Future of Mobile Devices
by Henry Blodget, CEO Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-future-of-mobile-deck-2012-3

 

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

Lowest Ever Lending Cost for Banks
by Dan Geller, Ph.D.

 

In 2011, banks paid only $016 in interest expense for every $1 in interest income
from loans compared to $0.51 in 2007.

SAN ANSELMO, Calif.– The latest analysis from Market Rates Insight (www.marketratesinsight.com) shows that interest expense banks are paying for retail funds is now the lowest ever. In 2011, banks paid an average of $0.16 in interest expense on deposits for every $1 they earned in interest on loans. Conversely, in 2007, prior to the last recession, banks paid an average of $0.51 in interest expense on deposits for every $1 they earned as interest on loans.

Total interest income from loans at FDIC insured institutions in 2007 was $725 billion, and total interest expense paid for deposits amounted to $372 billion, which is a cost of $0.51 in interest paid for every $1 of interest earned. In 2011, total interest income was $507 billion, and total interest expense paid for deposits amounted to $84 billion, which is a cost of $0.16 in interest paid for every $1 of interest earned. The 2011 cost of $0.16 is the lowest ever since the FDIC made such figures available in 1992.

“One good reasons banks can offer historically low rates on mortgages and personal loans is their historically low cost of funds” said Dan Geller, Ph.D. Executive Vice President at Market Rates Insight, “if anyone was looking for a good reason to take advantage of such historically low-rates, this is it.”

About Market Rates Insight
Market Rates Insight (MRI, www.marketratesinsight.com) is a reputable provider of competitive-pricing information and analysis to financial institutions. MRI’s competitive data is complete, detailed and timely, which allows for the highest level of pricing precision. Therefore, the use of MRI’s competitive data ensures greater pricing optimization, and subsequently, improved profitability. In addition to competitive-pricing data, MRI also conducts pricing analysis and provides tracking of industry indexes. MRI’s indexes, published weekly in the National Pricing Indicators, are the industry standard for deposit pricing, and are viewed weekly by executives of banks and credit unions through video, audio and print channels.

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

A Lab---Fresno, California-- Adopt-a-Dog

Sandy

Listed March 28, 2012
Age: 3-4 years
Gender: Female
Weight: Not Specified
Adult Size: 60 lbs.
Fixed: Yes
Shots: Yes
Breed: Labrador Retriever
Color: Yellow (fox red)

Sandy is a yellow (fox red) female, 3-4 years of age and 60 lbs.

“Sandy is a beautiful young lab with a very soft, golden colored coat. She was held at the local pound for more than 3 weeks waiting for her people, who never came. Sandy is good natured and very loving. She is most content at your side and will happily give you lots of kisses. Sandy probably didn't have much training as a puppy but she is bright and eager to listen and learn. She is learning to get along with her foster family's cat. She knows sit; and is learning down and stay.

“Sandy loves taking long walks and is learning not to pull at the leash. Sandy is house trained; doing all her business outside. Sandy is a wonderful, loving lab who longs for a family all her own who will take her in and treasure her. Won't you open up your heart and home to Sandy and give her the forever home that she so deserves?

In order to adopt from Labrador Retriever Rescue of Fresno, please fill out an adoption application at www.cclabrescuecvc.org

Labrador Retriever Rescue of Fresno is an approved PETCO Adoption Partner! We will be holding adoption events every Sunday, unless otherwise noted, from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the PETCO store located at:

4144 North Blackstone Avenue
Fresno, CA 93726 (Blackstone & Ashlan)

Labrador Retriever Rescue of Fresno
http://cclabrescuecvc.org/

Adult dogs $250 (5 mos. to 8 years

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/ 

Fernando's View
By Fernando F. Croc

A pair of thrillers, one highly anticipated ("The Hunger Games") and another less well-known but worth searching for ("The Raid: Redemption"), hits theaters, while a couple of last year's most vigorous films ("War Horse," "A Dangerous Method") and an all-time classic ("Casablanca") come to DVD.

In Theaters:

The Hunger Games (Lionsgate): The highly anticipated screen version of Suzanne Collins's immensely popular novel finally arrives in theaters, with exciting results. Set in a bleak future where America has been transformed into a land called Panem, the movie depicts one girl's struggle to survive the Hunger Games, a televised contest where citizens compete to the death. In order to save her younger sister's life, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers to represent her district in the games, and finds herself fighting for her life side by side with fellow competitor Peeta (Josh Hutcherson). With bigger and stronger foes coming their way, can they make it to the end of the show? Directed by Gary Ross and with a supporting cast that includes Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth Banks, this should please fans of the novel as well as any viewers looking for robust cinematic adventure.

