Position Wanted – Credit
Work Remotely or Relocate for Right Opportunity

Orlando, Florida - Will work remotely

As a Commercial Credit Analyst/Underwriter, I have evaluated transactions from sole proprietorships to listed companies, across a broad spectrum of industries, embracing a multitude of asset types. Sound understanding of balance sheet, income statement and cash flow dynamics which impact credit decisions. Strong appreciation for credit/asset risk.
rpsteiner21@aol.com
407 430-3917

Each Week Leasing News is pleased, as a service to its readership, to offer completely free ads placed by candidates for jobs in the industry. These ads also can be accessed directly on the website at: http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted.htm

Each ad is limited to (100) words and ads repeat for up to 6 months unless the candidate tells us to stop. Your submissions should be received here by the end of each week.

Please encourage friends and colleagues to take advantage of this service, including recent graduates and others interested in leasing and related careers.

 

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Leasing News Top Stories
January 27  -  February 1

(Stories most opened by readers)

(1) Balboa Capital on the Right End of Broker’s Reps
           and Warranties
By Tom McCurnin, Leasing News Legal Editor
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2019/02_01.htm#balboa

(2) Mailing Error Cost Marlin Leasing $8,500 - Plus Costs
  Losing Ability to Enforce Judgment on Default
By Tom McCurnin, Leasing News Legal Editor
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2019/01_28.htm#mailing

(3) New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
     and Related Industries
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2019/02_01.htm#hires

(4) IRS Urges Public to Stay Alert for Scam Phone Calls
  We Got Four Such Calls on our Cell Phones Yesterday
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2019/01_30.htm#irs

(5) Leasing #102---by Bob Teichman, CLFP
        Verifying Financial Information
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2019/01_30.htm#verifying

(6) Top 10 Equipment Acquisition Trends for 2019
         Equipment Leasing and Finance Association Report
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2019/01_30.htm#trends

(7) Walmart wants to hire 900 truckers
   and pay them nearly $90,000 a year
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/walmart-wants-to-hire-900-truckers-and-pay-them-nearly-90000-a-year/

(8) Forever stamps to jump to 55 cents,
  biggest increase in USPS history - Priority Mail, too
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/forever-stamps-jump-55-cents-biggest-increase-usps-history-n963336

(9) Marlin Reports Fourth Quarter Income $6.4 Million
           Compared to $15.9 Million Year Ago
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2019/02_01.htm#marlin

(10) TimePayment Announces Expansion
           of Revolving Credit Facility to $385MM
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2019/02_01.htm#tp

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Part II   - Texas Bankruptcy Court Grants Worthless
 Non-Dischargeable Judgment for Equipment Lessor

By Tom McCurnin
Leasing News Legal Editor

While Equipment Lessor Obtained a Judgment, Better Underwriting or an Annual Review Would Have Resulted in a Recovery, Rather Than a Worthless Judgment

(And take the McCurnin Challenge!)

United Leasing, Inc. v. Flores (In re Flores) 2018 Bankr. LEXIS 2326 (Bankr.S.D.Tex. Aug. 6, 2018, Nos. 16-70112, 16-7023).

Last week, I wrote about a broker’s assignment of a lease to United Leasing which contained reps and warranties, albeit “to the best of its knowledge.” United Leasing tried to sue the broker (Balboa Capital, Costa Mesa, California) but was chopped off at the knees due to the fact that the reps and warranties were only to the best of Balboa’s knowledge, and United Leasing could not allege actual knowledge of the fraudulent financial statements, so the case was dismissed.  (1)

Today’s case is the other half that issue and involves United Leasing, Evansville, Illinois (now United Leasing and Finance), pursuit of the guarantor to the lease in bankruptcy court after it lost its action against Balboa. A bankruptcy creditor’s adversary action for fraudulent financial statements is always problematic. The fraud has to be “material,” and if so material, wouldn’t the fraud be obvious to an underwriter? How much due diligence is necessary to prove reliance on the false financials? Finally, the debtor is bankrupt for a reason—he is broke.  Is it really worth pursuing a man for dischargeability? 

In today’s case, the bankruptcy court was faced with a $466,000 fraud claim based on the guarantor’s false financial statement, which was reviewed by the assignee-lessor, but the lessor did not spot any red flags. The court concluded that the guarantor’s financial statement was indeed fraudulent, overstating value, and understating liens by over a million dollars. The court also concluded that the cursory review of this $754,000 transaction was sufficient. The facts follow.

Balboa Capital, as broker, received a lease application for a Texas trucking company, Americorp, for 25 new Hyundai trailers. Frank Flores was the principal of Americorp. The funding amount was $754,000. Balboa forwarded the information to United Leasing for their consideration. One of the documents Balboa collected and forward to United Leasing was a personal financial statement of Mr. Flores as of April 2013. 

Presumably, when United Leasing indicated its desire to fund the transaction, Balboa documented the lease for the trailers. The lease was signed in August, 2013 and immediately assigned to United Leasing. The trailers were titled in United Leasing’s name and delivered by the vendor. 

At trial, Martha Ahlers, President, testified for United Leasing that she, along with the credit team of United Leasing, reviewed the one page financial statement of Flores. She testified that the personal financial statement did not raise red flags. The financial statement of Flores shows a net worth of $3 million, centered mainly in real estate, and although Flores had a lot of equipment, there were only three liabilities shown on the financial statement, totaling about $60,000. By any measure, Flores was rolling in cash, in excess of $500,000. 

There was no outside audit or review of the personal financial statement, which is limited to transactions over $1 million as per United Leasing procedures. 

The Defendant testified that he knew that the personal financial statement was not accurate and he thought it was not important. The financial statement was bolstered by a clean consumer credit bureau report. Although tax documents as well as bank statements may have been issued to Balboa, there was no indication that either Balboa or United verified those documents.   

The Defendant testified that he had financial difficulties in 2015 and could not pay his drivers.  He was forced to release 16 of the 25 trailers to the Mexican drivers on their promise to return them, once they were paid.  The drivers reneged on their promises.  The trial court found that the financial statement was inaccurate by $1 million. The Defendant defaulted under the terms of the equipment leases in 2016. 

The court went through the various elements of a fraudulent financial statement and found the financial statement materially false. The court further found that the inaccuracies were of a nature which affected United Leasing’s credit decision. Since the debtor had actual knowledge of the inaccuracies, intent to deceive was presumed. Finally, the court ruled that given the testimony of Ms. Ahlers, all that was required was a minimal investigation of the personal financials. 

The trial court did rule that the actions of the debtor-guarantor, while reckless and perhaps naïve, were not willful and malicious. The significance of this finding is that the Lessor was not entitled to punitive damages, only compensatory damages.

Therefore, at the end of the trial the trial court held that the bankruptcy debt from the debtor Flores to United Leasing was non-dischargeable, entitling the Lessor to $466,000 in damages, but no punitive damages. Lessor won, Lessee lost. The Lessor is entitled to a judgment against a bankrupt guarantor. Good luck. 

What are the takeaways here? 

• First, I Questioned How This Transaction Was Approved In the First Place. Since the collateral is movable, many lessors take extra precaution for over the road trailers, such as GPS trackers, annual inspections, and more thorough underwriting.  United Leasing did none of these.  Given the fact that the reps and warranties from Balboa were Swiss cheese, United Leasing utterly failed in its underwriting job.   

• Second, The Fraudulent Financial Statement Had Red Flags. First of all this is a nearly $800,000 deal based on a one page financial statement, showing $500,000 in cash. The net worth was mainly in real estate ($3mm) without a single lien on the real estate. I have a hard time believing that fact or the value.  Did United obtain a years’ worth of bank account statements? Apparently not. The testimony of the Lessor that it took a whole “team” to review the one page financial statement. I have a hard time believing that, too. The financial statement is linked below. (2) Take the Tom McCurnin challenge and you tell me if you would approve this guy for an $800,000 loan with highly movable collateral and how you would verify the financial statement. 

• Third, How Did The Mexican Driver Issue Not Get Discovered for Three Years? Again, this type of collateral is very risky. Many lessors require annual inspections of the collateral (paid for by the lessee) or new financial statements from the borrower and guarantor every year. On an $800,000 deal with risky collateral, that is probably a good policy. 

