Friday, June 1, 2007

Headlines---

Notice: Not Sterling National Bank, New York
    Archives---June 1, 2001--The Daniels
        Classified Ads---Legal
            June 1, 2004 Anniversary
        300 Respond to Salary Survey
    Section 179 is being raised to $125,000 in 2007
What if Sterling Financial had Lease Team software?
    Classified Ads---Help Wanted
        Ethics and the ELFA Award of "Excellence in Leasing"
    Leasechat.com—New kid on the block
“To Tell the Truth” –by Paul Bent
“NorVergence Reverberations: Mass Mediation?”
    NACM Index reports business favorable
        Six New CLP's
Missouri AG sues for not "cancelling lease contracts"
    Dell to cut staff 10%/continued accounting troubles
        News Briefs---
You May have Missed---
    "Gimme that Wine"
        Calendar Events
Snapple Real Facts
    Today's Top Event in History
        This Day in American History
Baseball Poem
    SuDoku
        Daily Puzzle

######## surrounding the article denotes it is a “press release”

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Notice: Not Sterling National Bank, New York

"I wonder if you could manage to mention that Sterling Financial, Lancaster, PA., is in no way connected to Sterling National Bank here in New York. That would be much appreciated."

Bob Krause
robert.krause@sterlingbancorp.com

It should also be mentioned not to confuse also with Sterling Bank, Lagos (Africa) with presence in the US: Nigeria; Sterling Bank, West Palm Beach, FL; Sterling Bank and Trust, San Francisco, CA.; Sterling Bank Services, Missoula, MT; Sterling Financial, Prairie Village, KS; Sterling Savings Bank, Portland, Oregon/Seattle/Washington; Sterling State Bank, Austin, Minnesota, and there are a few more...but Bob Krause's Sterling Leasing, a division of Sterling National Bank, is perhaps the most recognizable---and successful in equipment leasing.
Should not be confused with the Sterling in Lancaster, Pa.

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Archives---June 1, 2001--The Daniels

(Leasing News reprints this article as we receive requests from attorneys, law enforcement officers, equipment dealers, leasing applicants, about people who have appeared in previous editions. This is reportedly the fourth time the Daniels are back in business.)

SDI Capital/Reportedly the Daniels Were Not Nice in Their Goodbye to Employees

“I am friends with several of the now former employees of SDI Capital that were let go on Wednesday.

“I am told that SDI didn't simply lay them off, but let them go without paying them what was owed to them for work done because there was not enough money to meet the payroll.

“Further they were told that TF would pay them if Total Funding bought the company.

“Pretty rotten of the Daniels, if you ask me. They have enough personal wealth that they could have paid the payroll.”

Name Withheld

“...my friend here in ****** was submitting biz through SDI as an employee and today is/was their payday - they found out instead that the doors were closed and no pay cks are coming....needless to say he is not only very upset at losing his job with no notice but also now has no pay coming for the biz he has submitted. Not good..... “

Name Withheld

“Kit, I kept in touch with you when I was at SDI as I saw the meetings going on. Your Leasing News knew more than what they were telling us, but you’ve go the facts wrong that we were told TotalFunding would be hiring some of us. It was a massacre at that day: no notice, no severance, and we were told we were lucky to get a paycheck as no money was coming in.

“There is no way Totalfunding can contact us. I was not here when most of the portfolio was put on, so don’t blame the current employees. We got a very raw deal from the Daniels.”

Name Withheld

“(Note: Many employees send us e-mail by their home e-mail or a free e-mail provider. Many people on our readership list also have two addresses, their business and home address, as some tell us they read us in the evening or late at night.

Alan Collier of Totalfunding did confirm his company is considering buying the SDI Capital portfolio. He will not comment any further at this time. editor )”

[headlines]

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Classified Ads---Legal

San Diego , CA Experienced in-house corporate, equipment leasing and financial services attorney seeks position as managing or transactional counsel. Willing to relocate. Cell Phone: 760-533-4058; Email: sandidq@msn.com

San Francisco, CA Ken Greene, active in finance and leasing for 25 years, seeks "in house" counsel position,full-time. Reference available. Email: kenlaw100@aol.com

To place a free “job wanted” ad here, please go to:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted-post.htm

For a full listing of all “job wanted” ads, please go to:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted.htm

[headlines]

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June 1, 2004 Anniversary

Leasing News started its HTML eMail edition, June 1, 2004. At the time, the text eMail edition continued. Almost a 100 readers wanted the text continued as they read Leasing News on their hand held device, such as a Blackberry. They reported it was easier to read in that format than with the graphics.

Although the text version had its fans, it was phased out, as articles, sections, and other graphics were missing from the stories, making them incomplete. It was also too much work to maintain and send out.

The HTML eMail edition actually was, and remains today, the web site headlines. The headlines take the reader to the web site. Today more than half of the readers access the web site direct, and
not by the eMail edition headlines.

A disadvantage of not being on the mailing list is not getting the extra editions for breaking news, although they are posted on the web site. Leasing News has also gone from a five day a week to three days a week, primarily due to the work involved in formatting the HTML with graphic presentations.

Christopher Menkin, publisher

[headlines]

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300 Respond to Salary Survey

In early May, Fred St Laurent, CEO and President, SFBI Professional Recruiting did an e-mail survey to his mailing list of leasing associations, as well as readers of Leasing News. Over 300 responded.

"Categories will not add up to 100% because not all respondents had certain positions or didn’t fill it in,” he told Leasing News. "For example not everyone who responded had a Docs person… but of the total responses that was the percentage. Not everyone who responded listed the number of employees…"

It should be noted that Fred was preparing for the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers meeting where he had a workshop on “How to hire and retain employees.”

It appears many of the responses are from smaller companies as 53% are from companies with less than ten employees; 28% from ten to twenty employees; and then it jumps to 15% above 100
employees. 4% evidently did not respond. The point being these are smaller companies.

The credit manager and credit processing also reflect smaller companies. Two recent credit analyst ads in Leasing News has $45,000 for a credit analyst in Southern California, and in the San Francisco Bay area, a bank had from $65,000 to $90,000 for the same position, depending on experience,
and hired one for $75,000. These figures are from larger companies.

What is interesting and reflective are the sales and “broker reps.”
Further indication that the smaller companies do not pay as much as the larger companies. It also reflects why many salesmen become independent leasing brokers, often working out of their homes, earning 100% of the commission, plus often a part of the residual.

Fred’s presentation on “How to Hire and retain employees” must have gotten a lot of attention after he released the figures below:

Fred plans to do another survey next year.

Fred St Laurent
CEO and President
SFBI Professional Recruiting
Phone: 678.455.5700 ext 214
Fax: 678.623.8283
Email: Fred@sfbirecruiter.com
"Impacting Companies one person at a time."

Website: http://www.sfbirecruiter.com/
Member of ELA
Member of NAELB (Membership Committee)
Member of UAEL
Member of EAEL
Member of the Leasing News Advisory Board
http://www.leasingnews.org/Advisory%20Board/Fred_St_Laurent.htm

At present, UK based Leasing Research Consultancy, Interimus Limited, is conducting Sales Benchmarking Survey: USA Leasing
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/May%202007/05-25-07.htm#inter

[headlines]

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Section 179 is being raised to $125,000 in 2007

Section 179 Deduction
(Updated For 2007 Iraq War Funding Law)

http://www.leasingnews.org/Pages/Sec179.htm

Courtesy the Arkansas Tax Guru, Kerry M. Kerstetter, CPA (referred to as The Tax Guru by other CPAs around the country) helps capitalists, investors & small business owners win the tax game.

