Leasing News - information, news, education and entertainment for the commercial bank, finance and leasing industry

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

Please send Leasing News to a colleague and ask them to join
our mailing list. You may also visit each news edition at www.leasingnews.org or view our previous editions at: www.leasingnews.org/archives.htm

US Business Funding, Newport Beach, California
Bulletin Board Complaint $5,915 Deposit Made in 2013
by Christopher Menkin

This complaint involves a $159,029.00 Equipment Finance Agreement, with a separate form for a zero dollar purchase option, dated June 26, 2013, signed by William Willis, President of Global Stone DBA Umpqua Stone, Roseburg, Oregon. The 60 month factor was .017. (1) Mr. Willis has been contacting every agency and source he can since 2013. In February, 2015, he discovered Leasing News. The transaction was never funded and deposit of first and last of $5,915.00 was not returned.

After attempting to contact Peter Ribeiro, founder of US Business Funding and the person named in the complaint, on February 20, 2015, Chris Wilcox, Managing Director, US Business Funding, responded to a telephone call saying Mr. Riberio was in “DR”, then returned the original call and wanted to record the conversation, to which I did not agree.

Mr. Wilcox then sent an email:

"...the state of Oregon has not only seen the complaint file against us but cleared us of any wrong doing based on the customer providing a fraudulent invoice to us. Unless you seem to think your opinion Is larger than the state of Oregon’s Justice Department I suggest you kindly back off of US Business Funding and focus your attention to companies who actually are acting on fraudulent practices.

"I will assume this will be the last of this conversation. I encourage you to not write any distasteful articles regarding US Business Funding otherwise I will personally name you and bury you in a mountain of lawsuits for slander, discrimination and false representation. I have enough money and personal interest to waste $500,000 on my team of lawyers and honestly don’t have much else to do."

He included a copy of the agreement and original complaint by
Mr. Willis. (2) Leasing News contacted Kristina Edmunson, the media contact for Oregon Attorney General Ellen F. Rosenblum, who researched the matter and sent the following email:

"We determined this was a business-to-business matter, and the Oregon Department of Justice is not the appropriate jurisdiction. Our file on this matter is closed."

Mr. Chris Wilcox and Peter Ribeiro said they would not return the deposit because the invoices did not match the dollar amount for the Equipment Finance Agreement and therefore the transaction was fraudulent on the part of Mr. Willis. The correct amount, whether it was within the 10% range of the original approval, whether Mr. Willis would pay the difference, which funder had approved the transaction, or what had changed, was not provided.

An email dated February 20, 2015 by Leasing News asked Mr. Ribeiro to return the deposit because US Business Funding was not licensed as a California Finance Lender in California. In addition, the US Business contract stated the issue will be legally in California (Paragraph 10, section 12 "You expressly and unconditionally consent to the jurisdiction and venue of any court in the State of California and waive the right to that by jury for any claim or action arising out of or relating to the Agreement of the Equipment.") Accordingly, a broker cannot then keep a deposit if the transaction does not go forward.

Included was a recent article by Legal News Editor Tom McCurnin:

Leasing Brokers: When May You Collect a Commission?
Update by Tom McCurnin, Leasing News Legal Editor
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2015/2_13.htm#brokers

As well as:
Leasing Brokers: When May You Collect a Commission?
Update by Tom McCurnin, Leasing News Legal Editor
http://www.leasingnews.org/bulletin_board.htm

Policy on Bulletin Board Complaints
by Christopher Menkin, Editor
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2015/2_11.htm#policy

Mr. Ribeiro replied by email the same day, "This matter is about a client you are siding with that has commit (sic) fraud. You can correspond with my attorney from here on forward. Not a lot of things get my attention but when they do I’m relentless."

He then sent an email with cc: to his attorney:

"Please contact Mr. Menkin. Take any legal action necessary. Think he met his match. Thanks."

Leasing News received an email by his attorney on February 23, 2015, stating, "We are reviewing the materials you forwarded."

Mr. Willis awaits the return of his $5,915.00 deposit. He has been pursuing its return over a year and a half, going on two years.

U.S. Business Funding EFA
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/USBusinessEFA_32015.pdf
State of Oregon Complaint
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/Willis_Oregon_32015.pdf

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

(These ads are “free” to those seeking employment or looking
to improve their position)

Senior Management

Accomplished leasing executive driven to deliver increased revenues, operating efficiencies, improved sales productivity and customer acquisition. Seeking new opportunity to utilize my strategic, ideation, communication and analytical strengths to develop, implement and execute your organization’s strategic plan.
Reg.Lindholm@gmail.com

Free Posting for those seeking employment in Leasing
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted-post.htm

All “free” categories “job wanted” ads:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted.htm

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

Top Stories: February 23-February 19
Opened Most by Readers of Leasing News

http://www.leasingnews.org/items/presshat-notext.gif

(1) The Changing Landscape of Equipment Leasing
by Christopher Menkin
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2015/2_23.htm#changing

(2) Correction---Leasing 102 by Mr. Terry Winders, CLFP
How much do you know about leasing?
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2015/2_25.htm#correction

(3) Placard---If Your Dog Doesn’t Like Someone
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2015/2_23.htm#placard

(4) January, 2015 "The List"
--- Mergers, Acquisitions & Changes
"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"--
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2015/2_27.htm#jan_list

(5) The Secret of Our Success--But
Ed Kaye Is No Longer with the Company
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2015/2_27.htm#secret

(6) Former BofA Sr. VP Pleads Guilty to $6.4 Million
Misapplication of Bank Funds
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2015/2_27.htm#boa

(7) Warren Capital Receiver and Law Firm Join The Gravy Train
by Tom McCurnin, Leasing News Legal Editor
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2015/2_25.htm#warren

(8) You May Have Missed Tom McCurnin’s Conclusion on Warren Capital Receiver and Law Firm Joining The Gravy Train
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2015/2_27.htm#missed

(9) Leasing 102 by Mr. Terry Winders, CLFP
How much do you know about leasing?
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2015/2_23.htm#how

(10) Equipment Leasing and Finance Association Forecasts the following Top 10 Equipment Acquisition Trends for 2015
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2015/2_23.htm#forecasts

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

Major Bank Failure in Puerto Rico, Including Mainland
Deposit Insurance Fund Hit of $748.9 Million

The 26 branches of Doral Bank, San Juan, Puerto Rico, were closed with Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, to acquire the banking operations, including all the deposits, of Doral Bank. The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $748.9 million. Eight of the branches are in the United States mainland, five being acquired by Centennial Bank, Conway, Arkansas, and three by Banco Popular North America, NY, NY.

Here is list of Branch Locations and Acquiring Banks
https://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/doral.html

The FDIC entered into two separate agreements to sell $1.3 billion of Doral Bank's assets to other parties. Those sales are expected to close in 30 days. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition.

Established October 16, 1981, Doral Bank had 1,086 full time employees at its 26 offices as of December 31, 2014. At this December 31, 2014 date, its Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio was a low 2.72%.

While the downfall actually occurred on Wednesday when the Puerto Rick Appeals Court ruled the local government does not owe Doral Bank $229 million in overpaid taxes, it really began in 2007. Eight consecutive years of losses, high charge offs (mostly real estate and loans to individuals-autos, credit cards, personal loans), and heavy non-current loans, meaning payments quite a bit in arrears. Note the yearly losses, non-current loans, and high charge offs below:

(in millions, unless otherwise)

Profit

2006	$19.5
2007	-$196.8
2008	-$132.1
2009	-$36.2
2010	-$260.7
2011	-$11.9
2012	-$90.9
2013	-$80.9
2014	-$336.2

Non-Current Loans

2006 $169.0
2007 $432.0
2008 $657.3
2009 $883.7
2010 $776.6
2011 $644.5
2012 $880.0
2013 $797.0
2014 $674.0

Charge Offs

2006 $6.9   ($4.3 loans to Individuals, $1.2 commercial/industrial, $951,000 nonfarm/nonind., $426,000 construction/land development.
2007 $19.3 ($6.2 loans to individuals, $6.0 construction/land, $2.3 nonfarm/nonres., $1,210 other loans, $921,000 lease financing receivables, $91,000 1-4 family homes
2008   $39.0 ($19.8 construction/land, $8.5 nonfarm/nonres., $7.3 individuals, $1.4 1-4 family residential, $1.0 commercial industrial, $797,000 lease receivables, $134,000 other loans
2009   $41.3 ($17.2 construction/land, $8.7 loans to individuals, $5.9 commercial/industrial, $4.6 nonfarm/nonresidential, $3.3 1-4 family, $757,000 other loans, $706,000 lease financing receivables)
2010 $111.5 ($55.4 construction/land, $26.7 1-4 family, $17,000 nonfarm/nonres.,$7.2 loans to individuals, $$3.2 commercial/industrial, $1.1 lease financing, $651,000 other loans)
2011   $79.3 ($26.4 1-4 family, $26.2 construction/land, $21.3 nonfarm/nonres, $4.5 loans to individuals, $615,000 commercial/industrial, $$603,000 other loans, -$312,000 lease financing)
2012 $118.5   ($58.6 1-4 family residential, $32.3 construction/land, $21.2 nonfarm/nonres.,
$3.1 commercial/industrial, $3.1 individuals, $359,000 other loans, $1,000 lease, -$6 auto loans)
2013    $69.6 ($37.8 1-4 family residential, $17.5 nonfarm/nonres.,$8.8 construction/land, $4.4 commercial industrial, $1.5 loans to individuals, $54,000 other loans, -$450,000 multifamily,
-$26,000 lease financing receivable
2014   $209.8 ($173.1 1-4 family residential property, $19.3 construction/land, $14.7 nonfarm/nonres.,
$1.8 loans to individuals, $488,000 commercial/industrial, $114,000 multifamily, $21,000 other loans, $1,000 lease financing receivables.

