Work in America
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/2/prweb10431148.htm

(Tie) (7) Ex-Dixon comptroller gets 19 1/2 years for
$54 million fraud
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-rita-crundwell-sentencing-20130214,0,4868115.story

(Tie) (7) Funders Looking for New Broker Business (updated)
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2013/2_13.htm#funders

(8) New Hires---Promotions
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2013/2_15.htm#hires

(9) Update ---New Credit Reporting Agency
Inspection Requirements for Brokers/Funders/Lessors Working Out of their House
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2013/2_13.htm#update

(10) Raymond Wesley (Skip) Florea II Passes Away
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2013/2_15.htm#florea

 

Fitch Rating European Senior Fixed-Income Investor Survey

85 respondents: senior fixed income executives, fixed-income portfolio and investment managers, heads of fixed-income research teams, portfolio specialists and senior credit analysts, together representing USD7.6 trillion of fixed-income assets.

51% of investors say fundamental credit conditions for sovereigns will improve – the first time in three years optimists have outnumbered pessimists. A bullish mood pervaded all sectors except high yield and, to a lesser extent, investment grade non-financial corporates.

51% expect the Eurozone to muddle through, with 28% anticipating fiscal union. Responses signal more confidence than in the July survey, when only 31% believed in the muddling-through path and more participants feared exits, defaults and break-up.

53% think 2013 Eurozone funding conditions will be better than in H212 while another 39% expect them to be about the same; only 8% expect deterioration.

42% say banks will prepay up to half the total EUR1trillion LTROs this year, doing their utmost to wean themselves off the ECB. Another 44% expect the amount to be between 10% and 33%.

57% of investors expect a 2013 bond yield correction to be gradual, driven by incremental normalization of interest rates. Only 8% think it will happen more abruptly and 35% expect stable or even continued declines in yields this year. This relatively relaxed view is supported by participants’ lack of concern about inflation: 77% ranked this risk as low.

29% voted HY their most favored investment choice, more than double the 13% in the last survey and the highest reading since Q111 (36%) – braving their concerns about deteriorating sector fundamentals in favor of yield hunting, and comforted by a belief in continued moderate defaults:

53% expect the European HY default rate will end 2013 at 2-4%, with 31% somewhat more negatively estimating 4-6%.

Full European Survey Report:
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/FitchFeb2013.pdf

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

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

Henry Schein Acquires The Maddox Practice Group

Strengthens Dental Practice Transition Presence in California

MELVILLE, N.Y., -- Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC), the world's largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, medical and animal health practitioners, today announced the acquisition of the Maddox Practice Group (MPG), a leading practice transition group that serves the California dental market. Financial and other terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

MPG was founded by A. Lee Maddox, DDS, ESQ and is based in Newport Beach, California. Dr. Maddox, a retired endodontist, is a prominent figure in the California dental community. He is a former instructor of endodontics at University of Southern California and is a frequent lecturer at national, regional and local dental society meetings.

MPG will become part of Henry Schein Professional Practice Transitions (HS PPT), the division of Henry Schein Financial Services that provides a full range of dental practice brokerage, practice valuations and practice transition planning services. In addition to HS PPT, Henry Schein Financial Services offers an array of business solutions for health care practitioners, including equipment leasing and financing, and patient and practice credit card services.

"We are proud to expand our Practice Transitions business in California, one of the largest dental markets in the U.S., with approximately 32,000 licensed dentists," said Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein. "In acquiring MPG, we are expanding our team of experts that partner the right buyers and sellers based on fit, specialization and value. We are delighted to welcome Dr. Maddox, his colleague Kerri McCullough and their staff to Henry Schein. The professionals at MPG bring an entrepreneurial spirit that is the hallmark of Team Schein."

About Henry Schein, Inc.
Henry Schein, Inc. is the world's largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, medical and animal health practitioners. The Company also serves dental laboratories, government and institutional health care clinics, and other alternate care sites. A Fortune 500® Company and a member of the NASDAQ 100® Index, Henry Schein employs more than 15,000 Team Schein Members and serves more than 775,000 customers.

The Company offers a comprehensive selection of products and services, including value-added solutions for operating efficient practices and delivering high-quality care. Henry Schein operates through a centralized and automated distribution network, with a selection of more than 96,000 branded products and Henry Schein private-brand products in stock, as well as more than 110,000 additional products available as special-order items. The Company also offers its customers exclusive, innovative technology solutions, including practice management software and e-commerce solutions, as well as a broad range of financial services.

Headquartered in Melville, N.Y., Henry Schein has operations or affiliates in 25 countries. The Company's sales reached a record $8.9 billion in 2012, and have grown at a compound annual rate of 17 percent since Henry Schein became a public company in 1995. For more information, visit the Henry Schein Web site at www.henryschein.com

#### Press release###############################

 

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

 

[headlines]
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Classified ads— Accounting / Aircraft / Appraisals

Leasing Industry Outsourcing
(Providing Services and Products)