• Fourth, The Court Got This One Right. The debtor Flores sounded a bit like a sad sack who was forced to send his trucks into Mexico to save his company. He knew the financials were wrong and desperately wanted the financing, so he lied. He was not entitled to a fresh start for that reason. 

The bottom line to this case is that the bankruptcy court got it right and affirmed the principal that the Lessor’s “minimal” credit investigation was good enough. But that is little solace to the Lessor who has a $466,000 piece of paper. Better underwriting, a GPS, or annual reviews would have enabled the Lessor to have a real recovery instead of a piece of paper. GPS units run as cheap as $25 a month, and the cost can be passed on the lessee. It doesn’t take a team of employees to figure this out. 

(1) Balboa Capital on the Right End of Broker’s Reps and Warranties
      By Tom McCurnin, Leasing News Legal Editor
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2019/02_01.htm#balboa 

(2) Flores Personal Financial Statement  
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/FloresFinancial2019.pdf

United Leasing v. Flores  (15 pages)
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/UnitedvFlores2019.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

Credit Analyst Norwalk, Ct. Remote Location Considered 2 Years Min. Experience Collateral knowledge of over-the-road trucking assets, construction equipment, material handling, vocational units and machine tools is desired Call Maria Borges-Lopez: (203) 354-6090 or e-mail your resume to HumanResources@nmef.com Please click nmef.com/careers/ for more information www.nmef.com Providing small-ticket equipment financing for businesses across the country through our dedicated referral source network

 

Marlin Business Services 2018 Results
Earnings Call Transcript Highlight

Lou Maslowe, Senior Vice President & Chief Credit Risk Officer

“Equipment Finance charge-offs increased by 38 basis points quarter-over-quarter and 37 basis points year-over-year. As Jeff mentioned, the quarter-over-quarter increase was primarily due to $1.2 million in charge-offs during the fourth quarter due to fraudulent activity by a single vendor. Excluding the vendor fraud, Equipment Finance charge-offs for the quarter would have been 1.69%, the lowest since Q1 of 2018.

“As mentioned in the earnings call last quarter, Marlin has been experiencing increased fraud activity. It is important to recognize that fraud has always been a risk inherent to the Equipment Finance business, especially in the small ticket market. And based on recent discussions with other small ticket risk management leaders, the entire industry is dealing with increased fraud.

“Fraud is an operational risk that is tracked against limits defined in Marlin's risk appetite statement and our objective is to manage the amount of risks within these tolerances because our business model assumes a certain level of fraud based on historical experience.

“While fraud can take many forms, the most common transactional fraud that we are seeing is identity theft, both of the vendor and the end-user. However, the most dangerous fraud risk to Marlin's business model is fraud perpetrated by a vendor, because it can impact an entire portfolio of transactions. As stated earlier, it was a vendor fraud that led to the $1.2 million charge-off in Q4.

(page 4)

“Looking back over 2018, we are pleased with our overall portfolio performance, notwithstanding the fraud experienced in Q4, which, as previously noted, we view as a non-recurring event. The Equipment Finance net charge-offs excluding fraud were right in line with our expectations and the working capital loan portfolio continued to perform better than target.”

(page 5)

Full SeekingAlpha Transcript:
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4237539-marlin-business-services-corp-mrln-ceo-jeff-hilzinger-q4-2018-results-earnings-call

 

 

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Leasing News Advisor 
Phil Dushey

Philip Dushey
Global Financial Services
1 State Street
New York NY 10004
Email:phil@gbtsinc.com
Phone 212-480-4900
www.globalfinancialtrainingprogram.com
www.globaleasing.com
www.globalchurchfinancing.com

Phil is one of the original founding members of the Leasing News Advisory Board. Phil Dushey has been active in the finance and leasing industry for the over 37 years. His first company was Global Financial Services, which is still active and successful today. Global specializes in all types of financing such as equipment leasing, accounts receivable financing, debt restructuring, and establishing lines of credit. Mr. Dushey feels that to be competitive in today's expanding financial climate a company must be able to service all of his clients’ needs not just equipment leasing. 

In 1989, Mr. Dushey saw a need for a company that would serve the needs of churches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship throughout the country for equipment Leasing. At the time, most financing sources were reticent regarding religious institutions. He then formed Global Church Financing. It continues to be the leading company in providing financing to churches and other religious institutions today.

In 2001, Mr. Dushey fulfilled one of his lifelong dreams and formed Global Financial Training Program. He believes it is the most comprehensive and successful training school in the country to train people who want to enter the finance and leasing business. The program includes everything they need to enter the business. He says he very much enjoys teaching how to make money in the finance industry based on 37 years of experience.

Mr. Dushey is a founding member of the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers, who changed their name to American Association of Commercial Finance Brokers.

He has been a member and speaker at many leasing organizations for several years.

He and his wife Laurie have been married for 48 years, with six grandchildren, three boys and three girls age 10, 12, 14, 18, 20 and 22.

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2018 Year-End Leasing/Finance Association Membership
   By Christopher Menkin

2018 Year End Association Numbers

2018 Year-by-Year Since 2000 Numbers

 

Membership Records Showing Changes in Associations

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association has the largest professional  staff, the most conferences, workshops, programs, Washington lobbying, as well as working with state governments, which actually control most of the leasing and lending requirements, including licensing and usury laws.

In addition, the member companies often sponsor their key employees’ attendances at conferences,  workshops, meetings, and education seminars. The various committees are very active while the board of directors takes keen interest in their participation at all events, including many meetings and activities.

Ralph Petta was named President and CEO of ELFA January, 2016. In 2010, he was promoted to Chief Operation Officer for six years.  He joined the original association in April, 1987, as Vice President-Research and Information Services. Mr. Petta was named Leasing Person of the Year 2009 by Leasing News.

He is a member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), as well as ASAE's Key Industry Association Committee (KIAC).  He completed the ASAE/University of Maryland College of Business and Management executive development certificate program in association management. He also was selected for and participated in the ASAE Future Leaders Conference.

Ms. Amy Vogt became Vice President, Communications and Marketing, 2010. She is outstanding in her position, very reliable and helpful to Leasing News as well as many others in the media and those seeking ELFA information.

Membership Information
https://www.elfaonline.org/membership/membership-home 

The National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers changed their name last year to the American Association of Commercial Finance Brokers. They also hired their former management firm with Monica Harper back as Executive Director. The association is in a rebuild mode, becoming active again.

Their goal: “AACFB is a one-stop broker resource, providing our members with business tools, funding sources and a network of powerful resources. We provide a strong foundation for owning and operating a successful commercial financing business."

10 Reasons to Join AACFB
http://www.aacfb.org/membership-join/reasons-to-join

The Association of Government Leasing and Finance was founded in 1981 to provide an educational forum and industry oversight among issuers, leasing companies, investment banking firms, banks, and third-party lease brokers who participate in the lease-purchase financing of real and personal property to state and local governments. Law firms, municipal bond insurers and rating agencies complement the membership.

AGLF publishes a bi-monthly newsletter; 50-state leasing survey; federal leasing survey; and conducts numerous industry projects. Two types of membership: regular member - private sector organizations active in leasing/finance; governmental member - any state, territory, US possession, District of Columbia, or political subdivision of above. Non-members are very welcome at our conferences.

“Our end of 2018 membership numbers are:

“7 Individuals
15 Limited
43 Basic Company Members with 142 total people
8 Leader Company Members with 204 total people.”

Formed by a group of lessor in 1974, the Western Association of Equipment Leasing became the United Association of Equipment Leasing which merged in 1910 with the Eastern Association of Equipment Lessors, later changing its name to the National Equipment Finance Association.

Long Time Executive Director Gary Egan retired at the October third Funding Symposium. The board of directors has many new faces. Executive Mike Toglia was hired as Executive Director and CEO.
He is the Publisher and Founder of http://www.equipmentfa.com.. He has been an active member of NEFA and its predecessor associations for many years and is currently the Editor-in-Chief of NEFA Newsline Magazine.

Membership Information:
https://www.nefassociation.org/page/MembershipMainPg

 

The Association for Professionals in the Asset Based Lending  and Factoring Business

Commercial Finance Association Name to Change in 2019 as Secured Finance Network

Established in 1944, the Commercial Finance Association (CFA) located in New York City has "... 260 member companies and a 20,000-person active community including 22 chapters located throughout the United States, Canada and Europe....Membership is at the company level (all employees of member companies are eligible for association benefits). Proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies, corporations and other business entities engaged in secured commercial lending, factoring, accounts receivable discounting or other forms of secured commercial finance are eligible for membership."

https://community.cfa.com/membership/about-membership.

