Working Capital from $10,0000 to $250,000                           ChannelPartnersCapital.com

Needs Help! Bank of West Source No Longer
Lessor Needs Help on Solar Financing

"Since the Bank of the West shuttered the 3rd Party Leasing Division, I have been surveying the country to find a replacement source for our active stream of solar operating leases.  So far no luck and I am not sure one exists.  It was unique that the bank would roll the available 30% Federal ITC incentive into the stream of payments along with the available depreciation as it created a very economical alternative to the clients’ utility bills and gave them ownership after 84 months.  So, if you happen to hear of any bank source that is offering the program, we have a stable of vendors across the country who are hoping we find a replacement."

Name With Held
(but will forward any responses received. Editor)

 

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

New York Broadens the Net of Its Licensed Lender Law:
It May Now Include You!

By: Frank Peretore, Esq., Robert L. Hornby, Esq.,
and Mindy P. Fox, Esq.

N.Y. Banking Law § 340, known as the “Licensed Lender Law,” requires certain people and entities to obtain a license from the superintendent in order to be able to make loans, which could be at a higher interest rate than otherwise allowed under law.  The statute was enacted “to make credit available to high risk borrowers who would otherwise have no access to legal credit services.”  Beneficial N.Y. Inc. v. Stewart, 25 Misc. 3d 797, 799, 884 N.Y.S.2d 643, 645 (Sup. Ct. 2009).

On January 16, 2017, Governor Cuomo included in the 2018 budget proposal  proposed amendments to N.Y. Banking Law § 340. (1). The proposed amendments ostensibly allow the Department of Financial Services to better regulate the business practices of “predatory” online lenders. (2).   However, the proposed amendments appear to affect not only online lenders but also (1) lenders without a physical location in New York, (2) lenders who acquire loans from other lenders who do business in New York, and (3) possibly lenders who make loans to corporate borrowers.

Specifically, the amendments provide as follows:

1. Adding language to clarify that the statute applies to both individuals and businesses who are borrowers of business and commercial loans of less than $50,000.

2. Eliminating the language that a person or entity must be licensed to “charge, contract for, or receive a greater rate of interest than the lender would be permitted by law to charge if he were not a licensee hereunder.”  It is not clear whether the impact of this proposed language change is to prevent lenders from charging higher rates of interest or to subject additional lenders, regardless of the interest rate imposed, to the statute.

3. Broadens the superintendent’s powers by (1) allowing the superintendent to issue regulations involving exceptions to the article, (2) adding a provision which provides that, “[w]hen necessary to facilitate low cost lending in any community, the superintendent can adopt regulations that provide an exemption from the licensure requirement,” and (3) adding a provision allowing the superintendent to adopt more rules and regulations to implement the terms of the statute.  This language does not appear to broaden the superintendent’s authority to sanction as much as it just allows the superintendent to issue exceptions.

4. Redefines what it means to be “engaging in the business of making loans in New York,” so as to be subject to the requirements of the article.  The current statute defines it as (1) soliciting loans in the amounts prescribed by this section (2) within this state and (3) making loans (4) to individuals then resident in this state.  The proposed amendment eliminates the language “within this state” so that even a lender that does not solicit loans within New York could fall under the purview of this statute.  The proposed amendment also increases the scope of activities that fall under “engaging in the business of making loans in New York” to include not just “making loans” but also “purchas[ing] or otherwise acquir[ing] from others loans or other forms of financing, or arrang[ing] or facilitat[ing] the funding of loans.”  The proposed amendment additionally includes within its scope those who lend not just to “individuals residing in this state” but also to “businesses located or doing business in this state.”

5. Redefines the exclusion to the definition of “engaging in the business of making loans in New York.”  The current statute states that a person or entity is not considered as engaging in the business of making loans in New York “on the basis of isolated, incidental, or occasional transactions.”  The proposed amendment eliminates the word “incidental.”

1. New York State Budget  (309 pages)
   http://leasingnews.org/PDF/2018NYBudget.pdf
2. 2018 State Budget Excelsior (140 pages)
   http://leasingnews.org/PDF/BudgetRequestExcelsior.pdf
   
3. 2018 State Executive Budget (42 pages)
   http://leasingnews.org/PDF/2018StateBudget.pdf

 

Frank Peretore
Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi
West Orange, New Jersey
Phone 973-530-2058
fperetore@csglaw.com
 Documentation, portfolio purchase & sale, replevin, workouts, litigation, collection, bankruptcy. Aggressive. Over 30 years experience. A long time contributor to Leasing News.
http://www.csglaw.com/biographies/frank-peretore

Robert L. Hornby
Phone (973) 530-2032
rhornby@csglaw.com
An experienced litigator, Robert Hornby represents national and regional banks and finance companies in all aspects of equipment leasing, asset based lending and civil litigation in New York and New Jersey State and federal courts. He regularly counsels clients on a wide range of matters unique to the equipment finance and leasing industry, from drafting master documentation to the enforcement of lessors’ and secured creditors’ rights.
http://www.csglaw.com/biographies/robert-hornby

Mindy P. Fox
Phone (973) 530-2122
mfox@csglaw.com
Mindy Fox is an associate in the firm's Litigation Group. She represents businesses, individuals and government entities in federal and state courts at the trial court and appellate levels. Her experience includes matters involving breach of contract, partnerships and LLCs, property disputes, civil rights claims, construction and surety matters, and class action defense.
http://www.csglaw.com/biographies/mindy-fox

Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi represents national, international, and captive equipment leasing companies, commercial banks, and alternative lending financial institutions in state, federal, and bankruptcy courts.
http://www.csglaw.com/

 

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

 

Sales Makes it Happen by Jim Acee

A Dozen "Do's and Don'ts" for Vendor Leasing Sales Reps
    

It goes without saying that in order to be the best we not only have to work harder, we also have to work smarter. The problem is:  we aren’t always told what the ‘smarter’ part of the equation should be; we have to try to figure that out for ourselves.

