Documentation Processor New York, NY. Mid-Town New York office seeking Documentation Processor with approximately 3 years experience. Click here for details. Send all resumes in confidence to: nkimani@easternfunding.com

www.EasternFunding.com

Friday, March 28, 2008

Headlines---

Technical Difficulties-Up-Date
    Buyers Wanted: Creative Capital Leases
        Classified Ads---Controller
    ELFA MLFI Survey Reflects Economy
"Penalty for Federal Reserve" by
Christopher Menkin (w/help from Paul Simon)
    Gearing up for more bank defaults
        Cartoon---Caller IQ
    Leasing News Advisor Allan Levine
Classified Ads---Help Wanted
Sales makes it Happen—by Adrian Miller
“Are you Easy?”
    Barry Dubin’s daughter writes book
        Shari Lipski to Compete at AKC
No.#1 Orix/Equilease Exec.at Harbour Capital
    Is Warren Buffett Eyeing CIT?
        Investment Firms Tap Fed for Billions
        Bleak home forecast until 2010
    Bear Stearns CEO Cayne sells $61MM stock
News Briefs---
    You May have Missed---
        California Nuts Brief---
"Gimme that Wine"
    Calendar Events
        Snapple Real Facts
Today's Top Event in History
    This Day in American History
        Spring Poem
SuDoku
    Daily Puzzle
        GasBuddy
    Provence, France-Vacation
News on Line---Internet Newspapers
Boca Raton, Florida

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

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Technical Difficulties: Due to intermediate internet connection on a cruise in the Caribbean, it has been difficult to connect and communicate. Hopefully Leasing News will be back on a more regular schedule next week.

Advertisers automatically receive extra days. It is often that we extend extra days that include 12 editions that are always available at www.leasingnews.org

Kit Menkin, editor

[headlines]

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Buyers Wanted for Creative Capital Leases

“I represent as one of the official creditors committee (OCC) whom is being asked to help in finding some potential buyers for the Creative Capital lease portfolio which is now for sale.

“For your information, I am not representing any leasing company or business, per se. Only trying to help the official creditors committee (OCC) in posting and mentioning this available lease portfolio to those NAELB members whom might be interested in inquiring, reviewing, and possibly making a bid for this asset that is now for sale through Creative Capital's Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. Any correspondence and help would be appreciated.

“Below is the description and contact information in which we would like to post on your newsletter.”

Joseph M. Lee
Tel: 1-415-640-1639 (Cell)
E-Mail: jmlee@rcn.com

Creative Capital Leasing Group, LLC ("Debtor") filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition for relief on or about September 10, 2007 in the United Sates Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of California. The Debtor has continued in possession and operation of their business, which consists of the leasing of business equipment (collectively, the "Leasing Portfolio"). The Debtor has listed the Leasing Portfolio has having a value of $8,375,000. The Leasing Portfolio consists of approximately 46 active business equipment leases (the equipment is diverse and ranges from hair dryers to tanning equipment).

A lender maintains a security interest in the Leasing Portfolio in the amount of $8,385,103.71. The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors ("Committee"), appointed by the United States Trustee, is in the process of effectuating a sale of the Leasing Portfolio. The sale would require court approval, and will be subject to overbid.

In order to learn more about the Leasing Portfolio, including reviewing the Leasing Portfolio files, or to make a bid, please contact counsel for the Committee: Edward Medina, Gordon & Rees, LLP, Phone #
619-696-6700, email: emedina@gordonrees.com.

Creative Capital Bankrupt Story
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/December%202007/12-05-07.htm#ccl

PFF Bank & Trust wins One
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/January%202008/01-21-08.htm#pff

[headlines]

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Classified Ads---Controller

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

To place a free “job wanted” ad here, please go to:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted-post.htm

[headlines]

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ELFA MLFI Survey Reflects Economy

It should be pointed out that the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) changed the employee numbers when they realized one company was also reporting their “overseas” employees (March, 2007). Allegedly only US employees are counted.

Last month LaSalle National Leasing* was dropped making the list 25, not 26, and according to a footnote the numbers were adjusted. In comparison to the last 12 month numbers, it does not figure out. Readers may check for themselves by viewing previous statistics.

Despite the questioning here, the report does reflect the economy.

It should also be noted that receivables do not appear to be as poor as Fitch has been reporting they are becoming, per this chart.