According to David Grende, CFA’s president, and CEO & President of Siena Lending Group, “Over the past six months, the CFA has taken a very thoughtful approach to the rebranding initiative. The organization has retained a top branding firm, conducted research, surveyed our membership, and held focus groups to inform our direction. ‘Secured Finance Network’ is descriptive and memorable, builds on our legacy and is highly relevant to our members and target constituents. I’m very excited about the new brand.”

2018: 260
2017: 233
2016: 228
2015: 246
2014: 280 

Canadian Finance & Leasing Association

207 corporate members composed of active asset-based financing and leasing companies + suppliers to the industry (law firms, accounting firms, software developers/manufacturers, etc.)
A must association to join if you are doing business in Canada

Contact Information: www.cfla-acfl.ca/contact-us/ 

 

Certified Leasing and Finance Professionals (individuals), not an association but a foundation.

Beginning of Year Number

2019: 644
2018: 521
2017: 399
2016: 289
2015: 213
2014: 199
2013: 173
2012: 168
2011: 174
2010: 159
2009: 182
2008: 179
2007: 204

Reid Raykovich, CLFP, was appointed Executive Director in 2012. The foundation started originally by NEFA, then supported by AACLB, under her leadership obtained the ELFA support.  In 2016, she was named Leasing Person of the Year for her involvement in the growth of the industry.

2017 Rank	2018 Rank	Company	2018 Count	2017 Count	Change
1	1	First American Equipment Finance	109	73	33%
2	2	Financial Pacific Leasing	24	25	-4%
3	3	AP Equipment Financing	19	19	0%
4	4	Ascentium Capital	18	18	0%
5	4	BB&T	18	16	11%
n/a	5	U.S. Bank Equipment Finance*	17	0	100%
14	6	Amur Equipment Finance	16	3	81%
6	7	ECS Financial Services, Inc.	12	12	0%
6	7	Ivory Consulting Corporation	12	12	0%
7	8	Arvest Equipment Finance	10	10	0%
14	8	Canon Financial Services, Inc	10	3	70%
12	8	Great American Insurance	10	5	50%
6	8	Orion First Financial LLC	10	12	-20%
11	9	BancorpSouth Equipment Finance	9	6	33%
10	9	BMO Harris Equipment Finance	9	7	22%
9	9	KLC Financial, Inc.	9	8	11%
10	10	Beacon Funding Corporation	8	7	13%
9	10	Celtic Commercial Finance	8	8	0%
8	10	Northland Capital Financial Services	8	9	-13%
n/a	10	The Huntington National Bank*	8	1	88%
14	10	Oakmont Capital Services LLC	8	3	63%
11	11	GreatAmerica Financial Services	6	6	0%
9	11	Marlin Business Services	6	8	-33%
10	12	Bank of the West	4	7	-75%
13	12	Commerce Bank	4	4	0%
13	12	DLL	4	4	0%
11	12	Hanmi Bank	4	6	-50%
n/a	12	NCMIC Finance Corporation*	4	2	50%
n/a	12	Partners Capital Group*	4	0	100%
14	12	Tamarack Consulting, Inc	4	3	25%
n/a	13	Alliance Funding Group*	3	2	33%
14	14	Blue Street Capital, LLC	3	3	0%
13	14	BSB Leasing, Inc.	3	4	-33%
14	14	Clune & Company LC	3	3	0%
14	14	Diversified Capital Credit Corporation	3	3	0%
n/a	14	First Foundation Bank*	3	2	33%
14	14	First National Capital	3	3	0%
14	14	Innovative Lease Services, Inc.	3	3	0%
14	14	International Decision Systems	3	3	0%
13	14	Key Equipment Finance	3	4	-33%
14	14	LTi Technology Solutions	3	3	0%
n/a	14	Odessa*	3	0	100%
14	14	Quality Leasing Co. Inc.	3	3	0%
n/a	14	Providence Capital Funding*	3	1	67%
12	14	Provident Equipment Leasing	3	5	-67%
14	14	TEQLease, Inc.	3	3	0%
n/a	14	UniFi Equipment Finance*	3	0	100%
n/a	14	Western Equipment Finance*	3	1	67%
n/a	14	Wintrust Specialty Finance	3	0	100%

CLFP Academy for Lease & Finance Professionals
Classes to date for 2019 - 7
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2019/02_01.htm#clfp

Membership Requirements:
http://www.clfpfoundation.org/requirements.php
Academy for Lease & Finance Professionals
http://www.clfpfoundation.org/alfp.php
A Mentor Program is available
http://www.clfpfoundation.org/page-1857570

Labrador Retriever
Evansville, Indiana Adopt a Dog

Harrison
Male
Size: Medium
Neutered: Unknown
Color: Bicolor
Age: 9 months
Location: Dog Adoption A
Adoption Fee: $110

Application:
https://www.shelterluv.com/matchme/adopt/VAN/Dog

Vanderburgh Humane Society
400 Millner Industrial Drive
Evansville, Indiana 47710
Phone: 812-426-2563

Viewing and Adoption
Tuesday - Saturday
12:00 - 6:00 PM

Closed Sundays, Mondays, Major Holidays

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

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Attendee registration is now open for NVLA's 2019 Annual Conference! This year's conference will feature top networking opportunities, Lease Here Pay Here Session Track, panel discussions, top speakers in the leasing industry, and much more!

Conference Program
https://www.nvla.org/page/2019NVLAConferenceProgram

Register NOW for the premier conference on vehicle leasing
https://www.nvla.org/event/NVLA2019

More Information:
https://www.nvla.org/page/2019NVLAConference

News Briefs----

TCF Financial expands bank’s balance sheet, physical footprint.
     Merger of equals’ makes Chemical a regional bank
https://www.grbj.com/articles/92585-merger-of-equals-makes-chemical-a-regional-bank

Marlin Business Services Sets 1 Year Low on Feb, 3
  at $23.09  --Enbulletin
https://enbulletin.com/2019/02/03/marlin-business-services-corp-mrln-sets-1-year-low-on-feb-3-at-23-09/

Bystanders Sears’ downfall will get their day in court Monday
Judge: hear the objections and rebuttals, and make an ultimate ruling
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/03/bystanders-of-sears-downfall-will-get-their-day-in-court-monday.html

Day After Trade Talks, Chinese Firms Buy U.S. Soybeans
6.5 million tons, a fraction purchases of more than 30 million tons
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/02/business/china-us-soybeans.html

The CEO of the biggest mall owner in the US says
   They May be Turned into office spaces, gyms, even hotels
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/01/simon-ceo-david-simon-says-hes-nervous-about-retail-bankruptcies.html

Why employers hate the day after the Super Bowl
Absentee rates generally spike the day after the Big Game
https://nypost.com/2019/02/02/why-employers-hate-the-day-after-the-super-bowl/ 

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You May Have Missed---

No-deal Brexit could unleash garbage crisis in UK
Licenses to export millions of tons of trash to Scandinavia
   and other parts of Europe
https://nypost.com/2019/02/02/no-deal-brexit-could-unleash-garbage-crisis-in-uk/

 

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Fresh Fallen Snow
by Ogden Nash

I like to walk on fresh fallen snow 
The kind that whispers and speaks. 
It sings a song as I walk along 
With crackles and scrunches and squeaks.

