Leasing News

######## surrounding the article denotes it is a “press release” and was not written by Leasing News nor information verified, but from the source noted. When an article is signed by the writer, it is considered a “by line.” It reflects the opinion and research of the writer. It is considered “bias” as it is the writer’s viewpoint.

US Bank Manifest Changes---Up-Date
by Christopher Menkin

It is not Bob Dole but Robert "Bob" Doyle, Senior Vice President Capital Markets, who is rumored to have taken over the "broker division" or what is labeled by their web site as “Manifest Funding--- www.manfestfunding.com).

Several calls Friday morning from US Bancorp "officers" basically said the story was "inaccurate;" and to learn what was really happening, speak with the US Bank media representative. No calls were returned, but in the afternoon more confirmation from brokers who were told they were “cut off” by Manifest, primarily because the new policy required a very high annual volume. One well-established discounter who many readers would know by name, said they did several million dollars a year with Manifest, but it was not enough).

Several gave dollar minimums, but without confirmation, would prefer not to state. It also may have been different with different brokers. Not knowing the other side of the conversation, cannot qualify the dollar amounts. However, all were told Manifest was going to emphasis their vendor business, cutting back on employees; many are being paid through August (or at work until the end of August, depends, no official word to date).

Some of this may appear confusing as US Bancorp Manifest is not located in one geographic area and has several "departments" or "divisions."

The numbers heard are more rumor than fact, but it is said that "broker division" was being cut to the top 50, who were representing 75% of their volume.

In the "Funder/Superbroker Looking for New Broker Business" this is what was submitted by US Bank:

“US Bank Manifest Funding Services
In business since 1987
Paul Meyer -Director of Sales-East
Paul.meyer@usbank.com
507-532-7191
Charlie Ehlers-Director of Sales-West
Charlie.ehlers@usbank.com
507-532-7119
www.manfestfunding.com
Members:
ELFA, NAELB, NEFA
140 employees”

It should be noted that some of these being retained or cut off are also other leasing companies and including in the “top 50.” Just as in the story about LEAF sending leases to Financial Pacific, many were also sending to Manifest, too. As Paul Menzel, CLP, president of Financial Pacific noted in the story:

"We do business with third party originators all over the country. That may include all types and sizes of operations, including small brokers, independent leasing companies, captives, and banks. LEAF submits applications under the same program and pricing as our other Third Party Originators.

"It is not unusual for them to be selling assets to FinPac as a way to manage portfolio risk. FinPac has a unique niche in the credit funding spectrum and understands how to evaluate and manage higher risks. Many of our clients just do not want to hold those deals in their own portfolio. What LEAF is doing goes on everyday by sophisticated and sound lenders all over the world. It is just good risk management."

Many leasing companies have been doing this for years, including banks, other funders, and for many reasons from having extended too much credit or having too much of the same equipment or the customer wants 60 month terms and the funder only wants to grant 36 or they don't like the equipment.

Leasing News has noted U.S. Bancorp Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Richard K. Davis' leadership as well as backing from the board of directors has lead to expansion of the bank as well as stability and his famous quote, "We want to make all the good loans we can at US Bank," no sarcasm here as the time he made the statement banks were being accused of not making any loans at all. He wanted stockholders, bank customers, and potential bank customers to know US Bancorp was not backing away from the marketplace, and at the same time, were making internal changes. (1)

These changes coming to light today actually started with the position of the Portland finance office getting out of the middle market broker business. Earlier, exactly May 13, 2009 Leasing News noted: "Michael J. Rizzo, President & CEO, Business Equipment Finance Group, executive vice president at U.S. Bank, was recently let go by management. March 20, 2009 he told Leasing News he was no longer in charge of the U.S. Bancorp Business Equipment Finance Group). He said Dave Verkinderen is the General Manager of that division. Adrian Hebig is the Chief Operations Officer. Both are considered peers.

"He was given other bank assignments, and in the realignment, a position was not available, Leasing News was told. It was not a performance issue of US Bank Manifest, which reportedly has higher delinquencies and problems than before.

"Cindy Fleck recently left to join MCA Relationship Manager for Channel Partners under her old boss Brad Peterson."

President and CEO of U.S. Bancorp Equipment Finance is still Sal Maglietta. This was originally the Oliver-Allen operation, one of the first companies to specialize in IT: leasing equipment for computer systems, networking, communications, PC connectivity, primarily to middle market clients. They were sold in March, 2000 to US Bancorp."

There were other changes, but not confirmed so will not be noted here.

Others commented to Leasing News, "We knew this was just a matter of time with the way US Bank was allowing Manifest to operate." In actuality, US Bancorp Manifest has been slow in this trend which perhaps started with GE Capital, as well as CIT, Key Equipment Finance, and even LEAF Specialty cutting back and then off as well as others such as Balboa Capital, Direct Capital, Marlin Business Services, Evans, not to mention the companies that got completely out of leasing, such as Pentech that had a special relationship with one of their divisions taking Manifest "turn downs."

