Monday, March 3, 2008

Headlines---

Classified Ads---Legal/Leasing Attorneys
    Large regional, small nat. bank BK likely
        Tuna Shoelaces by Christopher Menkin
Top Stories - February 25-29
    Classified Ads---Help Wanted
        Cartoon---If you lie down
Leasing 102 -by Mr. Terry Winders, CLP
The Answers: How much do you know leasing?
    ELFA Capitol Connections May 13-14
        Leasing Association Conferences 2008
    ZRG acquires CXO Executive Search
Credit losses from mortgage crisis $400B?
    News Briefs---
        "Gimme that Wine"
    Calendar Events
Snapple Real Facts
    Today's Top Event in History
        This Day in American History
    Winter Poem
SuDoku
    Daily Puzzle
        GasBuddy
    Provence, France-Vacation
News on Line---Internet Newspapers
Columbia/southern Rensselaer, NY

######## surrounding the article denotes it is a “press release”

------------------------------------------------------------------

Classified Ads---Legal/Leasing Attorneys

San Diego, CA
Experienced in-house corporate, equipment leasing and financial services attorney seeks position as managing or transactional counsel. Willing to relocate. Cell Phone: 760-533-4058;
Email: sandidq@msn.com

Birmingham, Alabama The lawyers of Marks & Weinberg, P.C. have over 30 years experience in dealing with virtually every type of equipment financing and are recognized throughout the industry for prompt, practical solutions and exemplary service. They offer cost-conscious, effective lease enforcement and good counsel. Email: Barry@leaselawyer.com Website: www.leaselawyers.com	California, National: city: Riverside Ellen Stern - get results, reasonable pricing; numerous industry contacts, nearly 30 yrs exp.in SoCal, 20 yrs equip.: CFL license specialist, documentation, work-outs, litigated collections, recoveries; deal-maker. Email: leaselaw@msn.com | UAEL
Kenneth C. Greene California & Nevada Hamrick & Evans, LLP, Universal City , LA; San Francisco Bay Area, No.Calif. Call for free consultation (828)763-5292 or (415) 806-2254, kgreene@hamricklaw.com	Connecticut, Southern New England: EVANS, FELDMAN & BOYER, LLC Collections, litigation, documentation, portfolio sales and financing, bankruptcy. We represent many of the national and local leasing companies doing business in this state. Past chairman EAEL legal committee. Competitive rates. email: rcfeldman@snet.net     EAEL
Law Firm - Service, Dallas, TX. ELA Mayer regularly practices in leasing, secured financing, project development and finance and corporate finance. email: dmayer@pattonboggs.com Website: www.pattonboggs.com	Los Angeles, Statewide: CA.     "ELA" Aggressive creditors rights law firm specializing in equipment leasing handling collection matters on a contingency, fixed fee or hourly basis. email:RGarwacki@prodigy.net
Los Angeles -statewide: CA      "ELA " Practice limited to collections, bankruptcy and problem accounts resolution. Decades of experience. 10-lawyer firm dedicated to serving you. Call Ronald Cohn, Esq. (818)591-2121 or Email: rrcohn@aol.com	Long Beach, CA Wagner & Zielinski,  successfully representing lessees/ lessors.  Not a member of any leasing organization, therefore not beholden to special interests.  Richard Wagner (562) 216-2952 www.wzlawyers.com
Long Beach CA. Paul Bent, helping settle deals that have gone bad. Attorney for 20+ years with GoodSmith & Co., now providing mediation and dispute resolution for lessees and lessors. www.paulbent.com	National: Coston & Rademacher: Business attorneys serving the lease-finance industry since 1980. Transactional, documentation, corporate/finance, workouts, litigation, bankruptcy, portfolio management. Chicago-based national practice. Jim Coston, CLP (Members: UAEL, ELA, MAEL). email: Jcoston@costonlaw.com Website:www.costonlaw.com
St. Louis County, MO. - statewide: Defend clients sued by Popular Leasing USA and other assignees of Norvergence rental agreements. Also register and collect foreign judgments. Ronald J. Eisenberg, Esq. Email: reisenberg@sl-lawyers.com Schultz & Little L.L.P. www.sl-lawyers.com	Westport, CT: We represent finance companies, banks, lessors, etc., in replevins/seizures, collections and bankruptcy matters in Connecticut and New York. Flat fee, contingency and hourly rates. Email: rchinitz@replevinlawyer.com

Free posting Attorney Classified Ads:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Attorney/Attorney-post.htm

For a full listing of all “job wanted” ads, please go to:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted.htm

[headlines]

--------------------------------------------------------------

Economist: Large regional, small national bank bankruptcies increasingly likely

By Nick Gorski

Nouriel Roubini, professor of economics at the Stern School of Business at New York University, said in testimony before the House Financial Services Committee that there is a rising likelihood that large regional or smaller national banks could go bankrupt and that the U.S. is already in a recession.

"There is increasing likelihood that some banks — even some large regional ones or some smaller national ones — may go under during a severe recession, regardless of what the Fed does," Roubini said in prepared remarks. Banks that are very exposed to mortgages are in the most danger, and may "join the 200 plus subprime lenders that have gone bankrupt."

He added that the Fed will have to "reaffirm the implicit doctrine that some banks are too big to be allowed to fail," but "these bank bankruptcies will lead to severe fiscal losses of bank bailout and effective nationalization of the affected institutions." Roubini pointed to Countrywide Financial Corp., which he characterized as "more likely insolvent than illiquid," as an institution that has been "bailed out with public money via a $55 billion loan from the FHLB system, a semi-public system of funding of mortgage lenders."

Naturally, Roubini's assertions were largely driven by the current state of the housing market. He noted that this is "the worst housing recession in U.S. history and there is no sign it will bottom out any time soon." Roubini predicted that housing prices will fall between 20% and 30% from the 2006 peak, leading to a loss of more than $1 trillion and as high as $2 trillion for financial institutions. A loss that size "would wipe out most of the capital of most of the U.S. banking system and lead most of U.S. banks and mortgage lenders — that are massively exposed to real estate — to go belly up."

According to Roubini, a housing decline of 30% would imply that more than 10 million households would have negative equity in their homes, with "a big incentive to use 'jingle mail,'" meaning mailing their keys to their mortgage bank. He claimed that reckless lending practices previously confined to the subprime market have slowly migrated to near-prime and prime loans, as 60% of mortgages from 2005 to 2007 involved "no down-payment, no verification of income, jobs and assets," as well as negative amortization or teaser rates.

Regarding the odds of a recession, Roubini pulled no punches. "The fact that the U.S. is now in a recession is, at this point, without much doubt even if the consensus forecast — always behind the curve — now gives only even odds." Furthermore, he does not expect a "mild two-quarter recession," noting that the last two U.S. recessions lasted eight months each, and he expects the current recession "will last much longer and will be more severe."

Roubini also said he does not expect bailouts of monoline insurers to work, claiming that "some monolines are actually borderline insolvent and none of them deserves at this point a AAA rating." He added that "no private rescue package — short of an unlikely public bailout — is realistic or feasible given the deep losses of the monolines on their insurance of toxic ABS products."

Roubini says policymakers' current strategies may not be able to stave off the crisis, either. Aggressively lowering the Fed funds rate will eventually lead to a collapse in the dollar while not stimulating consumer spending, considering the "glut of housing, consumer durables [and] automobiles," he said. Encouraging further recapitalization of the U.S. financial system by sovereign wealth funds will not work, Roubini said, since the losses caused by the credit crunch will greatly outweigh the infusion of capital provided by foreign investors. Roubini also criticized the limited scale of the HOPE NOW plan, among other strategies.

---reprinted with permission of SNL Financial LC---

Site content and design Copyright © 2008, SNL Financial LC
Usage of this product is governed by the Master Subscription Agreement.

