Newport Financial Partners, Newport Beach, California
Bulletin Board Complaint

This went through small claims court, an appeal to a higher court, and then, third court appeal over the issue of the judgment, and now Newport Beach, California is to be served to appear for a fourth time.

The $5,353.92 complaint was first received by Leasing News on January 12, 2012 from Stan Friedman, Amor Electronics’ Inc., Recertified BGA Inc., Laguna Hills, California.

"(Newport) said they were the final papers from the bank on the approved loan. Looks legitimate just like the last lease on the car I had.

"(So I )Sent everything back signed and they said it would take 5 business days for the vendor of the equipment to get paid. (1) I signed everything, sent it back without the first and last month money. This guy Paul calls back and says the bank cannot put the lease through without their payment and this is all approved. Newport called my vendor and said they would be paid in 5-6 business days

"And hold the 2 ovens for us. After a week I was told it was taking the underwriters some time due to holiday and they called the vendor again to say still hold the machines. I asked what is the issue ‘When I already signed the approved lease papers.’ Long story short, This was promised Dec 14th and after the new year they tell me the underwriter never got back to them and they wanted to put this

"Through my other company which I told them had a credit hit from 2 years ago and did not want to do that. I asked for my money back and they said they were keeping my 5 grand. They told me I had ‘To let them finish their work otherwise they were keeping my first and last month on a lease they already sent me approval paperwork on.’ Did not hear back from them for several days and then this past

"Monday vendor who was called 6x by these people, Sold the 2 units he was holding and I got charged 18K in fees from him for all the extra equipment he added for us that he had to remove."

Thus this “adventure” begins, including his visit to the Newport Financial office by Stan Friedman.

This brought up a fury of documents, emails, and other matters, including credit issues, in which Newport Financial was aware and continued to try and place the lease.

There is no dispute that Newport spent many hours, and a lot of work to place the lease. This and other issues were outlined between the parties and Leasing News. Between January 12th and February 6th there were 121 emails with the parties involved (most with Mr. Friedman).

As a final comment for publication in Leasing News from both George Bojorkuez and Richard Nicholson of Newport Financial Partners, on February 2, 2012, Mr. Bojorkuez emailed a statement ((note: Newport calls lessee "tenant" in their contract" and refers to the lease" as "rent.") (1):

"As we discussed, we believe that Recertified breached Paragraph 13 of the Lease, which requires Tenant to provide Landlord with such information and documentation for Tenant and each Guarantor as may be requested by Landlord.

"Moreover, Tenant is required to immediately notify Landlord of any material change in the facts regarding this transaction. A change in ownership of the tenant would certain constitute such a material change in fact.

"Pursuant to Paragraph 6 of the Lease, in the event Tenant breaches any of its obligations under the Lease, Landlord will be entitled to (among other rights and remedies) terminate the Lease and retain the entire Deposit.

"In light of the foregoing breaches and in accordance with Paragraph 6 of the Lease, Landlord properly exercised its right to terminate the Lease and retain the deposit.

"This is explicitly explained in three pages of our documents.

"Hopefully this brings an end to this matter. Thank you for your time and consideration."

In an effort to clear the matter up about the signed lease contract and money owed, Stan Friedman asked Leasing News to hold off as he took Newport Financial to small claims court. There were difficulties in getting Newport served, but they were and he took them to small claims for $5,000, as he said it was the court limit. On August 2, he won a judgment.

Newport Financial appealed the decision and lost it, but the judge reduced the fine, stating Newport Financial was entitled to costs, citing the dispute over timely providing of documents requested and made it $4754.76.(2)

Stan Friedman told Leasing News on November 20th; “Going back to court today to have to pay the Sheriff to serve them to come back to court to give us their accounts.  I am told if they play games and give us an account with no funds, the owner of the business will be in contempt of court and their penalties will be a lot worse.”

Will there be a fourth court appearance? Stay Tuned.

1. Newport Financial Contract
   http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/NewportFinancialContract12-15-2011.pdf

2. Small Claims
   http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/August22012smallclaimsjudgment.pdf

Bulletin Board Complaints:
http://www.leasingnews.org/bulletin_board.htm

(Leasing News provides this ad as a trade for investigations
and background information provided by John Kenny)

Classified Ads---Asset Management

(These ads are “free” to those seeking employment or looking
to improve their position)

Free Posting for those seeking employment in Leasing:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted-post.htm

All “free” categories “job wanted” ads:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted.htm

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

Reach Potential Customers and Vendors
Find Your Niche

Many success stories in the finance and leasing industry is finding your niche. Here is an opportunity to browse by topic and pick up the publication with names, advertisements, and classified on potential direct lessees and vendors.

Browse by topic and subscribe for free:

http://localusjobs.tradepub.com/

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

Royal Links "True Lease" Court Ruling
Introduction by Christopher Menkin

The case that Tom McCurnin reports on in this issue not only involves what the court considers a scam of a “true lease,” but resolves around its promotion by a lessor now serving time.

Clarence Allen Rice, the owner of C & J Leasing Corp., Des Moines, Iowa, after an eight day trial was found guilty November 18, 2011 of wire fraud in connection with a complex $8 million Ponzi scheme. November, 2008 he told Leasing News he had been in business since 1982 and was letting go his 18 employees, stopped funding, and was winding down. He said he had never seen anything like "today's financing marketplace."

Actually it was not the full truth, as he was not only deep in Royal Cart leases sponsored by advertising to make the lease payments (meaning the cart was not only free to the golf course, but they also make profits from the cart sales).Trial evidence showed that Rice suffered over $800,000 in day trading losses in the early 2000s using his company’s money. As a result, his company faced severe cash flow problems by early 2003. Rice addressed the cash flow problems by misappropriating millions of dollars from Frontier Leasing Corporation between 2003 and 2006 and using it to pay other debts and engage in additional day trading. He concealed his fraud by making false statements to Frontier and his auditors, including KPMG. His scheme relied heavily on the fraudulent use of the term “security deposit” on his company’s books.

He obtained financing for his company, in part, by selling many of those leases to Frontier in exchange for a large payment. Frontier is a Des Moines-area small business that, prior to the fraud, had more than 25 employees.

In late 2002, evidence showed his day trading losses mounted, Rice began misappropriating certain lease payments belonging to Frontier. His misappropriation arose out of situations in which a lessee decided to pay off a lease early instead of continuing to make monthly payments through the end of the lease term. This “early payoff” money belonged to Frontier, as the owner of the lease. However, on hundreds of occasions totaling millions of dollars, Rice kept the early payoff money and used it for other purposes.

Rice also misappropriated Frontier’s money in other situations. For example, the trial produced a close to $200,000 lease he sold to Frontier. However, the lease was later canceled before Rice’s company even purchased any equipment for the lessee. Nonetheless, Rice did not return Frontier’s money. Instead, he reported to Frontier that the lease was valid and in existence. In reality, he was making the monthly payments, not the supposed lessee.