While it is true banks are protecting their capital, being perhaps “forced” or “taking advantage” of purchase of smaller banks and branches, there is a paradigm change facing the leasing industry.

What is happening at this time is FASB moving into putting all leases on balance sheets with residuals noted. Many are ignoring this "time bomb" and do not realize it will not only affect larger ticket leasing more than anything else, but other markets, too, including middle-market, and yes, the small ticket marketplace. It will also get banks more out of leasing and therefore lines of credit, warehouse leasing, and perhaps availability for small ticket financing---turning leasing more into "finance." Make deals more "rate conscious".

The trend has been to more "finance" as noted by associations using it in their title (one is now the National Equipment Financing Association" and the Equipment Leasing Association is now the Equipment Finance and Leasing Associations.

There are also changes in the captive lessor marketplace as well as the franchise industry now starting to do their own financing as a "captive lessor." The private label program first jumped to larger vendor operations and has moved to other marketplaces.

In the past, when leasing companies have raised criteria, gotten out of programs, new ones were born as the "C" and "D" marketplace always exists, and even "A" and "B" have small ticket leasing needs that at one time Bank of America or Wells Fargo would jump at, but today much too small for their larger operation, even in the day of computers and wireless communication abilities. What then are being left are many “risky credits” and yields will determine as the more margin in a transaction, the more the risk can be increased (That has not changed nor has “the person with the gold makes the rules.)

(1) US Bancorp 1st Quarter—A Winner
by Christopher Menkin
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2010/4_21.htm#us_bancorp

(2) Leasing Companies Out of Broker/Discounting Business
(Please read the first paragraph in this list: )
http://www.leasingnews.org/Pages/Out-of-broker-bus.htm

Leasing Industry Help Wanted

Tax Manager
Portland, Oregon

Multi-state property/sales tax experience.
Vertex & PTMS tax management software exp. preferred.
Click here for more information
Please Contact: B. Gail Proper gproper@pfsc.com or Johnathan Wease jwease@pfsc.com

http://www.pfsc.com/
One of the nation’s largest and most trusted independent lease and loan servicing organizations.

Please see our Job Wanted section for possible new employees.

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Alert: Trinity Back at It
by Bernie Boettigheimer CLP

Whoever came up with the old saying “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” never met Lee Goff. Lee is the owner of Trinity Corporate Solutions formerly of Farmersville, Texas. Trinity is one of the vendors featured in my article ANATOMY OF A FRAUD which appeared in a December 2007 issue of Leasing News, While the other two vendors mentioned in that article have disappeared, Lee however, changed addresses two times and company name three times. At present his company is located in Sachse, Texas and is again producing troublesome leases for our industry. If you are looking for the personification of sleazy operator, this guy is it. Don’t take my word for it, just look him up on RipoffReport.Com:

“Lee Goff, under any of his corporate entities such as Trinity Corporate Leasing, Your Credit Desk, Group Four Investment, and several others is a classic con-artist. Regardless of what corporate entity he is fronting at the time, he professes himself to be a humble servant of God……Here is how his best known scam works. He represents himself initially as a leasing company, sometimes a leasing broker and works for you, the client, to get your purchased financed. At the same time he is working with by our vendor, advising them that he has you financed and promising that payment for whatever you purchased will be transferred as soon as the transaction closes” (Excerpt from RipOff.com - http://www.ripoffreport.com/loans/lee-goff/lee-goff-yourcreditdesk-com-a6f2c.htm)

In every case, he starts dealing with the customer as a broker/finance consultant, but he then changes the transaction format whereby he is the vendor and removes the real vendors from the transaction. He promises the real vendors payment, and upon funding he retains the full invoice money and never in turn pays the real vendors for the equipment delivered. Eventually the customer is sued by the real vendors who actually delivered equipment as well as the funding companies. It is a double whammy to the lessee. Another source verifying his modus operandi is Complaintsboard.Com:

“Selling leases on equipment he doesn't own title to, Lee Goff and his many corporate fronts have a long and well established record of ripping companies off. These victimized companies are left owing leasing companies hundreds of thousands of dollars while their debts to their vendors are never paid, leaving them on the hook”. (Excerpt from Complaintboard.com - http://www.complaintsboard.com/?search=TRINITY+CORPORATE+SOLUTIONS&everything=Everything)

Now Goff has a new trick. His new scheme starts with the lessee as he poses as a leasing broker. However his company, Trinity Corporate Solutions lists itself as a vendor. He seems to prefer lessees who need new phone systems preferably using mid-sized vendors. He takes the vendor’s invoice and puts a mark-up on top of that and tries to get his company approved as a vendor. If the funder does not find him as an acceptable vendor, he offers the original vendor as his supplier but then presents his invoice as the installer. Lee Goff used this trick on one of our Subscriber last November but was caught “red-handed” when the original vendor said they were installing the equipment. I guess he thought that he could pull the same trick this month to another one of Lease Police Subscribers. He was caught again! We are not talking small-ticket leases anymore as many of the leases are six figure transactions.