SNL Financial LC, One SNL Plaza, PO Box 2124, Charlottesville, Virginia 22902, (434) 977-1600

[headlines]

--------------------------------------------------------------

Tuna Shoelaces

by Christopher Menkin

The 1940’s/50’s comedy team of Abbott and Costello is perhaps best know for “Who’s on First?” as well as the internet “Costello buys a computer,” a take-off on “Who’s on First?” My favorite is one
I thought was ridiculous when I first heard it, as it really made me laugh, but as I got older and experienced downturns and recessions, it brought new meaning to me.

Abbott was trying to sell Costello a pair of shoelaces and he told him if he didn’t buy the pair of shoelaces, whether he needed them now or not (Costello said he didn’t need them), THAT Abbott WOULD not be able to have enough to pay the person who distributed the shoelaces, who sold it to him---and the guy then couldn’t afford to have lunch, so the waitress wouldn’t get her tip, the lunch business would be down at the dinner, and the Tuna boat Captain wouldn’t be able to buy his kids new shoes because he couldn’t sell the fish he caught for the tuna fish sandwich the waitress didn’t serve to the distributor Abbott couldn’t pay because Costello didn’t buy the last pair of shoe laces.

I realized the Abbott and Costello comedy routine made fun of the economic ripple effect. But in a downturn, it wasn’t funny as the price of oil, mayonnaise, bread, gasoline, followed by the fall out of the construction industry, houses not selling banks tightening credit, less tax money coming in and therefore city, county, and states were cutting back, letting employees go, less services, and all of a sudden the economy is down because Costello didn’t buy a pair of shoe laces.

As less profits are being generated, and costs go up, instead of down, people laid off, less taxes collected, the local government budgets will have a tough time meeting their June deadline. What
appears worse, is facing a “do nothing” congress and “lame duck” president who presidential candidates appear to have much criticism, brings the bad news into the beginning of 2009, and perhaps another budget cutting of local, county, state, education budgets by June, 2010.

Add the deficit, the trade imbalance, inflation, and the Federal Reserve attitude to lower the prime rate as the solution, all seems to be postponing the evitable. It appears the longer the downturn
is ignored, the more it is postponed, perhaps the longer and deeper will be the time period.

[headlines]

--------------------------------------------------------------

Top Stories - February 25-29

Here are the top ten stories most “opened” by readers last week:

(1) Leasing 102 by Mr. Terry Winders, CLP
How much do you know about leasing?
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/February%202008/02-25-08.htm#102

(2) SEC Questions Marlin Business Services
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/February%202008/02-27-08.htm#sec

(3) Part II—“Inside Lease Fleece”
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/February%202008/02-25-08.htm#p2

(4) Equipment Leasing Trend Charts
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/February%202008/02-27-08.htm#trend

(5) FTC-IFC “Bench Trial” –Up-Date
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/February%202008/02-25-08.htm#ftc

(6) Sales makes it Happen—by Adrian Miller
7 Steps to Exceptional Customer Service
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/February%202008/02-27-08.htm#sales

(7) Up-date: Two Bulletin Board Complaints
Southwest Credit, San Antonio, TX
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/February%202008/02-27-08.htm#bbc

(8) FDIC gets ready for Recession
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/February%202008/02-27-08.htm#fdic

(9) Cartoon----Limo Drivers
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/February%202008/02-25-08.htm#toon

(10) New CLP Foundation Officers and Board
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/February%202008/02-25-08.htm#clp

[headlines]

--------------------------------------------------------------

Leasing Industry Help Wanted

Broker Relations Manager

Broker Relations Manager Bothell , Washington Build/manage broker base. Provide guidance to new brokers. Work with "full financial" credit packages, “story” & non-standard credits from $25,000 to $450,000. e-mail jimb@abcoleasing.net or fax resume: 425.806.1813 . Our new business is sourced exclusively through brokers.

www.abcoleasing.net

Controller

Controller Los Angeles, CA Require Great Plains & 5+ yrs of accounting exp.  CPA & exp. in equip. leasing are desired but not required.  Must have BA in accounting/finance field. Send resume to recruiting@julesandassociates. About the Company : Jules & Associates, Inc. is at forefront of the equipment finance industry.  Founded in 1989, we have been ranked twice by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in the U.S.

www.julesandassociates.com

Senior Credit Analyst

Senior Credit Analyst Westport, CT. Captive construction equipment finance background preferred;flexible adaptive team player w/8 years  underwriting exper. For more info/to apply click here. A Fortune 500 construction equipment manufacturing company.

www.terex.com

[headlines]

--------------------------------------------------------------

[headlines]

--------------------------------------------------------------

Leasing 102

by Mr. Terry Winders, CLP

How much do you know about leasing?

Here are the answers to the questions asked in last Monday’s column. For those who did not take the text, please go here:

http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/February%202008/02-25-08.htm#102

If you did not answer at least 90% of the questions correctly and explain your correct answers to someone else …… then you need training

Mark (T)rue or (F)alse

A Sales Type Lease is a Lessee classification for accounting purposes

[ f ] Advance is the term used in equipment leasing referred to a situation in which the lessee uses the equipment before it is paid for.
[ t ] Depreciation is the Federal Governments way to allow business to recover capital investment.
[ f ] A Lessee is allowed to trade in equipment if it is looked at as advanced rent.
[ t ] No rule or regulation requires a lessor to assume a residual.
[ f ] A well-drafted lease requires the lessor to purchase and maintain insurance on all leased assets throughout the lease term.
[ t ] The yield in an equipment lease is the value of all cash flows reduced to a return on investment expressed in an annual interest percentage.
[ f ] A sales person can offer a $1 purchase option if the lease says Fair Market Value
[ f ] The stream rate for the lessee will always include the lessors’ assumed residual
[ f ] Upon signing a Master Lease Agreement, a lessee is obligated to lease equipment, even if there has been no acceptance certificate signed.
[ t ] All cash fees or rentals collected prior to the start of a lease will lower the lessor's investment in the equipment for yield purposes.
[ f ] The accounting term operating lease refers to a lease listed like a loan on the balance sheet of the lessee..
[ f ] Equipment leases generally allow lessees to sub-lease the equipment without the permission of the Lessor.
[ f ] An operating lease allows the lessee to freely operate the equipment in any manner necessary to complete the job.
[ f ] A Capital Lease for the Lessee means it is a loan for Income tax purposes.

Multiple Choice (mark best Answer)

What obligation does a lessee have upon signing a master lease agreement?
[ ] To pay rent
[x] To provide insurance upon possession
[ ] To maintain or repair equipment
[ ] To send purchase order
[ ] To pay sales tax

In what instance may a lessee discontinue rent payment to the lessor?
[ ] If the lessee is going through a bad financial period.
[ ] If the lessee is not satisfied with the equipment.
[ ] If the vendor is unavailable to fix the equipment.
[x] Under no circumstances.

Stipulated loss value in an equipment lease is:
[ ] The unpaid balance on the equipment lease.
[ ] The unpaid balance on the equipment lease plus the rental.
[x] The necessary amount of funds to make the lessor whole with the original yield.
[ ] The difference between the salvage value of the equipment and the amount paid by the insurance company.

Which article of the Uniform Commercial Code applies to True leases?
[ ] 2
[x] 2A
[ ] 9
[ ] All of the above.

The required insurance endorsements for a true lease are:
[x] "Additional Insured" for liability and "loss payee" for physical damage.
[ ] "Loss payee" for liability and "additional insured" for physical damage.
[ ] "Umbrella coverage" on the lessee's policy.
[ ] "Umbrella coverage" for physical damage and "loss payee"
for liability.
[ ] Naming the Lessor as the owner.
The Fair Market Value of equipment is defined as:

[ ] The price that a willing seller and willing buyer negotiate in a closed marketplace.
[x] The price that a willing seller and willing buyer negotiate in an open marketplace.
[ ] The rule established by the lessor after consulting the amount necessary to make a profit from the sale of the residual.
[ ] The amount that covers the lessor's residual and the 20% markup required to make the purchase option a true lease.