For bookkeeping purposes, Rice used his company’s “security deposit” account to conceal the fraud. Each time he received early payoff money, he recorded the payment as a customer “security deposit” on his companies’ books. When KPMG and his other auditors asked for an explanation regarding the substantial growth in the security deposit account, he falsely informed them that security deposits had increased due to an increase in business.

As a result of Rice’s fraud, Frontier suffered losses in excess of $5.5 million. In addition, lessees lost more than $2 million in security deposits that had been given to Rice’s company.

Rice was convicted on four counts, receiving 70 months in federal jail on each count, but to be served concurrently and fined $400.

Copy of Judgment Ordered
by U.S. Direct Judge James E. Gritzner:
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/Clarence%20Rice%20Judgement.pdf

Previous Story: Royal Links Golf Course Kiosks & C & J
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jun2011/6_22.htm#cj_leasing

((Please Click on Bulletin Board to learn more information))
(Leasing News provides this ad “gratis” as a means
to help support the growth of Lease Police)

Iowa Court Rules “Agency” and “Fraud” Question of Fact
While Upholding “Hell or High Water” Clause

By Tom McCurnin
Barton, Klugman & Oetting

Another Royal Links Case Goes South for Equipment Lessor,
But That’s the Least of His Problems.

C & J Vantage Leasing Co. v. Wolfe, 795 N.W.2d 65 (Iowa 2011).

The Royal Links beverage cart scam, like Brican America and its cousin NorVergence, was based on marketing something of no value for big money, then getting leasing companies to blindly finance the scam. Royal Links golf beverage carts were sold through an aggressive marketing ploy to golf course by salesmen who promised the golf course operators that the cart would pay for itself with advertising revenue, which it would provide.

Royal Links also marketed the program to a number of equipment lessors, with C&J Leasing and Frontier Leasing, both of Des Moines, Iowa, being two the lessors with the largest appetite for these leases. C&J routinely assigned many of its Royal Links leases to Frontier Leasing.

In this matter, the lessee made the typical arguments that the whole program was a scam, he was promised that the program would pay for itself, and he never heard of C&J until it came time to sign the lease. Even then, the Royal Links salesperson handled the paperwork. In the beginning there was some advertising, then less and less, and finally very little to none. The golf courses were stuck with an over-priced non-motorized beverage cart. Several golf courses had signed leases for more than one cart.

The lessor made the counter argument that due to the “hell or high water” clause, the lessee was stuck with the cart, and the salesman wasn’t the agent of the lessor, because of contractual admonitions on the documents.

Most of these pieces of litigation were handled in Iowa, and at trial, the Iowa trial court agreed with the lessor and entered summary judgment in favor of the lessor.

On appeal, the Iowa Court of Appeals ruled that the lease was a secured loan, not a lease. Frontier argued that the parties may agree to deem the lease as a true lease, and thus a secured loan may be morphed into a true lease. The C&J Lease contained a provision that deemed the lease to be a finance lease under Article 2A. The Court went through great lengths to analyze the various statutory definitions of a true lease in UCC § 1-203, and noted that these would be useless if the parties could simply deem a secured loan as a true lease.

Next, the Court looked at the “hell or high water” provisions of the lease, and the lessee’s argument was that if the lease was a secured loan, and not governed by Article 2A, then the “hell or high water” clause should not be enforceable. The Court correctly noted that if the lease was deemed a true lease, then no such clause would be necessary, the statutory treatment is enough. Ultimately, the Court concluded that the parties are free to contract whatever contractual remedies they choose and the Court will enforce those within reason.

Another issue was the potential agency relationship between C&J and the Royal Link’s salesmen. Although the lease, credit application, and other documents specifically disclaimed agency, it was crystal clear that the lessee only dealt with the Royal Link’s sales persons, from the promotional calls, to the lease application, and even signing the lease. All functions, save and except, the lease verification phone call were handled by Royal Links. The Court of Appeals concluded that enough evidence was presented to allow the agency portion of the case to go to trial. It should be noted that the Royal Links program suffered a number of similar adverse rulings the year earlier, either as C&J or as Frontier Leasing.

Finally the Court of Appeals went through a plethora of legal issues presented by the lessee and concluded that the lease, while a bad bargain, was not per se unconscionable, the lease was enforceable, even though no interest rate was disclosed, there was enough evidence on the issue of fraud in the inducement (false promises by the Royal Links salesperson) to warrant a trial on the merits.

The lessons for the equipment lessor here are:

First, if the lessor’s lease is not a true lease, salutary language will not make it so, at least in the State of Iowa.

Second, if the lessor is doing vendor based programs, and using the vendor’s salespersons, the lessor is at risk for having that salesperson deemed an agent of the lessor.

Third, the “hell or high water” provision in a lease is enforceable, even if the lease is not a true finance lease.

Adding to the leases was the downfall of C. Allen Rice, who’s Ponzi scam was brought to a head by the Royal Links scandal. The Royal Cart case where the lessor was no longer making “advertising payments” ended checks going to Rice that he would pay his line as well as to leases sold to Frontier.

A check of the criminal docket reflects that the Government is seeking garnishment of Rice’s personal holdings at The Principal Group, TD Ameritrade, and American Funds. It is unlikely that there is any money close to the $3.3 million dollar restitution. Mr. Rice is 64 years old, and resides in a Federal prison camp, near Duluth, Minnesota.

Grand Jury Indictment (5 pages)
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/GrandJuryIndictment_11262012.pdf

Supreme Court of Iowa case (22 pages)
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/SupremeCourtofIowaCase_11262012.pdf

Summary of the Argument (48 pages)
(Defendant Rice's Sentencing Memorandum and motion for Variance and Downward Departure)
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/SmmaryoftheArgument_11262012.pdf

Royal Links stories:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/11_Lessors_in_the_rough.htm

Brican America stories:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/brican_america.htm

NorVergence Stories:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Novergence_main.htm

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
Fax: (213) 625-1832
Email: tmccurnin@bkolaw.com
Visit our web site at www.bkolaw.com

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

“How do I move up in operations?”
Career Crossroad---By Emily Fitzpatrick/RII

Question: I am looking to advance my career in the leasing industry. I am in an operational position and looking to “move up” in my career – what do you suggest?

Answer: I am a strong believer that enrolling in training, and educational classes can assist in “moving up the ladder." Additionally, making your intentions known to your employer is a necessary step forward. Don't be afraid to ask for a short session "one-to-one" and then ask them for their advice.

Return to college for classes or a different degree, or taking institution or leasing association classes. I would strongly recommend the Certified Lease Professional program (CLPfoundation.org). They have mentors, school sessions, or a low cost, except if you have to travel to a different location. The cost to apply for the CLP program is $580.

You also can set you own pace by reading the books on leasing and finance, such as from

http://www.clpfoundation.org/toolbox/library.php
http://two.leasingnews.org/Books.htm

As you know, many larger employers (e.g. GE) work with their employees in developing career paths; which lends to a more loyal and dedicated work force. Also, don't ignore the human resource person in your company. They are experts in not only hiring, but education, benefits, and helping employees grow in their company.

You can set the pace you want or the goal you would like to reach by approaching what you are doing to making a living as more than a job--It is a career.