I don’t know what his next trick will be. Will he present himself as a leasing broker, vendor or manufacturer? Will he change names and addresses and start again? That is almost a certainty! He frequently passes himself off as a business partner of IBM, Lenovo, CDW and others so beware and don’t be the victim of this OLD DOG’S NEW TRICKS. At LeasePolice.com we track hundreds of scoundrels just like this and our contacts and informants in the field keep us ahead of their activities. Do not get fleeced when the real price to eliminate losses from them is very cheap and readily available.

Regards,
Bernie Boettigheimer CLP
President
Lease Police, Inc.
972-361-8111
214-549-3426-cell

Anatomy of a Fraud, a short story
By Bernie Boettigheimer, CLP
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/December%202007/12-14-07.htm#fraud

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

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Top Stories --- June 14-June 18

Here are the top ten stories opened by readers:

(1) US Bancorp Manifest---Changes going on
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jun2010/6_18.htm#manifest

(2) Leasing 102 by Mr. Terry Winders, CLP
Funding—Today the Major Problem
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jun2010/6_14.htm#funding

(3) Archives, June 14, 2002 Frechette
Sr. V-P Key Equipment Finance
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jun2010/6_14.htm#archives

(4) Chesapeake Industrial Leasing joins
Funder/Superbroker Looking for New Broker Biz
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jun2010/6_16.htm#chesapeake

(5) Bulletin Board Complaint
GCR Capital, Safety Harbor, Florida
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jun2010/6_18.htm#bbc_gcr

(6) Ex-con Gary Growden returns to leasing after prison
http://www.startribune.com/business/95651029.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1OiP:
DiiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr

(7) LEAF Ratings with FITCH and others, including landlord
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jun2010/6_18.htm#leaf_ratings

(8) Super “Broker/Lessor” List
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jun2010/6_14.htm#super_broker

(9) Winthrop Resources/Direct Capital Win Awards
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jun2010/6_16.htm#winthrop

(Tie)(10) 4 factors to consider in car leasing
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/auto/4-factors-to-consider-in-car-leasing.aspx

(Tie)(10) Equipment company officer lists Tiburon 6BD for $5.995M
http://sf.blockshopper.com/news/story/2700072166-Equipment_company_officer_lists_Tiburon_6BD_for_5_995M

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Leasing 102
by Mr. Terry Winders, CLP

Tax Depreciation for Leases to Municipal or 501C (not-for-profit)

Depreciation for Federal Income Tax is called “Capital Recovery”, and for GAAP accounting, it is called “the amortization of an expense”. Capital Recovery benefits are only allowed for Lessor’s if they follow the rules, and have a “true lease,” and the lease term is 80% or less of the equipments useful life.

Back in the Thirties the Government recognized that assets depreciate faster in the beginning than they do later on, so ADR depreciation was established as an accelerated form of depreciation with many classifications. In 1991 the Economic Recovery Tax Act established ACRS depreciation which decreased the categories of equipment and increased the acceleration. In 1986 they “modified” ACRS and it became MACRS to slow down the acceleration and the introduction of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) reduced it even more for those required to pay income tax under the AMT.

The tax reform act of 1984 was the first time a reduction in accelerated depreciation benefits were required for leases to a U.S. State or Municipal Government or a not-for-profit entity (501C). Straight line depreciation is all that lessor’s are allowed to take because the “use” of the equipment is in a Lessee organized not to make a profit. The 1984 Act requires the Lessor to take straight line depreciation over the greater of the property’s ADR Class life, or 125% of the lease term. Even though the lessor’s income is taxed in a 501-C and is tax free in a Municipal it is the “use” that dictates the right to take capital recovery benefits not ownership. Capital recovery allows the tax payer to recover the equipments Capital cost over time prior to paying taxes on taxable income.

There are exceptions for short term leases (under three years and the lease term must be lower that 30% of the ADR class life). The class life for computers is Asset class 00.12 with a class life of 6 years, so to quality under 30% the ADR term the lease needs to be less than 21.5 months. Also there are some exceptions for high tech short term assets. A complete review of the qualified high tech assets is required to determine if your high tech asset qualifies.

