Northeast Business Weather Report
from Ralph Mango, Leasing News Associate Editor

Virginia---“Quickly…we pretty much were back to normal yesterday as far as power restoration. Most businesses have generators so they were not as impacted.  Hardly any impact in our offices in Reston.

“Cleanup is extensive as the wind took down many trees that were not diseased in addition to those that were.

“Crews did yeoman work under dangerous conditions on Saturday as the winds were still strong.

“I sense that the utilities were caught unprepared as they did not get the call out to other states for crews until the storm hit Thursday overnight.

“Regarding impending repeat, the weather maps look almost identical to what we just experienced as far as an offshore vortex that circles continuously. This however looks to be more north of here – from Baltimore to New England - with heavier snow predicted.

“Climate change at its best – or worst!”
---

CODA: The Hartford Courant posts:

"A nor’easter heading for Connecticut Wednesday may drop 12 to 14 inches of snow across much of the state, threatening to grind travel to a halt with snowfall at rates near 2 to 3 inches an hour.

"Some spots, especially in the northwest hills, could see upwards of 18 inches of snow, the National Weather Service warned in an alert early Tuesday. Though few announcements have been made, snow of this magnitude is likely to shutter schools and prevent some from getting into work.

"On Tuesday afternoon, Stamford Public Schools were the first announce a closure for Wednesday.

"The service upgraded its winter storm watch to a warning, which means “severe winter weather conditions will make travel very hazardous or impossible.”

 

 

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Trade War Can Undermine U.S. Economic Recovery
New Forecast by Dr. Dan Geller

The March Economics Dynamics forecast shows that delinquency rate on all loans is stable at 1.82 percent and the delinquency rate on farmland loans for agriculture is stable at 2.02 percent. However, a trade war can increase the rate of agricultural-loan delinquencies because countries impacted by the tariff on steel and aluminum may retaliate by imposing a tariff on U.S. agricultural goods.

A trade war can also adversely impact the delinquency rate on business loans. In March, the loan-delinquency rate on business loans is projected to decline to 1.11 percent, signaling that more businesses are doing well and able to pay back their business loans. During the height of the Great Recession, nearly 5 percent of all business loans were delinquent.

A wider and prolonged trade war can undermine the U.S. economic recovery by increasing delinquency rates on residential and commercial real estate loans. The March Economic Dynamics forecast shows that the delinquency rate of residential real-estate loans is declining to 3.61 percent compared to 11.63 during the Great Recession. Similarly, the delinquency rate of commercial loans is down to 0.73 percent compared to 9.37 percent during the Great Recession.

About Economics Dynamics
Economics Dynamics is a monthly forecast and lending-risk analysis of eight major types of loans. It provides advance notice of changes in the economy that impact delinquency rate of loans. Having such advance notice allows financial institutions; policy makers and businesses take proactive measures to reduce the risk of loss from an increase in the delinquency rate due to changes in the economic environment.

About Dr. Dan Geller
Dr. Dan Geller is a behavioral economist who pioneered the research and application of behavioral economics to the banking services. Through his research firm, Analyticom, Dr. Geller provides banking executives with scientific forecasting and pricing tools enabling them to improve financial performance. Dr. Geller is a frequent speaker and media guest. He appeared on national TV and radio, such as CNBC and Fox, and delivered the keynote address at the American Banker's Symposium.

 

 

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Unwillingness to Assess a Borrowers Ability to Repay
Loans Lands Lender in Trouble in California

By Tom McCurnin
Leasing News Legal Editor

California Department of Business Oversight Nails Lender for Failure to Assess Ability to Repay (Predatory Lending) and Interest Ceiling Limits

In re Check Into Cash  DOB 603-1709 (2017).

This is a payday lending case rather than a commercial cash advance, but demonstrates that if the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) won’t exercise control over predatory lending and interest rate cap regulations, the state of California will. The facts follow. 

Check Into Cash of California, Inc. (CIC) is a large payday lender with thousands of locations nationally and 150 locations in the state of California. CIC had a number of issues with the Department of Business Oversight (DBO), including

▪  Paying Brokers in violation of 10, section 1451(a).
▪  Failing to access the borrower’s ability to pay in violation of 10, section 1452.
▪  Failed to allow borrowers to prepay the loan obligation in violation of Financial Code section 22337(c).
▪  Charging borrowers more than the allowed interest rate cap in violation of Financial Code sections 22303 and 22304.
▪  Allowing brokers to make misleading statements to borrowers in violation of Financial Code section 22161. 

There was no evidence that any of these violations were intentional. Indeed, as soon as the DOB brought the matter to Check Into Cash’s attention, the company did the right thing and implemented compliance procedures to cure all the violations. 

However, the DOB required that Check Into Cash refund excess interest charges and to send all its customers a statement that it misrepresented the loan products it was offering. The DOB required that CIC audit all loans over $250 for compliance. In the event that CIC does not cure the above violations, its license will be suspended. 

What are the takeaways here?

First, Compliance with California Law Matters. I was perplexed how these violations could continue for at least two years without management knowing about the violations. Heck, any reader of Leasing News knows that there is a predatory lending regulation in California for consumer loans. 

Second, CIC did the right thing by immediately recognizing the violations when the DOB came knocking, and fixing them.  This obviously weighed heavily in favor of CIC in that it was not fined, as it could have been. At $2,500 per violation, this would have put CIC out of business. 

Third, This Case Demonstrates That If the CFPB Won’t Take Action Against Payday Lenders, the DOB Will. I am against requiring lenders like these to comply with 20 or more state statutes, with different regulations in different states.  Conversely, it makes more sense for national lenders like CIC to rely upon a comprehensive federal statute—but none exists and the CFPB is back peddling like crazy on new lending regulations.  So payday lenders—be careful what you wish for—you might get it. 

The bottom line to this case is the State of California will enforce predatory lending, brokering of loans, and misrepresentation of loan products and terms. If payday lenders want a unified set of standards, then take the matter up with the CFPB. 

CIC Consent Order  (11 pages)
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/CICConsentOrder.pdf

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

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

 

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Equipment Leasing Account Executive What sets CoreTech apart from other equipment leasing companies is our team members and impeccable reputation. Are you unhappy with the ethics of your company and the promises made to you? Come to Newport Beach and join us. To learn more, please click here www.coretechleasing.com CoreTech specializes in medium to large size companies and firms Over 100 law firms trust CoreTech for their leasing needs, why wouldn't you?

   

 

Sales Makes it Happen by Scott Wheeler, CLFP

Next Step Forward

Successful originators in the commercial equipment leasing and finance industry are constantly moving their relationships, transactions, and careers to the next step. They are professionals in perpetual motion - always moving forward. They don't let minor obstacles cloud their larger objectives. Successful originators learn from their challenges and move on to better opportunities such as:

• A lost transaction. There are thousands of other transactions to be cultivated and top originators pursue them all. This is a long-term career opportunity and one lost transaction should never break your spirit or destroy your volume expectations.
• A long-time vendor switches to a manufacturing program. As an originator, you should use your experiences to quickly move forward; to build new and better vendor relationships. Often, a new focus will allow you to prepare for winning back the original vendor in the future.
• Long-term co-workers leave the company.  As a top originator, it is time to step-up and assume more responsibilities and engage others within the company to move forward. By taking a pro-active stance, you will emphasize your commitment to the team and the company's long-term strategy.
• Your company enters a transitional period and ceases to fund transactions in your personal niche. Originators have dealt with this challenge for decades. As a successful originator, you have two choices, 1) adapt and assume new responsibilities within your company - help to grow an alternative niche for yourself and the company, or 2) take your expertise to a new employer. Successful originators don't complain; they just move forward.