Construction and Land, 1-4 family multiple residential, Multiple Family Residential, Non-Farm Non-Residential loans (non-owner occupied).

Net Equity

2006 $613.3
2007 $544.1
2008 $507.3
2009 $603.0
2010 $651.7
2011 $648.1
2012 $654.2
2013 $699.9
2014 $427.2

Doral went from 634 full time employees at the end of 2006 to 1,484 full time employees year-end 2007 with the influx of investors.

The New York Times reports, "Hoping to improve its fortunes, the bank recruited Glen R. Wakeman, the head of General Electric’s finance unit in Latin America, to become chief executive. It also received an infusion of capital from a group of Wall Street investors — including Goldman Sachs and the hedge funds Perry Capital and Marathon Asset Management.

"But Doral suffered a big blow in June 2011, when one of its top new bankers, Maurice Spagnoletti, an experienced community and regional banker from the mainland, was gunned down on a San Juan highway in what police say was a well-planned execution.

"Doral becomes the fourth United States bank to fail this year. It is the most costly failure since Western Bank, which was also based in Puerto Rico and collapsed in 2010 at a cost of $3.8 billion.

"It is not clear what will happen to Mr. Wakeman, Doral’s chief executive, who was one of the highest-paid executives of a Puerto Rico bank, though he had relocated his offices to Miami from San Juan."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/28/business/dealbook/regulators-shut-down-puerto-rico-bank.html

There were several cases of Fraud, a current one discovered in February, regarding $2.3 million, paying $27,288.27 a week to the Doral Bank Vice-President of the Property and Facilities Department.
http://www.fbi.gov/sanjuan/press-releases/2015/former-doral-employee-and-contractor-indicted-for-bank-fraud

www.problembanklist.com reports, "Puerto Rico has become a black hole for banking. Doral Bank is the fourth large banking failure in Puerto Rico since April 2010 when the Westernbank, Puerto Rico, Premier Bank of Puerto Rico, and Eurobank En Espanol all failed. The four failed banks had total assets of $26.3 billion and resulted in total estimated losses to the FDIC of $6.0 billion.

"More banking failures may be on the way in Puerto Rico as the island’s economy continues to contract and the government teeters on the brink of insolvency under a crushing debt load. There is ongoing speculation about a US bailout of Puerto Rico and a subcommittee of the US House of Representatives held a hearing on allowing Puerto Rico public corporations to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy as reported on by Cumberland Advisors."
http://problembanklist.com/doral-bank-collapses-after-years-of-financial-losses-largest-bank-failure-since-0690/

Banco Popular will operate eight of Doral Bank's 26 former branches. It entered into separate agreements with three banks to acquire 18 of the remaining locations. FirstBank Puerto Rico, Santurce, Puerto Rico, will operate and assume the deposits of Doral Bank's 10 other branches in Puerto Rico; Banco Popular's affiliated bank, Banco Popular North America, will operate all three locations in New York City; and Centennial Bank, Conway, Ark., will operate and assume the deposits of Doral Bank's five branches in the panhandle area of Florida. All depositors were fully protected.

As of December 31, 2014, Doral Bank had approximately $5.9 billion in total assets and $4.1 billion in total deposits. As part of the transaction with the FDIC, Banco Popular will purchase $3.25 billion of Doral Bank's assets. Banco Popular agreed to pay the FDIC a premium of 1.59 percent for the right to assume Doral Bank's deposits.

FDIC Press Release:
https://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2015/pr15024.html

List of Bank Failures:
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/banklist.html
Leasing News Bank Beat:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Bank_Beat.htm

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

How Brokers, Discounters, Lessors Can Comply
with the Patriot Act
by Tom McCurnin
Leasing News Legal Editor

Despite the Fear Mongering, Compliance With the Patriot Act is Easy for Equipment Finance Companies

The Patriot Act requires banks and other financial institutions to comply with various identity and anti-money laundering measures. But is it applicable to equipment finance companies? The answer is “yes.” However, compliance consultants have engaged in some fear mongering to scare equipment brokers, discounters, and lessors that compliance is so difficult, and the penalties so severe, that of course, they must engage one of these compliance consultants. The real answer is that compliance with the Patriot Act is not that difficult.

What Is The Patriot Act?

The Act is formally known as Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act of 2001. It was enacted to combat terrorism.

Who Must Comply With the Patriot Act?

Section 326 of the Act requires the Secretary of the Treasury prescribe a regulation that, at a minimum, requires financial institutions to implement procedures to verify the identity of any person seeking to open an account, to the extent reasonable and practicable; to maintain records of the information used to verify the person's identity; and to determine whether the person appears on any lists of known or suspected terrorists or terrorist organizations provided to investment companies by any government agency.

The Patriot Act has no definition of a “financial institution” and instead borrows the definition of “financial institution” from the Bank Secrecy Act. The Bank Secrecy Act 31 US Code Annotated § 5312 defines a financial institution with a long list and includes “a loan or finance company.”

Therefore, equipment brokers, discounters, lessors must comply with the Patriot Act.

Equipment broker, discounter or Lessor Must Notify the Applicant of the Verification Process

First, the originating party must notify the applicant that it will be collecting information to verify their identities. The notice must generally describe the identification requirements of § 326 and be delivered in a manner which is reasonably designed to insure that the applicant is able to read the notice before a relationship is commenced. Email or a conspicuous admonition on a lease application will suffice.

The Act contains sample language set forth below:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT PROCEDURES FOR OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT — To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. What this means for you: When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow us to identify you. We may also ask to see your driver’s license or other identifying documents.

Development of a Written CIP Policy
The equipment lessor must develop a Customer Identification Program (“CIP”). The program must be in writing. So originators must put together a short 1-2 page program which sets forth the types of relationship to be entered into, the methods which the lessor will use to verify identity, the types of identification to be verified, and the lessor must have written “risk assessment” which will guide the lessor in determining what level of scrutiny the identification process will take. For example, depository accounts are riskier than loans (there is no limit to the amount which can be deposited), so numerous forms of identification of presenting the identification in person may be required.

Implementing the Identify Verification Process
The equipment lessor must implement the CIP, by obtaining the following information:

• Name
• Date of birth for individuals.
• Address
• Identification number

The lessor need not establish the accuracy of every element of identifying information obtained, but it must verify enough information to form a reasonable belief that it knows the true identity of the customer. The originator’s procedures must describe when it will use documents, non-documentary methods, or a combination of both.

Documentary Identification Program
The identification must provide evidence of a customer’s nationality or residence and bear a photograph or similar safeguard; examples include a driver’s license or passport. However, other forms of identification may be used if they enable the bank to form a reasonable belief that it knows the true identity of the customer. Nonetheless, given the availability of counterfeit and fraudulently obtained documents, the equipment lessor is encouraged to review more than a single document (such as credit cards) to ensure that it has a reasonable belief that it knows the customer’s true identity.

Non-Documentary Methods of Identification
Originators are not required to use non-documentary methods to verify a customer’s identity. However, an originator using non-documentary methods to verify a customer’s identity must have procedures that set forth the methods the lessor will use. Non-documentary methods may include contacting a customer; independently (by a phone call or personal visit) verifying the customer’s identity through the comparison of information provided by the customer with information obtained from a consumer reporting agency, public database, or other source; checking references with other financial institutions; and obtaining a financial statement.

Additional Verification Procedures
The originator’s CIP must address situations where, based on its risk assessment, additional information must be obtained relative to a customer that is not an individual. This verification method applies only when the bank cannot verify the customer’s true identity using documentary or non-documentary methods. For example, an originator may need to obtain information about and verify the identity of a sole proprietor or the principals in a partnership when the originator cannot otherwise satisfactorily identify the sole proprietorship or the partnership. Typically, articles of incorporation, bylaws, operating agreements may be obtained for commercial borrowers. Often they are available via Google or another search engine, or going directly to the state’s secretary who records such information.