The Raid: Redemption (Sony Pictures Classics): Made for a fraction of its budget yet giving "The Hunger Games" a run for its money in the pure action department, this Indonesia-set thriller is a must for afficionados of adrenaline cinema. The setting is a 30-story high building in the heart of Jakarta, packed with so many deadly criminals that not even the police dare to get near. Led by Rama (Iko Uwais), a brave elite SWAT team makes its way into the dreaded fortress in hopes of defeating the powerful drug kingpin at the top. When their cover is blown, however, the men find themselves trapped inside the building with dozens of armed opponents on each floor. With an emphasis on pure, resourceful action that brings to mind the first "Die Hard" movie, director Gareth Evans delivers an exhilarating show that superbly showcases martial-arts champion Uwais. With subtitles.

Netflix Tip: Though "Hunger Games" is based on a hugely popular 2008 young adult novel, there's an even earlier influence: The controversial 2000 Japanese movie "Battle Royale." Directed by veteran genre maestro Kinji Fukasaku, it tells the half-satirical, half-brutal story of a group of school students left at an island and instructed to destroy each other as part of a government education program. Before venturing into the new blockbuster, check out this earlier, rawer version with Netflix.

On DVD:

War Horse (Walt Disney): Steven Spielberg goes for the gold with this sweeping, beautifully shot and highly emotional drama, which follows a noble steed as it passes from owner to owner during the 1910s. Joey, the thoroughbred horse of the title, forges a deep bond with a young English farm lad (Jeremy Irvine), but they're separated as World War I emerges on the horizon and a sensitive cavalry officer (Tom Hiddleston) buys the horse. From then on, the brutality of war and humanity's highs and lows are witnessed by Joey as German soldiers and French farmers take care of it, leading to a powerful reunion amid the explosions and barbed wire of the trenches. Spielberg fans will be reminded of his 1987 masterpiece "Empire of the Sun" by this stately epic, which embodies the director's faith in human emotion and the expressiveness of cinema.

A Dangerous Method (Sony): Better known for his gruesome and provocative horror pictures, David Cronenberg ("The Fly") surprises with this witty, beautifully shot and terrifically acted period drama, set in Vienna in the early 1900s. At the center is the complex relationship—a mixture of admiration, rivalry, and friendship—between two of the most influential minds in the psychiatry field, Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen). While one argues for the importance of social suppression and the other exults the power of an unchained mind, they find their views challenged by the insinuating presence of a troubled young patient (Keira Knigthley). Full of subtle humor and brimming with tensions under its genteel surface, Cronenberg's portrait of mind versus body is one of last year's most underrated releases.

Casablanca (Warner Bros.): "Plat it again, Sam ... You must remember this ... Here's looking at you, kid." Is there a more mythical distillation of Hollywood magic than this 1942 all-time classic, which over the decades since its release has reached legend status? The plot ("still the same old story, a fight for love and glory," as the song goes) follows the romantic triangle of American cynic Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), former lover Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) and undercover resistance fighter Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreidt) against the background of World War II in the of a seedy cafe in Morocco. Featuring a peerless combination of directing (Michael Curtiz), a top supporting cast (including Claude Rains and Peter Lorre) and indescribable Tinseltown magic, this is indeed a perfect offer from the Dream Factory. Celebrate this its 70th anniversary with this new special-edition DVD.

 

[headlines]
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Durbin's Wrath on Big Bank Credit Cards
by Sankit Shah and David Hayes
SNL Financial

(Reprinted with permission)

The Durbin amendment made its first impact on bank income statements in the 2011 fourth quarter, slicing off millions of dollars in debit card interchange fees for many of the nation's top banks. In the summer of 2011, the Federal Reserve released a final rule limiting debit interchange fees for financial institutions that together with affiliates had more than $10 billion in assets, to an average of 24 cents per transaction, down from 44 cents before the Durbin amendment.