Appraisals: Boston, MA Nationwide appraisals, remarketing, audits, inspections and more! Over 15-years industry experience and dedicated to deliver personal, prompt, professional services.  Call Chris @ 508-785-1277. Email: chris@dovermanagementgroup.com	Appraisals: National Equipment Appraisal prepares Certified Machinery and Equipment Appraisals. IRS qualified, USPAP Compliant. Nationwide - fast turnaround. Visit nationalequipmentappraisal.com  or call 714-282-1525.”
Accounting: Dallas, TX Provide cost effective Sales and Use Tax and Property Tax consulting and administration Services to the leasing industry. Many leasing industry referrals available. E-mail: mattm@osgsolutions.com	Accounting: National Property Tax Compliance Services to the leasing industry. Over 60-years experience and fifty Lessors as clients. References and free quotes available, (216) 658-5618, E-mail gary@avptc.com
Aircraft Delivery: Seattle, WA  Global Aircraft Delivery ferries all types of aircraft all over the world. We are a unique ferry company moving your aircraft with our expert turnkey operation. www.globalaircraftdelivery.com  E-mail:info@globalaircraftdelivery.com	Asset Management: Canada  Cease Bailiff Services Incorporated: Asset Investigation/Tracing; Asset Recoveries; Asset Protection/Security Asset Liquidations/Sales; Ottawa, Canada;www.ceasebailiff.ca dave@ceasebailiff.ca; Phone 613 898 7376 ; Fax 613 225 2452
Asset/Recovery & Collections: Charlotte, NC IRTC Continencies: Commercial Collections-Skip Trace- Repossessions-judgment enforcement-Investigations- Asset Re-marketing& No Cost Warehousing East Coast USA. Call 336-877-3077 ask for Robert or E-mail to Robert@mbsfinancial.com	Nationwide Seasoned anfair priced workforce is at your service for all lease collections, repossessions, and asset liquidations, appraisals.  Call Nassau Asset Management 800-462-7728   dcastagna@nasset.com
Asset/Recovery: NorthWest  Sequent provides collateral recovery, remarketing, and storage services to lenders with assets located in the greater Pacific Northwest. Professional services at reasonable pricing. Contactrossr@sequentam.com	Asset Marketing/Recovery: Remarking solutions for big rigs assets and trucking related companies including collections, recovery, repair and re-sales. North South Leasing cell # 586-909-8797 bob@nsleasing.com
Appraisals/Asset Recovery Melville, New York Auctions, Appraisals, National Repossessions.  ALL asset classes. 20+ year team works for you. Spend less, Net More… Fast! Ed Castagna 516-229-1968 ecastagna@inplaceauction.com

All "Outsourcing" Classified ads (advertisers are both requested and responsible to keep their free ads up to date:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Outsourcing/Outsourcing.htm

How to Post a free "Outsourcing" classified ad:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Outsourcing/Outsourcing-post.htm

 

John Kenny Receivables Management www.jrkrmdirect.com • End of Lease Negotiations & Enforcement • Fraud Investigation • Credit Investigations • Asset Searches • Skip-tracing • Third-party Commercial Collections The Solution to Your Credit & Accounts Receivable Needs  John Kenny 315-866-1167 |  John@jkrmdirect.com

(Leasing News provides this ad as a trade for investigations
and background information provided by John Kenny)

 

Labrador Retriever
Chicago, Illinois Adopt-a-Dog

Stan
Male
Age: 1 year

Adoption Instructions & Fees
http://www.pawschicago.org/adoptions/adoption-instructions/

Adoption Center
1997 N. Clybourn Ave.
Chicago, IL 60614
773-935-7297 (PAWS)
Sat and Sun: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Mon - Fri: 12 noon - 7pm
http://www.pawschicago.org/about-paws-chicago/

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

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

 

 

News Briefs----

 

OfficeMax, Office Depot reported close to merger
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-officemax-office-depot-said-to-be-close-to-merger-20130218,0,7359927.story

Reader's Digest files for Chapter 11
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2013/02/18/Readers-Digest-files-for-Chapter-11/UPI-25071361221186/

Int'l Jazz Day to celebrate Turkish jazz link
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/Int-l-Jazz-Day-to-celebrate-Turkish-jazz-link-4288257.php

More workers can switch to a Roth 401(k)
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2013/02/18/roth-401k-conversion/1864935/

 

 

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

---You May Have Missed

Multi-million mega mansions in distress
http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2013/02/18/multi-million-mega-mansions-in-distress/

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

SparkPeople--Live Healthier and Longer

SparkPeople--Live Healthier and Longer

Delicious Ways to Boost Fiber Intake
It's Easier (and Tastier) Than You Think!
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=442

 

 

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

Winter Poem

Snow Day

by Barry S. Marks, Esq.

 

Leah and Lauren
are building a house
out of cushions
from the love seat and sofa.

They bring treasures
to fill the room
a Lambchop pillow
a jewelry box
dolls that have name
and a few that do not.

I say that it's further argument
against replacing the berber with hardwood, 
at least before next year;
you are willing to compromise
on French doors and a canopy.

And still the snow falls,
now down, now side-ways,
enveloping the house, changing 
the landscape, remaking the world.

We will cook soup today, 
hearty with beef and cabbage
and crowd around the fireplace
instead of the t.v.

"This is my idea", Leah announces.
"Yes", answers Lauren, "It's my idea, too."

