New Developments in Ascentium Action:
Texas Judge Expresses Doubt on Class Action Allegations;
State court Complaints are Filed and
Balboa Capital Joined as Defendant

By Tom McCurnin
Leasing News Legal Editor

Allegations Are Called Woefully Deficient. But That Hasn’t Stopped
the Individual Lawsuits from Piling Up, As Scores More Are Filed, Including Some Against Balboa Capital

Melby v Ascentium Capital 17-155 (April 14, 2017)

There are some new developments in the Ascentium case. As readers might recall, there were two suits by doctors, one a class action suit and one a separate suit for a preliminary injunction. On April 14, 2017, a federal judge cut away some of the meat from the case in a couple preliminary orders. In addition, at least 12 new State Court actions have been filed, and one new federal action was filed against Balboa Capital. Finally, as you might expect, MHT is officially out of business. 

First Development:  Class Action in Doubt
The first development was that the federal court considered Ascentium’s motion to dismiss the class action allegations and throw the whole case out. The court called the class action allegations “woefully deficient,” but allowed the plaintiffs to file an amended class action complaint. The court refused to throw out the whole case, because the two named doctors, Derek Melby and Danilo Policarpio, had not already filed individual suits in Texas or elsewhere.  So it seems that even absent a class action suit, their claims should survive. 

I will note that class action allegations are difficult to plead and not every factual pattern easily lends itself to a class action. The key words to remember are “typicality” and “commonality.” What this means is that each claimant’s claims must be similar to the others, not necessary in amount, but factually “typical.” The court mentioned that each doctor approached MHT separately and had a separate deal, with separate forms of breach by MHT.  For example, one doctor’s program might not have gotten off the ground at all, and another doctor’s program might have failed after the nurse practitioner quit. This might require the court to conduct mini-trials, which is not allowed in class actions. Plaintiff’s counsel will have to hit the law books for pleading forms which were deemed acceptable by this federal judge. 

My advice to counsel would be that in a declaratory relief context with the hell and high water provision, if the relief was confined to voiding the contract with Ascentium (as opposed to affirmative monetary relief), the claims might be more acceptable to this court. 

Second Development:  Balboa Capital Joins the Litigation Party
In a related development, several suits have has been filed against Balboa Capital in the same Texas federal court, which was quickly deemed related and consolidated with the above discussed action. The allegations are similar, and while a class action remains in doubt, individual suits against Balboa may have better luck, as explained above. 

Third Development:  New State Court Actions
The third development is the new filing of individual doctor’s suits. At least twelve doctors filed suit in Texas state court. Dana Giarrizzi v. Ascentium Capital LLC, Accountable Practice Mgmt., Inc., America’s MHT, Inc., Our Medical Home Team, Cliff McKenzie, Scott M. Postle, Judy Postle  filed April 17, 2017 Collin County, Texas 429-01808-2017. While copies of the complaints (called petitions in Texas) were not electronically available from Collin County, I managed with some help to obtain one of the filings. The suits include claims for fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, civil conspiracy, and declaratory relief. 

The new state court lawsuits might be a case of “be careful what you wish for, you might get it.” Ascentium fiercely argued that a class action was not appropriate. OK, now you have 12 individual state court suits filed three days after the federal court’s ruling. Is that really better? Federal judges in Texas are generally deemed more impartial than county judges. I think I’d rather battle one case with one Federal judge at the helm than scores of state court lawsuits. 

Fourth Development:  MHT is Out of Business
This was expected—MHT has sent out notice that it is officially out of business. This letter served on a bunch of doctors in the Texas area will certainly add fuel to the fire.

What are the takeaways here?

• First, it seems apparent that the lawyers for the doctors are not going away. These guys are serious people. 

• Second, class action cases can be hard to plead and fit into every circumstance. Class actions work well with a consumer protection statute, but are more difficult to shoehorn into a fraud claim. I’d be surprised if the class action claims stick around very long with the pleading as constituted.

• Third, the state court lawsuits will continue to pile up. Apparently, many of the doctor’s lawyers agree with me that a class action procedure is not appropriate and it looks like many of the doctors will lawyer up. 

The bottom line to these developments is that the judge probably got this right, but I’m really not sure if fighting 12 or more individual lawsuits makes any sense. I don’t think this story is going away anytime soon, unless Warburg Pincus wants to stroke a rather large check. Ascentium remains a solid company with a proven track record, and it may be appropriate for Warburg Pincus to double down on its investment. This might be cheaper in the long run. 

Ascentium Order  (13 pages)
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/AcentiumOrder52017.pdf

Balboa Complaint (29 pages)
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/BalboaComplaint52017.pdf

Jamal Lone, MD Petition
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/JamalLonePetition52017.pdf

MHT Closure Letter
http://leasingnews.org/photos/MHTClosureLetter.JPG

Tom McCurnin is a partner at Barton, Klugman & Oetting in Los Angeles, California.

Tom McCurnin
Barton, Klugman & Oetting
350 South Grand Ave.
Suite 2200
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Direct Phone: (213) 617-6129
Cell (213) 268-8291
Email: tmccurnin@bkolaw.com
Visit our web site at www.bkolaw.com
Previous Tom McCurnin Articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org

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

 

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Position Wanted – Credit
Work Remotely or Relocate for Right Opportunity

Each Week Leasing News is pleased, as a service to its readership, to offer completely free ads placed by candidates for jobs in the industry.  These ads also can be accessed directly on the website at:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted.htm

Each ad is limited to (100) words and ads repeat for up to 6 months unless the candidate tells us to stop. Your submissions should be received here by the end of each week.

Please encourage friends and colleagues to take advantage of this service, including recent graduates and others interested in leasing and related careers. 

Credit

 

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Top Stories: May 1 - May 5
(Opened Most by Readers)

(1) What They Didn't Divulge in their Press Release
   “Letter from Insider Tells Layoffs and Deals in Pipeline”
http://leasingnews.org/archives/May2017/05_01.htm#marlin

(2) Battle with Cancer Takes Leasing Industry Vet
          Bill Barone, Age 57
http://leasingnews.org/archives/May2017/05_05.htm#barone

(3) Most Costly Bank Failure Since Financial Crisis
          Cleanup by FED Estimated at $1 Billion
                 by Christopher Menkin
http://leasingnews.org/archives/May2017/05_01.htm#most

(4) Calculators ----Lease Finance
   Free Lease-vs-Buy Calculators Updated
http://leasingnews.org/archives/May2017/05_03.htm#calc

(5) SB 297 Amended -- The Finder License Bill
          Status in the Appropriation Committee
http://leasingnews.org/archives/May2017/05_03.htm#sb

(6) NAELB Annual Conference – Memphis, Tennessee  
             By John Boettigheimer
http://leasingnews.org/archives/May2017/05_03.htm#naelb

(7) New Hires---Promotions in the Leasing Business
                 and Related Industries
http://leasingnews.org/archives/May2017/05_05.htm#hires