Kerry M. Kerstetter
MBA~CPA~ATP~ATA
11802 Deer Road
Harrison, AR 72601
E-Mail: KMKCPA@TaxGuru.org
Web: www.TaxGuru.org
Blog: www.TaxGuru.net

See www.TaxGuru.org for much more detailed info and to subscribe.

[headlines]

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What if Sterling Financial had Lease Team software?

by Christopher Menkin

Leasing News has asked several equipment leasing software companies, service companies, and others to comment on the $150 million internal fraud at Sterling Financial, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Neither Sterling Financial, Lancaster, PA or Equipment Finance, belonged to an equipment leasing association (verified this); therefore they never received the benefits of subjects regarding leasing, such as accounting, fraud, software and other services available to the industry itself. Leasing association provide valuable networking, education, and exposure of the ups and downs involved in personal property collateral financing.

One of the primary issues is the ramifications of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX.) SOX was implemented in 2002 to combat accounting scandals from Enron, Tyco International, Peregrine Systems and WorldCom. SOX requires enhanced IT reporting to prevent off line accounting and tests are required by internal and external audits to pass SOX.

SOX also implemented criminal remedies for executives who sign off on fraudulent financial statements. Leasing News asked its resident accounting expert Shawn Halladay, the Alta Group, for his thoughts on this, as certainly we can expect major testing of SOX here and innocent Sterling Financial executives may be facing criminal charges soon. Mr. Halladay may have a column ready for Monday’s edition.

Leasing News asked Randy Haug, vice-president of Lease Team, if Sterling Financial had been using their software, would it have protected them from the fraud at Equipment Finance?:

"I’m not overly familiar with what exactly took place, or allegedly took place at Sterling Financial, Lancaster, PA. I do know that neither they or there equipment finance subsidiary Equipment finance are clients of ours, or use our LeaseTeam solutions that I’m aware of. I am not at all familiar with the facts of this situation, and have just briefly read some industry news accounts but do not know specifically what has taken place there.

"As a general statement , being incompliance with SOX guidelines has to do with many things, some of which have to do with your accounting software system and database audits, tracking and reporting etc…, but also has to do with following written procedures and guidelines , and then auditing those procedures to make sure they are followed within the organization. It is my understanding that there is to be internal audits and external audits and tests of that those process and procedures to make sure they are followed within companies that are part of a Bank or public companies. I would think accounting system reports would be used to support such audits internally or externally as well as the software systems that track and report on database changes.

“Many industry specific systems like ours create specific standardized process that is utilized in order to process transactions. These are then documented and are audited and tested as I stated above as part of being SOX compliant. Again, I’m not sure what occurred, or allegedly occurred in this situation, but I’m sure they are going to be examining there written procedures for SOX compliance and then the testing and auditing that occurred both by the parties internally and externally auditors in this situation to try to understand what happened and the reason it took place over such a long period of time.

"Please keep in mind that we do not know of the specific situation regarding what has taken place at Sterling Financial, Lancaster PA and have no way of determining what occurred there or the reason that it did. Nor do we wish to reflect negatively on Sterling Financial or any of there subsidiaries, or any of there processes or procedures they utilize in there SOX compliance area."

Randy Haug
Randy@LeaseTeam.com
Sr. Vice President / Partner
LeaseTeam, Inc.
(800)531-5086 x 1014
www.leaseteam.com
Innovative Solutions, Extraordinary Results!

[headlines]

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Leasing Industry Help Wanted

Corporate and Commercial Leasing Specialist

Corporate and Commercial Leasing Specialist, Alabama 5 years experience sales and credit Great opportunity. Click here for more information.

www.suntrust.com

Regional Sales Managers

Regional Sales Managers To establish small ticket vendor programs in major metro areas. Excellent compensation/ benefit package. View job description. Send resumes to Zully.Fernandez@IrwinCF.com Company Description: Irwin Commercial Finance (NYSE: IFC) is a true direct lender and in the ever changing leasing environment, we bring stability, creativity and consistent customer service levels to our business.

www.IrwinCFequipment.com

Sales

Financial Funding Services, LLC

Sales We are looking for highly motivated sales staff with proven lease experience. If you are currently networked and have a source of business and want to become independent working from your home or current office, we want to talk with you about joining our team. In addition to providing you and your customer base the very best of financial programs, service and support, we offer you a generous 60% of gross commission. Please email Karl Probst, General Manager kprobst@willamette-financial.com Willamette Financial Funding Services LLC has been established since 1986. We are highly efficient, motivated and a leader in placing exceptional and challenged credits nationally. We are well connected with major funding sources capable of taking A, B and C credits. Our credit processing and clerical support to our sales staff is responsive and extremely efficient.

www.willamette-financial.com

Sales-marketing

Sales-marketing Phoenix, Arizona or Virtual Office; 3 to 5 years of experience; high-end small ticket & Middle-Market vendor programs. Click here for more information. Manufacturers' Lease Plans Inc. (MLPi) is the pioneer of short-term rental and operating lease financing, funding high technology equipment manufacturers since the 1960s.

www.leaseplans.com

[headlines]

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Ethics and the ELFA Award of "Excellence in Leasing"

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) awarded its “Excellence in Leasing” to Lyn Law of Dell Financial Services and Michael Leichtling of Troutman Sanders LLP.

The "Excellence in Leasing" award went to Leichting because: “He has served on the Legal Committee and for two years was Chairman of its Amicus Curiae Subcommittee. He is one of the drafters of the ELFA White Paper "Legal Principles Underlying Commercial Businesses' Access to Equipment Leasing and Finance" (which deals with the NorVergence case), has been a panelist on many Legal Forum programs, and is active in many industry matters."
ELFA Press Release

"Lyn Law is a two-time member of ELFA Legal Committee, and a former Chair. She has been a member of various Subcommittees, and a frequent Legal Forum panelist. She served as a member of Task Force that revised ELFA's Code of Fair Business Practices and adopted the Principles of Fair Business Practices. As an enthusiastic contributor to special legal and legislative projects, Law has also been involved in various technology-related matters, most recently as a member of the Foundation's Steering Committee to oversee development of its just-published study on paperless transactions. "
ELFA Press Release

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo law suit has accused Dell of engaging in "bait and switch" financing tactics and ignoring service and warranty contracts. Dell denies this publicly, although Lawyers from Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins filed a class action suit on Feb. 14, 2005 in Superior Court for San Francisco County against Dell, Dell's financial services division (DFS) and its finance partner, CIT Finance, on behalf of Dell customers, alleging similar practices. Reportedly the class action suit was settled for $17 million almost a year later.

As part of the NY Attorney General's charge, disclosed interest rates were also questioned:
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/May%202007/05-18-07.htm#dell

Most likely New York AG case will also be settled, otherwise it may become one of the first tests of the new Equipment Leasing and Finance Association new ethic agreement that all members must sign. Ironically Lyn Law served as a member of Task Force that revised ELFA's Code of Fair Business Practices and adopted the Principles of Fair Business Practices.