Lack of Verification
The written CIP must also address when to pull the plug on the transaction in the event the customer may not be fully vetted. These circumstances will vary, depending on the equipment lessor’s business model and risk assessment. The CIP should address:

• Circumstances in which the lessor should not book a lease.
• The terms under which a lessee’s application might remain active while the originator attempts to verify the applicant’s identity.
• When the originator should decline the credit, after attempts to verify an applicant’s identity have failed.
• If the lessor is bank owned, when it should file a suspicious activity report (“SAR”) with the Federal Reserve and FBI.

Record Retention
The written CIP should set forth a policy for retaining identity verification. A bank’s CIP must include recordkeeping procedures. At a minimum, the lessor must retain the identifying information (name, address, date of birth for an individual, TIN, and any other information required by the CIP) obtained during the application process for a period of five years after the account is closed. In addition, the originator must retain a copy of any document that was relied on to verify identity, noting the type of document, the identification number, the place of issuance, and, if any, the date of issuance and expiration date. The written CIP must set forth the method and the results of any measures undertaken to verify identity of the applicant and the results of any substantive discrepancy discovered when verifying identity of the lease applicant.

Using Third Parties to Comply with the Patriot Act
§ 326 allows an originator to use a third party provider for most of the verification process, such as a credit bureau reporting agency or Accurint. The originator may also arrange for a third party to maintain its records. However, the originator is ultimately responsible.

Why Does the Patriot Act Apply to Brokers?
First, if the broker is writing deals on its own paper then assigning the leases, it is probably considered an equipment finance company, and thus a financial institution for purposes of the Patriot Act. Second, even if the broker is only taking the application and forwarding it to the bank, it is likely that any bank will want its brokers to comply with the Patriot Act.

The Bottom Line
Compliance with the Patriot Act is for all equipment brokers, discounters, and lessors. It is super easy to do, and if the originator is underwriting the credit, then usually the same information can be used to verify identity. All that is really required is a written CIP which incorporates what the lessor is probably already doing.

Tom McCurnin is a partner at Barton, Klugman & Oetting
in Los Angeles, California.

Tom McCurnin
Barton, Klugman & Oetting
350 South Grand Ave.
Suite 2200
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Direct Phone: (213) 617-6129
Cell (213) 268-8291
Email: tmccurnin@bkolaw.com
Visit our web site at www.bkolaw.com

Previous Tom McCurnin Articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/leasing_cases.html

(Terry retired January 1, 2015. To honor him and his many years of writing for readers of Leasing News, in the next few months we will bring up columns he has written that are still meaningful today.

(Recently Bruce Braviroff, Danjon Capital, asked about the standard
practice for audit phone calls for his new company. Here is a November 17, 2008 column by Terry that covers the subject. Editor.)

Phone Audits

The current legal environment places responsibility on the Lessor to confirm that the lessee is in fact in possession of the equipment when the lease payments begin. If you fund prior to the equipment being put into use you stand a good chance of having your transaction called invalid.

I was in New York at Columbia University not long after being involved in a case where the Lessee signed the acceptance agreement prior to delivery because the vendor indicated that he would not provide the equipment until after he was paid… because he did not know or trust the leasing company.

The first payment was included with the signed acceptance agreement and the leasing company paid the vendor with no delay. Of course, Murphy’s Law was in full force and the vendor spent the money and declared federal bankruptcy and never delivered the equipment. A lawsuit developed between the Lessee and the Lessor after the Lessee refused to pay. The judge ruled in favor of the Lessee declaring that the Lessor, as the “owner” of the equipment, should have confirmed that the Lessee had the equipment.

The question is how to confirm delivery without a personal visit and while there are a few companies that will due an inspection for a fee, the transaction needs to be above a number to be cost effective. Here I am concerned about how to do it at a reasonable cost with some degree of success. At Columbia University, I met the head of their philosophy department and as luck would have it, the discussion got around to problems in leasing and I explained this problem. He asked if we could not just phone the customer to confirm the delivery and use. I explained that if someone was brash enough to sign an acceptance document, how would I believe what he said on the phone? That is when he said the average adult American can only lie four times in a row without beginning to show large amounts of stress. He said that if I created a questionnaire that contained enough questions about the equipment that could not be answered unless the equipment had been put in to use, I could tell if they actually had it.

I returned home and created the following questions for a phone audit prior to vendor payment. Some companies record the phone audit, I am told, but in most states you must inform the other party that the call is being recorded. (In this day and age, most documents are being digitized to the network computer or cloud. Wave recordings can also be saved in the file. Editor):

What date was the equipment delivered?
Have all the attachments or accessories been delivered?
[] Yes [] No.
Were there any changes in the equipment description? [] Yes [] No
(IF YES - STOP AUDIT AND RE-DOCUMENT)
What date was the equipment accepted?
Where is the Equipment located?
Has the equipment been put into use? [] Yes [] No
Are you satisfied with its performance? [] Yes [] No
Did the vendor make any promises? [] Yes [] No
Do you understand that we are not the vendor?
[] Yes [] No
Do you understand this is: a net lease? [] Yes [] No.
Do you understand this is a non-cancelable lease? [] Yes [] No
Do you understand your purchase option is: [] $1.00 [] 10% [] TRAC % [] PUT % [] FMV [ ]
You were told $/% ____________________ by the salesperson.

Add any reference about calling customer service for any questions.

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

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

Update

Advance Property Tax Compliance	Group 88 Systems, Inc.	OutSourcing Solutions Group, LLC
Barrett Management Corp.	Haws Consulting Group	Phoenix Leasing Portfolio Srvcs., Inc.
Bank of the West	JDR Solutions	Portfolio Financial Servicing Co.
ECS Financial Services	LeaseDimensions, Inc.	RPC Property Tax Advisors, LLC
EquipmentEngine Financial Services Company	Madison Capital, LLC
GreatAmerica Portfolio Services Group LLC	Orion First Financial, LLC

Full List:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Ag_leasing/backoffice.htm

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

Leasing News Advisor
Paul Weiss

Paul Weiss has been in and around equipment leasing for 27 years.

Among other leasing industry affiliations, Paul co-led the leveraged buyout of ICON Capital in 1996 with Beau Clarke (since deceased) and served as its President and Vice Chairman until he sold his substantial ownership stake in late 2006. ICON was then the largest in its field in syndication volume for lease investment programs to individual investors. He was responsible for the company's lease acquisitions and securities sales and marketing efforts. According to the Monitor, ICON became one of the largest independently owned leasing companies in the United States after it was acquired by Mr. Weiss and his partners in 1996.

In the first year after his non-compete clause ended, he was approached by a former ICON colleague to get back into the leasing business and form Panthera. Paul believed that after the industry pullback in 2008 there has been a lack of real equity in the leasing markets, and that many players had moved to more conservative financing type transactions as a consequence. Still, many sectors still require or desire traditional equipment based equity investors to have true lease and rental alternatives for equipment users. Panthera was therefore formed last year to "bring a substantial pool of capital to U.S. and European equipment leasing, renting and trading market" he is back with "creative problem-solving equity deals." Panthera enjoys substantial private equity backing. Since its formation Panthera has been active in such disparate markets as rail, aircraft rotables, locomotives and industrial equipment, and actively seeks out relationships with manufacturers, lessors and brokers for any equipment transactions where the equipment has a long useful life.

He is also a private investor and an Advisor to or Director of numerous Bay Area emerging growth companies. He is a frequent speaker on business development and entrepreneurship and a frequent judge on startup and emerging growth company financing competitions.

Prior to acquiring ICON in 1996 Mr. Weiss was Executive Vice President and a co-founder of Griffin Equity Partners (1993-1996), Senior Vice President of Gemini Financial Holdings, Inc. (1991-1993) and Vice President of Pegasus Capital Corporation (1988-1991); in each of these capacities he was responsible for large ticket seasoned lease portfolio acquisitions. Mr. Weiss believes he has been involved with more than $4 billion of large ticket leasing acquisitions during his career as a principal. He was named as one of the top 25 most influential in the leasing industry by Leasing News in 2009. Prior to entering the equipment leasing business in 1988, Mr. Weiss was an investment banker and securities analyst.

He is a longtime resident of Marin County, California. Paul can be reached atpaul@pantheraleasing.com.

Twelve Attorneys Against Evergreen Abuse

The original intention of the Evergreen clause in an equipment leasing contract was to have an alternative to when the lessee did not exercise the residual at the end of the contract. Often the clause calls for an automatic additional twelve months when the residual is not resolved.

In most cases, the lessor notifies the lessee that the residual will be due, often ninety days in advance. However, often there is nothing in the contract that requires the lessor to notify the lessee regarding the expiration of the contract.