(8) Forms City National Capital Finance
  Bank Opens Office in Orlando with More to Follow
http://leasingnews.org/archives/May2017/05_05.htm#forms

(9) Launches Equipment Leasing Unit
         Peapack Capital Corporation
http://leasingnews.org/archives/May2017/05_05.htm#launches

(10) Sales Makes it Happen by Doug Houlahan, CLFP
              Transaction Profile
http://leasingnews.org/archives/May2017/05_03.htm#transaction

 

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 119 Branch Bank Failure
Only 12 Branches Will Re-Open

Guaranty Bank, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with 119 branches in five states, was closed with First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company, Raleigh, North Carolina, to assume all of the deposits (Note:  (d/b/a BestBank in Georgia & Michigan)

Branch at Pick'n Save Grocery Market.
(Photo: jsoline.com)

The 107 branches in retail outlets, such as grocery and merchandise stories will not be opening (most are in Kroger's, 15 Walmart).  The 12 brick-and-mortar locations in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin will reopen as branches of First-Citizens Bank and Trust.  List of branches open and that will NOT re-open: https://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/guaranty-branches.html Note: All depositors of Guaranty Bank, regardless of where they conducted business, will automatically become depositors of First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company.

Guaranty was established January 1, 1923 with 927 full time employees as of December 31, 2015. March 31, 2017, Capital Risk Ratio 3.1%.  The FDIC filing states assets concentration was "Mortgage Lending," which the charge offs certainly reflect.

Non-Current Loans also a reflection of "mortgage loan problems":

(in millions, unless otherwise)

Non-Current Loans
2006	$15.5
2007	$34.1
2008	$41.7
2009	$56.2
2010	$36.6
2011	$32.7
2012	$98.3
2013	$87.8
2014	$81.0
2015	$49.7
2015	$36.6

 

(in millions, unless otherwise)

Net Equity
2006	$144.1
2007	$121.7
2008	$97.2
2009	$98.9
2010	$77.4
2011	$39.4
2012	$13.7
2013	$25.0
2014	$25.2
2015	$24.7
2016	$20.5
1Q17	$21.6

Profit
2006	-$6.6
2007	-$20.5
2008	-$25.2
2009	-$52.5
2010	-$20.2
2011	-$37.7
2012	-$28.0
2013	$16.5
2014	$141,000
2015	-$390,000
2016	-$4.2
1Q17	$1.1

 

Note most of their branches were in retail stores, perhaps in areas with high unemployment and difficulty of making their mortgage payments.

Charge Offs

(in millions, unless otherwise)

Construction and Land, 1-4 family multiple residential, Multiple Family Residential, Non-Farm Non-Residential loans (non-owner occupied).

2006  $283,000 ($435,000 Loans to Individuals, -$152,000 1-4   
    Family residential property)
2007    $3.5  ($1.9 1-4 Family residential, $1.5 loans to individuals)
2008   $15.5 ($13.7  1-4 family, $1.8 loans to individuals)
2009   $12.9 ($8.7  1-4 family, $3.2 loans to individuals)
2010     $9.4  ($6.7  1-4 family, $1.9 loans to individuals)
2011   $25.0  ($14.6 1-4 Family, $9.6 loans to individuals, - 41,000  
       construction/land)
2012   $40.7  ($28.5  1-4 Family, $10.8 loans to  individuals, $1.3   
   construction/dev., $1.1 construction/land,  -$260,000
   commercial/industrial loans, -$199,000 construction 1-4 family)
2013   $26.5  ($18.9 1-4 family, $8.2 loans to individuals, -$485,000   
   construction/land, -$92,000 commercial/ind.,  -$2,000 multifamily
     residential)
2014   $15.8  ($8.2  1-4 family, $7.8 loans to individuals, $85,000
     construction/land, -$242,000 commercial/ind.)
2015     $6.5  ($3.3 loans to individuals, $3.2 1-4 family, $106,000
    construction/land, $10,000 nonfarm/nonres., $39,000
    construction/land, -$12,000 commercial/industrial, -$4,000
     multifamily).
2016     $5.0  ($3.2 loans to individuals, $2.5 1-4 family, $11,000 1-4
     family, $-714,000 construction/land and other land,    -$703,000
     construction/land, -$5,000 multifamily).
1Q17  $1.7  ($950,000 loans to individuals, $750,000 1-4 family)

A "family owned bank:"
"Guaranty Bank is a fourth generation, family-managed company. Founded in 1923 by Joseph Saffro, its one small office in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin offered just mortgages and savings accounts. It survived the lean years of the twenties and began growing in the 1930s. At that time Joseph's son Samuel joined the business. Over the next 25 years, Guaranty Bank evolved into a full service bank with expanded products and services. Joseph and Samuel's vision grew as other family members joined the management team. Today, Samuel's son-in-law, Jerry Levy, is the chairman of Guaranty Bank. Jerry's son, Doug Levy, is Guaranty's President and CEO."
https://www.guarantybank.com/about-us/who-we-are

As of March 31, 2017, Guaranty Bank had approximately $1.0 billion in total assets and $1.0 billion in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company agreed to purchase $892.6 million of the failed bank's assets. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition.
The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $146.4 million.

FDIC Press Release:
https://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2017/pr17037.html

 

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Vermont Strengthens Lending Laws
Effective May 1, 2017

In the past, Commercial loan license would apply to EFA and "capital leases." Exemptions include transactions over $1 million, and brokers who do not engage in transactions more than $50,000 in one year at rates not exceeding 12 percent per annum.   As of May 1, 2017, "Loan solicitation licensees must maintain a surety bond, include a specific disclosure in all advertisements of loans and solicitation of leads, observe record retention requirements, and file an annual report and financial statements with the Commissioner of Financial Regulation."

Full information available here:
http://www.counselorlibrary.com/public/alert.cfm?itemID=2420

 Current Regulations in United States
  Not Official, Compiled from Many Sources
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2017/01_30.htm#current

 

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Twelve Attorneys Against Evergreen Abuse

The original intention of the Evergreen clause in an equipment leasing contract was to have an alternative to when the lessee did not exercise the residual at the end of the contract. Often the clause calls for an automatic additional twelve months when the residual is not resolved.

In most cases, the lessor notifies the lessee that the residual will be due, often ninety days in advance. However, often there is nothing in the contract that requires the lessor to notify the lessee regarding the expiration of the contract.

Contrarily, many small ticket lessors do not notify the lessee, and automatically continue the lease, often via an ACH or continued billing, which often goes unnoticed until many payments have already been made.

Leasing News would like to see an industry standard that lessees are notified in advance of the expiration of their contract regarding its termination. We support the clause, and the notification requirement is wide open, meaning 90, 60, even 30 days and by telephone or mail.

This list of attorneys agrees with this and will be available to lessees, sometimes able to help them without a fee, or at a reduced rate, in an effort to end the abuse of Evergreen clause leases.

