Monthly Leasing Business Up 47% June from May
Companies Report Robust June!!! Please Read Their Comments

2016

2016

2015

2012 - 2014

2008 - 2012

Charts: Leasing News

Rosanne Wilson, CLFP, BPB
1st Independent Leasing, Inc.

"My June was triple what I did in May.  It was a terrific month.  I can eat steak!"

Richard A. Baccaro
Chief Sales and Marketing Officer
Ascentium Capital LLC

"Ascentium Capital set a new company record for lease and loan originations in June ---up 40% over the same period last year.

"Volume increased 12% from May to June."

John Boettigheimer
Centra Leasing, Inc / 4 Hour Funding LLC

"Funding and application volumes have been good – not great but still very steady volume.  Normally we see some summer slowdown, but not this year.  I have been quite pleased with the economy’s resiliency.  On another note, credit quality has been very good over the summer."

Robert VanHellemont
Chairman of the Board
Varilease

"Our June originations were up year over year.  I don't have the exact numbers, but it appears to be in the range of about 8%.  We have not experienced a slowdown in submitted transactions."

Allan Levine
President/COO
Madison Capital

"Madison Capital’s business, once again this year, is considerably up month over month. And, we already know July is up over last year. ..The fall is a significant business period. Those best at marketing and those with origination niches will continue to have a good year. I do believe Madison is up, not solely for economic reasons, but as a result of marketing. In short, those with a targeted marketing plan, good vendor business, good referral business, good repeat business, and experienced originators, will see growth in the 2nd half of the year. We expect a “hot” fall and continued originations growth."

Valerie Jester
Brandywine Capital

"June volume was about the same as last year. Business is holding steady but we worry about the second half of the year. We sense a fair amount of uncertainty amongst small business owners - translating that-we believe many expansion purchases may be postponed until after this circus of an election is over. Second half of the year may not be as strong as we hope."

Dale R. Kluga
President
Cobra Capital

"We have turned down over $20MM in small ticket volume just this first half of 2016 which is dramatically higher than 2015. All of that was processed without any change in Cobra's standard pricing and primary credit criteria vs last year.

"As half of Cobra's business comes from the indirect broker channel, what we are seeing is a misguided expectation of treating C and D credits as if they were B and C credits from both a pricing and credit perspective.

"I believe the ELFA report dollar volume mostly represents the upper ‎middle and fortune markets based on the composition of the large bank captives and large independents contributing to the survey. YTD volume is still down 7% from 2015 and a lot of that was disproportionately made up by a large increase in May, which is probably not a sustainable trend particularly for the continued soft economy we've been in since technically exiting the Great Recession over 4 years ago. I'm guessing the soft energy markets have a lot to do with the drop in volume this year as most trends in the big corporate markets are moved by a particular fallout in an industry concentration.

“The companies funding the low to mid 8 figure big deals are under the greatest rate compression including even the non-investment grade deals which historically had no such rate compression during and preceding the great recession.

“The upper mid and fortune markets have unsustainable pricing and competitive pressure clearly evidenced by NXT Capital abandoning their fairly recent Equipment Finance Group not to mention the rumblings of Newstar possibly looking to position its equipment finance group as well. I also sense there may be some unrealistic end of term booked residuals that will come home to roost in the next few quarters which all the big lessors will grapple with at some point. Complicating this big deal market is of course the FASB change to take effect in a few years in forcing op leases to the balance sheet which will have a fundamental adverse impact on the traditional signing authority of local managers in fortune companies which will be replaced with a CFO using cash first then bank lines then leasing.

"Having said all that, the sector of the economy of large bank captives represents only about half of our country's GDP producing businesses since it does not accurately reflect what's happening in the jobs producing, lower middle and small business markets. I'm sure the upper and fortune market competitive volume and pricing pressures are even greater than what we have seen from the small biz, B and C space this year where the margins have been fairly stable, and where Cobra and my prior company, Great American Leasing have operated since 1996.

"A consistent adverse trend this year is the number of small biz clients who show up on Cobra's doorstep already infected with unsustainable and hopeless funding by the relationship destructive, online 50% to 100% effective all in rate online lenders. While this is a small piece of the low quality business we have seen this year, nonetheless, it is increasing at an alarming rate and demonstrates that the marginal and less viable, small business operators who survived the Great Recession are literally hanging on by their fingernails and have thrown in the towel in their failed attempts to secure traditional equipment and bank financing with our largest trillion dollar banks who are still only lending a miniscule 1% of their assets to critically important, jobs producing small biz. The online lender blanket lien stacking subterfuge will only guarantee an early death of the marginal small business operators and with it, I fear another black eye once again to our industry and the securitization markets."

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

“The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25), which reports economic activity from 25 companies representing a cross section of the $1 trillion equipment finance sector, showed their overall new business volume for June was $10.0 billion, up 3 percent year-over-year from new business volume in June 2015. Volume was up 47 percent month-to-month from $6.8 billion in May. Year to date, cumulative new business volume decreased 7 percent compared to 2015.

“Receivables over 30 days were 1.4 percent, an increase from the previous month and up from 1.02 percent in the same period in 2015. Charge-offs were 0.65 percent, up from 0.33 percent the previous month.

“Credit approvals totaled 78.1 percent in June, up from 76.5 percent in May. Total headcount for equipment finance companies was up 3.0 percent year over year.

“Separately, the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s Monthly Confidence Index (MCI-EFI) for July is 52.5, steady with the June index of 52.3.”

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

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Interim Rent: Proper Accounting Function for 
Short Term Advances - Or Is It a Scam?
By Tom McCurnin 
Leasing News Legal News Editor

Interim Rent is Legal in Most States that Have Considered the Matter
- But the Provision Has to be Fair, Clear and Unambiguous

Interim rent is the vehicle to compensate the equipment lessor for the time between the deliveries of the equipment (usually coincides with funding) and the first regularly scheduled lease payment. Today’s article will discuss whether the practice is legal and how the lessor can maximize the revenue from this cash cow.

In re Edison Brother Store, 207 B.R. 801 (Bankr. Del. 1997)
Amplicon v Marshfield Clinic, 786 F.Supp. 1469 (W.D. Wisc. 1992)
All-Luminum Products, Inc. v Winthrop Resources, 28 Fed. App. 611 (8th Cir. 2002)
Underwriters Laboratories v Solarcom, (n.D. Ill. 2002).

Historical Application of Interim Rent
When I first entered leasing, interim rent was simply a matter of taking a single payment and dividing it by 30, then multiplying it by the number of days between the delivery and acceptance certificate and the next month’s payment, usually no longer than 29 days. Other lessors used the date of funding the invoice, which was generally within a day or two of the delivery, as the first day of interim rent. To my knowledge, interim rent rarely exceeded a month.

Some bright leasing executive figured out that because the interim rent was less than one of the stated monthly payments, the revenue would not reduce the balance on the equipment lease, and was therefore, 100% pure profit (except for cost of funds). It didn’t take long for lessors to figure out that increasing the time period of interim rent beyond the one month period would a windfall to the lessor. Enter the doctrine of quarterly payments.

