Leasing News

While the letterhead states a "LLC," Mr. Weldon writes that his company is a sole proprietorship. His main office appears to be in Incline Village, Nevada, and his "production" office in Fulton, California, where Chris Douglass answered the telephone that he is "just an employee." Nevada does not require a personal property broker license, but California does for all branches and satellite companies from out of state. Neither Mr. Weldon nor Production Finance appears to be licensed by the California Department of Corporations.

It should be noted that the Puget Sound Lease contract introduction from “Chris Douglass, Production Finance,” the cover letter states on the bottom there are “Satellite Offices: San Francisco, Portland, Philadelphia, Dallas, Miami.” The company is listed as a member of the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers.

It should also be noted that neither party produced a “commitment letter” on the transaction.

Aqua Pure Water Co., Inc dba Glacier Pure Drinking Water, whose main stockholders are Frank and Sheri Miller, in March, began the process of ordering a special machine that would take 12 to 14 weeks to produce, which also required half down with the order. After submitting the financial statements required, Glacier Pure Drinking Water was allegedly told they "would need to obtain two different loans to finance the lease because no lender would fund the entire amount of the equipment.” June 21, 2007 they sent a check in the amount of $5,083.96 to Production Finance to begin the process.

The first lease was to go through Puget Sound Leasing, Bellevue, Washington, who required a deposit to draw the documents. Around this time, Glacier Pure Water was told the larger lease was turned down. Glacier states they got cold feet as they were given one rate on the telephone for the original amount, now it appeared the “half down” transaction was at a higher rate, and there was no assurance for the larger portion. They claim there were misrepresentations since the original terms and conditions were not being met, and asked for its $$5,083.96 deposit back.

They state Mr. Weldon refused to return the deposit, and after having an attorney write him a demand letter, he responded on September 18, 2007 that he was not only not going to return the deposit, he was filing for bankruptcy within 30 days.

After collecting copies of all the documents, checks, correspondence, Leasing News contacted Mr. Weldon, who responded, in part, by writing in an e-mail on September 21, 2007:

"My recollection is they signed documents and we had submitted them to our funders who were told when doing the verbal, that they wanted a letter from their vendor stating the amount of prefunding. We never heard what transpired between those two parties, however Glacier Pure can still move forward with the leases they signed in August."

"Please see the attached cleared check for the full refund of $112.50, the check was cut on 8-15-2007 and cleared our account on 8-20-07, this is the only amount we ever received on this transaction and we refunded it immediately to the customer once the transaction was canceled. If you have any further questions regarding this transaction, please do not hesitate to contact me directly."

"All we knew is the customer did not want to go through with the transaction, we don't discount, so this was not a discounted transaction, the broker just had not forwarded all of the security deposit money yet," the Puget Sound spokesperson responded.

When finally confronted with this information after several e-mails and telephone calls, particularly the date of the return check, and that Leasing News was seeking a statement for the Bulletin Board Complaint, Mr. Weldon replied in an e-mail on November 1, 2007:

"I appreciate your interest in this matter. I checked with our operations people on the Puget Sound advance payments. I stand corrected. We do send Puget the payments which did not occur because Glacier put the transaction on hold.

"However, this does not affect our internal policy which is, that once documents are signed and sent to the funder, our fee is earned. Over 18 years there have been a few instances where this was challenged by the legal profession. Please advise your readers (especially brokers), that we have never had to return a fee, regardless of what language was included or excluded. We have returned numerous deposits when we could not obtain the financing we agreed to.

"Regarding my own personal situation, I am not surprised the Miller's chose to take the negative position concerning my offer to move forward with the lease. My own attorney in reviewing the $600,000 plus bankruptcies I have been subjected to in my personal portfolio over the last 20 months, has advised I file a bankruptcy myself."

EFD Direct Lease
Sr. Lease Contract Specialist
Walnut Creek, CA

You will create all necessary lease and loan documentation for complex direct equipment leases. Requires a BA or equivalent & 6+ years of leasing and contract experience. CLICK HERE for a detailed description and resume submission info.

Visit www.bankofthewest.com , for more information. Bank of the West and its subsidiaries are equal opportunity/affirmative action employers.

www.bankofthewest.com

Sales Professional

Sales Professional
San Francisco, CA

Mid to large ticket market/Fortune 1000-- prefer min. 5 yrs. sales exp. in finance. Will consider all applicants w/equip. finance exper. click here.

www.atel.com

To readers who are not aware of the NorVergence lease situation, that perhaps has changed the leasing industry forever when it comes to contract law, here is “four years later,” which outlines how this all started:

At this time there is the FTC case against IFC Credit Corporation, Morton Grove, including the Missouri and Texas Attorneys General, who have separate cases, and perhaps about 50 other accessorily
case. Perhaps up to 600 cases still in dispute, primarily those not settled by the 28 attorneys general and District of Columbia.

Ronald P. Gossett, Gossett & Gossett, P.A., Hollywood, Florida, has tested this with a settlement on one and a win on two, including attorney fees. Here is a statement from him:

The other two were abandoned by the leasing company (Popular) after receiving my 65 page counterclaim. Popular is now having to pay my clients’ attorneys’ fees. If the case is properly defended, EVERY leasing company will have to pay attorneys’ fees. That defense has nothing to do with the floating jurisdiction clause. These contracts all incorporated into them terms which were posted on NorVergence’s web site (and which each leasing company knew because of a PowerPoint presentation made to each by NorVergence). Those terms contained a cancellation provision whereby the customer could cancel the contract “without penalty” if NorVergence failed to deliver telephone service.

