As Lessor Have You Read Your Vehicle Lease Lately?
By Edward P. Kaye, Esq. and Sloan Schickler, Esq.

When was the last time you did a full review of your lease and loan documentation? How about a partial review? Anyone?

If you are like most independent lessors, you are too busy running your daily operation to devote a day or two (or more) for a meaningful review of your loan and lease documents. Unfortunately, there are often real financial consequences to using outdated documentation, as many lessors find out the hard way. 

Typically, lessors review documentation when a problem arises and the lessee quotes sections of the lease back to the lessor. Sometimes lessors can reply with other sections of the lease and quell a problem. But, most often, if a lessee is quoting sections of your lease to you, it is too late and it may result in lost profit or worse: actual losses.  

Ostriches bury their heads in the sand because they think that if they cannot see a predator, the predator cannot see them. The fact that your lease documents have not been reviewed for years does not mean you do not have latent problems in your portfolio heading to the surface.

The good news is it is never too late to get your head out of the sand to review, update and revise what is arguably the backbone of your business. The lease agreement guides most, if not all, disputes with your customers, and clearly, it should be relevant to your current business practices and up to date with state and federal law. If you sell or syndicate portions of your portfolio, it is even more important to confirm that your lease is an asset and not a liability.

Recently, our firm has been contacted by several lessors and specialty finance companies requesting a review of their lease and loan documentation. Not surprisingly, we find sections that no longer apply to the business, complete sections of the business not covered in the lease, and other sections that are in violation of law. What is more, these are not small lessors. These are longstanding, successful companies with strong management in place and consistent proven track records of success. 

Like many lessors, these leases were lifted from another company, borrowed from a friend in the business, and developed over time. Sections are added, revised and deleted by in-house operations people with good intentions but untrained drafting skills. The result can often be costly and in one case led to a class action lawsuit against the lessor.

Sloan Schickler and Ed Kaye are partners in the vehicle finance law firm, Schickler Kaye LLP (www.skfinancelaw.com). Schickler, a veteran vehicle leasing, finance, and bank attorney, has been the NVLA Legal and Legislative counsel since 2017 and currently sits on the board of directors. Kaye is the former CEO and General Counsel of a prominent independent vehicle leasing company and the immediate past president of the NVLA. He currently sits on the NVLA board of directors. Together, they provide decades of experience representing and protecting lessors and lenders in all facets of the vehicle leasing and financing business. They can be reached at ekaye@skfinancelaw.com, sschickler@skfinancelaw.com or 212-262-6400.

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

New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
and Related Industries

(Many of supposed new employees, especially in groups, sent to Leasing News have worked in the same capacity, many since June and October, 2020, according to their biographies in LinkedIn.com or
announcements in Google, and often have appeared at time of employment in Leasing News New Hires and Promotions. Often these press releases with new positions are not verified and printed as accurate for the dates that the promotion is current. The last several weeks, Leasing News has received many of these press releases. Editor)

Bill Burns was promoted to Vice President, First American Equipment Finance, Rochester, New York. He joined the firm December, 2017, as Sales Analyst; promoted March, 2019, Assistant Vice President.  Previously, he was at CGI Communications, starting February, 2017, Sales Associate; promoted September, 2017, Sales Executive. Teacher Assistant, SUNY Geneseo (August, 2016 - February, 2017); Head Basketball Coach, Keshequa Central School District (October, 2015 - February, 2017); Jim Boeheim Basketball Camp Counselor, Syracuse University (June 2016 - August, 2016); Marketing Associate, Dreissig Apparel, Inc. (May 2015 - September, 2015). Licenses: CPR/AED. American Heart Association’s/American Association).  Volunteer: Geneseo War Plane Museum (April, 2015 - Present).  Immaculate Conception Church (July, 2013 - Present). Education: State University of New York College at Brockport, Master's Degree, Athletic Administration (2017 - 2018). MSED in Athletic Administration 3.5 GPA.  Christian Brothers Academy, Syracuse (2007 - 2013).  Activities and Societies: Captain of the Varsity Basketball Team from 2011 - 2013).  Captain of the Junior Varsity Basketball Team 2010 - 2011). Peer ministry leader (2012 - 2013).  Mentor in Violence Prevention (2012 - 2013). Spanish Club (2010 - 2013).  Graduated with Honors. https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-burns-48401373/

Kate Cox was promoted to Client Support Manager, LTi Technology Solutions, Omaha, Nebraska. "(She)...will be responsible for assuring a high level of client satisfaction on a day-to-day basis, managing service escalations and focusing on improving overall support to clients."  She joined the firm September, 2016, as Support Controller.

Susan Foster was hired as Vice President, Marketing, at LTi Technology, Omaha, Nebraska.  She resides in the Cincinnati Metropolitan Area. Previously, she was Project Management Specialist, Kroger Company (May, 2019 - February, 2021); Senior Account Manager, The Brand Group S.R.L. (July 2013 - May, 2019); Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Constellation Financial Software (2013); Vice President, Marketing, PNC Equipment Finance (2001 - 2012). Volunteer: Adult Gaming Lead, MQH. Adult Gaming Committee Co-Chair.  Festival Committee. Mary Queen of Heaven Parish (2015 - Present). Parent Volunteer. Covington Latin School. Volunteered heavily for the school and its activities, including procuring large donations for the new building fund.  Education: Southern Ohio College.  Certification: Optician License,  Ophthalmic Dispensing Optician. https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanlfoster/

Jeffrey Hurrel, CAFM, was hired as AVP, Commercial Fleet Leasing, the Bancorp, Wilmington, Delaware. Previously, he was Vice President, Sales, Sutton Leasing (October, 2016 -March, 2021); Regional Sales Manager, Union Leasing (2014 - 2016).  He joined Hewlett-Packard August, 2007 as North American Fleet Program Manager, AMS Finance Program; promoted November, 2012, Global Corporate Services, enterprise Programs and Operations (Fleet Management),  He joined Midway Car Rental dba Midway Fleet Leasing/Midway Rideshare, 1998, as CFO, Controller; promoted April, 2004, Director/Partner. Licenses: Certified Automotive Fleet Manager (CAFM), National Association of Fleet Administrators (NAFA).  Education: University of Redlands BSBA, Business Management. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreyhurrell/

Scott Murchie was promoted to Client Support Manager, LTi Technology Solutions, Omaha, Nebraska. "(He)...will be responsible for assuring a high level of client satisfaction on a day-to-day basis, managing service escalations and focusing on improving overall support to clients." He joined the firm February 2012 as Support Specialist II. Previously, he was at Werner Enterprises, staring August, 2004 as Lead Driver; promoted June, 2005, Dedicated Floater; promoted January, 2006, Dedicated Night Fleet Coordinator. License: ComptTIA A+ Certified, CompTIA.  Issued May, 2009.  No Expiration Date.  Education: University of Missouri, Kansas City. Business, Accounting, Computer Science (1995 - 2000).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-murchie-5a104815/

Leasing Industry Help Wanted

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

Channel Partners Capital Spotlight on Highlights March 2021
Business Type/FICO/TIB/Annual Revenues/Approval Amount

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

"Hard Asset-Secured Lender" Maxim Capital Reports
"stabilized funding and low delinquencies"

Recent Transactions

Growth Capital for Business Owner

An experienced business owner in Winston-Salem, NC needed working capital to finance inventory and grow his business. He wanted a creative financing structure that allowed early payoff but wasn't bankable due to a foreclosure history.

Maxim Funded: $425,000, 60-month term loan; early payoff without penalty after 24 months of timely payments.
Collateral: 1st lien position on commercial land, a single family residence, business FF&E and a 2006 Isuzu NPR box truck with an aggregate value of over $1.1 million.

Expansion Capital for Tow Truck Operator

The young owner of a towing business with 3 years' experience wanted a 2nd truck to meet increased demand. His limited credit history, with only 2 trade lines, and 50% down payment made this a Maxim deal.

Maxim Funded: $26,691, 30-month term loan.
Purchase Price: $53,922
Collateral: 2013 Freightliner M2 Ext Cab Rollback 

Dump Truck for Busy Contractor

A contractor in Texas with over 25 years' experience needed an additional dump truck during the Covid-19 Pandemic to keep up with strong demand. Banks had turned him down due to a small charge-off and a debt settlement 4+ years earlier. A net 50% down payment and strong auction comps for the collateral made it a Maxim deal.

Maxim Funded: $40,858, 36-month term loan
Purchase Price: $81,717
Collateral: 2014 Freightliner Cascadia CA12DC Quad-Axle Dump Truck

Truck Purchase Financing for Owner-Operators

Truck for Start-Up Owner-Operator - 573 FICO

2016 Freightliner Cascadia
Price: $38,299
Down Payment: $9,000

 

Additional Truck to Fulfill Strong Demand

2016 Kenworth T800
Price: $79,968
Down Payment: $25,000

Replacement Truck for Driver with 532 FICO

2017 Peterbilt 579
Price: $45,400
Down Payment: $10,000

Key Congressman Reveals Cannabis Banking Will Be
Handled Before Legalization Is Considered

America’s state-legal cannabis industry has had quite a run, creating thousands of job opportunities, providing states with millions of dollars in tax revenue, and changing the lives of thousands of individuals with prior cannabis-related offenses. Despite achieving so much in a relatively short time, the sector has a lot stacked against it due to its status as a controlled substance at the federal level. One major challenge the industry has faced so far is lack of access to financial services, as banks and lending institutions shy away from working with cannabis businesses.

According to a Congressman who has been an ardent supporter of cannabis reform, financial institutions may soon be able to work with state-legal cannabis businesses without fear of federal reprisals. The Secure and Fair Enforcement (“SAFE”) Act, which protects banks working with cannabis businesses, was reintroduced in the House and will advance, said co-sponsor Earl Blumenauer during a press call alongside other co-sponsors of the bill.