The equipment leasing and finance industry is a flexible and innovative industry and so are its participants. Professionals and top producers in the industry accept change and embrace challenges. They maximize their effectiveness and personal incomes with pure determination.

  
Never Give - Up!! 

https://www.createspace.com/5355516 

Scott A. Wheeler, CLFP
Wheeler Business Consulting
1314 Marquis Ct.
Fallston, Maryland 21047
Phone: 410 877 0428
Fax: 410 877 8161
Email: scott@wheelerbusinessconsulting.com
Web: www.wheelerbusinessconsulting.com

Sales Makes it Happen articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Legacy/index.html

 

 

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(Click image to view larger)

Even though Americans work more annual hours than many other countries including the likes of Canada, Germany, France and Japan, some cities work harder than others. A new report from WalletHub has shed light on the cities with the greatest work ethic in the United States. The research spanned nine key metrics across 116 large cities. Direct factors include working hours, the employment rate, unused vacation time, engagement and the share of idle youth. Indirect factors comprise commuting time, workers with multiple jobs, volunteer hours worked and the amount of leisure time.

Even though San Francisco is known for a flourishing tech scene with an innovative office culture including ping-pong tables, flexible working hours and beer fridges, it still grabs the title as America's hardest working city. It did well across all nine categories and it had a final score of 78.52 out of 100. Maybe all of those perks really lead to greater productivity. Nearby Fremont also outworked the rest of the U.S. and it came second with a score of 78.29. Jersey City in New Jersey comes third with Washington D.C. and New York City completing the top-five.

https://www.statista.com/chart/13068/americas-hardest-working-cities/

 

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(Click image to view larger)

The market might of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) dwindled in recent year. Led by Saudi Arabia, the OPEC has been cooperating with major exporter Russia to try and keep the oil market price stable. The United States and its increase in production is very probably one cause for concern at OPEC, based in Vienna, Austria.

One reasons for America's oil ascent, depicted in the chart below, is the exploitation of so-called tight oil, of which shale oil is the most prominent source. According to data released by BP, the United States produced around 12.4 million barrels of oil a day in 2016. This includes crude oil, shale oil, oil sands and natural gas liquids (NGL), the liquid content of natural gas, where this is recovered separately. Liquid fuels from other sources such as biomass and derivatives of coal and natural gas are excluded. ´

https://www.statista.com/chart/13119/annual-production-of-the-three-leading-oil-producing-states-worldwide/

 

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

Sterling Bancorp to Acquire Advantage Funding Management  
Including $458 Million Loan Portfolio and Origination Platform

MONTEBELLO, N.Y., -- Sterling Bancorp (NYSE:STL),  through its principal subsidiary, Sterling National Bank, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Advantage Funding Management Co., Inc. (“Advantage Funding”), a leading provider of commercial vehicle and transportation financing services based in Lake Success, NY. Advantage Funding is part of Macquarie’s Corporate and Asset Finance Group (“CAF”) and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Macquarie Bank Limited.

As of December 31, 2017, Advantage Funding had total outstanding loans and leases of $458 million, with a diversified client base across various industry sectors and geographic markets nationwide. Advantage Funding will be integrated into Sterling’s established national equipment finance platform, which will result in a combined equipment finance portfolio with over $1 billion in total outstanding loans post-closing and aggregate net loan receivables growth of approximately $205 million in 2017.

Jack Kopnisky, President and CEO of Sterling noted, “The acquisition of Advantage Funding is consistent with our strategy of transitioning our balance sheet to a more diversified and higher-yielding commercial loan mix following our merger with Astoria, and will augment strong organic origination volumes that we anticipate in our commercial businesses in 2018. We look forward to welcoming Advantage’s colleagues and customers to Sterling.”

Thomas X. Geisel
President, Specialty Finance
and National Markets, Sterling National Bank

“Delivering excellent service and financing flexibility to our clients has always been our primary goal,” stated Thomas X. Geisel, President, Specialty Finance and National Markets at Sterling National Bank.

“This business complements and expands our specialty finance offerings, while creating further opportunities to serve the equipment financing needs of our borrowers nationally.”

Sterling will acquire 100% of the stock of Advantage Funding, which will be paid 100% in cash through a combination of cash on hand, run-off of existing residential mortgage loans and sales of securities. In the quarter ended December 31, 2017, the Advantage Funding loan portfolio had a weighted average yield of approximately 7.5%. Excluding the impact of accretion income on acquired loans, the acquisition is expected to be accretive to loan yield, net interest margin and earnings per share available to common stockholders, and has an estimated internal rate of return exceeding 25%.

Advantage Funding’s leadership team and support staff will join Sterling National Bank; the acquisition will result in an increase of approximately $6 million in operating expenses in 2018. The transaction is expected to be completed in April 2018.

Hovde Group, LLC served as financial advisor to Sterling Bancorp. Macquarie Capital served as financial advisor and Mayer Brown LLP served as legal counsel to Macquarie Group.

About Sterling Bancorp
Sterling Bancorp, of which the principal subsidiary is Sterling National Bank, specializes in the delivery of service and solutions to business owners, their families, and consumers within the communities we serve through teams of dedicated and experienced relationship managers. Sterling National Bank offers a complete line of commercial, business, and consumer banking products and services.

About Macquarie
Macquarie Bank Limited is part of Macquarie Group Limited (“Macquarie”), a global provider of banking, financial, advisory, investment and funds management services. Founded in 1969, Macquarie operates in more than 28 countries and employs more than 14,000 people. Assets under management totaled approximately $A483.5 billion as at December 31, 2017.

CAF engages Macquarie’s balance sheet to provide tailored finance and asset management solutions.

As at December 31, 2017, CAF had a $A34.6 billion asset and loan portfolio globally across a range of sectors including motor vehicles, commercial aircraft, mining equipment, technology equipment and corporate and real estate lending. 

About Advantage Funding
Advantage Funding, based in Lake Success, New York, founded in 1997, is dedicated to providing equipment financing and leasing solutions for ground transportation to support vehicle dealers, distributors, manufacturers and end users nationwide.

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Arvest Equipment Finance Hits
 $100 Million in New Production

Division of Arvest Bank Also Enjoys
5.9 Percent Growth in Total Volume

LOWELL, Ark. – Arvest Equipment Finance (AEF) closed more than $100 million in new production in 2017, a first for the division of Arvest Bank.

AEF president Eric Bunnell, CLFP, cited a doubling of the company’s vendor production – from $7 million in 2016 to $18.8 million in 2017 – as a key in reaching $106.6 million in new production for the year.

“We continued to see strong support from the commercial lenders throughout the Arvest footprint, and were able to help structure equipment transactions for many bank customers,” Bunnell said. “I am also excited about our growth in vendor production. We continue to expand our external salesforce and inform the dealers about what we have to offer.”

AEF also increased its total portfolio by 5.9 percent, from $234.7 million in 2016 to $248.6 million in 2017. AEF’s total number of contracts increased as well, from 1,816 in 2016 to 2,168 in 2017.