Index Change as of January 2008: (*LaSalle National Leasing Corporation has been acquired and thus has been replaced in the MLFI and all historical numbers have been adjusted to account for this change to the index. (EFLA. It is interesting to note that no Announcement has been issued by Bank of America or LaSalle about what is to happen the operation, although Leasing News has been receiving press releases from various leasing companies announcing new employees who were working for LaSalle. It is indicative that ELFA would no longer include them in their survey. Editor)

LFA MLFI-25 Participants

ADP Credit Corporation
Bank of America
Bank of the West
Canon Financial Services
Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation
CIT
Citicapital
De Lage Landen Financial Services
First American Equipment Finance
GreatAmerica
Hitachi Credit America
HP Financial Services
Irwin Financial
John Deere Credit Corporation
Key Equipment Finance
Marlin Leasing Corporation
National City Commercial Corp.
RBS Asset Finance
Regions Equipment Finance
Siemens Financial Services
US Bancorp
US Express Leasing
Verizon Capital Corp
Volvo Financial Services
Wells Fargo Equipment Finance

Collection of MFLI surveys since September, 2006:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/ELFA-Survey.htm

[headlines]

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Penalty for Federal Reserve

By Christopher Menkin
(with help from Paul Simon)

I wish I were an auditor for the Federal Reserve Bank Board of Trustees as I would give them a “yellow card” and put them on the watch list. Bernanke would have gotten his red card,
ejected for fouling out a long time ago.

Richard Bove, a bank analyst with Punk, Ziegel & Co., told CNN Money that he thinks the Fed had to save Bear Stearns but he did not approve of the way the Fed did it. He said that during the last major banking crisis in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was routine for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the regulatory agency that insures bank deposits, to step in and save failing banks.

But Bove pointed out that what the FDIC usually did was fire the banks' top management teams, eliminate their boards of directors and even place the banks in bankruptcy before negotiating sales to more stable banks. That obviously didn't happen here.

Add to this, the green reward card with CEO getting millions by taking “forced retirement.”

It is ironic in a Republican administration that the deficit is so high and spending is uncontrolled. On the other hand, since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006, we've seen:

1) Consumer confidence plummets;
2) The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3.60 a gallon;
3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase);
4) American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate
(stock and mutual fund losses);
5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars;
6) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.

America voted for change in 2006, and we got it!

----

Slip slidin' away
Slip slidin' away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you're slip slidin' away

I know a woman
Became a wife
These are the very words she uses
To describe her life
She said a good day
Ain't got no rain
She said a bad day's when I lie in bed
And think of things that might have been

Chorus

And I know a father
Who had a son
He longed to tell him all the reasons for things he'd done
He came a long way
Just to explain
He kissed his boy as he lay sleeping
Then he turned around and headed home again

Chorus

God only knows
God makes his plan
The information's unavailable
To the mortal man
We work our jobs
Collect our pay
Believe we're gliding down the highway
When in fact we're slip slidin' away

[headlines]

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Gearing up for more bank defaults

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is reportedly beefing up its bank failure unit with plans to hire 140 new employees. The FDIC hopes to have up to 380 employees in its Division of Resolutions & Receiverships.

During the interviews regarding the sale of NetBank, Leasing News was told by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) that more banks to fail. At the end of the year, the OTS starting hiring, plus calling
previous employees from retirement.

It is ironic that the “baby boomer” retirement of government employees has not been viewed as serious. Earlier, the FDIC announced they were trying to bring back about 25 retirees to the agency and noted those workers will train new hires. It was Reported then that over the next five years, about 50 percent of employees with experience in bank failures, especially those who were at the agency during the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s, will be eligible for retirement.

Federal bank regulators announced this week they planned to increase staffing 60 percent in coming months to handle an anticipated surge in troubled financial institutions. They are anticipating adding an additional 140 workers to this Division based in Dallas, Texas.

At this time, there are reportedly 76 banks on the FDIC's "problem institutions" list. Regulators are concerned about “community banks” and small regional banks with high concentration of real estate construction loans. They also are concerned about bank covenants and other credit criteria granted in previous years, but not reviewed properly by the banks.

The last time the agency was hit hard with failures was during the 1990-1991 recession, when 502 banks failed in three years.

The FDIC provides insurance for deposits up to $100,000. While depositors typically have quick access to their bank accounts on the next business day after a bank closure, winding down a failed bank's operations can take years to finish. That process can include selling off real estate, investments and dealing with lawsuits.

The FDIC's chairman, Sheila Bair, has said that banks that were cautious about their lending should be able to weather the economic downturn, but cautioned that those that weren't so careful won't be so lucky. Regulators have warned of problems lurking, especially in smaller banks with a high concentration of real estate construction loans.

FDIC officials said last month they planned to bring back about 25 retirees to the agency and noted those workers will train new hires. Over the next five years, about 50 percent of employees with experience in bank failures, especially those who were at the agency during the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s, will be eligible for retirement, officials added.