Some banks have announced their trepidation about crossing the $10 billion threshold, even managing assets downward at the end of 2011, knowing their interchange income would take a hit if they crossed the mark. By staying under $10 billion until after the new year, Houston-based Prosperity Bancshares Inc. will not have to forego $5 million in lost debit interchange revenue, according to David Zalman, Prosperity's chairman and CEO, who was speaking during the company's 2011 earnings conference call. Since the beginning of 2012, Prosperity has announced two deals, the largest being its merger with American State Financial Corp., which held $3.08 billion in assets at year-end 2011.

As predicted, the Durbin limits had a noticeable impact on some banks, while other large financial institutions like American Express Co. and Citigroup Inc. were left relatively unscathed because they either do not issue debit cards or debit interchange revenue is not a meaningful source of income for the companies.

American Express saw its combined bank and credit card interchange fees increase to $4.34 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, up from $4.22 billion in the linked quarter and $3.86 billion in the prior-year quarter, according to regulatory filings. Citigroup's credit and debit interchange fees notched a small quarterly gain, coming in at $685 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, up from $683 million in the third quarter.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. stated in its 2011 Form 10-K that it’s annualized net income may be negatively impacted by $600 million because of the new Durbin limits and acknowledged that while the company may be able to recoup some of that lost revenue, it is unlikely that it will be able to mitigate all of it. Losing $600 million in net income would have knocked 3.16% off JPMorgan's reported $18.98 billion in net income for 2011.

The company's bank and credit card interchange fees totaled $1.12 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, down from $1.38 billion in the third quarter.

Bank of America Corp. saw its debit card revenue reduced by $430 million in the fourth quarter, according to the company's 2011 10-K. Bank of America's plans to launch a $5 monthly fee for debit cards on various checking accounts in September 2011 was met with widespread opprobrium and was reversed a short time later.

Wells Fargo & Co. was also hit by the Durbin Amendment, posting $365 million less in pretax debit interchange income than it would have with the pre-Durbin interchange pricing according to the company's latest 10-K. The company expects to recoup at least half of the lost revenue through a combination of increased volume and product and account changes.

U.S. Bancorp revealed in its 2011 10-K that it lost $77 million in foregone noninterest income thanks to Durbin and expects to lose $300 million on an annualized basis before any mitigating actions the company may take.

Andrew Cecere, vice chairman and CFO, detailed in the company's 2011 earnings conference call that U.S. Bancorp expects to be closer to mitigating half of the lost revenue by the end of 2012. Cecere later stated that the principal offsetting income would come from the company's "Checking with Choice" product, although there are a "number of mechanisms" that customers can employ to avoid charges.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. had a negative $75 million impact from debit interchange limits in the fourth quarter, according to the company's 2011 10-K. PNC expects a $175 million negative impact on 2012's annual revenue based on 2011 transaction volumes, however James Rohr, the company's chairman and CEO, predicted on the company's 2011 earnings conference call, that the net impact of Durbin would not be as high with help from additional volume from customers this year and a repricing of the bank's relationship with its consumers.

SunTrust Banks Inc. expects that its quarterly pretax income will be reduced by $50 million going forward but expects some mitigation from increased volume and product changes according to the company's most recent 10-K.

SNL Financial

News Briefs----

Mortgage Rates Drop
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/news/mortgages-sink-on-anemic-recovery.aspx?ic_id=Top_Financial News Center_link_1

One Stumbling Book to Recovery Has Been Housing
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/StumblingBlocktoRecovery.pdf

TRALA elects chairman, board members for 2012-13
http://fleetowner.com/equipment/trala-elects-chairman-board-members-2012-13

Jerry Jones/Troy Aikman to open 50 Dunkin’ Donuts
http://www.boston.com/Boston/businessupdates/2012/03/dunkin-donuts-partners-with-jerry-jones-troy-aikman-open-dallas-worth-restaurants/yghKlk58NwJqG3WS95ywHK/index.html

EBay names David Marcus as PayPal president
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/ebay_names_david_marcus_as_paypal_
7OjZ4yasArTC6n9AewKyTO

 

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

 

You May Have Missed---

Google to open online tablet store
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_20285044/report-google-open-online-tablet-store

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

SparkPeople--Live Healthier and Longer

Overeating May Double Risk of Memory Loss: Study
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/health_news_detail.asp?health_day=661692

 

[headlines]
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Spring Poem

Mending Wall

by Robert Frost

SOMETHING there is that doesn’t love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun;
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,
But at spring mending-time we find them there.
I let my neighbour know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
“Stay where you are until our backs are turned!”
We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, just another kind of out-door game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, “Good fences make good neighbors.”
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
“Why do they make good neighbors? Isn’t it
Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I’d ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offence.
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
That wants it down.” I could say “Elves” to him,
But it’s not elves exactly, and I’d rather
He said it for himself. I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me,
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father’s saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, “Good fences make good neighbors.”