June 11, 2007 Leasing News wrote about the leasing company presentation where service was included to the leasing companies, with the provisio that no telephone service, the lessee does not have to pay the lease, including a copy of the presentation (reproduced at the end.)

Gossett now has two wins and one settlement, including get the client's attorney fees paid by the leasing companies. For attorneys, leasing companies involved, and those leasing companies who may one day face a similar situation, here is how Gossett said he did it:

When all of the sparring over the floating jurisdiction clause ends, and attention is given to the substance of the allegations of these suits, it appears that the leasing companies (which, when times were better, referred to themselves the way NorVergence referred to them—as “leasing company partners” of NorVergence) are losing the battles. Here is why:

1. The contracts assigned to the leasing companies by NorVergence were not simply for telephone equipment (consisting of a two-page equipment rental agreement); they were for telephone services (consisting of multiple pages of the full contract, including the “Hardware Application”);

2. The deposition of Steven Liebrock, a former technological employee of NorVergence, who testified in the presence of several of the lawyers representing the leasing companies, including Peter Deeb, who filed the bankruptcy petition against NorVergence on behalf of the three creditors placing NorVergence in bankruptcy, and in front of two attorneys from Akerman Senterfitt:

Q. What was NorVergence selling customers?
A. Services.
Q. And what were those services?
A. Voice calling and internet access.

3. The NorVergence customers all know that the contracts were for telephone services because that is how they were hoodwinked into the NorVergence relationship to begin with; however, it appears as though those customers have not been turning over their entire package of documents they signed to their lawyers so that the lawyers can fight the correct battle instead of accepting the two-page contract as claimed by the leasing companies.

4. Under the applicable law of every jurisdiction, contracts for the delivery of telephone service are not subject to the Uniform Commercial Code, and therefore, the “Hell or high-water” provisions of the UCC do not apply;

5. The contracts with NorVergence were expressly made subject to certain documents on NorVergence’s web site, including a document entitled a “Service Level Agreement”;

6. The “Hardware Application” for instance says at the bottom, right above the “Applicant Authorization” section: “For comprehensive Terms and Conditions made included by this reference please visit our web site at www.NorVergence.com.”

7. The NorVergence Service Level Agreement provides that if NorVergence fails to deliver telephone service, the customer can cancel the contract “without penalty,” specifically it says:

CUSTOMER TERMINATION RIGHTS. Customer may terminate the Affected Services without penalty if, in any single calendar month: (I) Network Downtime exists for at least ninety-six (96) hours in the aggregate; or (ii) any single event entitling Customer to credits under Network Availability exists for a period of at least thirty-six (36) consecutive hours. Such termination must be conducted by written notice to the NorVergence, with a courtesy copy to the attention of the NorVergence Chief Managing Officer, sent by certified US Mail return receipt requested within five (5) business days following the end of the relevant calendar month. Such termination will be effective forty -five (45) days after receipt of written notice by NorVergence. The provisions of this SLA state Customer's sole and exclusive remedies for Service interruptions or Service deficiencies of any kind whatsoever.

8. When NorVergence stopped providing service (either when the cellular service was cut off, or the long-distance service was stopped), the termination provision kicked-in. Because the termination of service was at the hands of NorVergence, no notice was necessary to be given by the customer to NorVergence. The contract was terminated “without penalty” to the customer.

10. As Andrew H. Sherman, attorney for Qwest testified by affidavit in the NorVergence bankruptcy matter concerning the call:

5. On June 30, 2004, at approximately 3:30 p.m., I conducted a telephone conference with Peter Deeb, Esq. (“Deeb”); Daniel Dunn of Wells Fargo; Mike Witt, counsel for Wells Fargo; Mike Rizzo from US Bank and various representatives of Qwest.

6. The purpose of the call was to understand the positions of the various parties in light of the fact that NorVergence was unable to make the two (2) payments which were required to be made under the Agreement on June 30, 2004 in the amount of $1 million and $7.5 million.

8. Mr. Deeb introduced himself as counsel to a “steering committee” of lessors who had an interest in a stream of income between $200 million and $250 million.

9. Mr. Deeb indicated that he was aware of the $7.5 million payment which was due from the Debtor on June 30, 2004, and advised me that he wanted to prevent Qwest from terminating the Agreement.

10. Mr. Deeb said, in sum and substance, that if Qwest terminated the Agreement his clients would lose their rights to a stream of income of between $200 million and $250 million. He then advised me that he would file an involuntary bankruptcy petition to protect that income stream. He further stated that by operation of the automatic stay and Section 366 of the Bankruptcy Code, Qwest would be forced to continue to provide service to NorVergence to protect the stream of income which he claimed was due to his clients. Through these statements, it was apparent that the lenders and lessors were trying to force Qwest to provide services to protect their interests.

11. Because the payment by NorVergence was in due within hours of the phone call, Mr. Deeb proposed a financial accommodation whereby Qwest would be paid a sum certain for “going forward services” to maintain the telecommunications services which were subject to the Agreement. Qwest rejected that proposal, and demanded payments consistent with those required by the Agreement, i. e., $7,500,000, and $1,000,000 per week as a prepayment for ongoing services.

12. Mr. Deeb stated that he did not have the authority or ability to raise those sums prior to the deadline for payment. Mr. Deeb then proposed a forbearance period whereby the parties would hold off exercising their rights for a short period of time. At that point, the call concluded to enable Qwest to consider the request for a forbearance period.