Lawmakers plan to pass the banking legislation first before they begin working on more comprehensive legalization legislation because lack of banking access has become a public safety crisis, Blumenauer says. With banks staying away from marijuana businesses, those businesses are forced to work on a cash-only basis, making them prime targets for theft and burglary. The coronavirus pandemic added additional risk, placing workers in situations where handling cash may increase their risk of infection. Even though comprehensive cannabis reform will eventually come, the banking issue needs to be addressed as soon as possible, Blumenauer says.

Not everyone was of that opinion, with some advocates arguing back in 2019 that Congress should have focused on comprehensive cannabis reform, specifically social equity, instead of banking. Sherrod Brown, the newly appointed Banking Committee Chair, is of the same school of thought.

He has said that he is willing to hold a hearing on the banking reform legislation on the condition that it is passed together with provisions that aid individuals with prior cannabis-related offenses. Thousands of lives have been ruined by the failed war on drugs, and lawmakers need to figure out how to help everyone in prison because of cannabis-related offenses before he can move on the bill, he says.

Source: Cannabisnewswire.com

 

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

Four companies made up more than 95%
of online food delivery sales in 2020

 

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

Intel and Samsung Lead Semiconductor Production
Market Shares World's Largest Semiconductor Producers

On Tuesday, Intel's recently appointed CEO, Pat Gelsinger, outlined his vision for the company going forward. As part of the company's "IDM 2.0" strategy, he announced a $20 billion investment in two new factories in Arizona as well as Intel Foundry Services, a new business that will see the company manufacture semiconductors for third parties. According to Gelsinger, the foundry market could be worth $100 billion by 2025 as global demand for semiconductors continues to soar.

Global semiconductor production is currently split between the U.S. and Asia and continues to be a source of tensions in foreign policy powerplay.

Intel holds the biggest semiconductor market share, accounting for 15.6 percent of global revenue. According to data from Gartner, Samsung is Intel’s largest competitor within the industry, holding a market share of around 12.5 percent. Another company from South Korea, SK Hynix, wins third place with the somewhat smaller share of 5.6 percent.

If the planned merger of the Californian companies Qualcomm and Broadcom had taken place in 2018, the joint venture would now be the strongest rival of Samsung and Intel with around seven to eight percent. Back then, President Trump had vetoed the deal citing a threat to national security. At that time, Broadcom's headquarters were still in Singapore, but the company is now based in San José.

With a new administration in the White House, more semiconductor-related upheaval is on the horizon. Disagreement between China and the U.S. is already heightened after frosty exchanges about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and Hong Kong during Thursday’s meeting in Anchorage. However, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board notes that Taiwan might end up being the most contentious issue between the two nations due to its semiconductor industry that is of crucial economic interest to the U.S. The island’s biggest producer is Mediatek, the world’s eighths biggest semiconductor manufacturer.

By Katharina Buchholz, Statista

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

As indicated by the number of background checks initiated through the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), gun sales surged in 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic and repeated eruptions of political unrest boosted demand for firearms. Not only did the NICS perform 39.7 million background checks in 2020 - 10 million more than the previous record - but it also registered 6 of the 10 highest weeks for background checks since 1998 last year, with the three weeks between the Capitol riot and Biden's inauguration also making the list. In fact, January 2021 was another record month, with background checks surpassing 4 million for the first time.

While the FBI notes that "a one-to-one correlation cannot be made between a firearm background check and a firearm sale," the figures are widely considered to be indicative of overall sales activity in the United States. Mandated by the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 the FBI launched NICS on November 30, 1998.

By Felix Richter, Statista

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

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

Alliance Funding Group Issues
$25.0 Million of Corporate Notes

Tustin, CA. Alliance Funding Group (“AFG”), one of the largest privately-held equipment finance companies in the U.S., announced today the closing of a $25.0 million investment grade-rated corporate note financing.  AFG intends to use the net proceeds from the transaction to support its on balance sheet growth and structured finance business.

Brij Patel, founder and President of Alliance Funding Group, remarked, “Since founding the Company 23 years ago, we have funded more than $2.0 billion to over 16,000 customer businesses across multiple economic cycles while continuing to expand almost entirely through our direct sales efforts.

“Today we have over 120 experienced professionals dedicated to providing growth capital to our small and middle market clients.”  This financing will allow AFG to aggressively expand in the nearly $1.0 trillion equipment finance market across the U.S.”

Brent Hall, Senior Vice President, Capital Markets, stated: “Along with our recently closed revolving credit facility this capital properly positions AFG for our next stage of growth.  We are very pleased with the support and positive endorsement we have received from our institutional investors and look forward to additional successful financings as we continue to scale our business.”

Brean Capital, LLC served as the company’s Exclusive Advisor and Placement Agent in connection with this transaction.

About Alliance Funding Group
Alliance Funding Group (AFG), was founded in 1998 and has grown to become one of the largest privately held equipment finance companies in the U.S. Having funded over $2 billion in equipment, AFG provides financing, leasing, and working capital to a wide variety of businesses across a defined spectrum of credit types. AFG currently operates out of its headquarters in Tustin, California with offices in Los Angeles, CA, Portsmouth, NH, Scottsdale, AZ, and Tacoma, WA.  For more information, visit www.afg.com.

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

Fernando Croce Reviews
Watch at Home

Trickery is an inherent part of cinema, so we at Leasing News are sending our list of the top movies about pranks and cons to celebrate this year’s April’s Fools Day. Check them out on Netflix.

F for Fake (Orson Welles, 1973): What better film to celebrate the prankish spirit of April’s Fools than one in which the cinematic format itself is part of the prank? Always one to conflate movies with magic and fakery, the great Orson Welles serves up a dazzling documentary on that very subject, taking as a point of departure famous European bon-vivant Elmyr de Hory, who made a name for himself forging works of art. From there, the film hops to de Hory’s shady biographer, Clifford Irving, as well as Welles’ own wife and collaborator, Oja Kodar. Gradually, a delightful mosaic emerges of illusions blurring the lines between true and ersatz art, something that is at the center of cinema, and of the mischievous and brilliant filmmaker himself.

The Sting (George Roy Hill, 1973): Director George Roy Hill reunited Paul Newman and Robert Redford, his megastars from “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” for this hugely popular con-man classic, which scored several Oscars, including Best Picture. Set in 1936, the story follows the dynamic between an aspiring swindler named Johnny Hooker (Redford) and a seasoned pro named Henry Gondorff (Newman). The target of their scheme is Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw), a ruthless gangland boss with little patience for games. Putting a gang of cohorts to use, Johnny and Henry put together a complex plan that nevertheless comes dangerously close to falling apart. Ingeniously structured and effortlessly upbeat, Hill’s handsome comedy remains snazzy entertainment, with a tip-top cast and, of course, that memorable musical theme, “The Entertainer.”

Paper Moon (Peter Bogdanovich, 1973): A specialist in cine-nostalgia, director Peter Bogdanovich in the early 1970s crafted a string of loving tributes to classical Hollywood, with this period comedy an audience favorite. Set in Kansas during the Depression, it follows the prickly bond between slick con-artist Moses Pray (Ryan O’Neal) and his estranged, nine-year-old daughter Addie (Tatum O’Neal, who scored a Best Supporting Actress Oscar). Though at first not relishing each other’s company, the two come to rediscover familial emotions in the most unlikely of places—in the middle of swindles and crooked schemes, with cops and bootleggers often after them. Filmed in flavorful black-and-white, the movie plays like an updated Shirley Temple caper from the 1930s, but with a tart charm all of its own.

Ocean’s Eleven (Steven Soderbergh, 2001): Following the back-to-back releases of “Erin Brokovich” and the Oscar-winning “Traffic,” director Soderbergh relaxed with this breezy caper, which updates 1960’s Rat Pack cool to new millennium insouciance. George Clooney leads the all-star cast as Danny Ocean, an elegant thief who, fresh out of prison, is already rounding up his friends for the next big job. His main accomplice is his friend Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), and Las Vegas casino owner Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) is their foe. Along for the ride is pickpocket Linus (Matt Damon), casino worker Frank (Bernie Mac), ex-impresario Reuben (Elliott Gould) and veteran conman Saul (Carl Reiner), not to mention Danny’s former flame Tess (Julia Roberts). Keeping a light touch throughout, Soderbergh’s lark is a pure dose of speed and cleverness.

Catch Me if You Can (Steven Spielberg, 2002): One of Steven Spielberg’s most underrated (and revealing) films, this comedy-drama has charm and buoyancy and a sneaky subversive streak. Based on a true story, it follows Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio), a young man from a troubled home who specialized in forgery and disguises. A whirlwind of magnetism and flash, he finds his opposite in Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), the humdrum FBI determined to bring him to justice. As their race pushes on, scenes from Frank’s life illuminate his status as a master deceiver, especially his relationship with his father (Christopher Walken). A tribute to an enterprising naughty boy, this plays as a fast-moving tall tale thanks to Spielberg’s effortlessly fluent direction and a cast that includes Jennifer Garner and Amy Adams.

Labrador Retriever Mix/Puppy
Fort Collins, Colorado   Adopt-a-Dog

Peach
ID 30320306-06
Female
Puppy - 12 Weeks Old
26 - 60  lbs. when grown
Good with Dogs
Good with Kids

If you are interested in adopting the first step is to fill out an adoption application on our website www.aaanimalrescue.org. We are currently very busy! Please reach out to allaboardanimalrescue@gmail.com if you have an approved application on file! Please fill out an adoption application on our website if you are ready to adopt!