 

[headlines]
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California Nuts Briefs---

California economic outlook brightens a bit, new study says
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_20275337/california-economic-outlook-brightens-bit-new-study-says

Countdown to foie gras ban begins
http://www.mercurynews.com/food-wine/ci_20282896/california-countdown-foie-gras-ban-begins

 

 

[headlines]
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“Gimme that Wine”

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

Great wineries around Sonoma for sipping sauvignon blanc
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20120329/LIFESTYLE/120329598

Vine supply dries up for late-ordering growers
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/27/BU391NPDO0.DTL

Questioning feasibility, Napa board rejects winery expansion
http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/questioning-feasibility-board-rejects-winery-expansion/article_e03b8160-7897-11e1-a7e6-0019bb2963f4.html

Tasty Tradition and Kosher Wines for Passover
http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/46571

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

     1492 --King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella sign decree expelling Jews from Spain. Cristo Colombo’s navigator was Jewish, but not told to the royalty. It was he who discovered the new land, they thought was India (thus the natives were called Indians) and also changed the date from the 13th to the 12th, as they thought it would be unlucky to record the event on that number. In reality, neither actually stepped on either the South or North America continents in their five trips to the area.
    1769 - Following the example of the Philadelphia merchants, Baltimore merchants join the non-importation movement by banning the purchase of English goods until the repeal of the Townshend Acts.
    1775 - King George III endorses the New England Restraining Act, which forbids the New England colonies from trading with any other countries except England after 1 July, and also bans them from fishing in the North Atlantic after 20 July. On 13 April the provisions of the act will also be applied to Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia when Parliament hears that these colonies have ratified the Continental Association. 
    1820 - A group of New England missionaries arrives on the Hawaiian Islands, to be greeted by King Kamehameha II. 
    1823 - A great Northeast storm with hurricane force winds raged from Pennsylvania to Maine. The storm was most severe over New Jersey with high tides, uprooted trees, and heavy snow inland.
    1842- Dr. Crawford W. Long, having seen the use of nitrous oxide and sulfuric either at “laughing gas parties, observed that individuals under their influence felt no pain, on this date he performed an operation under the influence of either. To honor him, March 30th is also “Doctor’s Day,” with the red carnation designated the official flower to worn in the lapel today.
    1843- Napoleon E. Guerin of New York City patented an egg incubator for hatching chickens, revolutionizing the industry.
    1858- Hyman L. Lipman of Philadelphia received the patent for inventing a pencil with an attached eraser. The pencil had a groove into which was “secured a piece of prepared rubber,
glued in at one end.”
    1867-- US purchases Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000 (2¢ an acre.) The phrase Seward's folly was coined to characterize the purchase of Alaska from Russia. The purchase was negotiated by Secretary of State William Henry Seward. Alaska was also ridiculed as Seward's icebox.
    1867---Birthday of Jessie Donaldson Hodder, prison reformer. When her common-law husband rejected her and their two children, found work in the New York State prison system and developed reforms that became the model for the nation by giving women prisoners dignity, a chance to reform, education, etc.
    1867 – The United States government put the finishing touches on the deal to purchase that "large stump of ice," better known as Alaska. The acquisition, brokered in absolute secrecy by Secretary of State William Seward, saw the U.S. pay Alaska's owner, Russia $7.2 million, or roughly two cents per acre of land. Though Alaska was the first bit of property ever relinquished by Russia, some American officials sneered at the seemingly barren new state. In certain circles, the deal was derisively known as "Seward's Folly."
    1870-The Fifteenth Amendment was adopted. It stipulated that no state shall deprive any citizen of the right to vote because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. After reconstruction was ended by a deal with Southern Democrats to win their votes to decide the presidential election in an electoral tie, Poll taxes and literacy tests cancel out Black and other minority voters in the South. In many counties, it would not be until the 1960’s and the birth of the civil rights movement that many were allowed to vote.