Quarterly Payments
The equipment lessor Amplicon first used quarterly payments and interim rent in 1992. It was sued over the practice and, in a reported decision out of Wisconsin, the application of interim rent and quarterly payments was upheld.

The lessor’s sales pitch goes something like this:
Salespersons get the lessee on the phone and tell the lessee that “for the lessee’s convenience ”the lessor will “agree” to quarterly payments on the leased equipment, so the lessee is no longer bothered with monthly checks.

What the salesperson doesn’t tell the lessee is that the lessor will charge the lessee interim rent for the period between funding and the first payment, which could be as long as 89 days. The salesperson also doesn’t tell the lessee that the interim rent payment will not be credited against the account and does not reduce the lease balance.

The lessee gets a standard lease document which contains an interim rent provision, generally pays no attention to it, and signs the lease. When the lessee figures out that it just threw three months’ worth of payments down the drain, the lessor points to the provision which the lessee signed, and it’s all over but the crying.

In the Amplicon case referenced above, the lessee claimed that the interim rent provision was unfair. A heartless Wisconsin Federal Judge simply ruled that the issue was a matter of contract, and since the provision was clear and unambiguous, it would therefore be enforceable. It’s hard to disagree with this logic, because if the lessee doesn’t read or understand a commercial lease agreement, is it really the lessor’s duty to explain the minefields in the lease document?

The Legality of Interim Rent—Interim Rent Upheld
The issue of interim rent is not addressed in the Uniform Commercial Code, neither in Article 9 nor in Article 2A. The Code drafters were wise not to get bogged down in details and avoided legislating every aspect of equipment leases, so interim rent was left to contract provisions.

Cases interpreting interim rent have been kind to the practice of interim rent.

In the Edison Brothers case above, the lessee claimed that interim rent was merely a device to increase the lessor’s yield. The Court disagreed, holding that it compensated the lessor for the lessee’s use of the equipment from installation until the date of the first payment.

In the All Luminum decision, the lessee argued that since the lease had a 7% yield, the 8th Circuit should essentially re-write the lease to lower interim rent to an interest only number. The court declined to do so.

Interim Rent Provisions Struck Down
The only case which casts doubt on the use of interim rent provisions is the Illinois decision of Underwriters. The facts of the Underwriters decision are interesting. Underwriters Labs (yes the same company that tests electrical fixtures) leased an enormous amount of solar equipment from the lessor Solarcom.

The lessee claimed that the lessee was promised by a salesperson that the quarterly payments would be all that would be owed, and no other payments would be collected. When the lessee received an invoice of $930,000 for interim rent, it offered to pay the lessor interest only on the obligation but balked at paying the huge interim rent amount. When the lessor refused the offer, the lessee sued.

The lessor filed a motion to dismiss. In considering the motion, the Court was troubled by the large interim rent provision. The court was further troubled by the nature of the transaction, an Article 9 lease, essentially a loan of money, yet the lessor expressed the obligation in the financial terms of a lease. The court noted that “If the parties had used documents tailored to the nature of the transaction—the lending of money—and had included a clause specifying that interest was payable at a specified rate for the period from the date the funds were advanced to the beginning of the quarterly period, [the lessee] would have nothing to complain about.” Consequently, the Court denied the lessor’s motion to dismiss. Although not covered by the opinion, the interim rent provision in the lessor’s lease is a little vague in my opinion. 

I don’t think that the Underwriters case is necessarily an aberration, as bad facts make bad law. The salesman may have misrepresented the transaction and the lessor’s documents were not terribly clear. It should be noted that the case settled a little over 90 days after this decision was rendered, so a compromise must have been reached.

Lessons for the Equipment Lessor
I have yet to find a case in which interim rent was charged on a monthly contract and was struck down. So for the vast majority of equipment lessors that use interim rent for its intended purposes, you should rest easy tonight. However, the Underwriters case should give the equipment lessor some pause.

First, let’s be honest here—quarterly payments and an interim rent provision is not for the convenience of the customer—it is almost 100% pure profit. If the lessor socks a lessee with 89 days’ worth of interim rent, do you think the lessor will get that repeat business from that lessee?

Second, if your company is drafting an interim rent provision, make it clear and unambiguous, so a high school senior could understand the provision. For those judges who defer to contractual provisions, this may carry the day.

Third, if a complaint regarding interim rent is received, have in place a structure to elevate the complaint to somebody who understands litigation and risk. Since the interim rent is almost 100% pure profit, the lessor can afford to be magnanimous.

Fourth, sales personnel should obviously not misrepresent the contents of a lease, nor make contradictory statements about the intent of the lessor or the effect of a particular clause. I’ve often thought that sales conversations should be recorded so the issue of misrepresentation can be settled once and for all.

Finally, lessees should obviously read contracts before signing them, and quite frankly, the issue of interim rent and quarterly payments is such a loaded issue, that red flags should be raised.

The bottom line to interim rent is that the vast majority of lessors use it for its intended purpose—to compensate the lessor for the time period between funding and the first schedule payment, usually 29 days or less. However, when quarterly payments are coupled with interim rent, the lessor’s profit and risk increases significantly.

All-Luminum Case
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/InterimRentAllLuminumCase_32014.pdf

Amplicon Case
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/InterimRentAmpliconCase_32014.pdf

Edison Case
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/InterimRentEdisonCase_32014.pdf

Underwriters Case
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/InterimRentUnderwritersCase_32014.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/Conscious-Top%20Stories/leasing_cases.htm

 

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Sales Make it Happen
by Christopher Menkin

Don't Save Your Best Shot

Depending on the situation, in addition to using Merchant Cash Advance as with Channel Partner or  Rapid Advance for a Line of Credit, you need a longer term to get a lower monthly payment or the situation doesn't fit.  You need to come to the table with what will gain you an approval. Don't negotiate with your credit department as it will affect the next deal you bring them. You also may not get your lessee to agree.

Think beforehand what will make your credit grantor buy your deal. Put your hat on as if you are a credit decision maker. Sit across the table and say if someone brought you this, what would make you most comfortable to approve it. Get this agreed in advance with your customer. Don't let the sale cool down or a competitor steal your deal. Don't go back and forth. Most of all, don’t save you best shot, but know the credit and what you need to do to put the deal together.

EFA
As credit criteria are changing, you as a sales person need to change with it. This means looking at other ways of convincing your company or funder to accept a transaction. If there is too much soft cost or other equipment problems, consider an "Equipment Finance Agreement," often called an "EFA." Since most leases are $1.00 residuals, an EFA often is more attractive as the lessee becomes a debtor and problems stemming from being a lessee may make a difference, particularly on certain equipment and/or situations.

Security Deposit
Try selling two or more month’s payments as security deposits to the lessee to speed up the process. A typical lease requires one month as a security deposit. This deposit may not be considered income but an actual "security deposit," not deducted from the stream of payments. It is not earned until the end of the lease and most commonly is used in lieu of the last lease payment. Many funders see this as an advantage.

Many "C" and "D" credit require this. Also see if getting a 10% purchase option at the signing of the lease may make a difference to the credit grantor.