All Aboard Animal Rescue
http://www.aaanimalrescue.org
allaboardanimalrescue@gmail.com

Additional Adoption Info
We are a foster based rescue, and do not currently have a location. To meet or adopt any of our dogs or puppies you will need to attend one of our weekly Saturday adoption events. You must be present at the event to adopt a dog.

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

Most Influential Lawyers
in Equipment Finance and Leasing

Stewart Abramson
Andrew Alper
Thomas V. Askounis
Julie Babcock
Joe Bonanno, CLFP
Bill Carey
Richard Contino
James Coston, CLFP
Jonathan Fleisher
Marshall Goldberg
Kenneth Charles Greene, Esq.
Michael A. Leichtling
Malcolm C. Lindquist
Barry Marks, Esq., CLFP
David G. Mayer
Allan J. Mogol
Frank Peretore
John G. Sinodis
Mark Stout
Kevin Trabaris
Allan Umans
Mark Wada
Irwin Wittlin

 

Stewart Abramson has been a leading lawyer in the Equipment Finance industry for more than thirty years.  During this time he has been General Counsel of North American Corporation/National Equipment Rental, General Counsel of Charter Financial, Inc. and Managing Counsel for Wells Fargo, leading the legal group that supports all of Wells Fargo’s equipment finance businesses. He is a past chairman of the ELFA Legal Committee, has been an active member of numerous ELFA committees for many years, is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, and has written articles on industry related topics. However, beyond his expertise, industry activity and experience, the key indicator of his influence is the frequency of which both lawyers and business people across the industry seek his advice on equipment financing matters. From providing advice about regulatory issues to sharing his thoughts on structuring transactions to providing market intelligence, Stewart is a frequent and influential counselor to the industry.

Andrew K. Alper is a recognized influential attorney representing equipment lessors, funding sources, and other financial institutions since 1979. He is a longtime contributor to the Legal Column for the Monitor magazine. He has been a director of Western Association of Equipment Lessors and United Association of Equipment Lessors, now the National Equipment Finance Association, as well as being active with the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, including serving as instructor for its Principles of Leasing class. He has presented seminars on Equipment Leasing for the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Mr. Alper also sits on the Los Angeles County Bar Commercial Law Committee.

Thomas V. Askounis is in the news frequently, handling many major leasing and finance cases. He is very active with the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, currently serving as a member of the Board of Directors and the Service Providers Business Council. He also served on the Board of Directors of the now National Equipment Finance Association. He previously served as President of the Hellenic Bar Association and is currently a member of the Leasing Subcommittee of the American Bar Association. He has 40 years’ experience in many top leasing and finance cases.

Julie Babcock has been practicing law in the leasing industry since 1993. Julie joined the Key Equipment Finance law group in 2002 and is currently legal counsel for the Specialty Finance, Vendor, and Syndications groups. For a brief period, Julie left Key Equipment Finance to provide legal counsel for KeyBank’s Commercial Lending Group, supporting commercial real estate, real estate construction, commercial loan servicing, healthcare, Native American lending, asset- based lending, letters of credit, SBA, multi-family, and middle market lending.

Prior to joining Key, Julie was the head of the Legal Department at Republic Financial Corporation, Assistant General Counsel at MetLife Capital Corporation, an associate with the law firm of Bogle & Gates, and an Independent Petroleum Landman. She has been a frequent speaker at the Legal Forum of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association. She received the Award for the Article Making the Greatest Contribution to the Leasing Industry for her article, “Buyer Beware: Key Issues Related to Acquisitions,” Journal of Equipment Lease Financing, Vol. 13/No. 1, Spring, 1995.

A Colorado native and avid Colorado Buffaloes fan, she earned her Bachelor of Science degree (with distinction) and her Juris Doctor degree (Order of the Coif) from the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado. She lives in Windsor, Colorado with her husband and three dogs.

Joe Bonanno, CLFP, and Barry Marks should be credited with the great help they gave in the formation and beginning of the National Association of Equipment Brokers. His position as Legal Counsel with the NAELB for 20 years ended in February 2017. (1)  In 1998, Barry left from alternating as the Legal Counsel for the association. Joe has not only contributed much here but to members and non-members with legal questions and dilemmas.  He brought the progress of education, ethics, and goodwill to the industry, including serving on the CLFP Foundation board for many years and having been a consultant to The World Bank for leasing education in other countries. A major influence in the leasing industry, never too busy for anyone and always available to answer questions, seemingly day and night. Extremely well respected by the leasing broker community as well as funders.

1.  Attorney Joe Bonanno "Discharged" by NAELB Board at Tumultuous Wednesday Meeting
   http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2017/02_27.htm#naelb
   (Note: Requested to add news story by Mr. Bonnano. Editor)

Bill Carey served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for USXL since it was founded in March 2004, and he continued in that position at Tygris Vendor Finance, now EverBank Commercial Finance. He has over 15 years of experience in the commercial finance industry, serving in leadership positions as an attorney with CIT, Newcourt Commercial Finance and AT&T Capital, and handling transactions in vendor leasing, commercial lending, fractional aircraft finance and venture leasing, M&A and other corporate finance matters. For a three-year period, Bill was the executive vice president and general counsel of a London-based technology publisher.

He also received two additional nominations:

"Bill Carey is the most effective leasing lawyer I have ever worked with—and I have worked with many! Bill is the perfect example of a legal business partner, akin to an HR business partner, or a Finance business partner. He provides timely, organized, and meaningful legal guidance to senior management regarding overall business matters, and to the sales teams regarding individual transactions and/or vendor program legal issues and opportunities."

"I worked with Bill for over 5 years while at *** and found him to be one of the best in the business for many reasons. In sales-driven organizations, in-house counsel often have to maintain a fine balance, managing risk by providing good sound legal advice while not being so conservative that they become an obstacle to the company achieving its mission. Bill always excelled at that; he understands the business. He was reasonable and creative in his approach to resolving problems, very accessible, responsive and balanced. He was always a gentleman in his dealings with customers and vendors, diplomatic and poised regardless of the situation.  In addition, Bill was a great coach to his Legal Dept. as well as to his internal “clients,” always making time for a teaching moment. Bill is well known in the industry. He has served as a past Chair of the ELFA Legal Committee and I’m certain he left his positive mark there as well."

Richard M. Contino is an internationally-recognized equipment leasing expert, with an extensive legal, business, marketing, tax, transaction structuring, financial and management background.  He is an advisor on all types of start-up and on-going equipment leasing business activities for lessors, lease lenders and syndicators, equipment vendors, lease investors and corporate lessees.  He is former General Counsel of De Lage Landen, Wayne, Pennsylvania, a subsidiary of The Rabobank Group, and the 14th largest equipment lessor in the U.S. Mr. Contino is the author of eight books on business, negotiating, and equipment leasing. He has conducted private on-site and publicly-held business success, communication, finance, and negotiation seminars throughout the United States for professional organizations (e.g., American Management Association, Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education, National Seminars Group, Practicing Law Institute, and University of California Graduate School of Law) as well as corporations (e.g., AT&T, EXXON Corporation, NYNEX, and Texas Instruments Corporation). He is a retired JAG Captain, US Air Force.

James Coston, CLFP, active in several leasing associations, was the first attorney
serving as President (2004) of the United Association of Equipment Leasing, now National Equipment Finance Association. Counsel for leading financial institutions and other lenders and lessors for litigation and management of regional and national contracts and accounts. Active in major cases. Also an entrepreneur and active in railroad transportation; politically active.

Jonathan Fleisher is a Toronto, Canada attorney whose practice
focuses on the commercial finance industry with a particular emphasis on innovative cross-border transactions and equipment and asset finance, where he has been recognized as a leading lawyer by the Canadian Legal Expert Directory and Best Lawyers. He has particular expertise assisting public and private US commercial finance companies with both establishing operations in Canada and purchasing and selling finance and lease companies, providing both legal and practical business advice.  He is also a prolific writer on topics related to equipment finance and cross-border transactions. Jonathan is the legal editor for Fleet Digest magazine and has completed both the Equipment Finance and Subordinated Debt chapters for Canadian Forms & Precedents. He has also drafted specific guides for US lenders expanding operations to Canada. He is a Director of the Canadian Finance and Leasing Association, Member of the Legal Committee of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, member of the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers.

Marshall Goldberg has been an active member and leader for many years in financial institution associations, including the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association ("ELFA"), and the National Vehicle Leasing Association ("NVLA"). For ELFA, Marshall has served on the Legal Committee, the Credit and Collections Management Committee and as a member of the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Equipment Lease Financing. He is currently the Chairman of the Professional Development, Education and Information Sub-Committee for the ELFA Legal Committee. He is responsible for developing, organizing, managing and editing the Legal Website, which includes an online compendium of legal issues pertaining to the 50 States, "What's New in the Law," and the "Catalogue of Legal Information." He developed and now chairs and monitors the Legal Listserve, an daily online forum for attorneys to discuss pertinent legal issues. He is also the sole 2009 recipient of the annual "Excellence in Leasing Award," presented on behalf of ELFA and its Legal Committee.

Marshall is co-author and co-editor of the “Executive Guide to Remedies,” and the “Executive Guide to Lease Documentation.” He also speaks and instructs extensively within the legal and business communities. He has given numerous educational and strategic seminars throughout the United States on subjects including Loan and Lease Enforcement, and he provides annual legal update presentations for financial association lawyers, including written summaries of current case and statutory law.