I have been in the vendor leasing business for 28 years, the last 24 of those as a sales manager. I have worked with many good sales reps, but only a handful of truly great ones. Below is a dozen Do’s and Don’ts that I have seen great sales reps employ more frequently than their peers. While these are not the end all to becoming a great sales rep in vendor leasing, they will separate you from the mere mortals:

The Great Ones Do

…get to know everyone in the dealership. They know everyone from the dealer principal, to the sales reps, to the accounts receivable person (and everyone in between).

…sell their companies’ value proposition and unique strengths, not just good service. They understand that good service has to be proven, not promised. (Every leasing company touts the fact that they have the best service the industry has to offer, just look at their websites!).

…. prepare for every outbound sales phone call or face to face meeting. The great ones don't fly by the seat of their pants. They take the time to write down their goals for the meeting/call, questions to ask and potential objections they may need to overcome.

... cold call for new dealers as part of their daily/weekly routine. They never sit on their current dealer base expecting them to be there forever.

.. . buy lunch for their credit and contracts teams once in a while to thank them for helping them out. They understand that these are the folks that truly control their commission check.

…sell the turndown. They make sure the dealer understands that this customer will not only not default on their lease, they are unlikely to pay for parts and service rendered by the dealer.

… get back to their dealers with a status update on deals, problems or special requests, even if it’s only to tell them it’s still being looked at. (The biggest complaints I get from dealers is that they don’t know what’s going on with their deals/requests.)

The Great Ones Don’t

…waste time on companies not currently using leasing to sell their products. They know that they will write more business taking dealers away from their competitors.

…complain that their company’s rates are uncompetitive. The most successful sales reps know how to justify higher rates through their company’s value add proposition and unique strengths.

…start a new relationship with a deal that’s been turned down by another leasing company.

… throw others in the company under the bus. They understand that they are the face of the company and that the dealer doesn’t care when a sales rep says ‘they’ turned the deal down or ‘they’ screwed up the paperwork.

…. waste their credit teams time by asking them to just ‘relook’ at a turndown. If they appeal a turndown, they offer to restructure the deal (PG, shorter term, money down, etc.) or provide additional financial information like tax returns or company financials.

… sit on dealer problems or complaints. They bring their manager or other company resources into the conversation as soon as possible. They know that that chances are high that their manager has seen the issue before and may have a speedy resolution.

Jim Acee, Country Sales Manager
DLL, Wayne, Pennsylvania
He has a rich background, serving a DLL
Vice President, Syndication Buy Desk;
Vice President, Field Sales, Wells Fargo Capital Finance
Managing Director, Vendor Leasing, US Bank
Director of Sales, US Bancorp (formerly BCL) https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-acee-578a03b

 

 

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

Leasing News Advisor 
Shawn Halladay

Shawn Halladay has been a frequent contributor of articles, particularly regarding accounting, changes to FASB rules, tax rulings, as well as covering several of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association events and conferences. He joined the Leasing News Advisory Board on April 17, 2006.

Shawn Halladay
352 Denver Street, Suite 224
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
801/322-4499
shawn@amembalandhalladay.com
www.amembalandhalladay.com

Shawn is a Managing Director of The Alta Group, the leading consulting firm serving the equipment leasing industry.  He has authored or co-authored eight books on equipment leasing, including "A Guide to Equipment Leasing,", "A Guide to Accounting for Leases" and "The Handbook of Equipment Leasing."  He has also been a contributing writer to Leasing News, reporting on Leasing and Finance Conferences, as well as other events.

His professional expertise stretches across all leasing sectors and around the globe. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, he has served lessors throughout North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe, providing training in all aspects of equipment leasing. His consulting services include implementing best practices, benchmarking studies, strategic planning, leasing system selection and implementation, litigation support, accounting, and quantitative analyses.

He likes to travel as an excuse to attend soccer games, one of his passions.

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

Alternate Finance Association Membership
by Christopher Menkin

While there are several large Alternate Financing (AL) conferences a year, such as LendIT and Money 20/20, these associations are basically independent of this group in their goal; specifically many state their purpose is "...trying to influence legislation on behalf of a special interest."

It should be noted AL main competitors are banks, credit unions, savings and loans, and thrifts as they encompass consumer financing, including real estate as well as personal loans, not primarily commercial equipment leasing and financing.  AL associations are also relatively small groups compared to banking, finance, and leasing associations. They also appear more interested in federal legislation with their rules and regulations, rather than the fifty state governments, which decide their usury laws and licensing regarding both business and consumer loans (operating leases are mostly exempt). The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association has been active for years in state legislation with Dennis Brown, who headed the department for 23 years. He recently retired - Scott Riehl was hired to fulfil the role. (1) There are several of AL associations who state they are aware of the state's role, but do not seem to have staff for the undertaking of 50 states.

Coalition for Responsible Business Finance (CRBF) states, "The business sector of "alternative" or "innovative" or “non-traditional” funding mechanisms has emerged as a reliable source of capital for small businesses in the United States.  The Coalition for Responsible Business Finance (CRBF) helps ensure that this sector rises in prominence and thrives without undue state and federal regulatory burdens.  The work of CRBF proactively protects and enhances the reputation of the industry by bringing leaders in the small business community together with small business lenders and advocating their shared desire to increase access to capital for small business."