In the early 1970's, it was most common for most leases to be written first and ten percent (the ten percent the purchase option paid in advance.)

In ‘hard” credits, it is not uncommon for a lessor to require a ten, or twenty-five, and sometimes a fifty percent deposit. Usually there is not any interest earned on this deposit to the lessee. Often the deposit is not held for the full length of the lease, but a specific time limit and other requirements, such as a history of payments made on time or financial criteria. The deposit is an incentive to obtain a credit approval on the lessee and equipment.

My advice: go in strong to the credit grantor. Get as much as you can get to make the first decision a “yes,“ not a “maybe” or “if” answer. If you go in with more security deposits or additional collateral, you may win the deal with the credit department.

Several “story credit” companies have such requirements. Perhaps your credit decision maker may consider the “abundance of caution,” as bankers call this action.

Vehicles
Contrasting warrants, smaller transactions, or where there is not much credit as the applicant pays everything by cash, or the company is new, pink slips to vehicles are held by the lessor. A vehicle appraisal, condition report, and department of motor vehicle processing are required. In many states, the highway patrol or motor vehicle department can perform a condition report.

Often a third-party vehicle dealer is used for both the appraisal and vehicle condition report. The lessor may utilize a "blue book" and sight inspection by a leasing officer or dis-interested third party, such as an auto dealer not involved in the transaction.

In the past we have written several of these leases, trading pink slips for collateral substitution. This is more common with new tow truck operators or sub-contractors in the construction industry. It also works with small ticket transactions where the owner pays cash instead of credit with their suppliers.

Additional Guarantors
Often corporate shareholders will guarantee a new company, especially if a best friend or relative and a shareholder. We have had mothers and fathers guarantee for their children's new company or management of their existing company. This applies to all ages. We had a 68 year old mother guarantee her son's expansion of his business. We were very glad when the lease was completed because no matter the financial situation of the guarantor, we did not want to collect from mom.

Normally, the guarantor is a "blood relative." Sometimes it is a corporate guarantor, such as from a corporation out of the state, often foreign, who has started a "presence" and new corporation in the United States. In California, we have several leases guaranteed by a Canadian, Israel, British, or Finnish parent corporation. We also have leases from out of state corporations, such as one guaranteed by the Texas Corporation parent or former corporation who sold one of their companies to their employees in an ESOP plan.

The older credit days of obtaining a guarantee from a best friend are gone. Creditors found when it came to collecting money from best friends, the friendship ended and only the attorneys were paid.

Other Equipment
Informal appraisals from dealers or other parties are most common, using the depreciation schedule in the tax return to verify cost of equipment and value of the equipment. It is not uncommon to require 150% of the depreciated value in lieu of a formal appraisal that may cost the lessee three percent of the evaluation from a professional appraiser.

A UCC search and appraisal are often required (informal to formal) to $250 to verify that the equipment is "free and clear" from other blanket liens or specific liens and it is worth a specific value. It is not uncommon for the process to take two to four weeks longer to clear up liens that have not been released or for debtors to be paid off. Often this is also viewed as a "sale-leaseback," meaning a bulk rate filing in a local newspaper for ten days is also required.

So called “hard collateral” equipment also may have a factor in the valuation procedure. Some story credit specialize in this, and even offers a lower rate for additional collateral to make them more comfortable with the transaction.

CD's
This is very similar to cash, except the lessee earns the interest on the "deposit" Often the Certificate of Deposit is held at the lessor's bank.

It sometimes is held at the lessee's bank, but there are many restrictions and procedures in place. It is also not uncommon to find the CD from a "guarantor" or third party, such as a company that will realize the appreciation of the equipment and performance of the lessee with the equipment. Trusts and other entities may also have the ability to pledge a certificate of deposit. Time limit and other considerations may be made, depending primarily on the size of the transaction and situation.

This is common in startups who want to show the cash on their financial statement or not give up stock for the granting of credit. It also may be from a dealer, a customer, a relative, who doesn't want to guarantee, but has cash and will allow it as a source to guarantee the transaction. The cash should be in the lessor's name with interest to the lessee.

These are generally leases where the lessee qualifies for a smaller lease, but wants a large lease and the company is often moving to a major plateau.

Letters of Credit
The lessee obtains a letter of credit through their bank. It may come from their bank relationship, meaning accounts receivable, other loans, or personal guarantees of value to the bank. Costs are normally between two to three percent per year; with other fees; depending on the size of the letter of credit.

The letter of credit may also be in a step manner, meaning each year the dollar amount decreases as the lease is paid out. It is most common for the letter of credit to cover the entire stream of payments, not just the cost of the equipment.

Sometimes the letter of credit replaces a personal guarantee, a restriction of the nature of the equipment We completed a $300,000 letter of credit lease with a law firm, utilizing one personal guarantee and none of the other partners. We completed a $75,000 lease with a letter of credit and other equipment as collateral. We like letters of credit more than a cash deposit, but ranked number two because in the leasing business, additional security deposits are more common.

Stock
In this instance, the stock is most common physically held by the lessor or its bank or stock broker. There are instances when the stock is held by a third party. It is not uncommon for the stock to be valued at 50% of its selling price, or in other words, on a $50,000 lease, $100,000 worth of publicly traded stock to be held by the lessor. In all the instances I have seen, the full dollar amount of the lease is required to be covered by a publicly traded stock, municipal bond, or other such instrument plus 50%. Sometimes it is higher.

Warrants are a form of stock. This is very common in Venture Backed Leases. A warrant is issued by the lessee, meaning the value of the stock "today" is promised to the lessor with the ability to purchase at any time in the future (there can be time limits, but not common to require). This gives the lessor the advantage that a new company starting out with a stock value of $5 may go to $50, or better yet, split several times, and it multiplies to be worth $125 or more in three to five years. It is an incentive to extend credit to a company not turning a profit or expected to turn a profit for several years. It is also attractive to investors or smaller leasing companies who are willing to extend credit with warrants.

This instrument has become so popular with banks and venture capital groups in the last few years, that the dollar amount considered has gone down to $100,000 (usually the minimum was $500,000).

Second Mortgages
Previously, this was considered almost as good as cash, particularly if it was the residence of the personal guarantor.

Equipment, vehicles, and other assets may be free and clear, but often today a second mortgage is not as attractive as it was in the past---but don't overlook it, especially if needed to make the equipment financing go forward.

Many banks still like the real estate as better collateral than equipment.

Sales Makes it Happen articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Legacy/index.html

 

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Update

Twelve Attorneys Against Evergreen Abuse

The original intention of the Evergreen clause in an equipment leasing contract was to have an alternative to when the lessee did not exercise the residual at the end of the contract. Often the clause calls for an automatic additional twelve months when the residual is not resolved.

In most cases, the lessor notifies the lessee that the residual will be due, often ninety days in advance. However, often there is nothing in the contract that requires the lessor to notify the lessee regarding the expiration of the contract.

Contrarily, many small ticket lessors do not notify the lessee, and automatically continue the lease, often via an ACH or continued billing, which often goes unnoticed until many payments have already been made.