It should be noted that Ms. Law is not involved in the sales department or marketing in Dell, Incorporated. The “Excellence in leasing” award was for her personal involvement in her professional and education to benefit members of ELFA. She is reportedly highly regarded by members of the legal community and the staff of ELFA, especially for the time and effort she has contributed for the betterment of the industry. The award was given to her, not to Dell.

A spokesperson for the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, (ELFA), told Leasing News, "As you may know, ELFA is not in a position to discuss the matter or merits of the case because the matter is currently before the courts and out of the realm of comment.

“I believe you may have asked about the ELFA Code of Fair Business Practices in relation to the case. It is important to note that no complaint has been filed against the company under the Code. And while the Code and official ELFA position is to endeavor to uphold the highest ethical business standards, the Code states that even if such a complaint had been filed, ELFA cannot take action on a complaint once litigation has been brought. ELFA must stand aside while a matter is in litigation.

“ELFA remains firmly committed to and will continue its ongoing program to promote the highest standards of professional conduct by its members. We will continue to monitor closely developments..."

[headlines]

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Leasechat.com—New kid on the block

“Every week we will have a different industry expert join us in our LeaseChat. Topics range from, Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click Advertising, Networking, C-Credit, Telemarketing Companies, Leads and much more. Available to members only, so join now!
Free!

“Coming Soon!

“Niche Funder Search”

“Wednesday, May 23rd @ 11am PST ---Ted Reynolds- Team Leasing--Topic: C-Credit and what to expect. Team Leasing is a leading C-Credit funder in the Equipment Leasing industry.

“TeamFundingSolutions.com”

“Next Expert LeaseChat --Time and Date to be announced soon!

“LeaseChat Live!
Want to chat with someone right now? See who's online.”

“My name is Danny Cullum, founder of LeaseChat.com. Welcome and thank you for stopping by. LeaseChat.com was created so Leasing Professionals, both new and seasoned, can get together and share ideas, comments, ask questions and get to know one another. Also, once a week we have an industry expert drop by to discuss topics that can help grow your business. New features are being added almost daily so please check in often.

“If you are a leasing professional you can register and update your profile to be listed on our Broker Directory.

“ABOUT ME

“I've been in the finance industry for almost 12 years and the leasing industry for over 5 years and I wish that I would have had a place to turn to like LeaseChat.com when I was first getting started. Just like a lot of you, I ventured into leasing as an extra service to offer my commercial mortgage clients. After a few short months my excitement for leases soon eclipsed mortgages and off I went.

Leasing News requested a biography, and received this e-mail:

“Thank you for your interest in LeaseChat.com. To answer your questions, currently Danny Cullum is not personally a member of any leasing association. He is the founder of Greenlight Leasing LLC but is now a non-active partner in the corporation. He is currently developing other start-ups in the financial industry.

“GreenLight was established in 2000, incorporated in 2002 and has been off and running since. Danny has been in the financial industry for over 12 years. He has consulted with several companies in start-up ventures such as mortgage and financial services. He started LeaseChat to give leasing professionals another resource in helping expand their business.

“LeaseChat has only been online for a little over 30 days and already boasts over a 150 members. We have received nothing but positive feedback for everyone involved. This is a completely free service where leasing professionals can get together and share ideas, comments, etc. If you have any more questions or feel you need some more information please let me know. “

Thanks,
John Willard
LeaseChat.com
theguys@leasechat.com

http://glleasing.com
Greenlight Leasing is located in Phoenix, Arizona,
considering leases from $3,000 to $5 million.

[headlines]

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NorVergence Reverberations: Mass Mediation?
Paul Bent, Attorney at Law
Principal, The Alta Group, LLC

As reported four weeks ago in Leasing News, judges of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals are scheduled to hold a telephonic hearing today (May 31) to determine whether certain cases involving the infamous NorVergence leasing transactions will be ordered to mediation. Leasing News has also reported that a state judge in Cook County, Illinois, has asked that some 500 NorVergence cases, all naming IFC Credit Corporation as a party, be ordered to mediation as a consolidated group.

What an amazing turn of events. After (in some cases) years of litigation on these cases, with the parties digging in their heels and holding fast to their positions, the courts are now considering using mediation – essentially structured negotiation – as a way to reach out-of-court settlements of these lawsuits. And apparently considering doing so on a massive scale.

Although it is often misunderstood (and too little used), mediation can be a very powerful and effective tool for resolving leasing disputes. It allows the parties to meet together in a completely confidential and non-binding setting where, with the help of a skillful mediator, they can review the background of the dispute, talk about the issues involved, work out a mutually acceptable settlement, and avoid the cost and hassle of further litigation. Neither side gives up any rights or benefits by entering into the mediation process, and no one is compelled to settle on terms that are not acceptable. (For a more detailed discussion of mediation in leasing, see “Just What is ADR, Anyway?” in Leasing News for March 30, 2007.
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/March%202007/03-30-07.htm#truth ).

But what does all that mean in the context of hundreds of lawsuits involving hundreds of different parties? And can it really work?

There is growing interest in the legal community regarding the use of mediation in class action lawsuits. In general, a class action suit is one in which multiple parties bring an action against a single defendant (or a very small number of defendants) for damages resulting from something done (or not done) by the defendants that affects all the plaintiffs in essentially the same way. Well known examples include the Phen-Fen cases, in which more than 50,000 plaintiffs sued the makers of an anti-obesity drug, claiming that it caused them to suffer various heart and pulmonary injuries. Or the more recent Wal-Mart employment cases, in which a very large group of Wal-Mart employees brought a class action suit against the company based on alleged sex discrimination in employment practices.

These cases, like most class action cases, are based upon a specific injury alleged to result from a specific act or failure to act on the part of the defendant. The trial of such cases almost invariably turns on questions of fact. Was there a product defect? Did the defendant know about it? Did the defendant take or fail to take certain specific actions? Was there actual loss suffered by the defendants as a class? Through mediation, these kinds of factual questions can be discussed in open ended and confidential meetings, and the background and specific facts of the case can be reviewed and questioned by the parties. The parties can then arrive at a settlement based on their own assessment of the actual facts of the matter and on their own determination of the likelihood of prevailing if they go to trial. In most class action cases, the factual grounds are essentially the same for all the parties; indeed, that’s generally the basis for certifying a class action in the first place. There is seldom a question of law in such cases, or of the interpretation of underlying legal principles; it’s almost always a matter of ferreting out and ruling on the facts.

But what about leasing disputes? Are the cases arising from the NorVergence deals essentially fact-based disputes? It would appear they’re not. Indeed, the facts in these cases are pretty straightforward – the lessees failed to pay rent and were found in default by the lessors. The real issues in the lawsuits seem to revolve around why the lessees failed to pay, and the cases tend to be much more concerned with interpretation of law than with simple facts. The NorVergence cases being considered for mass mediation have typically been brought by lessees, claiming fraud on the part of lessors or arguing that the lease agreements are not enforceable for various legal reasons. These are not cases in which a finder of fact can hear expert witnesses, review detailed evidence, and decide whether or not a certain action was taken or a certain event occurred. (Note: As of now, none of the NorVergence cases have been certified as class actions; but the concepts discussed in this article would apply to any mass case, whether certified or not.)