The effect of collecting advance rents will:
[x] Increase the lessor's yield or decrease the lessee's rents.
[ ] Increase the lessee's rents or decrease the lessor's yield.
[ ] Decrease the original cost of the equipment.
[ ] Increase the stream rate.
[ ] Provide a down payment.

A purchase order from the lessor to the vendor should not contain:
[ ] A requirement that allows lessee or lessor to request warrantees
[ ] That the sale be free of all liens and encumbrances
[x] Payment will be made in 10 days if equipment rejected.
[ ] Purchase price
[ ] Deliver equipment to lessee

An equipment lease for federal income tax purposes must be:
[ ] For 100% of the equipment useful life.
[ ] For a single or special purpose.
[ ] For less than the depreciable life.
[ ] Non cancelable.
[ x ] None of the above.

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service defines personal property that
can be leased as:
[ ] Special purpose.
[x] Multi-use purpose.
[ ] Inventory only.
[ ] Consumables.
[ ] All of the above.

A Purchase Option is:
[ ] A mandatory requirement for Lessee.
[ ] Requires the Lessor to assume a residual.
[ ] Required by income tax law
[ ] Required by the UCC
[x] None of the above

Which of the following is not a type of lease?
[ ] Capital
[ ] True
[ ] Operating
[x] Super

Which of the following is not a true lease tax rule?
[ ] The term of the lease can not exceed 80% of the useful life.
[x] The lessee must have a bargain purchase option.
[ ] The lessee may not have an equity interest in the equipment.
[ ] The rentals plus the purchase option may not equal what the lessee could have received from a loan with a balloon.

The asset class life is:
[x] The IRS determination of the use of the equipment.
[ ] The UCC bracket for filing.
[ ] The longest term you can lease the equipment.
[ ] The comptroller’s control on bank lease terms.

Which of the following is not a true lease legal rule?
[ ] The term of the lease can not exceed 80% of the useful life.
[x] The lessee must have a bargain purchase option.
[ ] The lessee may have an option to renew the lease.
[ ] The lessee assumes the risk of loss.

Which of following is not a accounting rule for classification purposes.
[ ] Automatically pass title or ownership at termination
[ ] No bargan purchase option
[ ] Term exceeds 75% of usefull life
[x] No equity in equipment
[ ] Net present value equal to or greater than 90%

The word residual on an equipment lease means:
[ ] The balance to be leased after the down payment.
[ ] The remaining unpaid rentals due according to the lease.
[x] The lessor’s unrecovered investment at lease termination
[ ] The purchase option offered to the customer at lease
termination.

To be effective as a purchase money security interest, a UCC-1 Financing Statement, must be filed with-in 20 days after?
[x] Delivery/Possession of the first piece
[ ] Date the proposal is signed
[ ] Date the lease is signed
[ ] Date the Lessee signed the Acceptance Certificate

Which one of the following documents is not involved in a true lease?
[ ] Vendor Invoice
[ ] Purchase order
[x] Security Agreement
[ ] Acceptance agreement
[ ] Lease agreement

In a tax lease, the lessor's yield is composed of:
[ ] The lessee's implicit rate only.
[x] Rents, fees, residual and tax deductions.
[ ] Rents, implicit rate and taxes.
[ ] Tax advantage and residual.

Match the rule to its purpose

Mr. Terry Winders, CLP, has been a teacher, consultant, expert witness for the leasing industry for thirty years and can be reached at leaseconsulting@msn.com or 502-327-8666.
He invites your questions and queries.

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

[headlines]

--------------------------------------------------------------

*****Announcement*************************************

ELFA Capitol Connections May 13-14, 2008

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) visits Capitol Hill and executive branch agencies for ELFA's annual Capitol Connections conference, May 13-14, bringing issues of importance to member companies and the industry to the forefront.

Capitol Connections encompasses targeted meetings on Capitol Hill and at select executive branch agencies. ELFA will set up meetings which may include:

- Select members of the House Ways and Means Committee
- Select members of the House Financial Services Committee
- Select members of the Senate Finance Committee
- Select members of the Senate Banking Committee
- The Department of the Treasury
- The Department of Transportation
- Securities and Exchange Commission
- World Bank/International Finance Corporation

There is no charge for ELFA members to attend Capitol Connections. You can register online at
http://www.elfaonline.org/pub/events/2008/CC.

Registration available online at
http://www.elfaonline.org/pub/events/2008/CC/

To find out more about participating in ELFA's grassroots program contact Kelli Nienaber at knienaber@elfaonline.org or visit ELFA's Advocacy Info Center at
http://advocacy.elfaonline.org/

*****Announcement***************************************

[headlines]

--------------------------------------------------------------

[headlines]

---------------------------------------------------------------
### Press Release ###########################

ZRG acquires CXO Executive Search

Conrad Lee joins team as Managing Director
and Head of Latin America

Westborough, MA - ZRG is pleased to announce the closing of an agreement to acquire certain assets of CXO Executive Search, Inc. and subsequent agreement to hire the firm’s President, Conrad Lee as Managing Director leading the firm’s expansion into the Latin American executive search marketplace supporting our clients with needs abroad.

President, Conrad Lee, was the Founder of CXO Executive Search, Inc. Prior to founding CXO in 2004, Conrad held various senior level positions in the search industry including President of the Americas for Norman Broadbent International, Senior Client Partner with Korn Ferry. Conrad previously founded and sold Conrad Lee Company to EPS Solutions and remained with the successor firm, DHR, as President of International.

Larry Hartmann, Managing Partner of ZRG related, “Conrad Lee has been at the forefront of borderless search for U.S. Financial Service and lending firms expanding to Latin America where ZRG does not currently have a geographic footprint or local market expertise. Conrad Lee’s direct experience filling senior level needs in Latin America fit our current global expansion strategy to follow our clients to areas where they need our solutions. Conrad will be able to leverage his relationships and market expertise with ZRG’s unique fact based human capital solutions as well as support many of our leasing and lending clients in the region. With the addition of our Toronto Office in the fourth quarter of 2007, we are very well positioned for full client support throughout the America’s. Europe will be our next flag in the geographic map as we continue to follow our clients globally”.

Conrad Lee

Conrad Lee related “ZRG has created the ideal platform to leverage the success of CXO and bring a new level of service to client companies around the world. Having innovative, fact based solutions like Z Score and Collaborate to provide to our client base coupled with the research and recruiting resources of ZRG make this an ideal alliance for CXO and our team. In today’s executive search marketplace, the ideal place to be is with a mid sized boutique, where proper resources can be deployed to service global clients without the bureaucracy and hands off issues that exist at the larger firms. ZRG provides CXO the rocket fuel to take our platform to the next level”.

About ZRG

ZRG is one of North America’s fastest growing Executive Search, Consulting and Advisory firms. ZRG and its subsidiaries, Z Captive Services are entering their eighth year of providing value added human capital services to the several key markets including Financial Services and Leasing, Health Care and Life Sciences, Technology and Education. Headquartered in Boston, Z maintains strategic branch offices throughout the America’s.