Contrarily, many small ticket lessors do not notify the lessee, and automatically continue the lease, often via an ACH or continued billing, which often goes unnoticed until many payments have already been made.

Leasing News would like to see an industry standard that lessees are notified in advance of the expiration of their contract regarding its termination. We support the clause, and the notification requirement is wide open, meaning 90, 60, even 30 days and by telephone or mail.

This list of attorneys agrees with this and will be available to lessees, sometimes able to help them without a fee, or at a reduced rate, in an effort to end the abuse of Evergreen clause leases.

Jim Coston
Coston & Coston LLC
105 W. Adams Street
Suite 1400
Chicago, Illinois 60603
(312) 205-1010
jcoston@costonlaw.com
(In 1998, he was elected to the United Association of Equipment
Leasing Board of Directors, and in 2003-04 was the first
attorney to become UAEL President, very active in his political party.)

Ronald J. Eisenberg
Schultz & Associates LLP
640 Cepi Drive, Suite A
Chesterfield, MO 63005
(636) 537-4645 x108
(636) 537-2599 (fax)
www.sl-lawyers.com
(Proven Leasing Litigator, well respected by all sides)

Ronald P. Gossett
Gossett & Gossett, P.A.
400 Seridan Street, Building I
Hollywood, Florida
954-983-2828
Fax: 954-983-2850
rongossett@gossettlaw.com
(Many cases including NorVergence, Brican, among others, a winner)

Ken Greene
Law Offices of Kenneth Charles Greene
5743 Corsa Avenue Suite 208
Westlake Village, California 91362
Tel: 818.575.9095
Fax: 805.435.7464
Skype: 424.235.1658
kenlaw100@gmail.com
(Ken was involved in the formation of Leasing News and
represented it (pro bono) in the early days.)

Peter S. Hemar, Esq.
Hemar & Associates, Attorneys at Law
2001 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 510
Santa Monica, CA 90403
Telephone: (310) 829-1948
Fax: (310) 829-1352
phemar@hemar.com
(My firm supports the clause giving lessees advance
notice of the expiration of their contract.)

Brandon J. Mark
Attorney at Law, Admitted in Utah and Oregon
Parsons Behle & Latimer
201 South Main Street, Suite 1800
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Direct Dial 801.536.6958
Facsimile 801.536.6111
www.parsonsbehle.com
BMark@parsonsbehle.com
(His firm represents banks who buy leases, and his
clients refuse to buy these types of leases.)

Barry S. Marks
MARKS & ASSOCIATES, P.C.
Financial Center - Suite 1615
505 North 20th Street
Birmingham, Alabama 35203
P. O. Box 11386
Birmingham, Alabama 35202
barry@leaselawyer.com
www.leaselawyer.com
205.251.8303
fax 278.8905 (Direct) 251.8305 (Main)
(Well-known to the leasing industry, also Alabama Poet)

Tom McCurnin
Barton, Klugman & Oetting
350 South Grand Ste. 2200
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Voice: (213) 617-6129
Fax: (213) 625-1832
Cell: (213) 268-8291
Email: tmccurnin@bkolaw.com
(Leasing News Advisor/Leasing News Legal Editor,
Well-Known top Leasing Litigator)

Frank Peretore
Peretore & Peretore, P.C.
191 Woodport Road
Sparta, New Jersey 07871
www.peretore.com
(973) 729-8991
peretore@peretore.com
(Experienced leasing attorney, aggressive, author, secretary,
National Equipment Finance Association, ELFA, too)

Ellen Stern
Ellen Michele Stern
17630 El Mineral Rd
Perris, CA 92570
951-443-4000
leaselaw@msn.com
(Long time Southern California leasing attorney, well-respected)

Kevin E. Trabaris, Principal
Trabaris, P.C.
1834 Ridge Avenue, Suite 138
Evanston, IL 60201
Direct: (847) 840-4687
Fax: (848) 260-5768
kevin@trabaris.com
www.trabaris.com
"In my career, I’ve repeatedly seen this provision misused
by unscrupulous lessors and think it’s a bad idea for both
the lessee and the lessor."

Michael J. Witt, Esq.
MICHAEL J. WITT LAW OFFICES
4342 Oakwood Lane
West Des Moines, IA 50265
Tel: (515) 657-8706
Mobile: (515) 868-1067
Fax: (515) 223-2352
witt-law@live.com
(Former Advanta Leasing
and Wells Fargo Equipment Finance attorney)

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

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

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

Navy Reserve Celebrates Its Centennial
March 3rd Marks the Celebration of U.S. Navy Reserve’s
100th Anniversary

Washington DC, – The Navy Reserve will mark its centennial anniversary on Tuesday, March 3rd with a series of events starting in Washington DC and continuing at installations around the country during the year. The events will highlight the history of the Navy Reserve and the remarkable contributions Reserve Sailors have made to the nation’s security.

Vice Admiral Robin Braun

“Our Centennial commemoration is a truly a once in a lifetime opportunity to highlight the Reserve Sailors for their service, and that of their families, to America.” said, Vice Admiral Robin Braun. “We want to recognize our rich history and heritage with all of our Sailors, both past and present.”

For 100 years Navy Reserve Sailors have answered our nation’s call in times of war and peace. From communities across America, young men and women left their homes and jobs, trading out civilian clothes for Navy uniforms. From its earliest days, the Navy Reserve has reflected the face of the nation, welcoming members from every race, color, creed and gender to strengthen our Force.

HISTORY OF NAVY RESERVE 1915-2015

Congress authorized the establishment of the Federal Naval Reserve on March 3, 1915. Initially, the only Sailors eligible to enroll were enlisted Navy veterans. On August 29, 1916, with the prospect of America’s entry into World War I looming, the Navy Reserve reorganized to allow the enrollment of non-veterans and was designated as the U.S. Naval Reserve Force.

When the U.S. entered World War I on April 6, 1917, there were 8,000 Sailors serving in the Navy Reserve Force. When the fighting ended on November 11, 1918, more than 250,000 Reserve Sailors were on active duty, which was more than half of the war-time Navy. These Sailors included 12,000 pioneering women – who were all released from active duty by 1920 not to serve again until World War II.

During World War II, the Navy Reserve contributed 84 percent of the Navy’s manpower. Navy Reserve Sailors in World War II included five future U.S. Presidents - John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush – and 15 recipients of the Medal of Honor.

More than 22,000 Reserve Sailors were mobilized for the first Gulf War in the first post-Cold War test of the Force, and since September 11, 2001, there have been more than 70,000 Selected Reserve mobilizations, along with an additional 4,500 deployments by Full Time Support Sailors, including more than 8,000 who have done a second combat tour.

Navy Reserve Sailors deliver essential skills and capabilities to the Navy and Joint Forces wherever and whenever needed. They possess in-depth knowledge and experience that complement critical Navy missions and provide best-practices, technical skills, process management and demonstrated leadership from vastly different work cultures to the Navy.

With nearly one quarter of the Navy Reserve Force providing support to the active duty Navy on any given day, today’s Navy Reserve is the most combat and operationally experienced Force in decades.

Navy Reserve Sailors are patriots who balance the demands of family life, civilian careers, community service and the United States Navy, bringing diverse, dedicated backgrounds from all walks of life. Navy Reserve Sailors are successful because of the magnificent support they get from their families, employers and friends throughout their community.

The U.S. Navy Reserve – Ready then. Ready now. Ready always.

For information on Centennial events, as well as the history and heritage of the Navy Reserve, please visit www.navyreservecentennial.com.