13. Shortly before 5:00 p.m., I called Mr. Deeb to agree to a one (1) day forbearance period, but Mr. Deeb rejected that offer. Mr. Deeb countered by proposing the parties agree to a forbearance period which would be one (1) hour longer to enable his clients to file a bankruptcy petition, if they deemed it necessary. At that point the call concluded to enable me to discuss Mr. Deeb’s counter-offer with Qwest.

14. During the period from approximately 5:00 p.m. to 5:40 p.m., Qwest discussed Mr. Deeb’s counter-offer. Mr. Deeb tried to reach me during this period, but I was still discussing his counter-offer and the implications thereof with Qwest.

15. At approximately 5:40 p.m., I called Mr. Deeb and advised him that Qwest would agree to a one day forbearance, but it could not agree to the staggered approach he proposed. Mr. Deeb rejected Qwest’s offer, and I advised Mr. Deeb that Qwest would take action to protect its rights.

16. What Mr. Deeb failed to tell me was that at the same time that he was negotiating a forbearance period with Qwest, Mr. Deeb had already caused the filing of an involuntary chapter 11 petition against the Debtor. At approximately 5:26 p.m., while Qwest was still considering Mr. Deeb’s counter-offer, Mr. Deeb had an involuntary chapter 11 petition delivered to the United States District Court in Camden, New Jersey, where it was time stamped and deposited in the night box. When I spoke with Mr. Deeb at approximately 5:40 p.m., he failed to mention the filing, and in fact, accused me of trying to machinate the same scheme which he himself had already perpetrated.

17. By deliberately delaying Qwest from exercising its remedies under the Agreement, under guise of negotiating a forbearance period, Mr. Deeb was able to file an involuntary bankruptcy petition to protect the interests of his clients and effectively stop Qwest from terminating the Agreement. By so doing, Qwest is now compelled to provide services at a time when there may be insufficient funds to pay for those services.

18. I have also been informed that within 48 hours of the filing of the involuntary petition by Mr. Deeb and the Petitioning Creditors, the Debtor itself laid off almost one thousand members of its workforce, apparently impairing the Debtor’s ability to function as a going concern.

19. Through the scheme engineered by Mr. Deeb and the Petitioning Creditors, Qwest has been forced to continue to provide service and incur debt which may never be paid when the Debtor itself lacks the ability to continue as a going concern.

11. Popular and two other leasing company partners of NorVergence filed the involuntary Chapter 11 proceeding to keep the telephone service providers from cutting off service, knowing that if service were cut off, the Contracts, could be canceled without penalty, and Popular and the other leasing company partners would lose their rights to a stream of income of between $200 million and $250 million.

12. After Popular filed the involuntary Chapter 11 proceeding, the Lessor Steering Committee, through Mr. Deeb, offered to loan NorVergence $2,839,500, from its constituents, including $400,000 from Popular.

13. We also know that the leasing companies knew about the Service Level Agreement incorporated into the NorVergence contracts by reference another way—NorVergence told them.

14. According to testimony from NorVergence, it provided a PowerPoint presentation to each potential leasing company partner to introduce them to the program being offered by NorVergence.

15. The PowerPoint presentation contained a slide which says, on the 17th out of 64 slides, which slide is entitled “NorV Corporate Info Available for Review”: “Web Site Documents – Service Level Agreement for Customers.”

16. Some of the leasing companies still have a print out of the PowerPoint presentation in their files—ask for it and see if you get it; if you don’t, find out from other NorVergence customers if they have it. They may.

That’s the case in a capsule. For a more detailed examination, review the PDF file uploaded to The Aberdeen Kid section, entitled “Answer, Affirmative Defenses, and Counterclaim,” and check out the PowerPoint presentation while you are there. It is a file entitled “DX02,” with a subheading identifying it as the PowerPoint file.

When I filed the counterclaim in the two active suits I was defending here in Fort Lauderdale, Popular Leasing gave up. They did nothing further, and the case was dismissed for failure to prosecute it. I have been awarded attorneys’ fees in the cases, and expect to recover about $85,000 in fees---more than the two contracts Popular sued to enforce.

I believe that I sent you the Answer, Affirmative Defenses, and Counterclaim already, but just in case, it is attached. The PowerPoint file is also attached.

Ron
Ronald P. Gossett
rongossett@gossettlaw.com
Gossett & Gossett, P.A.
Building I
4700 Sheridan Street
Hollywood, FL 33021
(954) 983-2828

The newer the leasing company, the shorter their lease agreement, the older the leasing company the longer their lease agreement. For those of us with a few decades in leasing under our belt we would like a lessee to sign over there soul to lease equipment. Sounds extreme, but a lease contract is a very serious document and unfortunately some lessors do not feel the need to cover all the risks. Each type of equipment represents different risks and requires special documentation to cover those risks. A generic lease agreement is like going hunting for bear with a bow and arrow. Sometimes it works but sometimes you get eaten or beat up real bad. Bears are called “apposing counsel”.

The uniform commercial code in Article 2A provides a lot of remedies but only if we articulate and identify them. Plus if you do not exclude activities that you do not want the lessee to do with your equipment they are free to do anything they want. Where in the lease do you address “use”, location of use, maintenance, repair, or changes in functionality? What is “normal wear and tear” Can you recover legal costs for collection if you fail to include them in the agreement. What happens if the company founder dies? What happens if the company is sold? Or best yet, your equipment is painted purple with yellow dots because that is the company colors.