Larry Hartmann
Managing Partner
ZRG, Inc.
P - 201-560-9900 x 222
F- 201-701-0374

E - lhartmann@zrgroup.com

[headlines]

### Press Release ###########################
--------------------------------------------------------------

News Briefs----

Credit losses from mortgage crisis could hit $400B
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2008-02-29-mortgage-credit-losses_N.htm

[headlines]

----------------------------------------------------------------

“Gimme that Wine”

Newman's Own® Chardonnay wins Best in Show two weeks after launch
http://www.drinksmediawire.com/afficher_cdp.asp?id=2748&lng=2

Wine Prices by vintage
http://www.winezap.com
http://www.wine-searcher.com/
US/International Wine Events
http://www.localwineevents.com/
Winery Atlas
http://www.carterhouse.com/atlas
Leasing News Wine & Spirits Page
http://two.leasingnews.org/Recommendations/wnensprts.htm
The London International Vintners Exchange (Liv-ex) is an electronic exchange for fine wine.
http://www.liv-ex.com/

[headlines]

----------------------------------------------------------------

Calendar Events This Day

Australia: Eight Hour Day or Labor day
Western Australia and Tasmania. Parades and celebrations commemorate trade union efforts during the 19th century to limit working hours. Their slogan: “Eight hours labor, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest!”
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html

Bonza Bottler Day
To celebrate when the number of the day is the same as the number of the money. An excuse to have a party at least once a month.
www.bonazabottleday.com

Bulgaria: Liberation Day
Grateful tribute to the Russian, Romanian, and Finnish soldiers and Bulgarian volunteers who in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-87, liberated Bulgaria from five centuries of Ottoman rule.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bu.html

Florida: Admission Day
Became 27th state in 1945.

Guam: Discovery Day or Magellan Day
commemorates discovery of Guan in 1521 by Magellan.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gq.html

I Want You To Be Happy Day
http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/March/behappyday.htm

If Pets had Thumbs Day
http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/March/petthumbsday.htm

Japan: Hinamatsuri (Doll Festival)
This special festival for girls is observed throughout Japan.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html

Malawi: Marty’s Day
Public holiday in Malawi
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mi.html

National Anthem Day
http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/March/nationalanthemday.htm

National Cold Cuts Day

Peach Blossom Day
http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/March/peachblossomday.htm

Saint feast Days

• St. Katharine Drexel
• St. Cunegundes
• St. Anselm of Nonantola
• St. Arthelais
• St. Winwaloc
• St. Titian
• St. Sacer
• Bl. Mary Angela Truszkowska
• St. Calupan
• St. Camilla
• St. Cele-Christ
• St. Cleonicus
• St. Foila
• St. Felix
• St. Hemiterius and Cheledonius
• St. Lamalisse
• St. Non
• St. Marinus & Asterius

http://www.catholic.org/saints/f_day/mar.php

[headlines]

----------------------------------------------------------------

When Henry Aaron hit his 715th Home Run, breaking Babe Ruth's record, the pitcher who served it up was Al Downing of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They were both wearing number 44.

[headlines]

----------------------------------------------------------------

Today's Top Event in History

1906—Clarinetist Barney Bigard Birthday
http://www.redhotjazz.com/bigard.html
http://atj.8k.com/noartist/atjbigard.html
http://www.worldofgramophones.com/barneybigard.html
This is one of Barney Bigard and Louis Armstrong’s best albums:

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

This Day in American History

    1521—Magellan discovered Guam, today an American protectorate. During his first day off the shores of Guam, Magellan's skiff was taken. In retaliation for the theft, Spanish soldiers burned a village, killed and attempted to kidnap a number of natives and exchanged bullet with sling stones in a skirmish on the shore of Umatac Bay. Angered, Magellan would name the islands "Islas de Ladrones" (islands of thieves) -- a name that would carry for the next 150 years. It should be noted that Magellan was killed in an encounter at the very next landfall in the Philippines, giving some credence to the Chamorro proverb, on revenge. Many explorers met their end in world travel, including some great Portuguese captains who were hero explorers in their day, but todayare not remembered at all.
http://ns.gov.gu/resolut.html
    1744 -Colonial missionary to the American Indians, David Brainerd wrote in his journal: 'In the morning, spent an hour in prayer. Prayer was so sweet an exercise to me that I knew not how to cease, lest I lose the spirit of prayer.'
http://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/biorpbrainerd.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0801009766/inktomi-bkasin-20/
102-1682336-8966565
    1776 -US commodore Esek Hopkins occupies Nassau Bahamas
http://www.anyflag.com/history/gadsden.htm
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-h/e-hopk-c.htm
http://www.navyhistory.com/Brigatines/Cabot.html
http://www.interesting.com/stories/gadsden/
    1791-The first internal revenue law was passed by Congress. Fourteen revenue districts were created and tax of 20 to 30 cents a gallon put on distilled spirits. The legislatures of North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland passed resolutions of disapproval shortly thereafter.
    1794-Richard Allen, a Black slave, founded African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and the Free African Society. He preached to both a Black and white congregation.
http://www.brightmoments.com/blackhistory/nrallen.html
http://earlyamerica.com/review/spring97/allen.html
http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/allen/menu.html
    1815-War against Algeria was declared by Congress. The dey of Algiers had molested U.S. ships and insisted on payment of tribute. The war would end on June 30 against Algeria and the Barbary Coast pirates when a peace treaty was signed with the dey of Algiers. It was followed by similar treaties with Tunis on July 26 and Tripoli on August 5. The treaties, exacted by Commodore Stephen Decatur, required the pirates to cease their hostile acts, free all American prisoners, and compensate the U.S. for vessels seized. It was the US Navy and the US Marines working together and that’s where we get the “from the shores of Tripoli...”
    1819-Missouri Compromise Bill introduced to admit Missouri to the Union as a state that prohibited slavery. At the time there were 11 free states and 10 slave states. Southern congressmen feared this would upset the balance of power between North and South. As a compromise, on this date Missouri was admitted as a slave state but slavery was forever prohibited in the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase.
    1821-Thomas Jennings becomes the fist Black American to receive a patent, for a dry-cleaning process.
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bljennings.htm
    1831-George M. Pullman birthday, designer and manufacturer of railroad sleeping accommodations. George Mortimer Pullman was an inventor and industrialist who became famous for his design and production of the “Pullman” railroad sleeping car. His first attempt at improving railroad sleeping accommodations began in 1858, while working as a contractor for the Chicago & Alton Railroad at Chicago, IL. His initial model was not adopted, but in 1863 a new design was enthusiastically received He secured a patent for the folding berth design in 1864 and one for the lower berth design in 1865. By 1867 Pullman and his partner organized the Pullman Palace Car Company, which became the greatest railroad car-building organization in the world. In 1881 the town of Pullman, IL, south of Chicago, was formed by Pullman to house his employees. Because rents were not lowered when wages were cut, a strike was initiated against Pullman’s company in May 1894. Pullman was eventually forced to give up control of all property in the town not directly required for manufacturing. Pullman died Oct 19,1897, at Chicago, IL. This era in history where railroad baron's "ruled" the country was about to end.
    1836-Jefferson Franklin Long, a black slave who became a congressman December 22, 1870, born in slavery near Knoxville, Crawford County, Ga., March 3, 1836. Republican. U.S. Representative from Georgia 4th District, 1870-71. Black. Died in Macon, Bibb County, Ga., February 4, 1901. Interment at Lynwood Cemetery, Macon, Ga.
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=L000419
    1843—After lobbying Congress for six years, Samuel Morse received $30,000 to build an experimental telegraph line from Baltimore, MD to Washington, DC. May 24,1844 Morse sent the historic message, "What hath God wrought?"
The first internet had arrived.
    1845- Florida became the 27th state. The word ‘Florida’ comes from the Spanish ‘feast of flowers’.. The capital of the Sunshine State is ... no, not Walt Disney World ... Tallahassee. The state flower is the fragrant orange blossom and the mockingbird is the state bird. Or maybe it The state song, "Suwannee River". The state motto is: “In God we trust.”
    1845-A man elected without a party, known as “outcast president” and considered a weak candidate in his last efforts as president is the first to have his veto overridden by Congress. He was a compromise candidate for vice- president and became president after William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia on April 4,one month after his inauguration. The veto matter concerned “ an act relating to revenue cutters and steamers,” which provided that no revenue cutter could be built without prior appropriation. President John Tyler vetoed the bill on February 20,1845, arguing that contracts for two revenue cutters had already been arranged, one with a firm in Richmond, VA, and another with a contractor in Pittsburgh, PA. the bill was reconsidered by the Senate and House on March 3, 1845. The Senate overrode the veto without debate by a vote of 41-12, and the House by a vote of 127-30. They didn’t like President Tyler, to say the least.
http://www.americanpresident.org/KoTrain/Courses/JT/JT_In_Brief.htm
    1847-Alexander Graham Bell birthday, inventor of the telephone, born at Edinburgh, Scotland. Bell acquired his interest in the transmission of sound from his father, Melville Bell, a teacher of the deaf. Bell’s use of visual devices to each articulation to the deaf contributed to the theory from which he derived the principle of the vibration membrane used in the telephone. On March 10, 1976, Bell spoke the first electrically transmitted sentence to his assistant in the next room: “Mr. Watson, come here, I want you.” Bell’s other accomplishments include a refinement of Edison’s phonograph, the first successful phonograph record and the audiometer, and he continued exploring the nature and causes of deafness. He died near Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canada, Aug. 2, 1922
    1853-A transcontinental railroad survey was authorized by Congress. $150,000 was appropriated to find the most practical railroad route across the country. The survey was to be conduced by the War Department. The iron rails of the railroads were weaving a network of lines around the nation at an ever greater rate. In the 1850 there were about 9000 miles of track, by 1860 more than 30,000. The Pennsylvania Railroad connected Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in 1852. The New York Central came into being in 1853, combining seven short lines between Albany and Buffalo, N.Y., into one. On January 12, 1853, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad began rail service to Wheeling, W.Va., from Baltimore. Rail service between New York and Chicago was available, although not in one continuous line. In 1856 the Illinois Central became the longest railroad in the world, with 700 miles of main line track. The Illinois Central was also the first railroad to which the federal government granted large tracts of public land as a subsidy; it was given 3,736,000 acres.
    1859-Over 400 men, women and children formerly held by Pierce M. Butler as “slaves” were auctioned in order to pay debts incurred in gambling and the financial crash of 1857-58. Journalist Q. K. Philander Doesticks (Mortimer Thomas) attended the two day sale and wrote about it : “What Became of the Slaves on a Georgia Plantation?,” includes vivid descriptions of the largest “recorded” slave auction in U.S. history. Many of the slave owners in the South had upwards of 40 and 50 slaves who were basically farm labor(plantation.) When the Confederate States of America formed and wrote their constitution, it was made perfectly clear the purpose of the government was to insure slavery was legal in this new sovereign nation.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/mar03.html
    1862- General Pope lays siege in front of New Madrid, Missouri, captures the city
in an effort to control the supply route of the Confederates on the Mississippi River.
http://www.civilwarhome.com/summarynewmadrid.htm
http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/mo/mo012.html
    1863-President Abraham Lincoln approved the “ National Academy of Science,”
with the mission “to investigate, examine, experiment and report on any subject of science," with experiments and reports paid for by government appropriations.
    1863-The Territory of Idaho was carved from four existing territories: Washington, Utah, Dakota, and Nebraska. It included the later states of Montana and Wyoming.
    1863-A conscription act, first in the nation’s history, was passed by Congress. It called for registration of all male citizens between 20 and 45 years of age and aliens in the same age bracket who had declared their intention of becoming citizens. Conscripts could be exempted from military service by payment of $300 or by providing a substitute.
    1863 - Free delivery of mail in cities was authorized by the United States Postal Service.