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

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

      1769 - DeWitt Clinton was born in Little Britain in the New York colony. Clinton was the 6th Governor of New York, a NY Assemblyman and Senator, a US Senator, and the Mayor of New York City.
As Governor, he presided over construction of the Erie Canal that gave the US a water route to the Atlantic Ocean by connecting Lake Erie with the Hudson River. The only other route, the St. Lawrence River, was controlled by the English at that time. The westward expansion of the US was enabled greatly by the Erie Canal. Clinton died on 2/11/1828.
    1776 - Charleston, South Carolina, set up an independent government under a temporary local constitution that was to be in effect until an agreement with England could be reached. John Rutledge was chosen President on March 17. The government, said to be the first independent government within the recognized borders of the colonies, successfully defended Charleston against the British army and fleet on June 28, 1776, thus freeing the South from attack for nearly three years.
http://www.edwardrutledge.com/
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/eveolasovrealtor/page1.html
    1776 - Americans begin shelling British troops in Boston. On March 17, the British evacuated Boston after American forces seized and fortified Dorchester Heights on March 4. British General Howe sailed for Halifax, Nova Scotia, to await reinforcements.
    1776 - The Battle of the Rice Boats, around the Savannah River on the border between the Province of Georgia and the Province of South Carolina, was fought on March 2 and 3, 1776. The battle pitted the Patriot militia from Georgia and South Carolina against a small fleet of the Royal Navy. A group of boats containing rice are the target of a British attack on March 2, 1776. The Council of Safety reacts quickly, ordering the local militia to set boats on fire and drive the British away. The Inverness, loaded with rice and deerskins, is set on fire and cut loose, drifting into the brig Nelly. While some 500 Whigs from South Carolina join the 600 Georgia rebels, the two ships drift downstream, setting three more ships on fire. Royal Governor Wright, who has fled to the relative safety of the British vessels barely escapes.
    1789 - Pennsylvania ended the prohibition of theatrical performances.
    1791 - Long-distance communication sped up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris.
    1793 - Birthday of Sam Houston in Rockbridge County, VA. A famed American patriot and the first President of the Republic of Texas, Houston was a congressman (1823-27) and governor (1827-29) of Tennessee. He resigned his office as governor in 1829 and rejoined the Cherokee Indians (with whom he had lived for several years as a teenage runaway), who accepted him as a member of their tribe. Houston went to Texas in 1832 and became commander of the Texas army in the War for Texas Independence, which was secured when Houston routed the much larger Mexican forces led by Santa Ana, April 21, 1836, at the Battle of San Jacinto. After Texas’ admission to the Union, Houston served as US senator and later as governor of the state. He was deposed in 1861 when he refused to swear allegiance to the Confederacy. He died in Texas in 1863.
    1799 - Congress standardized US weights and measures.
    1807 - The African slave trade was prohibited after January 1, 1808 by an act of Congress, which outlawed importation of slaves into any place within the jurisdiction of the U.S.
    1815 - To put an end to robberies by the Barbary pirates, the United States declares war on Algiers.
    1819 – Shooting squirrels becomes popular sport out West. The eastern U.S. was slowly becoming urbanized, but the frontier, moving ever westward, was still the place for the vigorous outdoor activities associated with newly settled rural areas. Marksmanship was highly prized and involved such sports as squirrel shooting by four-man teams. On one occasion, a team shot 152 squirrels by nightfall and the other, 141. Considered a brutal sport was the rough-and tumble fight. There were no rules and the two contestants were free to bite off ears or gouge out eyes until a fighter gave up or was knocked unconscious. By the way squirrel shooting is still popular today in many regions.
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ctd/dept.asp?dept%5Fid=140823&
category=Game+Call
s&dept%5Fname=Squirrel+Calls&mscssid=470F59DW6NAP8JGM8
NWTV7NWC6XPDWJ4
http://www.viriato.net/airgunning/hunting/sr.html
http://www.funsupply.com/airguns/longrange.html
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ar/state/history/terr/chron.txt
    1819 - The first immigration law enacted by Congress established rules and procedures for passenger ships bringing immigrants to the U.S. The most important procedure was the numerical registry of immigrations, which made it possible to compile accurate statistics on immigrations in later years.
    1824 - Interstate commerce was brought under federal control
    1825 – The first grand opera in US sung in English was performed in NYC.
    1828 - Melissa Burton Coray was born at Mersey, Ontario, Canada. At the age of 18, she accompanied her Mormon Battalion soldier husband, William Coray, on a 2,000-mile military march on foot from Council Bluffs, IA, to San Diego, CA, then 1,500 more miles across the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Nevada desert to Salt Lake City, UT, the only woman to make the entire trip. On July 30, 1994, a mountain peak near Carson Pass was named for her, the 2nd peak in California to be named for a woman.
    1829 - Birthday of Carl Schurz, American journalist, political reformer and army officer in Civil War. Born near Cologne, Germany, he died at New York, NY May 14, 1906.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAschurz.htm
http://www.germanheritage.com/biographies/mtoz/schurz.html
    1829 - New England Asylum for the Blind, the first in the US, incorporated in Boston.
    1836 - Texas adopted its Declaration of Independence from Mexico.
    1846 - A great storm hit Virginia and the Carolinas. The storm caused half a million dollars damage, and in North Carolina, drowned fifty families and a thousand cattle on Notts Island.''
    1850 - First masquerade ball in San Francisco with 600 guests. The event was organized by Tiffany Shlain. In 1998, it moved to the Palace of Fine Arts with 2,000 guests.
    1853 - Territory of Washington organized after separating from Oregon Territory.
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ar/state/history/terr/chron.txt
    1861 - The US Congress creates Dakota and Nevada Territories out of the Nebraska & Utah territories. One of the many things leading up to the Civil War were territories and states being created that would become “free states” and thus the “slave states” would lose their leverage in Congress, and the fear that “slavery” would be abolished. On February 4, the Confederacy was formed and earlier in the year states started seceding from the Union. The creation of these territories was signed by President James Buchanan. Abraham Lincoln would be inaugurated as President in two days; Hannibal Hamlin was his Vice-President.
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ar/state/history/terr/chron.txt
    1861 - Government Printing Office purchased its first printing plant in Washington, DC.
    1865 - Freedman's Bureau was founded for the education of Black Americans
    1865 - Confederate General Jubal Early's army was defeated at the Battle of Waynesboro, VA during the Civil War.
    1866 – The first US company to make sewing needles by machine incorporated in Connecticut
    1867 - Jesse James gang attempts to rob bank in Savannah, MO, 1 dead. The attempted robbery on a private bank occurred 2:30 pm, east of St. Joseph, Missouri in Andrew County. There were five men in the gang, four men dismounted and entered the bank. Judge John McClain refused to be robbed and put up an admirable defense. During the attempt, McClain was shot but lived. No money was stolen.
http://web.islandnet.com/~the-gang/rob.htm
http://www.ci.st-joseph.mo.us/history/jessejames.asp
http://www.granburytx.com/docs/james.htm
    1867 - Congress created the Department of Education
    1868 – The University of Illinois opened.
    1874 – Baseball adopted the batter’s box for the first time.
    1877 - A United States electoral commission declared Rutherford B. Hayes President, the only American President to be elected this way. The original result had been too close to call, with several disputed ballots. The nation had never before faced a dispute over the results of a presidential election, although elections had been decided by congress several times due to electoral procedure results. A candidate needed 185 electoral votes to win and Samuel J. Tilden, the Democratic candidate, clearly had 184. In dispute were the 19 electoral votes of three states still under carpetbag rule, Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, plus one vote in Oregon. In Congress, both parties agreed on January 29 to establish an electoral commission to decide the issue. The commission, with five members from each house of Congress and five members from the Supreme Court, was made up of eight Republicans and seven Democrats. All the commission’s decisions were to fall along party lines. On March 2, Congress accepted the commission’s decision, which awarded all the disputed votes to the Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes, who thus received 185 electoral votes to Tilden’s 184. The Republicans were accused of offering southern Democrats economic favors for their region if they supported Hayes’s claim. In any event, the new President showed a conciliatory attitude toward the South: the last Federal troops were withdrawn and there was no further effort to protect the rights of blacks. Reconstruction was over.
    1888 - The Grand Fountain Savings Bank, also known as the True Reformers Savings Bank, was chartered. It was the first bank for African-Americans operated by African-Americans. It began operations on April 3, with a paid-up capital of $4,000. The first day’s deposits were $1,268.69. The board of directors was elected by the society of the United Order of True Reformers, a group founded by William W. Browne.
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/1990/
William_W_Browne_a_businssman_ahead_of_his_time
    1889 - Kansas passed the nation’s first anti-trust legislation.
    1893 – The first federal railroad legislation passed, requiring safety features