Municipal lease income is tax free which eliminates the need to take capital depreciation provided the municipal entity has taxing authority and the lease payments are paid from tax revenues. In addition the equipment must be “essential use property” and there “must” be a bargain purchase option or an automatic title transfer. Also leasing generally is paid from the annual budget and requires a non-appropriation clause that allows the municipality to return the equipment if no funds are ear marked for that equipment in the next year’s budget.

It is wise to include a provision in the municipal lease that provides that if the non-appropriation clause is used that the municipality may not replace the equipment with any other equipment or “service” that provides the same benefit that our equipment provided for the balance of the lease term. Many leasing companies have lost, just using the equipment replacement language, as outside contractors take over the task making the equipment obsolete.

Tax free income is attractive so long as you have some taxable income. Without taxable income tax free income is less desirable than taxable income that is sheltered from other activities. Also there is a restriction on bank funding of municipals because they are restricted from taking the interest cost to fund the transaction from other taxable income making them less competitive that non-bank funding.

A lease to a non-profit that is a true lease for Article 2A puts the Lessor in the spot of paying taxes on the revenue stream, just like a standard tax lease, but having to straight line the capital depreciation, there by raising the tax effect and raising the lessee’s payment. Many Lessor’s must chose to take the credit risk and price a bargain option lease with a non-profit or price the additional income tax into the deal to qualify as a true lease to get an Article 2A lease instead of a Article 9 disguised lease.

Tax depreciation is a benefit or a curse depending on the nature of the transaction. Make sure you check with your tax preparer before entering into these type of deals and make sure your pricing is correct taking into account the correct impact.

Mr. Terry Winders, CLP, has been a teacher, consultant, expert witness for the leasing industry for thirty years and can be reached at leaseconsulting@msn.com or 502-327-8666.

He invites your questions and queries.

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

(This ad is a “trade” for the writing of this column. Opinions
contained in the column are those of Mr. Terry Winders, CLP)

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Bank Beat---Umpqua Acquires More Branches

Nevada Security Bank, Reno, Nevada, (also known as Silverado Bank, Roseville, CA) was closed Friday by the Nevada Financial Institutions Division with Umpqua Bank, Roseburg, Oregon, to assume all of the deposits. Umpqua acquired Rainier Pacific Bank of Tacoma, Washington, and Seattle-based Evergreen Bank earlier this year. In 2009, it purchased the failed Bank of Clark County in Vancouver, Washington.

Five branches The bank was established in December 27, 2001 and had one office in Roseville, California (Placer County), four in Reno and one in Incline Village. They had gone from 90 full time employees March 31, 2009 to 78 by March 32, 2009.

The Bank had received a serious FDIC Cease and Desist order June of last year.

Equity had dropped from $53.7 million the previous time period to $12 million while non-current loans rose from $24.9 million to $51.7 million, from a $1 million profit to a $1 million loss after charge offs of $2 million ($1.55 million construction and land development, $267,000 secured by 1-4 family residential property, and $185,000 commercial and industrial loans). Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio 2.85%.

As of March 31, 2010, Nevada Security Bank had approximately $480.3 million in total assets and $479.8 million in total deposits. The FDIC and Umpqua Bank entered into a loss-share transaction on $368.2 million of Nevada Security Bank's assets.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $80.9 million.
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2010/pr10137.html

List of Bank Failures
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/banklist.html

Bank Beat:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Bank_Beat.htm

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Tustin, California--Adopt-a-Dog

Name: Sarah
Age: 2 Years
Breed: Terrier Mix
Posted: 6/16/2010

Sarah was just rescued from the shelter along with her 2 little babies. She has now been spayed, vaccinated, de-wormed, treated for fleas and microchipped. She is extremely lovable and would love to find a forever home. She is ready to go home today.

Sarah

If you are interested in adopting or fostering Sarah or any of our available dogs or cats, please email us at friends@fochp.org or leave us a voice mail at (714) 280-4993.

KKB Puppies
Tustin, CA 92780
(714) 264-4532
leslieoakley@sbcglobal.net
http://fochp.org

Application:
http://www.fochp.org/pdf/fochp_application.pdf

Adopt-a-Pet by Leasing Co. State/City
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Adopt_Pet.htm

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

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News Briefs ---

Acer chairman bullish on laptop sales
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2010/06/19/Acer-chairman-bullish-on-laptop-sales/UPI-60461276962862/

Tiger's $30 Million tail
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/tiger_tail_MO24HJNvQVCRwEaXVzXGXP

Uh oh: Campbell Soup recalls 15M pounds of SpaghettiOs
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/2010-06-18-spaghettios-recall_N.htm

You May Have Missed---

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates

Sports Briefs----

With Nerves in Check, McDowell Wins U.S. Open
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/sports/golf/21usopen.html?hp

California Nuts Briefs---

California government workers have built up $2.75 billion in paid time off
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/20/2835119/california-government-workers.html