[headlines]

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[headlines]

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Leasing News Advisor Allan Levine

Allan is an excellent photographer, a skill he learned early as a young man working at Polaroid Land Camera. He also writes and has served as editor, plus covered events for Leasing News. Recently we asked him four questions:

1. What is the biggest issue you face in your business?

Hiring good sales personnel with the ability to grow and develop into the best they can be.

2. What advice would you give to a young person entering the business today?

Be prepared to spend a few years learning all the ins and outs of our industry. Always keep reading and gain that special edge, “INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE”

3. To what do you attribute your success?

Goal setting, a methodical work ethic, always staying positive, and being able to teach others to be successful-so they can make the company successful. I learned way back when to
“train your replacement”.

4. What is one big thing that hope to do before you die?

My 11 golf handicap has never yielded an elusive hole-in-one.

Allan

Allan Levine, Chief Operating Officer
MADI$ON CAPITAL
9D Gwynns Mill Court
Owings Mills, MD 21117
alevine@madisoncapital.com

Direct Line: 443.796.7337
Office: 443.796.7333
fax: 443.796.7200
Equipment and Vehicle Leasing Solutions

www.madisoncapital.com

Allan Levine is the Chief Operating Officer and of Madison Capital, LLC, and has been in the vehicle and equipment leasing business for 34 years. In 1971, he began working with a firm focused on vehicle and small-ticket equipment leasing. In 1974, Allan started Fox Auto & Truck Discount Leasing Company, which evolved, in the early 1980's, into Fox Discount Leasing, Inc. In 1987, he formed Fox Valley Leasing, which merged with Harbor Leasing to become Madison Capital in August of 1997.

Allan has served on many boards and committees throughout the leasing industry, including: the local chapter of the NVLA (National Vehicle Leasing Association), the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association's committee for independent leasing companies (ILC) and its Future Council group, is past chair of The Gordon Center (a 550-seat boutique venue for the performing arts), and as past Chairman of the Board of an international not-for-profit serving over 5500 individuals with development disabilities and has 2300 employees. Allan is currently on the Board of The Eastern Association of Equipment Lessors (EAEL) and is the Editor of The Independent, which is EAEL's newsletter.

He has also served on the board of many additional local philanthropic and community organizations.

Allan is a graduate of the University of Maryland where he played lacrosse.

[headlines]

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Leasing Industry Help Wanted

Document Processor

Documentation Processor New York, NY. Mid-Town New York office seeking Documentation Processor with approximately 3 years experience. Click here for details. Send all resumes in confidence to: nkimani@easternfunding.com

www.EasternFunding.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]

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[headlines]

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Barry Dubin’s daughter writes book

Well-known leasing/finance attorney Barry Dubin’s daughter Alyssa Gussenoff has written a book entitled Margarita Mama - Mocktails for Moms-to Be. It is a collection of recipes for non-alcoholic drinks and is available on line (Amazon) and book stores (Borders, Barnes & Noble) and gift shops.

Divided into three chapters: “Frozen Delights,” “On the Rocks,” “Martini’s & More,” there are over 60 recipes for every “mom to be” with illustrations.

“As many of you know while I was pregnant I wrote a book,’ Margarita Mama-Mocktails for
Moms-to-Be'.

“It's a book of nonalcoholic drink recipes for pregnant women. It has recipes for classic drinks like Cosmopolitans and Margaritas as well as new drinks like the 'Nothing Fits Fizz' and the 'Zachary Daiquiri'

“I thought it would be a much better gift than all of the week by week books that I got!

“The book was released this week and is in most major bookstores and many gift stores. I'm really excited...spread the word to all of your pregnant friends!

“Here's a link to the book on Amazon.com if you want to see the cover and read more about the book! ($10.36. I ordered one for our web graphic designer Gretchen Gabriel who is expecting this June;
her third son. editor)

“http://www.amazon.com/Margarita-Mama-Mocktails-Moms-Be/dp/1594742154/ref=
pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205451595&sr=8-1

Love,
Alyssa

[headlines]

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

Shari Lipski to Compete at AKC National Agility Championship.

Over 700 Competitors Vie for the Title of National Agility Champion!

---Ready. Set. Go! Tulsa, Oklahoma will soon be filled with the swiftest most agile dogs in the nation; vying for the top spot at the prestigious American Kennel Club (AKC) National Agility Championship. Shari Lipski and her five year old Belgian Malinois, Tisa, will be among the contenders.

Shari and Tisa will compete against the top dog and handler teams in the country March 28-30, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. During the events, Shari & Tisa will run the timed agility course, off-leash, striving for a perfect score of 100. Any missed agility obstacles or other mistakes result in penalty faults which are deducted from their score.