An Advisory Board is listed http://www.responsiblefinance.com/advisory-board/

Commercial Finance Coalition (CFC) reportedly has 20 members. They describe themselves as "a not-for-profit alliance of innovative financial technology companies that are working together to deploy capital to help small and mid-sized businesses grow… CFC members include lenders, commercial finance brokers, payment processors, data providers, merchant cash advance companies and recovery agencies."
https://www.commercialfinancecoalition.com/our-mission/

https://financialinnovationnow.org/

 

Financial Innovation Now was formed to "lobby for policies important to the growing electronic payments sector." In their mission, it includes "... expanding the market for online commerce and lending and improving access for underserved populations."  Members are involved in loans and leases, including Amazon, Apple, Google, Intuit, and PayPal.

https://financialinnovationnow.org/

Marketplace Lending Association (MLA) was launched by the CEOs of Funding Circle, Lending Club and Prosper. They recently announced eleven new members, naming Affirm, Upstart, CommonBond, Avant, PeerStreet, Marlette Funding, Sharestates, Able, and StreetShares. New Associate Members of the MLA include dv01 and LendIt.

http://www.marketplacelendingassociation.org/

One of the earlier groups is now called the Small Business Finance
Association (SBFA), who have hired an experienced "lobbyist," Stephen "Steve" Dennis. Members to date include bizfi, bfscapital, Capify, Capital for Merchants, eleveante Funding, Fora Financial, GRP Funding, Merchant Capital Sources, Merchants Capital Access, NextWave Funding, Principis Capital, Rapid Advance, Retail Capital, Strategic Funding, Swift Capital, Yalber.  By the dues set-up, this is not for individual members, but more for access to Washington.

http://sbfassociation.org/

 

1. Dennis Brown Retires as VP ELFA State Government Relations Scott Riehl Hired to Fulfil the Role
   http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jun2016/06_15.htm#dennis

 

Leasing and Finance Association Membership
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2017/02_06.htm#year

(Leasing News provides this ad as a trade for appraisals
and equipment valuations provided by Ed Castagna)

Leasing Portals
(Over 4,000 Finance/Leasing Sites)

Perhaps the earliest such portals date to when Netscape came on line. Today Google, Yahoo, Opera, Bing, and others provide these searches for free. Portals led those seeking leasing and loans direct to sources. Only one appears active on the Internet today.

http://www.businessfinance.com/

The website states "Search over 4,000 sources of Business Finance and get your free matched list in seconds"
http://www.businessfinance.com/aboutus.asp#axzz3bqWFvQI2

The main page touts small business loans:

Small Business Loans    2,105 sources
Equipment Finance         317 sources
Working Capital             192 sources

Plus
Equity Investments      1,121 sources
Commercial Finance         178 sources
Commercial Mortgages     232 sources

 

 

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

Aggregate Funding Sources
(Online: connects lessees, lessors, and vendors)

https://capfundnow.com

http://www.capitalrelay.com

http://www.currencycap.com

https://www.leaseq.com

Box of 7 Labrador Retriever Mix Puppies
East Hanover, New Jersey

ABOUT BOX OF 7
"This box of 7 puppies was left with one of our shelter partners. They are currently in foster care and will be coming to us on February 4. We will have more information on breed and size when they arrive.

"The 4 boys will be available for adoption on February 9th and the 3 girls will be available on the 12th.

"On those days, they will be available at 12pm. Adoptions are done on a first come, first serve basis depending on the order of arrival. All family members (canines included) should be present for adoption."

Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter
194 Route 10 West
East Hanover, NJ 07936
info@njshelter.org
973-386-0590

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

 

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

Leasing News Free Classified Ads

Licensed Investigator

Irvine, CA - Consulting and Investigations Operation Lease Fleece Case Agent, 20 year FBI fraud/white collar crime investigator, 10 year USMC Officer-pilot. Calif. Private Investigator License #29005 Email: PaulBonin@cox.net  Mobile: 949-713-9601	Los Angeles - Licensed Private Investigators, specializing Collateral Recovery Field Investigation for the Lending industry since 1998 - Our clients include Banks, Credit Unions, Automotive and Equipment Lenders.  JohnHarmonPI@aol.com
Midwest Collections, Investigations & Asset Tierra Investigations & Consultants, LLC. Commercial collections, repossessions, bankruptcy fraud, theft & conversion claims.   605-647-1700  Fax 605-647-0534 troy@tierrainv.com

News Briefs---

Goldman Sachs Economists Are Starting to Worry
   About President Trump - Get ready for a wild ride.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-06/goldman-sachs-economists-are-starting-to-worry-about-president-trump

Top Five U.S. Trading Partners in Goods in 2016:
 China, Canada, Mexico, Japan and Germany
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2017/cb17-tps08.html

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

You May Have Missed---

Something that 'usually only happens in recessions'
    is popping up in the US economy
http://www.businessinsider.com/feds-senior-loan-officer-survey-q4-2016-recession-warning-2017-2

 

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

Sports Briefs----

 

Can Kyle Shanahan shake Super Bowl memory and fix the 49ers?
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/sports/6635342-181/grant-cohn-can-kyle-shanahan

Steve Sarkisian Leaves Alabama to Be Falcons’ Offensive Coordinator
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/sports/football/steve-sarkisian-atlanta-falcons.html?_r=0

NFL’s viewership verdict: Ratings are down 7% over two years, and the trend is not good
http://www.fiercecable.com/cable/nfl-s-viewership-verdict-yeah-ratings-were-down-7-over-two-years-and-it-s-not-good