Airport Check-in: New terminal to open at San Jose
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2010-06-21-airportcheckin21_ST_N.htm
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_15318716?nclick_check=1

“Gimme that Wine”

Washington Wine Retrenches
http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/42950

8 Secrets about Organic Wine
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-morganstern/8-secrets-about-organic-w_b_616501.html

Free Mobile Wine Program
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2010/2_26.htm#mobile

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

US/International Wine Events
http://www.localwineevents.com/

Winery Atlas
http://www.carterhouse.com/atlas/\

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

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Today in History

1964- James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner left Meridian, MS, at 9AM to investigate a church burning at Philadelphia, MS. They were expected back by 4 PM. When they failed to return, a search was begun. Their murdered bodies were found on Aug 4.

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This Day in American History

    1731-the birthday of the “first lady,” Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, wife of George Washington, first president of the US. born at New Kent County, VA. Died at Mount Vernon, VA, May 22,1802.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/mw1.html
http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/served/martha.html
    1788- US Constitution in effect: by a vote of 57 to 47, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution. With this ratification, the Constitution became effective for all ratifying states, as the approval of nine states was required for the Constitution to go into effect. The fishing colony, first settled in 1623, and named in 1630 by Captain John Mason after his Hampshire, England home, was a part of the Massachusetts colony. Then, in 1679 it became a separate royal colony. Concord, the capital of the Granite State, was also central to much of the Revolutionary War. The official state bird is the purple finch, and has a matching state flower, the purple lilac.
http://www.visitnh.gov/
    1821 ---The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church was formally constituted in New York City. Nineteen clergymen were present, representing six African-American churches from New York City; Philadelphia; New Haven, CT and Newark, NJ.
    1856-John Durkee of the Committee of Vigilance led a raid on the schooner "Julia" and hijacked the muskets aboard that were destined for the militia at San Francisco. He took the arms to the Committee's headquarters on Sacramento St. State Supreme Court Justice David Smith Terry was arrested by the Committee of Vigilance for stabbing vigilante policeman Sterling A. Hopkins on Jackson St. between Dupont and Kearny. Hopkins, who was the hangman for Cora and Casey, was in serious condition. Hopkins was stabbed when he attempted to arrest a member of the militia who was testifying in court about John Durkee's seizure of arms destined for the militia.
    1858--- Louisiana chess prodigy Paul Morphy arrives in Europe.
He won the first American Championship in 1857 in New York with a perfect score, and then went on to Europe, financed by his admirers, and played the best in Europe and won every match.
http://www.starfireproject.com/chess/morphy.html
http://batgirl.atspace.com/index.html
    1859-Birthday of Henry Ossawa Tanner, one of the first black artists to be exhibited in galleries in the US. He was born at Pittsburgh, PA. He died May 26, 1937, at Paris.
http://sheldon.unl.edu/HTML/ARTIST/Tanner_H/SSIII.html
http://www.doupine.com/tanner.htm
http://www.nbmaa.org/Gallery_htmls/tanner.html
    1882 – Birthday of American illustrator Rockwell Kent, Tarrytown Heights, New York.
http://organizations.plattsburgh.edu/museum/kentkent.htm
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/kent_rockwell.html
http://www.artline.com/galleries/aaron/prints/kent/kent.html
    1893 - On the first day of summer the temperature at Dodge City, KS, soared to 106 degrees during the midst of a blistering heat wave. The heat wave initiated a severe three year drought in the Central Plains Region. Ironically, at about the same time, heavy rains in the Mississippi Valley were causing the river to swell to its highest level of record at New Orleans, LA.
    1922-Massacre of strikebreakers by union members began at the Southern Illinois Coal Company's strip mine near Herrin, IL. During a nationwide strike by the United Mine Workers (UMW), a group of recruited strikebreakers arrived at the mine. Fighting broke out, and one striker and two strikebreakers were killed. The mine was quickly surrounded by armed UMW members. On June 22, approximately 60 strikebreakers inside the mine surrendered to union members, who marched them to a barbed wire fence and gunned them down. A few who managed to escape were hunted down and slain in a nearby cemetery. Twenty-one strikebreakers and one mine official were killed, and most of the rest were severely wounded.
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7847/massacre.htm
http://www.wvculture.org/history/minewars.html
http://www.prairieghosts.com/bloody_will.html
http://www.egyptianaaa.org/SI-HerrinMassacre.htm
http://www.geocities.com/apwualbany/laborhistory1920.html