    1865-- Freedman's Bureau created. President Lincoln signs a bill creating the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. Known as the Freedmen's Bureau, this federal agency oversaw the difficult transition of blacks from slavery to freedom. The Freedman's Bureau was born out of abolitionist concern for freed slaves during the war. Union General Oliver O. Howard served as commissioner for the entire seven years of the bureau's existence. The bureau was given power to dispense relief to both white and black refugees in the South, to provide medical care and education, and to redistribute "abandoned" lands to former slaves. The latter task was probably the most effective measure to ensure the prosperity and security of the freedmen, but it was also extremely difficult to enact. Many factors stymied the bureau's work. White southerners were very hostile to the Yankee bureau members, and even more hostile to the freedmen. Terror organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan targeted both blacks and whites and intimidated those trying to improve the lives of the freedmen. The bureau lacked the necessary funds and personnel to carry out its programs, and the lenient policies of Andrew Johnson's administration encouraged resistance. The compromise of John Tyler’s election killed all such programs in the south.
http://freedmensbureau.com/
    1865-The first bank for freed African-American slaves was the Freeman’s Savings and Trust Company, for the Negro, chartered by Congress. A central bank was established in Washington, DC, with branches n 34 cities. The bank was in operation about eight years, during which time it received deposits amounted to $57 million. The depreciation in security values due to the panic of 1873 caused the trustees to vote to close the bank, the affairs of which were placed in the hands of three commissioners. A CD-rom has been made of bank records which give a rich history of the
depositors and their families.” The record of Abner Binford Smith, for example, shows the bank location and date, his parents' names, place of birth, complexion ("very light") and current residence. You also learn he was a 10-year-old boy who "goes to school." Like Abner's parents, John and Mary, many names in the database are incomplete since slaves may not have had surnames. And don't be surprised to find a lot of blank fields— information varies wildly from record to record. You might also discover the name of the plantation, master and mistress, military information and occupation. When looking for African-American ancestors in this database, keep in mind that the Freedman's Bank's 37 branches operated in larger cities in the South, as well as a few Northern cities such as New York and Philadelphia.” There are also many libraries with copies on microfilm and cd-rom. You may find it at your library, or request it.
    1877- Garrett Morgan, prolific Black inventor, born. He patented two life- saving inventions, the Safety Hood (an early gas mask) and the first three-way traffic signal. He was also an active campaigner for the rights and welfare of black people. Died July 27,1963.
http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1624.htm
    1879-The first lawyer who was a woman to be admitted to practice before the Supreme Court was Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood.
    1893-Avant-garde artist Beatroce Wood born. She exhibited with the Dada movement but is best known for her ceramics. She had painted oils for years in the Dada style before turning to ceramics in order to match a missing teapot. In addition to pottery, she sculpted in ceramic clay. Her ceramic sculptures were in a whimsical, sensual style. She developed her own distinctive colors and color schemes. She lived to 105 working and painting her pottery daily past 100.    Her home west of Los Angeles became a museum-like during his lifetime as hundreds visited daily to view her art. Wood's ceramics are displayed in the permanent collections of major U.S. museums, including the Smithsonian and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as museums worldwide. Part of her very unconventional love life became the inspiration for the fiction novel (and movie) Jules et Jim written by Henri-Pierre Roche.
    1895-Matthew Bunker Ridgway birthday, American Army officer, born at Fort Monrow, VA. As major general commanding the newly formed 82nd Airborne Division, he led it in the invasion of Sicily in July, 1943 and the invasion of the Italian mainland in 1944. Ridgway replaced Macarthur as commander of the US Eighth Army in Korea in 1951 and succeeded Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1952. He became US Army Chief of Staff in 1953. Ridgway died at Fox Chapel, P, July 26, 1993.
    1906—Clarinetist Barney Bigard Birthday
http://www.redhotjazz.com/bigard.html
http://atj.8k.com/noartist/atjbigard.html
http://www.worldofgramophones.com/barneybigard.html
This is one of Barney Bigard and Louis Armstrong’s best albums:
    1911-The first Federal cemetery to contain graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers was opened in Springfield, MO, by act of Congress. Part of it was formerly a Confederate cemetery, maintained by the state of Missouri, which deeded it to the federal government on June 21, 1911. A stone wall separates the graves of the Confederate troops from those of the Union soldiers. The cemetery contains over 3,100 graves.
    1911-actress Jean Harlow birthday, Hollywood's first blonde sexpot. Although her film roles always posed her as being able to hold her own with men in a worldly-wise manner, in reality she was a dependent person who was abused. Her fatal liver ailment at age 26 resulted from an earlier beating by a lover. Her striking, frankly sexual beauty radiated on the screen and directors lit her with high spots to emphasize her platinum blond hair.
http://www.jeanharlow.com/
    1913- National American Woman Suffrage Association parade held in Washington, D.C., on the day before Woodrow Wilson's inauguration turned into a near riot when people in the crowd began jeering and shoving the marchers. The 5,000 women and their supporters were spit upon, struck in the face and pelted with burning cigar stubs while police looked on and made no effort to intervene. Soldiers had to be called to restore order.
    1915 - The now-famous film, "Birth of a Nation", debuted in New York City. The motion picture brought Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh and Wallace Reid to the silver screen in what has frequently been called the greatest silent film ever produced. A 40-piece orchestra accompanied the silent film. The movie, at 2 hours and 40 minutes, was unusually long for its day and used revolutionary filmmaking techniques, including editing, multiple camera angles, and close-ups. However, the film, originally entitled The Clansman, was denounced by the NAACP for its negative portrayal of African Americans. His next picture, “ Intolerance” (1916), took two years to make and featured a complex, interwoven plot examining racism, prejudice, and injustice throughout history. He used much of his own money to finance the $2.5 million film, and its failure ruined him financially. His career foundered for several years after that.
    1917---From a flat tax to a new tax levied by Congress on excess profits of corporations, passed this day, an “act to provide increased revenue to defray the expenses of the increased appropriations of the army and navy and the extension of fortifications.” The act provided for taxation of the profits of all corporations in excess of 7 to 9 percent of the capital. The rates were 15 percent; 35 percent of the excess from 15 to 25 percent; 35 percent on the excess from 25 percent to 33 percent and 60 percent on the excess above 33 percent (and this was before depreciation or any other “tax write off.” The act was repealed by the Revenue Act of 19178, approved on October 3, 1917 March 3
    1923-Guitarist Arthel “Doc” Watson born Deep Cap, NC
http://www.docsguitar.com/biography.html
    1923-Time Magazine first published. The magazine was founded by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden.
http://www.univie.ac.at/Schroedinger/3_96/time01.htm
http://www.time.com/time/
    1926-Pulitzer Prize-winning poet James Merrill is born in New York . Merrill was the son of financier Charles Merrill, who founded the brokerage Merrill-Lynch. Merrill served as an Army infantryman during World War II and graduated from Amherst College in 1947. He became one of the most highly regarded poets of his time. Merrill’s parents divorced in 1939. The divorce provided him with rich material for many poems, including "Broken Home." Much of his work was autobiographical and explored his family relationships, privileged upbringing, and homosexuality. His poems appeared in Poetry and the Kenyon Review, and his debut book, First Poems, was published in 1951. Thanks to a large trust fund, Merrill traveled widely and owned houses in Greece and Connecticut. In 1966, Merrill won the National Book Award for Nights and Days. A decade later, he published Divine Comedies, which won the 1977 Pulitzer Prize. Divine Comedies was the first in a trilogy of ambitious, book-length poems, some of which were written with the assistance of a Ouija board. He published 12 books of poetry and also wrote plays and novels. A final collection of poems was published after he died of a heart attack in Tucson, Arizona, in 1995.
    1927-Bluesman Herman (Junior) Parker was born in West Memphis, Arkansas. Influenced and aided early in his career by Sonny Boy Williamson, Parker cut his first records for the Sun label in 1952. His"Feelin' Good" hit the r'n'b top ten the following year. And Elvis Presley recorded Parker’s "Mystery Train" for Sun in 1955. Parker later took his modern country blues to Duke Records, where he had his biggest hit in 1962 - "Annie Get Your Yo-Yo." Junior Parker died November 18, 1971 following eye surgery.
http://www.oldies.com/artist/index.cfm/id/294.html
    1930 - Bert Lahr from "The Wizard of Oz" and Kate "God Bless America" Smith starred in the opening of "Flying High" at the Apollo Theatre in New York City. The show ran 45 weeks at what is now America's most famous black entertainment theatre.
    1931 - On Brunswick Records, Cab Calloway and his orchestra recorded "Minnie the Moocher" for the first time. The song was featured in the 1980 motion picture, "The Blues Brothers", starring John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd. 1931 - The Star-Spangled Banner, written by Francis Scott Key, became the official national anthem of the United States. Despite the fact millions sing the anthem prior to sporting events, civic club meetings, and other public gatherings, it is ranked as the most difficult national anthem on the planet to sing.