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

California Nuts Briefs--- 

California export trade finished 2016 with a sprint
  Shipped $163.62 Billion
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article131255864.html

 

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

“Gimme that Wine”

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

Yellow Tail Super Bowl Ad "A National Embarrassment"
https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2017/02/yellow-tail-super-bowl-ad-a-national-embarrassment/

Premium Boxed Wines Are Smoking Hot
https://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=news&content=180132

On Bordeaux Futures & the Future of Wine Collecting
https://winejournal.robertparker.com/on-bordeaux-futures-and-the-future-of-wine-collecting

Beer Tops List of Beverage of Choice,
   But Wine Sees Gains in Popularity
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/beer-tops-list-of-beverage-of-choice-but-wine-sees-gains-in-popularity-300401982.html

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/

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

        1517 - Francisco Hernandez de Cordova sailed from Cuba with three ships to procure slaves for the mines as Columbus was bringing many slaves back to Europe. He landed on the Isla de las Mujeres, to which he gave this name because of the idols he found there. He and his crew became the first Spaniards to purposefully reach the mainland of what is now Mexico. He died after an encounter with Mayan Indians. Some say he landed in Florida, where he actually passed away from the wounds from the battle. 
http://www.isla-mujeres.net/history.htm
http://www.yucatantoday.com/destinations/eng-campeche.htm
http://www.tourbymexico.com/campeche/champo/champoto.htm
http://www.famousamericans.net/firstspanishgovernoro
fsouthamericapedrariasdayila/
    1690 - French and Indian forces attacked and burned Schenectady, New York during King William’s War. The fate of Schenectady was sealed in the middle of January, 1690, when 114 Frenchmen and 96 Sault and Algonquin Indians, started from Montreal to attack English outpost to the south. It was part of the master plan to fulfill the wishes of French King Louis XIV to "build a new empire in America”. During the raid on Schenectady many men, women and children were killed, or taken captive by the French and Indians and marched up into Canada.    
    1693 – The College of William and Mary was granted a charter by King William III and Queen Mary II.
    1735 - The first opera produced in the colonies was performed at the Courtroom at Charleston, SC. The opera was “Flora; or the Hob in the Well,” written by Colley Cibber.
    1820 - Birthday of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman (d. 1891), Lancaster, OH.  Sherman is especially remembered for his devastating ‘March to the Sea’ through Georgia during the Civil War and his statement "War is hell."  He received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched earth" policies that he implemented in conducting total war against the Confederacy.  Sherman served under General Grant during the campaigns that led to the fall of the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg and culminated with the routing of the Confederate armies in the state of Tennessee. In 1864, Sherman succeeded Grant as the Union commander in the western theater of the war. He proceeded to lead his troops to the capture of the city of Atlanta, a military success that contributed to the re-election of President Lincoln. He accepted the surrender of all the Confederate armies in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida in April, 1865.
    1829 - Birthday of Captain John Newton Sloan (d. 1897), Pickens County, SC.  A remarkable man thought to have been found dead during the Civil War, but he remarkably survived.  His entire lower jaw was shot away in battle. He was left for dead until Sloan summoned energy enough to scribble, "I am alive" on a small piece of paper. A passing chaplain spotted his note and immediately summoned help. After the war, Sloan was outfitted with an artificial chin.
http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Delta/3843/man.htm
    1835 - A severe cold wave gripped the southeastern U.S. The mercury dipped to 8 above at Jacksonville, FL and to zero at Savannah, GA. Orange trees were killed to the roots.
    1837 - The first Vice-President elected by the Senate was Richard Mentor Johnson, who was chosen because no candidate had received a majority of the electoral votes. He served from March 4, 1837 to March 4, 1841, under President Martin Van Buren. In the future, President and Vice-President were to run on one ticket.
    1851 – Birthday of American feminist writer Kate Chopin (d. 1904), St. Louis, Missouri.
http://www.accd.edu/sac/english/bailey/chopink.htm
    1861 – The Confederate States of America organized in Montgomery, AL.  Each state declared its secession from the United States following the November, 1860 election of President Lincoln on a platform which opposed the expansion of slavery. The new Confederate government was proclaimed before Lincoln took office in March, and was considered illegal by the government of the United States.  On March 11, 1861, the Confederate Constitution of seven state signatories—South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia,  Louisiana and Texas - replaced the February 7 provisional Confederated States constitution with one stating in its preamble a desire for a "permanent federal government".
    1862 - Union General Ambrose Burnside scores a major victory when he captures Roanoke Island in North Carolina. The victory was one of the first major Union victories of the war and it gave the Yankees control of the mouth of Albemarle Sound, a key Confederate bay that allowed the Union to threaten the Rebel capital of Richmond from the south. 
    1865 - Martin Robinson Delany received his commission and became the first African-American Army major. He was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina.
    1865 – Delaware rejected the 13th amendment and voted to continue the practice of slavery. It was not until 1901 that Delaware finally ratified the amendment.