Leasing News would like to see an industry standard that lessees are notified in advance of the expiration of their contract regarding its termination. We support the clause, and the notification requirement is wide open, meaning 90, 60, even 30 days and by telephone or mail.

This list of attorneys agrees with this and will be available to lessees, sometimes able to help them without a fee, or at a reduced rate, in an effort to end the abuse of Evergreen clause leases.

Jim Coston
Coston & Coston LLC
105 W. Adams Street
Suite 1400
Chicago, Illinois 60603
(312) 205-1010
jcoston@costonlaw.com
(In 1998, he was elected to the United Association of Equipment
Leasing Board of Directors, and in 2003-04 was the first
attorney to become UAEL President, very active in his political party.)

Ronald J. Eisenberg
Schultz & Associates LLP
640 Cepi Drive, Suite A
Chesterfield, MO 63005
(636) 537-4645 x108
(636) 537-2599 (fax)
www.sl-lawyers.com
(Proven Leasing Litigator, well respected by all sides)

Ronald P. Gossett
Gossett & Gossett, P.A.
400 Seridan Street, Building I
Hollywood, Florida
954-983-2828
Fax: 954-983-2850
rongossett@gossettlaw.com
(Many cases including NorVergence, Brican, among others, a winner)

Ken Greene
Law Offices of Kenneth Charles Greene
5743 Corsa Avenue Suite 208
Westlake Village, California 91362
Tel: 818.575.9095
Fax: 805.435.7464
Skype: 424.235.1658
kenlaw100@gmail.com
(Ken was involved in the formation of Leasing News and
represented it (pro bono) in the early days.)

Peter S. Hemar, Esq.
Hemar & Associates, Attorneys at Law
2001 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 510
Santa Monica, CA 90403
Telephone: (310) 829-1948
Fax: (310) 829-1352
phemar@hemar.com
(My firm supports the clause giving lessees advance 
notice of the expiration of their contract.)

Brandon J. Mark
Attorney at Law, Admitted in Utah and Oregon
Parsons Behle & Latimer
201 South Main Street, Suite 1800
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Direct Dial 801.536.6958
Facsimile 801.536.6111
www.parsonsbehle.com
BMark@parsonsbehle.com
(His firm represents banks who buy leases, and his
clients refuse to buy these types of leases.)

Barry S. Marks
MARKS & ASSOCIATES, P.C.
Financial Center - Suite 1615
505 North 20th Street
Birmingham, Alabama 35203
P. O. Box 11386
Birmingham, Alabama 35202
barry@leaselawyer.com
www.leaselawyer.com
205.251.8303
fax 278.8905 (Direct) 251.8305 (Main)
(Well-known to the leasing industry, also Alabama Poet)

Tom McCurnin
Barton, Klugman & Oetting
350 South Grand Ste. 2200
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Voice: (213) 617-6129
Fax: (213) 625-1832
Cell: (213) 268-8291
Email: tmccurnin@bkolaw.com
(Leasing News Advisor/Leasing News Legal Editor,
Well-Known top Leasing Litigator)

Frank Peretore
Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi
West Orange, New Jersey
csglaw.com/biographies/frank-peretore 
Phone 973-530-2058
fperetore@csglaw.com
(Experienced leasing attorney, aggressive, author, active
National Equipment Finance Association, ELFA, too)

Ellen Stern
Ellen Michele Stern
17630 El Mineral Rd
Perris, CA 92570
951-443-4000
leaselaw@msn.com
(Long time Southern California leasing attorney, well-respected)

Kevin E. Trabaris, Partner
Latimer LeVay Fyock LLC
55 W Monroe St
Suite 1100
Chicago, IL 60603
Work: 312.667.1354
Cell: 847.840.4687
Email: ktrabaris@llflegal.com
llflegal.com/attorneys/kevin-trabaris
"In my career, I’ve repeatedly seen this provision misused
by unscrupulous lessors and think it’s a bad idea for both
the lessee and the lessor."

Michael J. Witt, Esq.
MICHAEL J. WITT LAW OFFICES
4342 Oakwood Lane
West Des Moines, IA 50265
Tel: (515) 657-8706
Mobile: (515) 868-1067
Fax: (515) 223-2352
email: MWitt@Witt-Legal.com
 Web:  www.witt-legal.com
(Former Advanta Leasing
and Wells Fargo Equipment Finance attorney)

 

(Leasing News provides this ad as a trade for investigative
reporting provided by John Kenny)

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-25/smartphones-overtake-computers-as-top-e-commerce-traffic-source

2016 Retail Sales Forecast Upgraded
Expected to Grow 3.4%
https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/national-retail-federation-upgrades-2016-economic-forecast

Apple reports Q3 revenues of $42.4bn,
    sells more iPhones than expected
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/companies/apple-q3-revenues-iphone

Accountant Suspended Over Failure to Spot Fraud
 failed to detect fraudulent sales/identify related-party transactions
http://ww2.cfo.com/auditing/2016/07/accountant-suspended-failure-spot-fraud/

To attract younger clients, financial advisors
    step up tech game
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/24/to-attract-younger-clients-advisors-step-up-tech-game.html

Bitcoin 'not real money' says Miami judge
    in closely watched ruling
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jul/26/bitcoin-not-real-money-miami-judge

ORIX Ventures Changes Name to ORIX Growth Capital
 investments starting $5 million/growing to $50 million
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160726006411/en/ORIX-Ventures-ORIX-Growth-Capital#.V5e9i6cLpjw.linkedin

Portland home values grew fastest in U.S.
       for eighth straight month
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2016/07
/portland_home_values_grew_fast.html#incart_big-photo

U.K. greenlights Amazon for ‘groundbreaking’ drone tests
 technology could make parcel delivery cheap
http://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/uk-greenlights-amazon-for-ground-breaking-drone-tests/

Inside Sales Manager San Francisco We are currently seeking qualified talent to be primarily responsible for overseeing the Inside Sales Department within the Vendor business group of the Equipment Finance Division, while developing and improving policies and procedures to properly support high production volume. For more information click here www.bankofthewest.com

 

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

--You May Have Missed It

comScore New Mobile Data Inputs
mobile audience’s offline habits, interests, preferences, opinions
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comscore-enhances-plan-metrix-solution-with-mobile-data-inputs-300304086.html

 

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

SparkPeople--Live Healthier and Longer

9 Great Exercises for Neck Pain
http://www.sparkpeople.com/blog/
blog.asp?post=the_9_best_exercises_for_neck_pain

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

Baseball Poem

there Is nothing, in sport, like a new baseball
by Tim Peeler

Without seeing one, I can feel it in
My hand, fresh from an umpire's dark blue
Canvas bag: a sweet white sphere—but not as
Smooth as one might think a palomino's 
Forgiving hide.
It feels a bit like your dry face after
A very close shave, and the odor is
Quite like a new leather belt or wallet—
A good pitcher could smell the sharp break in
The face of the rock—and every baseball
Has one: a mouth, closed eyelids, a low brow,
The receding hairline of red stitches.
In sport what can you compare with this orb?
A puck? A grainy leather basketball?
Without seeing one, I can feel how it
Rests in the open palm of my right hand,
The excitement of placing two fingers
With or against the lightly rising seams,
Rubbing it with my glove propped between my
Elbow and hip while a batter fidgets
Inside a perfectly fresh line of chalk.
--- with the permission of the author, from his
book of baseball poetry:
“Waiting for Godot's First Pitch”