Jim Coston
Coston & Coston LLC
105 W. Adams Street
Suite 1400
Chicago, Illinois 60603
(312) 205-1010
jcoston@costonlaw.com
(In 1998, he was elected to the United Association of Equipment
Leasing Board of Directors, and in 2003-04 was the first
attorney to become UAEL President, very active in his political party.)

Ronald J. Eisenberg
Schultz & Associates LLP
640 Cepi Drive, Suite A
Chesterfield, MO 63005
(636) 537-4645 x108
(636) 537-2599 (fax)
www.sl-lawyers.com
(Proven Leasing Litigator, well respected by all sides)

Ronald P. Gossett
Gossett & Gossett, P.A.
400 Seridan Street, Building I
Hollywood, Florida
954-983-2828
Fax: 954-983-2850
rongossett@gossettlaw.com
(Many cases including NorVergence, Brican, among others, a winner)

Ken Greene
Law Offices of Kenneth Charles Greene
5743 Corsa Avenue Suite 208
Westlake Village, California 91362
Tel: 818.575.9095
Fax: 805.435.7464
Skype: 424.235.1658
kenlaw100@gmail.com
(Ken was involved in the formation of Leasing News and
represented it (pro bono) in the early days.)

Peter S. Hemar, Esq.
Hemar & Associates, Attorneys at Law
2001 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 510
Santa Monica, CA 90403
Telephone: (310) 829-1948
Fax: (310) 829-1352
phemar@hemar.com
(My firm supports the clause giving lessees advance 
notice of the expiration of their contract.)

Brandon J. Mark
Attorney at Law, Admitted in Utah and Oregon
Parsons Behle & Latimer
201 South Main Street, Suite 1800
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Direct Dial 801.536.6958
Facsimile 801.536.6111
www.parsonsbehle.com
BMark@parsonsbehle.com
(His firm represents banks who buy leases, and his
clients refuse to buy these types of leases.)

Barry S. Marks
MARKS & ASSOCIATES, P.C.
Financial Center - Suite 1615
505 North 20th Street
Birmingham, Alabama 35203
P. O. Box 11386
Birmingham, Alabama 35202
barry@leaselawyer.com
www.leaselawyer.com
205.251.8303
fax 278.8905 (Direct) 251.8305 (Main)
(Well-known to the leasing industry, also Alabama Poet)

Tom McCurnin
Barton, Klugman & Oetting
350 South Grand Ste. 2200
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Voice: (213) 617-6129
Fax: (213) 625-1832
Cell: (213) 268-8291
Email: tmccurnin@bkolaw.com
(Leasing News Advisor/Leasing News Legal Editor,
Well-Known top Leasing Litigator)

Frank Peretore
Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi
West Orange, New Jersey
http://www.csglaw.com/biographies/frank-peretore 
Phone 973-530-2058
fperetore@csglaw.com
(Experienced leasing attorney, aggressive, author, active
National Equipment Finance Association, ELFA, too)

Ellen Stern
Ellen Michele Stern
17630 El Mineral Rd
Perris, CA 92570
951-443-4000
leaselaw@msn.com
(Long time Southern California leasing attorney, well-respected)

Kevin E. Trabaris, Partner
Latimer LeVay Fyock LLC
55 W Monroe St
Suite 1100
Chicago, IL 60603
Work: 312.667.1354
Cell: 847.840.4687
Email: ktrabaris@llflegal.com
llflegal.com/attorneys/kevin-trabaris
"In my career, I’ve repeatedly seen this provision misused
by unscrupulous lessors and think it’s a bad idea for both
the lessee and the lessor."

Michael J. Witt, Esq.
MICHAEL J. WITT LAW OFFICES
4342 Oakwood Lane
West Des Moines, IA 50265
Tel: (515) 657-8706
Mobile: (515) 868-1067
Fax: (515) 223-2352
email: MWitt@Witt-Legal.com
 Web:  www.witt-legal.com
(Former Advanta Leasing
and Wells Fargo Equipment Finance attorney)

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

Ascentium Capital Completes Seventh Securitization
$237 million small ticket equipment securitization

Ascentium Capital LLC issued a $237 million small ticket equipment securitization. Ascentium Equipment Receivables 2017-1 Trust featured a senior-subordinated structure with “Aaa” ratings from Moody’s and Kroll.

This transaction represents the Company’s seventh securitization since 2012.

Tom Depping, Chief Executive Officer at Ascentium Capital, remarked, “As the demand for our small business financing solutions increases, this securitization provides liquidity to meet our strategic growth strategies. We are pleased to see the market interest for bonds backed by high quality assets.”

The financial strength and diversity of Ascentium Capital’s portfolio assets combined with servicing expertise, enables the Company’s bond offering to be well received by the market.

Evan Wilkoff, Executive Vice President of Capital Markets, commented, “This transaction clearly indicates continued strong interest among investors in our asset class.”

As a direct lender, Ascentium Capital LLC specializes in providing a broad range of financing, leasing and small business loans. The company’s offering benefits equipment manufacturers and distributors as well as direct to businesses nationwide. Ascentium Capital is backed by the strength of leading investment firm Warburg Pincus LLC. For more information, please visit AscentiumCapital.com.

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

Chocolate Labrador Retriever
Birmingham, Alabama  Adopt-a-Dog

PeGreta
ID: 183156
Female
2 years, 2 weeks
40 lbs.
Spayed
Current on Vaccinations

The Greater Birmingham Humane Society
300 Snow Drive
Birmingham, Alabama 35209
205-942-1211
contactus@gbhs.org

Adoption fee $40, incudes microchipping

Hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday-Saturday: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.

All adoption applications must be submitted 1 hour before closing to be considered for adoption the same day. The shelter often receives several applications close to the end of the day – please call 205-942-1211 before coming to the shelter to see when applications will stop being accepted for the day.

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

 

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Wednesday starts new column feature:
The Top Performer’s Corner
By Gerry J. Ricco, Managing Director, ZRG Partners 

“1984 to 2002 was a very exciting and gratifying career period for me; I was the President and CEO of American Express Business Finance, formerly Rockford Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROCF). With limited capital along with two other founding partners - Larry Hartmann and Brian Seigel – we started in 1984 an equipment lease and finance company, Rockford Industries Inc…

“Over the years my greatest challenge as a business leader is to stay open minded and quickly recognize the rapid changes and trends in our industry. I always try to be innovative and lead as opposed to reacting to change and just being status quo.”

 

News Briefs---

U.S. jobs data show some scars
    from recession finally healing
http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/u-s-jobs-data-show-some-scars-from-recession-finally/article_ca93c7cf-1646-5905-85bb-1545c6099d7b.html

US Population Passed 325 Million Sunday, May 7
  US and World Population Figures
https://www.census.gov/popclock/

LinkedIn co-founder says merger with Microsoft
      was ‘natural fit’
http://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/linkedin-co-founder-says-merger-with-microsoft-was-natural-fit/

 

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You May Have Missed---

Dog leasing: Should this be something you consider?
Expert calls leasing 'family member' 'appalling'
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/investigators/dog-leasing-should-this-be-something-you-consider

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A Fairy Tale

by

Wayne Lanter

"The body of a horse, the heart of a boy," 
Campanella claimed, catching four games
a day in the Negro leagues - sometimes 
losing twenty pounds in the process.
Talented enough to do it,
little boy enough to think it's important,
beyond the money and people shouting,
the pure pleasure of driving a fastball
over the three-eighty sign.
When he objected to her Korean tour,
Monroe lectured )Joltin' Joe.
"You don't know what it's like
to have thirty thousand people cheer
for you." Sometime before, sixty thousand watched
him catapult two shots into the seats off Feller. 
"Yes, I do," he said.
Even a hundred mile-an-hour fastball has its limits.
Feller warned young pitchers
of "hitters you can't throw it by."
He hadn't seen Dalkowski throw.
Maybe Dave Pope had the fastest hands 
of anyone. In the cage or in a game, 
turn on it. It turns on that.

In the beat of a boy's heart Campanella
ended up "a horse that couldn't run." 
Pulled from a tangle of twisted metal
he sits at home plate in a wheelchair,
the stars and stripes draped across his legs.
For years DiMaggio sold coffee-makers.
Feller and Pope lived on to old age,

old age. Dalkowski simply dropped off
the radar, or so it seems.
Monroe? Everybody knows that story.
How they souped-up the ball,
lowered the mound,
reduced the strike zone,
suspended pitchers for throwing at hitters,
brought in the fences,
yes, they brought in the fences.
Everybody knows that story.

from:
"A Season of Long Taters"
Baseball Poems
    by 
Wayne Lander
Published by Snark Publishing
637 W. Hwy 50 #119
O'Fallon, Illinois, USA

(Printed with permission of the author)

 

 

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Sports Briefs----

Warriors’ Steve Kerr ‘on the path to recovery,’ Bob Myers says
http://www.sfgate.com/warriors/article/Warriors-Steve-Kerr-on-the-path-to-11127870.php

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California Nuts Briefs---

Beleaguered Big Sur institutions turn to crowdfunding
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/05/05/sjm-ptechsidebar-0430/

 

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“Gimme that Wine”

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

The real reasons Trader Joe's wine is so cheap
http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/The-Real-Reasons-Trader-Joe-s-Wine-Is-So-Cheap-5969089.php

Napa, Sonoma vineyard-worker scarcity sprouts
    wage growth, alternatives
http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/northbay/sonomacounty/6951644-181/napa-sonoma-vineyard-wine-employment?artslide=0

Meet Joe Wagner, the man shaking up
    the Sonoma County wine world
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/business/6922137-181/meet-joe-wagner-the-most?artslide=0

Arrow & Branch Moves to Wheeler Farms Winery
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataid=184167

Does Barrel Fermentation Improve Red Wine?
Three veteran winemakers offer real-life experiences with the practice
https://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm
?section=news&content=184194

Free Mobile Wine Program
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2010/2_26.htm#mobile

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

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

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

        1541 - South of present-day Memphis, Tennessee, Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River, one of the first European explorers to ever do so. After building flatboats, de Soto and his 400 ragged troops crossed the great river under the cover of night, in order to avoid the armed Native Americans who patrolled the river daily in war canoes. From there the conquistadors headed into present-day Arkansas, continuing their fruitless two-year-old search for gold and silver in the American wilderness.  In late May 1539, de Soto landed on the west coast of Florida with 600 troops, servants, and staff, 200 horses, and a pack of bloodhounds. From there, the army set about subduing the natives, seizing any valuables they stumbled upon, and preparing the region for eventual Spanish colonization. Traveling through Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, across the Appalachians, and back to Alabama, de Soto failed to find the gold and silver he desired, but he did seize a valuable collection of pearls at Cofitachequi, in present-day Georgia.  For the most part, the Indian warriors they met were intimidated by the Spanish horsemen and kept their distance. In October 1540, however, the tables were turned when a confederation of Indians attacked the Spaniards at the fortified Indian town of Mabila, near present-day Mobile, Alabama. All the Indians were killed along with 20 of de Soto's men. Several hundred Spaniards were wounded. In addition, the Indian conscripts they had come to depend on to bear their supplies fled with the baggage. De Soto could have marched south to reconvene with his ships along the Gulf Coast, but instead he ordered his expedition northwest in search of America's elusive riches. In May 1541, the army reached and crossed the Mississippi River. From there, they traveled through present-day Arkansas and Louisiana, still with few material gains to show for their efforts. Turning back to the Mississippi, de Soto died of a fever on its banks on May 21, 1542. In order that Indians would not learn of his death, and thus disprove de Soto's claims of divinity, his men buried his body in the Mississippi River. The Spaniards, now under the command of Luis de Moscoso, traveled west again, crossing into north Texas before returning to the Mississippi. With nearly half of the original expedition dead, the Spaniards built rafts and traveled down the river to the sea, and then made their way down the Texas coast to New Spain, finally reaching Veracruz, Mexico, in late 1543.
    1639 - William Coddington founded Newport, RI.
    1783 - The first salute fired by Great Britain in honor of an officer of the United States was fired when General George Washington and Governor George Clinton arrived at the British ship Ceres, commanded by Sir Guy Carleton, in New York Harbor to arrange for the British evacuation. When they departed, 178 guns were fired in honor of Washington's rank. New York was evacuated by the British on November 25, 1783.
    1784 - A fatal hailstorm hit Winnsborough, South Carolina. An account was found in the South Carolina Gazette: "hailstones or rather pieces of ice measured about 9 inches in circumference: it killed several people, plus a great number of sheep, lambs, geese, and the feathered inhabitants of the woods without number". Piles of hail were reportedly still in existence 46 days later.
    1792 - British Captain George Vancouver sights and names Mount Rainier, WA in honor of his friend, Rear Admiral Peter Rainier.
http://www.oregonpioneers.com/vancver.htm
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Rainier/Locale/framework.html
    1792 – The US established the military draft.
    1816 - The American Bible Society was organized in the Dutch Reformed Church on Garden Street in NY City. The non-profit society was instituted to promote wider circulation of the Scriptures by publishing Bibles without notes or comments.
    1829 - Birthday of Louis Moreau Gottschalk at New Orleans, LA.  American pianist of international fame who toured the US during the Civil War. Gottschalk composed for the piano combining American and Creole folk themes and rhythms in his work. He died Dec. 18, 1869, at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
http://www.louismoreaugottschalk.com/
http://www.viridianaproductions.com/ameori.htm
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=407
    1835 - Augusta Jane Evans Wilson’s birthday in Columbus, GA.  Novelist whose work is critically described today as sentimental and overblown, woman-stuff, but it sold very well in the mid-19th century. She wrote nine novels, all of which involved Southern life. The unstated fact is that more than just women read her works. A Civil War report states that a Union general ordered all copies of her book, “Macaria”, in the possession of his troops were to be burned and the soldiers forbidden to read it. Heady actions for a book that only women read! “Macaria” was written in support of the Confederate position.  She died in Mobile, Al in 1909.
http://search.eb.com/women/articles/Wilson_Augusta_Jane_Evans.html
http://www.lib.usm.edu/~archives/m152.htm
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/WW/fwi49.html
    1847 - Robert Thompson of Scotland patented the rubber tyre.
    1858 – John Brown held an anti-slavery convention.  In January 1858, Brown set off to visit Frederick Douglass in Rochester, NY. There he discussed his plans with Douglass, and wrote a Provisional Constitution that would create a government for a new state in the region of his invasion. Brown then traveled to Peterboro, NY and Boston to discuss matters with the Secret Six. In letters to them, he indicated that, along with recruits, he would go into the South equipped with weapons to do "Kansas work", a reference to his heavy involvement in “Bleeding Kansas” in 1856.  Brown and twelve of his followers, including his son Owen, traveled to Chatham, Ontario, where he convened a Constitutional Convention with the help of Dr. Martin Delaney. One-third of Chatham's 6,000 residents were fugitive slaves, and it was here that Brown was introduced to Harriet Tubman. The convention assembled 34 blacks and 12 whites to adopt Brown's Provisional Constitution. According to Delaney, during the convention, Brown illuminated his plans to make Kansas rather than Canada the end of the Underground Railroad.
    1861 – Richmond was named the capital of the Confederacy.       
    1862 - In a major engagement in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of the Civil War, General Stonewall Jackson's rebel forces repulsed an attack by Union forces at McDowell, VA.
    1846 - Zachary Taylor victory at Palo Alto protects the new state of Texas as five days later the U.S. declares war against Mexico. On May 8, near Palo Alto, and the next day at Resaca de la Palma, Taylor led his 200 soldiers to victories against much larger Mexican forces. Poor training and inferior armaments undermined the Mexican army's troop advantage. Mexican gunpowder, for example, was of such poor quality that artillery barrages often sent cannonballs bouncing lazily across the battlefield, and the American soldiers merely had to step out of the way to avoid them. Following his victories at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, Taylor crossed the Rio Grande and took the war into Mexican territory. During the next 10 months, he won four battles and gained control over the three northeastern Mexican states. The following year, the focus of the war shifted elsewhere, and Taylor's role diminished. Other generals continued the fight, which finally ended with General Winfield Scott's occupation of Mexico City in September of 1847. Zachary Taylor emerged from the war a national hero. Americans admiringly referred to him as "Old Rough and Ready" and erroneously believed his military victories suggested he would be a good political leader. Elected president in 1848, he proved to be an unskilled politician who tended to see complex problems in overly simplistic ways. In July 1850, Taylor returned from a public ceremony and complained that he felt ill. Suffering from a recurring attack of cholera, he died several days later.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may08.html
