Leasing Veteran Neil Roth Passes Away

Neil Roth, Vice-President Key Credit Corp., Roswell, Georgia, who joined the company at its founding in January, 1986, passed away due to bladder cancer. Leasing News hopes to have further information in its next edition.

From his daughter Jodi Roth Barton, Facebook: Pelham Parkway “Music of Our Lives:”

"This might be the hardest thing I ever write. My dear, amazing, funny and insanely smart dad lost his battle with bladder cancer last night. He fought long and hard until the very end. He will be missed so much by so many. Our lives will forever be changed and we are so grateful for the time we did have. I know he loved this group so much and he was so proud of it. Please keep it going for him!"

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July 15, 2002 Leasing News Archive
“Bad Times Get Worse-Layoffs Last Longer”

By Sam Zuckerman, San Francisco Chronicle Economics Writer

It's been 18 months since Mary McGuire lost her job as a business development specialist at a Palo Alto software company -- the first real spell of unemployment in her adult life.

Most of the time, the 41-year-old Noe Valley resident shows the same kind of positive, upbeat face to the world that helped make her a success in business, rising early to search the Internet for jobs. By nature, she is confident and optimistic. But there are bad days too.

"There have been times when I cried the whole day, when I burst into tears and say, 'What is going to happen to me?' “McGuire confided.

Two years after the Internet bubble burst, plunging the nation into recession, there are tens of thousands of people like McGuire in the Bay Area - - talented, conscientious individuals, both professional and blue collar, who have been unable to find work for six months or more.

In California, 171,000 people were out of work for more than 26 weeks in June, a jump of 9,000 in one month and up from 109,000 in June 2001. Yet, because of a quirk in federal law, Californians are no longer eligible for a second 13-week extension of unemployment benefits provided for in an emergency economic stimulus package enacted in March.

Separate statistics aren't available for the Bay Area, but labor market experts say the collapse of the region's technology, tourism and travel sectors has devastated employment and made this region one of the nation's centers of long-term joblessness.

Nationwide, the number of workers out of work for more than 26 weeks rose to 1.67 million in June, more than twice as many as the 728,000 people who had been jobless that long in June 2001, according to the Labor Department. The numbers don't include people who want to work but have given up looking.

"It's a very severe problem," said Maurice Emsellem, public policy director of the National Employment Law Project, a group that lobbies for liberalized unemployment benefits. "There are many more long-term unemployed and the number is growing fast."

SILICON VALLEY WORST OFF

Nowhere has been hit harder than Silicon Valley, which rode the tech wave up only to see it crash back down to earth.

"I would call this a tech depression. There are no jobs," said Los Gatos career counselor Patti Wilson.

Blame the persistence of long-term unemployment on a sluggish recovery. After contracting late in 2001, the economy started growing again around the beginning of the year, thanks to steady purchases of homes, cars and electronic gear by ordinary Americans.

But, after a burst of speed in the first quarter, the pace of economic growth has slowed as consumers falter and businesses keep the lid on spending. In such a climate, employers aren't hiring new workers. Forecasters expect unemployment to keep rising this year before gradually falling in 2003.

"Businesses are going to be cautious," said Mary Daly, senior economist at the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank. "They are still very challenged on earnings."

In the tech sector, Wilson thinks the job downturn could stretch for years to come. "I don't think we're going to see anything positive until 2005," she warned.

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Large banks in the U.S. have seen rising default rates on credit cards and loans since pandemic restrictions and historic job losses began in early March. Many banks and credit card companies have reduced or eliminated interest rates and minimum payments for a good part of 2020. Because of this and an overall slow recovery expected by economic experts, data shows that banks are gearing up for an expensive stretch of losses on loans.

According to data collected by Bloomberg, top banks like Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase have continued to increase available provisions for loan losses for the second quarter of 2020 – continuing a trend from the first quarter of drastic increases in loan-loss provisions. JPMorgan Chase reportedly has the highest amount of cash available to overcome the cost of loan defaults, with a predicted $8.4 billion set aside for the second quarter. Close behind is Citigroup with an estimated $6.7 billion, while all other banks are also greatly increasing their upward trend for the year.

Overall, combined Q2 earnings from these four banks are predicted to be the lowest since the Great Recession. Experts are expecting continued losses for the massive companies even if COVID-19 cases start to fall and are under control by the third or fourth quarter of 2020. But cases of the virus aren’t falling, instead rapidly increasing in many parts of the country, which could cause banks to revise estimates for the third quarter to account for even steeper losses.

By William Roper, Editor, Statista

Banks Stockpile Billions as They Prepare for Things to Get Worse
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/business/big-banks-quarterly-results.html

 

Leasepath Joins
Leasing Software Companies

Leasepath USA, Canada, UK info@leasepath.com Leasepath.com

Privately Held

Jeffrey Bilbrey

LOS – Lease & Loan Origination CRM – Customer engagement Process Automation True cloud-first, SaaS Solution

Privately Held

Banks, Independent Finance, Equipment Captive Finance, Automotive Captive Finance & Independent Brokers customers in many countries.

Asset Finance and Leasing Software
for Customer Engagement, Originations and Process
Automation on the Microsoft Cloud

Leasing Software Companies
http://leasingnews.org/Ag_leasing/software.htm

 

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How Top Originator Got the Greatest Results

Sales Makes it Happen by Scott Wheeler, CLFP

A top originator in the commercial equipment leasing and finance industry explained how he has maintained his volume throughout the economic disruption. His primary suggestion is to remain focused on what works. This veteran originator clearly remembers l the lessons learned from the 2008-09 downturn. He explained how his recovery in 2009 didn't begin until he focused on one major sector. He focused on transactions that could be approved, won, and funded. His recovery started when he no longer focused on being busy; but rather he became busy once he focused on being an effective originator. 

In March of 2020, this seasoned originator did not waste any time. He immediately became focused on only those transactions which he knew fully matched his capabilities. He understands quality assets are priority number one. He is more forceful in his presentations. He is more confident in requesting more information. He is unapologetic about his programs, rates, and credit requirements. He qualifies every potential client upfront before submitting an application, because he knows that internal resources are valuable and limited. This seasoned originator has gained greater respect both internally, with his staff and externally, with his vendors and end-users; because he is focused on saving time and funding more transactions.

Originators throughout the industry can benefit from the lessons learned during the 2008 downturn. Top originators are always focused on their real capabilities. However, during tougher times, originators must be more acutely aware of efficiencies and effectiveness. They must focus on opportunities which produce the greatest results. 