Emily Fitzpatrick
Sr. Recruiter
Recruiters International, Inc.
Phone: 954-885-9241
Cell: 954-612-0567
emily@riirecruit.com
Invite me to Connect on LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/pub/emily-fitzpatrick/4/671/76
Also follow us on Twitter #RIIINFO

Career Crossroads Previous Columns
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/crossroad.html

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

Classified Ads ---Help Wanted

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

Leasing 102
by Mr. Terry Winders, CLP

Residual Protection

For the past umpteen years we have been protecting our residuals with return conditions. On occasion we even included a return fee for paying an experienced equipment investigation to make sure the equipment met the return conditions. The trouble with this approach is the fact that it does not monitor the use over the term and occasionally the cost to return the equipment to proper condition can only be recovered by legal action. That legal action is expensive and requires a lot of proof.

The modern way is to create language in the lease that requires periodic inspection and adjustment in the lease payment for over use. To do this it requires knowledge of the actual use and a way to calculate that use. Sometimes it may require a record of hours of use or a carefully logged maintenance records.

To monitor use takes an additional effort and on occasion travel expenses for inspections. Therefore the residual must be of some size. Most of these inspections can be handled by the sales staff if they are properly equipped with instructions on what to look for and forms to complete.

When over use is detected then there should be a change of lease payment form sent to the lessee containing the reason for the change with a reference to that language in the lease agreement. The earlier over use, lack of maintenance or location change is discovered the easier to make corrections and early detection of defaults usually create lower losses.

There are plenty of machines in medical, data processing and other markets where there is no way to monitor use but the value is usually determined by technical advances instead of over use. However the environment in which the equipment is used will also play a big part such as a computer in a foundry environment. There are many markets where the location of use could be hazardous to the equipment. Just looking at the use does not always discover hazardous locations so you should use an equipment use and description form containing questions on location of use. An example is equipment left outside instead of being garaged because it will have a negative value on the equipment condition.

There should be a paragraph on use requirements like maintenance requirements (suggested by the manufacturer in their brochure) limited use by only employees and only on company business. Proper storage and no location change without notice. However there are a lot of markets where use more than age affects the value. Many manufactures begin with one shift and after a while when business picks up they go to three shifts. One shift after five years is considered five years old when three shifts after five years is fifteen years old. You need to know as much as possible about the equipment you lease regardless of cost to create the proper lease language.

One side note which lease looks like a “lease” to a judge…. one that has a level payment requirement, no equipment concerns and a bargain purchase option or one that has irregular lease payments based on use and requirements for proper use with rental adjustments based on that use, plus a protected residual with proper return requirements and equipment inspections over the term?

While this looks to be overkill it is possible that the new accounting rules will push us back to leasing instead of financing and residuals and residual protection will become critical. Remember, commercial equipment “leasing” is not commercial equipment “financing” !!!!

Mr. Terry Winders, CLP, has been a teacher, consultant, expert witness for the leasing industry for thirty-five years and can be reached at leaseconsulting@msn.com or 502-649-0448

He invites your questions and queries.

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

(This ad is a “trade” for the writing of this column. Opinions
contained in the column are those of Mr. Terry Winders, CLP)

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

Beware of Scams on Cyber Monday

Follow these tips for a safe and stress free online shopping experience.

(The following are tips from IDentity Theft 911 (www.idt911.com) on ways consumers can protect themselves against online scams and identity theft while shopping online.)

Top tips include

• Shop on secure sites. They’ll have "https" in the address bar and a yellow padlock logo to the right of the Web browser address bar. Double-click on the lock to see a digital certificate of the website. Review these certificates on unfamiliar sites.

• Enter correct URLs. Hackers often buy misspelled domains to trick people into entering personal information.

• Never enter your Social Security number or passwords to email and bank accounts as part of the buying process with online retailers.

• Use different passwords for online retailers, personal email and banks accounts. If a hacker cracks one password, he won’t have access to others.

• Read site reviews before making any purchases. Pricegrabber.com compares prices and users’ comments on retail websites. Google Product Search, slickdeals.net and dealnews.com monitor retailers, site performance, possible issues and deals.

• Never save personal information on an online retail website. Retailers will offer convenience and better deals, but many customer databases are breached by identity thieves. It’s not worth the risk.

• Read website return and privacy policies before making purchases. If there’s any doubt about fairness, find another site.

• Be aware of phishing email scams that include website links advertising incredible deals. Don’t click on them. Type the link directly into your browser.

• Use credit cards, not debit cards. Try to use credit cards with low limits to minimize the damage if a thief takes over the account. Or, use a "one-time" credit card number from payment processors such as PayPal.

• Never link a bank account to an online pay service such as PayPal. Hackers could break into the PayPal account and drain money from the linked bank account.

• Never send payment information via regular email. It’s not secure. Make sure all personal information transactions are done on a secure site.

• Uncheck boxes advertising "additional offers." These services are sometimes offered for a low initial fee that later increases to a high, recurring charge on your credit card. Also, they’ll issue your contact information to spammers.

• Secure mobile phones used for shopping. Back them up regularly and enable security features such as power on password and inactivity time lock. Learn how to clear browser caches and, if available, enable data encryption and antivirus applications.

• As always, install and update antivirus, anti-malware and firewall software on your computer. Update its operating system and Internet browser with the latest security patches.

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

Top Burger Franchises
qrsmagazine.com

Labrador Retriever
Des Moines, Iowa Adopt-a-Dog

Maestro

Animal ID: 68746
Breed: Labrador Retriever
Secondary Breed:
Sex: Male
Age: 1 Year 9 Months
Color: Black
Secondary Color:
Spayed or Neutered: Yes
Site: Arl Southridge

“Maestro is a go-go-go kind of guy who loves tennis balls, tug and treats! He'll need regular exercise so everyone will be happy, but he'll definitely be lots of fun to play with! He already knows sit, stay, shake (and maybe more!) but classes would be fun for bonding and perfecting his manners. A no-pull harness would be a good investment for walking. He has done well with other dogs.

“This dog will automatically be enrolled in our Black Dog Club! Membership is a perk for people who adopt dogs with 50 percent or more black fur, and adopters will receive an exclusive Black Dog Club leash. Black dogs are the most commonly overlooked type of dog in shelters, even though color has no bearing on a dog's personality. As an adopter, you have the power to make a real difference in the life of a black shelter dog.”