    1928 - Mary Pickford cut off her 18, nearly waist-length, golden curls. She had reigned in films as "America's Sweetheart" for nearly 25 years, and wanted to make the transition in films to play more mature roles. At age 35, she put scissors to the tresses that locked her into her film ingénue image, and styled her hair in a more fashionable short bob. Few fans went to see her new, grown-up sound films. After only four sound films, Pickford retired from the screen, knowing that she would never be accepted by the public as anything but the little girl that she had successfully portrayed during the silent film era.
1929 singer Helen Merrill birthday
http://www.warnerclassics.com/finlandia/fa/biogs/merrill.htm
http://museum.media.org/ella/carnegie/artists/merrill.html
    1932-Jack Sharkey won a 15-round split decision over Max Schmelling to capture the world heavyweight championship in a fight in New York. Schmeling had won the title two years before by defeating Sharkey on a foul. Sharkey kept the title for one year before being knocked out by Primo Carnera.
    1932-Birthday of TV and movie composer Lalo Schifrin.
http://www.schifrin.com/biography.htm
    1936-Birthday of singer O.C. Smith, Mansfield, LA Died 2001
http://home.earthlink.net/~deankay/O.C.Smith.html
http://www.tsimon.com/ocsmith.htm
    1942- The movie "Little Tokyo, U.S.A." is released by Twentieth Century Fox. In it, the Japanese American community is portrayed as a "vast army of volunteer spies" and "blind worshippers of their Emperor, " as described in the film's voice-over prologue.
   1942 - Churchill receives the news of the fall of Tobruk while meeting with US President Roosevelt. FDR immediately offers aid and 300 Sherman tanks and 100 self-propelled guns are immediately dispatched to North Africa. The better equipment will make a difference in the British performance at El Amien.
    1943 -- Supreme Court rules on the Hirabayashi & Yasui cases, upholding the constitutionality of the curfew & exclusion orders against Japanese- Americans.
http://www.janm.org/clasc/resources.htm
    1943—Federal troops put down race riots in Detroit, Michigan. Disorders first appeared on southern military posts, where white residents clashed with northern black soldiers, who did not proffer the customary subservience. But the most severe race riots occurred in the cities: Harlem; Philadelphia; Mobile, Alabama; El Paso and Port Arthur, Texas; Springfield, Massachusetts; Hubbard, Ohio. A two-day guerrilla war between blacks and whites in Detroit during the summer of 1943 left twenty-five blacks and nine whites dead, seven hundred of both races injured, and $2 million property damage. The riot only ceased when six thousand troops occupied the city. Two weeks later, during the famous zoot- suit riots in Los Angeles, white servicemen terrorized the city's Mexican-American sections for four days as the city police, the Military Police, and the Shore Patrol all looked the other way. The only factor which kept violence against Japanese-Americans at such a low ebb was their forcible removal.
http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=185&category=events
http://www.detnews.com/history/riot/riot2.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eleanor/peopleevents/pande10.html
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1979/2/79.02.04.x.html
http://www.newnation.com/Archives/NNN-poll-06.html
    1945-the Battle of Okinawa ended with American grenades exploding in the background, inside the Japanese command cave at Mabuni the battle for Okinawa was ended when Major General Isamu Cho and Lt. General Mitsuru Ushijima killed themselves in the ceremonial rite of hara-kiri. In the long battle that had begun April 1, the American death toll reached enormous proportions by Pacific battle standards---7,613 died on land and 4,907 in the air or from kamikaze attacks. A total of 36 US warships were sunk. More than 70,000 Japanese and 80,000 civilian Okinawans died in the course of the battle. It was this event that lead President Harry Truman to authorize the atomic bomb to end the war with Japan as he realized how many Americans would be lost in the invasion of the main land.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jun21.html
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/okinawa-battle.htm
    1948---Top Hits
Nature Boy - Nat King Cole
Toolie Oolie Doolie - The Andrews Sisters
You Can't Be True, Dear - The Ken Griffin Orchestra (vocal: Jerry Wayne)
Texarkana Baby - Eddy Arnold
    1948- Columbia Records, Bridgeport, CT, introduced to the public at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York city long-playing microgroove phonograph records. CBS engineer Peter Goldmark was the inventor of the non-breakable Vinylite plastic disks, which played at a speed of 33.3 revolutions per minute. One side of a 12-inch “LP” played for 23 minutes, compared to 4 minutes for a one side of a standard 78-rpmrecord; 78s were quickly supplanted by the new technology. In 1952, I joined the Columbia Record Club and have been a member ever since.
    1955 - Johnny Cash's first single, "Cry Cry Cry," is released.
    1956---Top Hits
The Wayward Wind - Gogi Grant
I Almost Lost My Mind - Pat Boone
Transfusion - Nervous Norvus
Crazy Arms - Ray Price