More Poems from Baseball
available from Amazon
or direct from the publisher at: www.mcfarlandpub.com

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

Sports Briefs----

Aaron Rodgers reveals the true meaning
   of Peyton Manning's 'Omaha' call
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/aaron-rodgers-reveals-the-true-meaning-of-peyton-mannings-omaha-call/

Ranking all 32 NFL teams by likability
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/07/ranking-all-32-nfl-teams-by-likability

Colin Kaepernick undergoes final check up,
   expected to be healthy for camp
http://ninerswire.usatoday.com/2016/07/26/colin-kaepernick-undergoes-final-check-up-expected-to-be-healthy-for-camp/

Anquan Boldin headed to Detroit on 1-year deal
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/report-anquan-boldin-is-headed-to-the-detroit-lions-on-a-one-year-deal/

 Anthony Davis' relationship with 49ers repaired
http://www.csnbayarea.com/49ers/rosenhaus-anthony-davis-relationship-49ers-repaired

John Madden to present Ken Stabler for HOF induction
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000676792/article/john-madden-to-present-ken-stabler-for-hof-induction

 

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

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

California Nuts Briefs---

California State Fair attendance drops 14 percent
http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/state-fair/article91821437.html

Tribe halts construction on Yuba casino
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article91983312.html

Latest algae bloom, in Discovery Bay, threatens way of life
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Latest-algae-bloom-in-Discovery-Bay-threatens-8425495.php

Dangerous algae contaminates Shasta Lake
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Dangerous-algae-contaminates-Shasta-Lake-8380236.php

 

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

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

“Gimme that Wine”

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

Wine professor Denis Dubourdieu dies
http://www.decanter.com/wine-news/professor-denis-dubourdieu-dies-320918-320918/

Wine Country Cases receives funding
http://napavalleyregister.com/business/wine-country-cases-receives-funding/article_a0af4664-8999-5aa8-8529-fb7893927a2c.html

Sunset Magazine names Paso Robles, ‘Best Wine Country Town’
http://pasoroblesdailynews.com/sunset-magazine-names-paso-robles-best-wine-country-town/59204/

California Crop Forecast: 4 Million Tons
http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?
section=news&content=171850

Barefoot Tramples Other Top Wine Brands
http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?
section=news&content=171736

Mateus Rose Winning Over Millennials this Summer
https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2016/07/mateus-rose-winning-over-millennials-this-summer/