Additionally, Bunnell lauded sales support specialist Aaron Loum for earning the Certified Lease & Finance Professional (CLFP) designation in 2017. AEF now employs 9 of the more than 500 CLFPs in the United States and Canada. That represents the eighth-highest total of CLFPs among all companies.

“We have at least more four more associates working towards CLFP designation,” said Bunnell, who recently was elected as the CLFP Board of Directors secretary. “Having so many associates who have worked hard to expand their knowledge base and meet these lofty industry standards is not only a great reflection of the values here at Arvest Equipment Finance, but a benefit to all the customers we serve every day.”

About Arvest
Arvest Bank, named by Forbes magazine as one of “America’s Best Large Employers” for 2017, operates more than 250 bank branches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas through a group of 15 locally managed banks, each with its own board and management team. These banks serve customers in more than 120 communities, with extended weekday banking hours at many locations. Arvest also provides a wide range of banking services including loans, deposits, treasury management, credit cards, mortgage loans and mortgage servicing. Arvest is an Equal Housing Lender and Member FDIC.

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ECN Capital Announces Commencement
of C$115 Million Substantial Issuer Bid

(Purchase for Cancellation)

Toronto, Canada ECN Capital Corp. (TSX: ECN)  announced that it has formally commenced its previously announced substantial issuer bid, pursuant to which the Company is offering to purchase for cancellation up to C$115 million of its outstanding common shares from shareholders for cash.

The Offer is proceeding by way of a modified “Dutch auction” within a price range of not less than $3.49 per Share and not more than $3.90 per Share (beginning at $3.49 per Share and then in increments of $0.05 per Share starting from $3.55 to $3.90 per Share within such range). The Company intends to fund the Offer with a combination of cash drawn on the Company’s existing credit facility and available cash on hand.

The tender process allows shareholders to individually select the price, within the specified range (and the specified increments therein), at which they are willing to sell their Shares. When the Offer expires, the Company will select the lowest purchase price that will allow the Company to purchase the maximum number of Shares properly tendered to the Offer, and not properly withdrawn, having an aggregate purchase price not exceeding C$115 million. If Shares with an aggregate purchase price of more than C$115 million are properly tendered and not properly withdrawn, the Company will purchase the Shares on a pro rata basis except that "odd lot" tenders (of holders beneficially owning fewer than 100 Shares) will not be subject to pro-ration.

The Company anticipates that the Offer will expire at 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on April 10, 2018, unless withdrawn or extended.

The Company has suspended its current normal course issuer bid and related automatic securities purchase plan concurrent with the announcement of the Offer on February 28, 2018 and no subsequent purchases will be completed under such normal course issuer bid or automatic securities purchase plan until the Offer is completed.

The formal offer to purchase, the issuer bid circular, letter of transmittal and other related documents  containing the terms and conditions of the Offer and instructions for tendering Shares are being mailed to shareholders on March 5, 2018. These documents will be filed with applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities and made available without charge on SEDAR at www.sedar.comand on the Company’s website at www.ecncapitalcorp.com. Shareholders should carefully read the Offer Documents prior to making a decision with respect to the Offer.

Any questions or requests for assistance in tendering Shares to the Offer may be directed to CIBC Capital Markets, the dealer manager for the Offer, or Computershare Trust Company of Canada, as depositary for the Offer.

This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell Shares. The solicitation and the offer to buy Shares will only be made pursuant to the Offer Documents. The Board of Directors of ECN Capital has approved the Offer.

However, none of the Company, its Board of Directors, the dealer manager or the depositary makes any recommendation to shareholders as to whether to tender or refrain from tendering Shares to the Offer. Shareholders are strongly urged to read the Offer Documents carefully and to consult with their financial and tax advisors prior to making any decision with respect to the Offer.

About ECN Capital Corp.
With total owned and managed assets of more than C$5.5 billion, ECN Capital Corp. (TSX: ECN) is one of North America's leading finance companies. ECN Capital operates in four verticals: Home Improvement Finance, Manufactured Housing Finance, Rail Finance and Aviation Finance.

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Labrador Retriever
Alexandria, Virginia  Adopt a Dog

Burr
#ACR: A071911
Male
Senior
Black
Large
Location: Shelter

"Burr is a classy gentleman with lots of experience living in a home! In his foster home, he showed us that he is housetrained, knows his basic commands, and knows how to be a pampered pet. Burr is not a fan of other dogs. They make him nervous and insecure. However, he LOVES people! He adores snuggle sessions and is a mellow boy ready to relax with you at the end of a long day. Burr also enjoys going on walks and searching for squirrels. If you are looking for the perfect combo of wisdom and fun, Burr is the gent for you!"

**Thanks to a generous donor, my adoption fees have been paid!**

Animal Welfare League of Alexandria
4101 Eisenhower Ave,
Alexandria, VA 22304
703-746-4774
703-746-4775 fax
www.AlexandriaAnimals.org
Email: Info@AlexandriaAnimals.org

Animals are available for viewing starting at 12:00 PM on days that the shelter is open. Shelter and office hours below.

Day of Week       Shelter Hours      Animal Viewings
Monday      9 AM to 7 PM       Open at NOON for animal viewing
Tuesday     9 AM to 7 PM       Open at NOON for animal viewing
Wednesday         CLOSED     No animal viewings
Thursday    9 AM to 7 PM       Open at NOON for animal viewings
Friday        9 AM to 7 PM       Open at NOON for animal viewings
Saturday    11 AM to 5 PM     Open at NOON for animal viewings
Sunday      11 AM to 5 PM     Open at NOON for animal viewings

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

 

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Barry Marks, Esq. Offers Wristband
Drink at Cash Bar NEFA Funding Symposium

IMPORTANT:
Please RSVP by 5:00 PM, March 9th
barry@leaselawyer.com or 205.251.8303
so we can get you a wristband.
*Find Barry and he just might buy
you a drink at the cash bar
Barry S. Marks | Marks & Associates, P.C. | 205.251.8303 | barry@LeaseLawyer.com | www.LeaseLawyer.com

National Equipment Finance Association 2018 Finance Summit
March 14-16th | Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa

Over 300 Equipment Finance Professional expected to attend:

Registration List
http://www.nefassociation.org/events/RSVPlist.aspx?id=980981

It's Not to Late to Attend:
https://mailchi.mp/nefassociation/its-not-too-late-to-get-to-the-summit?e=a2bcad954f

 

News Briefs----

BMW Financial to pay $2.2 Million to Settle
  Troops' Refund Claims on Canceled Car Leases
https://www.navytimes.com/pay-benefits/2018/03/05/vehicle-leasing-company-to-pay-more-than-2-million-for-military-rights-allegations/

A new study says Uber and Lyft drivers
   are making less than $4 per hour
http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-lyft-drivers-making-less-than-4-per-hour-2018-3

How Many Leases Do You Have?
Countdown to the New Lease Accounting Standards
http://ww2.cfo.com/sponsored/many-leases/

Global leasing industry grows 9.4%,
  new report from White Clarke Group finds
https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/fleet-leasing/news/latest-fleet-leasing/2018/03/06/global-leasing-industry-grows-94-new-report-from-white-clarke-group-finds

Amazon could become the third-biggest US bank
   if it wants to: Bain study
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/06/amazon-could-become-the-third-biggest-us-bank-if-it-wants-to-bain-study.html

 

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You May Have Missed---

Walmart launches meal kits
to more than 2,000 stores in 2018
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/03/05/walmart-goes-gourmet-taking-its-meal-kits-nationwide/394702002/

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To Look Forward to Spring
by Salle Safford

The rains will come
The snow will fall,
A chill in the air
Bitter cold.