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Sports Briefs---

Tom Brady, Patriots claim sixth title
http://www.espn.com/blog/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4816682/patriots-defense-leads-the-way-as-tom-brady-wins-sixth-super-bowl-title

You cannot beat the Patriots, you can only be envious of them
https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/patriots/2019/02/03/
shaughnessy/pRgzkM79Ml7XWXS3UNoh2I/story.html

The radical rule change to fix MLB’s pace-of-play problem
https://nypost.com/2019/02/02/the-radical-rule-change-to-fix-mlbs-pace-of-play-problem/

Warriors 115, Lakers 101: DeMarcus Cousins’ dunk
  adds spice to game without LeBron James
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2019/02/02/warriors-115-lakers-101-plenty-of-drama-despite-lebron-james-absence/

Basketball bribes:
How Adidas bankrolled a black market for top teenage talent
https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2019/02/basketball-bribes-how-adidas-bankrolled-a-black-market-for-top-teenage-talent.html

Bill Cowher, studio analyst for "THE NFL TODAY ON CBS,"
receives prestigious Pat Summerall Award at Legends for Charity®
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bill-cowher-studio-analyst-for-the-nfl-today-on-cbs-receives-prestigious-pat-summerall-award-at-legends-for-charity-300788221.html

Jerry Jones confirms Jason Garrett is coaching for his job
http://www.theredzone.org/Blog-Description/EntryId/74943/Jerry-Jones-confirms-Jason-Garrett-is-coaching-for-his-job

Andrew Luck wins NFL Comeback Player of the Year
http://www.theredzone.org/Blog-Description/EntryId/74941/Andrew-Luck-wins-NFL-Comeback-Player-of-the-Year

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California Nuts Briefs---

California home sales close year on downward trend
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/02/01/real-estate-california-home-sales-close-year-on-downward-trend/

Long-awaited project in San Jose’s Japantown finally gets started
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/01/31/long-awaited-project-in-san-joses-japantown-finally-gets-started/

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“Gimme that Wine”

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

Interview: Jim Mortensen, President and CEO,
  Ste. Michelle Wine Estates
http://portal.mshanken.com/vm2/874b8745e0aa5318/25682/
44cd5f8e77a537ef58a5d1efeef5fa7b/25682

'In the US you could never do this':
How an American opened his own Italian winery
https://www.thelocal.it/20190129/in-the-us-you-could-never-do-this-how-one-american-opened-his-own-italian-winery

Unified Symposium Tech Talk
Understanding and leveraging data within the wine industry
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataId=209082

 