Kenneth Charles Greene, Esq., was very active in the beginning years of the Western Association of Equipment Lessors (now the National Equipment Finance Association) as well as the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers. Well known from attending many of the early conferences of several associations. Key attorney in the early years for Leasing News: from potential lawsuits regarding Bulletin Board Complaints, lawsuits, "bully" letters, 1st amendment issues, competitive practice, Mr. Greene has protected Leasing News without a financial charge or complaint. Also, one time active in attorney speaker programs as well as author of a monthly law bulletin. In 2017, he took over as Legal Counsel on a part-time basis for the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers. An active professional musician as well as service the music industry in Los Angeles today.

Michael A. Leichtling, is an attorney on corporate and financial matters, including complex mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, venture capital and private financing transaction, specializing in leasing. counseling lessors, banks, funds, investors, and other funding sources. Member of several leasing associations, including serving on the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association Executive Committee, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation. Co-author with the late Jeff Wong, now retired Barry A. Dubin, as editor of the Commercial Finance Guide, now updated and published by Matthew Bender. Member, Board of Editors, Equipment Leasing Newsletter (Law Journal Publications). Author and well-known speaker. Recipient of the 2007 ELFA Award for “Excellence in Leasing."

Malcolm C. Lindquist concentrates his practice on commercial finance, equipment leasing, mergers, acquisitions and the Uniform Commercial Code. His practice includes the documentation of complex loan transactions, lease transactions and sales of portfolios of leases and loans. Malcolm also has extensive experience representing lenders in loan enforcement actions, bankruptcy proceedings, receiverships and out of court workouts. He is a noted speaker and an author, and he was named as one of The Best Lawyers, Banking and Finance (2012-2015).  Member of several bar associations: elected Member, American Law Institute, Board of Regents (2006-2010; 2012-2016) for the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers; Former Chair, Secured Lending Subcommittee, Commercial Finance Service Committee of the American Bar Association; Equipment Leasing Subcommittee of UCC Committee, Executive Board (2009-Present), Association of Commercial Finance.  He has served on the legal committee of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association and he remains active in his community.

Barry Marks, Esq., CLFP, was the original attorney for National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers and a very forward thinking, bright attorney and practical businessman. He helped the organization grow and recommended Joe Bonanno, CFLP, to take his position when he retired to become an ex-officio board member. Barry was winner of the Bill Granieri award for leasing education. Always available to answer leasing and finance questions at no charge and to brainstorm problems and solutions, he is a published author and co-author of books on leasing. He also produces a well-read monthly newsletter (available through www.leaselawyer.com ). He is also known for his three poetry books and many published poems and stories. Barry was named Alabama Poet of the Year in 1999 and was a runner up for the prestigious Eric Hoffer Award for books published by small presses. He is the Leasing News Legal Editor.

David G. Mayer, Perhaps best known as the author of "Business Leasing for Dummies" (September, 2001) as well as an online newsletter "Business Leasing and Finance News" (2002-2012) which had 6,000 subscribers in 33 countries. He has written other articles, primarily on business aviation, aircraft leasing and finance, for which he is known, especially involving international and cross-border transactions.  He started this specialty, rising to Senior Counsel, GATX Corp, then going as corporate counsel, primarily in transportation equipment, including aircraft, vessels, truck and trailers, including project financing and operation. He is active in the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, as well as has been a contributing author to the Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation surveys. He is an Eagle Scout.

Alan J. Mogol, Over the last 40+ years, created a large volume of the middle market lease documentation currently used by the majority of the larger bank and finance companies in the industry, including standard forms of lease documentation for syndication, assignment, notice of assignment, participation and motor vehicle titling trust documents. Much of what Mogol has created is considered de facto industry standard in the bank middle market space. He is a frequent lecturer and author in the equipment financing area.

Frank Peretore has written many articles on leasing for the news media as a recognized expert on commercial lenders and lessors, including two books, "Workouts and Enforcement for the Secured Creditor and Equipment Lessor" and "Secured Transactions for the Practitioner: How to Properly Perfect Your Personal Property Lien and Assure Priority." He is currently the Secretary of the National Equipment Finance Association, serving on the board since 2009, as well as serving on many legal committees. He was also on the Board of Directors, Eastern Association of Equipment Lessors, and served on legal committees for the Equipment Leasing & Finance Association. He brings his law experience to his writing and leasing association meetings and conferences. He is highly respected by his colleagues for his dedication to the finance and leasing industry as well as to law.

 

John G. Sinodis' practice emphasizes the representation of equipment lessors and funding sources in all aspects of equipment leasing including litigation, documentation, insolvency, and transactional matters. Besides representing equipment lessors and funding sources, Mr. Sinodis represents financial institutions and asset-based lenders in the areas of commercial litigation, secured transactions, asset recovery, loan restructure and business litigation. Mr. Sinodis is an active member of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) and the National Equipment Finance Association (NEFA). Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Sinodis served as the president of General Leasing Co. and is presently a member of its board of directors.

 

"In just three days, Mark Stout helped me to locate, obtain and return a stolen truck to one of my lessees after the truck had been driven across the state of Texas by utilizing his expertise and relationships 6 counties away. This could have been a disaster for my lessee. I called Stout who called whoever it was he called and the truck was returned. Easy – and that’s what I like."

Mr. Stout represents in excess of thirty financial institutions and leasing companies.

Within the last four years, Mr. Stout has represented commercial lenders in excess of 150 state court proceedings. Mr. Stout handles an extensive trial docket that generally entails at least three court appearances each week in various courts in Texas. In conjunction with his state court proceedings, Mr. Stout frequently utilizes sequestration/replevin proceedings to quickly recover his client’s collateral. Mr. Stout has filed approximately 200 sequestration/replevin actions in Texas. Mr. Stout represents in excess of thirty financial institutions and leasing companies. Within the last four years, Mr. Stout has represented commercial lenders in excess of 150 state court proceedings. Mr. Stout handles an extensive trial docket that generally entails at least three court appearances each week in various courts in Texas. In conjunction with his state court proceedings, Mr. Stout frequently utilizes sequestration/replevin proceedings to quickly recover his client’s collateral. Mr. Stout has filed approximately 200 sequestration/replevin actions in Texas.

Kevin Trabaris has extensive experience representing banks, financial companies, equipment lessors, insurers, and other funding and intermediary entities and borrowers in connection with thousands of business financing matters.  He has handled everything from small ticket transactions to billion dollar syndicated loans, real estate financing to asset-based facilities. He is an active member of the Commercial Finance Association, LinkedIn Capital Equipment Leasing Group and Equipment Leasing Professionals Group. He has an excellent reputation among his colleagues.

Allan Umans is in charge of documentation and legal affairs at Pacific Rim Capital, reportedly the nation's largest independent lessor of material handling equipment. In his field, he has an excellent reputation. He previously served as General Counsel and Secretary of Relational Technology Services, Inc. and Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of El Camino Resources, Ltd., both independent technology leasing companies. Mr. Umans has a JD degree from Southwestern University Law School and a BA degree in Economics, with honors, from the University of Manitoba.

Mark Wada, founding shareholder of the Portland, Oregon law firm Farleigh Wada Witt, has been listed in Oregon Super Lawyers for the tenth consecutive year in the specialty area of banking and finance. And for the seventh consecutive year, Mark was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for banking and finance law. Mark has expertise in representing banks, commercial lenders, equipment lessors, private equity funds, lenders in commercial loans and leases to high tech companies, including intellectual property security agreements and warrant terms and other financial service providers; numerous commercial lenders and lessors in workouts, collateral liquidations, collection matters and sales of individual loans and portfolios. In 2010, he was appointed to serve a three-year term on the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association Legal Committee. He is past-president of the Oregon Law Foundation and Campaign for Equal Justice and has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Oregon State Bar Debtor-Creditor Section, the Board of Directors of the Multnomah Bar Association, as well as its treasurer, representative to the American Bar Association House of Delegates, and the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Oregon and Southwest Washington.

Irwin Wittlin is well-known in the leasing industry as he was past member of the Board of Directors of the United Association of Equipment Leasing (UAEL) at time of merger and formation of National Equipment Finance Association (NEFA). He is a past chairman of the legal committee and has spoken on a variety of legal issues at recent conventions, including the topics of, "Effective Lease Collections," “Working With Outside Counsel," "Fraud Prevention," "Maintaining Your Business Credit Line," and “Selected Issues in NorVergence." He is an instructor for the Certified Lease Program Foundation ("CLP") on the subjects of lease law, lease documentation, and collections. Mr. Wittlin is a frequent speaker on various legal and collection related topics for various professional organizations, with an emphasis on leasing, business litigation and collections.