ARL South (Adoptions Only)
1111 E. Army Post Road
Des Moines, IA 50315
Ph: (515) 473-9134
http://www.arl-iowa.org/about-us/locations-hours/9/location.aspx

(Please call first)
Adoption Hours
Monday CLOSED
Tuesday CLOSED
Wednesday CLOSED
Thursday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Adopt-a-Pet by Leasing Co. State/City
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Adopt_Pet.htm

Adopt a Pet
http://www.adoptapet

Classified ads—Marketing

Leasing Industry Outsourcing
(Providing Services and Products)

All "Outsourcing" Classified ads (advertisers are both requested and responsible to keep their free ads up to date:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Outsourcing/Outsourcing.htm

How to Post a free "Outsourcing" classified ad:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Outsourcing/Outsourcing-post.htm

(Please click on Kettle to make a donation)

News Briefs----

U.S. Justice Department probes Swiss bank Pictet
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-swiss-usa-pictetbre8ao06x-20121125,0,509399.story

Office furniture makers redefine work space in technology era
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20121121/FREE/121129953/office-furniture-makers-redefine-work-space-in-era-of-technology

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

CEO Council Demands Cuts To Poor, Elderly While Reaping Billions In Government Contracts, Tax Breaks
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/25/deficit-reduction-council-fiscal-cliff_n_2185585.html

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

SparkPeople--Live Healthier and Longer

SparkPeople--Live Healthier and Longer

High Performance Nutrition - Part 1
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=627

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

Sports Briefs----

Eli Manning, NY Giants snap slump with romp over Green Bay Packers at MetLife Stadium
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/eli-giants-pack-punch-bye-38-10-rout-article-1.1207933

Jets hit new low as superfan 'Fireman Ed' quits his beloved team for season
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--jets-hit-new-low-as-superfan--fireman-ed--quits-his-beloved-team-for-season-030828017.html

49ers earn big road win, 31-21, in New Orleans

San Francisco 49ers notebook: Delanie Walker, Kyle Williams, Kendall Hunter suffer injuries against Saints
http://www.mercurynews.com/49ers/ci_22065294/san-francisco-49ers-notebook-delanie-walker-kyle-williams

Bears pay a price as 5 starters go down in win over Vikings
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-1126-bears-vikings-chicago--20121126,0,822982.story

Robert Griffin III’s triumphant return to Texas
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/robert-griffin-iiis-triumphant-return-to-texas/2012/11/25/726c0a14-372e-11e2-9258-ac7c78d5c680_story.html

Oakland Raiders fall to Cincinnati Bengals 34-10
http://www.contracostatimes.com/raiders/ci_22063689/oakland-raiders-fall-cincinnati-bengals-34-10
http://www.sfgate.com/raiders/article/Raiders-thrashed-in-4th-straight-defeat-4065477.php

Ravens beat Chargers in OT, quarter by quarter
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/nov/25/chargers-and-ravens-quarter-quarter/

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

 n 1996. The Ravens, a team that formerly played in Cleveland, Ohio, moved into Baltimore's Memorial Stadium and began to play in the 1996 season. "This is a new beginning and a new era for us," the Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell told fans at the team's naming ceremony.

The name Ravens was inspired by the poetry of the famous former Baltimore resident Edgar Allan Poe. Ravens can be taught to speak. Poe's raven is thought to have been inspired by the raven Grip in Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens. Dickens' bird has many words and comic turns, including the popping of a champagne cork, but Poe felt that Dickens did not make enough of the bird's dramatic qualities.

“Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

“Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore.
‘Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,' I said, ‘art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!'
Quoth the Raven, ‘Nevermore.'"

The full 18 verse poem:

http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/poe/theraven.shtml

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

California Nuts Briefs---

Big investment firm buys hundreds of houses in Sacramento area
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/25/5008543/big-investment-firm-buys-hundreds.html

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

“Gimme that Wine”

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

Smithsonian to Open American Wine Exhibit

Spring Mountain invests $1 million in winemaking technology upgrade

Kluge Winery Makes Comeback Under New Ownership

Interrogating Your Wine

David Taub, Introducer of Pinot Grigio Wine to U.S., Dies at 72

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/

Winery Atlas
http://www.carterhouse.com/atlas/\

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

    1774 - A congress of colonial leaders criticized British influence in the colonies and affirmed their right to “Life, liberty and property.”        
    1775- The American Navy began using chaplains within its regular service.        
    1778- British explorer Captain James Cook first discovers Maui, the islands (the Hawaiian Islands) and names them Sandwich Islands after Britain’s Earl of Sandwich. He dies in the islands with four of his men as the natives were continuing to steal fishing hooks and supplies from the ship.
http://www.mmbc.bc.ca/source/schoolnet/exploration/cookdeath.html
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/7557/
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/7557/page1.html
http://www.hallman.org/indian/cook.html
http://www.geocities.com/neil2bn/cook.htm
        1789-President George Washington proclaimed November 26,1789 to be Thanksgiving Day. It was the first holiday by presidential proclamation. Both Houses of Congress, by their joint committee, had requested him to recommend a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity to peaceably establish a form of government for their safety and happiness. Those opposed said it violated the states rights to proclaim the day of Thanksgiving in their own state and it should not be a national holiday. Proclamation issued Oct 3,1789. Next proclaimed by President Lincoln in 1863 for the last Thursday in November. In 1939 President Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving to the next to last Thursday. May 10,1941, Pres. Roosevelt announced Thanksgiving would be moved forward again. to the last Thursday of November, after the two-year experiment. Roosevelt had originally moved the holiday to simulate business activity.
       1792- Sarah Moore Grimke birthday, American antislavery and women’s rights advocate along with her sister Angelina. Born at Charleston, SC, and died Dec 23, 1873, at Hyde Park, MA.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASgrimkeS.htm
http://www.english.ilstu.edu/351/hypertext98/hankins/african/SGrimke.html
http://www.pinn.net/~sunshine/book-sum/grimke3.html
http://americanciv.uchicago.edu/Grimke.html
       1832-Mary Edwards Walker, birthday, American physician and women's rights leader, born at Oswego, NY. First female surgeon in US Army (Civil War). Spent four months in Confederate prison. First and only woman ever to receive Medal of Honor (Nov 11, 1865). Two years before her death, on June 3, 1916, a government review board asked that her award be revoked along with 908 others as they decided the award would be solely for those in combat.. She continued to wear it, in spite of official revocation, until her death, Feb 21, 1919, at Oswego. On June 11, 1977, the secretary of the army posthumously restored the Medal of Honor to Dr. Walker.
       1832-The first Streetcar “John Mason”, a horse-drawn conveyance designed and constructed by John Stephenson in Philadelphia, PA, was placed in service in New York City by the New York and Harlem Railway. 1832. Named for the prominent New York banker who organized the railway company, the John Masonwas equipped with iron wheels and was drawn over iron rails laid in the center of the pavement. Lank O’Dell was the first driver. The car was divided into three nonconnecting compartments with 10 seats in each. The first of the three doors bore on its panel the name “New York,” the second “Yorkville,” and the third “Harlaem.” ( sic.))The fare was 12.5 cents. Tracks for the streetcar were laid along Fourth Avenue from Prince Street to 14th Street. In November 1835, a double track running north to Yorkville was completed.
       1858- Mother Mary Katharine Drexel birthday, founder of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. MKD inherited $14 million in 1880; she used her funds freely while directing her order's work, which ranged from a school for black girls in Virginia to schools for Indians in the West. In 1915 she endowed and began forming Xavier University in New Orleans, the only Catholic college for blacks in the U.S.
http://www.katharinedrexel.org/history.htm
http://www47.homepage.villanova.edu/charlene.mires/tours/drexel.htm
     1861 - West Virginia was created as a result of dispute over slavery with Virginia.        1862 -- On meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom' Cabin, President Abraham Lincoln comments: "So this is the little lady who made the big war.”
    1863-Union General George Meade moves against General Robert E. L Lee's Army of Northern Virginia after months of inaction following the Battle of Gettysburg. Meade's troops found no weaknesses in Lee's lines, and the offensive was abandoned after only five days. This day Meade sent three corps against Lee's right flank around a small valley called Mine Run. Unfortunately for the Union, William French's Third Corps took the wrong road and did not cross the Rapidan River (just south of the Rappahannock) on time. Lee moved part of his army east to meet the threat. While French's corps wandered in the Virginia wilderness, Confederate General Edward Johnson moved to block their advance. French's men fought Johnson's at Payne's Farm; French suffered 950 men killed and wounded to Johnson's 545. The blunder cost the Union heavily. Lee's men took up strong positions along Mine Run, and Meade realized that to attack head on would be foolish. By December 1, Meade began pulling his men back across the Rappahannock River and into winter quarters. There would be no further activity between the two great armies until spring.
    1863 - The first of our modern annual Thanksgivings was held following the Oct 3 proclamation of Pres. Lincoln to assign the last Thursday in Nov for this purpose.
    1864 - Colonel Kit Carson led the attack in the First Battle of Adobe Walls. Col. Christopher (Kit) Carson, commanding the First Cavalry, New Mexico Volunteers, was ordered to lead an expedition against the winter campgrounds of the Comanche’s and Kiowas, believed to be somewhere on the south side of the Canadian. On November 10 he arrived at Fort Bascom with fourteen officers, 321 enlisted men, and seventy-five Ute and Jicarilla Apache scouts and fighters he had recruited from Lucien Maxwell's ranch near Cimarron, New México. The first eyewitness account of the battle other than Carson's military correspondence was published in 1877 by George Pettis, who had served as the expedition's artillery officer.
    1867- J.B. Sutherland of Detroit, MI received a patent on the first refrigerated railroad car. It was for an insulted car constructed with ice bunkers in each end. Air came in at the top, was passed through the ice chambers, and circulated through the car by means of gravity, controlled by the use of hanging flaps that created differences in air temperature. The first refrigerated railroad car to carry a load of fresh fruit was constructed1866 by Parker Earle of Cobden, IL, who built and shipped chests of strawberries on the Illinois Central Railroad. The chests had three layers of board and were airtight and watertight. They held 100 pounds of ice and 200 quarts of strawberries, which brought $2 a quart. In 1872, Earle shipped a full carload from Anna, IL, to Chicago.
    1871—Birthday of Texas Governor Pat Neff ( he pardoned “Leadbelly,”), anti-klu klux klan, a man ahead of his time, champion of education and progress, McGregor, Texas.
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/NN/fne5.html
http://www.baylor.edu/about/neff.asp
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/40030/40030-P.html
    1872 -The San Francisco Evening Bulletin exposed one of the most notorious mining scandals in US history, The Great Diamond Hoax. Philip Arnold (1829 - 1878) was a confidence trickster from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, who was the brains behind a legendary 1872 scam to fool people into investing in western diamond mining operations. He managed to walk away from the hoax with more than half a million dollars. Clarence King (1842 - 1901) was the geologist who uncovered the swindle.
" Arnold and Slack played their con perfectly. They arrived in San Francisco in 1872 and tried to deposit a bag of uncut diamonds at a bank. When questioned, the two men quickly disappeared, acting as if they were reluctant to talk about their discovery. Intrigued, a bank director named William Ralston tracked down the men. Assuming he was dealing with unsophisticated country bumpkins, he set out to take control of the diamond mine. The two cousins agreed to take a blindfolded mining expert to the site; the expert returned to report that the mine was indeed rich with diamonds and rubies ...
"Back in San Francisco, King exposed the fraud in the newspapers and the Great Diamond Hoax collapsed. Ralston returned $80'000 to each of his investors, but he was never able to recover the $600'000 given to the two cousins. Arnold lived out the few remaining years of his life in luxury in Kentucky before dying of pneumonia in 1878. Slack apparently squandered his share of the money, for he was last reported working as a coffin maker in New Mexico. King's role in exposing the fraud brought him national recognition — he became the first director of the United States Geological Survey." Source Wilson’s book of days
   1883-We don’t generally “mention” the passing of a person in American History, but this is the date Sojourner Truth left Earth. A former slave who had been sold four different times, Sojourner Truth became an evangelist who argued for abolition and women’s rights. After a troubled early life, she began her evangelical career in 1843, traveling through New England until she discovered the utopian colony called the Northampton Associations of Education and Industry. It was there she was exposed to, and became an advocate for, the cause of abolition, working with Frederick Douglass, Wendell Phillips, William Lloyd Garrison and others. In 1850, she befriended Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other feminist leaders and actively began supporting calls for women’s rights. In 1870 she attempted to petition Congress to create a “Negro state” on public lands in the west. Born at Ulster County, NY, about 1790, with the name Isabella Van Wagener, shed died November 26,1883, at Battle Creek, MI.

 ( lower half of:  http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/nov26.html  )
   1895-National Negro Medical Association founded.
 ( could not find current or successor organization )
        1907-Birthday of trumpeter Henry ”Hot Lips” Levine, born London, England. http://64.33.34.112/.WWW/l1.html#HLevine
         1907-Birthday of pianist Frank “ Kansas City Frank” Melrose, Sumner, IL
http://www.redhotjazz.com/kcffootwarmers.html
http://www.doctorjazz2.freeserve.co.uk/page3.html
http://shopping.yahoo.com/shop?d=product&id=192
7007006&clink=dmmu.artist&a=b
http://www.redhotjazz.com/frankmelrose.html
        1908-Birthday of Vernon “Lefty” Gomez, Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher born at Rodeo, CA., well-known San Francisco personality and restaurateur. Gomez was a star pitcher with the New York Yankees from 1930 to 1942. He won six World Series game without a defeat and was the winning pitcher in the first All-Star Game. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972. Died at Greenbrae, CA, Feb 17, 1989.

       1922-Birthday of Charles Schulz, cartoonist, born at Minneapolis, MN. Created the “Peanuts” comic strip that debuted on Oct 2,1950. The strip included Charlie Brown, his sister Sally, his dog Snoopy, friends Linus and Lucy and a variety of other characters. Stricken with colon cancer, Schulz last daily strip was published Jan 3, 2000, and his last Sunday strip was published Feb 13, 2000. The strip ran in more than 2,500 newspapers in many different countries. Schulz won the Reuben Award in both 1955 and 1964 and was named International Cartoonist of the Year in 1978. Several TV specials were spin-offs of the strip including “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” and “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.” Schulz died at Santa Rosa, CA Feb 12, 2000. See also “Peanuts Debuts: Anniversary” (Oct 2).
        1925- after finishing his college football career oat the University of Illinois, Harold “ Red” Grange, perhaps the most famous player of all time, played his first game as a professional. Wearing the uniform of the Chicago Bears, Grange was held to 35 years, rushing in a 0-0 tie against the Chicago Cardinals.
       1933-Birthday of entertainer, actor, singer Robert Goulet, born Lawrence, MA.
       1933- Fifteen thousand people in San Jose, California, storm the jail where Thomas Thurmond and John Holmes are being held as suspects in the kidnapping and murder of Brooke Hart, the 22-year-old son of a local storeowner. The mob of angry citizens proceeded to lynch the accused men and then pose them for pictures. On November 9, Brooke Hart was abducted by men in a Studebaker. His family received a $40,000 ransom demand and, soon after, Hart's wallet was found on a tanker ship in a nearby bay. The investigative trail led to Holmes and Thurmond, who implicated each other in separate confessions. Both acknowledged, though, that Hart had been pistol-whipped and then thrown off the San Mateo Bridge. After Hart's body washed ashore on November 25, a vigilante mob began to form. Newspapers reported the possibility of a lynching and local radio stations broadcast the plan. Not only did Governor James Rolph reject the National Guard's offer to send assistance, he reportedly said he would pardon those involved in the lynching. On November 26, the angry mob converged at the jail and beat the guards, using a battering ram to break into the cells. Thurmond and Holmes were dragged out and hanged from large trees in a nearby park. The public seemed to welcome the gruesome act of vigilante violence. After the incident, pieces of the lynching ropes were sold to the public. Though theSan Jose News declined to publish pictures of the lynching, it condoned the act in an editorial. Eighteen-year-old Anthony Cataldi bragged that he had been the leader of the mob but he was not held accountable for his participation. At Stanford University, a professor asked his students to stand and applaud the lynching. Perhaps most disturbing, Governor Rolph publicly praised the mob. "The best lesson ever given the country," said Governor Rolph. "I would like to parole all kidnappers in San Quentin to the fine, patriotic citizens of San Jose."
        1938—Birthday of singer Tina Turner, Nutbush, Tn
http://www.tina-turner.com/
http://www.tinamania.com/tina/
http://www.askmen.com/women/singer/27_tina_turner.html
http://www.askmen.com/women/singer/27c_tina_turner.html
       1941- On this day, a Japanese fleet of six aircraft carriers, commanded by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, left Hitokapu Bay under strict radio silence. The surprise attack was Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's idea. The Commander in Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet had been stewing over the idea since November 1940, two months after Japan signed the Tripartite Pact that aligned them with Germany and Italy. Yamamoto's Pearl Harbor idea was inspired by two things: a prophetic book and a historic attack. The book wasThe Great Pacific War, written in 1925 by Hector Bywater, a British naval authority. It was a realistic account of a clash between the United States and Japan that begins with the Japanese destruction of the U.S. fleet and proceeds to the Japanese attacks on Guam and the Philippines. To Yamamoto, the book's plot almost seemed like a blueprint for war. And when the Royal Air Force attacked and successfully debilitated the Italian fleet at Taanto on November 11, 1940, Yamamoto was convinced that Bywater's fiction could become reality. He started making plans at once. Yamamoto, who studied English at Harvard University, did not underestimate the Americans. He said that if "hostilities break out between Japan and the United States, it would not be enough that we take Guam and the Philippines . . . we would have to march into Washington and dictate the terms of peace in the White House." He understood this would be virtually impossible but also believed that waiting for the Americans to strike first would be playing into U.S. strengths. Planning the Pearl Harbor attack and organizing the First Air Fleet took up much of 1941. When the fleet finally sailed on November 26, the mood was tense. The director of the First Fleet, Vice Admiral Nagumo, not only lacked experience with naval aviation but openly opposed the attack. Yamamoto sat in his flagship headquarters in Japanese waters, anxiously awaiting the results of his Pearl Harbor brainchild.
        1942- “ Casablanca” premiered. Due to the landing of the Allies in North Africa on Nov 8, the premiere and release of the film were moved up from June 1943 to Nov 26,1942, when it premiered at New York City on Thanksgiving Day. The general nationwide release followed on Jan 23, 1943, during the Roosevelt-Churchill conferences in Casablanca.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/nov26.html
        1944-Birthday of singer Jean Terrell ( of the Supremes), Texas
http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Jean%20Terrell.html
http://www.tonygreen.com/music/Supremes/Jean.htm
     1944--SHERIDAN, CARL V. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company K, 47th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division. Place and date: Frenzenberg Castle, Weisweiler, Germany, 26 November 1944. Entered service at: Baltimore, Md. Birth: Baltimore, Md. G.O. No.: 43, 30 May 1445. Citation: Attached to the 2d Battalion of the 47th Infantry on 26 November 1944, for the attack on Frenzenberg Castle, in the vicinity of Weisweiler, Germany, Company K, after an advance of 1,000 yards through a shattering barrage of enemy artillery and mortar fire, had captured 2 buildings in the courtyard of the castle but was left with an effective fighting strength of only 35 men. During the advance, Pfc. Sheridan, acting as a bazooka gunner, had braved the enemy fire to stop and procure the additional rockets carried by his ammunition bearer who was wounded. Upon rejoining his company in the captured buildings, he found it in a furious fight with approximately 70 enemy paratroopers occupying the castle gate house. This was a solidly built stone structure surrounded by a deep water-filled moat 20 feet wide. The only approach to the heavily defended position was across the courtyard and over a drawbridge leading to a barricaded oaken door. Pfc. Sheridan, realizing that his bazooka was the only available weapon with sufficient power to penetrate the heavy oak planking, with complete disregard for his own safety left the protection of the buildings and in the face of heavy and intense small-arms and grenade fire, crossed the courtyard to the drawbridge entrance where he could bring direct fire to bear against the door. Although handicapped by the lack of an assistant, and a constant target for the enemy fire that burst around him, he skillfully and effectively handled his awkward weapon to place two well-aimed rockets into the structure. Observing that the door was only weakened, and realizing that a gap must be made for a successful assault, he loaded his last rocket, took careful aim, and blasted a hole through the heavy planks. Turning to his company he shouted, "Come on, let's get them!" With his .45 pistol blazing, he charged into the gaping entrance and was killed by the withering fire that met him. The final assault on Frezenberg Castle was made through the gap which Pfc. Sheridan gave his life to create.
     1945- Charlie Parker cuts “Billie’s Bounce,” “Now’s the Time,” “KoKo”