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

     1586 – Sir Walter Raleigh delivered tobacco for the first time to England from Virginia.
    1686 - Birthday of Mary Peck Butterworth (1686-1775) in Rehoboth, MA.  She was a colonial counterfeiter. In 1722, Mary Peck Butterworth's husband bought her a huge, fancy house that aroused the suspicion of authorities. (She couldn't buy the house herself because the law forbade married women owning anything on their own. It all belonged to the husband.) Even though the couple was investigated by the authorities - and two of their "gang" turned state's evidence - there were no convictions.   It seems that Mrs. Butterworth developed a currency-counterfeiting process that used cloth that was immediately burned instead using the usual counterfeiting tell-tale copper plates. The cloth "plate" evidence went up in flames after each use so the prosecution's evidence disappeared in smoke. According to the evidence given against her by her relatives who assisted her, she used a hot iron to press a piece of starched cotton over a bill to transfer the pattern. Using the same method, she transferred the pattern to paper from the cloth. Then with a series of quills, she inked the note by hand into an almost perfect note. She organized a true kitchen-cottage industry, using her family including her brother and his wife who turned state's evidence. She was said to be a tough task boss. She got so good at the business that she expanded her operation into wholesaling bogus bills at half price.  Members of the organization were arrested, but all were acquitted. It is said she gave up counterfeiting after that.
http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/13384.html
    1775 - Dr. Benjamin Church (1734-78) was named Surgeon General of the Continental Army. He was a traitor and spy who was caught passing information and jailed on November 7, 1775. He had passed on information regarding several battles, including the Battle of Lexington, and was privy to troop movement, strength, and strategy. On a second attempt of sending information to the enemy via a lady friend, his letter was intercepted and the decoded. General Washington conducted the court martial. Church was sentenced to a life term in prison. He began his incarceration, but ill health enabled him to return to Boston where he was paroled. Church received permission to immigrate to the West Indies; the ship that provided his passage was lost at sea. It was later learned with certainty that Church had been in the pay of General Gage and had furnished the British with a detailed description of colonial military plans and equipment several weeks before Lexington and Concord.
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1245.html
http://members.aol.com/tjoschultz/baker.html
    1777 - The beautiful Jane McCrea (1752-77) was murdered and scalped for her long blond hair supposedly by Indians allied with the British General Burgoyne. Subsequent investigation indicated she might have been killed by a stray shot and not by Indians. The scalping horrified everyone and helped unite the colonies against British rule. A monument now marks the spot where she was originally buried.   The story of her life and death entered American folklore, and was used by James Fenimore Cooper in “The Last of the Mohicans” and Kenneth Lewis Roberts in “Rabble in Arms.”
http://www.4peaks.com/fkmcrea.htm
    1777 - The Marquis of Lafayette arrived in New England to help the rebellious colonists fight the British.
    1789 - Department of State founded. The first presidential cabinet department, called the Department of Foreign Affairs, was established by the Congress. In September, the name was changed to Department of State.  This original legislation remains the basic law of the State Department.
    1806 - Attempting to stop a band of young Blackfoot Indians from stealing his horses, Meriwether Lewis shoots an Indian in the stomach.  Lewis awoke to the shouts of one his men as the Indians were attempting to steal their rifles and horses. Lewis sped after two Indians who were running off with several of the horses, calling out for them to stop or he would shoot. One Indian, armed with an old British musket, turned toward Lewis. Apparently fearing that the Indian was about to shoot, Lewis fired first and hit him in the stomach. The Indians retreated, and the men quickly gathered their horses. Lewis then learned that one of his men had also fatally stabbed another of the Blackfoot. Fearing the survivors would soon return with reinforcements, Lewis and his men immediately broke camp. They rode south quickly and managed to escape any retribution from the Blackfoot. Lewis' diplomatic mission, however, had turned into a debacle. By killing at least one Indian, and probably two, Lewis had guaranteed that the already hostile Blackfoot would be unlikely to deal peacefully with Americans in the future.
    1816 - US troops destroyed the Seminole Fort Apalachicola to punish the Indians for harboring runaway slaves.
    1841 - Linda Richards (1841-1930) birthday in W. Potsdam, NY.  U.S. nurse and educator. She received the first diploma from the first school of nursing opened in the U.S. This pioneering school was run by Dr. Susan Dimock at the New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston. She went on to establish training schools for nurses as well as directing several hospitals.  She retired in 1911 at age 70 when she wrote her autobiography, “Reminiscences of Linda Richards.”
http://www.northnet.org/stlawrenceaauw/richards.htm
http://www.nurses.info/personalities_linda_richards.htm
http://www.aahn.org/gravesites/richards.html
    1853 - Birthday of Architect Cyrus Lazelle Warner Eidlitz (d. 1921), NYC.  He is best known for designing One Times Square, the former New York Times Building on Times Square. He is founder of the architecture firm presently known as HLW International, one of the oldest architecture firms in the United States.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jul27.html
    1857 - Birthday of Jose Celso Barbosa (1857-1921) at Bayamon, Puerto Rico.  Puerto Rican physician and patriot, his birthday is a holiday in Puerto Rico.
    1861 - Union General George McClellan took command of the Army of the Potomac from McDowell.  A graduate of West Point, McClellan served with distinction during the Mexican-American War, and later left the Army to work in railroads until the outbreak of the Civil War.  Early in the war, McClellan was appointed to the rank of major general and played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army, which would become the Army of the Potomac; he served a brief period (November 1861 to March 1862) as general-in-chief of the Union Army.  After the defeat of the Union forces at Bull Run on July 21, 1861, Lincoln summoned McClellan and appointed him commander of the Military Division of the Potomac, the main Union force responsible for the defense of Washington.
    1866 - Atlantic Telegraph cable successfully completed.
    1868 - Uniforms for mail carriers were authorized by Congress. Before this date, mail carriers could dress in any manner.
    1878 - Birthday of Genevieve Rose Cline (1878-1959) in Warren, OH.  She was the first woman appointed a U.S. federal judge. She earned her law degree at 44. President Harding appointed her as an appraiser of merchandise shipped through customs in Cleveland, Ohio. In spite of strong objections because she was a woman, she won confirmation in the U.S. Senate as Judge in the Customs Court and served in that capacity 1928-1953.
    1898 - Marines from the USS Dixie were the first to raise the American flag over Puerto Rico.
    1904 – John McGraw and John Brush said they have no intention of playing a post-season series with the American League champions. "Ban Johnson [American league president] has not been on the level with me personally, and the American League management has been crooked more than once." says McGraw. "When we clinch the National League pennant, we'll be champions of the only real Major League." Ban Johnson fires back: "No thoughtful patron of baseball can weigh seriously the wild vaporings of this discredited player who was canned from the American League." As the New York Highlanders battle for the AL pennant, local pressure mounts, but Brush, still angry over the inter-league peace treaty, and McGraw, who despises Ban Johnson, are adamant. Accordingly, there was no 1904 World Series.
    1905 - Birthday of Leo Durocher (1905-91) at West Springfield, MA. He began his Major League baseball career with the New York Yankees in 1925. He also played for the St. Louis Cardinals' "Gashouse Gang" and the Brooklyn Dodgers, where he first served as player-manager in 1939. It was during that season that he used the phrase "Nice guys finish last," which would become his trademark. As a manager, he guided the New York Giants into two World Series, winning in 1954. Following a five-year period away from baseball, he resurfaced as a coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1961. In 1966, he signed with the Chicago Cubs as manager.   After leaving the Cubs, he spent one season with the Houston Astros, and then retired from baseball in 1973.  Durocher was elected into the Baseball Hall of fame in 1994.
    1909 - The record for the longest airplane flight was set by Orville Wright (1871-1948) who was testing the United States Army’s first airplane. Wright kept the craft aloft for 1 hour, 12 minutes and 40 seconds over Fort Myer, Virginia.
    1919 - The Chicago race riot of 1919 began and ended on August 3.  During the riot, thirty-eight people died (23 African American and 15 white) and over five hundred were injured.  It is considered the worst of the approximately 25 riots during the Red Summer, so named because of the violence and fatalities across the nation.  The combination of prolonged arson, looting, and murder was the worst race rioting in Illinois history.