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

Sports Briefs----

Jerry Buss, Lakers Owner and Innovator, Dies at 80
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/sports/basketball/jerry-buss-longtime-lakers-owner-is-dead-at-80.html?_r=0

Buss Family to Continue Tradition
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers-ownership-20130219,0,6689307.story

49ers' QB a hot commodity, but Kaepernick shuns limelight to hit the gym
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/02/18/5197640/49ers-qb-a-hot-commodity.html

Cal coach Mike Montgomery's shove is shameful
http://www.mercurynews.com/cal-bears/ci_22615047/poole-cal-coach-mike-montgomerys-shove-is-shameful

Vikings to play outdoors for 2 years
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8952064/minnesota-vikings-two-seasons-tcf-bank-stadium

 

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

California Nuts Briefs---

California Gov. Jerry Brown wants local control for school districts
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_22611678/california-gov-jerry-brown-wants-local-control-school

 

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

“Gimme that Wine”

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

The Best Beers of Winter
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/magazine/the-best-beers-of-winter.html?ref=dining

CapRock Winery Sold
http://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataid=112002

Brawl at Temecula Winery Results in 5 Arrests, Injured Deputy
http://temecula.patch.com/articles/brawl-at-temecula-winery-results-in-5-arrests-injured-deputy

Planners to take up wine ordinance this week
http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/planners-to-take-up-wine-ordinance-this-week/article_88e11a10-7968-11e2-a4d0-001a4bcf887a.html

Christie's Online Auction Opens
http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2013/02/christies-online-auction-opens/

Bacardi Rum Launches New Pineapple Fusion Extension
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/BacardiRum22013.pdf

 