    1931-- The US Congress recognized Star Spangled Banner, written by Francis Scott Key, as the official national anthem. Despite the fact that millions sing (in a manner of speaking) the anthem before sporting events, civic club meetings and other public atherings, it is still ranked as the most difficult national anthem on earth to sing. While´s Key´s lyrics reflected an enduring sentiment of America during war time of 1812, with its "rockets red glare and bombs bursting in air" over Fort McHenry at Baltimore, MD; the melody goes against most everything musical and the words themselves are quite difficult to remember -- especially those following the first erse.Originally an English drinking song, To Anacreon in Heaven, the melody is next to impossible for most people to sing. Amateur singers embarrass themselves as they attempt to hit the high notes at the end of the song. They do this in the shower and at community events; while professional opera singers and pop music stars go flat, or forget the words, in front of national television audiences. Performers such as Robert Morley, Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Jose Feliciano, Ray Charles and others have had difficulties in musically translating the nation´s anthem. Almost from the moment the song was adopted officially, there has been movement to bring about change. Many would like to see America the Beautiful become the U.S. national anthem.
    1934-Bass player Jimmy Garrison born Miami ,FL, He died on April 7, 1976, in New York.
http://www.downbeat.com/artists/window.asp?aid=301
http://www.garrisonjazz.com/Jimmy%20Garrison.html
    1934 -- John Dillinger escapes prison with fake wooden pistol
http://www.geocities.com/hydey6/bio.html
    1937-Benny Goodman Band opens at Paramount Theater to tumultuous response.
    1938-Drummer Gene Krupa plays last date with Benny Goodman, Earle Theatre, Philladelphia,PA.
    1938 - A world record was set for the indoor mile run at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, when Glenn Cunningham went the distance in 4 minutes, 4.4 seconds.
    1939 - A new craze swept college campuses starting at Harvard University. The fad was goldfish swallowing.
    1940-Clarinetist Artie Shaw records “Frenesi,” Hollywood, Ca.
    1943-The state of Georgia lowered the lection law to 18 with an amendment to the state constitution. It was approved by popular vote on August 4, 1943, but a 3 to 1 majority. The first election held under this law took place on November 7, 1944. The national voting age was lowered to 18 in 1971, when the 26th amendment to the Constitution was ratified by the required number of states. It became law on July 5,1971.
    1949-- Tucker Folds. While my father Lawrence Menkin plays a small part in the Movie “Tucker,” the man behind the pharmacy counter who serves sodas to Tucker (Francis Ford Coppola was a fan of his “Captain Video,”) the movie was far from what really happened. It is true that after the war there were several new car manufacturers from Ramble to the one founded by Preston “P.T. Tucker.” His car did feature a third headline that rotated with the axle, a “bomb shelter” in the backseat, disk brakes, six exhaust pipes and went from zero to sixty in ten seconds, reaching 120 mph as if it were a race care. It was the prototype, but it never made it to the marketplace as “P.T.” was indicted with thirty-one counts of investment fraud by the Security Exchange Commission. He did produce 51 prototypes, but they never made it to market as the Tucker Corporation went into receivership this day. He wasn’t called “P.T.” for nothing.
    1950---Top Hits
Dear Hearts and Gentle People - Bing Crosby
There’s No Tomorrow - Tony Martin
Music, Music, Music - Teresa Brewer
Chatanoogie Shoe Shine Boy - Red Foley
    1951-"Mr. Wizard premiered on television. Don Herbert explained the mysteries of science while performing experiments in front of wide-eyed children, such as myself.
    1955 - A truck driver from Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis Aron Presley made his television debut on "Louisiana Hayride". This signaled promoters to send Elvis to New York City where he auditioned for Arthur Godfrey’s "Talent Scouts" program. Talent coordinators and Godfrey passed on Elvis appearing on the show. Soon after, he was kicked out of the Grand Ole Opry and told to "go back to driving a truck." In a little over a year, the United States was caught up in Presley-mania.
    1957-At the world figure skating championships in Colorado Springs, Colo.,Carol Heiss won the women’s singles title and David Jenkins won the men’s singles.
    1958---Top Hits
Don’t/I Beg of You - Elvis Presley
A Wonderful Time Up There/It’s Too Soon to Know - Pat Boone
Tequila - The Champs
Ballad of a Teenage Queen - Johnny Cash
    1959-- By a vote taken in both bodies, the Unitarian Church and the Universalist Church, along with their fellowships __ the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America merged into a single denomination.
http://www.uua.org/
    1959 - The San Francisco Giants baseball team's new home was officially named Candlestick Park. The name was picked in a contest. The contest winner didn’t have to look hard, as the National League’s least favorite stadium is a few hundred feet from Candlestick Point, on San Francisco Bay.A scandal of the day, developer Haney donated the land to the city with the stipulation that the new park be named Haney Park. But he kept the parking lot, and the city didn’t like that, so would not name the new park after him In 1995, Candlestick Park was changed to 3COMM Park, after a small, local computer software developer bid half-million dollars for the rights to the stadium name. After the contract expired and the Dot.com craze had come to a screeching halt, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors did not want to sell the name, even though they had had several offers of $500,000 a year. One of the concerns was the fact the baseball park called Pac Bell Park was to have its name changed, as the lessee of the name had changes its name to Monster Park today.
    1962-Jacqueline (Jackie) Joyner-Kersee, Olympic gold medal hepathlete, born East St. Louis, Il. She is the first athlete to win back-to-back gold medals in the Olympic Heptathlons (seven events-the 200-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump, javelin throw, and 800-meter run- held over a two-day period). In 1988 she set a new world record in the Heptathlon and earned the title "World's Greatest Female Athlete."    She won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals over four consecutive Olympic Games. By 1996, past her prime and injured with a bad hamstring, JKJK was still able to reach down inside herself for one last attempt at Olympics glory, saying, "I had the rest of my life to recover." She ignored the pain to make the third longest long jump in the competition and add a Bronze as her sixth Olympic medal.
    1965 - Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer and Eleanor Parker starred in the film adaptation of the popular Broadway hit, "The Sound of Music". The musical, about the Trapp Family, was a hit on the Great White Way for over three years and one of the most popular motion pictures of all time. The movie brought instant stardom for Miss Andrews, who went on to star in other singing roles in the theatre, on television.
    1966---Top Hits
These Boots are Made for Walkin’ - Nancy Sinatra
The Ballad of the Green Berets - SSgt Barry Sadler
My World is Empty Without You - The Supremes
Waitin’ in Your Welfare Line - Buck Owens movies and as a popular recording artist.
    1966- Canadian Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay, Dewey Martin and Bruce Palmer formed Buffalo Springfield in Los Angeles. The group laid the groundwork for country rock, and several members later found success in Poco and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. When Buffalo Springfield started, it was the house band for the influential Los Angeles nightspot "Whiskey A Go Go". Stephen Stills's composition, "For What It's Worth," gave the band its biggest hit in 1967. Before Buffalo Springfield's third album was released in 1968, the group had broken up, partly because of disagreements between Stills and Neil Young.
    1966 - ‘Lightnin’ Lou Christie was got a gold record "Lightnin’ Strikes". Christie was born Lugee Sacco, and joined The Classics before making his first recording in 1960. In 1961, he recorded as Lugee & The Lions until becoming Lou Christie for a string of hits in 1963. Other songs from Christie’s Top 40 appearances include: "The Gypsy Cried", "Two Faces Have I", "Rhapsody in the Rain" and "I’m Gonna Make You Mine". He had a falsetto voice, similar to Frankie Valli's of The Four Seasons. "Lightnin’ Strikes" was his only million seller.
    1966 - A tornado hit Jackson, MS, killing 54 persons.
    1968 -- The Grateful Dead leave the Haight district in San Francisco with a farewell concert before relocating to Marin County.
    1969 - The three-man Apollo 9 spacecraft was launched from Cape Kennedy; the main aim of its 10-day flight was to test the lunar module in Earth's orbit.
    1971-- U.S. 5th Special Forces Group withdraws. The U.S. Army's 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) departs South Vietnam. The Special Forces were formed to organize and train guerrilla bands behind enemy lines. President John F. Kennedy, a strong believer in the potential of the Special Forces in counterinsurgency operations, had visited the Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg to review the program and authorized the Special Forces to wear the headgear that became their symbol, the Green Beret. Some of my best friends were in this unit and we trained together. The 5th Group was sent to Vietnam in October 1964 to assume control of all Special Forces operations in Vietnam. Prior to this time, Green Berets had been assigned to Vietnam only on temporary duty. The primary function of the Green Berets in Vietnam was to organize the Civilian Irregular Defense Groups (CIDG) among South Vietnam's Montagnard population. The Montagnards--"mountain people" or "mountaineers"--were a group of indigenous people from several tribes, such as the Rhade, Bru, and Jarai, who lived mainly in the highland areas of Vietnam. These tribes were recruited to guard camps in the mountainous border areas against North Vietnamese infiltration. At the height of the war the Green Berets oversaw 84 CIDG camps with more than 42,000 CIDG strike forces and local militia units. The CIDG program ended in December 1970 with the transfer of troops and mission to the South Vietnamese Border Ranger Command. The Green Berets were withdrawn as part of the U.S. troop reductions in Vietnam.
    1974---Top Hits
Seasons in the Sun - Terry Jacks
Spiders & Snakes - Jim Stafford
Boogie Down - Eddie Kendricks
Another Lonely Song - Tammy Wynette
