By MARTHA McKAY The son of the mastermind behind NorVergence, a bankrupt Newark telecommunications firm, allegedly stole close to $500,000 from the company, using the money to pay for drinks, trips to area clubs and for a five-bedroom Glen Ridge house, according to court papers filed Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark. Thomas John Salzano, son of Thomas N. Salzano, the chief managing officer of bankrupt NorVergence, was accused of using two company checks -- one in the amount of $61,200 dated July 1, 2003, and another for $140,000 dated July 29, 2003 – to help pay for "the purchase of his personal residence located at 20 Argyle St., Glen Ridge," the papers said. The complaint, filed by U.S. Trustee Charles Forman, also alleges that Thomas John Salzano used a NorVergence corporate American Express card to charge "personal expenses, such as outings to bars and clubs, clothing and other personal expenses" unrelated to NorVergence business. The charges totaling $268,795 were made between November 25, 2002, and March 24, 2004. Neither Forman nor Salzano could be reached for comment. NorVergence's abrupt bankruptcy in July 2004, threw 1,300 people out of work and left thousands of small-business customers without phone and Internet service. Legal battles raged when customers tried to get out of equipment leases that NorVergence had sold to more than 40 banks and leasing companies. In many cases, settlements have been reached, brokered by state attorneys general, providing some relief to deeply angry Last year, a U.S District Court ordered a $181.7 million default judgment against NorVergence in a case brought by the Federal Trade Commission. Creditors assert the company owes $550 million. Thomas John Salzano was never an employee of NorVergence, according to court papers. His father, Thomas N. Salzano, was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars as a consultant. His uncle, Peter J. Salzano, served as CEO. Thomas John Salzano and his father started a Kenilworth business last year called Charity Snack, which also went belly-up. The complaint filed Wednesday asks that Salzano repay what he allegedly took, plus punitive damages. In addition, the papers claim that because of his "unlawful misappropriation of [NorVergence's] funds, and fraudulent transfer and unjust enrichment" the house at 20 The five-bedroom, three-bath home at 20 Argyle St. is listed for sale at $699,000, just reduced, according to a real estate Web site. E-mail: mckay@northjersey.com ----------------------------------------------
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
Headlines--- Correction: Pat Widmar 847-562-1095 ######## surrounding the article denotes it is a “press release”
Correction: Pat Widmar 847-562-1095
Incorrect telephone number in press release. Pat Widmar may be reached at 847-562-1095 "Randy Green, President and CEO of First Bank of Highland Park, Highland Park, IL, is pleased to announce the appointment of Patricia A. Widmar to Vice President of the Lease Finance Group. In her new capacity, Pat will be focusing her efforts on new business development which will include lease discounting, warehouse lines, and syndication purchases. Pat brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to this position and will be located on the Northbrook, IL facility which houses the Lease Finance Group. “Prior to joining FBHP, Pat was employed by park National Bank (f/k/a Pullman Bank & Trust) as an Assistant Vice President of the Lease Finance Group where she was involved in both operations and business development for nine years. Prior to that, she was employed by Key Bank in the Commercial Lending area for twenty-five years. Pat attended Indiana University at South Bend, IN.” -------------------------------------------------------------- Power Outage Northern California got hit by a strong storm on Monday night, knocking out power in many cities, including Saratoga at 6:30pm. Electricity was not restored until the next morning, with cable still out. I went to the American Leasing office to use the T1 connection at 11pm, but power was also out in this Los Gatos area too. Thus the Tuesday edition was unable to be sent out or posted. Kit Menkin, editor -------------------------------------------------------------- Classified Ads---Credit