    1882--Birthday of Melanie Klein, pioneer child psychologist who believed cruelty against the mother affected the child much more than Freud and his school of followers had thought.
    1888-Birthday of “The Louisiana Lady,” Camille Nickerson, music arranger, composer, musician and educator, remembered for her musical talent and her work as a music collector who gathered and transcribed Creole music. Born at the French Quarter, New Orleans. Of Creole extraction herself, Nickerson performed for a time in the US and Europe using the stage name, “The Louisiana Lady.” She died at Washington, DC, at age 94.
    1889- The first recorded golf mixed foursome was played at the Grey Oaks course of the St. Andrews Golf Club, Yonkers, NY, John B. Upham and Carrie Low played John Reid and Mrs. John G. Reid.
    1913—Birthday of Frankie Laine, actor, singer, known for many songs such as “Mule Train,” “Lucky ole Sun,” “Cool Water,” “I Believe, “Granada,” and singer of TV songs such as “Rawhide” and “Viva Las Vegas.” A top performer in the late 40’s and 50’s and on early television. Originally a jazz singer, sidetracked by the famous arranger Mitch Miller, rock and roll changes the venue of music for many of these early 1950’s singers. He died March 6, 2007 at the age of 93.
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-laine7feb07,1,1340769.story?coll=
la-news-obituaries&ctrack=1&cset=true
http://www.frankielaine.com/
    1923 - In New York, the Audubon Ballroom was the site of the first dance marathon. Alma Cummings danced the fox trot, one-step and waltz with six partners.
    1942 - Coast Guard was designated as a service of the Navy to be administered by the Commandant of Coast Guard under the direction of the Secretary of the Navy, similar to the administration of the Marine Corps.
    1943 -- Rodgers and Hammerstein's first collaboration, Oklahoma, opens on Broadway.
    1945-- Eric Clapton birthday, born Ripley, England. Singer with Yardbirds, Cream, Derek and the Dominoes, Bluesbreakers, Faith, and songwriter, best known for starting the “unplugged”
video and CD trend.
http://www.sai.msu.su/~util/clapton.html
    1945---Top Hits
My Dreams are Getting Better All the Time - The Pied Pipers
A Little on the Lonely Side - The Frankie Carle Orchestra (vocal: Paul Allen)
Accentuate the Positive - Johnny Mercer
Shame on You - Spade Cooley
    1945--*WILL, WALTER J. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company K 18th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Eisern, Germany, 30 March 1945. Entered service at: West Winfield, N.Y. Birth: Pittsburgh, Pa. G.O. No.: 88, 17 October 1945. Citation: He displayed conspicuous gallantry during an attack on powerful enemy positions. He courageously exposed himself to withering hostile fire to rescue 2 wounded men and then, although painfully wounded himself, made a third trip to carry another soldier to safety from an open area. Ignoring the profuse bleeding of his wound, he gallantly led men of his platoon forward until they were pinned down by murderous flanking fire from 2 enemy machineguns. He fearlessly crawled alone to within 30 feet of the first enemy position, killed the crew of 4 and silenced the gun with accurate grenade fire. He continued to crawl through intense enemy fire to within 20 feet of the second position where he leaped to his feet, made a lone, ferocious charge and captured the gun and its 9-man crew. Observing another platoon pinned down by 2 more German machineguns, he led a squad on a flanking approach and, rising to his knees in the face of direct fire, coolly and deliberately lobbed 3 grenades at the Germans, silencing 1 gun and killing its crew. With tenacious aggressiveness, he ran toward the other gun and knocked it out with grenade fire. He then returned to his platoon and led it in a fierce, inspired charge, forcing the enemy to fall back in confusion. 1st Lt. Will was mortally wounded in this last action, but his heroic leadership, indomitable courage, and unflinching devotion to duty live on as a perpetual inspiration to all those who witnessed his deeds. 
    1950-- Dr. John Northup Shive of the Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey, announced he had developed a phototransistor” operated by light rather than electric current. It was not until 1951 that transistors were produced commercially, the first for Western Electric, used in long distance dialing equipment. The microprocessor did not come along until the late 1970, developed by Intel,
Santa Clara, California.
    1950 -- President Harry S Truman denounces Senator Joe McCarthy as a saboteur of U.S.
foreign policy.
    1953--Top Hits