     1946-Birthday of football coach and Pro Football Hall of Fame tackle, Arthur “Art” Shell, Charleston, SC.
     1949—Top Hits
Don’t Cry, Joe - The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra (vocal: Betty Brewer)
I Can Dream, Can’t I? - The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (vocal: Jack Leonard)
A Dreamer’s Holiday - Perry Como
Slipping Around - Margaret Whiting & Jimmy Wakely
    1949- “ Twenty Question” premiered on TV. This game show was based on the old guessing game. A celebrity panel had to guess the identity of an object (at the start they were told only if it was animal, vegetable or mineral) by asking up to 20 questions. Bill Slater hosted two network versions of the show on NBC and Dumont. Jay Jackson took over when it switched from NBC to ABC. “Twenty Questions” first began on radio. Regular panelists included Fred Van Deventer, Florence Rinard, Herb Polesie and Johnny McPhee.      1950- In some of the fiercest fighting of the Korean War, thousands of communist Chinese troops launch massive counterattacks against U.S. and Republic of Korea (ROK) troops, driving the Allied forces before them and putting an end to any thoughts for a quick or conclusive U.S. victory.
    1950--MITCHELL, FRANK N. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps, Company A, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.). Place and date: Near Hansan-ni, Korea, 26 November 1950. Entered service at: Roaring Springs, Tex. Born: 18 August 1921, Indian  Gap, Tex. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as leader of a rifle platoon of Company A, in action against enemy aggressor forces. Leading his platoon in point position during a patrol by his company through a thickly wooded and snow-covered area in the vicinity of Hansan-ni, 1st Lt. Mitchell acted immediately when the enemy suddenly opened fire at pointblank range, pinning down his forward elements and inflicting numerous casualties in his ranks. Boldly dashing to the front under blistering fire from automatic weapons and small arms, he seized an automatic rifle from one of the wounded men and effectively trained it against the attackers and, when his ammunition was expended, picked up and hurled grenades with deadly accuracy, at the same time directing and encouraging his men in driving the outnumbering enemy from his position. Maneuvering to set up a defense when the enemy furiously counterattacked to the front and left flank, 1st Lt. Mitchell, despite wounds sustained early in the action, reorganized his platoon under the devastating fire, and spearheaded a fierce hand-to-hand struggle to repulse the onslaught. Asking for volunteers to assist in searching for and evacuating the wounded, he personally led a party of litter bearers through the hostile lines in growing darkness and, although suffering intense pain from multiple wounds, stormed ahead and waged a single-handed battle against the enemy, successfully covering the withdrawal of his men before he was fatally struck down by a burst of small-arms fire. Stouthearted and indomitable in the face of tremendous odds, 1st Lt. Mitchell, by his fortitude, great personal valor and extraordinary heroism, saved the lives of several marines and inflicted heavy casualties among the aggressors. His unyielding courage throughout reflects the highest credit upon himself and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
    1951--PITTMAN, JOHN A. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company C, 23d Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Kujangdong, Korea, 26   November 1950. Entered service at: Carrolton, Miss. Born: 15 October 1928, Carrolton, Miss. G.O. No.: 39, 4 June 1951. Citation: Sgt. Pittman, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. He volunteered to lead his squad in a counterattack to regain commanding terrain lost in an earlier engagement. Moving aggressively forward in the face of intense artillery, mortar, and small-arms fire he was wounded by mortar fragments. Disregarding his wounds he continued to lead and direct his men in a bold advance against the hostile standpoint. During this daring action, an enemy grenade was thrown in the midst of his squad endangering the lives of his comrades. Without hesitation, Sgt. Pittman threw himself on the grenade and absorbed its burst with his body. When a medical aid man reached him, his first request was to be informed as to how many of his men were hurt. This intrepid and selfless act saved several of his men from death or serious injury and was an inspiration to the entire command. Sgt. Pittman's extraordinary heroism reflects the highest credit upon himself and is in keeping with the esteemed traditions of the military service.
    1950 - A great storm hit the Northern and Central Appalachians with snow and high winds. Winds reached hurricane force along eastern slopes of the Appalachians, with gusts to 100 mph at Hartford CT, 110 mph at Concord NH, and 160 mph at Mount Washington NH. Heavy rain also hit the eastern slopes, with eight inches reported at Slide Mountain NY. The western slopes were buried under heavy snow. The storm produced record snowfall totals of 27.7 inches at Pittsburgh PA, and 36.3 inches at Steubenville OH. The snow, and record cold temperatures, resulted in 160 deaths.
    1952-Birthday of bass player Mark Dresser, Los Angeles, CA
http://www.mindspring.com/~gerryhem/dresser.html
http://www.blacksaint.com/bios/mdresser.html
   1954-- Elvis Presley, on tour, sends a telegram to his parents: "Hi babies, here's the money to pay the bills, don't tell no one how much I sent I will send more next week. There is a card in the mail. Love Elvis."
     1955--Bill Haley's "Rock Around The Clock" reaches #1 in the UK and is considered to be the first Rock and Roll record to accomplish that feat.
     1955-"Sixteen Tons" by Tennessee Ernie Ford tops the Billboard singles chart, becoming the fastest selling single in recording industry history up to that time.
     1955- Johnny Cash's "Cry! Cry! Cry!" enters the country chart       
     1956—“The Price is Right” premiers on television. This popular show is also TV's longest-running daily game show, surviving changes in format, networks, time slots and hosts. It began in 1956 with Bill Cullen as host, Don Pardo as announcer and a fairly rigid format: four contestants had to bid on an item and the one who bid closest to the manufacturer's suggested price without going over won the item. In 1972, after a seven-year hiatus, "The Price Is Right" came back in two versions. Bob Barker was the host of the network version, which expanded to an hour and which he hosts to this day. Johnny Olsen was the announcer until his death in 1985. Rod Roddy took his place. Also on the show are attractive women who model the prizes to be won and give Bob Barker minimal assistance in setting up the price-guessing games. "Price" contestants are drawn from the studio audience. My father’s very good friend Bernie Gould was the chief writer on the show, coming up with the themes and dialogue.
  1957—Top Hits
Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley
You Send Me - Sam Cooke
My Special Angel - Bobby Helms
Wake Up Little Susie - The Everly Brothers
1965—Top Hits
I Hear a Symphony - The Supremes
1-2-3 - Len Barry
Rescue Me - Fontella Bass
May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose - "Little" Jimmy Dickens
     1962-The Beatles re-record "Please Please Me" at EMI's Abbey Road Studios. Under the direction of producer George Martin, who told the band that their original ballad version was "too bloody boring for words", the song is re-arranged to an up-tempo rocker which would rise to #2 in the UK and #3 in the US.
     1966-- Wilson Pickett's "Mustang Sally" enters the pop charts
     1966 - The Temptations "I'm Losing You" enters the R&B charts
     1968--FLEMING, JAMES P. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Air Force, 20th Special Operations Squadron. Place and date: Near Duc Co, Republic of Vietnam, 26 November 1968. Entered service at: Pullman, Wash. Born: 12 March 1943, Sedalia, Mo. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Capt. Fleming (then 1st Lt.) distinguished himself as the Aircraft Commander of a UH-1F transport Helicopter. Capt. Fleming went to the aid of a 6-man special forces long range reconnaissance patrol that was in danger of being overrun by a large, heavily armed hostile force. Despite the knowledge that 1 helicopter had been downed by intense hostile fire, Capt. Fleming descended, and balanced his helicopter on a river bank with the tail boom hanging over open water. The patrol could not penetrate to the landing site and he was forced to withdraw. Dangerously low on fuel, Capt. Fleming repeated his original landing maneuver. Disregarding his own safety, he remained in this exposed position. Hostile fire crashed through his windscreen as the patrol boarded his helicopter. Capt. Fleming made a successful takeoff through a barrage of hostile fire and recovered safely at a forward base. Capt. Fleming's profound concern for his fellowmen, and at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.