    1921 - Dr. Frederick Banting and his assistant at the University of Toronto Medical School, Charles Best, gave insulin to a dog whose pancreas had been removed. In 1922, insulin was first administered to a diabetic, a 14-year-old boy.
    1921 - Baseball fan Reuben Berman brought suit in New York County Supreme Court against the New York Giants, alleging that on May 16 the Giants had “wrongfully and unlawfully imprisoned and detained” him and threatened him with arrest. Berman further alleged that he was “greatly humiliated before a large crowd of people…and thereby was caused mental and bodily distress and was thereby greatly injured in his character and reputation and in his physical health” Berman’s crime? He refused to return a foul ball he had caught to a stadium attendant. Allowing fans to keep foul balls was not a general practice, but the court awarded Berman $100 and thus fans were allowed to keep a caught foul ball.
Thank you, Reuben Berman.
    1922 - Birthday of Julius “Papa Cairo” Lamperez (1922-99) in New Orleans. Louisiana Hall of Fame member played steel guitar with Cajun and Western swing bands for 64 years.  The New Orleans native sang on Chuck Guillory & His Rhythm Boys' 1949 hit, "Big Texas;" he later toured with Ernest Tubb, and recorded with Harry Choates and Chuck Guillory.
    1922 – Norman Lear was born in New Haven, CT.  Lear is a prolific television writer and producer who produced such 1970s hit sitcoms as “All in the Family,” “Sanford and Son,“ “One Day at a Time,“ “The Jeffersons,“ “Good Times,” and “Maude.”  Lear enlisted in September 1942, serving in the Mediterranean Theater as a radio operator/gunner on B-17 bombers.  He flew 52 combat missions, for which he was awarded the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters.
    1927 – 18-year-old Mel Ott hit his first Major League homer, an inside-the-parker. It is the only inside-the-park homer the Hall of Famer hit of his 511 career homers.
    1928 - At Chicago's Comiskey Park, A’s outfielder Ty Cobb started for the last time in a regular-season game. The 41-year-old "Georgia Peach" singled and doubled before being hit in the chest with a pitch.  He left the game hitting .332 and he retired at season’s end at age 41.
    1929 – Harvey Fuqua (d. 2010), lead singer of The Moonglows, was born in Louisville, KY.  The group, billed as Harvey and the Moonglows, had immediate success with "Ten Commandments of Love" (number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100). Fuqua left the group in 1958.  The Moonglows reunited temporarily in 1972 and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.  He is notable as one of the key figures in the development of the Motown label. His group gave Marvin Gaye a start in his music career. Fuqua and his wife at the time, Gwen Gordy, distributed the first Motown hit single, Barrett Strong’s “Money (That’s What I Want)," on their record label, Anna Records. Fuqua later sold Anna Records to Gwen's brother Berry Gordy and became a songwriter and executive at Motown.
    1933 - By the summer of 1933, the Great Depression had long since spread from the shores of the United States to vast chunks of Europe. Earlier in the decade, the US' decision to raise revenues by adopting hefty tariffs had shattered Europe's fragile finances. Awash in red ink, Europe's leaders imposed their own stringent set of duties on US goods, causing international trade to grind to a halt and both the US and Europe to sink further into the depths of the Depression.
    1933 – Nick Reynolds (d. 2008), one of the founding members of The Kingston Trio, was born in San Diego.  At Menlo College in 1954, he met Bob Shane, who introduced him to Dave Guard.  The Kingston Trio was largely inspired by The Weavers, but carried the concept of a folk-group, especially one featuring a guitar/banjo combination, further into the mainstream of mid-to-late 50s popular music. They are generally credited with the immense popularity of the genre at that time and since.  In turn, the Trio became an early inspiration to countless groups, including The Beach Boys — whose striped shirts, on their first album cover, intentionally emulated what the Kingston Trio wore — and Peter, Paul, and Mary — who owe their fundamental concept as a mainstream, folk/pop group, to its originators, The Kingston Trio and The Weavers.
    1937 - Birthday of jazz vibraphonist Charlie Shoemake in Houston, TX.
http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/shoemake_charlie/bio.jhtml
http://talsanmusic.com/charlie/
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/reviews/r0703_060.htm
http://ubl.artistdirect.com/store/artist/album/full/
0%2C%2C492644%2C00.html
http://ubl.artistdirect.com/store/artist/album/0,,1131096,00.html
    1940 - Bugs Bunny made his official debut in the Warner Bros. animated cartoon "A Wild Hare." Three years later, Bugs would be made an honorary Corporal of the US Marine Corps after the release of the short “Super Rabbit” in which he is portrayed a parody of Superman. Bugs abandons his colorful costume, faces the camera, and proclaims that "This looks like a job for a real Superman!" Then he reappears from the phone booth wearing a uniform of the United States Marine Corps. His former antagonists snap to attention and salute Bugs as he marches into the horizon singing the Marine Corps Hymn.
    1942 - In New York City, Peggy Lee (1920-2002) recorded her first hit record. With instrumentals provided by the Benny Goodman band, Peggy sang "Why Don’t You Do Right" for Columbia Records.
    1943 - *PETRARCA, FRANK J., Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Medical Detachment, 145th Infantry, 37th Infantry Division. Place and date: At Horseshoe Hill, New Georgia, Solomon Islands, 27 July 1943. Entered service at: Cleveland, Ohio. Birth: Cleveland, Ohio. G.O. No.: 86, 23 December 1943. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty. Pfc. Petrarca advanced with the leading troop element to within 100 yards of the enemy fortifications where mortar and small-arms fire caused a number of casualties. Singling out the most seriously wounded, he worked his way to the aid of Pfc. Scott, lying within 75 yards of the enemy, whose wounds were so serious that he could not even be moved out of the direct line of fire Pfc Petrarca fearlessly administered first aid to Pfc. Scott and 2 other soldiers and shielded the former until his death. On 29 July 1943, Pfc. Petrarca. during an intense mortar barrage, went to the aid of his sergeant who had been partly buried in a foxhole under the debris of a shell explosion, dug him out, restored him to consciousness and caused his evacuation. On 31 July 1943 and against the warning of a fellow soldier, he went to the aid of a mortar fragment casualty where his path over the crest of a hill exposed him to enemy observation from only 20 yards distance. A target for intense knee mortar and automatic fire, he resolutely worked his way to within 2 yards of his objective where he was mortally wounded by hostile mortar fire. Even on the threshold of death he continued to display valor and contempt for the foe, raising himself to his knees, this intrepid soldier shouted defiance at the enemy, made a last attempt to reach his wounded comrade and fell in glorious death.
    1943 - On a whim, and flying a single engine AT-6, Lieutenant Ralph O'Hair and Colonel Duckworth were the first to fly into a hurricane. It started regular Air Force flights into hurricanes
    1943 - Birthday of soul and gospel singer Mary Love (d. 2013), born Mary Ann Varney, Sacramento, CA
http://www.soulfulkindamusic.net/mlove.htm
http://www.musicstack.com/search/love,_mary.html
    1944 – Bobbie Gentry was born Roberta Lee Streeter in Chickasaw County, MS.  One of the first female country artists to compose and produce her own material, she rose to international fame with her "Ode to Billy Joe" in 1967.  The track spent four weeks as the No. 1 pop song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, was fourth in the Billboard year-end chart of 1967, and earned her Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1968.
    1948 - Birthday of skater/television personality Peggy Fleming in San Jose, California. She won the national ice skating championships five straight years and won the 1968 Olympic singles title in the most spectacular performance of a woman on ice to that date. She included leaps and maneuvers that no woman had ever done before in competition. She'd spent nearly 20,000 hours in years before age 10 to age 20 to realize her dream, but the victory-memory will always be terribly bruised because her father died of a heart attack only minutes after her victory. Today she is TV commentator and a wine maker along with her husband in Los Gatos, California.
http://www.life.com/Life/covers/1968/cv022368.html
http://www.peggyfleming.net/
    1949 - Singer Maureen McGovern is born in Youngstown, Ohio. Her biggest hit is the million-selling No. 1 song “The Morning After.''
    1949 – The first jet-powered airliner, the DeHaviland Comet, took off on its maiden flight from its UK headquarters.  A year after entering commercial service, the Comets began suffering problems, with three of them breaking up during mid-flight in well-publicized accidents. These were later found to be due to catastrophic metal fatigue that were not well understood at the time. The Comet was withdrawn from service and extensively tested to discover the cause. Design flaws, including dangerous stresses at the corners of the square windows and installation methods, were ultimately identified. As a result, the Comet was extensively redesigned with oval windows, structural reinforcement, and other changes. Rival manufacturers meanwhile heeded the lessons learned from the Comet while developing their own aircraft. 