News Briefs---

Chip shortage shuts GM's Wentzville plant
    for two weeks
https://www.stltoday.com/business/local/chip-shortage-shuts-gms-wentzville-plant-for-two-weeks/article_b3e7ac0c-ae84-512a-a275-62f19a1bd21d.html

'Beached whale' ship could block Suez Canal
    for weeks
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-egypt-suezcanal-ship/beached-whale-ship-could-block-suez-canal-for-weeks-idUSKBN2BH0BA

Dyson's latest cordless vacuum
    is a clean freak's dream come true
https://www.cnet.com/home/kitchen-and-household/dysons-latest-cordless-vacuum-is-a-clean-freaks-dream-come-true/

USC to pay $1.1 billion to settle decades
    of sex abuse claims against gynecologist
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-03-25/usc-payout-gynecologist-sex-abuse-claims-to-top-1-billion

The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday announced that the temporary and additional restrictions on bank holding company dividends and share repurchases currently in place will end for most firms after June 30
https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20210325a.htm

 

 

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

You May Have Missed---

New York Reaches a Deal to Legalize Recreational Marijuana
    paves the way for a potential $4.2 billion industry
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/25/nyregion/ny-legalize-marijuana.html

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

Sports Briefs---

How Dallas Cowboys legend Michael Irvin inspired
    Jerry Jones’ confidence in Dak Prescott’s rehab
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/cowboys/2021/03/25/cowboys-michael-irvin-jerry-jones-confidence-dak-prescotts-rehab/6993672002/

Veteran quarterback Joe Flacco signing with Philadelphia Eagles

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/eagles/2021/03/23/eagles-sign-joe-flacco-jalen-hurts-backup/6974363002/

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

California Nuts Briefs---

California says everyone 16 and older will be eligible
    for COVID vaccination starting April 15
https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/article/California-expands-coronavirus-vaccination-16053154.php

COVID: Bay Area counties agree to vaccine distribution plan
   with state after concerns over Blue Shield Plan
https://abc7news.com/health/bay-area-counties-reach-vaccine-distribution-deal-with-ca/10445578/

EDD Unemployment Mess: 800,000 California
    Workers Face Payment Delays More than a Month
https://www.marinij.com/2021/03/24/edd-800000-california-workers-payment-delay-covid-job-unemployment/

Elon Musk, six California billionaires    
   on list of top 'Pandemic Profiteers'
https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/article/Elon-Musk-six-California-billionaires-on-list-of-16051117.php

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

“Gimme that Wine”

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

La Crema Announces National Launch
    of Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc
https://www.winebusiness.com/newreleases/?go=getArticle&dataId=243247

Thanks to COVID, this delicious, Austrian-style
     white wine is way underpriced at $15
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wineoftheweek/article/Thanks-to-COVID-this-delicious-Austrian-style-16048020.php