Scott A. Wheeler, CLFP
Wheeler Business Consulting
1314 Marquis Ct.
Fallston, Maryland 21047
Phone: 410 877 0428
Fax: 410 877 8161
Email: scott@wheelerbusinessconsulting.com
Web: www.wheelerbusinessconsulting.com 

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

 

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(Terry retired January 1, 2015.  To honor him and his many years of writing for readers of Leasing News, is repeating several of his columns that are still meaningful today. Here is August 12, 2013.)

Qualifying Lessee’s Credit

While the Internet has brought many changes in the way leasing business is being conducted, often by smartphone, information sent and received over the Internet, and the reliance particularly in the small ticket marketplace of obtaining the last three month’s worth of bank statements, often turns into a quick “no.” The one-two procedure inhibits an approval as well as a relationship for repeat business by being of help to your client, or if you are a credit investigator, overlooking what is really a good piece of business.

I know the trend is to say you can approve a lease in 15 minutes, an hour, two hours, or just plain very fast. Many are missing some good opportunities by not going the extra distance.

You can use typical credit reporting agencies to qualify the credit of your lessee, but on occasion it takes more than credit to qualify a lease transaction. Nothing beats a visit to the client’s place of business. One procedure I like is a walk through the lessee’s operation. If you are observant there is a lot to learn about the lessee from just such a visit. (Yogi: “You can observe a lot by watching).

Questions on your mind should be: how many employees and are they working or just standing around? Is the place clean and organized or dirty and sloppy? How many types of equipment do they have--- and do they look new or used and what shape are they in?

Not done enough today, talk to the landlord to see if the rent has been paid on time or have they been late on occasion. If they own the facilities, talk to the mortgage holder; not just for how they pay the bills, but determine how much equity they have. This can add a lot to make a more positive decision.

All equipment needs maintenance, so check the lessee’s ability to properly maintain the equipment. If they need to take it back to the vendor for maintenance, then check the location of the vendor and the cost of regular repair and the effect of down time. You might even pick up vendor business.

If maintenance is on a regular schedule, then skip payments may be attractive so the available money can be used to keep the equipment in good working order. Think about what you can offer to make the deal.

Is the equipment a necessary part of the company’s operation. How many pieces of like equipment do they have? How have they been maintained? Can they operate without this equipment and is the equipment a replacement or an addition?

Is the lessee looking for additional help or is their labor force intact?  Where do they stand with their competition and how long have they been in business? Paul Menzel’s first company, as I remember, had a credit manager who required the name and telephone number of three competitors to learn more about the company. The responses always helped overcome some slowness in credit by understanding what was happening to the specific industry, and what the competitors told him.

Credit reporting is necessary, but sometimes going the extra distance will help you become more successful with your customers and your approval ratio.

Some of the largest losses in our business came from good credit reports, but any investigation of the current operation would have raised many red flags.

Your extra effort will pay off with building your reputation in the company.
My experience is a good credit investigation often returns a lot more than a financial analysis.

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

 

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AP Equipment Financing Q2 Volume Up 49%
 and Announces Employee Promotions

Navigating the complexities of lending through the COVID pandemic, AP Equipment Financing funded $62.5 million worth of equipment in Q2 2020, representing a 49% growth over Q2 2019. AP financed $99.5 million YTD 2020 vs. $75.8 million in 2019, showing a 31% growth in comparison.

AP employees shifted to work from home at the beginning of Q2 in early March. AP’s quick response to adapting to a new workflow, paired with cloud-hosted services and technology, allowed for AP to be agile during this transition. Furthermore, AP’s customers were offered payment relief options, allowing businesses whose revenues were affected by the pandemic, to defer their payments until their business resumed a modified normalcy.

AP is also proud to announce several promotions that occurred in the second quarter.

• Raquel O’Leary, CLFP was promoted to Chief People Officer in addition to her current role as Chief Operating Officer.
• Nick Fong, CLFP was promoted to Chief Technology Officer in addition to his current role as Chief Marketing Officer.
• And Sarah Uballez was promoted to VP of Treasury and Accounting.

Chris Enbom, CLFP, CEO of AP Equipment Financing, “The terms uncertain and unpredictable have been used a great deal in the past four to five months, and yes, those descriptions are completely accurate. However, acting quickly, decisively and trusting your employees to adapt and thrive in tough and changing conditions can create a solid foundation on which to excel in this continually evolving economy.” Stated Chris Enbom, CLFP, CEO of AP Equipment Financing.

As AP continues to progress through a changing landscape, working from home and meeting exponential growth in revenue. AP looks forward to continued growth during 2020 despite having to navigate new, unprecedented challenges. AP is proud to be a part of Tokyo Century Corporation, who continues to support AP’s growth.

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Maxim Commercial Capital Funds Deals
in 30 States During 2Q 2020

Hard asset-secured lender fulfilled pent-up demand for financing during COVID-19 pandemic

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. –– Maxim Commercial Capital is pleased to report it funded hard asset-secured financings for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) in 30 states across the United States during the second quarter of 2020.  After pivoting quickly in March to safer-at-home working conditions for its 30+ team members, Maxim experienced a steady increase in applications from equipment brokers and vendors for their borrowers with challenged credit.  Maxim lends $10,000 to $3,000,000 to SMBs nationwide secured by heavy equipment and real estate to facilitate asset purchases, working capital and to refinance expensive short term debt.

Behzad Kianmahd, Chairman and CEO, said, “Maxim was founded during the Great Recession of 2008, We are applying our experiences gained during that time to overcome today’s extraordinary economic challenges and long term uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  We have reaffirmed our commitment to finance SMBs, which are the backbone of our economy, refreshed our underwriting standards, and are continually improving our infrastructure by investing in technology and communication tools for the benefit of our customers, vendors, brokers and team members.”

During the second quarter, Maxim received numerous applications from business owners with strong credit but negative cash flow due to the economic downturn. Funded transactions for such borrowers included $95,000 secured by a 2019 Mack GR64F Tri-Axle Dump Truck for a growing landscaping company in New Jersey; $42,500 for a seasoned contractor’s purchase of a 2014 Caterpillar 312E Hydraulic Excavator; and, $29,000 to enable a business started up by seasoned contractors to purchase a 2020 Reinert ZR Concrete Pump. 

Buyers of used class 8 trucks faced numerous challenges during the second quarter, ranging from lenders shutting down without warning to closed DMVs.  Maxim successfully funded deals across the country, including $26,500 for a California-based long-haul truck owner-operator to purchase a 2017 Volvo 780; $20,800 for an Ohio-based transportation company to purchase a 2017 Freightliner Cascadia; and, $23,000 for a Texas-based owner-operator to purchase a 2016 Freightliner Cascadia to replace a truck with mechanical issues.
   