Agility is the fastest growing dog sport in the United States. It demonstrates a dog’s willingness to work with its handler in a variety of situations. This exciting, athletic event requires top conditioning, concentration, training, and most importantly, teamwork as the agile dogs negotiate a tricky obstacle course; including weaving though poles, bounding over jumps, and balancing on boards.

Shari is a principal at ECS financial Services and a Certified Lease Professional (CLP). Shari has been in the leasing industry for over eighteen years. Shari and her husband Phil are the proud owners of Oak Spring Kennels in Poplar Grove, Illinois. In addition to kennel boarding, they also breed Belgian Malinois, and offer classes and private lessons in Agility, Obedience, Tracking, Schutzhund, RingSport, and Flyball. Visit their website at www.oakspringkennels.com.

Shari L. Lipski, CLP
Principal
ECS Financial Services, Inc.
Lease Portfolio Managers and CPA's
815-713-4354
847-897-1701 (Fax)
slipski@ecsfinancial.com

[headlines]

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

Top former Orix/Equilease Exec. joins Harbour Capital

Newington, NH…Harbour Capital Corporation, of Newington, New Hampshire, announces that Samuel H. Smith, III has joined the company as Executive Vice President. Mr. Smith will lead the newly formed Vendor/Dealer Group of Harbour Capital Corporation which consists of a team of seasoned professionals he has worked with for up to fifteen years.

Mr. Smith has over 20 years of experience in the equipment finance and leasing industry. He was a co-founder of Wentworth Capital Corporation, which provided creative financing solutions to middle market companies and was later sold to N.Y. based Charter Financial. Subsequent to that he was Senior Vice President and division Manager for Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, Inc. which acquired Charter Financial in late 2000. Most recently, Smith was the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Equilease Financial Services, Inc. and prior to that formed a Vendor/Dealer division for ORIX Financial Services, Inc.

Chip Kelley, President of Harbour Capital Corporation, says of the appointment “I have known Sam for 20 years and he has a proven track record of creating great value in the Vendor/Dealer segment of the equipment finance and leasing industry. I am confident that under Sam’s leadership, his team will succeed in creating new and exciting opportunities for us in the machine tool, construction, vocational truck, plastics, material handling, and flexible packaging segments while providing his many long time key relationships with a new source offering an array of innovative financing options.”

Harbour Capital Corporation (http://www.harbourcapital.com/), founded in 1994 is a specialty finance company engaged in diversified equipment leasing and financing including origination, underwriting and servicing of small ticket leases on an application-only basis and middle ticket leases for medium and higher credit quality customers. Harbour Capital is one of the fastest growing independent leasing companies in the nation. For more information, please contact Sam Smith at (866) 753-5737.

[headlines]

### Press Release ###########################
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News Briefs----

Is Warren Buffett Eyeing CIT?
http://www.thestreet.com/s/is-buffett-eyeing-cit/newsanalysis/financial-services/
10408827.html?puc=_tscrss

Investment Firms Tap Fed for Billions
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080327/D8VM0BPO1.html

Bleak home forecast until 2010
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/27/BUVSVRK4K.DTL&tsp=1

Bear Stearns CEO James Cayne sells $61MM stock
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/banking/2008-03-27-bear-s
tearns-ceo-sells-stock_N.htm

Oil jumps as an attack on an Iraqi pipeline slows exports
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2008-03-27-oil-gyrates-thur_N.htm

`American Idol' axes another contestant
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080327/ap_on_en_tv/tv_american_idol_11

[headlines]

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You May have Missed---

Bonds' Name, Record Nowhere To Be Found At AT&T Park
http://www.nbc11.com/news/15723519/detail.html

[headlines]

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California Nuts Briefs---

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger refuses to blame illegal immigrants for budget problems
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/815068.html

[headlines]

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“Gimme that Wine”

Wine country spreading beyond Napa
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8VLFAC80.htm

Mike Grgich joins Vintner Hall of Fame
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2008/03/24/business/
doc47e42aafaa43e577489940.txt

You Want Wine Barrels - Missouri's Got Your Wood
http://wine.appellationamerica.com/wine-review/553/McGinnis-Wood.html

Bruce Willis' wine bar
http://people.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1396815.php/Bruce_Willis_wine_bar

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]

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Calendar Events This Day

Black Forest Cake Day
http://homeschooling.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=homeschooling&cdn
=education&tm=16&gps=182_2963_1020_598&f=00&su=p554.2.150.ip_&tt=2&bt=0&bts=0
&zu=http%3A//cake.allrecipes.com/az/QuckBlckFrstCke.asp

Czech Republic: Teacher’s Day
Celebrates birth on this day of Jan Amos Komesnky (Comenius), Moravian educational reformer
(1592-1671)

Libya: British Bases Evacuation Day:
National Holiday. Commemorates the closing of British bases on this day in 1970

Saint feast Days

• St. Alexander
• St. Venturino of Bergamo
• St. Tutilo
• St. Castor & Dorotheus
• St. Conon
• St. Gundelindis
• St. James Claxton, Blessed
• St. Rogatus

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

[headlines]

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In most American states, a wedding ring is exempt by law from inclusion among the assets in a bankruptcy estate. This means that a wedding ring cannot be seized by creditors, no matter how much the bankrupt person owes.