Detroit, Michigan Atlanta, GA . Boston Ma. Corona, CA. Fort Lee NJ Irvine, CA Los Angeles, CA New Jersey, NJ New York, NY . Sausalito, Ca Orange, CA. Credit Officer For a full listing of all “job wanted” ads, please go to: http://64.125.68.91/AL/LeasingNews/JobPostings.htm To place a free “job wanted” ad, please go to: http://64.125.68.91/AL/LeasingNews/PostingForm.asp Detroit, Michigan This aerial panoramic photograph of Detroit was taken by James Blakeway. Detroit sits on the Detroit River across from the Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario. The tallest building is Marriott Renaissance Center, the tall cylindrical building surrounded by four tall office buildings that make up the Renaissance Center complex. The large stadium with the sloped roof is Ford Field, home to the Detroit Lions football team and site of Super Bowl XL. Directly behind Ford Field is Comerica Park, home to the Detroit Tigers baseball team. The Tigers' previous ballpark, Tiger Stadium, can be seen in the distance with its white exterior. The panoramic photograph by James Blakeway is from one from the largest collection of cities, and highest quality. The above is an expanded “thumb nail” version. The original is clearer and more colorful. Regular price: $35.00 Sale price: $27.93 plus shipping/handling, please go to: http://www.retrocollection.com/htmlpages/panorama.htm -------------------------------------------------------------- Nibarger Associates joins “Broker/Lessor” list Third Column: YES - Year Company Started | YELB - Years in equipment Leasing Business A - City Business License | B- State License | C - Certified Leasing Professional |
D - State(s) sales/use tax license | E - Named as "lessor" on 50% or more of lease contract signed. |
To review for list, please go here: http://www.leasingnews.org/Brokers/broker_Lessor.htm
-------------------------------------------------------------- Bank of the West, Indirect Leasing Group Joins “Funder List” A -Accepts Broker Business | B -Requires Broker be Licensed | C -Sub-Broker Program
(P) Bank of the West - Broker Requirements:
Full list located here: http://www.leasingnews.org/Funders_Only/Funders.htm#bow
-------------------------------------------------------------- Looking for information on Royal Links, Iowa Court
A reader has informed Leasing News that the lessor suing the lessee in the court of Iowa lost their claim as the court ruled the transaction to be under "consumer law" in the state. Leasing News is told the lessor is appealing the decision.
Leasing News heard of the situation from another reader, before The National Golf Course Owners Association has more than 6,000 member courses worldwide and an audience of more than 18,000 through Golf Business magazine, NGCOA, arranged for the Chicago law firm of Lord, Bissell & Brook to represent the lessee is a group suit. This is what Leasing News was originally told: “Royal Links USA had salesmen call on golf courses to offer free beverage carts. (cold beer, wine, soda's, snacks.) The courses would use them and allow advertising panels to be displayed by Royal Links. Various national merchandisers would pay Royal Links for ads. Royal Links supplied products for free with delivery, and also paid the courses a lump sum (normally $1000) to initially stock the cart with startup merchandise. “Courses entered into an agreement whereby Royal Links paid the course about $300 per month in sponsorship money, which was then sent back to their leasing arm as a lease payment. This arrangement was simply explained as their accounting procedure. “We became concerned initially when it was requested the cart be insured for $12,500. The cost of the cart is most likely less then $1000. “In October 2004, all courses were notified that Royal Links would no longer pay the $300 per month in sponsorship money. Our cart had been delivered about 60 days prior to this notice. The leasing company insisted they were independent and demanded the $300 monthly payment (for 5 years). Preferred Capital quoted a payoff of approximately $15,900.” There has been a meeting to settle the issue between lessee and lessor as a group, but evidently nothing has come of it. Royal Links in the meantime has filed Chapter 7. Lessees are being told to file a claim, although there appear very few assets available. --------------------------------------------------------------
Top Stories--February 20-24
Here are the top ten stories most "opened" by readers last week. (1) Wal-Mart not backing off Utah industrial Bank and Leasing (2) Will the FDIC shut Wal-Mart down? (3) NorVergence--Are We Being "Fair?" (4) Sterling Financial Executive Team re-Alignment (5 ) “Risky Business” Is Back (6 ) Charlie Lester at Home (7) “Broker/Lessor” List---Up-dated (8) Cartoon---“Not Guilty” puppy (9) Selling Up---Don't Shoot the Dog! by Steve Chriest (10) Sales Make it Happen--by Linda Kester --------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------- Deutsche Bank seeks settlement in lease tax shelter probe Deutsche Bank AG is reportedly negotiating with the United States Internal Revenue Service and other government agencies, hoping to to settle a criminal investigation into the bank's role in equipment