    1881 - Frederic Ives, a photographer at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, received a patent for a halftone printing plate for reproducing photographs in books, magazines, and newspapers. In 1878, he converted negative into a screen gelatin relief from which he made a printing plate with good fidelity. He further developed this, revolutionizing the printing industry.
    1885 – A ship, ‘The City of Tokio,’ arrived in Honolulu carrying the first 944 official migrants from Japan to Hawaii.
    1887 - President Cleveland signs the Dawes Land Allotment Act, dissolving Indian tribes as legal entities. It distributes territory held in common by American Indian nations to individual families. Each family is to get 160 acres. All other land will be sold, with proceeds going to an educational trust fund. Since the reservation contained twice the land needed for allotments, the law dispossessed the Sioux of half their rightful territory. The Act ultimately results in the loss of tens of millions of acres of treaty land. "The commune shall give way to the dignity and rights of American citizens . . . the heathen idols shall give place to the Christian altars, and . . . the tribal organization shall be broken up and the individuality of the Indian encouraged and developed, and the lands unnecessarily reserved for them opened to the pioneer [so that] intelligence and thrift may find lodging there."
http://www.csusm.edu/nadp/asubject.htm
http://www.csusm.edu/nadp/a1887.htm
    1889 - The first production of steam tractors were loaded onto a railcar at San Leandro, California, designed and made by Daniel Best. They were called the Best Tractor. Until gasoline powered engines came along, the steam tractor was the Best.
    1889 - Workers began dismantling fences at the original Polo Grounds to cut West 111th Street through the property, leaving the New York Giants without a home for the coming season. Opened in 1876, it was built for the sport of polo. Bounded on the south and north by 110th and 112th Streets and on the east and west by Fifth and Sixth (Lenox) Avenues, just north of Central Park, it was converted to a baseball stadium when leased by the New York Metropolitans in 1880.  This is a far cry from the location of the Polo Grounds in northern Manhattan.  The Giants opened the 1889 season at Oakland Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, playing their first two games there.  Four days later, they moved to the St. George Cricket Grounds.
    1899 - Blues guitarist and singer Lonnie Johnson (d. 1970) was born in New Orleans. More respected for his playing than his singing, Johnson developed his distinctive style as early as 1927 when he recorded with Louis Armstrong's Hot Five. Johnson's 1948 recording of "Tomorrow Night" was very popular, spending seven weeks on Billboard's rhythm-and-blues chart, and even making the top 20 of the pop chart. From the mid-1960's, he spent much of his time in Toronto. Lonnie Johnson suffered a stroke after a serious accident in 1969, and died the following year.
    1906 - Birthday of Henry Roth (d. 1995), American author who gained first international fame with his novel “Call It Sleep” (1934). Originally seen as an important proletarian novel of the 1930s, it was soon out of print and forgotten, but in the 1960s it was hailed as the finest Jewish-American novel of the first half of the century and one of the richest modernist novels to appear in America. Roth published no other novels until 1994, working several jobs, among others as a precision metal grinder, mental nurse, poultry farmer, and teacher.
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/henryr.htm
http://www.nagasaki-gaigo.ac.jp/ishikawa/amlit/r/henry_roth21.htm
    1906 - Birthday of Chester F. Carlson (d. 1968), Seattle, Washington.  He invented the process of electrophotography, which produced a dry copy rather than a wet copy, as was produced by the mimeograph process. Carlson's process was subsequently renamed xerography, a term that literally means "dry writing."
    1910 - The Boy Scouts of America was founded at Washington, DC, by William Boyce, based on the work of Sir Robert Baden-Powell with the British Boy Scout Association.
    1911 - Birthday of American Poet Elizabeth Bishop (d. 1979), Worcester, Massachusetts.  Winner of a Pulitzer Prize for her book of poems, “North and South,” in 1956.
    1915 – “The Clansman” or “The Birth of the Nation”, 12 reels, was produced by D.W. Griffith.  The film starred Henry Walthall and Lillian Gish with a cast of 18,000 people and 3,000 horses and premiered at Clune's Auditorium, Los Angeles. It was based on “The Clansman” by Thomas Dixon. It was the first movie to gross $50 million, an astronomical sum in those days. Two performances were presented daily. There was a matinee at 2:30pm, admission 25 cents and 50 cents, and an evening show at 8 pm, admission 75 cents.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/feb08.html
    1919 - Trombonist and band leader Buddy Morrow (d. 2010) birthday, born Muni Zudekoff, New Haven, CT. 
http://www.spaceagepop.com/morrow.htm
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/artist/glance/-/52924/
ref=pm_dp_ln_m_6/102-6604306-8652139
    1921 – Actress Lana Turner (d. 1995) was born Julia Jean Turner in Wallace, ID.  During the early 1940s, she established herself as a leading actress in such films as “Johnny Eager” (1941), “Honky Tonk” (1941), “Ziegfried Girl” (1941), and “Somewhere I’ll Find You” (1942). She appeared in the 1941 film “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and her reputation as a glamorous femme fatale was enhanced by her performance in “The Postman Always Rings Twice” (1946). Her popularity continued through the 1950s, and her role in “Peyton Place” (1957) earned her a nomination for an Academy award for Best Actress.
    1922 – Audrey Meadows (d. 1996) was born Audrey Cotter in New York City.  Meadows is best known for her role as the deadpan housewife Alice Kramden opposite Jackie Gleason on the 1950s hit American television comedy “The Honeymooners.”  “…oneathesedays, Alice, oneathesedays…bang, zoom…to the moon!”
    1924 - The first state execution in the United States by gas chamber occurred in Nevada.