Should such cases be mediated en masse? Well, perhaps in the hands of an experienced mediator who is also an expert in leasing law and practice these cases could be settled on a mass basis. There may be common ground in the way most courts or the industry as a whole interprets choice of law or forum selection provisions (the issues that arise regularly in the NorVergence litigation), and there may be willingness on the part of both lessees and lessors to put these matters to rest without further substantial cost and hardship. (To get some perspective on the costs of trying versus settling a relatively small leasing dispute, see
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Settlement_Vs_litigation.htm.)

The measure of costs that can be avoided by settling such a large number of cases through mediation is most likely not just a multiple of the cost of trying such cases one by one; there are no doubt economies of scale in trying hundreds of similar cases. But these cases are not by any measure all identical; each raises a somewhat different point of law, and each involves a different party’s (or attorney’s) interpretation of the lease agreement. It is reasonable to assume that the costs of individually trying hundreds of such cases would run into tens of millions of dollars, not to mention lost opportunity cost, management time, and uncertainty of outcome.

Then does it make sense at least to try mass mediation in this situation? Absolutely. Mediation is always worth a try, because the downside exposure of failing to reach a settlement in mediation is miniscule; if they don’t settle, the parties can always go to trial. But if the court is willing to support such an approach, if the parties are willing to go into mediation with an open mind, and if a mediator with strong leasing experience and mediation expertise can be found, then the parties in these cases (both lessees and lessors) would be well advised to give it their best shot. They have nothing to lose but their continued agony and costs of dealing with the reverberations of NorVergence.

Paul Bent
Principal

http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/March%202007/03-30-07.htm#truth

Global Experience Provides Direction

As a principal of the Alta Group, he serves as an industry expert in legal matters involving leasing, complex corporate financings, transaction structuring, and contract interpretation; and he provides services as a neutral mediator and arbitrator in difficult disputes over leasing and corporate finance, with emphasis on maintaining relationships and avoiding litigation.

In addition to serving as a principal of The Alta Group, he is the founder, president and general counsel of GoodSmith & Co., Incorporated, a corporate financial services firm specializing in large-ticket leasing and asset-based corporate financing.

Paul Bent is an active musician;– now a singer, formerly a violinist and bass player. He is a professional, on the payroll of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, singing at 8 concerts a year at Walt Disney Concert Hall. He also is active in singing in the Los Angeles, California area,
jazz and classical, mostly.

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NACM Index reports business favorable

“Overall, credit managers are currently reporting good business conditions,” reports Dan North, chief economist with credit insurer Euler Hermes ACI, regarding the National Association of Credit Manager's Monthly Index.

“Except for hints of improved cash flow in the service sector, the data suggest that conditions were only slightly improved from last month; however, the small improvement came off of a good base, pushing all of the components above the 50 level indicating economic expansion,” he said.

"Overall, the data suggest that the economy continues to expand at a modest pace despite the drag of tightened monetary policy, high energy prices and a devastated housing market."

The National Association of Credit Management (NACM), headquartered in Columbia, Maryland supports more than 22,000 business credit and financial professionals worldwide with premier industry services, tools and information.

Full report located here:
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/CMI_May2007.pdf

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Six New CLP's

The total number of Certified Leasing Professionals is now 184. At the beginning of the year,
there were 179.

The following six new CLP candidates who completed the CLP Program and successfully passed
the CLP Exam:

Brain Acosta, CLP
Matrix Business Capital
Long Beach, CA 90802

Laura Noblin, CLP
Matrix Business Capital
Long Beach, CA 90802

Diana Crews, CLP
Financial Pacific Leasing, LLC
Federal Way, WA 98063

Kirstin Elmer, CLP
Financial Pacific Leasing, LLC
Federal Way, WA 98063

Matthew Mosley, CLP
Financial Pacific Leasing, LLC
Woodstock, GA 30188

Joseph N. Finelli, CLP
Marlin Leasing
Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054

"The CLP Foundation is the official governing body for the Certified Lease Professional ("CLP") Program. The CLP designation sets the standard for professionalism in the leasing industry. This designation identifies and recognizes individuals within the leasing industry who have demonstrated their competency through continued education, testing and conduct.

"We invite you to visit our web site -- www.clpfoundation.org for detailed information about the CLP Foundation and the CLP Program. For further information about our Mentor Program and Anonymous Test Taking Program, please contact Cindy Spurdle at 610/687-0213 or
cindy@clpfoundation.org."
Cindy Spurdle
Executive Director

Leasing News Series: "Why I became a CLP"
http://www.leasingnews.org/CLP/Index.htm

[headlines]

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

Missouri AG sues for not "cancelling lease contracts."

Kansas City, Mo. — Attorney General Jay Nixon has filed a lawsuit seeking restitution and penalties against a Kansas City company that repeatedly violated Missouri consumer protection laws in the sale of credit card processing equipment to small businesses. Nixon’s lawsuit against First Capital Bankcard Inc., and its president, Ryan Paine, filed on Tuesday (May 29) in Jackson County Circuit Court, is also seeking preliminary and permanent injunctions.

Since 2003, First Capital Bankcard has been in the business of advertising, selling and leasing credit card processing equipment and related services to consumers in Missouri and other Midwestern states. Nixon says the defendants engaged in deception and fraud, by misrepresenting that:

Consumers could cancel contracts for leasing the merchandise within a certain time from the date of signing the lease;

Consumers would be granted a free trial period to use the merchandise and would not be contractually obligated if not satisfied with it; First Capital Bankcard would buy back, cancel or transfer the consumer’s lease to another person if the consumer was not satisfied with the product; The fees and costs associated with the consumers’ use of the merchandise would be less than they actually were; Consumers who complained to the company would receive a full refund; and (to third parties) Consumers had defaulted on contractual obligations, resulting in false, derogatory credit reports to credit reporting agencies regarding consumers’ credit histories.

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon

Nixon says his office received approximately 35 complaints about the defendants, with individual losses ranging from several hundred dollars to as high as $2,000.

“Running a small business is challenging enough without having to worry about someone scamming you through the sale or lease of merchandise as the defendants did in this case,” Nixon said. “We’ll make sure they are held accountable for the manner in which they defrauded consumers.”

Nixon’s lawsuit requests that the court issue an injunction against First Capital Bankcard, barring the business from continuing to violate Missouri’s consumer protection laws. The Attorney General is also asking that the court order the defendants to pay restitution to compensate consumers who suffered losses due to the defendants’ conduct, appropriate penalties and court costs.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

[headlines]

### Press Release ###########################
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News Briefs----

Dell to cut staff 10% amid continued accounting troubles
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/earnings/2007-05-31-dell_N.
htm?loc=interstitialskip
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/technology/01dell.html?_r=1&ref=
business&oref=slogin

First-Quarter Revision Shows Economy at Slowest Pace since Late 2002
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/business/01econ.html?ref=business

Forecast: No recession in Sonoma County (and rest of U.S.)
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070531/NEWS/
70531010/1033/NEWS01

Home-price growth in first quarter marked slowest rate in decade
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20070531-1023-homeprices.html

Fed sees inflation as biggest concern
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/05/31/fed_sees_inflation_a
s_biggest_concern/

Wachovia-A.G. Edwards deal may inspire more mergers
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/brokerage/2007-05-31-wachovia-a
gedwards_N.htm

BNP Paribas, SREI form Indian leasing venture
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070531/3/32oye.html

Danville, California teen wins National Spelling Bee
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_6034023

Amtrak tries different tack — luxury cars
http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2007/05/30/0530bizamtrak.html

[headlines]

---------------------------------------------------------------

You May have Missed---

Infamous spammer arrested, faces new charges
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2007-05-31-top-spam
mer-arrested_N.htm

[headlines]

----------------------------------------------------------------

“Gimme that Wine”

Alexander Valley Boutique wineries band together
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070530/NEWS04/
705300302/-1/SPECIAL&THEMES=FOODWINE

First Wine Bottle Glass Plant in 30 Years to be built in the Port of Kalama, Washington
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/
05-30-2007/0004598226&EDATE=

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
The London International Vintners Exchange (Liv-ex) is an electronic exchange for fine wine.
http://www.liv-ex.com/

[headlines]

----------------------------------------------------------------

Calendar Events This Day

Bahamas: Labor Day –
Public Holiday. First Friday in June, celebrated with parades, displays and picnics.