    1980 - A coastal storm produced 25 inches of snow at Elizabeth City, NC, and 30 inches at Cape Hatteras NC. At Miami FL the mercury dipped to 32 degrees.
    1982-The re-formed Mammas and the Pappas, with original members John Phillips and Denny Doherty joined by Phillips' daughter MacKenzie and Spanky McFarlane of Spanky and Our Gang, play the first show of their brief reunion tour. Although Mama Cass Elliot has been dead for almost ten years, they do not change the lyrics to "Creeque Alley" which goes "No one's getting fat except Mama Cass."
    1982---Top Hits
Centerfold - The J. Geils Band
Open Arms - Journey
Shake It Up - The Cars
Lord, I Hope This Day is Good - Don Williams
    1983 - The last of a series of storms to strike the California coast finally came to an end. Waves fifteen to twenty feet high pounded the coast for two days, and in a four day period up to 18 inches of rain drenched the Los Angeles and Santa Barbara area. On the morning of the first, thunderstorms spawned two tornadoes which moved through the Los Angeles area.
    1984-Peter V. Ueberroth elected Commissioner: Major league baseball owners elected Peter V. Ueberroth, president of the Los Angeles Olympic Organzing Committee, to be Commissioner of Baseball to succeed Bowie Kuhn. Ueberroth assumed his duties after his responsibilities with the Olympics were finished, and he remained in office through March 31, 1989.
    1985- " Moonlighting, " with Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis premiers. The show frequently broke with a formula by using the how-within-a-show technique, having characters directly address the camera.
    1985 - Kevin McHale of the University of Minnesota set a Boston Celtics scoring record this night as he poured in 56 points in a 138-129 win over the Detroit Pistons.
    1985-Willie Shoemaker became the first jockey to pass the $100 million mark in career earnings by ridding Lord at War to victory in the Santa Anita Handicap.
    1985-“Moonlight” premiered on TV. Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis starred in ABC’s comedy-adventure hour with Allyce Beasley as rhyming receptionist Agnes DiPesto. The premise: former model Maddie Hayes (Shepherd) discovers that the Blue Moon Detective Agency is her only remaining asset after her business manager embezzled her wealth. After deciding to keep the agency, she and her sparring partner, wisecracking detective David Addison ( Willis), go off on a series of madcap adventures. The show frequently broke with formula by using the show-within-a-show technique, having characters directly address the camera, shooting sequences in black and white or by going completely off-concept ( as in an episode based on Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.”) Last telecast on May 14, 1989, the show foundered due to personality conflicts and production delays.
    1989 - Wintry weather prevailed from the southern Rockies to the Upper Great Lakes. Neguanee MI received 19 inches of snow, and up to 24 inches of snow blanketed Colorado. Blizzard conditions were reported in Minnesota.
    1990---Top Hits
Escapade - Janet Jackson
Dangerous - Roxette
Roam - The B-52’s
No Matter How High - The Oak Ridge Boys
    1991-Video catches Los Angeles Police Brutality: At 12:45 a.m. robbery parolee Rodney G. King stops his car after leading police on a nearly 8-mile pursuit through the streets of Los Angeles, California. The chase began after King, who was intoxicated, was caught speeding on a freeway by a California Highway Patrol cruiser but refused to pull over. Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) cruisers and a police helicopter joined the pursuit, and when King was finally stopped by Hansen Dam Park, several police cars descended on his white Hyundai. A group of LAPD officers led by Sergeant Stacey Koon ordered King and the other two occupants of the car to exit the vehicle and lie flat on the ground. King's two friends complied, but King himself was slower to respond, getting on his hands and knees rather than lying flat. Officers Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, Ted Briseno, and Roland Solano tried to force King down, but he resisted, and the officers stepped back and shot King twice with an electric stun gun known as a Taser, which fires darts carrying a charge of 50,000 volts.
At this moment, civilian George Holliday, standing on a balcony in an apartment complex across the street, focused the lens of his new video camera on the commotion unfolding by Hansen Dam Park. In the first few seconds of what would become a very famous 89-second video, King is seen rising after the Taser shots and running in the direction of Officer Powell. The officers alleged that King was charging Powell, while King himself later claimed that an officer told him, "We're going to kill you, nigger. Run!" and he tried to flee. All the arresting officers were white, along with all but one of the other two dozen or so law enforcement officers present at the scene. With the roar of the helicopter above, very few commands or remarks are audible in the video.
With King running in his direction, Powell swung his baton, hitting him on the side of the head and knocking him to the ground. This action was captured by the video, but the next 10 seconds were blurry as Holliday shifted the camera. From the 18- to 30-second mark in the video, King attempted to rise, and Powell and Wind attacked him with a torrent of baton blows that prevented him from doing so. From the 35- to 51-second mark, Powell administered repeated baton blows to King's lower body. At 55 seconds, Powell struck King on the chest, and King rolled over and lay prone. At that point, the officers stepped back and observed King for about 10 seconds. Powell began to reach for his handcuffs.At 65 seconds on the video, Officer Briseno stepped roughly on King's upper back or neck, and King's body writhed in response. Two seconds later, Powell and Wind again began to strike King with a series of baton blows, and Wind kicked him in the neck six times until 86 seconds into the video. At about 89 seconds, King put his hands behind his back and was handcuffed.Sergeant Koon never made an effort to stop the beating, and only one of the many officers present briefly intervened, raising his left arm in front of a baton-swinging colleague in the opening moments of the videotape, to no discernible effect. An ambulance was called, and King was taken to the hospital. Struck as many as 56 times with the batons, he suffered a fractured leg, multiple facial fractures, and numerous bruises and contusions. Unaware that the arrest was videotaped, the officers downplayed the level of violence used to arrest King and filed official reports in which they claimed he suffered only cuts and bruises "of a minor nature."George Holliday sold his video of the beating to the local television station, KTLA, which broadcast the footage and sold it to the national Cable News Network (CNN). The widely broadcast video caused outrage around the country and triggered a national debate on police brutality. Rodney King was released without charges, and on March 15 Sergeant Koon and officers Powell, Wind, and Briseno were indicted by a Los Angeles grand jury in connection with the beating. All four were charged with assault with a deadly weapon and excessive use of force by a police officer. Though Koon did not actively participate in the beating, as the commanding officer he was charged with aiding and abetting it. Powell and Koon were also charged with filing false reports.
Because of the uproar in Los Angeles surrounding the incident, the judge, Stanley Weisberg, was persuaded to move the trial outside Los Angeles County to Simi Valley in Ventura County. On April 29, 1992, the 12-person jury, which included 10 whites and no African Americans, issued its verdicts: not guilty on all counts, except for one assault charge against Powell that ended in a hung jury. The acquittals touched off rioting and looting in Los Angeles that grew into the most destructive U.S. civil disturbance of the 20th century. In three days of violence, more than 50 people were killed, more than 2,000 were injured, and nearly $1 billion in property was destroyed. On May 1, President George H. Bush ordered military troops and riot-trained federal officers to Los Angeles to quell the riot.Under federal law, the officers could also be prosecuted for violating Rodney King's constitutional rights, and on April 17, 1993, a federal jury convicted Koon and Powell for violating King's rights by their unreasonable use of force under color of law. Although Wind and Briseno were acquitted, most civil rights advocates considered the mixed verdict a victory. On August 4, Koon and Powell were sentenced to two and a half years in prison for the beating of King. Unfortunately Rodney King was arrested again for drunk driving as he was evidently an alcoholic.
    1994- Barbra Streisand auctioned off part of her art collection for $5.7-million. The highest price paid at the New York sale was $1.98-million for "Adam and Eve," a 1932 Art Deco painting by Tamara de Lempicka. That was a nice profit for Streisand. She had paid $135,000 for the work a decade earlier.
    1996- Apple decided to kill eWorld. It was an online service, which was launched on January 5, 1994 and the first high-profile decision by Apple's new chairman and CEO, Gilbert Amelio, hired earlier in the year (quite a wine collector.) Its share of the global PC market had plunged to about 7.8 percent from 25 percent in 1984. It continued to go down, but has always had a very strong, dedicated following such as BMW drivers possess, perhaps more so.

[headlines]

--------------------------------------------------------------

Winter Poem

[headlines]

--------------------------------------------------------------

SuDoku

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

http://leasingnews.org/Soduku/soduko-main.htm

[headlines]

--------------------------------------------------------------

Daily Puzzle

How to play:
http://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle_frame.htm

Refresh for current date:
http://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle_frame.htm

[headlines]

--------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.gasbuddy.com/
http://www.gasbuddy.com/GB_Map_Gas_Prices.aspx
http://www.gasbuddy.com/GB_Mobile_Instructions.aspx

[headlines]

--------------------------------------------------------------

Provence, France-Vacation

http://le-monastier.site.voila.fr/

[headlines]

--------------------------------------------------------------

News on Line---Internet Newspapers

Columbia/southern Rensselaer counties in NY

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=248&Nav_Sec=57478

--------------------------------

[headlines]