The trees will be bare
For the months ahead,
And the world will
Seem drab and old.

But soon the trees
Will bud again,
And the birds will
Begin to sing.

As they pronounce
To the world,
There is hope ahead
And an open door to spring

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Sports Briefs---

Roger Federer brings star power to SAP Center for fundraiser
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/Roger-Federer-brings-star-power-to-SAP-Center-for-12730606.php

Saints owner Tom Benson is still in intensive care
http://www.theredzone.org/Blog-Description/EntryId/68692/Saints-owner-Tom-Benson-is-still-in-intensive-care

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California Nuts Briefs---

California farmers’ objections could kill
     conservative immigration bill
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article203473874.html

Farmers feeling betrayed after Northern California county
 takes tax money, then bans marijuana cultivation
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/03/06/farmers-feeling-betrayed-after-northern-california-county-takes-tax-money-then-bans-marijuana-cultivation/

20,000 new homes by BART stations?
   A new California zoning bill aims to speed building
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/03/05/20000-new-homes-by-bart-stations-a-new-california-zoning-bill-aims-to-speed-building/

Facebook housing fund gets cash boost,
 now ready to start affordable housing 15 miles from Hq.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/03/06/facebook-housing-fund-gets-cash-boost-now-ready-to-start-backing-projects/

Prime time: Amazon brings free,
 two-hour Whole Foods delivery to Bay Area
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/03/06/prime-time-amazon-brings-free-two-hour-whole-foods-delivery-to-bay-area/

 

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“Gimme that Wine”

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

Washington Harvest Down 16% in 2017
https://www.winesandvines.com/news/article/196339/Washington-Harvest-Down-16-in-2017

Napa economy holds fast after wildfires, but labor shortages loom
http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/napa-economy-holds-fast-after-wildfires-but-labor-shortages-loom/article_1a1a1715-2f50-587e-bdef-fe8bdbcd7378.html

Napa wine bottle screen-printer Bergin fires up big expansion
http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/northbay/napacounty/8057390-181/napa-wine-bottle-screen-printer-bergin

Regulators investigate Napa, Sonoma wineries
  and distributors for illegal trade practices
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/business/8081078-181/regulators-investigate-napa-sonoma-wineries