China: International Children’s Day – Shanghai

Dare Day
http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/June/dareday.htm

Dinosaur Day
http://homeschooling.about.com/od/freeprintables/ss/dinosaurprint.htm

Donut Day
http://www.krispykreme.com/

Flip a Coin day
http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/June/flipacoinday.htm

Hug Your Cat day –
Cats act like they don’t want or need attention-but they do. Apricat, the pampered star of her own book series, has created a special day for humans to hug their cats without fear of scratches or hisses.

Kentucky: Admissions Day:
Anniversary – Became 15th state in 1792.

Kenya: Madaraka Day: Anniversary -
Madaraka Day (Self-Rule Day) is observed as a national public holiday. Commemorates attainment of self Government in 1963.

National Leave the Office Earlier Day –
Employees commit to working productively all day so they can get their work done, leave the office earlier and get home to their families.

Pen Pal Day -
June 1 is Pen Pal Day worldwide, but is not widely recognized. Today, promote the hobby of letter writing as pen pals often find great friendships that lasts a lifetime. Happy Writing!

Samoa: Independence Day –
National holiday. Commemorates independence from New Zealand in 1963. The former Western Samoa changed its name in 1997.

Side Dish Day

Stand for Child Day
http://www.stand.org/

Tennessee: Admission Day:
Anniversary – Became 16th state in 1796.
Observed as a holiday in Tennessee.

Wishes for Cancer Survivors
http://www.123greetings.com/events/wishes_cancer_survivors/
http://www.acscsn.org/Forum/Discussion/thread/view?msgid=8594&msgrid=5

Saint Feast Days

• Saint Justin
• St. Inigo
• St. Candida
• Bl. Alexius
• Bl. Alphonsus de Mena
• Bl. Andrew Sushinda
• Bl. Andrew Tokuan
• Bl. Anthony of Tuy
• St. Atto
• St. Wistan
• St. Valens
• St. Telga
• Bl. Theobald
• St. Thespesius
• St. Secundus
• St. Caprasius
• St. Conrad of Trier
• St. Crescentian
• Bl. Dominic Nifaki
• Bl. Dominic of Fiunga
• Bl. Dominic of the Holy Rosary
• Bl. Dominic Shibioge
• Bl. Dominic Tomaki
• St. Eneco
• Bl. Ferdinand Ayala
• St. Firmus
• St. Fortunatus
• St. Felinus and Gratian
• Bl. John Storey
• St. Justin Martyr
• St. Juventius
• St. Leo Tanaka
• St. Reverianus
• St. Ronan
• St. Pamphilus

http://www.catholic.org/saints/f_day/jun.php

[headlines]

----------------------------------------------------------------

Heat, not sunlight, ripens tomatoes.

(Number 27, wrong. High heat can ruin the flavor of a tomato, and does not speed up its growth,
but damages the plants.
http://extension.missouri.edu/xplor/agguides/hort/g06461.htm
An even moisture supply is important, especially once the tomato fruits begin to develop. If the soil becomes too dry, blossom-end rot can be a problem. If too much water is applied at one time, ripening fruit may split. (Consistency is the best, not over watering; not letting dry out.)
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1624.html
http://www.tomatogrowers.com/

[headlines]

----------------------------------------------------------------

Today's Top Event in History

1942 - A Warsaw underground newspaper, the Liberty Brigade, makes public the news of the gassing of tens of thousands of Jews at Chelmno, a death camp in Poland-almost seven months after extermination of prisoners began. A year earlier, the means of effecting what would become the "Final Solution," the mass extermination of European Jewry, was devised: 700 Jews were murdered by channeling gas fumes back into a van used to transport them to the village of Chelmno, in Poland. This "gas van" would become the death chamber for a total of 360,000 Jews from more than 200 communities in Poland. The advantage of this form of extermination was that it was silent and invisible. One month before the infamous Wannsee Conference of January 1942, during which Nazi officials decided to address formally the "Jewish question," the gas vans in Chelmno were used to kill up to 1,000 Jews a day. The vans provided the "Final Solution" for Adolf Eichmann and other Wannsee attendees. The mass gassings were the most orderly and systematic means of eliminating European Jewry. Eventually, more such vans were employed in other parts of Poland. There was no thought of selecting out the "fit" from the "unfit" for slave labor, as in Auschwitz. There was only one goal: utter extermination. On June 1, 1942, the story of a young Jew, Emanuel Ringelblum, (who escaped from the Chelmno death camp after being forced to bury bodies as they were thrown out of the gas vans), was published in the underground Polish Socialist newspaper Liberty Brigade. The West now knew the "bloodcurdling news ... about the slaughter of Jews," and it had a name-Chelmno.