leasing tax shelters. According to the Senate report, Deutsche Bank participated in 56 blips transactions in 1999 with KPMG and Presidio Advisors, an investment firm that the government contends in court filings is a promoter of abusive tax shelters. For the shelters, the bank provided loans to KPMG clients totaling $7.8 billion. It earned fees of $44 million for the loans and trades in the shelters. The New York Times reports Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest, appears to be unable to account for a number of transactions underpinning the creation of tax shelters in the Cayman Islands. German bank HVB Group last week admitted criminal wrongdoing in helping with fraudulent tax shelter transactions, agreeing to pay $29.6 million dollars, plus cooperate with investigators in further settlements. In auditing some of the "sale/leasebacks", leasing transactions, loans and trades, the original paperwork is "missing." Several investigators believe the paperwork never existed at all to back up the documentation of loans, trades, and swaps of stock and derivatives plus accounting records through offshore entities. Allegedly this was done on purpose. The transactions generated artificial losses used by investors to offset legitimate gains from other taxable income, a practice that is in breach of regulations, according to the New York Times. Full story here: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/24/business/worldbusiness/24shelter.html?_r=1&oref=slogin -------------------------------------------------------------- Sales makes it Happen---by Bob Teichman, CLP
-------------------------------------------------------------- to subscribe/NorVergence Question
Several readers ask about the procedure to read “Leasing Notes” as written by Shawn Halladay of the Alta Group fame. This is a “blog,” and one of the state of the art groups. Leasing News asked Mr. Halladay how the subscription works: “The subscribe button is located in the upper right hand corner of the site. You can subscribe to Leasing Notes for free by clicking on this button. “By subscribing, you are able to have the information that is published on the blog automatically show up in your aggregator. (An aggregator, which is some service such as Google news, Yahoo news, Newsgator, Bloglines, and My MSN, etc.), receives the content you have requested and displays it in some personalized format. “When you subscribe to Leasing Notes, each time a new entry is published, a copy will be sent automatically, at no cost, to the aggregator that you have chosen. “My blog publisher tells me that soon we will be able to have the information emailed directly to the reader. “Thanks for your support.” For those without an “aggregator,” use the old fashion way of “book marking” it. Add to your favorites. Mr. Halladay generally talks about accounting, tax issues, and some sophisticated subject, but from time to time, comments on other issues, condensing the issue in easy to understand language: Norvergence question Shawn Halladay February 27, 2006 Know More: Fraud, Leasing industry Last week, I mentioned some of the potential ramifications of the NorVergence case on future leasing deals. Apparently, it got some of you to thinking, as I received a question from someone on the lessee side of the business as to why lessors would agree to settle these suits, since they have the right of law behind them as imposed by the hell or high water clause. (For those not familiar with this contract provision, the hell or high water clause states that the lessee, not the lessor, is responsible for selecting the equipment, the vendor, the service provider, and the fitness of the equipment. Furthermore, if the lessee is having trouble with the equipment or related service, its remedies are solely between itself and the vendor and that payments to the lessor are to continue.) This is one of the primary issues of concern with NorVergence. Traditionally, under the law and embodied in the contract language, lessors have no responsibility for the suitability, or proper functioning of, the equipment, and act only as financiers. The lessees must continue to make payments irrespective of the condition of the equipment. The NorVergence suits turn this concept on its head by saying “You know, the lessee did sign the lease contract, but the equipment doesn't work and the guy who sold it to them is a crook, so they shouldn't have to make the lease payments, in spite of the fact that you advanced money to the vendor on their behalf.” Kind of crazy in my mind, but fairly representative of society's litigious penchant and proclivity to not accept responsibility for its actions. Given these concerns and potential impact on the industry, why have lessors settled, or