When is your lessee in default? What grace period have you offered and what does the State where the lessee resides require for default and what is the notice period. If you have a bargain purchase option what are the usury laws in that state? Some States now require discloser of rates or terms if the purchase option is not over 10%

Do you require insurance from a proper insurance company? Do you have a loss payee and a additional insured endorsement? Liability insurance must be in force with the Lessor as named insured on “all leases” to avoid paying for legal costs to defend the smallest of claims.

Do you have the right to inspect the equipment and how often do you do it? Does your casually loss only ask for a payoff or do you require the higher of the stipulated loss amount or the fair market value which ever is higher?

What happens if congress changes the corporate tax rate as they did in 1981? Can you adjust your payment to maintain you yield or are you going to eat the difference?

A review of a complete lease agreement for each type of equipment is necessary to the continuing good health of your leasing activities because I could have gone on all day with these questions.

You need to have your lease reviewed by a good lease attorney at least every three years. Remember that if you need a heart doctor you do not go to a foot doctor. A contract or lender attorney is not necessarily a good lease attorney so contact one of the leasing trade associations to find a good lease attorney in your area.

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

The Public Relations Society of America found 100% of the journalists who responded expect a company to have an online newsroom on their web site.

This is also very true of the many leasing subsidiaries of banks and large financial institutions
where you can’t even find information about the leasing entity or its products, let alone the
collection of “news.”

Tek Group Publication has more information on this subject, on how to set one up, or subscribe, or utilize their services:

Silver Spring, MD - The National Foundation for Credit Counseling's (NFCC) Mortgage Reality Check indicates that homeowners in this country may be at a significant risk of jeopardizing their homes and financial well-being.

The Mortgage Reality CheckSM is a self-diagnostic test designed to help homeowners assess their understanding of their financial situation as it relates to their home and mortgage products and suggests next steps if necessary.

After completing the test, consumers are given an assessment in one of three colors:

Red: Immediate advice or counseling assistance is recommended.
Yellow: Suggestion to review the responsibilities of homeownership.
Green: Not at an immediate risk.

By no means a scientific study, the data compiled by the NFCC is solely indicative of the answers provided by the 1,089 visitors to HousingHelpNow.org who have completed the Mortgage Reality CheckSM test between October 1 and October 31, 2007. Overall, 67% were red, 18% yellow, and 15% green.

Other data shows that:
. 55% are having trouble sleeping at night because they are worried about their financial situation;
. 46% have skipped paying some bills in order to have enough money to pay others;
. 26% have received letters and/or phone calls from creditors, mortgage brokers, or a foreclosing lender;
. 28% owe more on their mortgage than their house is worth;
. 40% believe that refinancing their mortgage will solve their problems.

The findings that 40% believe that refinancing will help eliminate their financial problems and 28% owe more than their house is worth, when placed side by side, conjure a very troubling picture for the American consumer. It further indicates, in all likelihood, that the current housing and mortgage crisis is very likely to get much worse before it gets better.

The HousingHelpNow.org Web site is just one of the NFCC's enhanced counseling and education effort in communities across the country targeted at assisting homeowners who may be at risk of losing their homes. The NFCC network of nonprofit, community-based agencies has nearly 1,000 offices and more than 1,200 certified housing counselors who are ready to assist consumers avoid foreclosure now.

Consumers can receive immediate assistance by calling (866) 557-2227, an NFCC toll-free hotline that will connect them with an NFCC-certified housing counselor.

A Spanish version of HousingHelpNow.org and of the Mortgage Reality CheckSM is available at
www.nopierdastuhogar.org.

For more than 50 years the NFCC has provided consumers with sound financial advice as the recognized leader in financial education and counseling services, assisting more than two million consumers a year. Housing counseling is a core service of nearly all NFCC member agencies and most are HUD-approved housing counseling services.

The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), founded in 1951, is the nation's largest and longest serving national nonprofit credit counseling organization. The NFCC's mission is to promote the national agenda for financially responsible behavior and build capacity for its members to deliver the highest quality financial education and counseling services. NFCC members annually help two million consumers through nearly 1,000 community-based offices nationwide.

Aliso Viejo, CA based Net Applications announces October 2007 Operating System Usage Market Share. The ongoing battle between Microsoft's Windows Vista and Apple's Mac OS gets a new boost as Apple introduces an upgrade named Leopard. Apple has already been making great computer market share strides with help from both iPhone and iPod popularity. But, Leopard raises the stakes even further. Leopard has many improvements, including:

Boot Camp included - This was always available for free, but now for those of you that have to have Windows, you'll be able to use Boot Camp to add a partition for Windows apps.

Look and Feel - The desktop gets more functionality; you can preview file contents before opening; Finder takes on an iTunes like interface; and, Spaces lets you set up virtual environments for separating entire desktops full of apps and files.

Time Machine - Great new addition that lets you go back in time to setups and files from any time in the history of your computer.

Vista has been making nice progress in gaining market share, but it's primarily come from older versions of Windows. Now, with Leopard out, the Operating System market share battle will be very enticing to watch in the coming months and years.

For these and other Global Market Share Statistics, go to marketshare.hitslink.com

Washington, D.C. — The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) announced the release of a report to Congress on the interagency regulatory burden reduction effort spearheaded by OTS Director John Reich. The report details progress of the federal bank, thrift and credit union agencies on eliminating outdated, unnecessary and overly burdensome regulations.