    1956 -- Playwright Arthur Miller, appearing before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), refuses to betray his left-wing associates. He will appear again in1957 & be convicted for contempt, which is overturned on appeal in 1958. John Steinbeck defends Miller in the June 1957 Esquire.
http://ocean.otr.usm.edu/~wsimkins/trial.html
    1958-Bobby Darin's "Splish Splash" enters the US record charts, where it would reach #3. Bobby would later say that the song only took him about ten minutes to write.
    1964- James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner left Meridian, MS, at 9AM to investigate a church burning at Philadelphia, MS. They were expected back by 4 PM. When they failed to return, a search was begun. Their murdered bodies were found on Aug 4.
    1964-Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched a perfect game against the New York Mets, winning, 6-0. Since Bunning had previously pitched a no-hitter for the Detroit Tigers, his effort against the Mets gave him a no-hitter in each league. Gus Triandos became the first catcher to handle a no-hitter in each league.
    1964---Top Hits
Chapel of Love - The Dixie Cups
A World Without Love - Peter & Gordon
I Get Around - The Beach Boys
Together Again - Buck Owens
    1965-Arthur Ashe, tennis champion, leads UCLA to NCAA tennis championship
    1965 - Gary Player won the U.S. Open golf tournament to become only the fourth winner to earn all four top pro golf titles. Player from South Africa was the first non-American to achieve the feat. The Grand Slam of golf, incidentally, includes the U.S. Open, the British Open, the Masters and the PGA Championship. The other professional golfers who have won all four events are Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Gene Sarazen. The winningest golfer: Sam Snead.
    1966 -- Summer Haight Ashbury: Shops opening, dances every weekend, HIP merchants, Diggers. Morning Star Ranch, owned by Lou Gottlieb of the Limelighters, along with Ramon Sender, open the land (32 acres) to anyone who wants to live there.
http://www.diggers.org/homefree/hfh_int.html
http://www.ic.org/morningstar/home.html
http://www.napafest.com/limeliters.html
    1967 -- Solstice party in Golden Gate Park: an estimated 30-50,000 boogie.
http://www.sftoday.com/enn2/summerlove.htm
    1967 -- "First day of summer": New Buffalo founded near Taos, New Mexico (9 miles south of Lama).
http://www.summeroflove.org/law.html
    1970-the first major league baseball player to make seven consecutive hits in seven times at bat in the same game was Cesar Dario Guiterrez, shortstop for the American League Detroit Tigers, who in the second game of a double header with the Cleveland Indians at Cleveland,OH, hit a single in the first, third, fifth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth innings and a double in the seventh inning, Detroit beat Cleveland, 9-8.
    1972---Top Hits
The Candy Man - Sammy Davis, Jr.
Song Sung Blue - Neil Diamond
Nice to Be with You - Gallery
The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A. - Donna Fargo
    1972-Hurricane Agnes hit the eastern seaboard for five days, wreaking havoc across seven Atlantic Coast states. Casualties included 118 lives and 116,000 homes, leaving more than 200,000 homeless after Agnes dumped 38.1 million gallons of water over 5,000 square miles.
    1972 - Billy Preston received a gold record for the instrumental hit, "Outa-Space". Preston, who played for gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, back in 1956, was also in the film "St. Louis Blues" as a piano player. He was a regular on the "Shindig" TV show in the 1960s; and recorded with The Beatles on the hits "Get Back" and "Let It Be". Preston also performed at "The Concert for Bangladesh" in 1969. Many well-known artists have utilized his keyboard talents, including Sly & The Family Stone and the Rolling Stones. 1985 - Ron Howard directed his first music video. The TV star of "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Happy Days" also directed the film "Cocoon", which included "Gravity", the song used in the video. Michael Sembello, a guitarist who played on Stevie Wonder's hits between 1974 and 1979 was responsible for "Gravity".
    1975 - The Captain and Tennille's Love Will Keep Us Together jumped into the Number 1 slot on Billboard's record charts, and stayed there for 4 weeks.
    1975-Elton John headlines a bill at Wembly Stadium that also features the Eagles, The Beach Boys, Rufus and Joe Walsh. The crowd favorite was the Beach Boys, who played a 90 minute set.
    1978 - Evita, a musical about the life of Argentine popular idol Eva Perón, opened in London. The music was by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Tim Rice and it was directed by Harold Prince. The play was an instant hit.
    1980---Top Hits
Funkytown - Lipps, Inc.
Coming Up - Paul McCartney & Wings
Biggest Part of Me - Ambrosia
One Day at a Time - Cristy Lane
    1982 -- New edition of Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage is published, restoring cuts made by his editor in 1895.
http://www.columbia.edu/ cu/libraries/indiv/rare/guides/Crane,S/navigator.html
    1988 - The first full day of summer was a torrid one, with afternoon highs of 100 degrees or above reported from the Northern and Central Plains to the Ohio Valley. Sixty-nine cities in the north central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. The high of 110 degrees at Sioux Falls, SD, was an all-time record for that location. Highs of 103 degrees at Des Moines, IA, 102 degrees at Fort Wayne, IN, 109 degrees at Huron, SD, 108 degrees at Sioux City, IA, and 101 degrees at South Bend IN were records for June.