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This Day in History

     1746 - Birthday of Thaddeus Kosciusko (d. 1817) in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in a village that is now in Belarus.  In 1776, Kościuszko moved to North America, where he became a colonel in the Continental Army. An accomplished military architect, he designed and oversaw the construction of state-of-the-art fortifications, including those at West Point. In 1783, in recognition of his services, the Continental Congress promoted him to brigadier general. 
http://www.polskiinternet.com/english/info/thadeuskosciuszko.html
    1779 - John Paul Jones takes command of Bonhomme Richard.
    1783 - Britain declared a formal cessation of hostilities with its former colonies, the United States of America.
    1787 - In an attack on Shays’ insurgents at Petersham, Massachusetts, General Benjamin Lincoln captures 150 rebels and forces Shays to flee for Vermont. By the end of the month, the uprising has been completely suppressed. In March, the Massachusetts legislature offers a pardon to all except Shays, Luke Day and two other leaders. Shays will be pardoned on 13 June 1788. This rebellion has the effect of causing the state legislature to avoid direct taxation, to lower court costs, and to exempt household necessities and workmen’s tools from the debt process. Shays’ Rebellion is also an important factor in influencing the creation of a new federal constitution, since the states have seen how essentially powerless they are to prevent such incidents of violence.
    1787 - The first Anglican bishops of New York and Pennsylvania were consecrated in London.
    1789 - The only president to receive the unanimous vote of the presidential electors was George Washington who received all of the 69 votes cast by the election from the 10 states that voted this day. This was the first meeting of the Electoral College.  Presidential electors met and chose George Washington as America’s first President. The Federalist Party was formed by those who had supported ratification of the Constitution. Its first candidate was Washington. As President, Washington guided the new government as it moved from the concepts expressed in the Constitution into a functioning federal republic, and he firmly established many traditions and precedents which still guide how we as a nation view the presidency. After serving two terms in office, he refused to seek a third one, believing that two terms were the most that any President should serve. The Federalist, considered pro-English, enjoyed considerable success until 1800, when Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican, defeated John Adams for the presidency. Eventually the party lost its supporters and ceased to exist about 1820. Alexander Hamilton was one of the party's founders and foremost leaders. As a point of history, by April 6, the first Congress was formally organized.  By its end in 1791 the first Congress consisted of 26 senators of whom 17 supported the Washington administration and 9 were generally in opposition. In the House, the division was 38 and 26. Senators were chosen by each of the state's legislators until the 20th century when the 17th amendment called for the direct election of Senators.  A nearly unanimous vote took place in November, 1816, when James Monroe of Virginia received 231 of the 232 votes casts by the electors from 24 states. The dissenting vote was cast by William Plumer of New Hampshire.
http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/
Direct_Election_Senators.htm
    1801 - John Marshall was sworn in as the fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.  He is the longest-serving Chief Justice in US history.
    1810 - The Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized in Tennessee as an outgrowth of the Great Revival of 1800. Standing between Calvinism and Arminianism, the denomination holds a "medium theology" which affirms unlimited atonement, universal grace, conditional election, eternal security of the believer and salvation of all children dying in infancy.
    1822 - Free American Blacks settled Liberia, West Africa. The first group of colonists landed in Liberia and founded Monrovia, the colony's capital city, named in honor of President James Monroe.
    1824 – J.W. Goodrich introduced rubber galoshes to public.
    1825 – Ohio legislature authorized the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Miami and Erie Canal.
    1826 - “The Last of the Mohicans” by James Fennimore Cooper is published. One of the earliest distinctive American novels, the book is the second of the five-novel series called the “Leather-stocking Tales.” He continued to write about the American frontier in his third book, The Pioneer, which featured backcountry scout Natty Bumppo, known in this book as “Leather-stocking.” The character, representing goodness, purity, and simplicity, became tremendously popular, and reappeared, by popular demand, in five more novels, known collectively as the “Leather-stocking Tales.” The second book in the series, “The Last of the Mohicans”, is still widely read today. The five books span Bumppo’s life, from coming of age through approaching death.
    1841 - Plagued by poor investment decisions and an uncertain economic climate, the Bank of the United States was forced to call it quits on February 4, 1841. It was a painful end for an institution that had suffered through one of the more contentious episodes in the nation’s early financial history. Indeed, the Bank was the direct product of President Alexander Hamilton’s controversial push for a national banking system. Despite the staunch objections of Thomas Jefferson, the federal government chartered the first Bank of the United States in 1791. However, Jefferson kept up his attack, and in 1811, led his supporters in Congress in a successful attempt to block the renewal of the bank’s charter. Buoyed by a confluence of conditions, including state banks’ recent run of woes and political shifts in the House, pro-bank forces forged a new charter in 1816. Under the charge of Nicholas Biddle, the revived Bank of the U.S. enjoyed some healthy years. However, before long, the Bank faced another round of opposition, this time led by President Andrew Jackson, who fiercely opposed the notion of a central bank system. A nasty and protracted political battle ensued, as the President attempted to use his executive power to do away with the bank. Jackson eventually won out, and when the bank’s charter expired in 1836, Biddle shifted course and reestablished the Bank of the United States as a state institution based in Pennsylvania. Biddle’s bank limped on for a few more years before being finally shut down on February 4, 1841.
    1846 - The ship “Brooklyn” left New York bound for San Francisco with members of the Church of Latter-Day Saints aboard. They had been instructed to “flee Babylon.” They departed for California the same day other Saints left Nauvoo, Illinois, following clashes with settlers over polygamy. The party from Nauvoo was to meet Brannan’s group at Yerba Buena.
    1847 - Magnetic Telegraph of Maryland opened four offices in New York City for $250 a year, Philadelphia for $150, in Baltimore for $150, and Washington, DC for $50 a year to become the first Telegraph Company. At first, messages were sent by pigeons across the Hudson River from Jersey City, NJ to New York City. Later, a lead pipe enclosing a covered wire saturated with pitch was laid under the river. The rates from Baltimore to Washington were 10 cents for the first 10 words and 1 cent for each additional minute. The rates from New York to Washington were 50 cents for the first 10 words and 5 cents for each additional word.
    1849 - The University of Wisconsin began in one room with 20 students.
    1854 - Alvin Bovay proposed the name “Republican Party,” in Ripon, WI.
    1861 - The Apache Wars began at Apache Pass, AZ when Army Lieutenant George Bascom arrested Apache Chief Cochise for raiding a ranch. Cochise escaped and declared war. The wars lasted 25 years under the leadership of Cochise and, later, Geronimo.
    1861 - The first Confederate congressional session took place, lasting until March 16. Its official title was Congress of the Confederate States.  The president of the Senate was Alexander Hamilton Stephens of Georgia, the president pro tempore was Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter of Virginia, and the secretary of the Senate was James H. Nash of South Carolina. The House of Representatives under the permanent constitution met in Richmond, VA, on February 18, 1861. Emmet Dixon of Georgia was elected clerk and Thomas Salem Bocock of Virginia was elected speaker. The session adjourned on April 21, 1862. The first order of business was drafting a constitution. They used the U.S. Constitution as a model, and most of it was taken verbatim. It took just four days to hammer out a tentative document to govern the new nation. The president was limited to one six-year term. Unlike the U.S. Constitution, the word “slave” was used and the institution protected in all states and any territories to be added later. Importation of slaves was prohibited, as this would alienate European nations and would detract from the profitable “internal slave trade" in the South. Other components of the constitution were designed to enhance the power of the states:  governmental money for internal improvements was banned and the president was given a line-item veto on appropriations bills. The Congress then turned its attention to selecting a president. The delegates settled on Jefferson Davis, a West Point graduate who was the U.S. Secretary of War in the 1850s and a senator from Mississippi. It was emphatic that the purpose of the confederacy was to preserve slavery. There were many rich slave owners in the south and the loss of their property would mean not only substantial loss of their assets, but future income as they would have to pay for work on their farms and other businesses. (An irony of the times, there were Negroes who were also “slave owners.”  At the turn of the century, there were slaves also owned in the North.)
Here is one county, Lowndes District in the County of Lowndes, State of Alabama, that illustrates an idea of the division of “property.”
http://www.ccharity.com/census/1850lowndes.htm
This will substantiate that there were “free Blacks” who also owned “Black slaves.”
http://americancivilwar.com/authors/black_slaveowners.htm
Slave Census of Connecticut and Washington, 1790. It is also correct many of the Northern states began to outlaw slavery in their state after the ratification of the Constitution.
http://www.ctnow.com/extras/html/slaveowners.htm
But make it clear, the purpose of the Confederate States of America was to preserve slavery and was so stated in their constitution.
    1865 - Hawaii Territory established its first Board of Education.     
    1865 - Robert E. Lee was named general-in-chief of Confederate forces
    1873 - Birth of George Bennard (d. 1958) in Youngstown, OH.  A Methodist evangelist, he penned over 300 Gospel songs during his lifetime, but is primarily remembered today for one: "The Old Rugged Cross."
    1887 - Interstate Commerce Act authorized federal regulation of railroads and created the Interstate Commerce Commission.