The 259-page report, issued by the member agencies of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, examines issues such as easing requirements for regulated institutions to file reports on currency transactions and suspicious activities under the Bank Secrecy Act, and streamlining customer identification requirements under the USA Patriot Act.

The report, which fulfills requirements of the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996, was issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., -- LeaseLogic, Inc. (http://www.LeaseLogic.Net), has announced availability of their innovative prospecting tool. Through the process of data-mining LeaseLogic can provide equipment sellers with valuable prospect opportunities.

You are working on ten different things that needed to be done yesterday, when your phone rings. You pick up only to hear an eager sales-person saying, "Hi, I would love to sell you something right now." Most likely this call will end with the other person hanging up, or the telemarketer not making a sale. However, new advances in the digital age may be putting an end to this type of cold calling.

Cold calling has always been something that both the consumers and sales people find rather objectionable. Although it has been a proven sales method for years, this approach seems outdated in the technologically advanced world we live in today. Recent changes may be redefining the way companies target their customers.

"It used to be that companies couldn't get enough information, however, since the boom of the digital age companies now actually have too much information. The problem these companies now face is not how to obtain, but how to analyze and filter the information, this is LeaseLogic's core competency," states Benjamin Kennedy, CEO of LeaseLogic Inc.

LeaseLogic's unique service allows equipment sellers to qualify prospects by seeing what equipment businesses and consumers are currently leasing. LeaseLogic also provides indicators of when prospects will need to buy new equipment.

Through patent pending data-mining techniques LeaseLogic can tell their users what equipment is being leased, who it is being leased from, when the lease started, and sometimes invoice and contract information.

The end of cold calling may be near. Perhaps it is time to adopt the new strategy of information mining so that you can intensely target the customers that really need your product or service, and stop wasting your time on the ones that don't.

For more information about the product, or to order online,
http://www.leaselogic.net or call 877.785.6442

### Press Release ###########################
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Vintner insists music can change wine's flavors
(and the food, restaurant, occasion, company you are with, temperature and wine temperature, too even the color of the light, so why not music? Listening to either Britney Spears or County Basie or Chopin certainly
would influence my demeanor, including taste buds. editor)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/02/WI80SAPJB.DTL

El Salvador: Day of the First Shout for Independence
Commemorates the first battle for independence in 1811.

Lemons ripen after they are picked, but oranges do not.
(That’s right, Orange only ripen on the tree.)

1956- “The Nat King Cole Show” premiered on television. Very popular African American pianist, jazz musician turned singer, Cole hosted his own variety show for NBC. The Nelson Riddle Orchestra and the Randy Van Home Singers also appeared as regulars on the show. It began as a 15-minute show which was expanded to half an hour. The show was dropped as a result of lack of sponsorship and because many affiliates declined to carry it.

    1639 - 1st post office in the colonies opened in Massachusetts.
    1733- John Peter Zenger, colonial American printer and journalist, published the first issue of the New York Weekly Journal newspaper. He began his first issue, exposing Governor William Cosby’s corruption. Zenger was arrested on November 17,1734, and charged with seditious libel. Zenger had reported that Governor William Cosby of New York had attempted to rig an election in Eastchester, PA, in 1733. Zenger was defended by lawyer Andrew Hamilton of Philadelphia, who convinced the jury that printing the truth does not constitute libel. His acquittal was seen as a vindication of the right of free speech and served as a precedent for freedom of the press.
    1768-- William Johnson, the northern Indian Commissioner, signs a treaty with the Iroquois Indians to acquire much of the land between the Tennessee and Ohio rivers for future settlement.
    1782 - The Continental Congress elected John Hanson of Maryland its chairman, giving him the title of "President of the United States in Congress Assembled." President Hanson served one year as the US President and in that capacity gave Washington the thanks of congress for the victory at Yorktown. President Hanson was the first to utilize the title President of the United States in Congress Assembled. Six other presidents were elected after him - Elias Boudinot (1783), Thomas Mifflin (1784), Richard Henry Lee (1785), Nathan Gorman (1786), Arthur St. Clair (1787), and Cyrus Griffin (1788) - all prior to Washington taking office.He died 22 November, 1783.
http://www.marshallhall.org/hanson.html
http://www.johnhanson.net/
    1807- Eliza Emily Chappell Porter birthday, spent a lifetime organizing schools in several states. During the Civil War gathered and distributed supplies to Union soldiers and hospitals. She joined with Mary Ann Bickerdyke in nursing soldiers in Gen. Sherman's march through Georgia.
    1850- Ella Wheeler Wilcox birthday, highly successful writer of popular novels and poetry who became the center of literary life in New York in the pre-World War I years. Her reputation was made by her Poems of Passion (1883) She wrote two autobiographies: The Story of a Literary Career (1905) and The Worlds and I (1918).
http://www.ellawheelerwilcox.org/
    1857- Ida Minerva Tarbell birthday, recognized as one of the major journalists of her day, exposed the Standard Oil trust in History of Standard Oil Company, renowned biographer, especially of Lincoln. Her "History of the Standard Oil," which first appeared in McClure's Magazine in nineteen installments, in 1904, was
published in two volumes and drew immediate attention to the author. Her early reputation as a "trust buster" did not last, for she had in a high degree developed a sense of fairness, and this was particularly reflected in her "Life of Judge Gary," in which--contrary to all expectations--she had nothing but praise for Judge Gary.
She was a renowned biographer, especially of Lincoln. She wrote "The Early Life of Abraham Lincoln" in collaboration with W. J. McCan Davis. In 1900 her "Life of Abraham Lincoln" appeared in two volumes, and is today a standard work. Other volumes on Lincoln by Miss Tarbell were "He Knew Lincoln," "Father Abraham," "In Lincoln's Chair," "Boy Scouts' Life of Lincoln," "He Knew Lincoln and Other Billy Brown Stories," "In the Footsteps of Lincoln" and "A Reporter for Lincoln.” President Theodore Roosevelt characterized her as a muckraker, a compliment in those days. Tarbell was a lesbian and in her later life became intimate friends with Anne Morgan, the daughter of J. P. Morgan who was also a liberal Republican, feminist, and supporter of working women.
http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/ppet/tarbell/page1.asp?secid=31
    1870 -- One of the nation's first train robberies. Six men, led by Big Jack Davis, hopped aboard the eastbound express for Reno, forced the train to a stop, & rode off to Virginia City with $40,000 in minted coin. 10 hours later, as the delayed engine chugged into Independence, six army deserters jumped aboard to take $4m490 that the Davis gang had overlooked. Within days, authorities captured all 13 bandits, who were sentenced variously from 10 to 15 years in prison.
    1885- Birthday of Will Durant, American author and popularizer of history and philosophy. Among his books: The Story of Philosophy and The Story of Civilization (a 10-volume series of which the last four were co-authored by his wife, Ariel). Born at North Adams, MA, and died Nov 7, 1981, at Los Angeles, CA.
    1893- birthday of Raymond Fernand Loewy, the “father of streamlining,” an inventor, engineer and industrial designer whose ideas changed the look of 20th-century life, was born at Paris, France. His designs are evident in almost every area of modern life—the US Postal Service logo, the president’s airplane, Air Force One, in streamlined automobiles, trains, refrigerators and pens. “Between two products equal in price, function and quality,” he said, “the better looking will outsell the other.” Loewy died at Monte Carlo, July
14,1986.
    1894 -the famous Election Day snowstorm hit southern New England, dumping up 10-12 inches of snow across Connecticut causing much damage to trees and wires. Winds at Block Island, RI gusted to 60 mph
    1895,-attorney George Baldwin Selden of Rochester, NY, was granted the first patent for a car. He was the first to have an original application for the internal combustion hydrocarbon motor to a road vehicle. His design resembled a horse-drawn carriage, with high wheels and a buckboard.
    1895 -- Charles MacArthur, American journalist, dramatist, screenwriter, born Scranton, Pennsylvania. Much of his work was written with Ben Hecht, including The Front Page (1928), a farce about a star reporter drawn into his own story, & Twentieth Century (1932), a lively satire of the entertainment industry.
    1907-Pianist Joe Sullivan Birthday
http://www.redhotjazz.com/sullivan.html
    1912 – Democrat Woodrow Wilson won the United States presidential election in a landslide, becoming the only president to defeat two former presidents in one election. Thomas R. Marshall was elected vice president. The electoral vote was Wilson, 435: Theodore Roosevelt, Progressive Party, 88: William Howard Taft, Republican, 8.The popular vote was Wilson 6,293,454: Roosevelt, 4,119,538: Taft, 3,484,980: Eugene V. Debs, Socialist candidate, 900,672, Eugene W. Chafin, Prohibitionist candidate, 206,275. In congressional elections the Democrats took a 51-44 majority in the Senate, with one minor party seat, and 291-127 majority in the House, with 17 seats going to minor parties.
    1912- Roy Rogers birthday. Known as the “King of the Cowboys,” Rogers was born Leonard Slye at Cincinnati, OH. His many songs included “Don’t Fence Me In” and “Happy Trails to You.” He made his acting debut in Under Western Stars in 1935 and later hosted his own show, “The Roy Rogers Show,” in 1951. Rogers died at Apple Valley, CA, July 6,1998.
    1913 -- Los Angeles receives its first piped-in water from Owens Valley, 200 miles northeast of the city. As part of Bureau of Land Reclamation efforts to irrigate the valley for small farmers & homesteaders, J.B. Lippincott began surveying in 1903. He convinced local farmers to relinquish their water rights to him, casting an impression that he would use the water to improve the valley.
He & powerful Los Angeles friends, meanwhile, quietly planned to export it through a 200-mile aqueduct. The syndicate, which included Harry Chandler of the "LA Times", began buying huge amounts of San Fernando Valley land. On Lippincott's recommendation, the California reclamation chief dropped the Owens redevelopment plan & yielded the water to the city. Now that the water is flowing, the value of Chandler's land has multiplied to $120 million, 40 times more than what he paid. When he dies as the largest land baron in Southern California, Chandler's estate was worth half a billion dollars.
    1913---Birthday of Vivien Leigh, Anglo-American actor who won the Academy Awards for her portrayal of Scarlet in Gone With the Wind (1939) and Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951).
    1924-Birthday of Alto sax player Paul Desmond
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Desmond
http://www.downbeat.com/artists/window.asp?action=new&aid=455&aname=Paul+Desmond
http://www.sonic.net/~foggy/Leha/html/pd.html
http://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_desmond_paul.htm
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/10/DDGKGEKHEL1.DTL&
hw=paul+desmond&sn=001&sc=1000
http://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/mainHTML.cfm?page=desmond-life.html
    1936 - Ike Turner is born in Clarksdale, Miss. He is married to Tina Turner from 1958-76. The duo's biggest hit, ``Proud Mary,'' hits No. 4 in 1971. They are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
    1946- Chuck Connors of the Boston Celtics became the first NBA player to shatter a backboard, doing so during the pre game warm-up in “Boston Garden. Connors also played major league baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs and gained fame as star of the television series, “ The Rifleman.” My father Lawrence Menkin wrote many of the episodes.
    1935 - The game "Monopoly" was introduced by the Parker Brothers Company.
http://www.adena.com/adena/mo/index.htm
    1940 - President Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term in office, beating Republican challenger Wendell L. Willkie. Henry A. Wallace was elected vice president. The electoral vote was Roosevelt, 449, Wendell L. Willike, Republican of Indiana, 82. The popular vote was Roosevelt 27,244,160: Willike, 22,305,198:
Norman Thomas, Socialist candidate, 100,264: Roger W. Babson, Prohibition candidate, 57,812: Earl Browder, Communist, 48,579: John W. Aiken, Socialist Labor candidate, 14,861. In congressional elections the Democrats lost three Senate seats but kept a 66-28 majority, with two seats going to minor parties. In the House, the Democrats gained seven seats for a 268-162 lead, with five seats going to minor parties.
    1941 - Art Garfunkel is born in New York.
    1944---Top Hits
I’ll Walk Alone - Dinah Shore
Dance with the Dolly - The Russ Morgan Orchestra (vocal: Al Jennings)
How Many Hearts Have You Broken - The Three Suns
Smoke on the Water - Red Foley
    1946 - 29-year old John F. Kennedy started his political career when today he was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Congressman from Massachusetts.
    1946 - Gram Parsons (Cecil Connor) of the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers is born in Winter Haven, Fla.
    1947- Frank Sinatra cuts “ I’ve Got a Crush on You” with Bobby Hackett on trumpet, NYC.
    1947 - Peter Noone, the lead singer of Herman's Hermits, is born. The group's two No. 1 hits are ``Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter'' and ``I'm Henry VII, I Am.'' In the late 1980s, Noone hosted the VH1 nostalgia series "My Generation."
    1950- Billy Graham's "Hour of Decision" program was first broadcast over television.
    1950---RED CLOUD, MITCHELL, JR. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Corporal, U S. Army, Company E, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Chonghyon, Korea, 5 November 1950. Entered service at: Merrilan Wis. Born: 2 July 1924, Hatfield, Wis. G.O. No.: 26, 25 April 1951. Citation: Cpl. Red Cloud, Company E, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. From his position on the point of a ridge immediately in front of the company command post he was the first to detect the approach of the Chinese Communist forces and give the alarm as the enemy charged from a brush-covered area less than 100 feet from him. Springing up he delivered devastating pointblank automatic rifle fire into the advancing enemy. His accurate and intense fire checked this assault and gained time for the company to consolidate its defense. With utter fearlessness he maintained his firing position until severely wounded by enemy fire. Refusing assistance he pulled himself to his feet and wrapping his arm around a tree continued his deadly fire again, until he was fatally wounded. This heroic act stopped the enemy from overrunning his company's position and gained time for reorganization and evacuation of the wounded. Cpl. Red Cloud's dauntless courage and gallant self-sacrifice reflects the highest credit upon himself and upholds the esteemed traditions of the U.S. Army.
    1952---Top Hits
You Belong to Me - Jo Stafford
Wish You Were Here - Eddie Fisher
Half as Much - Rosemary Clooney
Jambalaya (On the Bayou) - Hank Williams
    1953--Birthday of American composer Franklin Stover, Sacramento, CA.
    1956- “The Nat King Cole Show” premiered on television. Very popular African American pianist, jazz musician turned singer, Cole hosted his own variety show for NBC. The Nelson Riddle Orchestra and the Randy Van Home Singers also appeared as regulars on the show. It began as a 15-minute show which was expanded to half an hour. The show was dropped as a result of lack of sponsorship and because many affiliates declined to carry it.
    1960---Top Hits
Save the Last Dance for Me - The Drifters
My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own - Connie Francis
You Talk Too Much - Joe Jones
Wings of a Dove - Ferlin Husky
    1960-- Johnny Horton, who had a Number One smash "Battle of New Orleans," is killed in an auto accident in Texas. Ironically, he had just played his last show, at the Skyline in Austin, Texas-where Hank Williams had played his last show as well. Horton's widow, Billy Joe, was also Hanks Williams' widow. Johnny Horton was 33.
    1961 - Strong Santa Ana winds fanned the flames of the Bel Air and Brentwood fires in southern California destroying many homes. At 10 PM the Los Angeles Civic Center reported a temperature of 74 degrees along with a dew point of 5 degrees. On the 6th, Burbank reported a relative humidity of three percent.
    1964 -- Free Speech Movement (FSM) coalesces as thousands of University of California-Berkeley students rally & occupy Sproul Hall. As a reporter I covered this for KFRC, UPI, and free lanced to other media.
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan/2002/08/28_fsm.html
http://www.fsm-a.org/stacks/covers/narratives_cvr.html
    1964--Birthday of American composer Brian Sager, Madison, Wisconsin.
    1966 - The Motown hit, You Keep Me Hangin' On, recorded by The Supremes, debuted on Billboard's pop charts, and was Number 1 for 2 weeks. It was on the charts for a total of 10 weeks. The song was The Supremes' eighth Number 1 record.
    1968---Top Hits
Hey Jude - The Beatles
Those Were the Days - Mary Hopkin
Midnight Confessions - The Grass Roots
Next in Line - Conway Twitty
    1968 - Republican Richard M. Nixon won the presidency, defeating Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and third-party candidate George C. Wallace.
Spiro T. Agnew, Republican of Maryland was elected vice-president. The electoral vote was Nixon, 302: Humphrey, 191: George C. Wallace, third-party candidate, 45. One Nixon elector later cast his vote for Wallace. The popular vote was Nixon, 31,785,473: Humprhey,31,275,166: Wallace,9,906,473. The Republicans gained four seats in the House and five in the Senate but the Democrats still held majorities of 58-42 in the senate and 243-192 in the House. The Republicans gained five governorships in the election.
    1968- Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm, a Democrat, was elected this day and became the first African-American woman elected to Congress. She served the Bedfor-Stuyvessant section of Brooklyn for seven terms.
    1970--Midway through a Beach Boys show at L.A.'s Whiskey-a-Go-Go, Brian Wilson, making one of rare stage appearances, loses his balance several times and has to be helped backstage. His right ear, the better of the two, sustains "severe damage" because of the volume level on-stage
    1971 - The Los Angeles Lakers began professional sport's longest winning streak in the history by winning the first of 33 consecutive basketball games.
    1974-The first politician who was openly homosexual to win an election at the state level was Elaine Noble, a Democrat, who was elected to the Massachusetts State Legislature from the 6th Suffolk district, the Fenway-Back Bay district of Boston, MA. She received 1,730 of the 2,931 votes cast.
http://www.womeninfilmvideo.org/rff/imagepages/image9.htm
    1976- The Mariners and Blue Jays each select thirty players in the expansion draft. Seattle picks Royals' outfielder Ruppert Jones and Toronto selects Orioles' shortstop Bob Bailor as their team's respective first picks.
    1976--Birthday of American composer Eric Schwartz, born Plainfield, NJ.
    1976---Top Hits
If You Leave Me Now -Chicago
Rock’n Me - Steve Miller
The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot
Among My Souvenirs - Marty Robbins
    1977 - A slow moving storm produced five to nine inch rains across northern Georgia causing the Toccoa Dam to burst. As the earthen dam collapsed the waters rushed through the Toccoa Falls Bible College killing three persons in the dorms. Thirty-eight persons perished at a trailer park along the stream.
    1984 - The Supreme Court ruled the NFL could not block future franchise moves. Furthermore, the Court said the NFL had exceeded antitrust limits in attempting to stop the Oakland Raiders move to Los Angeles, California.
    1984---Top Hits
Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run) - Billy Ocean
Purple Rain - Prince & The Revolution
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go - Wham!
City of New Orleans - Willie Nelson
    1986 - Dick Clark registered for initial public stock offerings for his television production company, DCP. On registration forms he called his product "mind candy".
    1987 - Low pressure off the California coast produced stormy weather in the southwestern U.S. Flash flooding stranded 8000 persons in the Death Valley National Park of southern California. Thunder- storms over southern Nevada produced dime size hail and wind gusts to 68 mph around Las Vegas. Unseasonably mild weather in the northeastern U.S. was replaced with snow and gale force winds
    1988-Top Hits
Wild, Wild West- The Escape Club
Kokomo (From The "Cocktail" Soundtrack)- The Beach Boys
The Loco-Motion- Kylie Minogue
Bad Medicine- Bon Jovi
    1988 - The Beach Boys hit #1 in US with "Kokomo". They set two music-chart records with this event. It was the longest span of #1 hits (24 years, 4 months since "I Get Around") and the longest gap between #1 hits (21 years, 10 months since "Good Vibrations").
    1988 - And speaking of music trivia
(thanks to http://www.rockdate.co.uk Rockdate Diary):
"The Loco-Motion", by Kylie Minogue hit #4 on the "Billboard Hot 100" this day, the song became the first to reach the top-5 in the U.S. for three different artists (Little Eva in 1962, Grand Funk in 1974).
    1989 - Temperatures warmed into the 80s across much of Texas. Highs of 86 degrees at Abilene, Fort Worth and San Angelo were records for the date
    1991 -Elkins, WV drops to 8 degrees, the coldest so early in the season. Pittsburgh, PA drops to 11 also the coldest so early. Jackson, KY drops to 17 degrees, a daily record
    1993—Top Hits
I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won t Do That)- Meat Loaf
All That She Wants- Ace Of Base
Just Kickin It- Xscape
Again- Janet Jackson
Dreamlover- Mariah Carey
    1996 - Voters returned President Clinton to the White House for a second term but kept Congress in Republican control. He defeated Republican candidate Robert “Bob” Dole by 379 to 159 electoral college votes. The reform candidate Ross Perot received no electoral votes. Al Gore was elected vice-president.
The popular vote was Clinton, 45,628,667: Dole, 37,869,436: and Perot, 7,874,283. The Republicans gained two Senate seats for a 55-45 majority. The Republicans remained in control in the House, but their majority was reduced from 37 to 19, with 227 Republicans, 207 Democrats and 1 independent.
    1998—Top Hits
The First Night- Monica
One Week, Barenaked-Ladies
How Deep Is Your Love- Dru Hill Featuring Redman
Lately- Divine
    1999 - U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, in a ‘finding of fact’, declared Microsoft Corporation a monopoly. Jackson wrote, “Microsoft enjoys so much power in the market for Intel-compatible PC operating systems that if it wished to exercise this power solely in terms of price, it could charge a price for Windows substantially above that which could be charged in a competitive market.”

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