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

This Day in American History

    1540-The first settlement in America in continuous habitation is the mountain village of Acoma, NM. First settled in the 11th century by Indians from nearby Enchanted Mesa. Francisco Vaques de Coronado's army visited Acoma in the year 1540 and became the first white man to enter Sky City. He described Acoma as:
"One of the strongest ever seen, because the city was built on a high rock. The ascent was so difficult that we repented climbing to the top. The houses are three and four stories high. The people are of the same type as those in the province of Cibola (Zuni) and they have abundant supplies of maize, beans and turkeys like those of New Spain"
http://www.puebloofacoma.org/index2.htm
    1586 - After a surprise raid on the village the night before, Ralph Lane and English garrison murder the Indian chief Pemisapan, behead and mutilate his corpse, announcing "Christ our Victory" as they lay siege to Dasemunkepeac. This was in retaliation to Pemisapan trying to organize the Indians against the European way of life. When Sir Walter Raleigh returns to the area, he finds the white settlement has “vanished.” They state in their journals they don’t know why. Other patriot chiefs such as King Phillip, Pontiac, Tecumseh, Sitting bull, et al, will suffer similar fates, as the pattern is set. The citing of journals that follow is fascinating. The Indian population of what was to become the U.S. was about 1,000,000 when European exploration began. Pioneer groups of European colonists were small. They entered regions with sparser populations and more fluid cultures, bringing with them diseases unknown to the area, perhaps the main killer of the Indian population. In retrospect, the first decade of the seventh century was the twilight of aboriginal Indian life.
http://www.nps.gov/fora/teacher.htm
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~jmack/algonqin/mook3.htm
    1638- the first earthquake in the US to have been recorded and described in writing occurred at Plymouth, MA, at 2 PM. Governor William Bradford described the event in his History: ... it was very terrible for ye time; and as ye men were set talking in ye house, some women and others were without ye doors, and ye earth shooke with ye violence as they could not stand without catching hold of ye posts . . . but ye violence lasted not long. And about halfe an hower, or less, came an other noyse & shaking, but neither so loud nor strong as ye former, but quickly passed over, and so it ceased.”
    1660- Mary Dyer, American colonial-British Quaker convert whose conscience forced her back to Boston in spite of official warnings. There she was arrested for teaching a religious belief other than those approved by the Puritan church leaders and hanged this day. While the history books state religious groups came to American to escape persecution, quite the opposite is true. They came here as missionaries to reform the American Indians and did not accept religious practices except their own. Mary Dyer was executed under the strict anti- Quaker laws enacted by the very same people who came to the "New World" for religious freedom. Dyer's hanging was not part of the witchcraft panic that gripped Salem, Massachusetts later.
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/2822/marydyer.html
http://www.gale.com/free_resources/whm/trials/dyer.htm
    1792- Kentucky became the 15th State of the Union. Since its name is an American Indian word for "great meadow", it is fitting that Kentucky’s nickname is the Bluegrass State, and its flower is the goldenrod. The official state bird is the cardinal. The capital of Kentucky is the city of Frankfort.
    1796 - Tennessee joined the United States of America on this day. Long before it officially became the 16th state, Tennessee had already begun to earn its nickname, the Volunteer State, as it sent large numbers of volunteers to fight in the American Revolution. The tradition continued for the War of 1812, the Mexican War and the Civil War. The country-music capital of the world, Nashville, is also the governmental capital of Tennessee. The state’s official flower is the iris, its bird, the mockingbird.
    1801- Bringham Young, Mormon Church leader born at Whittingham, VT. Known as “the American Moses,” having led thousands of religious followers across 1,000 miles of wilderness to settle more than 300 towns in the West. He died at Salt Lake City, UT, Aug 29, 1877, and was survived by 17 wives and 47 children. Utah observes, as a state holiday, the anniversary of his entrance into the Salt Lake Valley, July 24, 1847.
    1813 - The U.S. Navy gained its motto as the mortally wounded commander of the U.S. frigate "Chesapeake", Captain James Lawrence (b.1871) was heard to say, "Don't give up the ship!", during a losing battle with a British frigate "Shannon"; his ship was captured by the British frigate. Oliver Hazard Perry honored his dead friend Lawrence when he had the motto sewn onto the private battle flag flown during the Battle of Lake Erie, 10 September 1813.
    1821 - Governor Andrew Jackson officially receives the Florida territory from the Spanish. As no provisions have yet been made for a territorial government, Jackson will act as a quasi-military commander.
    1843-Sojourner Truth begins travel as abolitionist speaker.
http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/trut-soj.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/9840/sojourn.html
http://www.noho.com/sojourner/
    1860-The first census compiled by machines was the 1890 census, which recorded a population of 62,979,766. According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the resident population of the United States, projected to 5/29/2004 at 3:48:56 PM EDT is
293,364,634COMPONENT SETTINGS
One birth every.................................. 8 seconds
One death every.................................. 12 seconds
One international migrant (net) every............ 25 seconds
Net gain of one person every..................... 12 seconds
Historic Census by Year
http://eire.census.gov/popest/archives/pre1980/popclockest.txt
    1861- John Quincy Marr of Warrenton, VA, commander of the Warrenton Rifle Guards ( designated Company K of the 17th Virginia Infantry Regiment ) was the first Confederate officer killed in the Civil War; in a skirmish at Fairfax Court House, VA. Marr was actually a lieutenant colonel, having been commission on May 2, 1861, but his letter of commission from Governor John Letcher had not been delivered to him.
    1862—General Robert E. Lee was appointed commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, after General Joe Johnston is injured at Seven Pines.
    1864--The Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia, begins as Confederate general Robert E. Lee tries to turn Union general Ulysses S. Grant's flank.
    1867--Birthday of pianist/composer Scott Joplin, Texarkana, Texas.
http://www.classical-composers.org/comp/joplin
http://www.scottjoplin.org/biography.htm
    1898- Molly Picon birthday: U.S. actor and singer, the star of New York Yiddish theater. Known as the Sweetheart of Second Avenue, she projected a light, charming character with a great sense of humor.
http://www.jwa.org/exhibits/wov/picon/index.html
http://www.jwa.org/archive/picon/mpcl.html
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0682000/
    1899-The annual parade of "New York's Finest" was filmed on June 1, 1899 in Union Square.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jun01.html
    1901-The first motorcycle powered by a gasoline engine was demonstrated in a climbing hill exhibition. The first motorcycle with a built-in gasoline engine was manufactured in Springfield, MA, by George M. Hendee, who formed the Hendee Manufacturing Company, which began to market the Indian motorcycle. Previously, motorcycles had been ordinary bicycles to which motors were attached. Three motorcycles were built in 1901. The following year, production was increased to 143. The motors were made by the Aurora Machine Company, Auroa, IL, and were mounted to the motorcycle frames in Springfield.
    1908 - John Krohn decided to take a walk around the United States - with his wheelbarrow! He completed the walk around the perimeter of the U.S. in 357 days. He walked 9,024 miles, went through 11 pair of shoes, 112 pair of socks, five wheels for his trusty wheelbarrow and never walked on Sunday.
    1911- The first life insurance group policy was written for 121 employees of the Pantasote Leather Company of Passaic, NJ, by agent William J. Graham of the Equitable Life Assurance Society. Each employee was given insurance protection amounting to a year’s salary and a funeral benefit of $100.