    1895 - In Chicago, Illinois, the Van Buren Street Bridge opened. It was the first rolling lift bridge. It consisted of two arms meeting at the center of the river. The bridge was operated by two 50 horsepower electric motors on each side of the bridge.
http://www.chicagohs.org/fire/ruin/pic0093.html
http://www.deldot.net/static/projects/archaeology/
historic_pres/delaware_bridge_book/PAGE_162.PDF
http://tigger.cc.uic.edu/depts/ahaa/imagebase/
intranet/chiviews/page177.html
    1899 - The Philippine-American War began with fighting between American and Philippine revolutionary forces
    1902 - Birthday of Charles Augustus Lindbergh (d. 1974) in Detroit. American aviator, nicknamed “Lucky Lindy,” and “The Lone Eagle,” he was the first to fly solo and nonstop over the Atlantic Ocean, New York to Paris, May 20-21, 1927. In a decade that gave us the invention of television, talking pictures, and Babe Ruth, there was no one more admired, feted, fawned over than Lindbergh.  Later, in 1932, his son was kidnapped and later found murdered in a saga that captured America.  The trial of Bruno Richard Hauptman, the alleged murderer, was called the ‘Trial of the Century.’  As the 1930s came closer to war, he became a Nazi sympathizer, accepting awards from Adolph Hitler and after the war, efforts were made to downplay his lobbying for the Nazi regime.  He became a recluse and moved to Hawaii where died at Kipahulu, Maui on Aug 27, 1974.
    1904 – Birthday of writer MacKinlay Kantor (d. 1977) in Webster City, Iowa.  His best seller, “Andersonville,” was a story about the infamous Andersonville prison of the Civil War, into which tens of thousands of Northerners were inhumanely confined under obscene conditions.
http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/spec-coll/MSC/IaAuthor/Kantor/kantor.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0452269563/inktomi-bkasin-20/
002-1958450-0644835/
    1906 – Clyde Tombaugh (d. 1977), American astronomer, discovered the former planet Pluto, was born in Streator, IL. 
    1908 - Birthday of trumpet player Mannie Klein (d. 1994), New York City
http://www.trumpetjazz.com/artists.cgi?name=Manny+Klein&x=5&y=9
http://www.jazzoracle.com/reviews/
http://ms.cc.sunysb.edu/~alhaim/recordingsanalysis.htm
http://user.tninet.se/~npt755v/bosw2.htm
    1912 – Golfer Byron Nelson (d. 2006) was born in Waxahachie, TX.  PGA tour golfer, 1935-46.  Nelson and two other well-known golfers of the time, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, were born within seven months of each other in 1912. Although he won many tournaments in the course of his relatively brief career, he is mostly remembered today for having won 11 consecutive tournaments and 18 total tournaments in 1945. 
    1913 - Birthday of Rosa Lee Parks (d. 2005), civil rights leader who refused to give up the seat on the bus, in Tuskegee, AL.  Born Rosa Louise McCauley, Parks was a seamstress who was active with the NAACP. On a fateful day in Montgomery, Al, in 1955, a time when African-Americans were obligated by law to ride in the back of a bus, she refused to give up her seat to a white man during a ride home from work. Parks was subsequently arrested, found guilty of disorderly conduct and fined $14. This simple act sparked the modern civil rights movement, leading to a 381-day boycott of the Montgomery bus system, lawsuits, and an eventual Supreme Court decision decreeing segregation to be unconstitutional. A hero to blacks and whites alike, Parks continued work on civil rights until her death on October 25, 2005, at Detroit, MI. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, and she is the only American woman to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. Many municipalities consider Dec. 1, the day of her arrest in 1955, a holiday: Rose Parks Day.
http://www.grandtimes.com/rosa.html
http://www.rosaparks.org/
    1914 - Pellagra is caused by a deficiency of the B vitamin, niacin. Dr. Joseph/Goldberger of the U.S. Public Health Service at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, eight miles east of Jackson, MS, began the first public finding. Twelve convicts agreed to submit to a restricted-diet test in exchange for an offer of pardon made by Governor Earl LeRoy Brewer. The test was held from February 4, 1915 to April 19, 1915. Six of the 11 convicts (one was excused) developed pellagra, confirming suspicions that pellagra is caused by the niacin deficiency. Pellagra was common, particularly in the South, until news of this experiment became known by newspapers of the time.   
   1915 – Actor William Talman (d. 1968), who played Los Angeles District Attorney Hamilton Burger in the long-running series “Perry Mason,” was born in Detroit. 
    1917 - Downtown Miami, FL, reported an all-time record low of 27 degrees.
     1921 - Birthday of author Betty Freidan (d. 2006), Peoria, IL , founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW), author of the “Feminine Mystique.”
    1928 - Regal Theater opens in Chicago.  Great jazz venue during the 1930's, 1940's.
http://www.suba.com/~scottn/explore/sites/theaters/regal.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/regalthe/
http://jazzinstituteofchicago.org/index.asp?target=/jazzgram/
bronzeville/bronzeville47.asp
    1930 - The first mosaic pavement similar to the mosaics of the ancient world was laid on Canal Street in New Orleans. The mosaic effect was secured by mixing chipped meteorite, crown point spar, and mica with the cement, then pouring the mixture into diamond-shaped brass stripped forms, sanding it down and polishing it. It was part of the project referred to as the ‘Beautification of Canal Street.”
http://theoldentimes.com/canal_st.html
http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/dpc/cityscapes/charles.asp
    1932 - The third Winter Olympics opened at Lake Placid, NY, with 32 women and 274 men athletes representing 17 nations. This was the only edition of the Winter games in which athletes from the US won more medals (six gold, four silver and two bronze) than athletes from any other country. The games closed on February 15th.
    1933 - Angered by increasing farm foreclosures, members of Iowa's Farmers Holiday Association threaten to lynch banking representatives and law officials who institute foreclosure proceedings for the duration of the Depression. In April at Primghar, 600 farmers battle the sheriff and his deputies to prevent a foreclosure. During the battle many farmers take a beating. A group of them then turn up at the courthouse, drag a district judge from his chair, put a rope around his neck, and threaten to hang him unless he promises not to issue any more eviction notices. That same month, when state officers in Crawford County are beaten and driven off, the Iowa governor put three counties under martial law, and the National Guard starts rounding up farmers who are fighting foreclosures. Farmers outside Sioux City did not cooperate with the association, selling produce at the best price they could.  In addition, President Roosevelt promised farmers change and help. The crisis here also helped Roosevelt defeat Hoover.
http://www.hooverassociation.org/arhell.htm
http://www.sos.state.ia.us/publications/redbook/history/7-1.html
    1934 - Birthday of piano player Wade Legge (d. 1963), Huntington, WA
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000JA8W
inktomi-musicasin-20/002-1958450-0644835
    1936 – Comedian David Brenner (d. 2014) was born in Philadelphia. 
    1937 - Glen Gray and Casa Loma Band record Larry Clinton’s “Study in Brown.”
    1938 - Thornton Wilder's play, "Our Town," opened in New York City at the Henry Miller Theatre. The play won the writer a Pulitzer Prize.    1939 - World mile record-holder, Glenn Cunningham, said in a newspaper, "running a four-minute mile is beyond human effort," adding that the best mile run will always be 4:01.66. That mark has been since been broken several times. On May 6, 1954 in Oxford, Roger Bannister became the first to break the barrier when he ran a 3:59.4 mile, a record that would last 46 days.  Jim Ryun did it on several occasions and, more recently, a time of 3:44:39 was set by Noureddine Morceli from Algeria.
    1941 – The USO was founded to provide support worldwide for US service people and their families. The United Service Organizations (USO) centers have served as a home away from home for hundreds of thousands of Americans.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/feb04.html
    1944 - President Roosevelt authorized the Bronze Star Medal by Executive Order 9419 dated 4 February 1944, retroactive to 7 December 1941. This authorization was announced in War Department Bulletin No. 3, dated 10 February 1944. The Executive Order was amended by President Kennedy, per Executive Order 11046 dated 24 August 1962, to expand the authorization to include those serving with friendly forces.
    1945 – The Yalta Conference between British Prime Minister Churchill, US President Roosevelt and Soviet Premier Stalin opened at the Livadia Palace in the Crimea.  It was here that the spoils of war were discussed.  Roosevelt, mere months from death and suffering from ill health, acquiesced to Stalin regarding control of eastern Europe, setting the stage for the Cold War that would envelop the two countries long after the death of these two leaders.
    1945 - Birthday of tenor sax player John Stubblefield IV, Little Rock, AR.  He has led his own quartet since 1980. As a jazz educator, Stubblefield has taught for the Chicago public schools (1967-70), Jazz mobile (beginning in 1974), Rutgers University (1983-84), and, since the early 1990s, Wesleyan University.
http://www.russpix.co.uk/stubb.html
http://www.arjazz.org/artists/hof/1998/98_stubblefield.html
    1947 - Top Hits
“For Sentimental Reasons” - Nat King Cole
“A Gal in Calico” - Johnny Mercer
“Oh, But I Do” - Margaret Whiting
“Rainbow at Midnight” - Ernest Tubb
    1947 – The 44th Vice President of the US, Dan Quayle, was born in Indianapolis.  He served as VP for President Bush, the first.  Many consider him to be the Yogi Berra of politics given his propensity for malapropisms.  "I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future."  When he addressed the United Negro College Fund, whose slogan is "A mind is a terrible thing to waste," he said, "You take the UNCF model that what a waste it is to lose one's mind or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is."  He also instructed grade school pupils on the spelling of potato as ‘potatoe.’
    1948 - Vincent Fournier, better known as Alice Cooper, was born in Detroit. His rock 'n' roll horror show in the 1970's featured chicken-killing and snake-fondling while singing such songs as "Refrigerator Heaven" and "I'm Eighteen." Cooper went into semi-retirement in 1977, when alcohol problems forced him to undergo hospital treatment. He later returned to performing.
http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Alley/3246/
http://www.alicecoopershow.co.uk/portal.htm