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

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

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

This Day in History

    1539 - Former slave Estevanico (Esteban) de Dorantes (1508-39), native of Azamoor Morocco, sets out to explore what is now the southwestern part of the US.  He was one of the first native Africans to reach the present-day continental US. Enslaved as a youth by the Portuguese, he was sold to a Spanish nobleman and taken in 1527 on the expedition to establish a colony in Florida. He was one of four survivors among 300 men who explored the peninsula. By late 1528 the group had been reduced to 80 men, who survived being washed ashore at Galveston Island after an effort to sail across the Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.estevanico.org/history.html
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/EE/fes8.html
http://www.rra.dst.tx.us/c_t/people/ESTEVANICO.cfm
   1638 - Controversial colonial churchwoman Anne Hutchinson, 47, and nineteen other exiles from the Massachusetts Bay Colony settled in Rhode Island, at the site of modern Portsmouth.  She was a Puritan spiritual adviser, mother of 15, and an important participant in the Antinomian Controversy that shook the infant Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1636 to 1638. Her strong religious convictions were at odds with the established Puritan clergy in the Boston area, and her popularity and charisma helped create a theological schism that threatened to destroy the Puritans' religious experiment in New England. She was eventually tried and convicted, then banished from the colony with many of her supporters.
http://www.annehutchinson.com/anne_hutchinson_biography_001.htm
http://www.rootsweb.com/~nwa/ah.html
    1644 - Southampton, NY, a town on the coast of Long Island where whales were often cast ashore, established the first whaling industry. The town was divided into four wards of 11 persons each to attend to the whales. Two persons from each ward were employed to cut them up so that each inhabitant obtained an equal portion. The popularity grew to the point a whaling franchise was granted to a Mr. Whiting in 1647 for the waters of Long Island Sound between Stonington, CT, and Montauk Point, NY.
    1644 - Massachusetts established the first 2-chamber legislature in the Colonies.   
    1717 - The "Great Snow," a composite of four winter storms to hit the eastern U.S. in nine days, finally came to an end. Snow depths averaged 60 inches following the storm. Up to four feet of snow fell around Boston and snow drifts 25 feet high were reported around Dorchester, MA.
   1729 - Henrietta Johnston, self-taught portrait artist born in Ireland about 1655 and immigrated to the United States with her husband in 1707 and settled in what is now Charleston, SC. Her husband immediately became ill and while she nursed him and took care of her children and home in abject poverty, to raise money she began to draw portraits of local dignitaries in the new form of pastels. Almost 50 portraits are credited to her and she is considered to be the first American woman artist. Her technique was straight forward with little adornment. Almost nothing is known about her life. She may have moved to New York to work after her husband's death.
http://askart.com/Biography.asp
http://desertfun.bestreadguide.com/charleston/stories/19990914/art_johnston.shtml
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0945578032/avsearch-df1-2-20/
102-1682336-8966565
    1774 – King George III's speech charged the colonists with attempting to injure British commerce and subvert the Constitution, and on the 18th, Lord North brought the Port Bill before Parliament.  It outlawed the use of the Port of Boston, by setting up a barricade/blockade, for "landing and discharging, loading or shipping, of goods, wares, and merchandise" until such time as restitution was made to the King's treasury (for customs duty lost) and to the East India Company for damages suffered. In other words, it closed Boston Port to all ships, no matter what business the ship had. It also provided that Massachusetts Bay Colony's seat of government should be moved to Salem and Marblehead made a port of entry.   The bill became law on March 31, 1774, and is one of the measures (variously called the Intolerable Acts, the Punitive Acts or the Coercive Acts) that were designed to secure Great Britain’s jurisdictions over her American colonies.
    1776 - Lead by General William Howe, the British evacuate Boston. Howe’s army and a group of 1000 loyalists will set sail for Halifax, Nova Scotia on 17 March.
    1778 - Captain James Cook first sights Oregon coast, at Yaquina Bay
http://www.neworegontrail.com/lighthouse/yaquina.bay.htm
http://www.newportnet.com/coasthistory/RoadTrip.htm
http://www.newportnewstimes.com/1999/nt_news1029/general/nt_news-18.html
    1782 - Ohio Territory militiamen began a two-day massacre of the Moravian Indian town of Gnadenhutten (modern New Philadelphia, Ohio). In all, 96 Christian Indians of the Delaware tribe were slaughtered, in retaliation for Indian raids made elsewhere in the Ohio Territory.
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/colonial/pioneer/chap16.html
    1799 - John Fries launches a rebellion in Pennsylvania against the imposition of the "direct tax" enacted by Congress 1 July 1798, on lands, houses & slaves. Fries' mob was dispersed by the Militia after a march on Bethlehem. Fries was arrested and sentenced to be hanged for treason, before being pardoned by the President.
    1802 - In Washington, D.C., the first Baptist church was organized with six charter members. Their first pastor, Obadiah Brown, was hired five years later, and Brown remained in that pulpit while involving himself in every important local Baptist program for the next 43 years!
    1848 - In Hawaii, Great Mahele (division of lands) was signed.  The 1839 Hawaiian Bill of Rights, also known as the 1839 Constitution of Hawaii, was an attempt by King Kamehameha III and his chiefs to guarantee that the Hawaiian people would not lose their tenured land and provided the groundwork for a free enterprise system.  The document, which had an attached code of laws, was drafted by a missionary, revised by the Council of Chiefs and signed by Kamehameha III in June, 1839.  The Great Māhele resulted in the allocation of one-third of the land to the crown as Hawaiian crown lands. Another third was allocated among the chiefs. The remaining one-third was to go to the population, but in the end, they received less than 1%. The law required land claims to be filed within two years under the Kuleana Act of 1850 and many Hawaiians made no claim.  Eventually most of this land was sold or leased to foreigners.  The large amount of land that went to the government resulted in Hawaii having a very high proportion of state-owned land: about 32% is owned by the state.
http://hotspotshawaii.com/nalostuff/May96/GreatMahele.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0870221256/avsearch-df1-2-20/
102-1682336-8966565
    1849 - Luther Burbank (d. 1926) was born at Lancaster, MA.  American naturalist and author, creator and developer of many new varieties of flowers, fruits, vegetables and trees.  Burbank's birthday is observed in California as Bird and Arbor Day.
http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/lbhg/gardens.asp
    1850 - The acquisition of territory following the U.S. victory in the Mexican War revived concerns about the balance of free and slave states in the Union. Senator Daniel Webster delivered his famous three hour "Seventh of March" speech urging sectional compromise on the issue of slavery. Advising abolition-minded Northerners to forgo antislavery measures, he simultaneously cautioned Southerners that disunion inevitably would lead to war. He endorses the Compromise of 1850 proposed by Kentucky Senator Henry Clay on 29 January 1850, as a mean of preserving the Union. It called for:  California to be admitted as a free state; the passage of an inhumane Fugitive Slave law; new territories in the Southwest to be allowed to organize without restrictions on slavery; protecting slavery in the District of Columbia while abolishing domestic slave trade there; and for a settlement of $10 million to Texas if the state would relinquish claims to one-third of its territory (now in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming). The compromise would be adopted on 09 September 1850.
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~dwebster/speeches/seventh-march.html.
Following the lead of senators Henry Clay and Stephen Douglass, Webster endorsed Clay's plan to assure sectional equilibrium in Congress. Passed after eight months of congressional wrangling, the legislation admitted California to the Union as a free state, permitted the question of slavery in Utah and New Mexico territories to be decided by popular sovereignty, settled Texas border disputes, and abolished slave trading in the District of Columbia while strengthening the Fugitive Slave Act. This speech by Daniel Webster supported Senator Henry Clay’s compromise, who had run for president, lost, and come back to the U.S. Senate as a most influential politician. It brought together the U.S. Senate for a brief period of time. He espoused the provisions of the Fugitive Slave Bill. It is said, John Greenleaf Whittier had Webster in mind when he wrote in his poem: “Ichabod:”
“All else is gone from those great eyes
The soul has fled;
When faith is lost, when honor dies
The man is dead.”
http://www.lib.umd.edu/RARE/RareCollection/danielwebster.html
http://www.danorr.com/webster/7thofmarch-text.html
    1854 - Charles Miller of St. Louis, MO, patented a sewing machine to stitch buttonholes, revolutionizing the garment industry.
    1857 – Baseball decided that an official game is 9 innings rather than 9 runs.