    1899 - Mt. Rainier National Park established, located in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state. This is the fourth oldest national park.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/mar02.html
    1900 - Kurt Weill was born in Dessau, Germany. A talented composer, he was active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. His best-known work is “The Threepenny Opera” (1928), written in collaboration with Bertolt Brecht, from which the hit song, “Mack the Knife” was recorded in 1958 by Bobby Darin. Having fled Nazi Germany in 1933 for Paris, where he worked once more with Brecht on the ballet “The Seven deadly Sins”, he then landed in NYC where his musical of “The Threepenny Opera” was given its premiere on Broadway, but closed after 13 performances to mixed reviews. Weill died on 4/3/1950.
    1901 - Congress passed the Platt Amendment, limiting the autonomy of Cuba as a condition for the withdrawal of American troops.
    1903 – In NYC, The Martha Washington Hotel opened becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
    1904 - Theodor Seuss Geisel, the creator of “The Cat in the Hat” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, was born at Springfield, MA. Known to children and parents as Dr. Seuss, his books have sold more than 200 million copies and have been translated into 20 languages. His career began with “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street”, which was turned down by 27 publishing houses before being published by Vanguard Press. His books included many messages, from environmental consciousness in “The Lorax” to the dangers of pacifism in “Horton Hatches the Egg” and Yertel the Turtle's thinly veiled references to Hitler as the title character. He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1984 "for his contribution over nearly half a century to the education and enjoyment of America's children and their parents." He died Sept 24, 1991, at La Jolla, CA.
    1904 - "Official Playing Rules of Professional Base Ball Clubs" were adopted.
    1907 - After a crowded and contentious session, California Assembly members voted 58 to 19 to move the state capital from Sacramento to Berkeley.   As a result of the vote on the bill, California voters were given an opportunity to decide the question in January, 1908.
   1909 - Melvin “Mel” Ott, New York Giants’ Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder, was born at Gretna, LA. Ott hit 511 home runs, a National League record until Willie Mays surpassed it in 1966. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1951. Died at New Orleans, LA, Nov 21, 1958.
1910 - Two trains crashed in a snowstorm in Wellington, Washington, 118 die.
    1912 - Drummer Red Saunders was born in Memphis TN
http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~campber/saunders.html
http://www.theiceberg.com/artist.html?artist_id=25418
    1914 - Martin Ritt’s birthday at New York, NY. American film and television director. His best-known films are “Hud” (1963), “Sounder” (1972), and “Norma Rae” (1979). He is perhaps best known
for his innovative television dramas in the 50’s and 60’s. During the 1950’s he was blacklisted by McCarthy’s anti-Communist crusade. Died December 8, 1990, at Santa Monica, CA.
    1917 - Congress passes the Jones Act making Puerto Rico a territory of the United States and makes the inhabitants U.S. citizens.
    1917 - Desi Arnaz’s birthday, at Santiago, Cuba, born Desidero Alberto Arnaz y Acha III, to a wealthy family. The 1933 revolution sent them to Miami, FL, and the young Arnaz sought a music career. Arnaz led his own band and introduced the conga line to America. He had several musical hits including “Babalu.” He moved into acting, meeting his future wife, Lucille Ball, at RKO. Ball and Arnaz created one of the great TV comedies, “I Love Lucy” (1951-1957) and started the innovative Desilu TV production company. Karl Freund, the cameraman on “I Love Lucy”, and Arnaz himself have been credited with the development of the linked multi-film camera setup using adjacent sets in front of a live audience that became the standard production method for situation comedies. Ball and Arnaz divorced in 1960. In November 1962, Arnaz resigned as president when his holdings in the company were bought out by Ball, who succeeded him as president. This made her the first woman to head a major studio, and one of the most powerful women in Hollywood at the time. Arnaz died on December 2, 1986 at Del Mar, Ca.
    1917 – Reliever Jim Konstanty was born Casimir James Konstanty in Strykersville, NY. Over most of his 11-year Major League career, Konstanty was a relief pitcher at a time when the job usually fell to pitchers on their last legs and when most starters went all nine innings. He was so effective in this role that during the 1950 season of the Philadelphia Phillies’ Whiz Kids who won the National League pennant, Konstanty won the MVP award. The Cy Young Award for the outstanding pitcher of the year would not be created until 1956. To date, he is the only National League relief pitcher to achieve such an honor. He appeared in 74 games (then a major league record), winning 16 games with a National League leading 22 saves, which at the time was not a stat that existed. He died in 1976.
    1918 – The Yankees purchased 1B George Burns from the Detroit Tigers and immediately traded him to the Philadelphia A's.
    1923 - Arthel “Doc” Watson was born in Deep Gap, NC. Singer and musician (“Riding the Midnight Train”, “Then and Now”), he first gained notice in 1961 with an engagement at Gerde's Folk City in New York's Greenwich Village. His reputation was solidified with an appearance at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival. Watson relied heavily on traditional material - songs such as "Tom Dooley" and "Shady Grove." He recorded for Folkways and Vanguard records in the '60s. In the early '70s, Doc Watson's career was revived by a guest appearance on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's three-album set, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken."
    1923 - Orrin Keepnews, co-founder of Riverside Records, jazz writer and reviewer, was born in New York City.
http://www.jazzweek.com/news/article/1_000416.html
http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc0.asp?refid=ovav_key
&docid=1G1:19341648
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0195063309/inktomi-bkasin-20/ref%3Dnosim/
104-4344982-0045565
    1924 - Harmonica player Alexander “Papa George” Lightfoot was born in Natchez, MS. He died in 1971 in Campbell, MS
http://www.eharmonica.net/alexander_lightfoot.htm
    1924 – Jazz tenor saxophonist Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis’ birthday in NYC. Tough tenor Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis is a gutsy hard-driving swinger who displays raw lyricism and real energy in his playing. Admired by all his fellow musicians, he was for a while closely associated with the Count Basie Band, but also formed small bands with fellow tenor player Johnny Griffin in the 60s and Roy Eldridge in the 70s. Davis died in 1986.
http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,420939,00.html
?artist=Eddie+%22Lockjaw%22+Davis
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/102-0189534-1011323?tag=drjohnholleman&keyword=eddie+lockjaw+davis&mode=music
    1925 - Highway Numbers introduced. The Joint Board on Interstate Highways, recommended by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO), worked to form a national numbering system to rationalize the nation’s roads. Standardized road signs in the shape of a shield, identifying the routes were also introduced. Later, the system would be improved with the use of odd and even numbers that distinguish between north-south and east-west routes, respectively. For the most part, these US Highways sought to link major population areas to speed movement of goods and people from place to place. The Interstate Highway System that would follow generally speeds travel around major populations.
    1927 - Raleigh, North Carolina was buried under 17.8 inches of snow in 24 hours to establish a record snowfall for the city. Nashville, North Carolina received 31 inches of snow.
    1927 – Babe Ruth became highest paid baseball player in history, signing a contract for $70,000 per year. Then he went out and established a new HR record with 60 in the 1927 season.
    1929 - Chicago Blackhawks were shut-out for a NHL record 8th straight game.
    1930 – Author D.H. Lawrence died in France. English by birth, Lawrence’s writings broke ground on then-hushed subjects of homosexuality, adultery, sex, and obscenity. His novels include ”Sons and Lovers”, “The Rainbow”, “Women in Love”, and “Lady Chatterley’s Lover”. He arrived in the US in 1922 and settled in New Mexico at what is now called the D.H. Lawrence ranch.
   1931 – Author and journalist Tom Wolfe was born in Richmond, VA. “The Bonfire of the Vanities”, “The Right Stuff”.
    1931 – Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was born in North Caucasus, Russia. With President Ronald Reagan, his reorientation of Soviet strategic aims contributed to the end of the Cold War. He also led the removal of the constitutional role of the Communist Party in governing the state, and inadvertently led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He was awarded the Otto Hahn Peace Medal in 1989, the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1990 and the Harvey Prize in 1992.
    1933 - The motion picture “King Kong” starring Fay Wray, had its world premiere in New York
    1934 - Birthday of Dottie Rambo in Madisonville, KY. Contemporary gospel singer and songwriter. She has authored such country gospel favorites as "In the Valley He Restoreth My Soul," "Build My Mansion Next Door to Jesus" and "I Just Came to Talk With You, Lord." She died in 2008.
http://www.dottierambo.net/dotnew.htm
http://www.dottierambo.org/booking.asp
http://www.worshipmusic.com/dottie-rambo.html
    1934 – The Union Pacific tested a light-weight high-speed passenger train near Omaha
    1936 - Andy Kirk Band records,” Walkin’ and Swingin’’ Decca 809.
    1937 - The Steel Workers Organizing Committee signed a collective bargaining agreement with US Steel, leading to unionization of the United States steel industry.
    1938 – In Los Angeles, landslides and floods caused over 200 deaths
    1939 – Thanks for joining us! The Massachusetts Legislature ratified the US Bill of Rights - 147 years late.