[headlines]

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Today's Top Event in History

1941--Birthday of Ann-Margaret (Olsson) - Swedish-born American actor and singer. She received a 1971 Academy Award nomination for her work in the cult film Carnal Knowledge. Perhaps best known for accompanying Bob Hope and his troupe to military bases during Viet Nam, very popular with the soldiers not just for her looks but for her attention and recognition to them after the war. The story circulating the internet that at a book signing, actress Ann-Margaret autographed a tattered photo presented to her by an ex-G.I. and thanked him for serving his country is true.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/margret.asp

[headlines]
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This Day in American History

    1788-- Maryland becomes the seventh state in what will become the United States of America. It is named in honor of Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I of England.
    1799-New York State abolished slavery
    1811-Saint John Nepomucene Neuman, first male saint of the US. Born at Prachatice, Bohemia, came to the US in 1836. As Bishop of Philadelphia, he was affectionately known as the "Little Bishop." Died at Philadelphia, PA, Jan 5, 1860. Beatified Oct 13, 1963. Canonized June 19, 1977 
    1834- The Senate passed a resolution sponsored by Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky to censure President Andrew Jackson for his handling of the Bank of the United States, "...assumed upon himself authority and power not conferred by the constitution and laws..." President Jackson on April 1 signed a president resolution against the Senate for censuring him. He succeeded in having them removed from the Senate journal in the following year.
    1848- Ohio became the first state to regulate working hours, fixing the maximum of ten hours per day for women and children under 18 years of age. New Hampshire had set a similar provision in 1847, but had a provision that both parties had to agree, as a result the law was ineffective.
    1862- at Pigeon's Ranch, a stagecoach stop on the Santa Fe Trail (about 19 miles southeast of Santa Fe, NM), Confederate forces briefly prevailed over Union troops in what some have called the most important battle of the Civil War in the Southwest. It was feared that if Union troops failed to hold here, the confederate forces would proceed to Fort Union and on to control of the rich gold fields of Colorado and California.
March 28, 1866 Treaty with Winnebago Indians (1846)
http://www.elginiowa.com/history/
    1881-P .T. Barnum and James A. Bailey merged their circuses to form the "Greatest Show on Earth."
    1882--Birthday of Frances Elliott Davis - U.S. nurse and community leader; broke the color line of the American National Red Cross nursing staff and administration.
    1884 -- Cincinnati townspeople, unhappy authorities had not handed out a severe enough punishment to confessed murderer William Berner, show their displeasure by burning down the local courthouse. The State Militia is called out to restore order; in the ensuing battle, 42 were killed & 128 injured.
    1890 - bandleader Paul Whiteman born Denver, Colorado
http://www.redhotjazz.com/pwo.html
    1899-August Adolphus “ Gussie” Busch, Jr., baseball executive born at St. Louis, MO. Busch bought the St. Louis Cardinals in 1953 and became one of the most influential team owners. He tied the success of the sport to the growth of his brewery’s sales and took great pleasure in both. Died at St. Louis, September 29, 1989.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/mar28.html
    1909 -- Novelist Nelson Algren (A Walk on the Wild Side) born (1909-1981), Detroit, Michigan. Grew up in Chicago in a poor Polish neighborhood, served a four-month jail term for stealing a typewriter. Algren joined John Reed Club & was editor of the New Anvil, an experimental magazine. Heavy drinker and gambler, involved with Simone de Beauvoir. “Never play cards with a man called Doc. Never eat at a place called Moms. Never sleep with a woman whose troubles are worse than your own.”
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/nalgren.htm
    1917 - Thane Creek, AK, reported a snow cover of 190 inches.
    1920 - The worst tornado disaster of record occurred in Chicago IL as a tornado killed 28 persons and caused three million dollars damage.
    1921- President Warren Harding names former US President William Howard Taft as chief justice of the United States.
    1922-the microfilm reading device was invented by Bradley Allen Fiske of Washington, DC, who received a patent on a “reading machine.” It was known as a Fiskeoscope and could be carried in the pocket. A 2.5-inch newspaper column was reduced to .025 inches and 100,000 words were contained on a 40-inche tape.
    1923—Trumpet player Thad Jones Birthday
    1926---Birthday of Blossom Dearie, famous jazz supper club style singer, pianist, and recording artist. Her mother, a Norwegian immigrant, also played the piano.