Michael Kianmahd, Executive Vice President, commented, “We are humbled and encouraged by our team’s commitment to positively impact our customers’ future success, and by our customers’ continuous effort to make tough but rational decisions to stay in business during these difficult times.

“Based on our experience over the past few months, we are confident that SMBs across the nation will contribute substantially to the nation’s recovery from the biggest economic shock since The Great Depression.”

About Maxim Commercial Capital
Maxim Commercial Capital helps small and mid-sized business owners seize opportunity by providing financing in amounts up to $3,000,000 secured by heavy equipment and real estate.  Maxim facilitates equipment purchases, provides working capital and refinances debt for companies across all industries located nationwide.  Through Maxim’s tailored financing programs, businesses unlock capital tied up in underleveraged assets, often replacing expensive short-term debt and daily repayment working capital loans with longer term capital. As a leading provider of transportation equipment finance, Maxim funds up to 75% of the acquisition cost of class 8 and class 6 trucks, trailers and reefers for owner-operators and small businesses.  Learn more at www.maximcc.com or by calling 877.776.2946.

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Study Finds Marijuana Legalization in Colorado
Reduced Crime in Neighboring States

For years, law enforcement and opponents of marijuana prohibition have argued that legalizing the controversial plant could lead to a surge in crime in neighborhoods hosting retail marijuana stores and spill over into neighboring states that still prohibit it. There have even been a few studies showing that this is indeed true, but according to researchers going through county-level crime data in municipalities neighboring two states which legalized marijuana, these studies may have been skewed. Ultimately, they found scant evidence that legalizing marijuana increased crime rates.
The research was conducted by Guangzhen Wu of the University of Utah, Francis D. Boateng of the University of Mississippi and Thomas Roney, an economic and statistical consultant based in Texas. The study, published in the Journal of Drug Issues looked at before and after crime data in Washington and Colorado, the first two states to pass adult-use cannabis laws in 2012, seeking to find out how neighboring states were affected after the passage of adult-use cannabis laws.

After studying data on crimes such as robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft, the researchers found that legalizing cannabis may have actually reduced certain major crimes in nearby jurisdictions.

“We did not detect any increases in the rates of multiple types of crimes in border counties of the non-legalized states bordering Colorado and Washington,” wrote the authors of the study. “Moreover, we observed a substantial reduction in certain types of crimes, namely property crime, larceny, and simple assault, in border counties in the Colorado region. This finding challenges the argument made by the opponents of legalization that marijuana legalization would increase crime.”

Existing research proving that legalizing marijuana increases crime rates is skewed and doesn’t account for all variables, the researchers say. Due to federal prohibition, banking institutions avoid working with the cannabis industry, forcing retail marijuana stores to operate on a cash-only basis.

 “As scholars have reasoned, the criminogenic effect of recreational marijuana dispensaries is largely attributable to the fact that marijuana sale is a cash-and-carry business, which exposes both the business and customers to criminal victimization,” says the study.

The researchers argue that decriminalization reduces crime instead, stating in the study that it shrinks “the underground marijuana market that is believed to be fertile soil for violent crime.”
 In fact, the data from Colorado suggested a ‘crime reducing effect’ of recreational marijuana legalization in Colorado on neighboring states. They concluded that recreational marijuana legalization in a state may not bring about negative consequences on crime in neighboring states, which challenges the assertions made by public officials in these neighboring states arguing a crime-inducing effect of legalization.

Analysts say that industry participants like Sugarmade, Inc. (OTCQB: SGMD) will be glad that the misconceptions about the marijuana industry are being dismantled, one at a time, by independent researchers.

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Boxer
Alpharetta, Georgia  Adopt-a-Dog

Bailey
Spayed Female
1 Year Old
Size Medium
Location: West Midtown
Adoption Fee: $250.00

"Hi, I'm Bailey. I look forward to meeting you soon, and I just know we are going to be best friends. I love to be petted and touched, so you can pet me any time... I may even ask to be petted! I don't have much known history with dogs, cats, or kids, but would love to meet your current dog or children to see if we'd get along! Do you think I might be the perfect match for you? I sure hope so. Love, Bailey."

Pre-adoption Application:
https://atlantahumane.org/adoption-application

Atlanta Humane Society
1565 Mansell Road
Alpharetta, GA 30009
404.875.5331 (9 a.m. – 6 p.m.)

Our Alpharetta location is currently open by appointment only.

We are doing virtual adoptions for animals that are currently in our care and are not allowing the public into our facility to view or visit with animals. If you’re interested in adopting, please visit our adoption pages at atlantahumane.org/adopt

http://www.adoptapet.com/

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ELFA Announces “ELFA 2020 Business Live!”
Virtual Conference on Oct. 27-28

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association today announced ELFA 2020 Business Live!, a virtual learning and networking conference for all equipment finance professionals on Oct. 27 and 28. This online event will replace the in-person ELFA Annual Convention originally scheduled to take place in Austin in October.  

In a video message to members, ELFA Board Chair Martha Ahlers and President and CEO Ralph Petta explained that the Board of Directors and professional staff have been monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and, after talking to members and weighing a number of factors, decided that a virtual event is in the best interest of everyone involved.

“A lot has changed in the past few months,” said Ahlers, President of United Leasing & Finance. “It’s more important than ever for us to come together as a community to connect, exchange insights and prepare for what’s coming next. I’m really looking forward to ELFA 2020 Business Live! and encourage as many members as possible to attend.”

“These are extraordinary times as the health and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grip our nation,” said Petta. “We are designing ELFA 2020 Business Live! as a one-of-a-kind gathering for the entire membership and we hope a wide range of members will take advantage of this truly unique opportunity. In addition to our regular ELFA Annual Convention attendees, we hope to see a lot of new faces, including those who planned to attend other events that were cancelled this year, and those who’ve never attended an ELFA Convention.”

At ELFA 2020 Business Live! participants will learn and network on an interactive virtual platform featuring the latest technology tools. The two-day agenda will include expert keynote speakers, focused breakout sessions, unique networking opportunities, an online exhibit hall and more. Participants will have access a range of benefits, including:

• No plane tickets or hotel rooms required—attend from anywhere.
• Drastically discounted registration fees and expanded content, so that industry members representing a wide range of job responsibilities and experience levels can attend.
• Formal and informal virtual networking opportunities.
• Targeted sessions and interactive discussions with experts on industry hot topics.
• Access to recorded sessions for a full year following the event. Attendees can participate in real-time or watch sessions on-demand
• A multimedia exhibit hall featuring the latest business solutions.

Learn More
More details about ELFA 2020 Business Live!, including registration information, will be announced in the coming weeks. Watch a video message and access a list of frequently asked questions at www.elfaonline.org/elfa2020businesslive. 

About ELFA
The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) is the trade association that represents companies in the nearly $1 trillion equipment finance sector, which includes financial services companies and manufacturers engaged in financing capital goods. ELFA members are the driving force behind the growth in the commercial equipment finance market and contribute to capital formation in the U.S. and abroad. Its 580 members include independent and captive leasing and finance companies, banks, financial services corporations, broker/packagers and investment banks, as well as manufacturers and service providers. For more information, please visit www.elfaonline.org.

Video Message
https://www.elfaonline.org/elfa2020businesslive

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News Briefs----

Trump administration drops rule on foreign students
    Facing 8 federal lawsuits/ opposition from 100s of universities
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/14/trump-administration-drops-rule-on-foreign-students/

Dr. Anthony Fauci says COVID-19 cases exploding
    because U.S. didn’t completely shut down
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/13/fauci-says-outbreak-exploding-because-us-didnt-shut-down/

Miami is now the coronavirus epicenter
    as cases surge, expert says
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/14/health/us-coronavirus-tuesday/index.html

Why a coronavirus vaccine won’t end
    the pandemic by itself
https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/Why-a-coronavirus-vaccine-won-t-end-the-15403341.php

Several big US school districts are
    extending remote classes into the fall
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/13/us/school-reopening-plans-major-cities/index.html

Wells Fargo reports first quarterly loss
    in more than a decade.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/business/wells-fargo-reports-first-quarterly-loss-in-more-than-a-decade.html

Boeing Lands $1.2 Billion Military Deal
    for Updated F-15 Fighter Jets
www.industryweek.com/operations/article/21136556/boeing-lands-12-billion-military-deal-for-updated-f15-fighter-jets?utm_source=IY+IW+Daily+Headlines+-

Partially blinded by police Video evidence undermines
    official accounts of injuries at George Floyd protests
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2020/07/14/george-floyd-protests-police-blinding/?arc404=true

K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen Closes Its Doors
 Legendary restaurant has suffered from repeated closings
https://www.fsrmagazine.com/finance/k-pauls-louisiana-kitchen-closes-its-doors?utm_source=fs_insider&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20200714

 

 

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You May Have Missed---

Canada Outlook: Structural Hurdles to Recovery
    Demand Strong Fiscal and Monetary Support
https://www.pimco.com/en-us/insights/viewpoints/canada-outlook-structural-hurdles-to-recovery-demand-strong-fiscal-and-monetary-support

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Sports Briefs---

LEBRON SPEAKS, AND THE NBA FOLLOWS
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2899766-lebron-speaks-and-the-nba-follows

As Dallas Cowboys, Dak Prescott near franchise-tag
     deadline, Kirk Cousins' advice lingers
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2020/07/14/nfl-franchise-tag-deadline-cowboys-dak-prescott-hit-crucial-moment/5433076002/

Jaguars will limit fan attendance to 25% of capacity
    for home games due to coronavirus concerns
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/jaguars/2020/07/10/jacksonville-jaguars-fan-attendance-coronavirus-nfl-season/5414443002/

Vikings sign former Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley
http://www.theredzone.org/Blog-Description/EntryId/82511/Vikings-sign-former-Iowa-quarterback-Nate-Stanley

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California Nuts Briefs---

Coronavirus: Another metric shows COVID-19
    worsening in California
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/14/coronavirus-another-metric-shows-covid-19-worsening-in-california/

Martinez residents rattled by racism
    revealed in destruction of Black Lives Matter mural
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Martinez-residents-rattled-by-hidden-racism-15401202.php

Sacramento mayor wants city to buy up to 500
    tiny homes to shelter the homeless
https://www.sacbee.com/article244189292.html

Pulte homes buys San Mateo site for big residential development
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2020/07/14/pulte-homes-san-mateo-site-big-residential-development-office-real-estate-housing/

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“Gimme that Wine”

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

Lucas is the winery that persuaded the Supreme Court
    to allow shipping wine across state lines
https://www.sfchronicle.com/wine/article/Lucas-is-the-winery-that-persuaded-the-Supreme-15342070.php

‘It sends the wrong message’: Napa vintners
     react to winery reopening rollbacks
https://www.sfchronicle.com/wine/article/It-sends-the-wrong-message-Napa-vintners-15407926.php

As long as food is served, outdoor wine tasting okay,
     wine curb side pick-up okay
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/Guidance-of-Closure-of-Sectors-in-Response-to-COVID-19.aspx

Amazon plans Napa Valley ’last mile’ delivery station
https://www.sonomanews.com/article/north-bay/amazon-plans-napa-valley-last-mile-delivery-station/

Free Wine App
https://www.nataliemaclean.com/mobileapp/

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

This Day in History

     1741 - Vitus Bering, a Danish mariner working for Russia, and Aleksei Ilyich Chirikov, Russian navigator and captain, landed on the Alaskan coast.  During a storm on the voyage, they were separated and never saw each other again.  Chirikov saw land at Baker Island off Prince of Wales Island at the south end of the panhandle. This is about 450 miles southeast of Bering's landfall near Mt. St. Elias at the north end of the panhandle.  He sent men ashore in a longboat, making them the first Europeans to visit Alaska.
    1779 - Birthday of Clement Clarke Moore (d. 1863), NYC.  American author and teacher, best remembered for his popular verse, “A Visit from Saint Nicholas,” (“Twas the Night Before Christmas”), which was first published anonymously and without Moore's knowledge in a newspaper on December 23, 1823. 
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/weekly/aa121097.htm
    1779 - The first medal awarded by the Continental Congress to a “foreigner” was a silver medal present to Lieutenant Colonel Francois Louis Teisseidre de Fleury, who commanded the first of the storming parties in the assault upon Stony Point, NY, on July 15, 1779.  He was the first man to enter the main fort and strike down the British flag with his own hands. Fleury, who had been in the French military service, joined the Continental Army in 1777.  http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/revwar/contarmy/CA-06.htm
    1779 - African-American Pompey Lamb, noted spy, aids the American Revolutionary War effort.  Blacks were also used effectively as spies by the Continental Army. Lamb opened the way for the capture of Stony Point by General Anthony Wayne. 
http://hallkidshistory.com/united_states/360.shtml
    1792 - The first major bridge built in America was the West Boston Bridge, connecting Boston, MA, and Cambridge, MA.  It opened November 23, 1793 after costing $76,000.   The toll right was granted to the proprietors for 70 years.
    1806 - Zebulon Pike, the U.S. Army officer who in 1805 led an exploring party in search of the source of the Mississippi River, sets off with a new expedition to explore the American Southwest. Pike and his men left Missouri and traveled through the present-day states of Kansas and Nebraska before reaching Colorado, where he spotted the famous mountain later named in his honor. He traveled to New Mexico and then traveled through Texas. The information he provided about the U.S. territory in Kansas and Colorado was a great impetus for future U.S. settlement, and his reports about the weakness of Spanish authority in the Southwest stirred talk of future U.S. annexation. Pike later served as a brigadier general during the War of 1812, and, in April, 1813, he was killed by a British gunpowder bomb after leading a successful attack on York, Canada.
    1822 - Public schools for Blacks open in Philadelphia.
    1830 - 3 Indian tribes, Sioux, Sak and Fox, signed a treaty giving the US most of Minnesota, Iowa & Missouri.
    1837 - Smallpox epidemic reached the Mandan in Dakota Territory; out of 1,600 people, only 125 survived.  Russell Freedman describes the epidemic: “The Mandans were the first to be stricken, followed in swift succession by the Hidatsas, the Assiniboins, the Arikaras, the Sioux, and the Blackfeet."  In the 17th century, there were 30,000 Narragansett in Massachusetts. Their chief Miantonomo, "sensing danger, . . . sought to build on his Mohawk alliance to create a general Amerindian resistance movement." He is reported to have said to the Montauk in 1642: "We [must] be one as they [the English] are, otherwise we shall all be gone shortly, for you know our fathers had plenty of deer and skins, our plains were full of deer, as also our woods, and of [turkeys], and our coves full of fish and fowl. But these English having gotten our land, they with scythes cut down the grass, and with axes fell the trees; their cows and horses eat the grass, and their hogs spoil our clam banks, and we shall all be starved."
http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/1996/9/8/how_their_world_was_lost.htm
    1850 - Birthday of Francesca Xavier "Mother" Cabrini (d. 1917), Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, Austrian Empire.  A nun in the US Roman Catholic Church, she was an amazing organizer.  She founded 67 institutions such as orphanages, hospitals, and girls' schools and did remarkable work with the poor in major American cities. She founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, a Catholic institute that was a major support to the Italian immigrants to the United States.  She is now unique in New York in being the only saint whose entire body is on display for the faithful. Her body was laid to rest forever under the alter in the Chapel at Mother Cabrini High School. (The saint's head is at another location in Italy).  She was the first naturalized citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, on July 7, 1946.
http://www.den-cabrini-shrine.org/saintfrancesxaviercabrinihistory.htm
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/medny/mccabe.html
    1862 - Major David Hunter declares Blacks are no longer slaves in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina.  President Lincoln annuls the order saying basically it wasn't “official.” http://www.coax.net/people/lwf/dh_proc.htm
The first black troops were organized by Major General David Hunter in the Union's First Carolina Regiment.  Many of the soldiers were former slaves. In August, General Jim Lane, an abolitionist and who some called an outlaw and renegade, over the opposition of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, organized a black regiment in Kansas. General Benjamin Butler also reversed his position and decided to recruit free blacks, however, no one asked the recruits whether they had been free men or slaves before the war. Despite War Department specific approval, General Butler quickly mustered into federal service the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Regiments of the Louisiana Native Guards. It was reported that the commanders of the units had offered their services to the Confederacy and were turned down. The leaders, Free Persons of Color, were wealthy, well-educated property owners, and some were slave owners, and at the time while offering their services to the Confederacy were afraid the Union forces would confiscate their property.
http://www.coax.net/people/lwf/hisusct.htm 
http://www.coax.net/people/lwf/usct.htm
http://www.coax.net/people/lwf/beau_nat.htm 
    1864 – A troop train loaded with Confederate prisoners collided with a coal train, killing 65 and injuring 109 of 955 aboard.
    1867 - Birthday of Maggie Lena Walker (d. 1934), Richmond, VA.  She was the daughter of a former slave who devoted her time to black fraternal and cooperative insurance organizations.   Through her very keen business acumen, she created one of the greatest black-owned banks in the nation, the Penny Savings Bank in Richmond. Walker was the first female bank president of any race to charter a bank in the United States.  Disabled by paralysis and limited to a wheelchair later in life, Walker also became an example for people with disabilities.
http://www.websn.com/Pride/Pride/maggie_lena_walker.htm
http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/biographies/walker-ml.html
http://www.nps.gov/malw/details.htm
http://mdmd.essortment.com/maggielenawalk_rglv.htm
    1870 – Georgia became the last Confederate state to rejoin the Union.
    1901 – 22-year-old Christy Mathewson fired a no-hitter, blanking the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-0, at League Park. Matty saved it in the 6th when a grounder caromed off 1B John Ganzel’s glove to Mathewson, who threw it back to first base for a 3-1-3 putout.
    1904 - Birthday of Dorothy Fields (d. 1974), Allenhurst, NJ.  Lyricist and producer who was elected to the Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 1971, the first woman so honored. Some of her songs are "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," "On the Sunny Side of the Street," "I'm in the Mood for Love," "Lovely to Look at," and "The Way You Look Tonight," the latter garnering Fields and collaborator Jerome Kern the 1936 Academy Award for Best Original Song. She wrote almost 400 songs as well as books for Broadway shows including “Annie Get Your Gun.”   She won a Tony and Grammy for her work on “Redhead” (1959). She also produced such Broadway musicals as “Sweet Charity” and “Seesaw.”
http://www.dorothyfields.co.uk/
http://www.nodanw.com/biographies/dorothy_fields.htm
    1909 – Ty Cobb hit two inside-the-park homers to lead the Detroit Tigers to a doubleheader sweep of the Washington Nationals.
    1910 - Birthday of Sam Washboard, born Robert Brown (d. 1966), famous washboard player, Walnut Ridge, AR
http://www.blueflamecafe.com/index.html
    1913 - The first US Senator elected by popular vote was Augustus Octavius Bacon, Democrat of Georgia.  The passage of the 17th amendment to the Constitution called for the direct elections of Senators, prior to which they were appointed by the state legislature.   The first general election by popular vote took place on November 4, 1913.
http://www.sacklunch.net/biography/B/AugustusOctaviusBacon.html
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000014
    1913 – Cowboy Copas was born Lloyd Estel Copas (d. 1963) in Blue Creek, OH.  "The Country Gentleman of Song" was a country music singer popular from the 1940s until his death in the 1963 plane crash that also killed country stars Patsy Cline and Hawkshaw Hawkins. He was a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
    1916 - A dying South Atlantic Coast storm produced torrential rains in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Altapass, NC was drenched with more than 22 inches of rain, a 24-hour rainfall record for the state. Flooding resulted in considerable damage, particularly to railroads.
    1916 – In Seattle, William Boeing and George Conrad Westervelt incorporated Pacific Aero Products; later renamed Boeing Company.   
    1918 - General Erich Ludendorff launched Germany's fifth, and last, offensive to break through the Chateau-Thierry salient. This all-out effort involved three armies branching out from Rheims to cross the Marne River.  The Germans were successful in crossing the Marne near Chateau-Thierry before American, British, and Italian divisions stopped their progress. On July 18, General Foch, Commander-in Chief of the Allied troops launched a massive counteroffensive that resulted in a German retreat that continued in four months until they sued for peace in November.
    1918 - HAYS, GEORGE PRICE, Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army 10th Field Artillery, 3d Division. Place and date: Near Greves Farm, France, 14-15 July 1918. Entered service at: Okarche, Oklahoma. Born: 27 September 1892, China. G.O. No.: 34, W.D., 1919. Citation: At the very outset of the unprecedented artillery bombardment by the enemy, his line of communication was destroyed beyond repair. Despite the hazard attached to the mission of runner, he immediately set out to establish contact with the neighboring post of command and further establish liaison with 2 French batteries, visiting their position so frequently that he was mainly responsible for the accurate fire. While thus engaged, 7 horses were shot under him and he was severely wounded. His activity under most severe fire was an important factor in checking the advance of the enemy.
    1919 - Legendary bebop pianist Sadik Hakim (d. 1983) was born in Duluth, Minnesota. In the 1940's, Hakim played in New York with Ben Webster and Lester Young, and recorded with Charlie Parker. Hakim moved to Montreal in 1949 and played with Louis Metcalf's International Band. After further stints in the US with such musicians as James Moody and Buddy Tate, Hakim returned to Montreal in 1966. He was a frequent performer in both Montreal and Toronto, and on CBC radio broadcasts. Hakim became a Canadian citizen in 1972 before returning to New York four years later.
    1920 – Babe Ruth, in his first season with the Yankees, tied his 1919 record of 29 homers with a game-winner in the 13th to beat the St. Louis Browns, 13-10.  Two days later, he broke it by hitting two off Dickie Kerr of the White Sox.  He became the first Major Leaguer to hit 50 in a season, finishing 1920 with 54.
    1923 - Drummer Philly Joe Jones (d. 1985) birthday, Philadelphia. 
http://members.tripod.com/~hardbop/philly.html
http://afgen.com/philly.html
http://www.duke.edu/~sc15/bio.htm
    1928 - Birthday of saxophone player Joe Harriott (d. 1973), Kingston, Jamaica 
http://www.wnur.org/jazz/artists/vandermark.ken/interview-19980501.html
http://www.btinternet.com/~rubberneck/special.html
    1929 - Birthday of guitarist/author Francis Bebey (d. 2001), Douala, Cameroon.
http://africanmusic.org/artists/bebey.html 
http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/cm/africana/bebey.htm
http://www.africaexpert.org/people/data/person1980.html
    1929 – The first airport hotel in the US opened at Oakland Airport in CA.
    1935 – Alex Karras (d. 2012) was born in Gary, IN.  He played football with the NFL Detroit Lions from 1958–1962 and 1964–1970. As an actor, Karras is noted for his role as Mongo in the 1974 comedy film “Blazing Saddles” and for starring in the ABC sitcom “Webster” (1983–1989) with his wife Susan Clark, as the title character's adoptive father. He was also featured prominently in “Victor, Victoria” with Julie Andrews and James Garner.  On January 7, 1963, Karras' ownership in Detroit's Lindell AC Bar became a source of controversy when league officials urged him to sell his financial interests because of reports of gambling and organized crime influence. After first threatening to retire rather than give it up, Karras admitted placing bets on NFL games and was suspended by the league, along with Green Bay packers back Paul Hornung, for one season (1963).
    1939 - National League president Ford Frick orders two-foot screens affixed inside all foul poles after Billy Jurges of the Giants and umpire George Magerkurth spit at each other after a foul ball call down the left field line is disputed at the Polo Grounds. The American League will soon follow the Senior Circuit lead and will also install foul ball screens.
    1941 - Glenn Miller, with Modernaires, cuts “Juke Box Saturday Night.”
    1942 – MLB Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis:  "There is no rule, formal or informal, against the hiring of Negro players."  He responded to an editorial in the New York Daily Worker newspaper. 
    1944 - *OTANI, KAZUO, Medal of Honor
Staff Sergeant Kazuo Otani distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 15 July 1944, near Pieve Di S. Luce, Italy. Advancing to attack a hill objective, Staff Sergeant Otani's platoon became pinned down in a wheat field by concentrated fire from enemy machine gun and sniper positions. Realizing the danger confronting his platoon, Staff Sergeant Otani left his cover and shot and killed a sniper who was firing with deadly effect upon the platoon. Followed by a steady stream of machine gun bullets, Staff Sergeant Otani then dashed across the open wheat field toward the foot of a cliff, and directed his men to crawl to the cover of the cliff. When the movement of the platoon drew heavy enemy fire, he dashed along the cliff toward the left flank, exposing himself to enemy fire. By attracting the attention of the enemy, he enabled the men closest to the cliff to reach cover. Organizing these men to guard against possible enemy counterattack, Staff Sergeant Otani again made his way across the open field, shouting instructions to the stranded men while continuing to draw enemy fire. Reaching the rear of the platoon position, he took partial cover in a shallow ditch and directed covering fire for the men who had begun to move forward. At this point, one of his men became seriously wounded. Ordering his men to remain under cover, Staff Sergeant Otani crawled to the wounded soldier who was lying on open ground in full view of the enemy. Dragging the wounded soldier to a shallow ditch, Staff Sergeant Otani proceeded to render first aid treatment, but was mortally wounded by machine gun fire. Staff Sergeant Otani's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army. M 
    1946 - Singer Linda Ronstadt was born in Tucson, Arizona.  She first gained attention in 1967 as a member of a trio called the Stone Poneys. That was the year she had a top 20 hit with "Different Drum," a song written by Mike Nesmith of the Monkees. The Stone Poneys soon broke up, and Ronstadt's solo career floundered for nearly five years until Peter Asher, formerly of the British duo of Peter and Gordon, became her manager. Under Asher's direction, she recorded the album "Heart like a Wheel," a mixture of oldies and contemporary material, in 1974. The LP proved to be her commercial breakthrough, becoming the first of a dozen gold and platinum albums.  Ronstadt reached the height of her popularity in the late 1970's when her LP "Living in the USA" surpassed the million mark in sales. At the time, she was a constant companion of California Governor Jerry Brown.  Ronstadt continued her success into the '80s with the LP "Mad Love," two popular albums of big band ballads and "Cry like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind," a collaboration with Aaron Neville.  She retired in 2011 and was diagnosed with a degenerative condition later determined to be progressive supranuclear palsy in December 2012, which left her unable to sing.
http://www.ronstadt-linda.com/
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jul15.html
    1950 - The North Koreans penetrated the U.S. 24th Infantry Division's defense and crossed the Kum River. The 19th Infantry Regiment lost 20 percent of its fighting force, the 1st Battalion alone losing 338 out of 785. The 63rd Field Artillery Battalion was overrun and sustained heavy casualties.
    1950 - F-80s accounted for 85 percent of the enemy's losses to air attack. Far East Air Forces Commander, Lieutenant General George E. Stratemeyer, stated that he wouldn't trade the F-80 for all the F-47s and F-51s he could get. "It does a wonderful job in ground support and can take care of the top-side job if enemy jets appear."
    1952 - An eight-year-old singer named Gladys Knight appears on the popular TV show “Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour” on the now-defunct Dumont Television Network, and wins the first prize of $2000 for her rendition of Nat King Cole's "Too Young." In five years, she would be an established recording artist.
    1952 - Popular singer Patti Page begins her summer replacement series on CBS, attempting to hold the audience in Perry Como's usual timeslot three times a week for 15 minutes.
    1954 - The temperature at Balcony Falls, VA, soared to 110 degrees to establish a state record…and nary a word about global warming!
    1956 - Top Hits
“The Wayward Wind” - Gogi Grant
“My Prayer” - The Platters
“Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel” - Elvis Presley
“I Want You, I Need You, I Love You” - Elvis Presley
    1957 - Elvis Presley's "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" b/w Loving You" hits #1
    1959 - The Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver was officially opened by the Queen. A gala concert by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Sir Ernest MacMillan and Nichol Goldschmidt, with soloists Betty-Jean Hagen, violin, and soprano Lois Marshall. The theatre was actually first used four days earlier for a concert by the Vancouver Symphony.
    1959 - The steel strike of 1959 began, leading to significant importation of foreign steel for the first time in United States history.  The strike occurred over management's demand that the union give up a contract clause which limited management's ability to change the number of workers assigned to a task or to introduce new work rules or machinery which would result in reduced hours or numbers of employees. The strike's effects persuaded President Eisenhower to invoke the back-to-work provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act. The union sued to have the Act declared unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court upheld the law …and we all know how that turned out.
    1960 - Giant Willie McCovey 'invisible triple' causes the umpires to call a twenty-four minute fog delay at Candlestick Park, but the Dodgers go on to win 5-3.
    1963 - Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald record “Ella and Basie” album for Verve, one of Barbara Lowe's favorites.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000046SO/102-8917386-9557756
    1963 - Elvis begins filming the movie “Viva Las Vegas” with Ann-Margaret. 
    1964 - Top Hits
“I Get Around” - The Beach Boys
“Memphis” - Johnny Rivers
“Rag Doll” - The 4 Seasons
“My Heart Skips a Beat” - Buck Owens
    1965 - The unmanned spacecraft Mariner 4 passes over Mars at an altitude of 6,000 feet and sends back to Earth the first close-up images of the red planet.
    1966 - Singer Percy Sledge earned a gold record for "When a Man Loves a Woman."  It was his only song to make it to number one (5/28/66) and the only one of five to break into the top ten. 
    1968 - A Soviet Aeroflot jet landed at Kennedy Airport at New York, NY, and the start of direct commercial air flight between the US and the then USSR began.
    1968 - “One Life to Live” premiered on TV.  Set in a fictional Pennsylvania town, the show was created by Agnes Nixon to depict the class and ethnic struggles of the town's denizens. The initial cast featured many Jewish, Polish, and African-American characters. The show departed from inter-ethnic storytelling in the 1980's for far more fantastic adventures set in locales such as heaven, the old west, and a futuristic mountain silo called Eternia. Since then, the show has returned to its strengths of traditional storytelling by featuring Latino and African-American actors as integral characters.  Award-winning actress Erika Slezak heads the cast.  The venerable Viki Lord Riley Buchanan Carpenter is the town's matron with five alternate personalities.  Among those who have appeared on “OLTL” are Tom Berenger, Judith Light, Robert Desiderio, Tommy Lee Jones, Laurence Fishburne, Jameson Parker, Phylicia Rashad, Christine Ebersole, Richard Grieco, Blain Underwood, Joe Lando, Audrey Landers, Christian Slater and Yasmine Bleeth.     
    1968 - Intel was founded. Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore had left Fairchild Semiconductor to form NM Electronics in Mountain View, Ca. In 1997, Tim Jackson published "Inside Intel: Andrew Grove and the Rise of the World's Most Powerful Chip Company." Grove joined Intel in this year and became its president in 1979. They bought the rights to the name Intel from Intelco for $15,000.
    1969 – [July 15-20] B.B. King, Elvin Bishop Group, Love Sculpture, Country Joe & the Fish Joe Cocker & The Grease Band, at San Francisco Fillmore West.
    1971 - In a surprise announcement, President Richard Nixon says that he will visit Beijing, China, before May 1972
    1972 - Elton John's “Honky Chateau” hits #1
    1972 - Top Hits
“Lean on Me” - Bill Withers
“Too Late to Turn Back Now” - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
“Brandy” (“You're a Fine Girl”) - Looking Glass
“Made in Japan” - Buck Owens 
    1973 - San Francisco Giant's Willie McCovey becomes 15th to hit 400 HRs.
    1973 - Angel Nolan Ryan pitches his second no-hitter of the season, defeating the Tigers, 6-0 in front of 41,411 fans in Detroit. Ryan struck out 17, the most ever in a 9-inning no-hitter, including 8 in a row.  Ump Ron Luciano doesn't permit Norm Cash to use a piano leg instead of a bat in the ninth inning.
    1980 - Pop stars Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith opened at the New York Shakespeare Festival in a production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance." The production moved to Broadway in 1981, and Ronstadt and Smith both starred in a later movie version.  
    1980 - Top Hits
“Coming Up” - Paul McCartney & Wings
“It's Still Rock & Roll to Me” - Billy Joel
“Little Jeannie” - Elton John
“You Win Again” - Charley Pride
    1986 - Columbia Records dropped country star Johnny Cash after 28 years. Cash had not had a solo top-ten hit since "The Baron" in 1981. But he was a member of "The Highwaymen" quartet with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson that hit the top of the country charts in 1985. Cash signed a new recording contract with Polygram later in '86.
    1986 – In the MLB All-Star Game at the Astrodome, the AL won its second in the last 15 years, 3-2.  Roger Clemens worked three perfect innings for the AL and was voted MVP.  The Dodgers’ Fernando Valenzuela struck out the first five hitters he faced.
    1987 - Unseasonably cool weather spread into the south central and eastern U.S. Fifteen cities reported record low temperatures for the date, including Houghton Lake, MI, with a reading of 37 degrees. The high temperature for the date of 58 degrees at Flint, MI, was their coolest of record for July. Thunderstorms spawned several tornadoes in Illinois and Indiana, injuring a cow near Donovan, IL
    1988 - For the second time this season, Red Sox fireballer Roger Clemens strikes out sixteen Royals. The doubleheader sweep over Kansas City marks Joe Morgan's Boston managerial debut.
    1988 - Top Hits
“The Flame” - Cheap Trick
“Mercedes Boy” - Pebbles
“Pour Some Sugar on Me” - Def Lappard
“Fallin' Again” – Alabama
    1988 - Twenty-six cities east of the Mississippi River reported record high temperatures for the date. Charleston, WV, established an all- time record high with a reading of 103 degrees, and Chicago, IL, reported a record fifth day of 100-degree heat for the year. A severe thunderstorm moving across Omaha, NE, and the Council Bluffs area of west central Iowa spawned three tornadoes which injured 88 persons, and also produced high winds which injured 18 others. Winds at the Omaha Eppley Airport reached 92 mph. Damage from the storm was estimated at 43 million dollars.
    1989 - More than 200,000 people crammed into Venice, a city of 83,000, for a free concert by Pink Floyd. The band performed on a floating stage in the Venice lagoon. Residents complained about violence, drug use and littering, and 80 people were slightly hurt in a scuffle before the show began. Concert-goers complained, too ... about inadequate toilets and emergency facilities. 
    1989 - Thunderstorms drenched Kansas City, MO, with 4.16 inches of rain, a record for the date. Two and a half inches of rain deluged the city between Noon and 1 PM. Afternoon thunderstorms in South Carolina deluged Williamstown with six inches of rain in ninety minutes, including four inches in little more than half an hour
    1990 – In a game where two pro footballers faced each other, at Yankee Stadium, Kansas City’s Bo Jackson slammed three straight home runs, the third his career 100th, then separated his shoulder in the 6th inning diving for a line drive off the bat of Yankee Deion Sanders. Sanders wound up with an inside-the-park-homer but the Royals won.
    1993 - Breaking Cub Hall of Fame Ernie Banks' previous record of 277, Cal Ripken hits his 278th homer as a shortstop, the most ever hit by a Major Leaguer playing that position.
    1994 - The first movie to cost more than $100 million to make was “True Lies,” a 20th Century-Fox action-adventure film directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis.  It opened nationwide on July 15.  Though exact figures were not released by the studio, the film was estimated to have cost $115 million.
    1996 - The Sultan of Brunei spent $25 million on his 50th birthday party, including $15 million for three concerts by Michael Jackson
    1997 - Fashion designer Gianni Versace was shot to death on the steps of his mansion in Miami Beach, Florida. Police believe Andrew Phillip Cunanan shot Versace. Cunanan committed suicide a week later on a houseboat about two miles north of the Versace mansion. Cunanan is suspected of killing four other men in a cross-country shooting spree. 
    1999 - The Brewers postpone game as a gesture of respect for the three workers who died when a huge crane collapsed lifting a portion of the roof for the team's new stadium, Miller Park. The crane broke in half as it lifted the 400-ton load damaging the partially completed stadium.
    1999 - The Rolling Stones reported that they had an intake of over $337 million from the previous two years. The average nightly take on the 147 shows was over $2¼ million, as the band played to more than 5.6 million people, selling out all but 20 shows.
    1999 – Barry Bonds set an all-time record, receiving the 294th intentional walk of his career, breaking Hank Aaron’s mark.
    2000 - Bob Seger's 62-foot boat Lightning wins its division in the 78th annual sailboat race from Port Huron to Mackinac Island, MI.
    2000 - The American Tobacco Company's near-mint condition 1909 Honus Wagner card goes for $1.1 million in an eBay online auction; the high bidder will pay $1.265 million including a 15 percent buyer's premium for the 91 year-old card of the Hall of Fame Pirate shortstop.  Other high-priced items in the auction included a baseball autographed by the entire 1919 Chicago “Black Sox” team, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, as well as the umpires who worked the final game of that Series; it sold for $93,666, including a 15 percent buyer's premium. The ball's value, believed to be the most for such an item, was unusually high because the autographs include that of Jackson, who was considered illiterate and usually only signed legal documents. A ball signed by the 1919 Reds, who won that series, went for $11,208, while a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth sold for $76,020. A contract from Jackson's sale of his Chicago pool hall to teammate Lefty Williams, sold for $36,098; the contract, dated October 6, 1921, is for just $1.
    2002 - "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh pleads guilty to supplying aid to the enemy and to possession of explosives during the commission of a felony.
    2006 – Twitter was launched.  Created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz Stone and Noah Glass, and launched in July 2006, Twitter is an online social networking service that enables users to send and read short 140-character messages called "tweets.”  The service rapidly gained worldwide popularity:  as of March 2016, Twitter has more than 310 million monthly active users.
    2009 - Paul McCartney took time out from his current tour to stop by “The Late Show with David Letterman” where he and his band thrilled the crowd by performing at the outdoor stage atop the Ed Sullivan Theater.
    2014 – Apple and IBM joined to develop apps for business users.  The agreement will give Apple a greater share of the business market, which is increasingly catering to a mobile workforce, while IBM will benefit from the software integration on its cloud computing platform.