    1860 - 6,000 shoemakers joined by 20,000 other New England workers in Lynn, Massachusetts strike. During the great New England shoemakers strike, about 1,000 women workers in Lynn, Massachusetts, strike for a union and against wage cuts. Marching through a blizzard, the women carry signs proclaiming: "American Ladies Will Not Be Slaves."
In 10 days, a procession of 10,000 workers marches through Lynn in the largest labor protest prior to the Civil War. Within a month, shoe manufacturers offer higher wages to bring strikers back to the factories. But the companies refuse to recognize a union.
   1862 - Union forces under General Samuel Curtis defeat the army of General Earl Van Dorn at Pea Ridge, aka Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, located in an extreme northwestern section of Arkansas and gained control of Missouri.  Confederate General Ben McCulloch was killed in one of the attacks. The Yankees suffered 1,384 men killed, wounded, or captured out of 10,000 engaged; the Confederates suffered a loss of about 2,000 out of 14,000 engaged. The Union won a decisive victory that also helped them clear the upper Mississippi Valley region on the way to securing control of the Mississippi River by mid-1863.
http://civilwartraveler.bravepages.com/PR/PRPAN12.htm
http://www.oldalgonquin.net/civilwar/36th/pearidge/indexpearidge.htm
http://www.cwbattlefields.com/virtualtours/pearidgebattle.html
http://www.civilwarhome.com/pearidge.htm
http://stellar-one.com/civil_war/battle_of_pea_ridge_23.htm
http://www.lsjunction.com/people/mccullob.htm
http://www.members.cox.net/confed/third/mcculloch.html
http://www.2020site.org/texas/lesson58.html
http://stellar-one.com/civil_war/battle_of_pea_ridge_39.htm
    1865 - Michael A. Healy of Georgia, became the first African-American Coast Guard serviceman. He was appointed to the Revenue Cutter Service, the predecessor of the Coast Guard. He became captain on March 3, 1883, and was commanding officer of the Bear from 1886 to 1895.
    1865 - Lieutenant Commander Hooker, commanding a naval squadron consisting of U.S.S. Commodore Read, Yankee, Delaware, and Heliotrope, joined with an Army unit in conducting a raid at Hamilton's Crossing on the Rappahannock River six miles below Fredericksburg. Hooker reported that the expedition succeeded in "burning and destroying the railroad bridge, the depot, and a portion of the track....; also the telegraph line was cut and the telegraphic apparatus brought away. A train of twenty-eight cars, eighteen of them being principally loaded with tobacco, and an army wagon train were also captured and burned. A considerable number of mules were captured and some thirty or forty prisoners taken. A mail containing a quantity of valuable information was secured." Throughout the war, rivers were avenues of strength for the North, highways of destruction to the South, which enabled warships and joint expeditions to thrust deep into the Confederacy.
   1872 - -8º F in Boston MA
   1876 - Patent #174,465 was issued to Alexander Graham Bell for his telephone.
    1888 – Jazz guitarist Alcide “Slow Drag” Pavageau (d. 1969) was born in New Orleans.
http://user.tninet.se/~rrr043f/slow_drag.htm
    1893 - Lorena Alice Hickok (d. 1963) was born in East Troy, WI.  She was a journalist known for her close relationship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.  Hickok was the highest paid woman newspaper reporter of her day, with Associated Press, a political reporter assigned to cover Roosevelt during FDR’s first presidential campaign.  Hickok struck up a close relationship with the soon-to-be First Lady. For several years, the two corresponded almost every day, traveled together, and professed emotional and physical affection for one another. She actually lived in the White House with Mrs. Roosevelt and slept in ER's apartment.  The exact nature of this relationship has been widely discussed by historians. More than 3,000 letters from the pair's correspondence are preserved.  Compromised as a reporter by her personal relationship with Roosevelt, Hickok left the AP and began work as the chief investigator for the Federal Emergency relief Administration (FERA), part of the New Deal. Hickok encouraged or inspired several of Eleanor Roosevelt's initiatives, including her syndicated column, her all-women press conferences, and her planned community in West Virginia.  As Hickok grew more demanding of the First Lady, however, the pair's initial closeness lessened. 
http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/abouteleanor/q-and-a/glossary/hickok-lorena.htm
http://www.gaussian.com/ptownfringe/lorena.htm
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0306809982/ref=ase_atriumA/
102-1682336-8966565
    1893 - In arguably the most significant rule change in Major League history, the National league eliminated the pitching box and added a pitcher’s rubber five feet behind the previous back line of the box, establishing the modern pitching distance of 60 feet 6 inches. In addition, bats flattened on one side to facilitate bunting were banned.
    1908 - Cincinnati Mayor Leopold Markbreit stood before city council and announced that, "women are not physically fit to operate automobiles."
    1911 - Willis S. Farnsworth of Petaluma, CA received two patents, one for a coin-operated locker, and one with William H. Reed on a coin receptacle “magazine-hinge and conveyor.” The insertion of a coin in a slot released a key to open and close the locker. The “magazine hinge” enable newspapers
and magazines to be purchased from a locked stand.
    1911 - Twenty thousand US troops are sent to the Mexican border as the Mexican Revolution continues.
    1917 - Drummer Lee Young (d. 2008) was born, New Orleans, LA.
    1917 - "The Dixie Jass Band One Step," by Nick LaRocca's Original Dixieland Jass Band (Victor 18255), becomes the first jazz recording released for sale in the US, released by RCA Victor in Camden, New Jersey.
    1923 - Robert Frost's poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," is published in the New Republic magazine. Proud of the poem, he said the lines, "Whose woods these are, I think I know, his house is in the village though..." contained everything he ever knew about how to write.
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/programs/2006/03/06/
    1927 – The Supreme Court ruled that a Texas law denying the right to vote to Negroes was unconstitutional.
    1932 - Monopoly was introduced by Charles Darrow. The history of Monopoly can be traced back to 1903, when American anti-monopolist Elizabeth Phillips created a game through which she hoped to be able to explain the single tax theory of Henry George. It was intended as an educational tool to illustrate the negative aspects of concentrating land in private monopolies. Phillips took out a patent in 1904. Her game, “The Landlord’s Game”, was self-published, beginning in 1906.  A series of variant board games based on her concept was developed from 1906 through the 1930s that involved the buying and selling of land and the development of that land.  According to an advertisement placed in “The Christian Science Monitor”, Charles Todd of Philadelphia recalled the day in 1932 when his childhood friend, Esther Jones, married to Charles Darrow, came to his house with her husband for dinner. After the meal, the Darrows played the game of Monopoly several times with them, a game that was entirely new to the Darrows, and before he left, Darrow asked for a written set of the rules. After Darrow brought his own Monopoly game out, the Todds never spoke to the Darrows again. Monopoly was mass marketed by Parker Brothers beginning in 1935. Darrow died a millionaire in 1967.
    1936 - Nazi leader Adolf Hitler violates the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact by sending German military forces into the Rhineland, a demilitarized zone along the Rhine River in western Germany. Two years later, Nazi Germany burst out of its territories, absorbing Austria and portions of Czechoslovakia. In 1939, Hitler invaded Poland, leading to the outbreak of World War II in Europe.
    1938 - Janet Guthrie was born in Iowa City, IA.  An aerospace engineer, she was one of the first four women to qualify for the scientist-astronaut program of NASA.  She was also the first woman to race in the Indianapolis 500 races, finishing ninth in 1978. She was forced to withdraw two other times because of engine trouble. Her other entries in 1977 and 1979 were aborted because of engine trouble. No women were even allowed in the repair and refueling pits at the Indy 500 until a lawsuit in 1972.
http://www.janetguthrie.com/
http://www.britannica.com/women/articles/Guthrie_Janet.html
http://www.writetools.com/women/stories/guthrie_janet.html
    1939 - Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians record "Auld Lang Syne," still a New Year's Eve staple.
    1941 - At Spring Training in Havana, Cuba, the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Pee Wee Reese and Joe Medwick used a batting helmet designed by two Johns Hopkins Hospital doctors with the help of Larry MacPhail. The two Dodgers, hit by several pitches last year, pronounced the helmets satisfactory.