as Jay put it, not fought “this to the end.” For some of the bigger lessors, such as GE and CIT, it may have been a question of not being worth the cost. My guess, however, is that most lessors that settled did so to keep their names out of the paper as being someone that beats up on small business people. There was a great deal of debate over this reasoning, as some industry veterans felt these settlements weakened lessors' legal position in the long run. Many of the smaller lessors, on the other hand, chose to fight the lawsuits as a matter of survival. As a side note, it is interesting that most, if not all, of these suits have been settled in favor of the lessors. And, on the lighter side, there was a lessee who made a NorVergence comparison at Leasing News by referencing the ELA convention, Hurricane Wilma, and hell and high water clauses. Touché! -------------------------------------------------------------- Classified Ads—Help Wanted Account Executive
Financial Analyst
Independent Regional Sales Manager
Lease Representatives
Sales Manager
-------------------------------------------------------------- Allserve creditors play waiting game From The Deal by Rhonda L. Lipschutz ELTnews Creditors who leased telecom and computer equipment to defunct Allserve Systems Corp., an outsourcer of back-office data processing for banks and other financial institutions, will have to wait to see if they'll be paid. On Jan. 18, Judge Rosemary Gambardella of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark (who is also the BK judge in the NorVergence bk. editor) approved the conversion of Allserve's Chapter 11 case to a Chapter 7 liquidation. The liquidation was approved since the North Brunswick, N.J.-based company had no cash on hand to pay for administrative claims. On Jan. 20, Charles A. Stanziale was appointed the Chapter 7 trustee, replacing Bunce Atkinson who was the Chapter 11 trustee. Allserve was founded by Dinesh Dalmia, who was arrested on Feb. 12 at a relative's home in New Delhi. The fallen Indian businessman is wanted for an alleged 2001 stock-rigging scheme that shook the Calcutta Stock Exchange and triggered the collapse of the company he headed in India called DSQ Software Ltd. In the U.S., where Dalmia lived for the last three years, he faces similar legal problems because Allserve, which filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 5, is being investigated for fraud. Creditors have accused Allserve of breaking its leases by shipping telecom and computer equipment out of the country without permission. Dalmia is also being investigated in London where he also operated an affiliate called Allserve Systems. Since the creditors levied their allegations, the locks have been changed at Allserve's operations in North Brunswick and Trenton, N.J., to prevent any more equipment from being spirited away. Lessors have attempted to locate equipment leased to Allserve by combing through the New Jersey operations, but they can't determine what equipment belongs to them. On Feb. 2, Stanziale hired Fairfield, N.J.-based A. Atkins Appraisal Corp. to recover missing assets for the creditors. Allserve has defaulted on the equipment located and owes about $83 million, said a motion to abandon equipment and reject leases filed on Feb. 10. A hearing on the matter to abandon equipment will be held on Feb. 28. Objections must be filed by Feb. 27. Atkins examined the equipment and concluded that its total value is no more than about $300,000, according to court papers filed by Stanziale. Moreover, Atkins concludes that the equipment cannot be sold because it was likely purchased on the bootleg market, which means manufacturers will not service it. Originally, more than 14 creditors leased equipment to Allserve, the dollar value of which one creditor put at $50 million. Among the creditors involved are North Fork Equipment Leasing, Universal Leasing Equipment, Modern Bank, IBM Credit Corp., CitiCapital Technology Finance Inc., People's Capital, Bank of the West and Central Valley Bank. Allserve obtained its equipment from the lessors, which purchased the equipment from manufacturers or resellers and then shipped this to Allserve. The creditors assumed that the equipment was being shipped directly to the New Jersey locations. Court papers said that the shipments consisted mostly of worthless "gray market" goods with serial numbers scraped off. The U.S. attorney's office also plans to seize the equipment as evidence in a criminal case. URL: http://www.TheDeal.com ---------------------------------------------------------------### Press Release ########################### Popular Leasing to Begin Acquiring Small Ticket Leasing Portfolios Jourdan Saegusa, Fred Van Etten appointed by Bruce Horton, Prez.