Free Wine App
https://www.nataliemaclean.com/mobileapp/

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

This Day in History

     1602 - The name "Cape Cod," as it was first used in 1602, applied only to the very tip of the peninsula. It remained that way for 125 years until the "Precinct of Cape Cod" was incorporated as the Town of Provincetown. No longer in official use over the ensuing decades, the name came to mean all of the land east of the Manomet and Scusset rivers – essentially along the line that became the Cape Cod Canal, completed in 1914.
http://www.capeone.com/history/
http://capecodhistory.us/
    1701 - The English Board of Trade advises the king to create royal colonies of all of the American charter colonies. 
    1790 - The original United States Naturalization Law of March 26, 1790 (1 Stat 103) provided the first rules to be followed by the United States in the granting of national citizenship. This law limited naturalization to immigrants who were free white persons of good character. It thus excluded Native Americans, indentured servants, slaves, free blacks and later Asians although free blacks were allowed citizenship at the state level in certain states. It also provided for citizenship for the children of U.S. citizens born abroad, stating that such children "shall be considered as natural born citizens," the only US statute ever to use the term. It specified that the right of citizenship did "not descend to persons whose fathers have never been resident in the United States."
    1804 - Indian Removal Act of 1804:  At the time of the Louisiana Purchase, President Thomas Jefferson believed that American Indians could be moved from the East to lands in the new territory. This would free up lands in demand by white settlers. The plan was voluntary and was considered a failure—some tribes participated, others refused. The plan also did not account for the fact that other tribes with nomadic lifestyles already occupied this land. Twenty years later, President Andrew Jackson decided to push for the Indian Removal Act. Passed in 1830, the act allowed the U.S. government to move Indian tribes in the East to lands west of the Mississippi.  American leaders in the Revolutionary and Early National era debated whether the American Indians should be treated officially as individuals or as nations in their own right.[ In a draft, "Proposed Articles of Confederation", presented to the Continental Congress on May 10, 1775, Benjamin Franklin called for a "perpetual Alliance" with the Indians for the nation about to take birth, especially with the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy.  In 1785, Thomas Jefferson defended American Indian culture and marveled at how the tribes of Virginia "never submitted themselves to any laws, any coercive power, any shadow of government" due to their "moral sense of right and wrong."  He would later write to the Marquis de Chastellux in 1785, "I believe the Indian then to be in body and mind equal to the whiteman."  President George Washington, in his address to the Seneca Nation in 1790, described the pre-Constitutional Indian land sale difficulties as "evils," asserted that the case was now entirely altered, and publicly pledged to uphold their "just rights."  In March and April of 1792, Washington met with 50 tribal chiefs in Philadelphia—including the Iroquois—to discuss closer friendship between them and the United States.  Later that same year, in his Fourth Annual Message to Congress, Washington stressed the need for building peace, trust, and commerce with America's Indian neighbors.  But as the newly-forming nation was emerging from the War for Independence, increasingly the conflicts with aboriginal tribes were measured amid escalating concerns for the nation’s security and managing the tribes within the boundaries included assuring they would not align with the adversaries…the War of 1812 was not far off.  Thus, the first step in the ‘management’ of Indians began in 1804, then more forcefully in 1830, continuing throughout the 19th century.
    1847 - Capt. John L. Folsom arrived as quartermaster of Stevenson's regiment in San Francisco. Folsom St. was later named for him. 
    1858 - Jane Arminda Delano (d. 1919), dedicated American nurse and teacher, superintendent of the US Army Nurse Corps, chairman of the American Red Cross Nursing Service and recipient (posthumously) of the Distinguished Service Medal of the US, was born near Townsend, NY. While on an official visit to review Red Cross activities, she died Apr 15, 1919, in an army hospital at Savenay, France. Her last words: "What about my work? I must get back to my work." Buried at Loire, France, her remains were reinterred at Arlington Cemetery in 1920.
    1859 - Birthday of poet A.E. Houseman (d. 1936), Bromsgrove, England.  English classical scholar and poet, best known to the general public for his cycle of poems “A Shropshire Lad.” The poems wistfully evoke the dooms and disappointments of youth in the English countryside.  Their beauty, simplicity and distinctive imagery appealed strongly to late Victorian and Edwardian taste, and to many early 20th-century English composers both before and after World War I. 
    1872 - Thomas J. Martin awarded patent for the “modern” fire extinguisher. The fire extinguisher was patented by Alanson Crane in 1863. In the 1850’s, baking soda and chemicals were used. It was not uncommon in textile mills to have pipes with many holes in the ceiling to spurt
water in case of a fire. Dr. Percy Julian, another prominent African-American, invented the aero-foam extinguisher (for use against gas and oil fires) during World War II.
    1874 – Poet-laureate Robert Frost (d. 1963) was born at San Francisco, CA.  He tried his hand at farming, teaching, shoemaking and editing before winning acclaim as a poet. Four-time Pulitzer Prize winner, in 1960, Frost was awarded a United States Congressional Medal of Honor, "In recognition of his poetry, which has enriched the culture of the United States and the philosophy of the world," which was finally bestowed by President Kennedy in March 1962.
http://www.ketzle.com/frost/
http://www.robertfrost.org/body.html
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favour fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
"I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. "
~ Robert Frost, from 'The Road Not Taken', (1916)
    1874 - Publisher Conde Nast (d. 1942) was born New York City.  He set the world of fashion alive and built a publishing empire. 
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/mar26.html
http://www.condenast.com/
    1878 – The Hastings College of Law was founded in San Francisco with a $100,000 endowment from California Supreme Court Justice Serranus Clinton Hastings.  He imposed two conditions: the school must remain in San Francisco near the courts and it could not be governed by the Regents of the University of California. It was the first law school of the University of California and was one of the first law schools established in the western US.  It is also one of the few university-affiliated law schools in the United States that does not share its campus with undergraduates or other graduate programs.
    1882 - Young Oscar Wilde arrives by train in San Francisco. He had been the center of a maelstrom of scandalous incidents and publicity from the moment of his arrival. There was a sudden exaggerated vogue of sunflowers, lilies, and Japanese parasols–all of which were said to evoke Wilde's enthusiasm. Newspaper reporters outdid themselves in ridiculing the twenty-eight-year-old "lecturer;" cartoonists pounced upon him with a fervor less brutal than gleeful; women draped themselves about the new "lion;" and the few men who found something sensible and telling in Wilde's advice and pronouncements on art and decoration were unheard for the most part in the paen of masculine denunciation. The costume adopted by young Wilde, which included short breeches, long silk stockings, and a shoulder-length haircut, was hailed with horror and amazed contempt by young dandies educated to long tight trousers, high stiff collars, and full mustaches.
    1885 - Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company of Rochester, NY, began manufacturing movie film. The company was also the first to produce, manufacture, and market films in continuous strips on reels, thus making motion picture films possible.
    1892 - Walt Whitman passes on in Camden, NJ.
Here is Allen Ginsberg’s “A Supermarket in California” tribute to Walt Whitman:
http://www.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/supermarket.html
    1911 - Tennessee Williams (d. 1983) was born at Columbus, MS. He was one of America's most prolific playwrights, producing such works as “The Glass Menagerie,” “A Streetcar Named Desire,” which won a Pulitzer Prize; “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” which won a second Pulitzer; “Night of the Iguana,” “Summer and Smoke,” “The Rose Tattoo” and “Sweet Bird of Youth,” among others.
    1913 - The Miami river in Ohio reached a record flood crest after 10 inches of rain deluged a wide area of the Ohio River Basin. Severe flooding killed 467 people drown and total damage was $147 million. This flood was the second most deadly of record for the nation.
    1916 - Birdman of Alcatraz receives solitary for giving a guard the bird.
http://www.alcatrazhistory.com/stroud.htm
    1920 - F. Scott Fitzgerald's first book, “This Side of Paradise” published; it sells 20,000 copies in a week. At 23, he is the youngest novelist ever published by Scribner's.
http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/chronology.html    
    1923 - Bob Elliot (d. 2016) born, Winchester, MA.  One of the great radio personalities, especially in broadcast journalism.  On radio, he appeared in programs with his long-time partner Ray Goulding. These were in different series and time slots over decades, beginning in the late 1940s at Boston's WHDH radio when the two were first paired for “Matinee with Bob and Ray.”  Bob and Ray worked together up until Goulding’s death in 1990.  David Letterman:  "The funniest people in this country, these guys are also two of the keenest observers of the American scene and the finest interviewers in the business.”
http://www.bobandray.com/
    1930 - American poet and leading member of the Beats, Gregory Corso (d. 2001), was born in New York City. Convicted of theft at 17, he discovers literature in prison.  He later meets Allen Ginsberg and published his first book, “The Vestal Lady on Brattle” in 1955. 
http://www.charm.net/~brooklyn/People/GregoryCorso.html
conditions in Russia. 
    1930 - Sandra Day O'Connor birthday, El Paso, TX.  The first woman to be appointed an associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court was an Arizona lawyer and judge. She served in the state Senate from 1969 until 1974, becoming majority leader - the first woman to hold such a position. She was elected an Arizona Superior Court judge in 1974 and was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals in 1979.  President Ronald Reagan, under great pressure from women's groups as well as his own party, appointed O'Connor and she was sworn in on September 25, 1981. Expected to be a strict Republican right-winger and seen as the deciding anti-choice vote, she amazed everyone by being the deciding vote to uphold a woman's right to choose and confirm that an embryo or fetus is not a child.
    1930 - 19.2 inches of snow fell at Chicago, Illinois in 2 days. This is greatest modern snowfall on the record books at Chicago.
    1931 - Dr. Spock of “Star Trek” and noted actor/writer Leonard Nimoy (d. 2015) born Boston, MA.
    1931 – Guitarist, folk singer Jerry Silverman was born in The Bronx.
http://music.netstoreusa.com/003/HL00312144.shtml
    1937 - The first monument to a comic-strip character was the Popeye statue in Popeye Park, Crystal, Texas, unveiled during the Second Annual Spinach Festival. It was six feet tall, made of concrete, and colored to represent Elzie Crisler Segar's cartoon character, "Popeye." There is another Popeye statue in Segar's hometown, Chester, IL, and statues in Springdale and Alma, AR (which claims to be "The Spinach Capital of the World").        
    1937 - President Roosevelt appointed William H. Hastie to the US District Court for the Virgin Islands, making Hastie the first African-American Federal judge.
http://www.tnstate.edu/library/digital/hastie.htm
    1937 - Joe DiMaggio said he’d take Ty Cobb’s advice and use a 36 or 37-ounce baseball bat instead of a 40-ounce stick during that season. The result? ‘Joltin’ Joe’ hit .346 during the season with 46 home runs -- the most he ever hit in a single year. In the words of Yankee broadcaster Mel Allen, “How about that!” During his 13-year career with the Yankees, DiMaggio connected for 2,214 hits, 361 homers, batted a .325 average, played in 1,736 total games and came to the plate to bat 6,821 times. 
    1941 - Jimmie Lunceford and his orchestra recorded the tune, "Battle Axe," for Decca Records. Lunceford began with the Chickasaw Syncopaters, a 10-piece band, in the late 1920s.
    1943 - Battle of Komandorski Islands prevents Japanese reinforcements from reaching Attu. An American squadron of 2 cruisers and 4 destroyers (under the command of Admiral McMorris) meets a Japanese squadron of 4 cruisers and 5 destroyers (under the command of Admiral Hosogaya) off the Komandorski Islands. A traditional gun engagement begins and a cruiser on each side is badly damaged. Hosogaya decides to break off at this point although he has a clear superiority which is beginning to tell. 
    1943 - Birthday of journalist Bob Woodward, Geneva, IL.  Co-wrote “All the President’s Men” with Carl Bernstein which became an acclaimed movie starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman.  He has worked for The Washington Post since 1971 as a reporter and is now an associate editor there.  While a young reporter for The Post in 1972, Woodward was teamed up with Bernstein and did much of the original news reporting on the Watergate scandal. These scandals led to numerous government investigations and the eventual resignation of President Richard Nixon. The work of Woodward and Bernstein was called "maybe the single greatest reporting effort of all time" by longtime journalism figure Gene Roberts.