    1925 - Birthday of Jack Lemmon (d. 2001), born John Uhler Lemmon III at Boston, MA. Stage, screen and television actor, often paired with actor Walter Matthau, he starred in such films as “The Odd Couple,” “The Fortune Cookie” and “The Front Page.” He was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning in 1955 for his supporting role in “Mister Roberts”, and in 1974 for his leading role in “Save the Tiger.”  Other films included “Some Like It Hot,” “Days of Wine and Roses” and “Grumpy Old Men.” He also starred in television versions of “Inherit the Wind” and “Twelve Angry Men” and won an Emmy in 2000 for the TV movie “Tuesdays with Morrie.” He was a favorite for many years at the Bing Crosby, now AT&T Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament in Pebble Beach, CA.
    1926 - Alto sax player Norwood “Pony” Poindexter (d. 1988) birthday, New Orleans, LA.
    1926 - Beat author Neal Cassady (d. 1968) born Salt Lake City, Utah.  He was prominently featured as himself in the original "scroll" (first draft) version of Jack Kerouac’s novel “On the Road”. He also served as the model for the character Dean Moriarty in the 1957 version of that book. In many of Kerouac's later books, Cassady is represented by the character Cody Pomeray.
http://www.rooknet.com/beatpage/writers/cassady.html
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/1010/
http://www.intrepidtrips.com/pranksters/neal/index.html
http://ezone.org/ez/e2/articles/digaman.html
    1926 – Walt Disney Studios formed at 2719 Hyperion Avenue, Burbank, CA. 
    1928 – Jack Larson (d. 2015), who played cub reporter Jimmy Olsen in the 1950s hit TV series “Adventures of Superman,” was born in LA.
    1929 - Eddie Condon's Hot Shots (Jack Teagarden, Mezz Mezzrow, Joe Sullivan) record: ”I'm Gonna Stomp,” “Mr. Henry Lee.” (Victor V-38046)
    1931 - Birthday of James Dean, Fairmont, IN.  American stage, film and television actor, he achieved immense popularity during a brief career. He is considered an "icon" today to several generations. Best remembered for his role in "Rebel Without a Cause" with Natalie Wood. He died driving his Porsche convertible at a very high speed on a desert highway near Cholame, CA, Sept 30, 1955, at age 24. Stamp collectors made the US postal stamp bearing Dean's likeness the most popular stamp of 1996.
http://www.jamesdeangallery.com/
http://www.jamesdean.com/index.php
    1932 - Birthday of John Williams, Floral Park, Queens, NYC.  Pianist, conductor (formerly with Boston Pops) composer (scores for “Jaws,” “Star Wars,” “Jurassic Park,” “Schindler's List”).
http://www.johnwilliams.org/reference/biography.html
    1935 – The NFL held its first draft and Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago was the first player selected, by the Philadelphia Eagles.  Berwanger, who was the first winner of the Heisman Trophy, never played in the NFL.  He took a job with a Chicago rubber company and also became a part-time coach at the University of Chicago after failing to reach an agreement on salary, first with the Eagles, then with Chicago Bears who traded for him.
    1936 - The temperature at Denver, CO plunged to a record 30 degrees below zero.
    1937 - Birthday of Shirley Bassey, Tiger Bay, Wales.  Popular British and American singer at her zenith in the 60s and 70s. Although her strong voice carried well on records, her forte was concerts and cabaret acts. Among her best known renditions are "For All We Know" and "Never, Never, Never."  She is forever remembered as the singer of theme song from the Bond flick “Goldfinger,” followed by “Diamonds are Forever” and “Moonraker”.
    1941- Folksinger Tom Rush birthday, Portsmouth, NH. 
http://www.tomrush.com/index.shtml
    1942 – Fritz Peterson was born in Chicago.  Peterson holds the lowest ERA (2.52) of any Major League pitcher to have pitched at the original Yankee Stadium.  Whitey Ford is next with 2.58.  Peterson is better known however for swapping wives, kids, and dogs with teammate Mike Kekich in the off-season before Spring Training in 1973. Peterson is still married to the former Mrs. Kekich but Peterson's wife never did marry Kekich. The event became a huge media story at the time, bigger by far than the introduction of the designated hitter or the purchase of the Yankees by George Steinbrenner’s group.
    1944 - HUFF, PAUL B., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion. Place and date: Near Carano, Italy, 8 February 1944. Entered service at: Cleveland, Tenn. Birth: Cleveland, Tenn. G.O. No.: 41, 26 May 1944. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, in action on 8 February 1944, near Carano, Italy. Cpl. Huff volunteered to lead a 6-man patrol with the mission of determining the location and strength of an enemy unit which was delivering fire on the exposed right flank of his company. The terrain over which he had to travel consisted of exposed, rolling ground, affording the enemy excellent visibility. As the patrol advanced, its members were subjected to small arms and machinegun fire and a concentration of mortar fire, shells bursting within 5 to 10 yards of them and bullets striking the ground at their feet. Moving ahead of his patrol, Cpl. Huff drew fire from 3 enemy machineguns and a 20mm. weapon. Realizing the danger confronting his patrol, he advanced alone under deadly fire through a minefield and arrived at a point within 75 yards of the nearest machinegun position. Under direct fire from the rear machinegun, he crawled the remaining 75 yards to the closest emplacement, killed the crew with his submachine gun and destroyed the gun. During this act he fired from a kneeling position which drew fire from other positions, enabling him to estimate correctly the strength and location of the enemy. Still under concentrated fire, he returned to his patrol and led his men to safety. As a result of the information he gained, a patrol in strength sent out that afternoon, 1 group under the leadership of Cpl. Huff, succeeded in routing an enemy company of 125 men, killing 27 Germans and capturing 21 others, with a loss of only 3 patrol members. Cpl. Huff's intrepid leadership and daring combat skill reflect the finest traditions of the American infantryman.
    1950 - Man o' War was voted the greatest race horse of the first half of the 20th century in a poll conducted by the Associated Press. Man o' War raced as a 2- and 3- year old, winning 20 of 21 races and setting five track records.
    1951 - Top Hits
“My Heart Cries for You” - Guy Mitchell
“Tennessee Waltz” - Patti Page
“If” - Perry Como
“There's Been a Change in Me” - Eddy Arnold