    1884 - Harry S. Truman's birthday is a holiday in Missouri. He was born in Lamar, MO. He was the 33rd president of the United States, succeeded to that office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt April 12, 1945. He was the last of nine presidents who did not attend college. Affectionately, he was nicknamed "Give 'em Hell Harry" by admirers.  Under Truman, the Allies successfully concluded World War II.   During World War I, he served in combat as an artillery officer. Truman was first elected to public office as a county official and became a US Senator in 1935. He gained national prominence as head of the Truman Committee, formed in March 1941, which exposed waste, fraud, and corruption in wartime contracts.  During World War II, while Nazi Germany surrendered a few weeks after Truman assumed the Presidency, the war with Japan was expected to last another year or more. Truman approved the use of atomic weapons, intending to force Japan’s surrender and spare American lives in a planned invasion.  His presidency was a turning point in foreign affairs, as his government supported a foreign policy in conjunction with European allies. Following the war, Truman assisted in the founding of the UN, issued the Truman Doctrine to contain communism, and passed the $13 billion Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe, including the Axis Powers, whereas the wartime ally Soviet Union became the peacetime enemy, and the Cold War began. He oversaw the Berlin Airlift of 1948 and the creation of NATO in 1949. When communist North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, he immediately sent in U.S. troops and gained UN approval for the Korean War. After initial success, the UN forces were thrown back by Chinese intervention and the conflict was stalemated through the final years of Truman's presidency.  He died in 1972.  http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ht33.html
    1886 - Dr. John S. Pemberton, a pharmacist, first sold his secret elixir, Coca Cola, receiving $2300. It was originally used for medicinal purposes. The patent had a very slight ingredient called Cocaine in it. The new makers decided to eliminate it, as it could not be tasted. Nevertheless, the drink was to become a ”staple” of world sodas.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may08.html
    1877 - At Gilmore's Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opened.
    1879 - George Selden filed for the first patent for a gasoline-driven automobile.  The witness Selden chose was a local bank-teller, George Eastman, later to become famous for the Kodak empire.   His application included not only the engine but its use in a 4 wheeled car. He filed a series of amendments to his application which stretched out the legal process resulting in a delay of 16 years before the patent was granted on November 5, 1895.  Shortly thereafter the fledgling American auto industry began its first efforts and George Selden, despite never having gone into production with a working model of an automobile, had a credible claim to have patented an automobile in 1895.  In 1899, he sold his patent rights to William C. Whitney for a royalty of $15 per car with a minimum annual payment of $5,000. Whitney and Selden then worked together to collect royalties from other budding automobile manufacturers. He was initially successful, negotiating a 0.75% royalty on all cars sold. He began his own car company in Rochester under the name Selden Motor Vehicle Company.  However, Henry Ford and four other car makers resolved to contest the patent infringement suit filed by Selden. The legal fight lasted eight years, was heavily publicized, and ended in a victory for Selden. In his decision, the judge wrote that the patent covered any automobile propelled by an engine powered by gasoline vapor. Posting a bond of $350,000, Ford appealed, and on January 10, 1911, won his case based on an argument that the engine used in automobiles was not based on George Brayton's engine, the Brayton engine which Selden had improved, but on the Otto engine.  This stunning defeat, with only one year left to run on the patent, destroyed Selden's income stream. Selden suffered a stroke in late 1921 and died on January 17, 1922. It is estimated he received several hundred thousand dollars in royalties.
    1893 - Birthday of Francis Desales Ouimet at Brookline, MA. American amateur golfer who is credited with establishing the popularity of golf in the US. His golfing career began as a caddy. In 1912, at age 20, he generated national enthusiasm for the game when he became the first American and first amateur to win the US Open Golf Championship. He won the US Amateur Championships in 1914 and 1931, and was a member of the US Walker Cup team from its first tournament in 1922 until 1949, serving as the non-playing captain for six of those years. In 1951, he became the first American to be elected Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland. Ouimet died at Newton, MA on Sept.2, 1967.
    1893 – Birthday of Baseball Hall of Fame centerfielder Edd Roush in Oakland City, IN.  Roush was elected to the Hall in 1962.  Although he played for several teams in his 18 year career, his best were with the Cincinnati Reds and was with them when they beat the Black Sox in the 1919 Series.  His career batting average is .323 and never struck out more than 25 times is a season. He died in 1988.
    1895 – Bishop Fulton J. Sheen was born in El Paso, IL.  For 20 years as Father, later Monsignor, Sheen hosted the night-time radio program “The Catholic Hour” (1930–1950) before moving to television and presenting “Life is Worth Living”. (1951–1957). Sheen's final presenting role was on the syndicated “The Fulton Sheen Program” (1961–1968). For this work, Sheen twice won an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality, the only personality appearing on the DuMont Television Network ever to win a major Emmy award.  Bishop Sheen died in 1979.
    1905 - Birthday of trumpeter player Loring “Red” Nichols in Orem, UT.
http://www.redhotjazz.com/redn.html
http://www.music.duke.edu/jazz_archive/artists/nichols.
ernest.red/01/back.html
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0052809
    1907 - Blood flowed on the streets of San Francisco as a result of the attempt of the United Rail Roads Company to operate its cars. Along Truck Street where the first six cars were sent, men and boys lined the sidewalks hurling bricks and clubs at the cars.
    1910 - Birthday of Mary Lou Williams in Atlanta.  Arranger, composer, and pianist, she is known as the "Queen of Jazz." A child prodigy, she toured while still in elementary school. Her piano playing was outstanding. She wrote a number of well-known jazz tunes and is considered a main contributor to the development of bebop. She arranged and created music for most of the big bands from Duke Ellington to the Dorsey’s. She converted to Catholicism after an emotional crisis while she was touring in France and went into a retreat. She composed several masses and religious music but she returned to the jazz/swing stage. Mary Lou Williams was artist in residence at Duke University where she died in 1981.
http://www.duke.edu/~lmr/
http://www.eyeneer.com/Jazz/Williams/
http://kennedy-center.org/programs/jazz/womeninjazz/1stlady.html
http://www.duke.edu/~lmr/
http://www.eyeneer.com/Jazz/Williams/
    1911 - The birthday of perhaps one of greatest blues guitarists, Robert Johnson,at Hazelhurst,MS.  He was murdered at age 27, Aug16, 1938, at Greenwood, MS (poisonedby a jealous husband, they sing). In his short life, Johnson was a master blues guitarist, a singer and songwriter of great influence. He developed a unique guitar style of such skill that it was said he acquired his ability by selling his soul to the Devil—the film Crossroads is based very loosely on this myth. Johnson's only two recording sessions captured for us the classics “Sweet Home Chicago,” “Cross Road Blues,” “Me and the Devil Blues” and others. Johnson was inducted posthumously into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
http://www.blueflamecafe.com/index.html
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MUSIC/rjhome.html
    1912 - Film and television production/distribution studio Paramount Pictures was founded
    1915 – The first filly to win the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs, Louisville, KY, was “Regret”, Harry Payne Whitney's chestnut filly. She ran the mile and a quarter in 2 minutes, 5.4 seconds to win the 41st Kentucky Derby. There were 16 starters.
    1919 - Edward George Honey first proposed the idea of a moment of silence to commemorate The Armistice of World War I, which later results in the creation of Remembrance Day.   It is now Veterans’ Day in the US.
    1924 - Arthur Honegger's "Pacifica 231" premieres.
http://arthur-honegger.com/anglais/index.htm
    1926 - Founding of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters by A. Philip Randolph and Milton P. Webster.
    1926 - Birthday of Don Rickles in Queens, NY.  Comedian, actor, one of my favorites, still performing today.
http://www.delafont.com/comedians/Don-Rickles.htm
    1926 – The first flight over the North Pole was accomplished by Floyd Bennett and Richard Byrd.
    1927 - Attempting to make the first non-stop transatlantic flight from Paris to New York, French war heroes Charles Nungesser and Francois Coli disappear after taking off aboard “The White Bird” biplane.
    1928 – Ted Sorenson was born in Lincoln, NE.  Among President Kennedy’s best and brightest, Sorenson was Kennedy’s special counsel, adviser, and legendary speechwriter. President Kennedy once called him his "intellectual blood bank”.  He died in 2010.
    1931 - Birthday of Stan Beckman, landscape artist.
www.stanbeckman.com
    1937 – Mike Cuellar was born in Cuba.  Over 15 seasons with several clubs, his best years were with the Baltimore Orioles during their great seasons from the late 1960s-early 1970s.  Cuellar won 20 or more games four times and shared the 1969 Cy Young Award with Denny McLain, becoming the first Latin-American to win a Cy Young award.  Cuellar died in 2010.
    1939 - Clay Puett installed a two-stall working model of his new electric starting gate for horse races at Hollywood Park, Inglewood, CA. The first full-size gate was used at Bay Meadows Race Track, San Mateo, CA, on October 7, 1939. The gates were equipped with a bomb-release type of lock operated by solenoids. The front doors when closed formed a V and opened outwards by means of springs.
    1940 - Singer Rick Nelson was born Eric Hilliard Nelson in Teaneck, New Jersey. His parents, Ozzie and Harriet, had a popular radio show, and Ricky joined the cast at the age of eight. The show moved to TV in the 1950's, and as a result of its popularity, Ricky Nelson gained a recording contract. "A Teenager's Romance" and "I'm Walkin" was a double-sided hit for him in 1957. Nelson had more than 35 records on the Billboard Hot 100 chart until 1963. Among them - "Stood Up," "Poor Little Fool" and "Travellin' Man", the latter believed to be the first record accompanied by video, a forerunner of today’s DVD’s. In the late '60s, he became Rick instead of Ricky, and turned to a more country-oriented style. His autobiographical song "Garden Party" was a top-ten record in 1972. On New Year's Eve, 1985, Nelson, his fiancée and five members of his Stone Canyon Band were killed in a plane crash in northeastern Texas.
http://www.ricknelson.com/
    1940 - Author Peter Benchley (“Jaws”) was born in NYC.
    1941 – Gene Krupa with Anita O'Day record "Let Me Off Uptown" (Okey).  “Say, Roy, Have You Ever Been Uptown?”
http://www.anitaoday.com/
http://www.drummerman.net/
    1942 - The Battle of the Coral Sea began, which greatly impeded Japanese expansion and introduced a new form of naval warfare. None of the surface vessels exchanged fire---the entire battle was waged by aircraft. The victory gave people at home much optimism and renewed faith as the US lost their first aircraft carrier, destroyer and tanker. The Lexington aircraft carrier was commanded by Rear Admiral Frederick Carl Sherman, which took two bombs and two aircraft torpedoes. Some 150 men were killed. The Japanese lost seven warships, including a carrier, and the loss changed their war plans, as outlined in "Victory at Sea."
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/coralsea/coralsea.htm
http://history.acusd.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/coral.html
http://users.pandora.be/dave.depickere/Text/coral.html
    1943 - Birthday of Toni Tennille, singer, who, with husband Daryl Dragon made up The Captain and Tennille, was born Catherine Antoinette Tennille in Montgomery, AL.  They have five albums certified gold or platinum and scored numerous hits on the US singles charts, the most enduring of which included "Love will Keep Us Together", "Do That to Me One More Time", and "Muskrat Love". They hosted their own television variety series on ABC in 1976–77.  One of the longer-enduring marriages in show business, they divorced in 2014.
http://www.tonitennille.net/
    1945 - Stalin refused to recognize the document of unconditional surrender signed at Reims the previous day, so a second signing was held at Berlin. The event was turned into an elaborate formal ceremony by the Soviets who had lost some 10 million lives during the war. The surrender documents set one minute past midnight, which was 9:01pm EST in the U.S on May 9, and although it was first officially declared V.E. Day (Victory in Europe), it later became to be observed on May 8 as it was actually celebrated in the United States.
    1946 - Glenn Gould first appeared as a pianist with orchestra. He played the first movement of Beethoven's "Concerto Number Four" with the Toronto Conservatory of Music Orchestra. Gould was only 13 years old at the time.
    1947 - A movement among St. Louis Cardinal players to protest their first game against Jackie Robinson and the Dodgers was aborted by a talk from St. Louis owner Sam Breadon.
    1949 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Riders in the Sky," Vaughn Monroe.
    1952 - Top Hits
Blue Tango - The Leroy Anderson Orchestra
Blacksmith Blues - Ella Mae Morse
Anytime - Eddie Fisher
Easy on the Eyes - Eddy Arnold
    1954 - World-record holder William Parry O'Brien of the US became the first shot-putter to clear 60 feet with a throw of 60 feet, 65 ¼ inches, at a meet in Los Angeles. O'Brien won gold medals at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics and a silver medal at the 1960 games.
    1955 – “Flounder” was born in Norfolk, VA.  Actor Stephen Furst played the role in “Animal House”.
    1958 - Ernest Green becomes the first Black person to graduate from Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.  President Eisenhower ordered the National Guard out of Central HS.
    1958 – Vice President Nixon was shoved, stoned, booed and spat upon by protesters in Peru.
    1959 - Birthday of Ronald Mandel “Ronnie” Lott, Hall of Fame football player, born Albuquerque, NM.  He spent most of his career with, and is best known for, the Team of the 80s, the five-time Super Bowl Champion San Francisco Forty-Niners.  A first-round pick in the 1981 NFL Draft, Lott was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000 with teammate Joe Montana in 2000, and is widely considered one of the best and fiercest-hitting defensive backs in NFL history. The Niners retired his #42 in 2003.
    1960 - Top Hits
“Stuck on You” - Elvis Presley
“Sink the Bismarck” - Johnny Horton
“Sixteen Reasons” - Connie Stevens
“He'll Have to Go” - Jim Reeves
    1961 – The Metropolitans change their name, to play in the Polo Grounds the following year, to the Mets.
    1961 – The first practical sea water conversion plant went online at Freeport, Texas.  Someone please inform California!!
    1962 – “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” opens at the Alvin Theater in New York starring Zero Mostel. The hit lasts for 964 performances.
http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Lobby/4320/
    1963 – Setting off a multi-generational craze, Ian Fleming’s "Dr No" premiered in the US.
    1966 - Frank Robinson of the Orioles became the only player ever to hit a home run out of Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. His long drive over the left-field wall, off Luis Tiant of the Cleveland Indians, traveled an estimated 451 feet.
http://www.primenet.com/~jpmill/bball/robf.htm
    1966 - The St. Louis Cardinals played their last game in old Busch Stadium, formerly known as Sportsman's Park, losing to the San Francisco Giants, 10-5. They opened new Busch Memorial Stadium on May 12.
    1968 - Top Hits
“Honey”” - Bobby Goldsboro
“Tighten Up” - Archie Bell & The Drells
“Young Girl” - The Union Gap
The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde - Merle Haggard
    1968 - Jim “Catfish” Hunter of the Oakland Athletics pitched a perfect game, defeating the Minnesota Twins, 4-0. This was the first regular-season perfect game in the American League since Charlie Robertson turned the trick in 1922.
http://www.hertfordbaptist.org/hunter.html
    1969 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In," The 5th Dimension.
    1970 - The Beatles 13th album, “Let It Be”, was released in the United Kingdom on this date. The album zoomed to number one on the record charts. It was the last album the Beatles made together.
    1970 - The New York Knicks won their first NBA title, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers, 113-99, in Game 7 of the finals. The Knicks were led by injured center Willis Reed, who limped onto the court to score the game's first two baskets, and guard Walt Frazier, who scored 36 points.
    1970 - *KEITH, MIGUEL, Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, Combined Action platoon 1-3-2, 111 Marine Amphibious Force. place and date: Quang Ngai province, Republic of Vietnam, 8 May 1970. Entered service at: Omaha, Nebr. Born: 2 June 1951, San Antonio, Tex. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a machine gunner with Combined Action platoon 1-3-2. During the early morning L/Cpl. Keith was seriously wounded when his platoon was subjected to a heavy ground attack by a greatly outnumbering enemy force. Despite his painful wounds, he ran across the fire-swept terrain to check the security of vital defensive positions and then, while completely exposed to view, proceeded to deliver a hail of devastating machine gun fire against the enemy. Determined to stop 5 of the enemy soldiers approaching the command post, he rushed forward, firing as he advanced. He succeeded in disposing of 3 of the attackers and in dispersing the remaining 2. At this point, a grenade detonated near L/Cpl. Keith, knocking him to the ground and inflicting further severe wounds. Fighting pain and weakness from loss of blood, he again braved the concentrated hostile fire to charge an estimated 25 enemy soldiers who were massing to attack. The vigor of his assault and his well-placed fire eliminated 4 of the enemy soldiers while the remainder fled for cover. During this valiant effort, he was mortally wounded by an enemy soldier. By his courageous and inspiring performance in the face of almost overwhelming odds, L/Cpl. Keith contributed in large measure to the success of his platoon in routing a numerically superior enemy force, and upheld the finest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the U.S. Naval Service.