Ballwin, Mo., -- Popular Leasing USA, a subsidiary of Banco Popular North America, today announced it has formed a unit to acquire small ticket equipment leases from financial institutions, and the captive leasing companies of manufacturers on a nationwide basis. Jourdan Saegusa has been named Manager Acquisitions and Syndications and is relocating from Austin, Texas, to the company's corporate headquarters in Ballwin, Mo. Saegusa will report to Fred Van Etten head of commercial sales.
“Portfolios have been increasing nationwide and several originators are now looking for liquidity by selling some or all of their portfolios,” said Bruce Horton, President Popular Leasing USA. “We are an established, well-known servicer and aggregator of leases, and we are continually focusing on growing our asset base. We believe this move will help us do just that.” Popular Leasing USA, Inc., is the equipment leasing subsidiary of Banco Popular North America. Established in 1996, Popular Leasing is the 38th largest bank-owned leasing company in the U.S. and is recognized by the St. Louis RCGA as a “Top 50 Business”. The company offers small- to large-ticket equipment leasing services to medical and commercial markets throughout the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S.V.I. Headquartered in Ballwin, Missouri, Popular Leasing has a network of twelve sales offices in ten states. For further information, contact Fred Van Etten, vp of sales, at 800-829-9411 or visit www.poplease.com. Banco Popular North America (BPNA) is one of the nation's premier community banks. BPNA is a subsidiary of Popular, Inc. with more than $48 billion in assets, and is ranked among the country's 30 largest bank holding companies. BPNA has more than137 branches in six States and ranks among the top 10 Small Business Administration lenders in the country. For more information: visit www.bancopopular.com. Jourdan Saegusa Manager, Acquisitions & Syndication 888-383-9155 / jsaegusa@poplease.com ### Press Release ########################### Utah Industrial Bank Latest LCA Bank Corp.
Lease Corporation of America (LCA) is pleased to announce the commencement of operations of its wholly owned subsidiary LCA Bank Corporation (LCA Bank), a Utah Industrial Bank as of January 26, 2006. LCA Bank will provide a stable source of funds to enhance LCA's traditional funding sources, offer better services to existing and prospective lessees, be an active lease funding participant within Utah and other banking communities, serve the community reinvestment needs of the people of Utah, and create lease financing facilities for the business community across the United States. Founded in 1988, LCA is a private multi-million dollar full service commercial leasing company providing financing solutions for distributors and manufactures of equipment, funding for a select group of equipment lease broker and delivery of quality assets to financial institutions and other investors throughout the United States. Since its inception, LCA has funded in excess of $405 million of equipment leases involving more than 45,000 transactions. For additional information or to explore working relationships, please contact Mr. Timothy V. Talbert, President, LCA Bank Corporation, P. O. Box 684382, Park City, UT 84068-4382 Phone: 435-658-4824 or email ttalbert@leasecorp.com
Lease Corporation of America ### Press Release ########################### CNH Capital Unveils Industry-Leasing Equipment Protection Plans LAKE FOREST, Ill., -- CNH Capital, the financial services business of agricultural and construction equipment maker CNH Global N.V. (NYSE: CNH - News), today unveiled its most comprehensive equipment protection plans offered to date. These industry-leading protection plans will be sold primarily through the approximately 2,600 agricultural and construction equipment dealers who represent the CNH family of brands in the United States and Canada. CNH Capital offers a wide array of equipment financing and insurance products that support the CNH family of leading agricultural and construction equipment brands, including Case IH, New Holland, Case, New Holland Construction and Kobelco. "Equipment is a true investment for our customers," said Gary Michaels, Director of Insurance for CNH Capital. "With our new equipment protection plans, customers now have a full range of options that make it easy for them to protect that investment." Specifically, the protection plans offer competitive rates, custom options, best-in-class service and several industry-leading features: -- New equipment may be purchased before, during or after base warranties expire. -- Options range from base power train up to the full machine. -- Plans cover all new CNH-branded equipment and nearly all brands of used equipment. -- CNH Capital offers flexible terms and a wide range of payment options. -- Repairs are by CNH-authorized dealers who use genuine OEM parts. -- All engines, regardless of manufacturer, are included. -- New equipment plans can be transferred to a new owner, enhancing equipment resale values. -- All plans are backed by dedicated support. "These new equipment protection plans are a great example of the 'one- source solution' that our dealers provide," said Steve Bierman, President of CNH Capital. "Customers can buy their equipment, their parts and services, and insure and protect their equipment assets, all at their local dealership. And they can finance all of the costs with one flexible financing source -- CNH Capital." About CNH Capital CNH Capital, the financial services business of CNH Global N.V., offers a comprehensive range of services, including wholesale and retail financing, leasing, insurance, asset management, and revolving lines of credit, for the global marketplace. Building on nearly 50 years' experience in the equipment finance industry, CNH Capital services a portfolio of more than $13 billion, helping customers through various wholly owned subsidiaries and joint ventures throughout North America, Latin America, Europe and Australia. More information about CNH Capital can be found at http://www.cnhcapital.com . For further information Kris Harper, CNH Capital, +1-262-636-7143, Kris.harper@cnh.com , or Thomas Witom, CNH Case New Holland, +1-847-955-3939, Thomas.witom@cnh.com ### Press Release ########################### Allied Capital Invests $13.9 Million in Commercial Credit Group WASHINGTON----Allied Capital Corporation (NYSE:ALD - News) announced today that it has invested $13.9 million of growth capital in Commercial Credit Group ("CCG"), an equipment finance and leasing company serving middle market businesses in the fleet transportation, construction and waste markets. Founded in October 2004 by four seasoned executives, CCG focuses exclusively on small and middle market customers in three asset classes where each of its founders has extensive prior experience. Allied Capital's investment took the form of subordinated debt and preferred equity. Envest Ventures, Archbrook Capital, Winmark Corporation and management are all existing investors in the company. ADVERTISEMENT "Allied Capital's investment in CCG represents an excellent opportunity to invest in a sector with strong growth opportunities and a company run by a proven management team with an impressive track record," said John Fruehwirth, Managing Director of Allied Capital. "Management's keen focus on specific asset classes combined with the company's strong credit and underwriting discipline provide for a superior business platform." "We are delighted to have Allied Capital as our new financial partner," said Dan McDonough, President and CEO of Commercial Credit Group. "Allied Capital has extensive knowledge of the specialty finance segment and equipment finance and leasing companies in particular. Their financial strength, structural flexibility, and long-term investment horizon make them an ideal partner as we position CCG for the future." About Allied Capital Allied Capital Corporation, a leading business development company with total assets of more than $3 billion, has paid regular, quarterly cash dividends to shareholders since 1963. Allied Capital invests in the American entrepreneurial economy by providing capital to companies seeking a long-term financial partner and access to managerial resources often unavailable to smaller companies. Since its IPO in 1960, the Company has provided long-term debt and equity financing to thousands of middle market companies. In serving its shareholders, Allied Capital helps build middle market businesses and support American jobs. The Company's private finance portfolio includes investments in over 100 companies that generate aggregate revenues of more than $10 billion and employ more than 85,000 people. Headquartered in Washington, DC, Allied Capital offers shareholders the opportunity to participate in the private equity industry through an investment in the Company's New York Stock Exchange-listed stock, which is traded under the symbol ALD. For more information, please visit www.alliedcapital.com, call Allied Capital investor relations toll-free at (888) 818-5298, or e-mail us at ir@alliedcapital.com. All media inquiries should be directed to Stan Collender of Financial Dynamics at (202) 434-0601. About Commercial Credit Group Founded in October 2004 and headquartered in Charlotte, NC, CCG is specialty equipment finance and leasing company focused exclusively on small and middle market customers. CCG focuses on three core asset classes: construction, fleet transportation and waste equipment. The company originates its business through both vendors and end-users. Its strong relationships have afforded the company a high degree of repeat business from its core customer base. In addition to its Charlotte headquarters, the company has a full-service branch office in Wheaton, IL. For more information, please visit www.commercialcreditgroup.com. Forward-Looking Statements The information contained in this press release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. Certain factors could cause actual results and conditions to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements, and some of these factors are enumerated in Allied Capital's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Contact: Allied Capital Corporation or Media Contact: ### Press Release ###########################
News Briefs---- Long-Term Trends in Healthcare: Implications for the Leasing Industry Toronto-Dominion Bank' Performance rated 2-Mexican central bank cuts key interest rate Comments Push Down Google 7% Merrill Lynch is planning $6 billion share buyback Consumer confidence falls in February more than analysts expected Existing home sales fall 5 months in a row High court case hinges on tax breaks ---------------------------------------------------------------
You May Have Missed 'Rapid Warming' Spreads Havoc in Canada's Forests http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/28/AR2006022801772.html ---------------------------------------------------------------
Sports Briefs---- Upshaw: 'We're deadlocked' as NFL labor talks break off Barry Bonds impersonates Paula Abdul ----------------------------------------------------------------
California News Briefs--- FIELD POLL Bush gets low marks in state Governor won't wait for federal levee money Delta in Decline ----------------------------------------------------------------
“Gimme that Wine” Napa wine auction raises $1.87M Caves become the rage in wine country The Paler Shade of Bordeaux---Eric Asimov If you want to know if you got a value for your wine, or what the wine price is today, go to www.winezap.com Type in the vintage (year) and name of the producer with wine type or geographic area, such as 1995 Chateau Lynch Bages Pauillac. Even 1995 Lynch Bages will work, or 1999 Viader --------------------------------------------------------------
Restaurant Review Scoma's Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco
Pier 47, San Francisco, CA 94133 One of the great advantages is valet parking. You have to drive on the wharf itself, a very short drive (look for the sign.) Another tip, ask for a window table. Wait in the real San Francisco North Beach bar where the bartender still makes Ramos Fizz and other great San Francisco "cocktails." Have a Cosmos or Manhattan. Several variations of Bloody Mary from hot to regular (and I mean "hot.")Or have a glass of wine. They open at 11:30am on Sunday. If you arrive a few minutes earlier, or even at that time, you can get any choice of seat you want. They have a brunch menu and full lunch menu. There are two seating areas, the older, more formal restaurant, and the newer, less formal. The waiters are terrific, union, many from Alioto's down the street. There are private dinning rooms available. When Eddie DeBartalo owned the S.F. 49ers, this was his haunt. He even has a room named after him. The food is great. They even have Abalone and a loan officer available to help you pay for it. Seafood Sec is one of my favorites. And don't forget the Spumoni ice cream!!! I have been eating here since they opened. Alioto's was my favorite, until the old man, who was the chef, passed away. The sons now run it and the ambiance and food is still good, but I like Scoma's better. Price: reasonable, not expensive. I have never worn a tie at this restaurant. You will find locals here as well as tourists. Again, it is worth the to wait for the window seat and see the fishing boats, perhaps the most painted scene besides the crooked street in San Francisco. (for other reviews: please go here: http://two.leasingnews.org/Recommendations/rstrnt.htm 0 ----------------------------------------------------------------
Calendar Events This Day Ash Wednesday Pig Day Peanut Butter Lover's Day St. David's Day Share A Smile Day ----------------------------------------------------------------
Today's Top Event in History 1961-- Official establishment of the Peace Corps by President John F. Kennedy's signing of executive order. The Peace Corps has sent more than 153,000 volunteers to 134 countries to help people help themselves. The volunteers assist in projects such as health, education, water sanitation, agriculture, nutrition and forestry. For info: Peace Corps, 1111 20th St NW, Washington, DC 20526. ----------------------------------------------------------------
This Day in American History 1440- Martin Alonzo Pinzon (1440-1493), Spanish shipbuilder and navigator (and co-owner of the Nina and the Pinta), accompanied Christopher Columbus on his first voyage, as commander of the Pinta. Storms separated the ships on their return voyage, and the Pinta first touched land at Bayona, Spain this day in 1493, where Pinzon gave Europe its first news of the discovery of the New World (before Columbus's landing at Palos). ---------------------------------------------------------------- Winter Poem Songs of Myself by Walt Whitman (First two paragraphs of “3”) I have heard what the talkers were talking, There was never any more inception than there is now, |
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