     1967- The new promotional video clip for the Beatles', new single, "Hello Goodbye," is aired on tonight's episode of CBS-TV's Ed Sullivan Show.
     1968-S.I. Hayakawa made acting president, San Francisco State College.
     1968- While returning to base from another mission, Air Force 1st Lt. James P. Fleming and four other Bell UH-1F helicopter pilots get an urgent message from an Army Special Forces team pinned down by enemy fire. Although several of the other helicopters had to leave the area because of low fuel, Lieutenant Fleming and another pilot pressed on with the rescue effort. The first attempt failed because of intense ground fire, but refusing to abandon the Army green berets, Fleming managed to land and pick up the team. When he safely arrived at his base near Duc Co, it was discovered that his aircraft was nearly out of fuel. Lieutenant Fleming was later awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.
        1968 -- O.J. Simpson is named football's Heisman Trophy winner for 1968. A running back for the University of Southern California, amassing 3,187 yards in 18 games and 33 touchdowns in two seasons. He then played for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers, became a sportscaster and actor. More recently obsessed with tracking down the killer of his ex-wife, presumably linked to the greens, which he now haunts.
   1969 - The Heisman Trophy was awarded to Steve Owens of Oklahoma as the nation’s outstanding college football player. Owens scored more touchdowns and gained more yardage than any previous player in collegiate history.
    1969 - John Lennon spends the afternoon in the Abbey Road studios, mixing the Beatles songs "What's The New Mary Jane" and "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)" for release as two sides of a Plastic Ono Band single. When this falls through, "Number" gets released as the b-side to the Beatles' "Let It Be" single, making this the last time John Lennon was in the studio working on a Beatles song.
     1969-- John Lennon spends the afternoon in the Abbey Road studios, mixing the Beatles songs "What's The New Mary Jane" and "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)" for release as two sides of a Plastic Ono Band single. When this falls through, "Number" gets released as the b-side to the Beatles' "Let It Be" single, making this the last time John Lennon was in the studio working on a Beatles song.
     1970 - The temperature at Tallahassee, FL, dipped to 13 degrees, following a high of 40 degrees the previous day. The mercury then reached 67 degrees on the 26th, and highs were in the 70s the rest of the month.
     1970-African-American Charles Gordone receives the Pulitizer Prize for his play, “No Place to be Somebody.” Died November 13, 1995
http://www.africanpubs.com/Apps/bios/0097GordoneCharles.asp
http://www.rtis.com/reg/bcs/pol/touchstone/February96/costa.htm
http://www.thatplusmore.com/charles-gordone.html
       1973—Top Hits
Photograph - Ringo Starr
Top of the World - Carpenters
Space Race - Billy Preston
Paper Roses - Marie Osmond
    1973 - Rose Mary Woods, U.S. President Richard Nixon’s personal secretary, told a federal court she had accidentally erased over eighteen minutes of a ‘Watergate tape’ made June 20, 1972. The recording was of a crucial conversation at an Oval-Office meeting between Nixon and Chief of Staff Bob Haldeman just three days after the Watergate break-in.
1974-Elton John's "Greatest Hits" became his fifth consecutive number 1 album in the US. The record spent 10 weeks at the top and followed "Honky Chateau", "Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Caribou".
      1975- With New York City spiraling toward fiscal disaster, President Gerald Ford proposed a $2.3 billion aid package designed to address the city's "seasonal cash needs." The president's plan, passed a little less than a month later, made federal money available to New York in any of the ensuing three years. While Mayor Abraham D. Beame praised Ford's announcement, a few New Yorkers greeted the news with a Bronx cheer, grousing about the attendant tax hikes which threatened to further erode the city's private sector and drive away wealthy residents to tax havens in New Jersey. Whatever the merits of these complaints, the city, saddled with a multi-million-dollar deficit that threatened to balloon to $1.3 billion by March 1976, seemingly had little choice but to accept federal help.
     1975- Red Sox center fielder Fred Lynn (.331, 21, 105) becomes the first rookie ever to be named the league's MVP.
      1981—Top Hits 
Physical - Olivia Newton-John
Waiting for a Girl like You - Foreigner
Here I Am (Just When I Thought I was Over You) - Air Supply
All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down) - Hank Williams, Jr.
     1982 - Miles Davis enters into his third marriage, this time with actress Cicely Tyson in New York City. Best man: Bill Cosby.
     1983 - The Great Thanksgiving Weekend Blizzard hit Denver, CO. The storm produced 21.5 inches of snow in 37 hours, closing Stapleton Airport for 24 hours. The snow and wind closed interstate highways around Denver. Visibility at Limon CO was down to zero for 24 hours.
     1987 - An early morning thunderstorm in southeastern Texas produced high winds which rolled a mobile home east of Bay City killing two of the four occupants. Thunderstorms produced locally heavy rains in central and eastern Texas, with nine inches reported at Huntsville, and 8.5 inches at Wimberly. Snow fell across northern and central Lower Michigan, with totals ranging up to nine inches at Cadillac.
     1988 - Thunderstorms produced severe weather in Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma and northwest Texas during the day and into the night. Thunderstorms in Texas produced softball size hail at Alba, and wind gusts to 80 mph at Krum. Hail and high winds caused nearly five million dollars damage at Kaufman TX, and strong downburst winds derailed twenty-eight freight cars at Fruitvale TX.
     1989-Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Willie "Flipper" Anderson makes 15 catches for an NFL record 336 yards and a touchdown as the Rams rally for a 20-17 overtime victory over New Orleans.
      1989—Top Hits
Blame It on the Rain - Milli Vanilli
Love Shack - The B-52’s
(It’s J—Top Hits ust) The Way That You Love Me - Paula Abdul
Yellow Roses - Dolly Parton
       1991-The US Congress approved a bill renaming Custer Battlefield National Monument as Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. The bill also authorized the construction of a memorial to the Native Americans who fought and died at the battle known as Custer’s Last Stand. Introduced by then Representative Ben Nighthorse Campbell, the only Native American in Congress, the bill was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush.
       1994 - The Eagles’ "Hell Freezes Over", signaling the band’s reunion (after fourteen years), hit #1 (for two weeks) on U.S. album charts. The tracks: "Get Over It", "Love Will Keep Us Alive", "The Girl from Yesterday", "Learn to Be Still", "Tequila Sunrise", "Hotel California", "Wasted Time", "Pretty Maids All in a Row", "I Can’t Tell You Why", "New York Minute", "The Last Resort", "Take It Easy", "In the City", "Life in the Fast Lane" and "Desperado".
     1998-When Minnesota’s Randy Moss scored three receiving touchdowns of at least 50 years vs. Dallas, he became the first player to do so in an NFL game since Raymond Berry in 1960.
     2000—Florida
http://politicalhumor.about.com/cs/election2000/
     2000--The Sunday SF Examiner and Chronicle became simply the SF Chronicle after 35 years of publishing with separate editorial visions.
     2008-For the eighth straight year, revenue for North American terrestrial radio declined, with figures showing a seven percent drop from last year. The entire industry had its worst year financially since 1954.