    1945 - A small advance force of the US First Army captured the Ludendorff railway bridge across the Rhine River at Remagen - the only bridge across the Rhine that had not been blown up by the German defenders - thus acquiring the first bridgehead onto the east bank, a turning point in World War II. Not since the days of Napoleon had an invading army crossed the Rhine. Tanks of the US Third Corps reach the Rhine River opposite Remagen and find the Ludendorff Bridge damaged but still usable The bridge, which had miraculously survived the massive Allied air assaults on Nazi Germany and then the country's own efforts to protect its interior from the Allied invasion, is an unexpected strategic coup for the US First Army. Troops and vehicles are immediately rushed across, and for the first time, the US forces secure a foothold on the eastern side of the fortified Rhine River shore. Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler is so furious to learn of the US use of the intact Ludendorff Bridge that he fires General Gerd von Rundstedt as commander of western German forces. German bombers attempt to destroy the bridge, but the US troops continue to move across and expand the beachhead on the other side. On 17 March, after transporting thousands of troops and military vehicles across the Rhine, the bridge collapses, killing twenty-five Americans. Nevertheless, the Allies now hold the area and engineers erect other bridges nearby. Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower later says that the discovery of the intact bridge "put victory just around the corner."
    1945 - LEIMS, JOHN HAROLD, Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. marine Corps Reserve, Company B, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division. Place and date: Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 7 marches 1945. Entered service at: Chicago, Ill. Born: 8 June 1921, Chicago, Ill. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of Company B, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands, 7 March 1945. Launching a surprise attack against the rock-imbedded fortification of a dominating Japanese hill position, 2d Lt. Leims spurred his company forward with indomitable determination and, skillfully directing his assault platoons against the cave-emplaced enemy troops and heavily fortified pillboxes, succeeded in capturing the objective in later afternoon. When it became apparent that his assault platoons were cut off in this newly won position, approximately 400 yards forward of adjacent units and lacked all communication with the command post, he personally advanced and laid telephone lines across the isolating expanse of open fire-swept terrain. Ordered to withdraw his command after he had joined his forward platoons, he immediately complied, adroitly affecting the withdrawal of his troops without incident. Upon arriving at the rear, he was informed that several casualties had been left at the abandoned ridge position beyond the frontlines. Although suffering acutely from the strain and exhausting of battle, he instantly went forward despite darkness and the slashing fury of hostile machinegun fire, located and carried to safety 1 seriously wounded marine and then, running the gauntlet of enemy fire for the third time that night, again made his tortuous way into the bullet-riddled deathtrap and rescued another of his wounded men. A dauntless leader, concerned at all time for the welfare of his men, 2d Lt. Leims soundly maintained the coordinated strength of his battle-wearied company under extremely difficult conditions and, by his bold tactics, sustained aggressiveness, and heroic disregard for all personal danger, contributed essentially to the success of his division's operations against this vital Japanese base. His valiant conduct in the face of fanatic opposition sustains and enhances the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
    1946 - Top Hits
“Let It Snow” - Vaughn Monroe
“Symphony” - The Freddy Martin Orchestra (vocal: Clyde Rogers)
“Oh, What It Seemed to Be” - The Frankie Carle Orchestra (vocal: Marjorie Hughes)
“Guitar Polka” - Al Dexter
    1946 - Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard was the site of the 18th Annual Academy Awards celebration. Bob Hope hosted the first half of the show with James Stewart stepping up to the mike for the second half. The Best Motion Picture of 1945 was Paramount’s "The Lost Weekend," produced by Charles Brackett. It also won for Best Director (Billy Wilder), Best Actor (Ray Milland), and Best Writing of a Screenplay (Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder). The Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role went to James Dunn for "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." Best Actress was Joan Crawford for her performance in "Mildred Pierce." The votes for The Best Actress in a Supporting Role prize went to Anne Revere for "National Velvet." The Best Music/Scoring of a Musical Picture Oscar went to George Stoll for "Anchors Aweigh" and Best Music/Song was "State Fair" by Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0148306.html   
    1950 – Hall of Fame RB Franco Harris was born at Ft. Dix, NJ. He was picked by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round, the 13th selection overall, in the 1972 draft.  He played his first 12 years in the NFL with the Steelers. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.  Harris was chosen for 9 consecutive Pro Bowls, rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 8 seasons, breaking a record set by Jim Brown, and he is currently the 12th all-time NFL rusher with over 12,000 yards. The Steelers tandem running package of Harris and Rocky Bleier combined with a strong defense to win four Super Bowls, the first NFL team to do so. In 1975, he was the Super Bowl MVP, the first African-American as well as the first Italian-American to be so named. His Super Bowl career totals of 101 carries for 354 yards are records and his 4 career rushing touchdowns are tied for the second most in Super Bowl history.  Harris was a key player in one of professional football's most famous plays, “The Immaculate Reception”.  In a 1972 playoff game, the Oakland Raiders were leading the Steelers 7-6 with 22 seconds to play when a Terry Bradshaw pass was deflected away from intended receiver, Frenchy Fuqua, right as Oakland defender Jack Tatum arrived to tackle Fuqua. Harris snatched the ball just before it hit the ground and ran it into the end zone to win the game.
    1951 - BRITTIN, NELSON V., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army, Company I, 19th Infantry Regiment. Place and date: Vicinity of Yonggong-ni, Korea, 7 March 1951. Entered service at: Audubon, N.J. Birth: Audubon, N.J. G.O. No.: 12, 1 February 1952. Citation: Sfc. Brittin, a member of Company I, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action. Volunteering to lead his squad up a hill, with meager cover against murderous fire from the enemy, he ordered his squad to give him support and, in the face of withering fire and bursting shells, he tossed a grenade at the nearest enemy position. On returning to his squad, he was knocked down and wounded by an enemy grenade. Refusing medical attention, he replenished his supply of grenades and returned, hurling grenades into hostile positions and shooting the enemy as they fled. When his weapon jammed, he leaped without hesitation into a foxhole and killed the occupants with his bayonet and the butt of his rifle. He continued to wipe out foxholes and, noting that his squad had been pinned down, he rushed to the rear of a machine gun position, threw a grenade into the nest, and ran around to its front, where he killed all 3 occupants with his rifle. Less than 100 yards up the hill, his squad again came under vicious fire from another camouflaged, sandbagged, machine gun nest well-flanked by supporting riflemen. Sfc. Brittin again charged this new position in an aggressive endeavor to silence this remaining obstacle and ran direct into a burst of automatic fire which killed him instantly. In his sustained and driving action, he had killed 20 enemy soldiers and destroyed 4 automatic weapons. The conspicuous courage, consummate valor, and noble self-sacrifice displayed by Sfc. Brittin enabled his inspired company to attain its objective and reflect the highest glory on himself and the heroic traditions of the military service.
    1954 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit:  “Make Love to Me,'' Jo Stafford.
   1954 – Top Hits
“Make Love to Me!” - Jo Stafford
“Young-At-Heart” - Frank Sinatra
“Cross Over the Bridge” - Patti Page
“Slowly” - Webb Pierce
    1955 - Carl Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes" enters the R&B chart. It is the first time a C&W artist has made the R&B chart.
    1955 - "Peter Pan," with Mary Martin and Cyril Richard, was presented as a television special for the first time. The complete Broadway cast production was also broadcast in color on WRCA, Channel 4, New York City on “Producer’s Showcase.” It could also be seen in black and white on the NBC network.
    1956 - Lonnie Donegan’s hit song, "Rock Island Line," was doing well on the pop music charts from across the big pond. The popular music from Great Britain’s ‘King of Skiffle’ ushered in the new music craze called ‘skiffle.’ Donegan was born in Glasgow, Scotland and was a member of Chris Barber’s Jazz Band. He had one other major hit on the U.S. pop charts even bigger than "Rock Island Line." In 1961, Donegan’s "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It’s Flavor (On the Bedpost Over Night)" made it to the top five in America. The song was a top-10 hit in 1924 by Ernest Hare and Billy Jones. However, instead of "Chewing Gum" in the original title, it was "Spearmint." Donegan recorded his version of the song in 1959, two years before it became a hit. Incidentally, John Lennon and George Harrison of The Beatles both started their careers in skiffle bands.
    1957 - The Tune Weavers record "Happy Happy Birthday Baby," one of the top hits for the year.
    1962 - Top Hits
“Duke of Earl” - Gene Chandler
“Hey! Baby” - Bruce Channel
“Break It to Me Gently” - Brenda Lee
“Walk on By” - Leroy Van Dyke
    1964 - The Beatles "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You" are, according to Billboard, "neck and neck" for the top spot on the singles chart.
    1964 - Capitol Records is besieged with requests for heavyweight boxing champ Cassius Clay's album, "I Am the Greatest." It's in big demand because of Clay's defeat of Sonny Liston last month. Columbia expects to sell 500,000 copies and Clay, having changed his name to Muhammad Ali, says, "I'm better and prettier than Chubby Checker."