Till I Waltz Again with You - Teresa Brewer
Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes - Perry Como
Pretend - Nat King Cole
Kaw-Liga - Hank Williams
    1957--Buddy Knox became the first artist in the Rock 'n' Roll era to write his own number one hit when "Party Doll" topped the Billboard chart. Buddy would go on to place four more songs in the Top 40 between 1957 and 1961. 
    1958-Little Richard had his final US Top 10 hit with "Good Golly Miss Molly". The song was from his last recording sessions for Specialty Records, after which he recorded a series of Gospel songs. 
    1961---Top Hits
Surrender - Elvis Presley
Dedicated to the One I Love - The Shirelles
Apache - Jorgen Ingmann
Don’t Worry - Marty Robbins
    1963 - He's So Fine, recorded by The Chiffons, jumped into the top spot on Billboard's record charts on this date, and stayed in the Number 1 spot for 4 weeks. 
    1963—Birthday of baseball player turned Rapper, M.C. Hammer, real name Stanley Kirk Burrell, born Oakland, California.
    1963-16 year old Lesley Gore records her breakthrough hit, "It's My Party". Producer Quincy Jones hurried Gore into the studio when he found out that Phil Spector was going to cut the song with The Crystals.
    1964 - One of the best known game shows on television, "Jeopardy", developed by Merv Griffin, first aired on NBC-TV. Host, Art Fleming never missed a show in 2,500 programs. Three contestants won cash by attempting to give the correct questions to an answer in six different categories. Contestants go through two rounds and a “final jeopardy,” where they can wager up to all their earnings on one question. The series returned in 1984 with Alex Trebek as the popular host.
    1966—Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale ended their joint monthly long holdout by signing contracts for $130,000 and $105,000 respectively. Koufax (26-8 in 1965) and Drysdale (23-12) had shaken up the baseball establishment tby joining forces and hiring lawyers to negotiate for them. Still, their contracts fell short of their goal, a e-year deal for $1.05 million.
    1967 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: ``Happy Together,'' The Turtles. The group is called the Crossfires before signing with Liberty Records.
    1967 - The cover of the Beatles' ``Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' album is staged and photographed at Chelsea Manor Studios in London using collage and wax figures from Madame Tussaud's famous museum. The actual cover is a painting of that photograph. Among the likenesses featured on the cover are Mae West, Shirley Temple, Fred Astaire, Bob Dylan, Tony Curtis, Marlon Brando, Oscar Wilde, Marlene Dietrich and W.C. Fields.
    1967-BOBO, JOHN P. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 3d Battalion, 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division (Rein), FMF. Place and date: Quang Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam, 30 March 1967. Entered service at: Buffalo, N.Y. Born: 14 February 1943, Niagara Falls, N.Y. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Company 1 was establishing night ambush sites when the command group was attacked by a reinforced North Vietnamese company supported by heavy automatic weapons and mortar fire. 2d Lt. Bobo immediately organized a hasty defense and moved from position to position encouraging the outnumbered marines despite the murderous enemy fire. Recovering a rocket launcher from among the friendly casualties, he organized a new launcher team and directed its fire into the enemy machine gun positions. When an exploding enemy mortar round severed 2d Lt. Bobo's right leg below the knee, he refused to be evacuated and insisted upon being placed in a firing position to cover the movement of the command group to a better location. With a web belt around his leg serving as a tourniquet and with his leg jammed into the dirt to curtain the bleeding, he remained in this position and delivered devastating fire into the ranks of the enemy attempting to overrun the marines. 2d Lt. Bobo was mortally wounded while firing his weapon into the main point of the enemy attack but his valiant spirit inspired his men to heroic efforts, and his tenacious stand enabled the command group to gain a protective position where it repulsed the enemy onslaught. 2d Lt. Bobo's superb leadership, dauntless courage, and bold initiative reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
    1968 - Quebecois chanteuse Celine Dion is born in Charlemagne, Canada. The singer has nine best-selling French albums under her belt before she records "Unison" in 1990.
    1969 - No. 1 Billboard hit: ``Dizzy,'' Tommy Roe. The song is Roe's biggest hit. It remains at No. 1 for four weeks and sells 6 million records.
    1969---Top Hits
Dizzy - Tommy Roe
Traces - Classics IV featuring Dennis Yost