    1940 - Madison Square Garden held the first intercollegiate track meet telecast.     1943 - Protected by American and Australian fighters, 137 American Flying Fortress and Liberator bombers attacked a Japanese convoy en route from its base at Rabaul to New Guinea. All the transports and four of the destroyers were sunk and 3,500 Japanese troops were drowned. Of the 150 Japanese aircraft involved in the fighting, 102 were shot down. The Battle of Bismarck Sea was a major victory for the Allies, ending any efforts by the Japanese to send reinforcements to New Guinea.
    1944 - Rock singer Lou Reed was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was lead singer and songwriter
of the Velvet Underground in the late 1960s. The group's bleak outlook captured the attention of Andy Warhol, who made them a part of his "Exploding Plastic Inevitable" multi-media show, which toured the US and Canada in 1966. Lou Reed made a bitter departure from the Velvet Underground in 1970, living in seclusion for a couple of years. His solo career began in 1972, and his second album, "Transformer," was produced by David Bowie. From this LP, came Reed's only top-ten single, "Walk on the Wild Side." Reed's later albums ranged from commercial rock to grating instrumental noise. A live concert LP, "Rock 'n' Roll Animal," was certified gold in 1974.
    1945 – The bombing of Dresden, Germany by the US 8th Air Force.
    1948 - Guitarist Larry Carlton born, Torrance, Ca. Carlton has won four Grammy Awards for his performances and compositions, including the theme song for the hit TV series, “Hill Street Blues”.
http://guitar.about.com/library/weekly/aa051099.htm
http://www.larrycarlton.net/
http://www.fourplayjazz.com/larryhome.htm
http://www.gibson.com/whatsnew/pressrelease/2001/apr3a.html
    1949 - The first automatic streetlight system in which the streetlights turned themselves on at dark is installed in New Milford, Connecticut by the Connecticut Light and Power Company. Each streetlight contained an electronic device that contained a photoelectric cell capable of measuring outside light. By November of 1949, seven miles of New Milford’s roads were automatically lit at dusk by a total of 190 photoelectric streetlights. No longer would the proud men of New Milford be forced to don stilts in order to light their streetlamps.
    1949 - Lucky Lady II, a B-50 Superfortress, completed the first nonstop round-the-world flight at Fort Worth, TX, covering 23,452 miles in 94 hours.
    1950 - Birthday of singer Karen Carpenter in New Haven, CT. She teamed with her pianist brother as the Carpenters who became a highly successful pop duo during the 1970s. The Carpenters had 19 hits including "Close to You," and "We've Only Just Begun," the latter now a staple at weddings across the country. She died in 1983 from anorexia nervosa just short of her 33d birthday, a disease little known at the time. Her battle with the disease that led to her death has been the subject of several TV movies and documentaries and generated needed attention to the disorder.
http://www.leadsister.com/timeline/index.htm
http://atdpweb.soe.berkeley.edu/quest/Mind&Body/Carpenter.html
http://www.geocities.com/Nashville/Stage/4933/LeAnnsKarena.index.html
    1951 - The first All-Star Game of the National Basketball Association was played at the Boston Garden, Boston, MA, before a crowd of 10,094 patrons. The East team, coached by Joe Lapchick, defeated the West team, coached by John Kundla, by the score of 111-94.
    1951 - George Wettling’s Jazz Band (Sullivan, Hall, Davison) cut “Collier’s Climb.”
    1953 – The Academy Awards were telecast for the first time, on NBC.
    1955 - Bo Diddley has his first recording session at Universal Recording Studio in Chicago, where he lays down "Bo Diddley", which will top the US R&B chart by the following June.
    1957 - Teenage heartthrob Tab Hunter’s song "Young Love" was number one in the U.S. and stays there for the entire month.
http://www.tabhunter.com/
    1957 - Top Hits
“Young Love” - Tab Hunter
“Teen-Age Crush” - Tommy Sands
“Butterfly” - Charlie Gracie
“There You Go” - Johnny Cash
    1958 - First surface crossing of the Antarctic continent was completed in 99 days.
    1959 - Miles Davis cuts "Kind of Blue" for Columbia. It is considered the number one jazz album best seller today. It was originally released as a Columbia Jazz Club Member alternative, and was considered avant-garde in its day.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002ADT/thejazzfiles/
104-4344982-0045565
http://www.thejazzfiles.com/JazzDavis.html
March 2
    1960 - Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia) sets NBA playoff record of 63 points.
    1962 - Jon Bon Jovi was born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr. in born Perth Amboy, NJ. Lead singer of the group Bon Jovi and songwriter ("You Give Love a Bad Name"), Bon Jovi's melodic heavy metal on such chart-toppers as "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer" made them America's hottest rock band in 1986. He scored a solo No. 1 hit in 1990 with the million-selling “Blaze of Glory”, the theme song of the film “Young Guns II.'' Albums such as "Slippery When Wet" and "New Jersey" were multi-million-sellers.
    1962 - Wilt Chamberlain poured in 100 points, an NBA record, as the Philadelphia Warriors defeated the New York Knicks, 169-147, in Hershey, PA. Chamberlain made 36 field goals and a record 28 foul shots and set yet another record by scoring 59 points in the second half.
    1962 – President Kennedy announced the US will resume above ground nuclear testing
    1963 - Chubby Checker hosts "The Limbo Party" at San Francisco's Cow Palace. His special guests include Marvin Gaye, the Four Seasons, the Crystals, Lou Christie, Dick & Dee Dee, Paul & Paula and Herb Albert & the Tijuana Brass.
    1963 - The Four Seasons score their third consecutive Billboard #1 with "Walk like a Man".
    1963 - The Cascades achieved their only Billboard Top 40 hit when "Rhythm of the Rain" topped out at #3.
    1964 - The Beatles "Twist and Shout" backed with "There's a Place" is released in the U.S. on Tollie Records, the fourth label to release a Beatle record in America. Also on this day, shooting began on The Beatles' first feature film “A Hard Day's Night”. The film was a black-and-white semi-fictional account of "a day in the life" of the Beatles, and included eight songs written specifically for the film. Richard Lester was director. It was at this time that George Harrison first met Pattie Boyd, who would later become his wife.
    1965 - Top Hits
“This Diamond Ring” - Gary Lewis & The Playboys
“My Girl” - The Temptations
“The Jolly Green Giant” - The Kingsmen
“I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail” - Buck Owens
    1965 - The movie version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music", starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, had its world premiere in New York.
    1966 - Left wing Bobby Hull of the Chicago Blackhawks became the first NHL player to score 50 goals in a season twice when he scored his 50th goal of the 1965-66 season in a 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings.
    1966 - 215,000 US soldiers in Vietnam.
    1967 - Senator Robert Kennedy (D-New York) proposes a three-point plan to help end the war. The plan included suspension of the US bombing of North Vietnam and the gradual withdrawal of US and North Vietnamese troops from South Vietnam with replacement by an international force. Secretary of State Dean Rusk rejected Kennedy's proposal because he believed that the North Vietnamese would never agree to withdraw their troops.
    1967 - Winners of the ninth annual Grammy Awards for 1966 are announced. Record of the Year is Frank Sinatra's "Stangers in the Night." "Sinatra, a Man and His Music" is tabbed Album of the Year and Song of the Year is John Lennon and Paul McCartney's "Michelle." Herb Alpert wins a Grammy for “What Now My Love,'' Best Non-Jazz Instrumental. The Mamas & the Papas wins a Grammy for “Monday Monday,'' Best Contemporary Group Performance.
    1968 - Blue Cheer's "Summertime Blues" is released as is Simon & Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair."
    1968 - CUTINHA, NICHOLAS J., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Specialist Fourth Class, U.S. Army, Company C, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Gia Dinh, Republic of Vietnam, 2 March 1968. Entered service at: Coral Gables, Fla. Born: 13 January 1945, Fernandina Beach, Fla. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. While serving as a machine gunner with Company C, Sp4c. Cutinha accompanied his unit on a combat mission near Gia Dinh. Suddenly his company came under small arms, automatic weapons, mortar and rocket propelled grenade fire, from a battalion size enemy unit. During the initial hostile attack, communication with the battalion was lost and the company commander and numerous members of the company became casualties. When Sp4c. Cutinha observed that his company was pinned down and disorganized, he moved to the front with complete disregard for his safety, firing his machine gun at the charging enemy. As he moved forward he drew fire on his own position and was seriously wounded in the leg. As the hostile fire intensified and half of the company was killed or wounded, Sp4c. Cutinha assumed command of all the survivors in his area and initiated a withdrawal while providing covering fire for the evacuation of the wounded. He killed several enemy soldiers but sustained another leg wound when his machine gun was destroyed by incoming rounds. Undaunted, he crawled through a hail of enemy fire to an operable machine gun in order to continue the defense of his injured comrades who were being administered medical treatment. Sp4c. Cutinha maintained this position, refused assistance, and provided defensive fire for his comrades until he fell mortally wounded. He was solely responsible for killing 15 enemy soldiers while saving the lives of at least 9 members of his own unit. Sp4c. Cutinha's gallantry and extraordinary heroism were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
    1968 – Must be the day for big airplanes!! The Air Force displayed its Lockheed C-5A Galaxy, then the biggest plane in the world.
    1969 - Phil Esposito, center of the Boston Bruins, became the first player in National Hockey League history to score 100 points in a season when he scored a goal in Boston’s 4-0 victory of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
    1969 - At the 11th Grammy Awards, Glen Campbell is presented with Album of the Year honors for "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" and Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" is named Record of the Year. Jose Feliciano is dubbed Best New Artist and the Bobby Russell composition "Little Green Apples" is given the nod as Song Of The Year. Mason Williams won Best Instrumental Performance for "Classical Gas" and Judy Collins takes home a statue for Best Folk Performance for "Both Sides Now".