    1965 - First US "combat" troops sent to Vietnam. (As opposed to "advisers" and troops who are in a defensive role.) The Johnson administration tries to hide this policy change and denies rumors, but a State Department spokesman "mistakenly" spills the beans a couple months later.
http://distefano.com/
    1965 - Selma, Alabama March: 525 people began a fifty-four mile march from Selma, Alabama to the state capitol in Montgomery. They were demonstrating for African American voting rights and to commemorate the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson, shot three weeks earlier by an state trooper while trying to protect his mother at a civil rights demonstration. On the outskirts of Selma, after they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the marchers, in plain sight of photographers and journalists, were brutally assaulted by heavily armed state troopers and deputies. Here is their story with photographs:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/mar07.html
    1966 - The Shadow of Knights, a Chicago garage band, enter the Top Ten with their biggest hit, "Gloria."
    1966 - Brian Wilson releases his first solo single, "Caroline, No," the first release of the historic “Pet Sounds” sessions. Two months later, the “Pet Sounds” album would appear with "Caroline, No" on it, but credited to the Beach Boys, their 11th album.  It met a lukewarm critical and commercial reception in the United States, but received immediate success abroad, where British publications declared it "the most progressive pop album ever". It charted at number two in the UK but number ten in the US, a significantly lower placement than the band's preceding albums. In later years, “Pet Sounds” garnered enormous worldwide acclaim by critics and musicians alike, and is regarded as one of the most influential albums in the history of popular music.
    1966 - Bob Dylan records "Absolutely Sweet Marie."
    1966 - Tina Turner records "River Deep Mountain High."
    1967 - The Beatles record "Lovely Rita."
    1967 - Jim Morrison and The Doors performed at the Matrix, San Francisco, California
    1967 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit:  “Love Is Here and Now You're Gone,'' The Supremes.
    1967 - Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa began an 8-year jail sentence for defrauding the union and jury tampering.  The sentence was commuted by President Nixon on Dec. 23, 1971.
    1968 - Elvis Presley records one of his most favorite songs, "A Little Less Conversation."
     1969 - Tommy's Roe's single, "Dizzy" earns a gold record for sales over one million.
    1970 - Top Hits
“Bridge Over Troubled Water” - Simon & Garfunkel
“Travelin’ Band/Who’ll Stop the Rain” - Creedence Clearwater Revival
“Rainy Night in Georgia” - Brook Benton
“It’s Just a Matter of Time” - Sonny James
    1970 - Actor Lee Marvin, whose vocal skills were questionable at best, topped the UK singles chart with a song called "Wand'rin' Star," which was featured in the film “Paint Your Wagon.”
    1971 - A thousand U.S. planes bomb Cambodia and Laos.
    1973 - Traffic have a gold LP with "Shootout at the Fantasy Factory," their final LP with the extended group.
    1973 - Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandel's "Dueling Banjos" is certified gold.
    1975 - David Bowie's "Young Americans" is released.
    1976 - Elton John becomes the first Rock star since the Beatles to be immortalized at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London.
    1978 - Top Hits
“(Love Is) Thicker Than Water” - Andy Gibb
“Sometimes When We Touch” - Dan Hill
“Emotion” - Samantha Sang
“Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” - Waylon & Willie
    1979 - Slugging OF Hack Wilson and longtime executive Warren Giles were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Wilson, who had a relatively short career, won four NL HR titles while with the Chicago Cubs. His most productive season came in 1930, when he set an all-time Major League record with 191 RBI, hit 56 home runs (a NL record for 68 years) and batted .356. For his career, Wilson hit .307 with 244 home runs and 1063 RBI. Giles served as president of the Cincinnati Reds from 1937-51, before becoming National League President for 18 seasons.
    1981 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit:  “I Love a Rainy Night,'' Eddie Rabbit. Before recording on his own, the singer wrote songs for Elvis Presley, Ronnie Milsap, Tom Jones and Dr. Hook.
    1983 - Willie Nelson received a lifetime achievement award at the Songwriters' Hall of Fame dinner in New York.
    1983 - Stevie Wonder and Neil Sedaka are inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York.
    1985 - The song "We Are the World," from the album of the same name, was played on the radio for the first time. Forty-five of pop music’s top stars had gathered together to combine their talents to record the music of Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson. Richie and Jackson sang, too, while Quincy Jones did the producing of the USA for Africa record. The proceeds of the multimillion-selling recording went to aid African famine victims. The project, coordinated by Ken Kragen, was deemed a huge success.
    1986 - Top Hits
“Kyrie” - Mr. Mister
“Sara” - Starship
“Living in America” - James Brown
“You Can Dream of Me” - Steve Wariner
    1987 - Forty-five cities in the north central and northeastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. In South Dakota, Huron hit 80 degrees, and Pickstown reached 81 degrees. Rochester, MN and Rockford, IL smashed their previous record for the date by sixteen degrees.
    1987 - World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight champ, ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson, became the youngest heavyweight titlist ever as he beat James Smith in a decision during a 12-round bout in Las Vegas.
    1987 - The first Beatles albums are released on compact disc: “Please Please Me,” “With the Beatles,” “A Hard Day's Night,” “Beatles for Sale,” and “Help!” This marks the first time the band's official UK albums have been available as standard Beatles albums in the US, many being presented for the first time in America in their original mono mixes.
    1990 - A major ice storm left much of Iowa under a thick coat of ice. It was the worst ice storm in at least twenty-five years for Iowa, perhaps the worst of the century. Up to two inches of ice coated much of western and central Iowa, with three inches reported in Crawford County and Carroll County. As much as five inches of ice was reported on some electrical lines. The ice downed 78 towers in a 17-mile stretch of a high voltage feeder near Boone costing three electric utilities fifteen million dollars. Damage to trees was incredible, and clean-up costs alone ran into the millions. Total damage from the storm was more than fifty million dollars.
    1995 – Richie Ashburn, Vic Willis, former NL president William Hulbert, and former Negro League star Leon Day were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Day died six days later.
    1996 – The Hubble Space Telescope sent back the first surface photos of Pluto.
    1997 - Declaring that Steven Hoffenberg had "wreaked havoc on innocent lives," Federal Judge Robert Sweet sentenced the notorious Wall Street swindler to a twenty-year prison term. In the ruling, Sweet ordered the former chief of Towers Financial Corp. to pay out $462 million in restitution, as well as a $1 million in fines. Hoffenberg had been accused of pawning off vast sums of "worthless" Tower-backed bonds to unsuspecting investors. All told, Hoffenberg had conned investors out of a whopping $500 million, money which he used to fund his extravagant habits.
    1998 – The New York Yankees signed pitcher Orlando Hernandez, brother of the 1997 World Series hero Livan Hernandez, to a four-year, $6.6 million contract. “El Duque” was one of the most famous and successful Cuban defectors to play in the Majors.  He is best remembered by Yankees fans for his postseason performances when he earned a 12-3 record and 2.55 ERA in 19 appearances, having gone 8-0 at one point.  He was a four-time World Series champ, three with the Yankees and one with the White Sox in 2005.
    2001 - The National Endowment for the Arts, in conjunction with the RIAA, announces its Top Ten songs of the 20th century. At #1: Judy Garland's rendition of "Over the Rainbow." Also making the list: Bing's "White Christmas" (#2), Aretha's "Respect" (#4), Don McLean's "American Pie" (#5), and the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" (#9).
    2002 - A federal judge awarded Anna Nicole Smith more than $88 million in damages. The ruling was the latest in a legal battle over the estate of Smith's late husband, J. Howard Marshall II.
    2003 - UAL Corp., the bankrupt parent company of United Airlines, announces that sales of 3.9 million shares of UAL by the company’s employee benefit plans (authorization by the IRS announced on 04 March) have lowered employee ownership in those plans below 20%, thereby triggering the "Sunset" provisions contained in the company’s certificate of incorporation that affect UAL’s corporate governance structure.
    2003 - Scientists at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center announced that they had transferred 6.7 gigabytes of uncompressed data from Sunnyvale, CA, to Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 58 seconds. The data was sent via fiber-optic cables and traveled 6,800 miles.
    2014 - A study announced that high levels of vitamin D in the blood may increase the probability of survival for breast cancer patients.
    2015 - President Obama stated that he did not know that former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton solely used a personal email address for government business, possibly violating federal law; Clinton served under Obama for four years.