    1951 - ADAMS, STANLEY T., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Master Sergeant (then Sfc.), U.S. Army, Company A, 19th Infantry Regiment. Place and date: Near Sesim-ni, Korea, 4 February 1951. Entered service at: Olathe, Kans. Born: 9 May 1922, DeSoto, Kans. G.O. No.: 66, 2 August 1951. Citation: M/Sgt. Adams, Company A, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against an enemy. At approximately 0100 hours, M/Sgt. Adams' platoon, holding an outpost some 200 yards ahead of his company, came under a determined attack by an estimated 250 enemy troops. Intense small-arms, machine gun, and mortar fire from 3 sides pressed the platoon back against the main line of resistance. Observing approximately 150 hostile troops silhouetted against the skyline advancing against his platoon, M/Sgt. Adams leaped to his feet, urged his men to fix bayonets, and he, with 13 members of his platoon, charged this hostile force with indomitable courage. Within 50 yards of the enemy M/Sgt. Adams was knocked to the ground when pierced in the leg by an enemy bullet. He jumped to his feet and, ignoring his wound, continued on to close with the enemy when he was knocked down 4 times from the concussion of grenades which had bounced off his body. Shouting orders he charged the enemy positions and engaged them in hand-to-hand combat where man after man fell before his terrific onslaught with bayonet and rifle butt. After nearly an hour of vicious action M/Sgt. Adams and his comrades routed the fanatical foe, killing over 50 and forcing the remainder to withdraw. Upon receiving orders that his battalion was moving back he provided cover fire while his men withdrew. M/Sgt. Adams' superb leadership, incredible courage, and consummate devotion to duty so inspired his comrades that the enemy attack was completely thwarted, saving his battalion from possible disaster. His sustained personal bravery and indomitable fighting spirit against overwhelming odds reflect the utmost glory upon himself and uphold the finest traditions of the infantry and the military service.
    1952 - Jackie Robinson, still active with the Dodgers, was named Director of Communication for NBC, becoming the first African-American executive of a major radio-TV network.
    1953 - Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis took a dramatic turn when they starred in the film, "The Stooge," premiering at the Paramount Theatre in New York City.
    1955 - Top Hits
“Sincerely” - McGuire Sisters
“Hearts of Stone” - Fontane Sisters
“Melody of Love” - Billy Vaughn
“Let Me Go, Lover!” - Hank Snow
    1955 - The Blue Moon Boys, consisting of Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore, Bill Black and DJ Fontana, headline at an amusement park in New Orleans.
    1956 - James Brown and The Famous Flames record "Please, Please, Please" at King Studios in Cincinnati. The single would go on to become a Billboard #5 R&B hit, selling over a million copies, but nine subsequent releases would fail to live up to the success of the debut. It would take over two years for the group to return to the charts with the #1 R&B hit, "Try Me."
    1956 - A Harlem vocal group called The Cadillacs entered the Billboard Pop Chart with "Speedo," which will top out at #17.  It has since become a Doo-Wop classic.
    1956 - Elvis Presley appeared again on CBS' “Dorsey Brothers Stage Show,” performing "Baby, Let's Play House" and "Tutti Frutti."
    1957 - New York's Smith-Corona Manufacturing Inc. began to sell portable electric typewriters. The first "portable" machine weighed 19 pounds! Soon, other manufacturers began offering similar models that were made of lighter weight plastics.
    1959 – The music world awoke to the news that overnight, a private plane crash near Clear Lake, IA took the lives of the pilot and singers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. ‘The Big Bopper’ Richardson, following their performances at the Winter Dance Party at the Surf Ballroom.  Following the tragic plane crash, Frankie Avalon, Jimmy Clanton, and Bobby Vee take over the headlining spots on the "Winter Dance Party" tour.
    1959 – New York Giants Hall of Fame linebacker, Lawrence Taylor, was born in Williamsburg, VA.  ”Lawrence Taylor, defensively, has had as big an impact as any player I've ever seen. He changed the way defense is played, the way pass-rushing is played, the way linebackers play and the way offenses block linebackers.”  --John Madden              
    1961 - Johnny Burnette is rushed to Hollywood's Cedars of Lebanon Hospital to undergo an emergency appendectomy. The medical crisis forces Burnette, then on the charts with "You're Sixteen," to cancel $10,000 worth of domestic engagements and postpone a European tour.
    1962 - Birthday of country singer Clint Black, was born in Long Branch, NJ.
http://www.countrystars.com/index.html?/artists/clint.html
http://clintblack.com/bios.html
    1962 - The first U.S. helicopter is shot down in Vietnam. It was one of 15 helicopters ferrying South Vietnamese Army troops into battle near the village of Hong My in the Mekong Delta. The first U.S. helicopter unit had arrived in South Vietnam aboard the ferry carrier USNS Core on December 11, 1961. This contingent included 33 Vertol H-21C Shawnee helicopters and 400 air and ground crewmen to operate and maintain them. Their assignment was to airlift South Vietnamese Army troops into combat.
    1963 - Top Hits
“Walk Right In” - The Rooftop Singers
“Hey Paula” - Paul & Paula
“The Night Has a Thousand Eyes” - Bobby Vee
“The Ballad of Jed Clampett” - Flatt & Scruggs
    1964 - The federal government put an end to one of the nation's more shameful bits of legislation by authorizing the Twenty-fourth Amendment, which outlawed the poll tax. The tax stemmed back to the 1880s, when members of the burgeoning Populist Party began to build a potentially potent coalition of African American and lower class white voters in the South. Across the region, planters, merchants, and industrialists moved to preserve their power and pushed for the passage of a deliberately prohibitive poll tax. The legislation, adopted by a host of Southern states, proved all too effective, as scores of African-Americans, as well as the "poorer sort" of whites, simply could not afford to pay the tax and thus lost the right to vote. However, thanks in large part to the efforts of Senator Spessard L. Holland of Florida, the once recalcitrant Congress slowly came around to the cause of outlawing the tax and passed the Twenty-fourth Amendment. On January 23, 1964, the amended was ratified by the South Dakota legislature, giving it the three-fourths majority necessary to make it the law of the land.
    1964 - United States weekly publication Newsweek was the first American magazine to carry a cover story on the Beatles.
    1965 - Martin Luther King Jr. and 770 other protesters arrested in Selma, Alabama for picketing county courthouse to end discrimination in voting rights
    1966 - Jefferson Airplane, The Mystery Trend play the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. It is Bill Graham's first non-benefit show.  Also, about this time, author Ken Kesey disappears to Mexico. 
http://www.winelady.com/records/bgposters.html
    1965 – The #1 record on the charts - Righteous Brothers: “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling.”
    1966 - The Rolling Stones released "19th Nervous Breakdown."
    1967 – Lunar Orbiter 3 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, FL on its mission to identify possible landing sites for the Surveyor and Apollo spacecraft.
    1968 - GONZALEZ, ALFREDO, Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein), FMF. Place and date: Near Thua Thien, Republic of Vietnam, 4 February 1968. Entered service at: San Antonio, Tex. Born: 23 May 1946, Edinburg Tex. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as platoon commander, 3d Platoon, Company A. On 31 January 1968, during the initial phase of Operation Hue City, Sgt. Gonzalez' unit was formed as a reaction force and deployed to Hue to relieve the pressure on the beleaguered city. While moving by truck convoy along Route No. 1, near the village of Lang Van Lrong, the marines received a heavy volume of enemy fire. Sgt. Gonzalez aggressively maneuvered the marines in his platoon and directed their fire until the area was cleared of snipers. Immediately after crossing a river south of Hue, the column was again hit by intense enemy fire. One of the marines on top of a tank was wounded and fell to the ground in an exposed position. With complete disregard for his safety, Sgt. Gonzalez ran through the fire-swept area to the assistance of his injured comrade. He lifted him up and though receiving fragmentation wounds during the rescue, he carried the wounded marine to a covered position for treatment. Due to the increased volume and accuracy of enemy fire from a fortified machine gun bunker on the side of the road, the company was temporarily halted. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Sgt. Gonzalez exposed himself to the enemy fire and moved his platoon along the east side of a bordering rice paddy to a dike directly across from the bunker. Though fully aware of the danger involved, he moved to the fire-swept road and destroyed the hostile position with hand grenades. Although seriously wounded again on 3 February, he steadfastly refused medical treatment and continued to supervise his men and lead the attack. On 4 February, the enemy had again pinned the company down, inflicting heavy casualties with automatic weapons and rocket fire. Sgt. Gonzalez, utilizing a number of light antitank assault weapons, fearlessly moved from position to position firing numerous rounds at the heavily fortified enemy emplacements. He successfully knocked out a rocket position and suppressed much of the enemy fire before falling mortally wounded. The heroism, courage, and dynamic leadership displayed by Sgt. Gonzalez reflected great credit upon himself and the Marine Corps and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
    1968 - Attorney General John Mitchell received a secret memo from Senator Strom Thurmond, in which Thurmond suggested deporting John Lennon due to his antiwar stance.
    1969 - 33-year-old John Madden became head coach of the NFL's Oakland Raiders. In his first season, Madden took the Raiders to a 12-1-1 record and earned them a spot in the AFC Conference Championship Game. Madden went on to become the youngest head coach in the modern NFL era to win 100 games in his first ten seasons.  Madden retired as a Super Bowl winning head coach. He is still the coach with the most wins in Raiders history. Madden's overall winning percentage including playoff games ranks second in league history. He won a Super Bowl and never had a losing season as a head coach. Madden had a winning record as a head coach against Tom Landry, Don Shula, Chuck Noll, and Bud Grant, who are generally regarded as the top coaches of his era.
    1969 - Owners of the 24 Major League baseball clubs elected attorney Bowie Kuhn commissioner for a one-year term at a salary of $100,000. Kuhn, who succeeded William D. Eckert, became baseball's fifth commissioner. He served until 1984 when he was replaced by Peter Ueberroth.
    1969 – Yassar Arafat took over as chairman of the PLO.
    1971 - Top Hits
“Knock Three Times” - Dawn
“Lonely Days” - Bee Gees
“Rose Garden” - Lynn Anderson
“Flesh and Blood” - Johnny Cash
    1971 - The Osmonds' "One Bad Apple" album is certified gold
    1973 - Birthday of boxer Oscar de La Hoya, Los Angeles, CA.