Time of the Season - The Zombies
Who’s Gonna Mow Your Grass - Buck Owens
    1969-After having two giant hits with "The Letter" (#1) and "Cry Like A Baby" (#2), The Box Tops' "Sweet Cream Ladies" tops out at #28 on the Billboard Hot 100. They would reach #18 later in the year with "Soul Deep", their final Top 40 entry. 
    1970 - "Applause" starring Lauren Bacall, opened on Broadway. The show became one of the hardest tickets to get. Critics called Bacall “a sensation.” The play was an adaptation of the movie, "All About Eve". It continued for 896 performances. In 1972, a London version of the show, also starring
Bacall, opened. 
    1970 - Television dramas were added to daytime lineups on both ABC and NBC. "The Best of Everything" and "A World Apart" were first aired on ABC. On NBC debuted
"Somerset" and "Another World". 
    1970 -- After years of struggle & a nationwide boycott, the United Farm Workers sign the first table-grape contract with two of California's largest grape growers. 
But the victory will prove to be only one battle in a long war. By 1974, the union is threatened not only by growers but by more powerful unions. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters will muscle its way into the fields & sign sweetheart contracts with growers who haven't signed with United Farm Workers. The combined wealth & political power of the Teamsters & the growers nearly destroys the UFW.
    1971 - The Bee Gees were given a gold record for, "Lonely Days". When playing the gold record, they heard the song at a faster speed and said, “Hey, this sounds like disco!” The rest is part of "Saturday Night Fever" history. 
    1974 - John Denver hit #1 with, "Sunshine on My Shoulders", his first number one song. Three other Denver singles reached the top of the music world: "Annie’s Song", "Thank God I’m a Country Boy" and "I’m Sorry". "Take Me Home Country Roads" made it to number two, while "Rocky Mountain High" only reached number 9. Denver wrote Peter, Paul and Mary's "Leaving on a Jet Plane"; and won an Emmy for the television special, "An Evening with John Denver". 
    1977—A new era began in San Francisco football as Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr. bought the 49ers from the original owners. The 49ers never reached the NFL championship game while the Morabito family owned them, but they won five Super Bowls during the first 18 years of DeBartolo’s tenure. Forced to turn the team over to his sister due to a business dealing with the former Governor of Louisiana, the 49ers never have been the same since. When he returns for retirement of jerseys, the fans go crazy over his attendance. I can personally attest that “Eddie! Eddie!” is the loudest yell of the events. 
    1977---Top Hits
Rich Girl - Daryl Hall & John Oates
Dancing Queen - Abba
Don’t Give Up on Us - David Soul
Southern Nights - Glen Campbell
    1977-The Eagles' "Hotel California" starts climbing the Billboard LP Chart to the top.
    1977 - Hartford, CT, hit 87 degrees to establish a record for the month of March.
    1978 - Ellen Corby returned to Walton’s Mountain over a year after she left in an ambulance after a stroke. The episode was titled, "Grandma Comes Home". 
    1981 - United States President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest by a would-be assassin as he walked to his limousine in Washington DC. In the attack, Press Secretary James Brady and two police officers were wounded. John W. Hinkley Jr. was convicted for the crime.
    1981-- Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig's televised announcement (while President Ronald Reagan was undergoing surgery after being shot by a would-be assassin): "As of now, I am in control here in the White House..." Haig continued to say, “Constituently, gentlemen, you have the president, the vice-president and the secretary of state in that order." What makes this so funny and memorable was his arrogance, plus the fact that he was incorrect. According to the New York Desk Reference, for those who want to get on " Who Wants to be a Millionaire": 1.Vice-President, 2. Speaker of the House, 3. President Pro Tempore of the Senate, 4. Secretary of State, 5. Secretary of the Treasury. The point is that the Secretary of State is fourth in line, not second. He surely was not in charge.
    1983 - Basketball player Larry Bird, set a regular season Celtic scoring record as he got 53 points. The record remained until 1985 when Bird broke it himself with a 60-point performance on March 12. 
    1985---Top Hits
One More Night - Phil Collins
Lovergirl - Teena Marie
We are the World - USA for Africa
Seven Spanish Angels - Ray Charles with Willie Nelson
    1987 - Vincent van Gogh’s "Sunflowers" brought in $39.85 million, more than triple the record for a painting at auction. It was sold on the 134th anniversary of the artist's birth. Singer Don McLean wrote and sang a musical tribute to the artist, titled "Vincent", in April of 1972. 
    1987 -a low pressure area spread heavy snow across the Ohio Valley and lower Great Lakes region. Cleveland, Ohio recorded 16 inches of snow in 24 hours -- their second highest total of record. Winds gusting to 50 mph created 8 to 12 foot waves on Lake Huron and the storm ushered in unseasonably cold air into the south central and southeastern US with nearly 100 record lows in 3 days.
    1987 -The 59th Annual Academy Awards extravaganza emanated from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Los Angeles Music Center. Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn and Paul ‘Crocodile Dundee’ Hogan hosted. (Hogan was also an Oscar nominee for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen with Ken Shadie and John Cornell for "Crocodile Dundee".) Now let’s get right to the good part: Best Picture: "Platoon" (Arnold Kopelson, producer); Best Director: Oliver Stone for "Platoon"; Best Actor: Paul Newman for "The Color of Money"; Best Actress: Marlee Matlin for "Children of a Lesser God"; Best Supporting Actor: Michael Caine for "Hannah and Her Sisters"; Best Supporting Actress: Dianne Wiest for "Hannah and Her Sisters" and Best Music/Song: Giorgio Moroder (music), Tom Whitlock (lyrics) for "Take My Breath Away" from "Top Gun". And HBO (Home Box Office) earned its first Oscar as "Down and Out in America" tied for Best Documentary feature. The cable-TV film played in a Los Angeles movie theatre for one week to qualify for the Academy Award.http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1987
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0149676.html
http://www.filmsite.org/aa86.html 1986?
    1989 -- Gladys Knight performs solo for the first time since grammar school without The Pips during a gig at Bally's in Las Vegas. She becomes a regular in the town, still there the last time I visited Vegas.
    1989--Gladys Knight performs without The Pips for the first time since grammar school at a show at Bally's in Las Vegas.
    1989 - Thunderstorms developing along and ahead of a slow moving cold front produced large hail and damaging winds at more than fifty locations across the southeast quarter of the nation, and spawned a tornado which injured eleven persons at Northhampton NC.
    1991-- 44th NCAA Ice Hockey Championship: Northern Michigan beats Boston University 8-7; Northern Michigan's 1st NCAA hockey title 
    1992-- 64th Academy Awards (Silent of the Lambs sweeps with Best Picture, Anthony Hopkins as Best Actor and Jodie Foster as Best Actress). The 64th Annual Academy Awards statuette-passing-out-party was thrown at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. Funny man and actor/producer/writer/director Billy Crystal was host as that creepy "The Silence of the Lambs" (Edward Saxon, Kenneth Utt, Ronald M. Bozman, producers) won the prize for Best Picture of 1991. "Silence" also won the Best Director Oscar for the creepy Jonathan Demme; Best Writing/Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium for the creepy Ted Tally; Best Actor for the creepy Anthony Hopkins and Best Actress for the anything-but-creepy Jodie Foster. Jack Palance won Best Supporting Actor for playing Curly in "City Slickers" and the Best Supporting Actress Oscar was claimed by Mercedes Ruehl for "The Fisher King". Best Music/Song: Alan Menken (music), Howard Ashman (lyrics) for "Beauty and the Beast" from, you guessed it, "Beauty and the Beast". You probably wouldn’t have guessed that the movie, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day", nominated in six categories, won four Oscars for Best Sound (Tom Johnson, Gary Rydstrom, Gary Summers, Lee Orloff); Best Effects/Sound Effects Editing (Gary Rydstrom, Gloria S. Borders); Best Effects/Visual Effects (Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Gene Warren Jr., Robert Skotak); and Best Makeup (Stan Winston, Jeff Dawn).
http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1992
http://www.filmsite.org/aa91.html 1991?
    1992 - Baseball player, Sammy Sosa was traded by the Chicago White Sox with Ken Patterson to the Chicago Cubs for George Bell. 
    1998 60th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: at Alamodome San Antonio, Kentucky beats
Utah 78-69
    2006 --As a result of the recently released book detailing Barry Bonds allegedly using performance-enhancing drugs, Bud Selig appoints George Mitchell to head an investigation into the use of steroids in baseball. The former Senate Majority Leader will have the authority to expand the probe, which will be made public, into events prior to Fall of 2002, when such substances were banned by major league baseball.

NCAA Basketball Champions This Date

    1940 Indiana
    1943 Wyoming
    1981 Indiana
    1987 Indiana
    1998 Kentucky