    1988---Top Hits
Together Forever - Rick Astley
Foolish Beat - Debbie Gibson
Dirty Diana - Michael Jackson
I Told You So - Randy Travis
    1986-President Ronald Reagan gives speech defending his judicial appointments. One June 17 he had announced that Warren E. Burger would retire as chief justice of the Supreme Court effective July 10. The president named Associate Justice William H. Rehnquest as Burger's successor, and also named Antonin Scalia, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Clubia, to the Court. The changes were interpreted as a gain for conservative judicial philosophy.
    1986—Excedrin is taken off the shelf. On June 19 it was declared the cause of death of two persons in the Seattle, Wash., area. Both had taken Extra-Strength Excedrin capsules containing the poison. Bristol-Myers, the makers of Excedrin, responded by announcing they were taking all the bottles off the shelves. The person or persons who had broken the seal and poisoned the bottles were never caught. Bristo-Myers destroyed all bottles, introducing a new seal and plastic wrapping became common on all over-the-counter drugs.
    1987 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)," Whitney Houston.
    1988 - The first full day of summer was a torrid one, with afternoon highs of 100 degrees or above reported from the Northern and Central Plains to the Ohio Valley. Sixty-nine cities in the north central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. The high of 110 degrees at Sioux Falls, SD, was an all-time record for that location. Highs of 103 degrees at Des Moines, IA, 102 degrees at Fort Wayne, IN, 109 degrees at Huron, SD, 108 degrees at Sioux City, IA, and 101 degrees at South Bend IN were records for June
    1989 -- Supreme Court rules it's a-ok to burn the US flag as a political expression.
http://recollectionbooks.com/siml/stan/FlagBurner.html
    1992 - Tom Kite beat fought fellow golfers and the elements as he won the U.S. Open. Scoring records had given way to survival at Pebble Beach, California. Howling winds made the greens as hard as concrete. Kite's final-round even-par score of 72 was enough to give him a two-stroke victory over Jeff Sluman.
    1995 - Microsoft and Netscape officials met at Netscape headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. Notes taken by Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen indicate that Microsoft offered to buy a share of its rival if Netscape would stop making Navigator for the Windows market. The Andreessen notes would be used later in the U.S. government's massive antitrust case against Microsoft Corp. (Microsoft founder Bill Gates was painted as the master string-puller in a no-holds-barred plan to destroy Netscape Communications Corp. when it refused to collaborate on a plot to divide the market for Internet browser software. At the time Netscape had the monopoly with almost a 80% share of the marketplace. The opposite is true today.)
    1997-The Women's National Basketball Association opened its inaugural season with three games. The Houston Comets beat the Cleveland Rockers, 76-56, the New York Liberty defeated the Los Angeles Sparks, 67-57, and the Sacramento Monarchs beat the Utah Starzz,70-60. Two teams, the Charlotte Sting and the Phoenix Mercury, began their season the following day with Phoenix Mercury began their season the following day with Phoenix defeating Charlotte, 76-59. Each team in the WNBA, a summer league operated by the NBA, played a 24-game schedule.
    1999 - America Online announced its investment of $1.5 billion in DirecTV creator Hughes Electronics Corp. The agreement gave AOL new high-speed options and expanded ties between the world's largest Internet provider and the leading U.S. satellite TV service. A combination of AOL's Internet services and Hughes' digital TV system would help increase DirecTV's subscriber base while boosting the market for AOL's interactive TV and high-speed Internet services.
    1999 - The album Millennium, recorded by The Backstreet Boys, was certified gold.
http://www.thebackstreetboys.com/
http://www.backstreet.net/
    2001--- Returning to major leagues after a stint with Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League, Jose Canseco starts as the designated hitter for the White Sox. The former All Star, who has 446 career home runs (23rd all time), didn't get any offers after being released by the Angels in the spring. In 2005, his book is a “tell all” on how many players were using steroids, he and his team mate Mark McGuire, included, he claims.

NBA Finals Champions for this Day

1988 Los Angeles Lakers

[headlines]
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Baseball Riddle

All professional
Leagues forbid its
Use.
Made to be
Indestructible.
Never cracks.
Unfilled inside the
Middle.

Baseball's
Attempt to save
Trees.

Written by “ Dan Zamudio”
Printed in “Catcher in the Wry,”
Baseball Poem
McFarland and Company

[headlines]

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SuDoku

The object is to insert the numbers in the boxes to satisfy only one condition: each row, column and 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once. What could be simpler?

http://leasingnews.org/Soduku/soduko-main.htm

[headlines]

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Daily Puzzle