    1944 - Singer Diana Ross was born, Detroit, MI.  She came to prominence in the 1960's as lead singer of the Supremes, Motown Records' most popular act. Ross left the group in 1969 and the following year, had a hit with her first solo single, "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)." Her next release, a remake of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's hit, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," shot to the top of both the pop and rhythm and blues charts. Ross's other number-one hits during the 1970's included "Last Time I Saw Him," "Do You Know Where You're Going To?" and "Love Hangover." In 1981, Diana Ross duet with Lionel Richie on the number-one theme from the film "Endless Love." It was the year's most popular song, selling more than two-million copies. Ross has also ventured into acting, with a Golden Globe Award and Academy Award-nominated performance for her performance in the film “Lady Sings the Blues” (1972). She also starred in two other films, “Mahogany” (1975) and “The Wiz” (1978), later acting in the television films “Out of Darkness” (1994), for which she also was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and “Double Platinum” (1999). Ross was named the "Female Entertainer of the Century" by Billboard magazine. In 1993, the Guinness Book of World Records declared Ross the most successful female music artist in history, due to her success in the United States and United Kingdom for having more hits than any female artist in the charts, with a career total of 70 hit singles with her work with the Supremes and as a solo artist. Ross has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, when her releases with the Supremes and as a solo artist are tallied. In 1988, Ross was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as member of the Supremes, alongside Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard. She was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. She is a 12-time Grammy nominee, never earning a competitive honor, but later became the recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. In December, 2016, Billboard magazine named her the 50th most successful artist of all time.  http://utopia.knoware.nl/users/ross/
    1945 - MARTIN, HARRY LINN, Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Born: 4 January 1911, Bucyrus, Ohio. Appointed from. Ohio. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as platoon leader attached to Company C, 5th Pioneer Battalion, 5th Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 26 March 1945. With his sector of the 5th Pioneer Battalion bivouac area penetrated by a concentrated enemy attack launched a few minutes before dawn, 1st Lt. Martin instantly organized a firing line with the marines nearest his foxhole and succeeded in checking momentarily the headlong rush of the Japanese. Determined to rescue several of his men trapped in positions overrun by the enemy, he defied intense hostile fire to work his way through the Japanese to the surrounded marines. Although sustaining 2 severe wounds, he blasted the Japanese who attempted to intercept him, located his beleaguered men and directed them to their own lines. When 4 of the infiltrating enemy took possession of an abandoned machinegun pit and subjected his sector to a barrage of hand grenades, 1st Lt. Martin, alone and armed only with a pistol, boldly charged the hostile position and killed all of its occupants. Realizing that his few remaining comrades could not repulse another organized attack, he called to his men to follow and then charged into the midst of the strong enemy force, firing his weapon and scattering them until he fell, mortally wounded by a grenade. By his outstanding valor, indomitable fighting spirit and tenacious determination in the face of overwhelming odds, 1st Lt. Martin permanently disrupted a coordinated Japanese attack and prevented a greater loss of life in his own and adjacent platoons. His inspiring leadership and unswerving devotion to duty reflect the highest credit upon himself and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.
    1945 - During World War II, the last few hundred Japanese defenders of Iwo Jima are killed in a final suicide attack against the US forces who invaded the strategic island five weeks before. On February 19, 1945, after three days of heavy naval and aerial bombardment, the first wave of US Marines stormed Iwo Jima, a tiny Pacific island located in bomber-range of the Japanese home islands. The Japanese garrison on the island numbered only 22,000 men, but their commander, General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, who had been expecting an Allied invasion for eight months, had used the time to construct an intricate and deadly system of underground tunnels, fortifications, and artillery that withstood the initial Allied bombardment. By the evening of the first day, the 30,000 US Marines commanded by General Holland Smith had managed to establish a beachhead. Over the next few days, the Marines advanced inch by inch under heavy fire from entrenched Japanese artillery and suffered suicidal charges from the Japanese infantry. While the Japanese kamikaze flyers slammed into the Allied naval fleet around Iwo Jima, the Marines on the island continued their bloody northern advance across the island, responding to Kuribayashi’s lethal defenses with remarkable endurance. 
On February 23, 1945, the Twenty-Eighth Marine Division took the crest of Mount Suribachi, the island’s only peak and most strategic position. The image of the soldiers raising the American flag on this peak, taken by photographer Joseph Rosenthal, is one of the most famous photographs of World War II. By March 3, US forces controlled all three airfields on the island, and, by March 26, the last Japanese defenders on Iwo Jima had been wiped out. Six thousand Americans died taking Iwo Jima and 17,200 were wounded. Almost all of the 22,000 Japanese defenders perished.
    1945 - US naval forces (TF58 and TF52) continue air strikes on Okinawa. US Task Force 54 (Admiral Deyo), with 10 battleships, 10 cruisers and 33 destroyers, begin the main bombardment of Okinawa. The US 77th Infantry Division (General Bruce) lands on Kerama Retto and overruns the small Japanese garrison. The British Pacific Fleet (Admiral Rawlings) also designated Task Force 57, with 4 fleet carriers, 2 battleships, 5 cruisers and 11 destroyers, attacks airfields and other targets on Sakashima Gunto. Japanese submarines make unsuccessful attacks on the Allied ships. Coast Guardsmen participated in the landings at Geruma Shima, Hokaji Shima, and Takashiki in the Ryukyu Islands. 
    1945 - Generals Eisenhower, Bradley, and Patton attack at Remagen on the Rhine.
    1945 - The US 7th Army begins to send units of US 15th and US 6th Corps across the Rhine River between Worms and Mannheim. To the north all the Allied armies continue to advance.
    1948 - Aerosmith's Steven Tyler was born Steven Tallarico in New York City.
    1949 - Top Hits
“Cruising Down the River” - The Blue Barron Orchestra (vocal: ensemble)
“Far Away Places” - Margaret Whiting
“Powder Your Face with Sunshine” - Evelyn Knight
“Tennessee Saturday Night” - Red Foley
    1950 - Birthday of Comedian and perform Martin Short, Hamilton, ON, Canada.  If you get a chance to see his one man show, it is hilarious.
    1950 - Singer Teddy Pendergrass (d. 2010) is born in Philadelphia. An auto accident in 1982 leaves him partially paralyzed. He tops the R&B chart with the songs “Joy'' and “Close the Door.''
    1951 - The U.S. Air Force flag was approved. The flag included the coat of arms, 13 white stars and the Air Force seal on a blue background. 
    1951 - During a spring exhibition game against the University of Southern California at Bovard Field, rookie outfielder Mickey Mantle hits a home run which is estimated to travel 650 feet. The performance, which includes a single, triple and another homer, is one of the highlights of the Yankees' first ever west coast trip.  Longtime USC coach Rod Dedeaux was a teammate of Yanks manager Casey Stengel who brought the Yanks to southern California as a favor.
    1953 - Dr. Jonas Salk announced a new vaccine to prevent poliomyelitis.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/bmsalk.html
    1953 - Eisenhower offers increased aid to the French fighting in Indochina.
    1954 - The temperature at Allaket, AK plunged to 69 degrees below zero.
    1954 - The U.S. set off the second H-bomb blast in four weeks in the Marshall Islands at Bikini Island. The 15-megaton device was 750 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The blast contaminated the neighboring island of Rongelap and nearly 100 people on the island and other downwind atolls. 
    1955 - Bill Hayes' "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" hits #1
    1956 - Red Buttons made his debut as a television actor in a presentation of "Studio One" on CBS television.
    1956 - After Bob Neal's management contract with Elvis Presley expired on March 15th, Colonel Tom Parker takes over. His position of personal representative and manager will pay him 25 percent of Presley's earnings. 
    1957 - Ricky Nelson records his first tunes for the Verve label, "A Teenager's Romance," which will climb to #2 on the Billboard chart and "I'm Walkin'," which will reach #4. Over his recording career, Ricky, later Rick,  will place 36 songs on the chart.
    1957 - Top Hits
“Young Love” - Tab Hunter
“Little Darlin’” - The Diamonds
“Party Doll” - Buddy Knox
“There You Go” - Johnny Cash
    1957 - Yankee manager Casey Stengel is arrested and is released on $50 bail after he allegedly curses at and kicks a newspaper photographer during an exhibition game in St. Petersburg.
    1958 - The RKO Pantages Theater, Los Angeles, was the scene of 30th Annual Academy Awards celebration. The show was hosted by Rosalind Russell, James Stewart, David Niven, Jack Lemmon, Bob Hope and Donald Duck (on film). There were several memorable films produced in 1957, but two blockbusters shot it out this night, "The Bridge on the River Kwai" and "Sayonara." "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (Sam Spiegel, producer) took Oscars for Best Picture; Best Actor (Alec Guinness); Cinematography (Jack Hildyard); Director (David Lean); Film Editing (Peter Taylor); Scoring (Malcolm Arnold); and writing (Pierre Boulle, Carl Foreman, Michael Wilson). Meanwhile, "Sayonara" (William Goetz, producer) won for Best Supporting Actor (Red Buttons); Supporting Actress (Miyoshi Umeki); Art Direction (Ted Haworth); Set Decoration (Robert Priestley); and Sound Recording (George Groves). And, lest we forget, Joanne Woodward won the Best Actress Oscar for "The Three Faces of Eve." The prize for Best Music/Song went to James Van Heusen (music), Sammy Cahn (lyrics) for "All the Way" (the classic Sinatra song)from "The Joker Is Wild."
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0148736.html
    1958 - Eddie Cochran records his only US Top Ten hit, "Summertime Blues," which will rise to #8 in the US next Fall.
    1960 - The University of Southern California (USC) captured the NCAA swimming title, becoming the first Pacific Coast school to do so. 
    1960 - Birthday of former football player and now TV commentator Marcus Allen, San Diego, CA. Kansas City Chiefs running back; LA Raiders: Super Bowl XVIII; Heisman Trophy Winner [1981]: holds record for number of games rushed for 200 yards+.  He scored 145 TDs, including a then-league-record 123 rushing touchdowns, and was elected to six Pro Bowls over the course of his career. Allen was the first NFL player to gain more than 10,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards during his career.  Allen is considered one of the greatest goal line and short-yard runners in NFL history.  Allen has the distinction of being the only player to have won the Heisman trophy, an NCAA national championship, the Super Bowl, and be named NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP. He has been inducted into both the College Football and the Pro Football Halls of Fame.
    1961 - Gene McDaniels' "One Hundred Pounds of Clay," his first and biggest hit, enters the pop chart. It peaks at #3.
    1961 - Elvis Presley sets a British chart first: Number One with three straight releases: "It's Now or Never," "Are You Lonesome Tonight" and "Wooden Heart."
    1963 – “Funny Girl,” a musical about Ziegfeld Follies star Fanny Brice, opens on Broadway, starring Barbra Streisand. It features the hits "Don't Rain on My Parade" and the song that would become her trademark, "People."  In 1964, she wins a Best Actress Oscar for her role in the film version. (She ties for the award with Katharine Hepburn)
    1964 - Edward Clark set the fastest speed record by an American swimmer. He was timed at 4.89 miles-per-hour at the Yale University pool. 
    1964 - Former Beatles drummer Pete Best appears on US TV “I’ve Got a Secret.” It only took a handful of questions before the panel guessed his former occupation and when host Gary Moore asked him why he left the group, he said "I thought I'd like to start of group of my own and I thought at that time they weren't going to go as big as they are now."
    1965 - Top Hits
“Eight Days a Week” - The Beatles
“Stop! In the Name of Love” - The Supremes
“The Birds and the Bees” - Jewel Akens
“I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tai”l - Buck Owens
    1967 - DICKEY, DOUGLAS E., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, Company C, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade, 3d Marine Division (Rein). Place and dale: Republic of Vietnam, 26 March 1967. Entered service at: Cincinnati, Ohio. Born: 24 December 1946, Greenville, Darke, Ohio. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. While participating in Operation Beacon Hill 1, the 2d Platoon was engaged in a fierce battle with the Viet Cong at close range in dense jungle foliage. Pfc. Dickey had come forward to replace a radio operator who had been wounded in this intense action and was being treated by a medical corpsman. Suddenly an enemy grenade landed in the midst of a group of marines, which included the wounded radio operator who was immobilized. Fully realizing the inevitable result of his actions, Pfc. Dickey, in a final valiant act, quickly and unhesitatingly threw himself upon the deadly grenade, absorbing with his body the full and complete force of the explosion. Pfc. Dickey's personal heroism, extraordinary valor and selfless courage saved a number of his comrades from certain injury and possible death at the cost of his life. His actions reflected great credit upon himself, the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