    1915- Country singer Johnny Bond was born in Enville, Oklahoma. He is best known as the composer of "Hot Rod Lincoln," a hit for both Bond and Charlie Ryan in 1960, and for Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen in 1970. Bond also appeared in more than 50 movies. And in the less-enlightened days of the 1950's and '60s, he wrote a series of comic songs about drunkenness, the most famous of which is "10 Little Bottles." Bond died of a heart attack on June 12th, 1978.
    1919-Birthday of singer/pianist Lafayette Leake, Winona, MS
http://mp3.com/artists/78507/summary.html
http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/card/0,,457357,00.html
http://www.joes-corner.de/dawkins/disco/dawkins_rec82.htm
http://community-2.webtv.net/W-Media-Player/BLUESPIANOGREATS/
    1903 - A strong tornado just 50 to 75 yards in width killed many persons around the Gainesville GA Cotton Mill. The tornado strengthened and widened near the end of its four mile path, killing 40 persons at New Holland GA. A total of 104 persons were killed in the tornado.
    1915- Country singer Johnny Bond was born in Enville, Oklahoma. He is best known as the composer of "Hot Rod Lincoln," a hit for both Bond and Charlie Ryan in 1960, and for Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen in 1970. Bond also appeared in more than 50 movies. And in the less-enlightened days of the 1950's and '60s, he wrote a series of comic songs about drunkenness, the most famous of which is "10 Little Bottles." Bond died of a heart attack on June 12th, 1978.
    1920--WEB DuBois, civil right activist and educator, awarded Spingarn Medal,
http://or.essortment.com/springarnmedal_rlwp.htm
http://www.wlib.com/BlackHistory.htm
No. 27 here: http://or.essortment.com/springarnmedal_rlwp.htm
    1921 -- More than 300 killed in race riot in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The black community of Greenwood is destroyed by a white mob, who murdered many & burned down nearly the entire area, destroying over 1,000 homes & businesses in a 35 block area. No one was ever charged with any wrongdoing, no reparations were ever made and accounts of the riot were literally cut out of the newspaper archives as Tulsa (read "white" Tulsa) tried to erase accounts & memories of the events...
http://www.forgottenhistory.org/exhibits/tulsa.html
http://www.lib.utulsa.edu/speccoll/tulsa_race_riot.htm
    1921- Composer and arranger Nelson Riddle was born in Ordell, New Jersey. Well-known as an orchestrator for such singers as Frank Sinatra and Linda Ronstadt, Riddle also had several hits under his own name, including the 1956 million seller "Lisbon Antigua." He died on October 6th, 1985.
1922 Birth of Ray Knighton, who in 1954 founded the Medical Assistance Program (MAP International) in Chicago.
    1924-Alto-Clarinet player Hal McKusick born Medford, Mass.
http://www.mmguide.musicmatch.com/artist/artist.cgi?ARTISTID=600294&TMPL=LONG#bio
http://www.fantasyjazz.com/catalog/mckusick_h_cat.html
    1924---Birthday of drummer Herbie Lovelle, New York City, NY
    1926-Marilyn Monroe’s birthday, American actress and sex symbol of the '50s, born at Los Angeles as Norma Jean Mortensen or Baker. She had an unstable childhood in a series of orphanages and foster homes. Her film career came to epitomize Hollywood glamour. In 1954 she wed Yankee legend "Jolting Joe" DiMaggio, but the marriage didn't last. Monroe remained fragile and insecure, tormented by the pressures of Hollywood life. Her death from an overdose Aug 5, 1962, at Los Angeles shocked the world. Among her films: The Seven Year Itch, Bus Stop, Some Like It Hot, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and The Misfits.
http://www.ellensplace.net/marilyn.html
    1934-Singer Pat Boone birthday, considered the second most popular singer in the 50’s, after Elvis Presley. Also an actor (State Fair), author, born Charles Eugene Boone, Jacksonville, FL., the great-great-great-great grandson of pioneer Daniel Boone. He records six No. 1 songs. His biggest hit is ``Love Letters in the Sand,'' which tops Billboard's chart for seven weeks. At his peak in the late 1950's, Boone was considered a rock 'n' roller, a sort of sanitized, parent approved alternative to Elvis Presley. The first of his more than 50 chart records came in 1955 a cover version of Fats Domino's "Ain't That a Shame." Boone's record went to number one while Domino's version made it only to number 16. Pat Boone became one of the all time biggest selling pop singers, and from 1957 to 1960 had his own network television series. His daughter, Debby Boone, had a number one record in 1977 with "You Light Up My Life."
http://home.att.net/~boomers.fifties.pinups/page7.html
http://www.tsimon.com/boone.htm
    1936-Brithday of Sandra Scoppetone, U.S. writer of mysteries featuring Lauren Laureno, Lesbian private eye who has a wonderful view of New York City. Her conversations with the natives are priceless.
http://www.imt.net/~gedison/scoppett.html
http://www.xs4all.nl/~embden11/Engels2/scoppetone.htm
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0316776483/102-7693729-8155316?v=glance
http://encarta.msn.com/text_761559994___10/Detective_Story.html
http://www.thrillingdetective.com/trivia/triv140.html
    1938 - The first issue of the comic book "Superman" appeared in news stands throughout the country. "Superman" was created by two teenagers: Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster. Originally a newspaper comic strip, Superman was changed to a booklet format to immediate acclaim. It became a movie and one of the first
television series hits. The story idea came from Jerry Siegel in a dream he had about the baby, Moses, who was abandoned by his parents in order that his life be saved. This dream prompted Siegel's creation of the ‘Man of Steel’. Artist Joe Shuster made the comic book hero come alive. The first story, in this first issue, took place on the planet, Krypton, where baby Kal-El was born. The infant was shot to Earth in a rocket just before Krypton exploded.
    1938 - Batters wore protective baseball helmets for the first time. Helmets were brought into use in a game between the Springfield Greys and the House of David in New York City.
    1939---The Douglas DC-4 makes its first passenger flight from Chicago to New York.
    1942 - A Warsaw underground newspaper, the Liberty Brigade, makes public the news of the gassing of tens of thousands of Jews at Chelmno, a death camp in Poland-almost seven months after extermination of prisoners began. A year earlier, the means of effecting what would become the "Final Solution," the mass extermination of European Jewry, was devised: 700 Jews were murdered by channeling gas fumes back into a van used to transport them to the village of Chelmno, in Poland. This "gas van" would become the death chamber for a total of 360,000 Jews from more than 200 communities in Poland. The advantage of this form of extermination was that it was silent and invisible. One month before the infamous Wannsee Conference of January 1942, during which Nazi officials decided to address formally the "Jewish question," the gas vans in Chelmno were used to kill up to 1,000 Jews a day. The vans provided the "Final Solution" for Adolf Eichmann and other Wannsee attendees. The mass gassings were the most orderly and systematic means of eliminating European Jewry. Eventually, more such vans were employed in other parts of Poland. There was no thought of selecting out the "fit" from the "unfit" for slave labor, as in Auschwitz. There was only one goal: utter extermination. On June 1, 1942, the story of a young Jew, Emanuel Ringelblum, (who escaped from the Chelmno death camp after being forced to bury bodies as they were thrown out of the gas vans), was published in the underground Polish Socialist newspaper Liberty Brigade. The West now knew the "bloodcurdling news ... about the slaughter of Jews," and it had a name-Chelmno.
    1944---Top Hits
Long Ago and Far Away - Helen Forrest & Dick Haymes
I’ll Get By - The Harry James Orchestra (vocal: Dick Haymes)
I’ll Be Seeing You - The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (vocal: Frank Sinatra)
Straighten Up and Fly Right - King Cole Trio
    1947- Guitarist Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones was born in London. A veteran of the Jeff Beck Group and Faces, Wood was chosen by the Stones to replace Mick Taylor in 1974. Wood was also a member of Keith Richards's New Barbarians, the group that shared billing with the Rolling Stones at a free concert for the blind in Oshawa, Ontario in April 1979. The concert was in lieu of a jail sentence for Richards, who had been convicted of possession of heroin.
    1949 - Subscribers to "Newsweek" magazine were offered microfilm copies of the magazine for the first time. The weekly publication cost $15 a year.
    1950—birthday of singer Charlene (CHARLENE D'ANGELO) Hollywood, Ca.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0152965/
http://shopping.yahoo.com/p_charlene_artist_1927012792;_ylt=Aigw8fFcuX290VsHKd2
ruNdUvQcF;_ylu=X3oDMTBudjI1N2xwBF9zAzg0MzkzMzAwBHNlYwNhcnRmZWF0?a=b