    1953 - Air Force Captain Ralph S. Parr, 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, achieved the last air victory of the Korean War when he destroyed a Soviet Il-12 transport plane. In addition, the victory qualified him as the 11th and last double ace of the war, with a total of 10 kills.  He also flew in World War II and the Vietnam War, and is the only person to have been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the medal that replaced it, the Air Force Cross.
    1953 - The Armistice agreement ending war that had lasted three years and 32 days was signed at Panmunjom, Korea
(July 26, US time), by US, China, and North Korean delegates. Both sides claimed victory at conclusion of two years, 17 days of truce negotiations.  South Korea President Syngman Rhee refused to sign but pledged to observe the armistice.
    1955 - Chuck Berry's “Maybellene,” entered the R & B charts.  It was Berry's first single and his first hit. "Maybellene" is considered one of the pioneering rock-and-roll songs: Rolling Stone magazine wrote, "Rock & roll guitar starts here."  The record is an early instance of the complete rock-and-roll package: youthful subject matter; a small, guitar-driven combo; clear diction; and an atmosphere of unrelenting excitement.
    1955 - Billboard claims that only two singing stars can be considered guaranteed hit makers these days: Nat King Cole and country star Webb Pierce. Throughout his long and illustrious career, one that extended into 1982, Webb Pierce charted 96 singles, 54 Top Ten songs and 13 No.1 singles. In 1955, three of his tunes topped the charts for an unprecedented 46 weeks... almost the entire year. Using a point scale that takes into account both chart positions and longevity, Joel Whitburn ranks Webb Pierce as the No.1 artist of the 50’s, leagues ahead of Jim Reeves (No.14) Eddy Arnold (No.2) Hank Williams (No.6) and Lefty Frizzell (No.16). It is estimated that his record sales to date total over 65 million copies and his influence can still be felt throughout the world at every age level and in every musical genre.
http://www.slipcue.com/music/country/webbsite/webbintro.html
http://www.webbpierce.net/
http://hammer.prohosting.com/~coollz/webbwords.htm
    1957 - The Bobbettes' first and only Top Forty single, "Mr. Lee," enters the pop charts. The tune is about the trio's high school principal.
    1959 - The brothers, Santo and Johnny (Farina), of Brooklyn, New York released their one and only hit record, the instrumental "Sleepwalk," which would be the number one song for two weeks. "Tear Drop," their next song, only went to number 23 on the pop charts.
    1962 - During the unsuccessful Albany, Georgia movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is arrested and jailed for the third time. During months of protests, Albany's police chief jailed hundreds of demonstrators without visible police violence. Eventually the protesters' energy, and the money to bail out protesters, ran out. The movement was lost, until the spring of 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama.
http://www.africana.com/research/encarta/mlk.asp
http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/publications/autobiography
/chp_16.ht     
    1964 - It is announced that the United States will send an additional 5,000 U.S. troops to Vietnam, bringing the total number of U.S. forces in Vietnam to 21,000. While some advisers, such as Undersecretary of State George Ball, recommended a negotiated settlement, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara urged the president to "expand promptly and substantially" the U.S. military presence in South Vietnam. Johnson, not wanting to "lose" Vietnam to the communists, ultimately accepted McNamara's recommendation. This decision led to a massive escalation of the war.
    1965 - The Beach Boys' "California Girls" is released.
    1966 - The Wisconsin Supreme Court overrules a lower court decision and holds that the state doesn't have the jurisdiction to keep the Braves from moving to Atlanta.
    1968 - The Rascals switched from light rock to making a political statement when they released "People Got to Be Free." The song entered the Hot 100 six weeks after Bobby Kennedy was assassinated and would go on to number one for five weeks, ending up the fifth most popular song of the year.
    1968 - Cass Elliot releases her first solo single following the breakup of The Mamas and Papas. "Dream a Little Dream of Me" had been around since 1931 and had been recorded by Frank Sinatra, Kate Smith, Frankie Laine and many others. Cass' version would be the most successful as it rose to number 12 on Billboard's Hot 100.
    1974 - The House Judiciary Committee voted 27-11 to recommend President Nixon's impeachment on a charge that he had personally engaged in a "course of conduct" designed to obstruct justice in the Watergate case.
    1974 - "Annie's Song," John Denver’s biggest hit song, written for his wife, reached the top of the "Billboard" singles charts. Denver enjoyed three other number 1 songs: "Sunshine on My Shoulders," "Thank God I’m a Country Boy" and "I’m Sorry."
    1974 - Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" is released.
    1976 - Former Beatle John Lennon won formal permission to remain in the United States as a permanent resident and would be eligible for United States citizenship in five years.
    1976 - Bruce Springsteen sued his manager Mike Appel in Manhattan’s U.S. District Court for fraud and breach of contract.  The legal battle with former kept Springsteen out of the studio for nearly a year, during which time he kept the E Street Band together through extensive touring across the US.  Despite the optimistic fervor with which he often performed, his new songs had taken a more somber tone than much of his previous work. Reaching settlement with Appel in 1977, Springsteen returned to the studio, and the subsequent sessions produced “Darkness on the Edge of Town” (1978). Musically, this album was a turning point in Springsteen's career. Gone were the raw, rapid-fire lyrics, outsized characters and long, multi-part musical compositions of the first three albums; now the songs were leaner and more carefully drawn and began to reflect Springsteen's growing intellectual and political awareness.
    1979 - Little Richard, billed as the Reverend Richard Penniman, spoke to a revival meeting in San Francisco about the dangers of rock ‘n’ roll.
    1981 – Adam Walsh, 6-year-old son of John Walsh, was kidnapped near a Sears store in Hollywood, FL and was found murdered two weeks later.  This prompted John to begin a crusade on behalf of missing children and the TV show “America’s Most Wanted.”  Initially, Walsh was considered a prime suspect, later cleared when police concluded that Adam was abducted by a drifter named Ottis Toole, who eventually confessed.
    1984 - Prince's first movie, "Purple Rain" opens nationally.
    1986 - Cyclist Greg Lemond became the first American to win the Tour de France, the most important bicycle race in the world.
    1987 - Freeway shooting incidents were all the news in Los Angeles, California. There had been nine incidents involving vehicles and guns since June 18, 1987. There were actually two motorists shot to death and four others injured.
    1988 - Hot weather prevailed in the north central U.S. Williston, ND reported a record high of 108 degrees. Thunderstorms produced severe weather in the eastern U.S., and in southeastern Texas. Richland County, SC, was soaked with up to 5.5 inches of rain.
    1988 - Boston's worst traffic jam in 30 years. “People in Boston either talk about how the Red Sox are doing or the traffic. But since the I-90 tunnel extension to South Boston opened in January and the I-93 northbound tunnel beneath downtown opened in March—two major elements of the now infamous "Big Dig" project—they only have one of the two to complain about. Rush hour, which used to span 10 to 12 hours, has been cut in half.”
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    1988 - Radio Shack announces the Tandy 1000 SL computer.
    1989 - Thunderstorms produced severe weather from Wisconsin and northern Illinois to New England, with 103 reports of large hail and damaging winds through the day. Thunderstorms in Wisconsin produced hail three inches in diameter near Oshkosh, and wind gusts to 65 mph at Germantown
    1995 – The Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, DC.
    1996 - During the Olympic Games in Atlanta, a bomb exploded in an entertainment park killing two and wounding 110. A man was convicted in the newspapers, then let free, and no other suspect nor the person who set off the bomb has been found to this date.
    1996 - Canadian sprinter Donovan Bailey won the 100 meters at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta in the world record time of 9.84 seconds. The previous mark, set on July 6, 1994 by Leroy Burrell, was 9.85 seconds.
    1998 - Sammy Sosa hits his first career grand slam, establishing the mark for most career homers before hitting a grand slam (247).  Sosa went to bat 4,428 times before drilling the sacks-full homer.    
    2000 - Toronto skipper Jim Fregosi wins his 1,000th game as a big league manager as the Blue Jays beat the Mariners, 7-2.
    2006 – Five-day San Francisco Bay Area heat wave comes to an
end. While it didn't set many all-time temperature records in the Bay Area, it did set records for the number of consecutive days with temperatures above 110." According to Pechner, who uses data from the National Weather Service and Bay Area Air Quality Management District, there were five consecutive days this month with temperatures above 110: July 21 (111 degrees, Vacaville); July 22 (114 degrees, Morgan Hill); and July 23-25 in Rio Vista (110 degrees, 113 degrees, and 111 degrees, respectively). ((Los Gatos/Saratoga had neighborhoods reporting 108 to 110. And in 2015,
Wednesday it is expected to hit 107 to 110.
    2014 - Real estate website company Zillow will buy rival Trulia for $3.5 billion in stock; the company will dominate the market for online searches of real estate.