    1969 - "Marcus Welby," a TV movie, was seen on ABC. Ratings showed the program to be so popular that it was turned into a long-running series starring Robert Young. 
    1969 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono begin their “Bed-in'' at the Amsterdam Hilton.
    1971 - William Conrad starred as "Cannon" on CBS-TV. This also was a one-time TV event that became a popular series that year.
http://timstvshowcase.com/cannon.html
http://www.bellenet.com/conrad.html
    1972 - The Los Angeles Lakers broke a National Basketball Association record by winning 69 of 82 games
    1973 - "The Young and the Restless" premiered on television. Tom Selleck and David Hasselhoff were among the actors who started here. The show expanded to one hour in 1980. Its theme music is now well known as "Nadia's Theme," as it was played during Nadia Comaneci's routine at the 1976 Olympics.
http://www.abelspiano.com/fnadia.htm
    1973 - Top Hits
“Love Train” - O’Jays
“Also Sprach Zarathustra” (2001) - Deodato
“Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)” - Gladys Knight & The Pips
“Teddy Bear Song” - Barbara Fairchild
    1974 - Dionne Warwick and The Spinners record "Then Came You." Although Warwick doesn't have much faith in the song, it will become her first hit in nearly four years when it tops the Billboard chart next October. 
    1974 - The Red Sox release veterans Orlando Cepeda, Luis Aparicio and Bobby Bolin.
    1974 - David Essex's "Rock On" is certified gold.
    1975 - The city of Hue, in northernmost South Vietnam, falls to the North Vietnamese. Hue was the most recent major city in South Vietnam to fall to the communists during their new offensive. The offensive had started in December 1974, when the North Vietnamese had launched a major attack against the lightly defended province of Phuoc Long, located north of Saigon along the Cambodian border. The communists overran the provincial capital of Phuoc Binh on January 6, 1975. President Richard Nixon had repeatedly promised South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu that the United States would come to the aid of South Vietnam if North Vietnam committed a major violation of the Peace Accords. However, by the time the communists had taken Phuoc Long, Nixon had already resigned from office and his successor, Gerald Ford, was unable to convince a hostile Congress to make good on Nixon's promises to Saigon. This situation emboldened the North Vietnamese, who launched a campaign in March 1975 to take the provincial capital of Ban Me Thuot in the Central Highlands. The South Vietnamese defenders there fought very poorly and were overwhelmed by the North Vietnamese attackers. Once again, the United States did nothing. President Thieu ordered his forces in the Highlands to withdraw to more defensible positions to the south. What started out as a reasonably orderly withdrawal degenerated into a panic that spread throughout the South Vietnamese armed forces. They abandoned Pleiku and Kontum in the Highlands with very little fighting and the North Vietnamese pressed the attack from the west and north. In quick succession, Quang Tri and Hue fell. The communists then seized Da Nang, the second largest city in South Vietnam. Many South Vietnamese, both military and civilian, died in the general chaos while attempting to escape from the airport, docks, and beaches. By this time, the South Vietnamese forces were in flight all over the northern half of South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese continued to attack south along the coast, overrunning city after city, methodically defeating the South Vietnamese forces. By April 27, the North Vietnamese had completely encircled Saigon and began to maneuver for their final assault, which became known as the "Ho Chi Minh Campaign." By the morning of April 30, it was all over. As the North Vietnamese tanks broke through the gates of the Presidential Palace in Saigon, the Vietnam War came to an end.
    1975 - "Tommy," the film based on the rock opera by the group, The Who, premiered in London.
    1976 - Riding near the scene of a multi-car pileup in Memphis, Elvis Presley jumps out of his limo, displays his honorary police captain's badge from the city, and attempts to help the victims before police and rescue teams arrive.
    1977 - Daryl Hall and John Oates' "Rich Girl" hits #1
    1977 - After thirteen years in Boston, infielder Rico Petrocelli is released by the Red Sox.
    1979 - Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed the Camp David peace treaty, ending 30 years of war between their two countries. The agreement was fostered by President Jimmy Carter.
    1979 - Michigan State and Indiana State met in the all-time highest-rated basketball telecast. The NBC coverage earned a 24.1 rating. Indiana State’s unprecedented 33 consecutive-win streak came to an end as the Spartans of Michigan State won 76-64. A pair of future NBA Hall of Famers played against each other that night: Larry Bird, later of the Boston Celtics, scored 19 points while Magic Johnson, even later, of the Los Angeles Lakers, scored 24 points.
    1979 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Tragedy,'' Bee Gees. The song is the fifth No. 1 single in a row for the Bee Gees.
    1981 - Top Hits
“Keep on Loving You” - REO Speedwagon
“Woman” - John Lennon
“The Best of Times” - Styx
“Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” - Willie Nelson
    1983 - A heavy snowstorm struck from eastern Nebraska to southwestern Minnesota. A general 10 to 20 inches of snow fell. Lyons, Nebraska recorded 24 inches. The 13.3 inches that fell at Omaha, Nebraska set a new record for the heaviest spring snowfall on record.
    1985 - Radio stations in South Africa banned all of Stevie Wonder's records after he dedicated the Oscar he had won the night before at The Academy Awards to Nelson Mandela. 
    1988 - 20 cities in the southwest reported record high temperatures for the date. Afternoon highs of 73 degrees at Flagstaff, Arizona, 90 degrees at Sacramento, California, 95 at Santa Maria, California, 95 degrees at Los Angeles, California, 99 at Tucson, Arizona, and 100 at Phoenix, Arizona were records for March.
    1988 - Michael Jackson squeezed a fourth US number one single out of his album "Bad" with "Man in the Mirror."
    1989 - The "Easter Bunny" brought record warm temperatures to the central U.S. while such records were still welcome. A dozen cities reported record warm readings, including Dodge City, KS with an afternoon high of 88 degrees. Strong southerly winds gusted to 51 mph at Dodge City, and reached 55 mph at Salina, KS.
    1989 - Top Hits
The Living Years - Mike & The Mechanics
Eternal Flame - Bangles
Girl You Know It’s True - Milli Vanilli
New Fool at an Old Game - Reba McEntire
    1990 - Host Billy Crystal kept us smiling for the 62nd Annual Academy Awards, staged at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) members voted "Driving Miss Daisy" the Best Picture of 1989 (Richard D. Zanuck, Lili Fini Zanuck, producers). The Best Director Oscar was won by Oliver Stone for "Born on the Fourth of July." Best Actor was Daniel Day-Lewis for "My Left Foot" and Best Actress was Jessica Tandy in "Driving Miss Daisy" (the 80-year-old actress was a favorite to win). Oscars for Actor and Actress in a Supporting Role went to Denzel Washington ("Glory") and Brenda Fricker ("My Left Foot"), respectively. Best Music/Song winners were Alan Menken (music), Howard Ashman (lyrics) for "Under the Sea" from "The Little Mermaid". You’re probably still humming this tune from that full-length animated film from Walt Disney Studios. Other popular 1989 films that were honored as nominees or winners include: "Field of Dreams;" "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade;" "Back to the Future Part II;" "Lethal Weapon II;" "Batman;" "Dead Poets Society;" "When Harry Met Sally;" and "Sex, Lies, and Videotape."
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0149769.html
    1992 - A judge in Indianapolis sentenced former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson to six years in prison for raping a Miss Black America contestant.
    1993 - Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., was officially named chairman and chief executive of IBM, effective April 1. Gerstner, former president of American Express and chairman of R.J.R. Nabisco, was the first chairman to come from outside IBM.
    1996 - The 68th Annual Academy Awards show was held at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. Actress/comedienne Whoopi Goldberg was the hostess. The Best Picture (of 1995) was "Braveheart" (Mel Gibson, Alan Ladd Jr., Bruce Davey, producers). Mel Gibson also won the Oscar for Best Director ("Braveheart"). The Best Actor was Nicolas Cage for "Leaving Las Vegas". The Best Actress award went to Susan Sarandon for "Dead Man Walking". Best Supporting Actor was Kevin Spacey for "The Usual Suspects" and Best Supporting Actress was Mira Sorvino for "Mighty Aphrodite". The cartoon "Pocahontas" was a winner in the tunes categories: Best Music/ Original Musical or Comedy Score to Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz and Best Music/Song: Alan Menken (music), Stephen Schwartz (lyrics) for "Colors of the Wind" from the animated film.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0195023.html
    1996 - The International Monetary Fund approved a $10.2 billion loan for Russia to help the country further transform its economy. 
    1996 - A day after CompuServe's WOW service for families started, H&R Block announces its plans to sell off a large stake of CompuServe in a public offering. The IPO in April sold off about 17 percent of the company. Block's plans to rid itself completely of CompuServe, however, would be stymied by the failure of the WOW service and the increasing struggles of proprietary online services to hold onto their membership despite the growing appeal of the World Wide Web. In February 1998, H&R Block sold the company to WorldCom, which then sold most of CompuServe's Internet businesses to America Online.
    1997 - The bodies of 39 members of the Heaven's Gate cult were found in Rancho Santa Fe, California, after killing themselves in a mass suicide; they said they hoped they would join aliens following the Hale Bopp comet.
    1999 - Dr. Jack Kevorkian was convicted of second-degree murder for giving a lethal injection to an ailing man whose death was shown on "60 Minutes."
    2000 – 72nd Annual Academy Awards, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. "American Beauty," captured Best Picture (producers: Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks) at the 72nd Annual Academy Awards presentation, hosted by comedian Billy Crystal. The picture, nominated in eight categories, received four more Oscars: Best Director (Sam Mendes), Best Actor (Kevin Spacey), Best Original Screen Play (Alan Ball), Best Cinematography (Conrad L. Hall). Although Hilary Swank received the award for Best Actress in "Boys Don’t Cry," Annette Bening, nominated for her performance in "American Beauty," gave birth to her fourth child, a girl, sixteen days after this Oscar ceremony, congratulated her husband, Warren Beatty, who was presented with the Irving Thalberg Award for his career as a movie-maker. Angelina Jolie, received the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in "Girl, Interrupted." Michael Caine gave the most beautiful acceptance speech of the night (Best Supporting Actor: "The Cider House Rules"). The film, a seven-time nominee, also won for Best Screenplay Adaptation (John Irving). "The Matrix" was also a big winner (Best Film Editing: Zach Staenberg, Best Sound: David E. Campbell, David Lee III, John T. Reitz, Gregg Rudloff; Best Sound Effects Editing: Dane A. Davis; Best Visual Effects: Steve Courtley, John Gaeta, Janek Sirrs, Jon Thum). Costumes (Lindy Hemming) and makeup (Christine Blundell) in "Topsy-Turvy" earned the film two Oscars, while the statuette for Best Art Direction was presented to Rick Heinrichs and Peter Young for "Sleepy Hollow."  Phil Collins captured the Oscar for Best Original Song: "You’ll Be in My Heart." ("Tarzan") http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0801237.html
    2000 - In 17.6 seconds, the Kingdome in Seattle was demolished into a mound of rubble over 65 feet high thanks to 21.6 miles of detonation cord and 5,800 holes filled with gelatin dynamite.   
    2013 - Days after a new U.S.-South Korea military pact, North Korea issues new threats to strike targets in Hawaii, Guam, South Korea and the U.S. mainland
    2015 – Protesting US airstrikes, Shiite militia forces in Iraq boycott the fight against ISIS in Tikrit.  The U.S. was responding to a request from the Iraqi government, but militias are concerned that the U.S. will receive credit for their work to date.
    2018 - Federal Trade Commission confirmed it will investigate Facebook over privacy concerns.  The 2011 consent decree requires that Facebook notify users and receive permission before sharing data beyond their specific privacy settings. In 2019, Facebook, Inc. was required to pay a record-breaking $5 billion penalty, submit to new restrictions, and modify its corporate structure that will hold the company accountable for the decisions it makes about its users’ privacy.
    2019 - Purdue Pharma agrees to pay Oklahoma $270 million settlement ahead of trial accusing the company of fueling the opioid epidemic.
    2019 - State of emergency declared in Rockland County, New York, due to measles epidemic; unvaccinated children were banned from public spaces for 30 days after 153 cases.
    2020 – US cases of COVID-19 exceeded all other countries with 81,578 cases and 1180 deaths.
NCAA Basketball Champions:

    1946 - Oklahoma A&M
    1949 - Kentucky
    1952 - Kansas
    1973 - UCLA
    1979 - Michigan State