http://www.westword.com/extra/jukebox/bh10-17.html
    1952---Top Hits
Kiss of Fire - Georgia Gibbs
Blue Tango - The Leroy Anderson Orchestra
Be Anything - Eddy Howard
The Wild Side of Life - Hank Thompson
    1957- at the Pacific Amateur Athletic Union Meet at Stockton, CA,
Don Bowden of the University of California became the first American to break the four minute mile ( 3 minutes 57.7 seconds )
    1959 - Columbia Records' "Johnny's Greatest Hits" celebrated a full year at the top of the album charts. The LP continued to stay at or near the top of the charts for several more years. The album became the album leader of all-time after 490 weeks. Johnny Mathis went on to have an LP on the charts nearly every year for over three decades.
    1960- The popular and enigmatic British mini-series, "The Prisoner," aired for the first time in US television. Starring Patrick McGoohan as a secret agent held against his will in a remote, controlled environment known as the Village, "The Prisoner" was one of TV's most imaginative series. In both the US and England, The Prisoner became an instant cult series. "The Prisoner" was one of the most imaginative shows on TV, regarded by some as the finest dramatic series in TV history. Patrick McGoohan, who produced and starred in the series, also wrote and directed some episodes. In the series, McGoohan found himself in a self-contained community known as "the village" where he was referred to, not by name, but as Number 6. Number 6 realized he was a prisoner, and spent most of the series trying to escape or to learn the identity of the leader, Number 1. In the last episode, he learned that he was Number 1.
    1960-The first parking meter enforcement division of a police department was appointed by Mayor Robert F. Wagner of New York Ci9ty. The “meter maids” underwent about two weeks of training and received salaries ranging from $3,150 to $4,830 a year. The first summons was issued on June 6, 1960.
    1960---Top Hits
Cathy’s Clown - The Everly Brothers
He’ll Have to Stay - Jeanne Black
Paper Roses - Anita Bryant
Please Help Me, I’m Falling - Hank Locklin
    1963 -- 531, including NAACP Executive Secretary Roy Wilkins, arrested at a peaceful civil rights march in Jackson, Mississippi.
    1963-- Governor George Wallace vows to defy an injunction ordering integration of the University of Alabama.
    1964 - Leslie Gore's hit single, “It's My Party,” rose to the Number 1 spot on Billboard's record charts on this date, and stayed there for 2 weeks. Gore was just 17 when she recorded the song, and she became one of the youngest solo female artists in music history to top the charts (1963). The Rolling Stones landed at JFK International Airport in New York for their first U.S. tour, which began the next day at the Manning Bowl, a high-school football stadium in Lynn, Massachusetts.
    1964- The Rolling Stones arrived in New York to begin their first American tour. Their first date was at a high school stadium in Lynn, Massachusetts. The Stones also stopped in Chicago to record an EP at the Chess studios, and when they tried to hold a news conference, a riot broke out.
    1964- The Equal Pay Act became law. Two years before, July, 1962, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure requiring equal pay for equal work for women dealing in interstate commerce work, but that fall the U.S. Senate refused to take action.
    1966 -- June 1-2, White House Conference on Civil Rights with Roy Wilkins of NAACP; Whitney Young Jr. of National Urban League;
Floyd McKissick & James Farmer of CORE; Martin Luther King Jr. of SCLC; Stokely Carmichael of SNCC ("We feel that integration is irrelevant. We have got to go after political power.").
    1967 - "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" was released by The Beatles in England. The North American release came two days later. "Sgt. Pepper's" became one of the first rock albums to be critically-acclaimed, and went on to become the number one album in the world. It spent 15 weeks at the top of the album list in the United States It took 700 hours over three months to record under the direction of George Martin, Britain's top pop producer. A then state-of-the-art four track recorder was used to build each song layer by layer. The cost of recording - $75,000. "Sergeant Pepper's" wide range of styles and sounds and its use of electronic noises ushered in the psychedelic era. Some of its songs, such as "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "A Day in the Life" were carefully examined for hidden meanings. The album is estimated to have sold more than 15 million copies, and stayed on the Billboard chart for 113 weeks. On June 1st, 1987, 20 years to the day after it originally came out, the compact disc version of "Sergeant Pepper's" was released. The CD contained what some might consider a bonus - a two-second burst of laughter and gibberish which had only been available previously on European versions of the album, and a high frequency note at the end of the LP audible only to dogs.
    1968- Simon and Garfunkel reached the top of the US charts with "Mrs. Robinson," a song featured in the soundtrack of the film "The Graduate." The song won a Grammy Award for the Best Contemporary Pop Performance by a Vocal Duo or Group.
    1968---Top Hits
Mrs. Robinson - Simon & Garfunkel
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - Hugo Montenegro
Yummy Yummy Yummy - Ohio Express
Honey - Bobby Goldsboro
    1973-The James Bond thriller, "Live and Let Die" opens. The movie features the title track by Paul McCartney and Wings.
    1974-Heimlick Maneuver introduced: the June issue of the journal Emergency Medicine published an article by Dr. Henry Heimlich, outlining a better method of aiding choking victims. Instead of prevailing method of backslaps (which merely pushed foreign objects further into the airways), Dr. Heimlick advocated “subdiaphragmatic pressure” to force objects out. Three months later the method was dubbed, the Hemlich Maneuver” by the Journal of the American Medical Association.
    1974-Birthday of Alanis Morissette, Ottawa, Ontario
http://www.alanis-morissette.com/biography.html
http://www.alanis.com/socalledchaos/socalledchaos.html
http://www.canehdian.com/artistlinks/artists/alanis.html
    1975 - Nolan Ryan of the California Angels threw his fourth career no-hitter game with a 1-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles. As a result, Ryan tied the major league baseball no-hit record.
    1976---Top Hits
Love Hangover - Diana Ross
Get Up and Boogie (That’s Right) - Silver Convention
Misty Blue - Dorthy Moore
One Piece at a Time - Johnny Cash
    1980-, CNN debuted, the Cable News Network, TV’s first all-news services went on air.
    1980 - A man from Falmouth ME was struck by lightning restoring his eyesight. The man had been blind and partially deaf since a truck accident in 1971
    1984---Top Hits
Let’s Hear It for the Boy - Deniece Williams
Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
Oh Sherrie - Steve Perry
As Long as I’m Rockin’ with You - John Conlee
    1987-Niekro Brothers the Winninest. Phil Niekro pitched the Cleveland Indians to a 9-6 victory over the Detroit Tigers to put himself and his brother Joe into the lead as the winningest brothers in major-league pitching history. Their 530 combined victories surpassed Gaylord and Jim Perry. The Niekros ended their careers with 539 wins, 318 by Phil and 221 by Joe.
    1989 - Thunderstorms developing during the afternoon over the Southern Plains Region produced severe weather through the evening and the night, spawning nine tornadoes. Thunderstorms produced wind gusts to 80 mph at Alpine TX, and baseball size hail at Balmorhea, TX, Fluvanna, TX, and in Borden County, TX
    1990 - U.S. President George Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev signed a bilateral agreement to stop producing chemical arms and to begin destroying stocks by the end of 1992.
    1995- Joe Garagiola Jr. is named as the Diamondbacks first general manager.
    1997-Canadian sprinter Donovan Bailey won a special 150-meter match race against American Michael Johnson to reassert his claim to the title of the “World’s Faster Human.” After Bailey had won the 100 meters at the 1996 Summer Olympics and Johnson had won the 2200 meters and the 400 meters, the two engaged in a nasty bragging-rights battle. This special race was supposed to put an end to their flap. But the race in Toronto proved inconclusive as Johnson, well behind at the halfway point, pulled up short, claiming that he had injured his left quadriceps.

Stanley Cup Champions This Date

    1992 Pittsburgh Penguins

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Baseball Poem

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SuDoku

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Daily Puzzle

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