    1970 - Construction workers broke up an anti-war rally on Wall Street.
    1972 - Keyboards player and singer Billy Preston became the first rock performer to headline at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
    1972 - President Nixon announced his order to place mines in major North Vietnamese ports in order to stem the flow of weapons and other goods to that nation.
    1973 – Hall of Famer Ernie Banks filled in for Cubs manager Whitey Lockman who was ejected during the game, and technically became baseball's first African-American manager.  Frank Robinson became the first African-American hired for that purpose when he took over the 1975 Cleveland Indians.
    1973 – Native Americans surrendered after holding of Wounded Knee, SD for 10 weeks.
    1976 - Top Hits
“Welcome Back” - John Sebastian
“Right Back Where We Started From” - Maxine Nightingale
“Boogie Fever” - Sylvers
“My Eyes Can Only See as Far as You” - Charley Pride
    1976 - The rollercoaster Great American Revolution, the first steel coaster with a vertical loop, opened at Magic Mountain north of LA.
    1976 - On stage during Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue in Houston, Willie Nelson joins Bob for a stirring rendition of the country standard "Will The Circle Be Unbroken," dedicated (as is the concert itself) to freeing wrongfully convicted ex-boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter from his murder sentence.
    1977 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "When I Need You," Leo Sayer.
    1979 - Radio Shack releases TRSDOS 2.3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-DOS
    1980 - The World Health Organization confirmed the eradication of smallpox.
    1981 - Thunderstorms moved through Tarrant and Dallas Counties in Texas. It would become what one insurance expert called "The Worst Hailstorm In American History". 100 plus mph straight line thunderstorm winds caused damage in Western Tarrant County. 2 homes were destroyed and many more were damaged. Baseball and softball size hail damaged roofs. Insurance estimates indicated the hail and wind damage in Tarrant and Dallas Counties would exceed 179 million dollars and uninsured losses would exceed 200 million dollars. These figures made it the worst severe thunderstorm in American weather history until 1990.
    1982 - An all-woman jury took a scant 5.5 hours to give Al Davis a green light to move the Raiders to Los Angeles against the wishes of the National Football League and unhappy Oakland.
    1982 - A group of seasoned L.A. studio musicians calling themselves Toto, enter the Billboard Pop chart with "Roseanna". The record will climb from #81 all the way to the top and be named Record of the Year at the 1983 Grammy Awards.
    1984 - Top Hits
“Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” - Phil Collins
“Hello” - Lionel Richie
“Hold Me Now” - The Thompson Twins
“I Guess It Never Hurts to Hurt Sometimes” - The Oak Ridge Boys
    1984 - USSR announced it will not participate in Los Angeles Summer Olympics after the US withdrew from the 1980 Olympics in Moscow in protest over Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan.
    1985 - Larry Bird scored a career-high 43 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 130-123 win over the Detroit Pistons.
    1987 - Twenty-eight cities in the northwestern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. The record high of 95 degrees at Redding, CA was their fifth in a row, and the record high of 102 degrees at Hanover, WA was just one degree shy of their record for May.
    1987 - Gary Hart quit the Democratic presidential race when his affair with model Donna Rice was uncovered. He was predicted to
win and his dropping out changed the direction of American history.
    1988 - A major tornado outbreak occurred over the central U.S. 57 tornadoes touched down with the majority of them in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin. The 22 tornadoes in Iowa was the most in one day for the state. There were over 200 reports of damaging winds and large hail. One of the tornadoes in Iowa was on the ground for 67 miles from Bloomfield to Conesville.
    1988 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Anything for You," Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine. The song is the group's first No. 1 hit.
    1988 - Top Hits
“Anything For You” - Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine
“Shattered Dreams” - Johnny Hates Jazz
“Wishing Well” - Terence Trent D'Arby
“One More Try” - George Michael
“Pink Cadillac” - Natalie Cole
    1988 - A fire at Illinois Bell’s Hinsdale Central Office triggered an extended network outage once considered the "worst telecommunications disaster in US telephone industry history".
    1989 - An early version of Prodigy's commercial online service, the company's "videotex" service began experiencing intermittent outages, as the company began rolling the service out nationally. Prodigy had introduced its services in limited markets in October 1988. About 55,000 subscribers had joined the service, a joint venture of Sears and IBM.
    1992 - A vigorous upper level low pressure system stalled out over the Carolinas for the past 3 days unloaded tremendous amounts of snow over the western North Carolina Mountains above 4000 feet. Mt. Pisgah (elevation 5721 feet) recorded an incredible 60 inches over the 3 day period, tying the all-time single storm snowfall record for the state. Mt. Mitchell (elevation 6684 feet) was buried under 30 inches of very wet snow. On the previous day, the Greenville-Spartanburg Weather Service Office in Greer, South Carolina had snow mixed with rain, making this the latest date and the first time in May that snow had fallen at this location.
    1993 - Aerosmith's "Get a Grip" enters The Billboard 200 top pop album chart at No. 1, becoming the group's highest-debuting album and highest-charting album ever. The group's previous highpoint was "Rocks," which peaked at No. 3 in 1976.
    1993 - Top Hits
“Freak Me” - Silk
“That’s The Way Love Goes” - Janet Jackson
“Informer” - Snow
“Love Is”  (From "Beverly Hills, 90210") - Vanessa Williams/Brian McKnight
    1994 – President Clinton announced that the US will no longer repatriate boat people.
    1995 - Thunderstorms with torrential rains struck the New Orleans, Louisiana area. Audubon Park recorded 8.5 inches of rain in only 2 hours. Several locations had over 14 inches total ending early on the 9th. 5 people were killed in the flooding and damage exceeded one billion dollars.
    1997 - Los Angeles Police Chief Willie L. Williams formally presented Capt. Betty P. Kelepecz with a commander's badge, making her the highest-ranking female officer LAPD history. Kelepecz, who earned a law degree and became an attorney while rising through the department's ranks, is noted as an effective leader and administrator. Just before Kelepecz's promotion, an internal report confirmed former Det. Mark Fuhrman's allegations that a group of male officers in the West Los Angeles police station repeatedly harassed female colleagues.  "We didn't see it as harassment back then, we saw it as playing along, doing what you needed to do to survive," Capt. Kelepecz said. "Some male officers would say to me, 'I don't think you belong on the job."  She said that the attitudes of some of her male colleagues toward women during the early part of her career would not be tolerated in today's LAPD. She recalls enduring inappropriate and demeaning comments and even outright hostility as a young officer. At the time of Kelepecz's promotion, LAPD was 17.3% female.
http://www.lapdonline.org/c_o_s/kelepecz_b_bio.htm
http://www.nawlee.com/bpkelepecz.html
    1998 - Cardinal Mark McGwire reaches the 400th career home run mark. Big Red's historic milestone comes in 4,727 at-bats (127 less at-bats than Babe Ruth) which is the least plate appearances ever needed to reach the mark.
    1998 - Top Hits
“Too Close” - Next
“My Al” - Mariah Carey
“You’re Still The One” - Shania Twain
“Everybody” [Backstreet’s Back] - Backstreet Boys
“Truly Madly Deeply” - Savage Garden
    2006 - Apple Computer won a long, long legal battle over rights to sell music over the internet without violating the trademark of the Beatles' Apple label.
    2008 - Earth Wind and Fire vocalists Maurice White and Philip Bailey, along with Steve Winwood, are all granted honorary doctorates in music from Boston's famous Berklee College of Music.
    2010 - The last piece of Yankee Stadium falls in The Bronx, marking the end of the two year demolition process.  The new Yankee Stadium opened across River Ave in 2009.

NBA Champions
    1970 - New York Knicks