    1926--Birthday of Harper Lee, perhaps best known recently as a close friend of Truman Capote. She wrote only one novel, To Kill a Mockingbird which won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and a cash prize of $500. It was made into a successful Hollywood movie which won Gregory Peck an Oscar and Best Picture of the Year.
    1934--Birthday of Lopis Duncan - U.S. author, primarily of children's books.
    1941--Birthday of Ann-Margaret (Olsson) - Swedish-born American actor and singer. She received a     1971 Academy Award nomination for her work in the cult film Carnal Knowledge. Perhaps best known for accompanying Bob Hope and his troupe to military bases during Viet Nam, very popular with the soldiers not just for her looks but for her attention and recognition to them after the war. The story circulating the internet that at a book signing, actress Ann-Margaret autographed a tattered photo presented to her by an ex-G.I. and thanked him for serving his country is true.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/margret.asp
    1944-“Rick” Barry III, broadcaster and Basketball Hall of Fame forward, born Elizabeth, NJ.
    1945- A record heat wave hit the northeast, bringing temperatures of 90 degrees in Rhode Island and 91 degrees in New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
    1950-The City College of New York (CFCNY) defeated Bradley, 71-68, in the title game of the NCAA basketball tournament, thereby becoming the only team to win both that championship and the NIT title in the same year. Ten days before, CCNY had beaten Bradely, 69-61 to win the NIT.
    1951 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: ``If,'' Perry Como.
    1951---Top Hits
If - Perry Como
Be My Love - Mario Lanza
Mockingbird Hill -Patti Page
The Rhumba Boogie - Hank Snow
    1957 --- the first National curling championship competition was held on March 28-30 at the Stadium Club in Chicago, IL, with 10 teams competing. The winner was the Hibbin Curling Club fro Hibbing, MN, which won eight games and lost one.
    1958- Eddie Cochran records "Summertime Blues."
    1959---Top Hits
Venus - Frankie Avalon
Tragedy - Thomas Wayne
Come Softly to Me - The Fleetwoods
Don’t Take Your Guns to Town - Johnny Cash
    1964-Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London announces the Beatles will be cast in wax, the first pop album stars to be honored.
    1965 -- Martin Luther King, Jr., on TV calls for boycott buses and trains (I believe) in Alabama. March 21 he and John Lewis of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC-we pronounced “snick”- started a five-day civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, with 3,200 marches. Part of this I covered by radio from San Francisco, actually speaking with small town police dispatchers who were surprised that a radio station in San Francisco was interested in the "demonstration," one of the words used. At the end, 25,000 gathered in demonstrations at the front of the state capitol in Montgomery. The police and sheriff, and apparently the majority of the citizens were against Dr. King, Jr. and his followers. There was a San Francisco group from SNCC who also would call from telephone booths at the end of the day. The day before Dr. King, Jr. appeal on television ( not the media it is today primarily due to the technocracy of the day), Viola Greeg Liuzzo, a civil rights worker from Detroit, Michigan was shot and killed in Selma, Alabama. http://www.thatsalabama.com/civilwrongs/violaliuzzo/
    1965- President Lyndon Johnson appeared on television, flanked by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, and announced the arrests of four Klansmen in connection with the Liuzzo murder. President Johnson stated:
Due to the very fast and the always efficient work of the special agents of the FBI who worked all night long immediately after the tragic death of Mrs. Viola Liuzzo on a lonely road between Selma and Montgomery, Alabama, arrests were made a few minutes ago of four Ku Klux Klan members . . . charging them with conspiring to violate the civil rights of the murdered woman. After naming the arrested Klansmen, the President continued: I cannot express myself too strongly in praising Mr. Hoover and the men of the FBI for their prompt and expeditious and very excellent performance in handling this investigation. It is in keeping with the dedicated approach that this organization has shown throughout the turbulent era of civil rights controversies.
New York Times, March 27, 1965.
One of the arrested Klansmen, Gary Rowe, later surfaced as an undercover FBI informant. Rumors that one of the Klansmen was an informant began to circulate when a federal grand jury indicted only three of the Klansmen, and were confirmed when the informant testified, under heavy guard, before the Alabama grand jury. On Rowe's testimony, the state grand jury returned murder indictments against the three other men who were in the car.
Three criminal trials resulted from the Liuzzo murder: two murder trials in the state courts and one federal conspiracy trial. Only one of the three indicted Klansmen was tried on the murder charge, Collie LeRoy Wilkins. His first trial resulted in a hung jury, and the second in an acquittal. All three Klansmen were successfully prosecuted on the federal charge of conspiring to violate Mrs. Liuzzo's civil rights, and, on verdicts of guilty, each received the maximum sentence.