    1952 - Webb Pierce entered the Billboard country chart for the first time with "Wondering." Pierce dominated the country charts in the 1950's with his pure honky-tonk sound. Between 1952 and '62, he placed 44 songs on the Billboard chart, 38 of which made the top ten. Pierce's influence can be heard in the music of such contemporary country artists as Ricky Skaggs and Dwight Yoakam.
    1954 – Beat author Jack Kerouac, hitchhiking from NY on the 27th of January, visits Neal and Carolyn Cassady in Los Gatos, California, not too far from where I live. Kerouac's interest in Buddhism begins as he reads Dwight Goddard's “A Buddhist Bible.”  He also begins writing "Some of the Dharma." In March, Kerouac settles in San Francisco.
    1956 - Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers' "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" and the Teen Queens' "Eddie, My Love" enter the R&B chart.
    1956 - Buddy Holley signs a recording contract with Decca Records, one which mistakenly drops the "e" from his last name. Buddy, knowing a good thing when he sees it, drops the letter from his name as well.
    1958 - The Quarrymen perform at the Wilson Hall in the Garston section of Liverpool, England. Afterwards, member Paul McCartney introduces his friend George Harrison to John Lennon.
    1958 - The Diamonds had the best-selling record in the United States with their version of "The Stroll". The song also reached number four on the Billboard Pop chart and number five on the R&B chart.
    1959 - Top Hits
“Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” - The Platters
“The All American Boy” - Bill Parsons
“Stagger Lee” - Lloyd Price
“Billy Bayou” - Jim Reeves
    1959 - Johnny Cash performs his #1 Billboard Country chart hit, "Don't Take Your Guns to Town" on The Ed Sullivan Show
    1960 - Bobby Rydell's "Wild One" makes its debut on the Billboard chart, where it will reach number 2. 
    1960 - Mark Dinning's "Teen Angel" hits #1. The song had been written for him by his sister Jean, who also recorded as one of The Dinning Sisters. Some radio stations banned the song.
    1960 - Congress opened hearings on payola, whereby a radio station or its employees, usually a disc jockey, accept payment for broadcasting records. Among those accused were DJs Alan Freed and Dick Clark. Clark was called the most influential person in the popular music industry because of his interests in music publishing and record companies. But he denied any wrongdoing and escaped the inquiry virtually unscathed. Alan Freed was not so fortunate. He had few friends in the music business because of his practice of playing records by black artists rather than white cover versions. When the investigation started, Freed was blackballed. And when he finally came to trial in 1962, he was a broken man. Freed pleaded guilty to two counts of commercial bribery, was fined $300 and received a suspended sentence. He never worked in radio again and died in January, 1965. Congress eventually outlawed payola, and the offense was punishable by a maximum $10,000 fine. But the significance of payola was greatly diminished by this time because of the growth of Top-40 radio. Disc jockeys were governed by a rigid play list and were not allowed to choose their own music.
    1960 – The first stars were placed on The Hollywood Walk of Fame.  The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce credits E.M. Stuart, its volunteer president in 1953, with the original idea for creating a Walk of Fame. Stuart reportedly proposed the Walk as a mean to "maintain the glory of a community whose name means glamour and excitement in the four corners of the world.”   The original stars were installed as a continuous project, with no individual ceremonies with eight drawn at random: Olive Borden, Ronald Colman, Louise Fazenda, Preston Foster, Burt Lancaster, Edward Sedgwick, Ernest Torrence, Stanley Kramer.
    1962 - The Federal Trade Commission accused Topps Chewing Gum Company of illegally monopolizing the baseball card industry. In 1980, a court decision opened the door to competition.
    1963 - Less than two months after defeating the Houston Oilers in the second championship game of the American Football League, the Dallas Texans, owned by Lamar Hunt, moved to Kansas City and were renamed the Chiefs.
    1963 - The Four Tops are inked to Berry Gordy's Motown label and receive a $400 signing bonus.
    1963 – President John F. Kennedy declared travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are illegal.
    1964 - During the congressional debate over the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Representative Martha Griffiths delivered a memorable speech advocating the prohibition of discrimination based on sex. Her efforts resulted in adding civil rights protection for women to the 1964 Act. She later successfully led the campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment in the House of Representatives.
    1964 - Songs released today include the Temptations' "The Way You Do the Things You Do" on Motown, the Beach Boys' "Fun, Fun Fun" is out on Capitol and the album "Beatlemania in the USA!" by the Liverpools is released on Wyngate Records.
    1964 - The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There" enters the pop charts.
    1964 - Max Firetag, publisher of "Louie Louie" as recorded by the Kingsmen for Wand Records, denies Indiana Governor Matthew Welsh's claim that the song is "pornographic." Firetag offers $1,000 to anyone who can find anything "suggestive" in the song's lyrics.
    1964 - Billy Kidd and Jim Heuga became the first American men to win Olympic medals in Alpine skiing when they captured the silver and bronze medals respectively, in the slalom at the IX Winter Olympics at Innsbruck, Austria.
    1965 - The Supremes' "Stop in the Name Of Love" is released.
    1967 - Top Hits
“I'm a Believer” - The Monkees
“Georgy Girl” - The Seekers
“Kind of a Drag” - The Buckinghams
“There Goes My Everything” - Jack Greene
    1968 - An attack on black students from South Carolina State University who are protesting racial segregation at the town's only bowling alley, left four dead in Orangeburg, SC.
    1968 - "What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" Actor Gary Coleman (d. 2010), was born in Zion, IL.