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

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

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

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

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

    1674 - The Treaty of Westminster was signed, ending the Anglo-Dutch War; under its terms, New Netherlands (New York) became British. 
http://website.lineone.net/~d.bolton/Chron/chron.htm
http://www.nnp.org/project/historical.html
    1803-Ohio became the 17th state. Although slavery had been outlawed in the Northwest Territory by the Norwest Ordinance in 1787, Ohio was the first state in which slavery was forbidden by law from the beginning of statehood. Vermont had outlawed slavery with the adoption of its constitution in July, 1777, some six months after its declaration of independence.
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/ohc/history/h_indian/periods/ohiost.shtml
    1810 - The famous "cold day" in New England. Gale force winds wrecked homes, and accompanied a sudden overnight drop in temperature of 50 degrees. Tragedy struck Sanbornton, NH where three children froze to death.
    1807- Aaron Burr was arrested in Wakefield, AL, by Captain Edmund P. Gaines and taken to Richmond, VA, where he was brought before Chief Just John Marshall of the U.S. Circuit Court on March 30. Burr served as vice-president, after losing the election in an electoral 35th ballot in the House of Representatives to Thomas Jefferson in 1804 (in those days, president and vice-president did not run together). He served under Jefferson from 1801 to 1805 and was not re-elected, although Thomas Jefferson was re-elected president from 1805 to 1809. In 1807, Burr was accused of organizing an expedition to invade Mexico and set up a separate republic in the Southwest. On June 24, he was indicted for treason. The trial began on August 3 and ended in an acquittal on September 1.
    1821-Union General Francis Preston Blair, Jr., born in Lexington, Kentucky. The colorful Blair was instrumental in keeping Missouri part of the Union during the early stages of the Civil War.
http://www.multied.com/Bio/UGENS/USABlair.html
http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/nsh/blair.htm http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000523
    1831-Locomotive to burn coal: the first trial of the first locomotive to burn coal was the York, invented by Phineas Davis, a watchmaker, and built at York, PA. Ironically, the only accident in which the train was involved occurred on September 27, 1835, as the result of a defective track. the accident killed Phineas Davis, who was riding on the locomotive. 
    1847- In the eastern foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, a relief party reaches the Donner Party, finding only about half of the original eighty-nine pioneers have survived.
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist6/donner
    1851- Angry San Francisco vigilantes take the law into their own hands.
http://www.historychannel.com/cgi-bin/frameit.cgi?p=http%3A//www.historychannel.com/
cgi-bin/today_relocate.cgi%3Fmonth%3D10%26day%3D11%26
section%3Dthisday%26x%3D17%26y%3D7
    1856-Tintype Camera: Profession Hamilton Smith, professor of natural sciences, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH, received a patent for a tintype camera for “photographic pictures on japanned surfaces.” the photographs were collodion positives on black or chocolate-colored iron plates. 1858 -- Leschi, chief of the Nisqually & Yakama, is hanged for leading attack on Seattle, Washington territory. Native American Leschi hanged for his role in the Indian Wars of 1855-56. His belief that reservations were first step to annihilation led him to encourage an uprising by Coastal tribes in the Puget Sound region surrounding Seattle. See Della Gould Emmons sympathetic novelization, Leschi of the Nisquallies (Dennison, 1965).
http://www.leschi.bia.edu/warrior.htm
    1864-Knights of Pythias: The social and fraternal order of the Knights of Pythias was founded at Washington, DC by Justus H. Rathbone, and embraces more than two thousand subordinate lodges in the United States and Canada
http://www.pythias.org/
    1878-Phonograph: Thomas Alva Edison of Menlo Park, NJ, secured a patent on a ‘phonograph or speaking machine.” his original idea had been to invent a telegraph repeater, and he had given construction directions to one of his mechanics, John Kreuis, on August 12, 1877. The first cylinder, operated by a hand crank, was wrapped in tin foil, with which two needles fastened to diaphragms made contact. The first voice recorded on the new instrument was “Mary had a little lamb”. A clock spring motor and wax like record were invented some ten years later called the Graphpone, manufactured by Bell and Tainter, Washington, DC. The first phonograph record on the modern disk type was invented by Emile Berlinger of Washington, DC, easier to duplicate for mass market than the Edison Recording Cylinder and called Berlinger’s “Gramophone” record.
    1884 - Severe thunderstorms spawned sixty tornadoes in the southeastern U.S., killing more than 420 persons and causing three million dollars damage. Georgia and the Carolinas hardest were hit in the tornado outbreak.
    1897 - Mrs. Hoodless founded the first Women's Institute at Stoney Creek in Ontario, Canada. 
    1897-Trumpet Player Johnny Dunn birthday, Memphis, TN
http://www.redhotjazz.com/dunn.html
http://www.redhotjazz.com/jazzhounds.html
    1899 --- Louis” Kid Shots” Madison birthday
http://user.tninet.se/~rrr043f/forum8.htm
(great story with much about “Kid Shots”, a true New Orleans brass band cornet player, who was with the Original Tuxedo Orchestra and Eureka Brass Bands, better known than Bunk Johnson is known today. Read the story. Several albums exist with his playing).
    1903-saxophone player Clarence Hall Birthday, New Orleans, LA http://www.redhotjazz.com/Tuxedo.html
    1903 -- Kay Boyle born St. Paul, Minnesota. Novelist, short story writer, anti-war activist. Wrote Plagued by Nightingales. Reportedly Loved Dubonnet, Paul Robeson, razor clams, and sang "Miss Otis Regrets" like no one else. In Paris in the 20's, NY in the 40's and in jail in the 60's. Close friends included James Joyce, Man Ray, Picasso, Joan Baez, and Katherine Anne Porter. S. I. Hayakawa labeled her the most dangerous woman in America. In 1967 at the height of the Vietnam War protests, Hayakawa, president of SF State University, (& later US Senator), publicly fired Boyle for her active role in the student protests. She was 65 years old. I interviewed her several times and found her to be an extremely bright, articulate person, seemingly with something profound to say at each interview. As an American expatriate writing in Paris in the 20's & 30's, a journalist documenting the fall of France in the 40's for The New Yorker, a blacklisted writer in the 50's, an anti-war activist & essayist in the 60's & 70's, & founder of the San Francisco chapter of Amnesty International in the 80's, Kay Boyle's literary and political career is a chronicle of the events & concerns of the 20th century. Kay Boyle wrote 18 novels, 60 short stories, numerous children's books, & six collections of essays. She received many awards including two Guggenheim's & a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Throughout all of this, she had three husbands & six children. ”Considered herself a citizen of the world, and for over thirty of her 90 years, lived in Europe. Her books are being reissued in Germany and are still available in France. Beginning in 1923, when she issued, along with 16 other expatriate writers, a proclamation calling for ‘The Revolution of the Word,’ which mirrored the decadence & self-involvement of the era by declaring that ‘the writer expresses, he does not communicate,’ to the 1985 publication of Words That Somehow Must Be Said, a collection of her poetic and searing essays composed primarily while she was imprisoned for protesting the Vietnam War, Kay Boyle utilized and transformed the political and social realities of her times into art, as she has admitted, it cost her dearly. Cited in 1928 by Katherine Anne Porter as the next James Joyce or Gertrude Stein, Kay Boyle nevertheless remains one of the most unsung women writers of the century, repeatedly overshadowed by many of her less accomplished contemporaries. Perhaps because Boyle chose to pursue the path of "a moralist in the highest sense of the word, speaking briefly & clearly of the dignity and integrity of individual man." Perhaps because early in her career she made a conscious decision that politics were as important as art. Perhaps it is because, as Studs Terkel suggested, just when her work was beginning to reach a wider audience she was blacklisted. She died in 1992.
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/boyle/bio.htm
http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/findaids/boyle_k.htm
http://www.nybooks.com/authors/2779
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/boyle/boyle.htm
    1910 - At a New York dinner party, host Diamond Jim Brady ate five helpings of roast beef, gallons of stewed fruit, 84 oysters and three gallons of orange juice. 
http://www.gourmandizer.com/ezine/brady/
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0404044182/avsearch-df1-2-20/
102-1682336-8966565
    1912-Modern jazz bandleader Stan Kenton was born in Wichita, Kansas. He was best known for his jazz concertos and opuses which came to be known as progressive jazz. Kenton also an interest in Latin American music, and his orchestra had a hit in the late 1940's with "The Peanut Vendor." Kenton maintained a big band for more than 35 years, beginning in 1940. He died in Los Angeles on August 25th, 1979.
http://www.stan-kenton.com/
http://www.52ndstreet.com/kenton/kenton.htm
    1912 -- In the Bread Roses Strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, 200 police draw their clubs and go after 100 women pickets, knocking them to the ground and beating them. As the police clubbing become more frequent & violent, strike leader Big Bill Haywood urges the women not to picket. Instead of agreeing, an Italian woman suggests):
"Tomorrow morning, man no go on picket line. All man, boy stay home, sleep. Only woman, girl on picket line tomorrow morning. Soldier and policeman no beat woman, girl. You see, I got big belly, she too got big belly. Policeman no beat us." The next morning, however, the women are out in full force, only to be beaten so badly that the Italian woman who spoke at the meeting and Bertha Crouse, another pregnant striker, lose their babies and almost die.
http://1912.history.ohio-state.edu/labor/FirstDays.htm
http://1912.history.ohio-state.edu/labor/Organizers.htm
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAettor.htm
    1916- George Edward “Eddie” Arcaro birthday, broadcaster and jockey born at Cincinnati, OH. Acrcaro is the only jockey to win racing’s Triple Crown twice, triumphing with Whirlaway in 1941 and Citation in 1947. . In all, he won five Kentucky Derbies, six Preakness Stakes and six Belmont Stakes. Died at Miami, FL. Nov 14, 1997.
    1917 -Birthday of author Carson McCullers. Her “Heart is a Lonely Hunter” (1940) made her famous at age 23. She also authored “Reflection in a Golden Eye” (1941), “The Ballad of the Sad Café” and the much praised play “The Member of the Wedding” and numerous short stories of great quality and sensitivity.
    1918 - In Russia, a decree abolishing all private ownership of land, water and natural resources was issued by the Soviet Central Executive Committee. Many American companies lost all their investment and cash in the Soviet.
    1919- First Pan-African Congress organized in Paris by WEB DuBois.
    1922 - Ed Wynn became the first big-name, vaudeville talent to sign as a radio talent. Until then, top talent did not consider radio respectable.
    1933 -Giant Forest CA received 60 inches of snow in just 24 hours, a state record, and the second highest 24 hour total of record for the U.S. 
    1934 - The University of Southern California (USC) and Notre Dame were both given as examples of commercialism in intercollegiate sports when each of them signed a three-year football contract, while other schools were "feeling the depression."
    1934- Bob and Dolores Hope marry
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/bobhope/moving.html
http://www.wic.org/bio/dhope.htm
http://www.hopetribute.org/photos/1939_queen-mary.htm
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/H/htmlH/hopebob/hopebob.htm 
    1940-Smokey Robinson birthday, song writer, lead singer with the Miracles, Smokey Robinson, born Detroit, Michigan. Bob Dylan once said was his favorite poet, Robinson developed into one of the foremost songwriters and singers in pop music. He had formed a band called the Miracles in high school. The group met Berry Gordy Junior in 1957, and the success of the Miracles first single, "Bad Girl," convinced Gordy to make Motown records a national company. The Miracles put Motown on the map in 1960 with "Shop Around," the company's first million-seller. The Miracles were one of Motown's premier groups, with hits such as "Get Ready," "Second That Emotion" and "Tracks of My Tears." Robinson left the group in 1972 to record on his own, - and to continue his duties as a vice-president of Motown.
http://www.smokeyrobinson.net/
    1942-Japanese interned: as a result of President Franklin Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, some 110,000 Japanese-Americans living in coastal Pacific areas were placed in concentration camps in remote areas of Arizona, Arkansas, inland California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. Two-thirds of them were American citizens. These interned American citizens lost an estimated $400 million in property. They were allowed to return to their homes Jan 2, 1945. Most of us never experienced the fear or these early war times, especially here in California where roads to the beaches were destroyed, railroad tracks, and black outs as we feared invasion from Japan. It should also be known. During confinement within the armed, barbed-wire surroundings, however, prayer meetings, Bible studies and worship services were held. When offered to fight in the European war, Japanese-American division were unheralded in their courage and duty to the United States, winning great respect from the other units that fought along with them. It was not until the end of the 20th century that other American’s admitted their shame and guilt; however, many of us who did not live in that time period do not understand the hysteria brought by the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, that brought Japanese conquests in Singapore and the Nazi government then to join an “axis” against the British and the United States. It was not until that time that the United States actually entered the European war.
http://www.eskimo.com/~recall/images/redblackbg.gif
http://www.uwec.edu/geography/Ivogeler/w188/j1.htm
http://www.sfmuseum.org/war/evactxt.html 
http://www.scu.edu/SCU/Programs/Diversity/exhibit1.html
http://www.janm.org/main.htm
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist/lange.html
http://education.nebrwesleyan.edu/eisenhower/northeastpage/safarik/
internmentpage.html
    1942 - General Dwight D. Eisenhower is appointed chief of the War Plans Division of the US Army General Staff.
    1942 - Port Darwin, on the northern coast of Australia, was bombed by about 150 Japanese warplanes. General George C. Kenney, who pioneered aerial warfare strategy and tactics in the Pacific theater, ordered 3,000 parafrag bombs to be sent to Australia, where he thought they might come in handy against the Japanese. Darwin was virtually leveled by 64 bombing raids over 21 months.
    1942 - On Victor Records, Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra recorded "I’ll Take Tallulah". Some other famous musicians were in the studio too, including Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford and the Pied Pipers, Ziggy Elman and drummer Buddy Rich. 
    1942 - The New York Yankees said they would admit 5,000 uniformed servicemen to each of their home ball games for free during the coming season.
    1943- Cass Elliot of the Mamas and Papas was born in Baltimore. The light folksy sound of the Mamas and Papas was featured on such '60s hits as "California Dreamin'," "Monday, Monday" and "Dedicated to the One I Love." The group disbanded in 1968 because of legal and personal problems. Cass Elliot continued to record on her own, scoring a big hit with "Dream a Little Dream of Me." She died in 1974.
    1945-Iwo Jima: Beginning at dawn, the landing of 30,000 American troops took place on the barren 12-square-mile island of Iwo Jima. Initially there was little resistance, but 21,500 Japanese stood ready underground to fight to the last man to protect massive strategic fortifications linked by tunnels. This was a major battle in World War II. 
    1945- Woody Herman’s First Herd waxes “Apple Honey,”” Laura,” New York City. 1955 - Dot Records launched "Two Hearts, Two Kisses, One Love", the first single by Pat Boone.
    1946—Top Hits
Symphony - The Freddy Martin Orchestra (vocal: Clyde Rogers)
I Can’t Begin to Tell You - Bing Crosby with the Carmen Cavallaro Orchestra
Aren’t You Glad You’re You - Bing Crosby
Guitar Polka - Al Dexter
    1946—Birthday of Karen Silkwood, documented safety infractions at Kerr-McGee Corp. Cimarron Facility involving the misuse of radioactive materials. Her mysterious death rather than covering up the infractions prompted congressional hearings.
    1949-Bollingen Prize to Ezra Pound: The first Bollingen Prize for poetry was awarded to Ezra Pound for his collection The Pisano Cantos. The first awarded was steeped in controversy because Pound had been charged with treason after making pro-Fascist broadcasts in Italy during World War II. Mr. Pound was presented with the prize for his poetry collection, "The Pisano Cantos". The Bollingen Prize was presented annually through 1963 when Robert Frost was the recipient, after which it became a biennial award. The $5,000 award was upped to $10,000 in 1989 when Edgar Bowers was the prize winner, and to $25,000 in 1995. The $25,000 award went to poet, Kenneth Koch.
    1952-Amy Tan Birthday, American-Chinese author. At age 26, she learned that her mother had three daughters from a previous marriage and journeyed to China to meet them. The experience helped inspire her first novel, The Joy Luck Club (1989), a collection of stories about three generations of Chinese and Chinese-American women. The book became a bestseller and was made into a movie in 1993.Tan's second novel, The Kitchen God's Wife (1991), was followed in 1995 by The Hundred Secret Senses, which explored ghosts, past lives, and Asian vs. American values. She also wrote two children's books and played in a band called the Rock Bottom Remainders with fellow writers Stephen King and Dave Barry
http://www.barclayagency.com/tan.html
    1954---Top Hits
Oh! My Pa-Pa - Eddie Fisher
Secret Love - Doris Day
Till Then - The Hilltoppers
Wake Up, Irene - Hank Thompson
    1954- T-Bird Hatches
http://www.historychannel.com/cgi-bin/frameit.cgi?p=http%3A//www.historychannel.com/
cgi-bin/today_relocate.cgi%3Fmonth%3D10%26day%3D11%
26section%3Dthisday%26x%3D17%26y%3D7
    1955-saxophone player David Murray birthday, Berkeley, CA.
http://members.tripod.com/go54321/dm/davidmurray.html
http://www.nwu.edu/jazz/artists/murray.david/discog.txt
    1956-- Elvis Presley performs three shows at Fort Homer Hesterly Armory, Tampa, FL, billed as "Country Music's Mr. Rhythm."
    1958 - The Miracles released their first single, "Got a Job," on lead singer Smokey Robinson's 18th birthday. The record was an answer to the Silhouettes' number-one hit, "Get a Job." The other side of the record was “My Mama Done Told Me.” Motown released first Miracles single, "Got a Job" b/w "My Mama Done Told Me". 
    1960 -Bill Keane's "Family Circus" cartoon strip debuts
http://www.familycircus.com/
    1962---Top Hits
Duke of Earl - Gene Chandler
Norman - Sue Thompson
The Wanderer - Dion
Walk on By - Leroy Van Dyke
    1963- Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique this month, a call for women to achieve their full potential. Her book generated enormous response and revitalized the women's movement in the US. 
    1963 - Russia told President John F. Kennedy that it would withdraw several thousand troops from Cuba by March 15.
    1965 - Rod Stewart and his group The Soul Agents played their first major gig at a club in the London Borough of Harrow. 
    1966--The first concert presented by Chet Helms at the San Francisco Fillmore with Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother and the Holding Company.
    1966--Lou Christie enjoys his only US number one record with "Lightnin' Strikes", a song that his record company, MGM, hated so much, they initially refused to release.
    1966- Penn State University named Joe Paterno its head football coach. Through the 1997 season, Paterno’s teams had complied a record of 298 wins, 77 losses and 3 ties. the Nittany Lions have won 18 bowl games and 2 national championships with Paterno at the helm.
    1966 - Robert F. Kennedy suggested the U.S. offer the Vietcong a role in governing South Vietnam.
    1968--ZABITOSKY, FRED WILLIAM Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Sergeant First Class (then S/Sgt.), U.S. Army, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne). Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 19 February 1968. Entered service at: Trenton, N.J. Born: 27 October 1942, Trenton, N.J. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sfc. Zabitosky, U.S. Army, distinguished himself while serving as an assistant team leader of a 9-man Special Forces long-range reconnaissance patrol. Sfc. Zabitosky's patrol was operating deep within enemy-controlled territory when they were attacked by a numerically superior North Vietnamese Army unit. Sfc. Zabitosky rallied his team members, deployed them into defensive positions, and, exposing himself to concentrated enemy automatic weapons fire, directed their return fire. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Sfc. Zabitosky ordered his patrol to move to a landing zone for helicopter extraction while he covered their withdrawal with rifle fire and grenades. Rejoining the patrol under increasing enemy pressure, he positioned each man in a tight perimeter defense and continually moved from man to man, encouraging them and controlling their defensive fire. Mainly due to his example, the outnumbered patrol maintained its precarious position until the arrival of tactical air support and a helicopter extraction team. As the rescue helicopters arrived, the determined North Vietnamese pressed their attack. Sfc. Zabitosky repeatedly exposed himself to their fire to adjust suppressive helicopter gunship fire around the landing zone. After boarding 1 of the rescue helicopters, he positioned himself in the door delivering fire on the enemy as the ship took off. The helicopter was engulfed in a hail of bullets and Sfc. Zabitosky was thrown from the craft as it spun out of control and crashed. Recovering consciousness, he ignored his extremely painful injuries and moved to the flaming wreckage. Heedless of the danger of exploding ordnance and fuel, he pulled the severely wounded pilot from the searing blaze and made repeated attempts to rescue his patrol members but was driven back by the intense heat. Despite his serious burns and crushed ribs, he carried and dragged the unconscious pilot through a curtain of enemy fire to within 10 feet of a hovering rescue helicopter before collapsing. Sfc. Zabitosky's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
    1970---Top Hits
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)/Everybody is a Star - Sly & The Family Stone
Hey There Lonely Girl - Eddie Holman
No Time - The Guess Who
It’s Just a Matter of Time - Sonny James
    1970 - Chicago Seven Trial: Dellinger, Davis, Hayden, Hoffman, and Rubin found guilty of crossing state lines to incite riot; Froines and Weiner acquitted; attorneys William Kunstler & Leonard Weinglass sentenced for contempt of court on February 18; all appealed on February 19
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/trials2.htm
    1972- "A Horse With No Name" by America entered the US charts on its way to number one. The group, formed by three sons of American servicemen stationed in Britain, were discovered by Jeff Dexter, a deejay for a British underground radio station.
    1972-- Sammy Davis Jr. makes his notorious guest appearance on CBS' All In The Family, giving the show's main character, white bigot Archie Bunker, a big kiss.
    1972-- Nilsson's "Without You" hits #1
    1974- Dick Clark staged his first American Music Awards. The awards, determined by the votes of music fans, were a response to the industry-dominated Grammy Awards. -Smokey Robinson, Helen Reddy and Roger Miller are among the hosts at the very first American Music Awards. Created by TV veteran Dick Clark to compete with The Grammys, awards are presented based on record sales, airplay as well as votes. Among this years' winners are The Carpenters for Favorite Band, Jim Croce, Favorite Male Artist, and Tony Orlando and Dawn, Favorite Single for "Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round The Ole Oak Tree". 
    1976 - Donna Summer's "Love to Love You Baby" is certified gold
    1977 - Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" was released. The album would become one of the all-time biggest sellers - over 17-million copies in the US alone. It also won 1978's Best Album Grammy. "Rumours" contained four of the band's Top- 10 hits - "Go Your Own Way," "Dreams," "Don't Stop" and "You Make Loving Fun."
    1977- Stevie Wonder won his third straight Album of the Year Grammy for "Songs in the Key of Life."
    1977-- Manfred Mann's Earth Band's "Blinded By The Light" hits #1
    1977- Right wing Rod Gilbert of the New York Rangers scored the 1,000th point of his NHL career, a goal in the Rangers’ 5-2 loss of the New York Islanders. Gilbert entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982.
    1977 - Snowflakes were observed at Homestead and Miami Beach in extreme southern Florida. 
    1978---Top Hits
Stayin’ Alive - Bee Gees
(Love Is) Thicker Than Water - Andy Gibb
Just the Way You Are - Billy Joel
Don’t Break the Heart that Loves You - Margo Smith
    1980- vocalist Bon Scott of the Australian heavy-metal band AC/DC died after choking on his own vomit after an all- night drinking binge in London. He was 33. Scott's death came just months after AC/DC had scored their first North American success with the album "Highway to Hell." AC/DC was my son Dash’s favorite band, and I took him to all the San Francisco Bay Area concerts when he was
young. I had also seen AC/DC play in local clubs, San Jose and Campbell, when they first started out and Bon Scott was wearing his outfit, and perhaps the group never sounded as good when he was the lead singer. Perhaps you did not know, but the band was named after Scott’s mother’s sewing machine. On the back, it said “AC /DC” as it could be used in Europe as well as Australian. He thought that was cool and electric being both AC or DC, that’s what he wanted to name his band after.
    1981 - 1981, a judge in New York determined that George Harrison subconsciously plagiarized "He's So Fine" when he wrote his 1970 hit, "My Sweet Lord." "He's So Fine" was written by Ronald Mack in 1963 for the Chiffons. Both songs were number-one hits. George Harrison was ordered to pay ABKCO Music the sum of $587,000 for “subconscious plagiarism” between his song, "My Sweet Lord" and the Chiffons early 1960s hit, "He’s So Fine.”
    1981 - George Harrison was ordered to pay ABKCO Music the sum of $587,000 for “subconscious plagiarism” between his song, "My Sweet Lord" and the Chiffons early 1960s hit, "He’s So Fine". Based on the riffs, chords, melodies, octaves and notes, he lost in court.
    1984 – At the XIVth Winter Olympics in Sarjevo, Yugoslavia, skiers Phil and Steve Hahre of the US became the first brothers to finish first and second on the same Olympic event. Phil won the gold medal in the slalom, and Steve won the silver. When the XIV Winter Olympic Games ended at Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. The Soviet Union led all countries with 25 medals, the United States captured nine medals to tie for fifth place. Within the shadow of what was the Olympic Stadium, hundreds, maybe thousands, of Bosnians are now buried; the result of the civil war that began in the early 1990s
    1984- Dale Yarborough became only the second driver to win consecutive Daytona 500 races by sweeping into the lead just two times from the finish and taking the checkered flag. Yarborough joined Richard Petty in this select circle.
    1985 - Cherry Coke was introduced by the Coca-Cola Company, not at company headquarters in Atlanta, but in New York City, instead. Many who grew up in the 1950s rushed to buy the canned and/or bottled taste of nostalgia; hoping it would taste the same as they remembered. It was common to have a “Cherry Coke” or “lemon coke” and even a” chocolate coke.” Unfortunately, the taste was not what many of us remembered at the ice cream fountain or corner drug store (I guess I am that old as I remember going to Mamaroneck Junior High and stopping on the way home at the Larchmont corner drug store for a tall soda.
    1986---Top Hits
How Will I Know - Whitney Houston
When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going - Billy Ocean
Kyrie - Mr. Mister
Makin’ Up for Lost Time (The Dallas Lovers’ Song) - Crystal Gayle & Gary Morris
    1986- rap artist Kurtis Blow and rock musician Steven Van Zandt visited a Chicago high school to speak against apartheid. Van Zandt was the driving force behind Artists United Against Apartheid, a benefit group of 49 artists who recorded the 1985 hit "lSun City." Proceeds from the record were to benefit political prisoners in South Africa.
    1987- Willie Nelson's movie "Red-Headed Stranger," opened in Austin, Texas at a benefit for public television. The film, based on Nelson's 1975 concept album of the same name, also starred Katherine Ross and Morgan Fairchild.
    1987 - A controversial anti-smoking ad aired for the first time on television. It featured actor Yul Brynner in a public service announcement that was recorded shortly before his death from lung cancer. 
    1988- Roy Acuff, the King of Country Music, celebrated his 50th anniversary on the Grand Ole Opry. Also marking his 50th year on the show was Acuff's player, Pete Kirby, known as Bashful Brother Oswald. Honoring Acuff were such stars as Del Reeves, Porter Wagoner and Connie Smith. Acuff came out of the East Tennessee Hills in the 1930's to become the Opry's first singing star.
    1988 - Showers and thunderstorms in the southeastern U.S. drenched Valdosta GA with more than five inches of rain, and the 24 hour rainfall total of 7.10 inches at Apalachicola FL more than doubled their previous 24 hour record for February.
    1988- Former Wham! front man George Michael played his debut solo concert at the Budokan in Tokyo. It was the first of six sold out Japanese dates on Michael's "Faith" world tour. The tour would wind up eight months later in Pensacola, Florida.
    1993- Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" became the longest-running number-one pop single of the rock era, topping the Billboard chart for the 14th week. It broke the record set the previous October by Boyz II Men's "End of the Road." Before that, the record was held by Elvis Presley's double-sided hit "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog," which was number one for 11 weeks in 1956.
    1993- Elton John had to cut short his encores at a show in Melbourne, Australia, after a swarm of crickets virtually took over the outdoor stage. John's publicist said the entertainer gave up when the bugs made the stage dangerously slippery.
    1994- Michael Jackson drew a nearly five-minute standing ovation at the Jackson Family Honors show at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. The singer, facing child abuse allegations at the time, presented a lifetime achievement award to Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. The audience later booed when they found out Michael wouldn't be performing solo at the event, which was telecast the following week. The following month, the producers of the concert sued the Jackson family, accusing them of fraud and claiming to have lost more than $1-million. $4.5- million was raised at what was billed as a charity event, but the Jackson’s later acknowledged that only $100,000 would in fact go to charity.
    1994- Olympian Bonnie Blair of Champaign, IL, became the first speed skater to win a gold medal in the same event in three consecutive Olympic Games when she won the 500 meters in Lillehammer, Norway. On Feb 23, she added a victory in the 1,000 meters to give her a total of five gold medals, more than any other American female athlete. The Soviet Union led all countries with 25 medals, the United States captured nine medals to tie for fifth place. Within the shadow of what was the Olympic Stadium, hundreds, maybe thousands, of Bosnians are now buried; the result of the civil war that began in the early 1990s.
    1995- "Baywatch" star Pamela Anderson married Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee in Cancun, Mexico. The bride was reported to have worn "a very tiny - an extremely tiny - white bikini." The bridegroom wore white Bermuda shorts without shoes or shirt.
    2011 - Strong winds reaching as high as 40 mph with gusts to 53 mph topple the 48 year old National Christmas tree. The 42 foot tall Colorado blue spruce sat just south of the White House on the Ellipse. It was transplanted there from York, Pennsylvania in 1978.