Gary Rowe testified at all three trials, and related both the background of his involvement with the Ku Klux Klan and the FBI, and his version of the events which took place on March 25. Rowe testified that he was approached by an FBI agent in 1960 or 1961 and was asked to infiltrate the Klan. His duties, he stated, were to "keep up with" any violent actions, and to report to the FBI on the men whom he met in his undercover work.
http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/cointelpro/law/liuzzovus485FSupp1274.htm
Note: A book is available on this: The Informant: The FBI, the Ku Klux Klan,
and the Murder of Viola Liuzzo
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0300106351/ref=cap_pdp_dp_0/104-8250829-9266338
    1967 – “Raymond Burr starred in a TV movie titled "Ironside". The show, about a wheelchair-bound detective, became very popular as a weekly series in the spring of 1967. Burr, known to millions as determined lawyer, "Perry Mason" (a past TV hit), played the part of Robert Ironside in the new show. He was joined by characters, Detective Sgt. Ed Brown (Don Galloway), Eve Whitfield (Barbara Anderson), Mark Sanger (Don Mitchell) and Commissioner Dennis Randall (Gene Lyons).
http://timstvshowcase.com/ironside.html
    1967---Top Hits
Happy Together - The Turtles
Dedicated to the One I Love - The Mamas & The Papas
There’s a Kind of Hush - Herman’s Hermits
I Won’t Come in While He’s There - Jim Reeves
    1968-the controversial rock musical Hair, produced by Michael Butler. opened at the Biltmore Theatre at New York City , after playing off-Broadway. For those who opposed the Vietnam War and the "Establishment," this was a defining piece of work-as evidenced by some of its songs, such as "Aquarius," "Flair" and "Let the Sunshine In."
    1968 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: ``(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay,'' Otis Redding. The song reaches No. 1 three months after Redding is killed in a plane crash near Madison, Wis.
    1969 - Joe Cocker played his first American concert. He entertained fans at Billy Graham’s Fillmore East in New York City
    1970-Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's "Woodstock" is released.
    1970-Vietname Moratorium Concert: a seven-hour concert at Madison Square Garden at New York City featured many stars who donated their services for the antiwar cause. Among them were Jimi Hendrix; Dave Brubeck; Harry Belafonte; Peter, Paul and Mary; Judy Collins; the Rascals; Blood, Sweat and Tears and the Broadway cast of Hair.
    1971 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: ``Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me),'' The Temptations.
    1973-Wilt Chamberlain retired from the NBA after playing in 1,045 games. During his entire 14-season career, Chamberlain never fouled out.
    1974 - A streaker (i.e.: someone running around naked), ran onto the set of "The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson". The clever NBC censors decided to blackout the lower half of the TV screen on the videotape to prevent an ‘X’ rating. The streaker was arrested, but released, for "lack of evidence," said Johnny.
    1974- "Hooked on a Feeling" by Blue Swede turns gold. The band's novel version of the BJ Thomas' 1968 song hits Number One next month.
    1974 - The Raspberries split up. The group's biggest hit is ``Go All the Way,'' which went all the way to No. 5 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1972.
    1975---Top Hits
My Eyes Adored You - Frankie Valli
Lady Marmalade - LaBelle
Lovin’ You - Minnie Riperton
Before the Next Teardrop Falls - Freddy Fender
    1977 – 49th Annual Academy Awards presentation at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, hosted by a cast of four (Warren Beatty, Ellen Burstyn, Jane Fonda, and Richard Pryor), "Rocky" collected Oscars for Best Picture (Irwin Winkler, Robert Chartoff, producers); Best Director (John G. Avildsen); and Film Editing (Scott Conrad, Richard Halsey). "Network" hauled in the gold for Best Actor (Peter Finch); Actress (Faye Dunaway); Supporting Actress (Beatrice Straight); and Writing (Paddy Chayefsky). "All the President’s Men" was given awards for Best Supporting Actor (Jason Robards); Art Direction (George Jenkins); Set Direction (George Gaines); Sound (Dick Alexander, Les Fresholtz, Arthur Piantadosi, Jim Webb); and Writing (William Goldman). The Best Music/Song Oscar-winner titles are memorable too: Barbra Streisand (music) and Paul Williams (lyrics) for "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)" from "A Star is Born".
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0149362.html
    1979-Three Mile Island nuclear reactor complex near Middletown, PA sustained a major accident, the first of its kind. Homes in nearby neighborhoods were evacuated after the reactor suffered a loss of coolant and a partial core meltdown caused by a series of equipment failures and human errors.