    1968 - Ex-Cream guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker and ex-Traffic keyboardist and singer Stevie Winwood announce they are forming a new band and auditioning for a bassist, with the addition of ex-Family bassist Rich Grech, the band will become the "supergroup" Blind Faith.
    1969 - The Supremes and Temptations' album “TCB” enters the charts.
    1971 – The NASDAQ stock market index opened.
    1972 – The National Baseball Hall of Fame elected Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard. The two former stars, who led the Homestead Grays of the Negro Leagues to nine straight league championships from 1937-45, became the second and third players to be selected by the Committee, joining Satchel Paige, who was elected in 1971.
    1973 - Carly Simon is awarded a gold record for her single "You're So Vain," the only Number One song of her career. Many speculate as to the identity of the song's subject. Many assume its Mick Jagger, whose voice can be clearly heard singing behind Simon in the chorus. However, it turns out that the subject is actor Warren Beatty.
    1975 - For the first time in U.S. history, a woman, Betty S. Murphy, is named chair of the National Labor Relations Board, the first woman member of the board. On this same day, for the first time in U.S. history, a woman, Ella Grasso of Connecticut, takes office as the first woman governor elected in her own right.
    1975 - Top Hits
“Fire” - Ohio Players
“You're No Good” - Linda Ronstadt
“Boogie on Reggae Woman” - Stevie Wonder
“Then Who Am I” - Charley Pride
    1978 - Proceedings of the US Senate were broadcast on radio for the first time.
    1982 - Cher makes her Broadway debut in “Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.”
    1983 - Top Hits
“Africa” - Toto
“Baby, Come to Me” - Patti Austin with James Ingram
“Shame on the Moon” - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
“Inside” - Ronnie Milsap
    1983 - One day after taking a job as director of sports promotions for the Claridge Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, Mickey Mantle was ordered to sever his ties by MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, or face expulsion from all baseball activities. Mantle joined fellow Hall of Famer Willie Mays as players banned from baseball by Kuhn for involvement with legalized gambling.   In one of his first acts, new Commissioner Peter Ueberroth withdrew the suspensions of both in 1985. 
    1986 - The musical "Evita" ended its eight-year run in London. The show earned $32 million and was performed 2,913 times during its run at the Prince Edward Theatre. Based on the life of former Argentine President Juan Peron and his wife, Eva, the show remained popular even at the height of the Falklands War between Britain and Argentina in 1982.
    1987 - A powerful storm produced blizzard conditions in the Great Lakes Region. Winds gusted to 86 mph at Janesville, WI and Cleveland, OH received 12 inches of snow. North winds of 50 to 70 mph raised the water level of southern Lake Michigan two feet, and produced waves 12 to 18 feet high, causing seven million dollars damage along the Chicago area shoreline. It was the most damage caused by shoreline flooding and erosion in the history of the city of Chicago
    1987 - Nancy Lopez won the 35th LPGA tournament of her career, the $200,000 Sarasota Classic, and earned induction into the LPGA Hall of Fame.
    1989 - A winter storm over California produced snow from the beaches of Malibu to the desert canyons around Palm Springs, and the snow created mammoth traffic jams in the Los Angeles Basin. Sixteen cities in the western U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date. Marysville, CA reported an all-time record low reading of 21 degrees above zero.
    1990 - Unseasonably mild weather prevailed across the south central and eastern U.S. Twenty-two cities, including five in Michigan, reported record high temperatures for the date. The afternoon high of 53 degrees at Flint, MI surpassed their previous record by ten degrees, and the high of 66 degrees at Burlington, IA exceeded their old record by eight degrees.
    1991 - Top Hits
“The First Time” - Surface
“Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” - C & C Music
Factory featuring Freedom Williams
“Play that Funky Music” - Vanilla Ice
“Daddy's Come Around” - Paul Overstreet
    1993 – General Motors sued NBC after “Dateline NBC” allegedly rigged two crashes intended to demonstrate that some GM pickups can easily catch fire if hit in certain places. NBC settled the lawsuit the next day.
    1996 - The National Football League approved the transfer of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore. Owner Art Modell agreed to leave the team's nickname and colors in Cleveland and later decided to call his team the Ravens. The NFL awarded Cleveland an expansion franchise in 1998 and the team took the name of its predecessor.
    1997 - The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-5, in overtime, to make Coach Scotty Bowman the first NHL coach to reach the 1,000-win plateau.
    2000 - Top Hits
“I Knew I Loved You” - Savage Garden
“Thank God I Found You”- Mariah Carey Featuring Joe
Columbia
“What a Girl Wants”- Christina Aguilera
“Get It on Tonite”- Montell Jordan
    2002 - XIX Winter Olympics opens in Salt Lake City UT/Québec City.
    2005 - Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman, core members of The Guess Who, were inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame. The band placed 13 songs in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 between 1965 and 1974. Cummings added 2 more as a solo artist and Bachman contributed 7 others with Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
    2010 - Nielsen SoundScan reported that since Steven Tyler started appearing on American Idol on January 19th, sales of Aerosmith's Greatest Hits collections have shot up more than 250%.
    2012 - Elizabeth Taylor's collection of artworks by Vincent Van Gogh, Camille Pissarro and Edgar Degas sold for over 13.7 million pounds at Christie's in London.
    2013 - An investigation took place over recent hacking incident involving a hacker who gained access to the email accounts of former President George H. W. Bush, his friends and relatives

National Baseball Hall of Fame:
    1972 – Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard