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New York Follows California’s Lead
by Passing Small Business Truth-in-Lending Act

Written by Attorneys
Robert Hornby, Frank Peretore, Adrianne Price
Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi, PC

On July 23, 2020, the New York State Legislature passed New York State Senate Bill S5470B and its companion Assembly Bill 10118-A, known as the New York State Small Business Truth in Lending Act.  Touted as having the nation’s strongest commercial disclosure requirements, the bill passed the New York Senate and Assembly by wide margins and is set to be delivered to Governor Andrew Cuomo for signature.  Like California’s Commercial Disclosure Law, which went into effect in January 2019 (but is currently being held in abeyance until appropriate regulations are promulgated), New York’s TIL Act, when signed by Governor Cuomo, will mandate that certain commercial lenders furnish financing disclosures to potential borrowers in connection with transactions below $500,000.  While the bill includes an express exemption for commercial equipment leases, a similar exemption is notincluded for commercial equipment loans.  Thus, assuming no other exemptions apply, commercial equipment financing agreements will be subject to the new TIL Act disclosure requirements.

“Commercial Financing” Defined
The New York TIL legislation amends the New York Financial Services Law by adding a new Article 8 that will require certain providers who extend “commercial financing” to disclose certain truth-in-lending-type information about the offer to the recipient.  Pursuant to the law, commercial financing includes: (1) “open-end financing,” which is defined as a secured or unsecured “agreement for one or more extensions of open-end credit . . . the proceeds of which the recipient does not intend to use primarily for personal, family or household purposes;” (2) “closed-end financing,” defined as a secured or unsecured “closed-end extension of credit . . . including equipment financing that does not meet the definition of a lease” under the Uniform Commercial Code Section 2-A-103; (3) “sales-based financing,” defined as a “transaction that is repaid by the recipient to a provider, over time, as a percentage of sales or revenue;” and (4) a “factoring transaction,” which is as “an accounts receivable purchase transaction that includes an agreement to purchase, transfer, or sell a legally enforceable claim for payment held by the recipient for goods the recipient has supplied or services the recipient has rendered that have been order but for which payment has not yet been made.”  The bill’s definition of commercial financing also includes the catch-all phrase, “other form[s] of financing, the proceeds of which a recipient does not intend to use primarily for personal, family or household purposes.”

Exemptions
The law provides a number of exemptions based on who is lending, the type of transaction involved and the amount of the transaction.  As an initial matter, “financial institutions” — which include banks, trust companies, and industrial loan companies doing business under the authority of a federal- or state-issued license, certificate, or charter; federally-chartered savings and loan associations, federal savings banks, and federal credit unions; and savings and loan associations, savings banks, and credit unions — as well as lenders regulated under the federal Farm Credit Act (12 U.S.C. Section 2001 et seq.), are exempt.   Likewise, any person acting in its capacity as a technology services provider, such as by licensing software and providing support services, to an exempt entity under the NY TIL Act for use as part of that exempt entity’s commercial financing program is exempt from the disclosure requirements so long as that person does have an interest in the commercial financing that will be extended by the exempt entity.  Furthermore, commercial financing transactions that are secured by real property and, as noted above,  leases as defined in U.C.C. Section 2-A-103 (i.e. true leases) are also exempt.   In addition, any person or entity that makes five or less commercial financing transactions in New York State per year are exempt.   Finally, any financing transactions that exceed $500,000 will also be exempt. 

Disclosure Requirements
While the disclosure requirements vary based on the type of transaction, the disclosures must generally include, among other things: the total amount of the commercial financing amount and the disbursement amount (if different from the financing amount); the finance charge; the annual percentage rate; the total repayment amount; the financing term; the payment amounts; a description of all other potential fees and charges not included in the finance charge; pre-payment penalties, if any; and a description of the collateral requirements or security interests, if any.  Providers must obtain the recipient’s signature on all disclosures required under this article.  Furthermore, the Superintendent of Financial Services is empowered extend the disclosure requirements to those providers who extend specific offers of commercial financing that are not open-end financing, closed-end financing, sales-based financing, or a factoring transaction, but which otherwise meet the definition of commercial financing.  The law gives the Superintendent the authority to promulgate regulations regarding the disclosures, which means that additional disclosure requirements could be imposed upon providers.

The Superintendent is also empowered to seek civil penalties against providers who violate the article, in the amount of up to $2,000 per violation.  If a provider is found to have willfully violated the article, the penalty may be up to $10,000 per violation.
In light of the fact that the legislation has already passed the New York State Senate and Assembly, it is imperative to keep a watchful eye on the Governor’s Office at this juncture, as the provisions of the New York State Small Business Truth in Lending Act will take effect 180 days after Governor Cuomo signs the bill into law.

Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC 
One Boland Drive | West Orange, NJ 07052
11 Times Square, 31st Floor | New York, NY 10036
https://www.csglaw.com/

973.530.2058
212.324.7256 NYC

fperetore@csglaw.com

 

 

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Raising the U.S. Flag at Amur Equipment Finance
New Offices in Grand Island, Nebraska

Amur Equipment Finance raises the flag at its new office at 304 West. Third Street, Grand Island, Nebraska.  The company purchased the Wells Fargo office in November, 2018, remodeling to provide additional space to grow its existing workforce (1)

AmurEF has grown into one of the largest independent equipment finance companies in the U.S., rising to fourth place on Monitor’s 2019 ranking of Top Private Independents. AmurEF employs over 180 leasing professionals across seven offices, and is headquartered in Grand Island, Nebraska.

In June, Amur Equipment Finance issued $226.3MM in notes secured by small- and mid-ticket equipment loans and leases. In the last two years, AmurEF has securitized nearly $1B in equipment-backed notes as part of its ongoing securitization . program. KeyBanc Capital Markets again served as Structuring Agent, Bookrunner and Lead Manager, with Siebert Williams Shank servicing as Co-Manager. DBRS Morningstar rated all classes of notes and Moody’s rated the Class A-1 through Class D notes.

(1)  Purchase Wells Fargo building in Grand Island, Nebraska
https://www.theindependent.com/news/business/new-building-will-give-amur-equipment-finance-room-to-grow/article_8d0c0ad2-e6ef-11e8-9982-134743a6390e.html

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Cannabis: Congress Passes Measure
Allowing Military Personnel to Use CBD

When the 2018 Farm Bill legalized industrial hemp and its derivatives, no one knew just how big cannabidiol (“CBD”) would get. Flush with medical properties, CBD has quickly become a go-to compound for people seeking a natural alternative to pharmaceuticals. However, despite being federally legalized, several military branches have in the past few months issued statements stating that service members were not permitted to use CBD products. In response, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a military veteran, and former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, sponsored an amendment that would allow military service members to use products containing hemp and its derivatives.

Approved by the House of Representatives on Monday, the amendment stipulates that the “Secretary of Defense may not prohibit, on the basis of a product containing hemp or any ingredient derived from hemp, the possession, use or consumption of such a product by a member of the Armed Forces.” This is only applicable as long as the crop meets the federal definition of hemp (less than 0.3% THC) and “such possession, use, or consumption is in compliance with applicable Federal, State, and Local law.”

Gabbard’s amendment will address notices from several military branches instructing their service members to abstain from using CBD. For instance, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced a policy barring all active service members from using hemp products, including CBD, in February. The DOD acknowledged that while hemp was legal, the risk of exposure to excess THC was too great.

The Air Force and the Navy as well have informed their members that they are barred from using hemp-derived CBD, no matter its legality. Although NASA isn’t part of the military, it has also warned its employees that CBD products could contain excess levels of THC that could cost them their job if they fail a drug test. This aversion to CBD products can be traced back to a July 24 government wide-memo asking agencies to update their employees about CBD.

The notice by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (“SAMHSA”) stated that although the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp-derived CBD, “the Food and Drug Administration does not certify levels of THC in the products. The agency stated that due to the lack of regulatory oversight from the FDA, “federal workers and those with security clearances who test positive for THC metabolites will be penalized, regardless of whether they thought they were taking CBD alone.”

Rep. Gabbard’s amendment was passed in an en bloc passage including dozens of other non-cannabis amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”), and it has been attached to the House version of the NDAA.

Cannnasbisnewswire.com

 

Leasing Industry Help Wanted

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Nine Steps to Handle Irate Customers Effectively
www.credittoday.com

How often have you come across a customer in a collections call who is angry and not interested in listening to alternatives? Once? Twice? Ten times? It's more common than you might think.

In today's competitive business climate, with customer satisfaction a top priority, the burden falls on the collector to go the extra mile and delight the customers.

Here are nine tips for you to take control of the conversation and help your customer calm down and move the collection call forward in a positive way.

“Apologize and help them understand the facts.
Keep restating and provide proof if necessary.”

1. Keep your cool.  Remember, it's business, not personal. Do not take offense at anything. The key is to keep your emotions separate and think objectively. It will help you stay focused.

2. Let them vent. The customer ultimately wants you to listen, so let them talk. Every once in a while, let them know that you're still on call. Keep saying, "Yes, Okay, Alright." It is best to allow them to go through their entire story. Thereafter, they will be more calm and ready to listen.

3. If they talk loud and fast, you need to be soft and slow. It won't work if you start debating with the customer. You need to show empathy and address them softly. It will help you bring the customer down to your pace and understand the real problem.

4. Ask probing and sensitive questions, not judgmental questions. Try to understand the customer's perspective. Why are they so angry? What went wrong? Did it go wrong or was it just a misunderstanding? It helps to create the impression that you are on the customer's side, and you are interested in finding the root cause of the challenge with them.

5. Be open and honest with offers to investigate and help. Review alternatives. Once you understand their point of view, offer to study in detail, and find why things went wrong. Again, ask probing questions to understand the situation. Based on that, be ready to provide alternative solutions that you can follow through on.

6. Restate to reduce the hyperbole and ensure common understanding’ If a customer says things like, "you have never shipped to us on time," politely point out that you have made 100 shipments so far and this is the first one that was late. Apologize and help them understand the facts. Keep restating and provide proof if necessary. It will help the customer see the holes in their arguments.

7. Document everything, including the commitments. Now that you have taken control of the conversation and both the parties understand and agree on the bottom line facts, it's time to get the payment commitment from the customer. It's okay if they don't want to pay right that second but document their promise to pay and finalize a follow-up plan. Drop this in an email or fax to the customers to ensure they remember.

8. Set a reasonable expectation for resolution and keep your commitments’ Well, you understand how difficult it was to bring the temperature down, so don't poke the bear. Keep a reasonable resolution period and wait for a couple of days or to the agreed date of payment commitment before following up. If you commit to anything, make it your top priority to follow through.

9. Terminate a call or walk if it turns unprofessional. While it's okay to be polite and patient, nobody deserves to be treated unprofessionally. It might depend on your company policy, but if you feel uncomfortable or if the customer is using demeaning off-color language, terminate the call. Drop them a note to say that you will be happy to take up the call when they have calmed down and are ready to talk more professionally.

www.credittoday.com
 reprinted with permission

 

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Several studies have found that the risk of contracting severe COVID-19 that can result in hospitalization, ICU admission, mechanical ventilation or death increases with age as well as the presence of underlying health conditions. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a study showing that a considerable share of the American population has some form of underlying health issue, placing them at risk from severe forms of the virus. The study's findings are based on the 2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and U.S. Census population data and it determined that 40.7 percent of U.S. adults (aged 18 and over) have a pre-existing health condition.

The most prevalent condition in the study is obesity, affecting just over 30 percent of Americans and it followed by diabetes which has a national prevalence of 11.2 percent. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cardiovascular disease have a prevalence of just under 7 percent while chronic kidney disease is at approximately 3 percent. The CDC stated that "while the estimated number of persons with any underlying medical condition was higher in population-dense metropolitan areas, overall prevalence was higher in rural nonmetropolitan areas." It also added that "the counties with the highest prevalences of any condition were concentrated in Southeastern states, particularly in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia, as well as some counties in Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and northern Michigan, among others."

By Niall McCarthy, Statista

 

Alongside privacy concerns and low usage rates, the incompatibility of coronavirus tracing apps across different countries has been identified as a potential weakness of the technology. For example, if somebody travels from France to Germany and is diagnosed with COVID-19 in Berlin, a warning cannot be sent to his or her contacts through the French system.

The patchwork nature of the technology's rollout is also a major issue in the United States which is not developing a single national app to identify infection chains and trace contacts. Rather, the decision is being left to individual states that have been given the choice to participate in a major partnership by Apple and Google who plan to build the technology into their operating systems.

The effort was announced by both companies on April 10 and according to research from website 9 to 5 Match, only four U.S. states said they were participating in it as of July 13. On that date, no state had successfully released a contact tracing app and 17 said they would not participate while the rest provided no response regarding their status.

By Niall McCarthy, Statista

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

FTC Reports Volkswagen Repaid More Than $9.5 Billion
To Car Buyers Who Were Deceived by “Clean Diesel” Ad Campaign

More than 86 percent chose to return their car for compensation

 In a final summary filed in federal court today, the Federal Trade Commission reported that Volkswagen and Porsche repaid a total of more than $9.5 billion since 2016 to car buyers under the FTC’s orders stemming from the companies’ deceptive “clean diesel” advertising of VWs and Audis fitted with illegal emission defeat devices.

Given a choice between returning their vehicle to VW or Porsche in exchange for compensation, or having the car modified to comply with clean-air rules, more than 86 percent of those who concluded the claims process chose to return their car through a buyback or early lease termination, the FTC noted in a Final Status Report filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

“Most important, the FTC orders and related private class settlements provided redress sufficient to compensate consumers fully,” the FTC said in the report.

The FTC’s final report to the court marks the end of the largest consumer redress program in U.S. history, set up in 2016 and 2017 to compensate purchasers and lessees of more than 550,000 deceptively marketed “clean diesel” VW and Audi cars. In a complaint filed in federal court in March 2016, the FTC alleged that Volkswagen’s seven-year ad campaign was based on false claims that the cars were low-emission, environmentally friendly, met emissions standards, and would maintain a high resale value. In reality, however, the cars were fitted with illegal emission defeat devices designed to mask high emissions during government tests.

The FTC orders settling the case, approved in conjunction with class action plaintiffs, required payments to consumers that included compensation for their vehicles’ full retail value, plus all other losses they suffered because of the deception, such as time spent shopping for new vehicles, sales taxes and registration fees, and the additional amount consumers paid for a low-emissions vehicle feature.

In addition to the FTC order on consumer redress, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency obtained court orders providing billions more for environmental relief.

In the final report, the FTC reported to the court that despite the large volume of claims, Volkswagen had “successfully managed the settlement administration process effectively,” working together with a court-appointed independent claims supervisor tasked with monitoring compliance.  

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

 

Labrador Retriever/Blue Heeler Mix
Grand Island, Nebraska  Adopt--a-dog

Molly

Female
3 Months Old
White, with Red, Golden,
Orange or Chestnut
Good with Dogs
Working on Potty Training

Meet Molly FJ

Nothing like being born in a field. Our poor Mom had nowhere else to go but she did the best she could with the resources she had and made a wonderful nest for us to be born in. Thankfully, two days later, a passerby spotted us, called the rescue and here we are! Fat, happy and healthy puppies looking for homes!

I am a playful, talkative, active little girl. When my foster family comes and talks to me I make sure I let them know that I heard them and I chat right back! BORK BORK! Foster Family says I am the most vocal out of all my brothers and sisters. Maybe it was because I was born first. No, I don’t know why I am the most chatty but boy I have a lot to say! Being a puppy is so much fun. I get to play with so many other dogs. We wrestle, play tug-o-war, and get into all kinds of shenanigans together!

My Foster Family is teaching me the ways of the house. So I am learning all about how to sit and lay down. The hardest thing to learn so far is that we don’t go potty in the house, but give me a break. I am only 10 weeks old. All good things come with time!

Afraid if you missed out on me! Not to fear I have brothers and sisters too! So when you apply let them know you’re interested in Pearl’s litter (that’s my mom) and the amazing adoption team can show you and tell you all about my awesome brothers and sister! (Chester, Rinn, Duke, Max, Clayton, and Dot)

Basics:

Female, Heeler/Lab mix, 2.5 months old, very playful, vocal likes to talk back, good with dogs, working on potty training

Local adult (over one year) adoption fee $200.00 (within Texas)
Out of State adult (over one year) adoption fee $400.00 with transport out of Texas

Adoption Application:
https://www.shelterluv.com/

God's Dogs Rescue of TX in Grand Island, NE
https://godsdogsrescue.org/
info@godsdogsrescue.org

Check out our history here. https://am630theword.com/content/all/gods-dogs-rescue

https://youtu.be/RWhJi8uHW-M

We are a TEXAS-based rescue who transport regularly to this area. Our dogs are in TEXAS and will be transported to you if you adopt from us.

Our pets are posted on our website, and most live in homes with their fosters. We live with our foster dogs to get to know them in a home setting and to let them know that life can be good away from the streets.

 

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Pay Attention to These Top
Search Engine Optimization Trends in 2020

FinTech #102 by Alex Vasilakos

Part 2

12 Search Engine Optimization Trends for 2020
That You Need to Know

Voice Search Optimization: Next Level Search Engine Optimization
If you’re like many people, you probably perform web searches a couple of different ways: entering text or using voice input. With smartphones, smart speakers and virtual assistants, voice searching has become more popular. Virtual assistants respond to conversational searches – the type activated by “wake words” such as “OK, Google” or “Alexa.” That translates to even more traffic you can attract to your site, but the only way to accomplish that feat is to optimize it for voice searches.

Naturally, you may wonder how to marry Search Engine Optimization (SEO) with voice searching. Conversational searches ask more targeted questions instead of relying on keywords. You’ll see question keywords – who, what, when, where, how and why. They also include long-tail keywords or specific phrases that help narrow the results.

Search engines process conversational queries a little differently from simple keyword searching. They interpret what the user wants and return the best matching results. Natural Language Processing technology helps by analyzing speech and applying contextual reasoning, and NLP has a big job working with unique patterns, accents, dialects and other characteristics of human speech.

Voice queries now account for almost half of all online searches. Users want immediate and pertinent answers, but they also tend to look for locally-based results. You must gear your SEO strategy to deliver what your audience is looking for.

Mobile Accessibility: Optimization Plus Content
What annoys you when you perform searches or try to find content on your smartphone’s web browser? Chances are, it’s websites that you can’t access on mobile: menus you can’t reach, dialog boxes that roll off the screen, text that you can’t enlarge or shrink for better reading, and so forth. Optimizing websites for mobile browsers solves these problems, but that’s not enough to deliver a great user experience.

With 4 out of 5 consumers using mobile devices to perform local searches, designing for the mobile UX is now a high priority. Going beyond optimization is crucial. Your site should engage users, offer easy-to-read content and deliver the value they want. You’ll attract potential customers and boost site visits, which in turn increases visibility and site rankings.

Click-Through and Dwell Time: 2 Critical Metrics
No doubt you’re familiar with CTR, or click-through rates. CTR measures the number of people who’ve clicked on a link versus impressions, or the number of people who view a page, email message or ad. CTR will remain important in 2020 but you’ll also want to pay attention to dwell time which is the length of time a visitor spends on a page before leaving.

Together, these two metrics provide some insight into how interested visitors are in your content. If users stick around on a page for several minutes, it usually indicates that they’re finding what they’re looking for. On the other hand, short dwell times can mean that they’ve decided to look elsewhere. Other links they click while on your site can also reveal useful information.

Think of CTR and dwell time as quick peeks into the minds of your audience. Don’t hyper-focus on those two figures, but pay attention to them when evaluating the rest of your metrics.

Artificial Intelligence: Personalizing User Experiences
Artificial intelligence offers a wide range of applications. My AI is not your AI but we probably use both versions to deliver high-value, personalized experiences for our target audiences. Google uses AI to provide improved and on-point search results. Surprised? Maybe not, but you should know that it’s slowly shaped the tech giant’s search services for a decade.

The story starts in 2010 with Google’s Caffeine update. As you might recall, Caffeine was a brand-new web indexing system that improved how Google crawled data and stored what it found. The company revealed that Caffeine sped up the crawl process, boosted its index, and allowed the search engine to return fresher results. Caffeine, of course, set the stage for future updates: Panda in 2011, Hummingbird in 2013 and RankBrain in 2015. RankBrain, a machine learning AI system, propelled Google’s search technologies. As part of the Hummingbird algorithm, it helps sort and rank pages for relevance.

Sure, all this sounds revolutionary. How does it relate to your SEO strategies? AI’s learning abilities are the key. Over time, RankBrain and similar AI learn why and how search engines’ results are useful to users – or not. This understanding plays an important role in how the AI classify and rank pages. And these AI keep learning as new trends, content and technologies appear. They’re also why old-school techniques like keyword stuffing no longer work – and backfire disastrously. Ultimately, you should remember two key takeaways about AI and search engines:

1. Context matters a great deal.
2. You need an intelligent SEO strategy for building your site’s reputation.

Search Engines: Multi-Platform Optimization
Google is certainly the most prominent player on the search engine field, but it isn’t the only contender. As some users’ privacy and security concerns grow, they turn to services such as DuckDuckGo. Die-hard Bing fans are unlikely to switch platforms unless they have good reasons. And there are at least a dozen others including StartPage, Gibiru, Search Encrypt and Ekoru. Don’t forget about search engine capabilities on social media sites such as YouTube and Twitter, as well as retailer giants like Amazon.

One could go on for hours, but the point is evident. Your site must be optimized for multiple search engines and search-enabled platforms. Best SEO practices are key to earning good rankings on each of these sites.

Don’t Limit Your Strategies and Options
Now that you’ve reviewed 2020’s most important SEO trends, your next step is to incorporate them into your organization’s strategies. Achieving visibility is a top goal, but you should balance it with design and content practices that deliver value to your audience. That means you’re designing for both machines and users.

Besides hitting the most crucial technological and user-driven sweet spots, it’s also important to remember the fast pace of innovation. Google’s accuracy is always improving, thanks to its AI-driven infrastructure and the company’s focus on increasing both its search engine’s efficiency and the quality of its results. Users also expect to find helpful and accurate answers within minutes, if not seconds. These developments and expectations will surely shape how SEO trends emerge and change over the next several years.

Part 1:   Pay Attention to These Top
Search Engine Optimization Trends in 2020
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2020/07_27.htm#pay

 

Alex Vasilakos
Director of Marketing
The Finance Marketing Group
Alex@financemarketing.com 
Office: 518-591-4645x102 / Fax: 518-677-1071
90 State Street, Suite 1500, Albany, NY 12207

He entered advertising and marketing in 2003, right when the industry landscape shifted from traditional print to digital media. In that time, Alex has worked with numerous large accounts in both healthcare and financial services, and has helped small and medium-sized businesses grow and flourish in their respective digital markets. Alex has won countless awards for creative direction and strategy, and is certified by Google Partners in both AdWords and Analytics. Currently, Alex works exclusively with financial services companies, but his depth of knowledge and experience can help design and implement long-reaching strategies for businesses across all industries.

Previous Financial Technology Articles
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Storie

News Briefs----

Enova to Acquire OnDeck to Create a Leading FinTech
     Company Serving Consumers and Small Businesses
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/enova-to-acquire-ondeck-to-create-a-leading-fintech-company-serving-consumers-and-small-businesses-301101550.html

Element Reports Resilient Second Quarter Results,
    Continued Overachievement on Strategic Priorities
https://www.elementfleet.com/binaries/content/assets/elementfleet/investor-documents/efn_2q20_news-release.pdf

US consumer confidence tumbles in July
     as COVID-19 spreads
https://apnews.com/f7141aab14400d4fcd7f47a88e3b8e44

Credit Accounts in ‘financial hardship’ level off in June
   Article includes Financial Hardship Status by Credit Product
https://www.autoremarketing.com/subprime/transunion-accounts-financial-hardship-level-june

Google will let employees work from home
    for at least another year
https://nypost.com/2020/07/27/google-will-let-employees-work-from-home-until-july-2021/

Pandemic drives average age of cars in US to a record high
    "creates opportunities for repair shops and parts outlets"
https://komonews.com/news/business/pandemic-drives-average-age-of-cars-in-us-to-a-record-high

McDonald's to close 200 U.S. restaurants
   Here's where some of the closures are expected
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2020/07/28/mcdonalds-earnings-2020-coronavirus-impact-restaurant-closings/5527617002/

Starbucks says it lost $3.1 billion in sales
     due to COVID-19, pivots to more curbside pickups
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/starbucks-says-it-lost-31-billion-in-sales-due-to-covid-19-pivots-to-more-curbside-pickups-2020-07-28

Harley-Davidson U.S. Sales Plunge 27% in Q2
     Steepest Decline in Six Years
https://www.cfo.com/financial-performance/2020/07/harley-davidson-u-s-sales-plunge-27-in-q2/

Finding Flexibility: Rental, Leasing Companies
    Provide Solutions During Uncertain Times
https://napipelines.com/finding-flexibility-rental-leasing-solutions/

Not Sparing Anyone: Texas Funeral Homes
  Can’t Escape Virus
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/us/coronavirus-texas-funeral-homes.html

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You May Have Missed---

Most Expensive Place to Live in
    all Fifty States
https://247wallst.com/special-report/2020/07/24/most-expensive-place-to-live-in-every-state/2/

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Sports Briefs---

Cuomo invites all MLB teams to play
      in New York state amid COVID-19 issues
https://nypost.com/2020/07/28/andrew-cuomo-invites-all-mlb-teams-to-play-in-new-york-state/

Patriots fullback Danny Vitale plans to opt out
    of 2020 NFL season due to coronavirus concerns
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2020/07/27/danny-vitale-new-england-patriots-opts-out-nfl-coronavirus/5522272002/

Kurtenbach: Blame MLB commissioner Rob Manfred
    for the Marlins’ coronavirus outbreak
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/27/kurtenbach-blame-mlb-commissioner-rob-manfred-for-the-marlins-covid-19-outbreak/

Full list of players sitting out 2020 season amid coronavirus concerns
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2020/07/28/nfl-player-opt-out-tracker-coronavirus-covid-19/5527864002/

Former 49ers star Dana Stubblefield found guilty
    of rape in 2015 at Morgan Hill home
https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/Former-49ers-player-Dana-Stubblefield-convicted-15438063.php

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California Nuts Briefs---

California’s recession could get worse
     if Congress cuts unemployment aid, studies say
https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article244545867.html

These California moms were never going to send
    their kids to school in a pandemic. Here’s why:
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/education/article244261122.html

Coronavirus: California’s COVID-19 epicenter
    shifts to the Central Valley
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/28/coronavirus-californias-covid-19-epicenter-shifts-to-the-central-valley/

Big Sur tribe regains land 250 years after being removed
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/27/big-sur-tribe-regains-land-350-years-after-being-removed/

After 20 years, Peggy Sue’s diner in San Jose closes for good
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/27/after-20-years-peggy-sues-diner-in-san-jose-closes-for-good/

The time Olivia de Havilland returned to Los Gatos High School
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/28/the-time-olivia-de-havilland-returned-to-los-gatos-high-school/

[headlines]
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“Gimme that Wine”

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

Foley Johnson winery in Napa Valley closes
     after worker tests positive for coronavirus
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/business/foley-johnson-winery-in-napa-valley-closes-after-worker-tests-positive-for/

The 5 Best Wines at Trader Joe’s Under $10
https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/shopping-storing/beverages/best-trader-joes-wine

South Bay winery gets taste of normalcy with new outdoor setup

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/26/winery-gets-taste-of-normalcy-with-new-outdoor-setup/

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

    1676 - Nathaniel Bacon of the Virginia Colony, was declared a rebel for assembling frontiersmen to protect settlers from Indians.  Before the "Virginia Rebellion," as it was then called, began in earnest in 1674, some colonists on the Virginia frontier demanded that Native Americans, including those in friendly tribes living on treaty-protected lands, be driven out or killed.  They also protested corruption in the government of Governor Berkeley.  Upon arriving in Virginia, Nathaniel Bacon bought two frontier plantations on the James River. Since his cousin was a prominent militia colonel and friend of Governor Berkeley, Bacon settled in Jamestown, the capital. Soon Bacon was himself appointed to the governor's council.  Bacon and his makeshift army issued a “Declaration of the People of Virginian” which criticized Berkeley's administration, accusing him of levying unfair taxes, appointing friends to high positions, and failing to protect outlying farmers from Indian attack. They also issued a 'Manifesto' urging the extermination of all Indians, charging that they did not deserve legal protections because they "have bin for these Many years enemies to the King and Country, Robbers and Thieves and Invaders of his Majesty's Right and our Interest and Estate."  Months of conflict ensued in what became known as Bacon’s Rebellion, including a naval attempt across the Potomac and in Chesapeake Bay by Bacon's allies to capture Berkeley at Accomac. Berkeley raised his own army of mercenaries on the Eastern Shore and captured Bacon's naval allies and executed the two leaders. Bacon's forces then turned against the colony's capital, burning Jamestown to the ground on September 19, 1676.  Before an English naval squadron could arrive, Bacon died of fever on October 26, 1676 and the rebellion soon collapsed. Governor Berkeley returned to power, seizing the property of several rebels and ultimately hanging twenty-three men, many without trial.  After an investigative committee returned its report to King Charles II, criticizing both Berkeley and Bacon for their conduct toward friendly tribes, Berkeley was relieved of the governorship, returned to England to protest, and died shortly thereafter.
    1708 - Haverhill, Mass. was destroyed by French & Indians.
    1758 - New Jersey Legislature formed the first Indian reservation at, oddly enough, Indian Mills, NJ…that’s right, New Jersey!!  It is located in Burlington County near the Wharton State Forest.
    1776 - General George Washington retreated during the night from Long Island to New York City, withdrawing from Manhattan to Westchester.
    1786 - Shays’ Rebellion: Daniel Shays, veteran of the battles of Lexington, Bunker Hill, Ticonderoga and Saratoga, was one of the leaders of more than 1,000 rebels who sought redress of grievances during the depres­sion days of 1786—87. He began organizing his followers with speeches this day. They prevented general court sessions and on Sept 26, they prevented Supreme Court sessions at Spring­field, MA. On Jan 25, 1787, with 1100 men, they attacked the federal arsenal at Springfield; Feb 2, Shays’ troops were routed and fled. Shays was sentenced to death but pardoned June 13, 1788.  The uprising had been caused by the harsh economic conditions faced by Massachusetts farmers, who sought reforms and the issuance of paper money.  Shays later he received a small pension for services in the American Revolution.
    1809 - Birthday of Oliver Wendell Holmes (d. 1894), physician and author, father of Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, at Cambridge, MA. “A moment’s insight”, he wrote, “is sometimes worth a life’s experience.”
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.com/owholmes.htm
http://www.eldritchpress.org/owh/owhhes.html
    1811 – Birthday of Henry Bergh (d. 1888), founder of the ASPCA, in NYC.  He was President Lincoln’s ambassador to Russia when the severe climate forced him home.  On returning to the United States, Bergh resolved to work on behalf of animal welfare. Alone, in the face of indifference, opposition, and ridicule, he began working as a speaker and lecturer, but most of all in the street and the courtroom, and before the legislature. The legislature passed the laws prepared by him, and on 10 April 1866, the ASPCA was legally organized, with Bergh as president. 
    1815 - Anna Ella Carroll’s (d. 1893) birthday, Pocomoke City, MD.  Writer and publicist for Union causes during the Civil War. She is best known for her pamphlet which outlined the proposition that the Southern states would resume their original places in the United States once the rebellion of the Civil War was over, precisely the course adopted by Abraham Lincoln in superseding Congress in the conduct of the war. She is credited with the plan to invade the South along the Tennessee River. Her tombstone reads "Maryland's Most Distinguished Lady." However, she died financially poor and anonymous.
http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/educ/exhibits/
womenshall/html/carroll.html
http://nabbhistory.salisbury.edu/
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/103-5362656-4423850?tag=fast-b
kasin00-20&keyword=Anna%20Ella%20Carroll&mode=books
    1817 - The first “abolition” newspaper was “The Philanthropist,” published and edited by Charles Osborn, which appeared in Mount Pleasant, OH. It published “An Appeal to Philanthropists” by Benjamin Lundy, which is said by some to be the most powerful abolition appeal ever made.
    1831 – Michael Faraday discovers electromagnetic induction.  Although Faraday received little formal education, he was one of the most influential scientists in history. It was by his research on the magnetic field around a conductor carrying a direct current that Faraday established the basis for the concept of the electromagnetic field in physics. Faraday also established that magnetism could affect rays of light and that there was an underlying relationship between the two phenomena.  It was largely due to his efforts that electricity became practical for use in technology.  As a chemist, Faraday discovered benzene, investigated chlorine, invented an early form of the Bunsen burner and the system of oxidation numbers, and popularized terminology such as anode, cathode, electrode, and ion.
    1839 - The crew of “Amistad” secretly changed course and the ship landed at Long Island, NY, where it and its ‘cargo’ were seized as salvage.  In January, 53 Africans were seized near modern-day Sierra Leone, taken to Cuba and sold as slaves. While being transferred to another part of the island on the ship, led by the African, Cinque, they seized control of the ship, telling the crew to take them back to Africa. However, the crew secretly changed course and the ship landed at Long Island. The Amistad was towed to New Haven, CT where the Africans were imprisoned and a lengthy legal battle began to determine if they were property to be returned to Cuba or free men. John Quincy Adams took their case all the way to the Supreme Court, where on Mar 9, 1841, it was determined that they were free and could return to Africa.
    1852 - The Latter Day Saints first published their doctrine of "celestial marriage," popularly known as polygamy. The Mormon Church maintained this teaching until the Manifest of 1890 (and later Congressional legislation) outlawed the practice.
    1858 – The Harris Treaty was signed by the US and Japan.  Also known as the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, it opened the ports of Kanagawa and four other Japanese cities to trade, among a number of trading stipulations.  
    1861 - The first Confederate forts to surrender in the Civil War were Fort Clark and Fort Hatteras on Hatteras Island, NC, guarding Pamlico Sound. They surrendered to Flag Officer Silas H. Stringham and General Benjamin Franklin Butler, who had captured the garrison with 715 men, 31 heavy guns, and 1,000 stands of arms.
    1862 - (29th-30th) At the second Battle of Bull Run, the maneuvers of General Stonewall Jackson and his teamwork with General Robert E. Lee were too much for the 45,000 Union troops under General John Pope, who broke and retreated to Washington, DC. Union losses were 1724 killed, 8372 wounded, 5958 missing. Confederate losses stood at 1481 killed, 7627 wounded, 89 missing. http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0857066.html
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0839705.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0252023633/jimbo2/104-1979401-1205565
    1864 – Confederate spy Belle Boyd was arrested by Union troops and detained at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C.  She operated from her father's hotel in Front Royal, VA, and provided valuable information to Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson in 1862.
    1869 - The Mt. Washington Cog Railway opens in New Hampshire, making it the world's first rack railway.  The railway is still in operation, climbing Mt. Washington.
    1896 - History records chop suey was concocted in New York City by the chef of Chinese Ambassador Li Hung-Chang, who devised the dish to appeal to both American and Asian tastes. Chop suey was unknown in China at the time.
    1898 – The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded.
    1904 - Third modern Olympic Games open in St Louis.  These Games were originally scheduled for Chicago. However, President Theodore Roosevelt intervened on behalf of St. Louis so that the Games would be in conjunction with the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition. Again the Games were upstaged, this time by the St. Louis World’s Fair, and critics believed this would kill the fourth Olympics from taking place. The marathon included the first two Africans to compete in the Olympics – two Zulu tribesman named Lentauw (real name: Len Taunyane) and Yamasani (real name: Jan Mashiani). They wore bibs 35 and 36, respectively. 
The only problem was that these two tribesmen were not in town to compete in the Olympics – they were actually the sideshow! Yes, they were imported by the exposition as part of the Boer War exhibit (both were really students at Orange Free State in South Africa, but no one wanted to believe that these tribesmen could actually be educated – it would have ruined the whole image).  Lentauw finished ninth and Yamasani came in twelfth. This was a disappointment, as many observers were sure Lentauw could have done better – that is if he had not been chased nearly a mile off course by a large, aggressive canine! 
The marathon was over, but there is still one more little story to go along with this:  It seems that two of the patrolling officials driving in a brand-new automobile were forced to swerve to avoid hitting one of the runners – they ended up going down an embankment and were severely injured. 
In the end, the St. Louis Olympics (along with the previous Paris games) proved to be such a disaster that the Olympic Committee was forced to hold interim Olympic Games in 1906 at Athens, in an attempt to revive the flagging Olympic movement. These games were not numbered, but were attended by twenty countries and put the Olympics back on a steady course to success.   An interesting useless side note: Iced tea made its debut at the 1904 Exposition. It seems that it was so hot during the Expo that the staff at the Far East Tea House couldn’t even give away their product. 
    1905 – “The It Girl,” Clara Bow (d. 1965), was born in Brooklyn.  She rose to meteoric stardom in silent films during the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" after 1927. Her appearance as a plucky shop girl in the film “It” brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl."  Bow came to personify the Roaring Twenties and is described as its leading sex symbol and motion picture star, appearing in 46 silent films and 11 talkies.  In 1999, film historian Leonard Maltin said, "You think of Garbo, Gish, all these great names, great actresses, Clara Bow was more popular in terms of box-office dollars, in terms of consistently bringing audiences into the theaters, she was right on top."  Many film historians consider Bow to have been the industry’s first megastar.
    1911 – Cy Young pitched his final game for the Cleveland Spiders, going just three innings and allowing five runs in a 7-1 loss to Washington.  After this game, Cleveland waived him and he joined the Boston Rustlers in the National league where he finished his career that season.
    1911 – Ishi, considered the last Native American to make contact with European Americans, emerges from the wilderness of northeastern California.
    1915 – The US Navy raises F-4, the first U.S. submarine sunk in an accident.
    1915 – Birthday of actress Ingrid Bergman (d. 1982) at Stockholm, Sweden.  She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globes, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute. She is best remembered for her roles as Ilsa Lund in “Casablanca” (1942), co-starring Humphrey Bogart, and as Alicia Huberman in “Notorious” (1946), an Alfred Hitchcock thriller co-starring Cary Grant. 
    1916 – US passes the Philippine Autonomy Act.
    1917 – Weezie’s birthday:  Actress Isabel Sanford (d. 2009) was born in Harlem, NYC.  Lead role in “The Jeffersons,” in 1981, she became the first African-American actress to win a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. 
    1920 - Birthday of Charlie Parker.  Clint Eastwood made a movie about his life. Known as “The Bird,” he and Dizzy Gillespie, trumpet player extraordinaire and great showman, are credited with “inventing” the style “Be-Bop.” Definitely way ahead of his time, and quite melodic (his record albums with strings from 1947 to 1952 produced by Norman Granz are jazz classics). There is controversy on how he got his name. Some say it was from sitting in the backyard of “speakeasies” in Kansas City, Kansas, where he was raised, fingering his alto sax. Others say it was his love of chicken. He was addicted to Heroin, as many of the “Be-Bop” players were. The movie “The Man with the Golden Arm” was a take-off of his life, not Chet Baker, according to the writer of the movie.  He was taken to Camarillo for the Insane, where he kicked the habit, for a short time. The club Birdland in Manhattan was named after him. It is told one of his ideas to make the club more profitable was to have a Country and Western band come and play during the breaks. Parker was a profound influence upon Miles Davis, who started playing with his band at the age of 17.
 http://www.kcpl.lib.mo.us/sc/bio/parker.htm
http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/5066/
http://www.changingtones.com/trmpt02.html
http://www.bigmagic.com/pages/blackj/column4.html
http://www.downbeat.com/artists/window.asp?action=new&aid=
117&aname=Charlie+Parker
http://www.charlieparkerresidence.net/
    1921 – Birthday of Wendell Scott (d. 1990), at Danville, VA.  Auto racer and the first black stock-car driver.  He is the only black driver to win a race in what is now the Sprint Cup Series. NASCAR champion 12-1-63: won race but because of racial tensions did not receive honor until Jan. 1964 when NASCAR officials admitted the flagman’s intentional error.  The film “Greased Lightning”, starring Richard Pryor as Scott, was loosely based on Scott's biography. 
    1922 - New Orleans Rhythm Kings cut first records for Gennett.
    1922 – The first radio advertisement is aired on WEAF-AM in NYC
    1924 – Birthday of singer Dinah Washington, born Ruth Lee Jones (d. 1963), Detroit, Michigan.  Her hits include: “What A Diff’rence a Day Makes,” “It Could Happen to You,” “Our Love is Here to Stay,” “For All We Know,” “Baby [You’ve Got What It Takes],” “A Rockin’ Good Way [To Mess Around and Fall in Love],” “Baby Get Lost,” “This Bitter Earth.”  She sang with Lionel Hampton band [1943-46]. 
http://www.ddg.com/LIS/InfoDesignF96/Ismael/jazz/1950/Washington.html
http://www.rockhall.com/hof/inductee.asp?id=207
    1924 – Elizabeth Short (d. 1947) was born in Boston.  Known as “The Black Dahlia,” she was the victim of one of America’s most famous unsolved murders.  Short was found mutilated, her body sliced in half at the waist, on January 15, 1947, in Leimert Park, Los Angeles.  A person claiming to be the killer called the editor of the Los Angeles Examiner, offering to mail items belonging to Short to the editor. The following day, a packet arrived at the Los Angeles newspaper containing Short's birth certificate, business cards, photographs, names written on pieces of paper, and an address book. One or more others wrote more letters to the newspaper, signing them "the Black Dahlia Avenger," after the name given Short by the newspapers. Due to the notoriety of the case over the years, more than fifty men and women have confessed to the murder, with police receiving large amounts of information from citizens every time a newspaper mentions the case or a book or movie is released about it.  The murder has borne a cottage industry of books, films, and magazine speculation, but no further progress toward identifying the killer.
    1936 – Former Arizona Senator John McCain (d. 2018) was born in the Panama Canal Zone, where his father was stationed.  At the time, the Canal was under US control.  McCain graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1958 and began his naval career at Pensacola where he began his aviation training.  On a mission during the Vietnam War, he was captured on October 26, 1967 when his plane was shot down by a missile over Hanoi.   McCain fractured both arms and a leg ejecting from the aircraft, and nearly drowned when he parachuted into a lake.   Some North Vietnamese pulled him ashore, then others crushed his shoulder with a rifle butt and bayoneted him. Although McCain was badly wounded, his captors refused to treat his injuries, beating and interrogating him to get information; he was given medical care only when the North Vietnamese discovered that his father was a top admiral.  He was released on March 14, 1973.  After retiring in 1981, he began his political career by running and winning a seat in Congress from Arizona’s First District.  Upon being skewered in the press for being a carpetbagger, McCain responded, “…Listen, pal. I spent 22 years in the Navy. My father was in the Navy. My grandfather was in the Navy. We in the military service tend to move a lot. We have to live in all parts of the country, all parts of the world. I wish I could have had the luxury, like you, of growing up and living and spending my entire life in a nice place like the First District of Arizona, but I was doing other things. As a matter of fact, when I think about it now, the place I lived longest in my life was Hanoi.”  His Senate career began in 1987 where he has been a leader and he has run for President twice.
    1939 - A typical day at the Graham dairy farm in Georgetown, North Carolina.  http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/aug29.html
    1944 - For the sake of diplomacy, Paris was liberated on August 25, when the German commander General Dietrich von Choltiz surrendered to French General Jacques-Phillipe Leclerc. On this day, the 15,000 American troops taking part in the liberation marched down Champs Elysees.
    1944 - McVElGH, JOHN J., Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U .S. Army, Company H, 23d Infantry, 2d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Brest, France, 29 August 1944. Entered service at: Philadelphia, Pa. Birth: Philadelphia, Pa. G.O. No.: 24, 6 April 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty near Brest, France, on 29 August 1944. Shortly after dusk an enemy counterattack of platoon strength was launched against 1 platoon of Company G, 23d Infantry. Since the Company G platoon was not dug in and had just begun to assume defensive positions along a hedge, part of the line sagged momentarily under heavy fire from small arms and 2 flak guns, leaving a section of heavy machineguns holding a wide frontage without rifle protection. The enemy drive moved so swiftly that German riflemen were soon almost on top of 1 machinegun position. Sgt. McVeigh, heedless of a tremendous amount of small arms and flak fire directed toward him, stood up in full view of the enemy and directed the fire of his squad on the attacking Germans until his position was almost overrun. He then drew his trench knife. and single-handed charged several of the enemy. In a savage hand-to-hand struggle, Sgt. McVeigh killed 1 German with the knife, his only weapon, and was advancing on 3 more of the enemy when he was shot down and killed with small arms fire at pointblank range. Sgt. McVeigh's heroic act allowed the 2 remaining men in his squad to concentrate their machinegun fire on the attacking enemy and then turn their weapons on the 3 Germans in the road, killing all 3. Fire from this machinegun and the other gun of the section was almost entirely responsible for stopping this enemy assault, and allowed the rifle platoon to which it was attached time to reorganize, assume positions on and hold the high ground gained during the day.
    1946 – One of the battleships damaged at Pearl Harbor, USS Nevada, was decommissioned by the US Navy.
    1948 - In St. Louis, Jackie Robinson hits for the cycle, drives in two runs, scores three times and steals a base helping the Dodgers to beat the Cardinals, 12-7.
    1953 - Birthday of American composer William Copper, Virginia.
    1953 – Producer Ken Burns was born in Brooklyn.  Known for his style of using archival footage and photographs in documentary films, his most widely known documentaries are “The Civil War” (1990), “Baseball” (1994), “Jazz” (2001), “The War” (2007), “The National Parks:  America’s Best Idea” (2009), “Prohibition” (2011), “The Central Park Five” (2012), and “The Roosevelts” (2014).  Burns' documentaries have been nominated for two Academy Awards and has won Emmy awards, among other honors. 
    1954 - San Francisco International Airport (SFO) opens. It has been continually “under construction” since this date. San Francisco has had at least three airports within the city limits during the twentieth century. Crissy Field at the Presidio dates from World War I, the Marina Flying Field from 1915, and the late 1930s saw development of the Seaplane Harbor at Treasure Island. Ingleside racetrack was also used for aviation purposes in the early part of the twentieth century. Commercial and general aviation ultimately moved to Mills Field in San Mateo County in the 1930s, which originally was temporary as the originally international airport was to be built on Treasure Island.  Crissy Field at the Presidio was the last airport within the city, and ended limited operations in the 1980s.
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist/airport.html
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist2/airfield.html
http://www.san-francisco-sfo.com/
http://www.worldairportguide.com/Airports/sfo/sfo.asp
    1956 - Top Hits
“My Prayer” - The Platters
“Hound Dog/Don’t Be Cruel” - Elvis Presley
“Allegheny Moon” - Patti Page
“I Walk the Line” - Johnny Cash
    1958 - Air Force Academy moved from Denver to its present site in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
    1958 – President Eisenhower signed into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act which creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
    1958 – Birthday of singer/dancer Michael (Joe) Jackson, (d. 2009), Gary, Indiana.  Known as the King of Pop.  Joined the family act, The Jackson Five, in 1964 and started his solo career in 1971.  “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save,” “ I’ll Be There,” solo: Ben; Grammy Award: Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough [1979]; 5 Grammy Awards in 1983: “Thriller,” ”Billie Jean,” “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial;” 2 in 1984: ”Beat It;” another in 1985 [w/Lionel Richie]: “We are the World”); 1989 Best Music Video/Short Form Grammy: “Leave Me Alone;” “The Legend,” Award Grammy; “The Girl is Mine,” “Stay, Stay, Stay” [w/Paul McCartney], “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” [w/Siedah Garrett], “Rock with You,” “Bad,” “Smooth Criminal,” “Ease on Down the Road” [w/Diana Ross - from Broadway’s The Wiz]; portrayed Captain Eo in Epcot Center’s multimedia show; married and divorced Lisa Marie Presley; inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Mar 19, 2001. 
    1958 - Alan Freed's "Big Beat Show" opens at the Fox Theatre in Brooklyn. The usual venue, The Paramount, is vacated because management didn't like the fact there was a riot after Freed's Boston concert. The opener in Brooklyn brought in $200,000 and those performing included Frankie Avalon, Jimmy Clanton, Bobby Freeman, the Elegants, Bill Haley & the Comets and Chuck Berry.
    1958 - John Lennon and Paul McCartney of a Liverpool band called the Quarrymen, welcome George Harrison to the group.
    1959 – The first Congress elections in Hawaii as a state of the Union were held.
    1959 - Horace Silver Quintet records “Blowin’ the Blues Away.”
    1962 - Malvin Russell “Mel” Goode of Pittsburgh, PA, became the first African-American television news commentator when he was assigned by WABC-TV to the United Nations staff, New York City.
    1962 - Elvis' tenth movie, “Kid Galahad,” opens in US theaters, featuring the King as an amateur boxer. Charles Bronson also stars.
    1962 - Hackberry, LA, was deluged with twenty-two inches of rain in 24 hours, establishing a state record.
    1964 - Top Hits
“Where Did Our Love Go” - The Supremes
“The House of the Rising Sun” - The Animals
“C’mon and Swim” - Bobby Freeman
“I Guess I’m Crazy” - Jim Reeves
    1964 - Walt Disney's supercalifragilisticexpialidocious "Mary Poppins" released.  http://us.imdb.com/Details?0058331
    1964 - Roy Orbison’s "Oh, Pretty Woman" was released. It hit number one (for 3 weeks) on September 26th and became the biggest of his career. "Oh, Pretty Woman" was Orbison’s second #1 hit. The other was "Running Scared" (6/05/61).
    1964 - In a clear case of rock and roll being saved by the British Invasion, Billboard magazine notes that guitar sales are the highest they've been since the advent of Elvis Presley.
    1965 – San Francisco Giant Willie Mays breaks former Pirate Ralph Kiner’s record for home runs in the month of August when the 'Say Hey Kid' connects for his 17th round tripper in an 8-3 victory over the Mets.
    1965 - Cool wave brought 2.5 inches of snow to Mt. Washington for an August record. It reached 25 in Vermont, the earliest freeze on record in many locations.
    1965 - The Gemini V spacecraft returns to Earth.
    1966 - The Beatles performed at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, CA. It was the group’s last live appearance before they disbanded in 1970. Also appearing were The Ronettes and the Remains. Ticket purchases by mail were available from KYA, No. 1 Nob Hill Circle, San Francisco
http://www.televideos.com/prod01.htm
    1966 - The last episode of ABC-TV's musical variety show “Hullabaloo” airs, featuring guest stars Lesley Gore, Paul Anka, Peter and Gordon, and The Cyrkle.
    1967 - Final TV episode of "The Fugitive." The series originally started on September, 1963. Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen) was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death for his wife’s murder but escaped from his captors in a train wreck. This popular program aired for four years detailing Kimble’s search for the one-armed man (Bill Raisch) who had killed his wife, Helen (Diane Brewster).  In the meantime, Kimble himself, was being pursued by Lieutenant Phillip Gerard (Barry Morse). The final episode, aired this day in 1967, featured Kimble extracting a confession from the one-armed man as they struggled from the heights of a water tower in a deserted amusement park. That single episode was the highest-rated show ever broadcast until 1975. The TV series generated a hit movie in 1993 with Harrison Ford as Kimble and Oscar-winner Tommy Lee Jones as Gerard. (Feb. 28, 1983: “M*A*S*H”, concluding a run of 255 episodes, this 2 ½ hour finale became the most-watched television show at that time---77 percent of the viewing public was tuned in. “Cheers’” last episode on August 19, 1993 did not beat this rating nor did “Seinfeld’s” last on May 14, 1998 nor did my most favorite show, “Mad About You.” on May 24, 1999.
http://www.tvtome.com/MadAboutYou/
(Helen Hunt and co-star, Paul Reiser, were both given $1,000,000 per episode salaries for the 1999 TV season of "Mad About You".)
    1967 – At a time when they scheduled doubleheaders in Major League Baseball, the Yankees and the Red Sox played the longest in Yankees’ history.  Red Sox take the 1st game 2-1 in 9, Yankees win 2nd game in 20 innings, 4-3, taking a total of 8 hours and 19 minutes.
    1968 - Democratic Party National Convention: Antiwar protesters clashed with police and national guardsmen in the streets outside, and hundreds of people, including innocent bystanders and members of the press, were brutally beaten by Chicago’s finest.
    1968 - Cream and Electric Flag opened at Fillmore West, San Francisco.
    1969 - To compete with Johnny Carson (NBC) and Joey Bishop (ABC), CBS-TV presented Merv Griffin on late-night TV. Johnny ruled -- staying on top for almost 23 years to come.
    1970 – Chicano Moratorium against the Vietnam War was staged in East Los Angeles. Police riot kills three people, including journalist Ruben Salazar.
    1971 - Hank Aaron became the first baseball player in the National League to drive in 100 or more runs in each of 11 seasons.
    1971 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey,'' Paul & Linda McCartney. McCartney had a real Uncle Albert, who he said would quote the Bible when he got drunk.
    1972 - Top Hits
“Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” - Looking Glass
“Alone Again (Naturally)” - Gilbert O’Sullivan
“Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)” - The Hollies
“If You Leave Me Tonight I’ll Cry” - Jerry Wallace
    1972 - President Richard Nixon announced that a White House investigation of the Watergate break-in, conducted by White House counsel John Dean, revealed that administration officials were not involved in the burglary.
    1974 - 600 Catholic nuns adopt a resolution calling for the ordination of women priests in the Roman Catholic Church.
    1974 - Moses Malone became the first basketball player to jump from high school to professional basketball, skipping college to sign a contract with the Utah Stars of the ABA.
    1976 – In NYC, “Son of Sam,” David Berkowitz, killed one person and seriously wounded another in the first of a series of attacks.  He killed six victims and wounded seven others by July, 1977. Berkowitz eluded a massive police manhunt while leaving brazen letters that mocked the police and promised further crimes, highly publicized in the press. He terrorized New York and achieved worldwide notoriety.  Berkowitz was arrested by NYC homicide detectives in August, 1977, and was indicted for eight shooting incidents. He confessed to all of them.  Berkowitz was found mentally competent and incarcerated in state prison for murder. In the course of further police investigation, Berkowitz was also implicated in many unsolved arsons in the city.  Berkowitz has been imprisoned since his arrest and is serving six life sentences consecutively.
    1977 - Lou Brock stole the 893rd base of his career, surpassing Ty Cobb’s modern record for career stolen bases. Ricky Henderson in 1982 breaks Brock’s for stealing the most bases in one season with 122.
    1979 - Sheridan Broadcasting Corp purchases Mutual Black Network, making it the first completely Black-owned radio network in the world.
    1980 - Top Hits
“Magic” - Olivia Newton-John
“Sailing” - Christopher Cross
“Take Your Time (Do It Right)” - The S.O.S. Band
“Drivin’ My Life Away” - Eddie Rabbitt
    1981 - The Pretenders "II" LP enters the chart.
    1981 - The soundtrack to the film, "Heavy Metal" enters the album charts. The LP features tracks by Stevie Nicks, Cheap Trick, Devo and Sammy Hagar.
    1982 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Abracadabra,'' Steve Miller Band.
    1984 - Edwin Moses won the 400-meter hurdles in track competition in Europe. It was the track star’s 108th consecutive victory.
    1984 - High temperature at Topeka, KS reaches 110 degrees for the first time since the dust bowl of the 30's.
    1986 - The former "American Bandstand" studio, at the original home of WFIL-TV in Philadelphia, PA, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The studio is located at 4548 Market Street.
    1986 – Sparky Anderson, the first manager to win the World Series in each league, became the first manager to win 600 games in both the leagues when his Tigers beat the Brewers, 9-5.
    1987 - Los Lobos' remake of Ritchie Valens' 1959 classic, "La Bamba" hits #1 on the pop singles chart and stays there for three weeks.
    1987 – Nolan Ryan passes the 200 strikeout mark in a season for a record eleventh time.
    1987 - Some of the most powerful thunderstorms in several years developed over the piedmont of North Carolina, and marched across central sections of the state during the late afternoon and evening hours. Baseball size hail was reported around Albemarle, while thunderstorm winds downed giant trees around High Falls.
    1988 - Cool air invaded the north central U.S. Ten cities reported record low temperatures for the date, including Bismarck, ND with a reading of 33 degrees. Deerfield, a small town in the Black Hills of South Dakota, reported a low of 23 degrees. The remnants of Tropical Storm Chris drenched eastern Pennsylvania with up to five and a half inches of rain, and produced high winds which gusted to 90 mph, severely damaging a hundred boats in Anne Arundel County, MD.
    1988 - Top Hits
“Monkey” - George Michael
“I Don’t Wanna to Go on with You like That” - Elton John
“I Don’t Wanna Live Without Your Love” - Chicago
“The Wanderer” - Eddie Rabbitt
    1989 - In a special election, Ileana Rose Lehtinen (R-FL) becomes the first Cuban-American elected to the U.S. Congress.
    1990 - Saddam Hussein declares America can't beat Iraq. By the end of 1990, 580,000 Iraqi troops were believed to be in Kuwait or southern Iraq. Facing them were 485,000 troops of 17 allied countries. Earlier, on August 10 at a meeting in Cairo, only 12 of the 21 member nations of the Arab League voted to support American troops.
    1991 - The Soviet Communist Party suspended parliament, thus ending a 75-year control of the USSR. Democratic change was sought and the struggle still continues today, perhaps ending the hunt in the United States to “halt” communism. Capitalism won out but we must wait to see what President Putin has in mind for the second coming of the USSR.
    1992 – Guns 'n' Roses’ "November Rain" peaks at #3 on the pop singles chart.
    1994 - Viacom Inc. announced the purchase of Blockbuster Entertainment Corp., the video rental store giant, for $8 billion.
    1998 - Top Hits
“I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”- Aerosmith
“The First Night”- Monica
“Crush”- Jennifer Paige
“My Way”- Usher
    2002 - To show their displeasure about tomorrow's impending strike, fans at Devil Ray-Angel game begin throwing foul balls back onto the field at Edison Field and over 100 people are ejected for throwing trash. New words are added to the traditional seventh-inning rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" as many of the fans in attendance begin to chant, "Don't strike! Don't strike! Don't strike!"
    2005 - Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Plaquemines Parish in southeastern Louisiana early on the 29th with maximum sustained winds near 125 mph, a strong category-three, and the third most-intense land-falling hurricane in U.S. history. The center of the hurricane passed just east of New Orleans, where winds gusted over 100 mph. Widespread devastation and unprecedented flooding occurred, submerging at least 80 percent of the city as levees failed. Farther east, powerful winds and a devastating storm surge of 20-30 feet raked the Mississippi coastline, including Gulfport and Biloxi, where Gulf of Mexico floodwaters spread several miles inland. Rainfall amounts of 8-10 inches were common along and to the east of the storm's path. Katrina weakened to a tropical storm as it tracked northward through Mississippi and gradually lost its identity as it moved into the Tennessee Valley on the 30th.
    2005 – Rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Fats Domino, 77, is rescued from his Ninth Ward home in New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
    2007 - Six US cruise missiles armed with nuclear warheads are flown without proper authorization from Minot AFB, North Dakota, to Barksdale AFB, Bossier City, LA.
    2007 – The Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken, Jr.  Separately, Ichiro Suzuki collected the 1,500th hit of his Major League career in only his 1,060th game. Only two players – Al Simmons (1,040) and George Sisler (1,048) - had accumulated 1,500 hits in fewer games.
    2009 - A 1970 interview with John Lennon, in which he revealed some of the reasons that The Beatles split, appeared in Rolling Stone magazine. John said that his band mates disrespected and "insulted" his wife, Yoko Ono, adding, "They despised her... It seemed I had to be happily married to them or Yoko, and I chose Yoko." He also took a shot at his former songwriting partner, saying "We got fed up with being sidemen for Paul."
    2013 - The first federal health study reporting on the use of sleeping pills reveals that 8.6 million Americans take prescription sleeping pills.
    2014 - The NCAA settled a lawsuit regarding concussions, paying $70 million to assess head injuries for current and past players of college sports.  The fund does not cover treatment, forcing injured players to sue their colleges for compensation.