    1980-although springtime was starting in the Rocky Mountains, the snow just kept on coming! One foot or more of snow fell over portions of eastern Colorado, southwest Nebraska, northwest Kansas and southeastern Wyoming. Winds reached 40 mph and Valentine, Nebraska received 13 inches of snow. North Platte, Nebraska checked in with 15 inches.
    1983---Top Hits
Billy Jean - Michael Jackson
Do You Really Want to Hurt Me - Culture Club
Hungry like the Wolf - Duran Duran
Swingin’ - John Anderson
    1984-With little or no warning, the Baltimore Colts loaded moving vans in the dead of night and left for Indianapolis. Baltimore was left without an NFL team until 1996 when the Cleveland Browns moved there and were renamed the Ravens.
    1985 - Bill Cosby broke more records with "The Cosby Show" on NBC-TV. The program was the highest-rated program of any network series since 1983. "The Cosby Show" became the highest-rated series since 1978 when "Mork and Mindy", starring Robin Williams and Pam Dawber, premiered on ABC.
http://timstvshowcase.com/billcosby.html
    1984 -severe thunderstorms in the southeastern US spawned 36 tornadoes which tore paths of devastation across the Carolinas during the afternoon and evening hours killing 59 people and injuring 1248 others. One tornado near Tatum, South Carolina, an F4 on the Fujita scale, was 2.5 miles wide at one point. This outbreak was the worst in the area in 60 years.
    1986 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: ``Rock Me Amadeus,'' Falco. The Austrian singer says he was inspired to write the song about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart after seeing the movie ``Amadeus.''
    1987 - The second blizzard in less than a week was in progress across the central plains. 16 inches of snow was recorded at Blue Hill, Nebraska and 14 inches piled up at Omaha, Nebraska. 12 to 18 inches of snow was common across northwestern Kansas. Winds gusting up to 70 mph whipped drifts 20 to 30 feet high in some places. The storm took a great toll on cattle as well.
    1989-softball pitchers Cathy McAllister and Stefni Whitton of Southwestern Louisiana performed a feat unprecedented in NCAA history by throwing back-to-back perfect games against Southeaster Louisiana. McAllister won, 5-0, and Whitten struck out 14 to winning 7-0.
    1990 –62nd Annual Academy Awards, staged at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, with Billy Crystal as host. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) members voted "Driving Miss Daisy" the Best Picture of 1989 (Richard D. Zanuck, Lili Fini Zanuck, producers). The Best Director Oscar was won by Oliver Stone for "Born on the Fourth of July". Best Actor was Daniel Day-Lewis for "My Left Foot" and Best Actress was Jessica Tandy in "Driving Miss Daisy" (the 80-year-old actress was a favorite to win). Oscars for Actor and Actress in a Supporting Role went to Denzel Washington ("Glory") and Brenda Fricker ("My Left Foot"), respectively. Best Music/Song winners were Alan Menken (music), Howard Ashman (lyrics) for "Under the Sea" from "The Little Mermaid". You’re probably still humming this tune from that full-length animated film from Walt Disney Studios. Other popular 1989 films that were honored as nominees or winners include: "Field of Dreams"; "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"; "Back to the Future Part II"; "Lethal Weapon II"; "Batman"; "Dead Poets Society"; "When Harry Met Sally"; and "Sex, Lies, and Videotape".
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0149769.html
    1991---Top Hits
One More Try - Timmy -T-
Coming Out of the Dark - Gloria Estafan
This House - Tracie Spencer
Loving Blind - Clint Black
    1992- 1.6 inches of snow fell on this date at Syracuse, New York. This brought the seasonal snowfall total to 162.8 inches which set a new all-time seasonal snowfall record for the location. The old seasonal record was 162.0 inches set back in the winter of 1989-90.
    1996- Williamsport, Pennsylvania recorded .8 inches of snow on this day to bring its seasonal snowfall total to 83.9 inches -- the city's snowiest winter ever.

NCAA Basketball Champions This Date

    1942 Stanford
    1944 Utah
    1950 CCNY
    1977 Marquette

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Poem

    Spring Poem

I am forever walking upon these shores,
Betwixt the sand the foam.
The high tide will erase my foot-prints,
And the wind will blow away the foam.
But the sea and the shore will remain
Forever.

    Kahlil Gibran

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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

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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

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

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Provence, France-Vacation

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

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News on Line---Internet Newspapers

Boca Raton, Florida

http://www.bocanews.com/

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