    1969 – The Supersonic transport Concorde was tested for the first time.
    1970 - American Airlines' first flight of a Boeing 747.
    1970 – The Supreme Court ruled draft evaders cannot be penalized after 5 years
    1972 - Pioneer 10: This unmanned probe began a journey on which it passed and photographed Jupiter and its moons, 620 million miles from Earth, in December 1973. It crossed the orbit of Pluto, and in 1983, become the first known Earth object to leave our solar system. On Sept 22, 1987, Pioneer 10 reached another space milestone at 4:19 PM, when it reached a distance 50 times farther from the sun than the sun is from Earth. It was also the first spacecraft to carry a message intended to be read by living beings elsewhere in the universe. Bolted to the probe’s exterior wall was a gold-anodized plaque, six by nine inches in area that carried a number of illustrations: drawings of a human man and woman, a star map marked with the location of the sun, and a second map showing the flight path of Pioneer 10. The message was designed by astronomer Carl Sagan.
    1973 - Top Hits
“Killing Me Softly with His Song” - Roberta Flack
“Dueling Banjos” - Eric Weissberg & Steve Mandell
“Could It Be I’m Falling in Love” - Spinners
“Rated ‘X’ " - Loretta Lynn
    1974 - A grand jury in Washington, D.C. concludes that President Nixon was indeed involved in the Watergate cover-up.
    1974 - Stevie Wonder takes home five Grammy Awards during ceremonies held at the Hollywood Palladium. The singer is honored for Album of the Year ("Innervisions"), Best Pop Vocal Performance ("You Are the Sunshine of My Life"), Best R&B Song ("Superstition"), Best R&B Vocal Performance ("Superstition") and Best Engineered Recording ("Innervisions"). Says Wonder on his five trips up to the podium: "I would like to thank you all for making this the sunshine of my life tonight." Gladys Knight & the Pips wins Grammys for “Neither One of Us'' (Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus) and “Midnight Train to Georgia.'' (Best R&B vocal performance by a group).
    1974 - Neil Diamond wins a Grammy for “Jonathan Livingston Seagull,'' Best Film Soundtrack.
    1974 - Terry Jacks, who had left The Poppy Family in 1970, had the top song in the US with "Seasons in the Sun". The tune was originally written in French, titled "Le Moribund" ("The Dying Man") and recorded as an album cut by The Kingston Trio. It was recommended by Jacks to The Beach Boys, who did record it, but declined to release it. Their decision worked out well for Jacks, who sold over eleven and a half million copies of the record.
    1975 - Roberta Flack won three Grammy Awards for "Killing Me Softly with His Song." Best new artist was Bette Midler.
    1976 – Amid swirling rumors that the team would leave, Bob Lurie became CEO of the SF Giants
    1977 - Future Tonight Show host Jay Leno debuted with host Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show”.
    1978 - The coffin containing the body of actor-director Charlie Chaplin was stolen from a Swiss cemetery. Chaplin, who had died a year earlier, is considered one of the great geniuses of cinema. His body was recovered three months later, found in a cornfield 10 miles from the cemetery in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland, and the grave robbers were arrested. Chaplin's body was reburied in a vault surrounded by cement.
    1979 - Over 1,100 Christian organizations combined to form the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA). This oversight agency was created to demonstrate to the public that religious groups wanted to make themselves accountable for the funds they raise and spend.
    1979 - The three-day Havana Jam, sponsored by CBS Records and the Cuban government, began in the 5,000-seat Karl Marx Auditorium in Havana. Among the acts appearing were Weather Report, Stephen Stills and Billy Joel. They were the first US pop artists to appear in Cuba in more than 20 years.
    1981 - Top Hits
“I Love a Rainy Night” - Eddie Rabbitt
“Woman” - John Lennon
“Keep on Loving You” - REO Speedwagon
“Southern Rains” - Mel Tillis
    1981 – Howard Stern’s first radio broadcast, on WWDC in Washington, DC
    1982 – Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl winning (twice) QB, Ben Roethlisberger was born in Lima, OH.
    1983 - Sony and Philips introduced their jointly-developed compact disc system. The CD is a digital medium in which sound waves are replicated as a series of binary numbers on the 12 cm disc. A laser in the CD player reads the digital information, which is then translated into sound. In contrast, vinyl records were traditionally recorded using analog technology, which replicates sound waves in the grooves of a record. The sound is transmitted through a needle vibrating in a groove via a cartridge to an amplifier. The major advantage of digital recording over analog is that it eliminates extraneous noise. In analog recording, a noise reduction mechanism is needed to minimize hisses and crackles. Within a decade of the CD's introduction, vinyl records had virtually disappeared from stores.
    1984 - After 30 years in business, the first McDonald’s franchise closed in Des Plaines, Illinois. A new drive-in McDonalds opened right across the street.
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/ILDESmcd.html
    1985 - For the first time, country singer, Gary Morris hit #1 on the country charts with "Baby Bye Bye" from his album, "Faded Blue".
    1985 - The federal government approved a screening test for AIDS that detected antibodies to the virus, allowing possibly contaminated blood to be excluded from the blood supply.
    1986 - Queen Elizabeth signed the Australia bill, formally severing the last constitutional ties with Britain.
    1987 - Two sets of quintuplets were born, one set to Rosalind Helms in Peoria, Illinois, and another set to Robin Jenkins of Las Vegas, Nevada.
    1987 - United States Government officials said the median price for a new home topped $100,000 for the first time. The price of $110,700 was up from $94,600.
    1988 - Grammy news: U2's "The Joshua Tree" wins Best Album, while Paul Simon's "Graceland" wins Best Record. Jody Watley wins Best New Artist.
    1989 - Top Hits
“Straight Up” - Paula Abdul
“Lost in Your Eyes” - Debbie Gibson
“The Lover in Me” - Sheena Easton
“I Sang Dixie” - Dwight Yoakam
    1989 - NY Met Darryl Strawberry swung at teammate Keith Hernandez…with his fists!
    1991 - Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Aspects of Love" closed in New York after 377 performances. It was the shortest run of any Lloyd Webber musical on Broadway. "Aspects of Love" was said to be the most expensive play in Broadway history, costing about two million dollars to open and running up expenses of eight million by the time it closed. Little of the investment was recouped during the show's nearly 11-month run. The British production was much more successful, running for more than three years.
    1992 - Second baseman Ryne Sandberg signed a four-year contract with the Chicago Cubs worth $28.4 million to become baseball’s highest paid player at the time, passing Bobby Bonilla of the New York Mets. The eight-time All-Star and nine-time Gold Glove winner retired in the middle of the 1994 season but returned to the game at a far lower salary in 1996. Sandberg is currently the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, the team that traded him to the Cubs.
    1995 - "Smokey Joe's Cafe" opened at Virginia Theater, NYC.
    1996 - Another east coast snowstorm deposited 4.6 inches of snow at Central Park in New York City to bring its seasonal snowfall total to 66.3 inches, breaking the old season snowfall record of 63.2 inches set in 1947-48.
    1998 - In a surprise announcement, Apple Computer said it would stop producing its Newton handheld computer. The ill-fated Newton, which cost an estimated $500 million to develop over ten years, got off to a bad start when it debuted in 1993. The press panned its much ballyhooed handwriting recognition capability, and although later versions corrected some of the problems, the product never quite recovered from its traumatic entry into the marketplace. In the late 1990s, the Newton was overtaken by new products like 3Com's Palm Pilot, which sold one million units during its first two years on the market, compared with 200,000 Newton’s sold in five years.
    1998 - Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicated that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.
    1999 - Bob Dylan is the opening performer at the House of Blues at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. During the encore, Dylan performs with U2's Bono for a rousing rendition of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door.
    2001 - Yahoo stock (YHOO on NASDAQ) loses $2.75 to close at $21.69. On a split adjusted basis, it had traded as high as high as $237.50 on 03 January 2000, and as low as $1.32 on 22 September 1996.
    2002 – After the withdrawal of the Russian Army from Afghanistan after 11+years, the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan began. Operation Anaconda ended on March 19 after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, with 11 Western troop fatalities.
    2003 – Hank Ballard died in Los Angeles. Ballard was a R&B singer and songwriter, the lead vocalist of Hank Ballard and The Midnighters, and one of the first rock ‘n’ roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s. He played an integral part in the development of the genre, releasing the hit singles “Work with Me Annie” and answer songs "Annie Had a Baby" and "Annie's Aunt Fannie" with his Midnighters. He later wrote and recorded “The Twist” which spread the popularity of the dance and was notably covered by Chubby Checker. He was inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame in 1990.
    2011 - The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that members of the fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church have a First Amendment right to picket the funeral of a Marine.
    2012 - The Red Cross was denied access to provide relief to the Baba Amr district in Homs by the Syrian army.
    2014 - President Putin received unanimous approval from Russia's parliament to send troops to the Ukraine, which was not received very
well by the United States, as well as most of Europe, especially NATO
members.

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

You can save up to 20 different routes and check them out with one click,
or type in a new route to learn the traffic live