    1974 - Patricia Hearst, the 19-year-old daughter of publishing billionaire William Randolph Hearst, is kidnapped from her Berkeley, California, apartment. Stephen Weed, Hearst's fiancé‚, was beaten unconscious by the two abductors. Soon, a ransom demand came from the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a radical activist group led by Donald DeFreeze. DeFreeze had formed the SLA in 1973 after he escaped from prison. On November 6, 1973, the SLA shot and killed Marcus Foster, Oakland's superintendent of schools, with bullets laced with cyanide. Less than a month before Hearst's kidnapping, an SLA bomb-making factory was discovered by the police. The SLA instructed William Hearst to distribute $70 million in food to the poor in Oakland to have Patty released. The Black Muslims, Malcolm X's former organization, were chosen to manage the food distribution, which turned into a riot when more than 10,000 people showed up and fought for the food. However, DeFreeze and the SLA did not release Patty. The Hearst story took a strange and unexpected turn two months after the abduction, when the SLA robbed the Hibernia Bank in San Francisco. The surveillance cameras clearly showed that Patty Hearst was one of the machine gun-toting robbers. Soon after followed a taped message from the SLA in which Hearst claimed that she had voluntarily joined the SLA and was now to be known as "Tania." On May 17, 1974, police were tipped that the SLA leaders were at a Los Angeles home. With 400 police and FBI agents outside the house, a tremendous gun battle broke out. The overwhelming firepower of the police eventually caused a fire to break out. DeFreeze and five other SLA members died in the fire. However, Hearst was not inside the house. She was not found until September 1975. Patty Hearst was put on trial for armed robbery and convicted, despite her claim that she had been coerced, through repeated rape, isolation, and brainwashing, into joining the SLA. Prosecutors believed that she actually orchestrated her own kidnapping because of her prior involvement with one of the SLA members. Despite any real proof of this theory, she was convicted and sent to prison. President Carter commuted Hearst's sentence after she had served two years. Hearst is currently seeking a pardon.
    1976 - US District Court Judge John W. Oliver upheld the ruling of a baseball arbitrator Peter Seitz that had declared pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally to be free agents. The two had refused to sign contracts for 1974 as a test case and had argued that baseball's hallowed reserved clause bound them to their respective clubs, not in perpetuity but for only one year beyond the expiration of their last signed contract.  This decision was a turning point in baseball’s ability control players for their entire careers.  The free agency market is now an annual event as owners and general managers maneuver for the best players as they become free agents or seek to lock them up with long-term contracts that now run into hundreds of millions of dollars.  One can only think of what the Ruths, Williamses, Cobbs, Aarons, Mayses, Mantles, Gibsons, etc., would command in today’s environment with their consistently superior performances.
    1976 - Kathryn Lis, Susan Kollmeyer and Cynthia Snead became the first U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadets by finishing in the top one percent of the more than 10,000 men and women who competed for admission.
    1976 – A US Senate subcommittee reveals Lockheed Aircraft Corporation made payments abroad of $22 million in bribes to sell planes. Lockheed admits payments in Japan, Turkey, Italy and Holland.
    1977 - "American Bandstand" celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary with an ABC-TV special hosted by Dick Clark. An incredible "all-star band" made up by Chuck Berry, Seals & Crofts, Gregg Allman, Junior Walker, Johnny Rivers, the Pointer Sisters, Charlie Daniels, Doc Severinsen, Les McCann, Donald Byrd, Chuck Mangione and three quarters of Booker T and the MGs. They join and jam together for a rendition of "Roll Over Beethoven."
    1977 - One of the best-selling albums of all time, Fleetwood Mac's, "Rumors" was released. The LP spent 31 weeks at the top of the US album chart on the strength of the singles, "Go Your Own Way," "Dreams," "Don't Stop" and "You Make Loving Fun," all of which hit the top 10. The album eventually sold over 18 million copies.
    1977 – A Chicago Transit Authority train rear-ended another and derailed, killing 11 and injuring 180, the worst accident in the agency's history.
    1978 - With movie theater promos showing John Travolta's character, Tony Manero walking down the street to the beat of The Bee Gees "Stayin'   the tune shot to the top of the Billboard Pop chart.
    1979 - Top Hits
“Le Freak” - Chic
“Y.M.C.A.” - Village People
“Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?” - Rod Stewart
“Why Have You Left the One You Left Me For” - Crystal Gayle
    1979 - A month-long rock memorabilia auction began in San Francisco to benefit the Save the Whales campaign. Among the items sold are John Travolta’s black leather jacket from “Grease,” and a Paul Kantner guitar.
    1983 - Singer Karen Carpenter died of heart failure due to anorexia nervosa at age 33, at her parents' home in Downey, California. The singer, who had performed with her brother, Richard, would be best-remembered for her songs “(They Long to Be) Close to You” and “We've Only Just Begun”, which dominated the songs of choice for weddings throughout the '70s and '80s. The untimely death of the young, velvet-throated Grammy Award winner saddened and shocked the world. Her death shed new light on the devastating consequences of anorexia, an eating disorder brought on by compulsive dieting. At one low point in Carpenter's career, she was forced to cancel a command performance before Queen Elizabeth II of England, and a concert tour of Europe and the Orient, due to the illness. Standing five feet, four inches, she had dieted down to 90 pounds.
    1987 - Top Hits
“At This Moment” - Billy Vera & The Beaters
“Open Your Heart” - Madonna
“Land of Confusion” - Genesis
“You Still Move Me” - Dan Seals
    1987 - Sacramento Kings score only 4 1st quarter points against the Lakers; fewest in a period since introduction of 24 second shot-clock in 1954
    1987 - “Stars & Stripes,” skippered by Dennis Connor, defeated the Australian boat “Kookaburra III” for the fourth straight time to sweep the America 's Cup challenge and return the prized trophy to the US. This was the last Cup defense to be contested by 12-meter yachts. It came four years after Australia II with John Bertrand as skipper wrested the Cup from the US for the first time ever.
    1987 - Flamboyant pianist Liberace died at age 67 in his block-long palace in Palm Springs, California, officially of a brain disease, although it was a complication of AIDs. At one time, the entertainer was the highest-paid performer in Las Vegas.
    1989 - A winter storm brought heavy snow and high winds to the western U.S. Up to three feet of snow blanketed the Sierra Nevada of California, and buried parts of northeastern Washington State under three feet of snow in five days. High winds across Washington State reached 75 mph, with gusts to 105 mph.
    1991 – The National Baseball Hall of Fame board of directors voted 12-0 to bar Pete Rose, thereby enforcing the agreement Rose signed two years earlier with then-Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti that served Rose with lifetime ineligibility for election to the Hall for gambling on games while manager of the Cincinnati Reds.
    1996 - NBC aired the first of two parts of the mini-series “Gulliver's Travels,” starring Ted Danson as the title character. The venture, with its huge financial investment, had the potential for being a giant flop, but it was a gamble that paid off. The show was NBC's highest-rated miniseries in four years, and most critics praised its faithfulness to the Jonathan Swift tale. 
    1996 - Rob Pilatus, formerly of Milli-Vanilli, was injured when a man hit him over the head with a baseball bat in Hollywood. Pilatus was attempting to steal the man’s car.
    1997 – Simpson Guilty!!! A civil jury in Santa Monica, California found O.J. Simpson liable for the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman. The jury awarded $8.5 million in compensatory damages to Goldman's parents. A few days later, the jury added $25 million in punitive damages to go to Nicole Brown Simpson's estate and Goldman's father. Simpson was later ordered to give up his Heisman Trophy and nearly $500,000 in valuables, including his golf clubs, to help satisfy the judgment.
    1997 - Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins scored into an empty net to become the seventh member of the NHL's 600-goal club.  Pittsburgh beat the Vancouver Canucks, 6-4. Players who previously scored 600 goals are Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Marcel Dionne, Phil Esposito, Mike Gartner and Wayne Gretzky, who got his 600th goal in his 720th game, one more than Lemieux required.
    1998 - Microsoft founder/multi-billionaire Bill Gates gets a pie thrown in his face in Brussels, Belgium.
http://www.zpub.com/un/bill/pie.html
http://home.epix.net/%7Etjwagner/gates.html
http://www.bitstorm.org/gates
    2002 - On the occasion of civil-rights activist Rosa Parks' 89th birthday, Stevie Wonder sings his song "Happy Birthday" to her at the premiere of her TV-movie biography “The Rosa Parks Story.” The song had originally been written by Wonder to help bring about a national Martin Luther King holiday.
    2004 – Facebook was founded by fellow Harvard students Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskowitz, and Chris Hughes. Facebook held its IPO in February, 2012, valuing the company at $104 billion, the largest valuation to date for a newly listed public company. Facebook has more than 2.2 billion monthly active users as of January 2018. Its popularity has led to prominent media coverage for the company, including significant scrutiny over privacy and the psychological effects it has on users. In recent years, the company has faced intense pressure over the amount of fake news, hate speech and depictions of violence prevalent on its services, all of which it is attempting to counteract.
    2007 - The Indianapolis Colts beat the Chicago Bears 29-17 at Dolphin Stadium in Super Bowl XLI. Colts QB Peyton Manning was named MVP. For the first time in Super Bowl history, the game was played in the rain, which was continuous throughout the game.
    2007 - Billy Joel sang the National Anthem during the Super Bowl XLI (41) pre-game show and Prince performed during the halftime festivities.
    2013 - 8 people are killed and 30 are injured after a bus collides with two vehicles and flips in Yucaipa, California.
    2014 - Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew urged Congress to increase the debt ceiling because the US government debt is expected to hit $17.2 trillion soon.  As of Dec, 2018, the Federal Debt is about $21.8 trillion.
    2014 – Google and Microsoft reported that the National Security Agency under President Obama ordered them to provide information on 10,000 accounts over a six-month period in 2012-13; Yahoo reported a similar request on more than 40,000 accounts.
    2015 – Hackers stole personal data on up to 80 million customers of Anthem, Inc.
 

Super Bowl Champions:
    2007 - Indianapolis Colts
    2018 – Philadelphia Eagles