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'Upbeat mood' from ELFA attendees
report from Shawn Halladay, The Alta Group

Fifty-six years and counting – that’s the tally at ELFA’s 56th Annual Convention of the Equipment Leasing and Finance in Orlando. Even though everyone had not yet arrived, and others displayed at least a modicum of common sense by staying in bed, there was a cluster of hardy souls that kicked off the convention activities with a 6:30 am 5k run. The run was followed by a string of other activities throughout the day. Some of these were very traditional, such as the golf and tennis tournaments, while others, such as the Give Kids the World Village service activity, reflected members’ desire to give back to the community

The evening Welcoming Reception provided the forum for everyone to get together to renew acquaintances or make new contacts. This reception was built around the exhibitors’ booths which, in a way, reflected one of the operational issues on many attendees’ mind this year – how best to address the issue of legacy lease management systems. The breadth and scope of the exhibitions dedicated to this conundrum was evidence of not only how pervasive an industry issue this has become but also spoke directly the convention theme of Building the Next Generation Business.

Business is good, based on the mood of the attendees, which was very upbeat. Lessors have been able to solidify their positions this year and are now beginning to actively seek out new volume sources. Some are planning on getting into new business verticals, while others are considering acquiring the new volume (an interesting phenomenon, given that there are a handful of companies still adjusting to recent acquisitions). Technology also was a consistent theme of discussions during the reception. These discussions went beyond the legacy systems issues mentioned earlier as executives are considering how to take advantage of, or react to, the newer technologies that are available or on the horizon.

As a last thought, many of us received a pleasant surprise when Woody Sutton, past president of ELFA, and his wife made an appearance and made the rounds at the reception.

Shawn Halladay
Managing Director
www.thealtagroup.com

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Position Wanted – Credit
Work Remotely or Relocate for Right Opportunity

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

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

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

Credit

Will relocate for the right opportunity and can work remotely. I have (25+) years in making credit decisions, as well as helping sales team and third party originators close more transactions via understanding their applicant's financial abilities. I can create alternative or additional opportunities (and income) by knowing which type of loan is best for the borrower
aaacorrespondent@gmail.com

Chicago, Illinois
Seasoned Risk and Portfolio Management professional with strong Credit Management background, Portfolio Management, Underwriting, Process Improvement, Collections and Workouts. Deep expertise in risk management and portfolio management within a regulated and compliance-driven banking environment. Partners with senior leadership to identify business risks and determine business strategy based on market and industry trends. Leads initiatives to improve efficiency and mitigate risk. Leverages business acumen and expertise gained through experience across multiple industries, including industrial, consumer and financial services, to develop and implement solutions, improve profits and reduce losses. Significant large-scale project management experience.
Demonstrated ability to analyze and articulate complex issues and implement process improvements. Excels in evaluating and mitigating customer credit risk, profit improvement, management reporting, loss mitigation and business intelligence.
wgriffith61@yahoo.com
Resume

Orlando, Florida
As a Commercial Credit Analyst/Underwriter, I have evaluated transactions from sole proprietorships to listed companies, across a broad spectrum of industries, embracing a multitude of asset types. Sound understanding of balance sheet, income statement and cash flow dynamics which impact credit decisions. Strong appreciation for credit/asset risk.
rpsteiner21@aol.com
407 430-3917

Work Remotely from Portland, Oregon
Experienced commercial banker and former commercial equipment leasing industry professional seeking full-time or part-time work out of my home in Portland, Oregon. Over twenty years’ experience in credit analysis, underwriting, sales and collections. Known for creative problem solving and strong quantitative & qualitative analytical skills. Demonstrated ability to gather information, evaluate and make informed strategic business decisions to maximize profit and mitigate risk. Well known for ability to develop strong business relationships with Clients and large list of national equipment leasing Brokers. Please see attached resume and contact me below if interested.
Resume
JFrank@BL-Solutions.com

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Top Stories: October 17 - October 21
(Opened Most by Readers)

(1) 10 year Chief Sales Officer Leaves Marlin with over $750,000
Marlin in New Direction: Toward FinTech?
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Oct2017/10_17.htm#10

(2) CEO Bill Verhelle Announces Interests in Commercial Finance
He’s Back!!! See Him at the ELFA Conference to Learn More
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Oct2017/10_19.htm#ceo

(3) New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
and Related Industries
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Oct2017/10_19.htm#hires

(4) SoFi, Healdsburg, Northern California Fire
from Brad Simmons, SVP, SoFi
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Oct2017/10_17.htm#fire

(5) CLFP Foundation Approaches 500 CLFPs
Announces 22 New CLFPs
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Oct2017/10_19.htm#clfp

(6) The Importance of Responding Sales Emails Within 24 Hours
FinTech #102 by Alex Vasilakos
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Oct2017/10_19.htm#fintech

(7) Companies with 2 or More CLFP’s/Associates
List Updated
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Oct2017/10_19.htm#clfp2

(8) Hours to Pay Monthly Mortgage in United States
Chart and Five Most Expensive/Cheapest Cities
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Oct2017/10_19.htm#hours

(9) Small Bank in Kansas Fails
Fed Reports DIF will be $2.6 Million
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Oct2017/10_17.htm#small

(10) Volvo Unveils a Direct Challenge to Tesla
Manufactured in China
https://www.wsj.com/articles/volvo-unveils-a-direct-challenge-to-tesla-1508252078

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Leasing and Finance Confidence Remains Nearly Same
Last Six Months—ELFF Monthly Confidence Index

Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 63.7 in October, unchanged from the September index, according to Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation October Monthly Confidence Index.

"I've seen an uptick in the number of apps this month. Real optimism out there about the potential for tax cuts by Congress. Many people are moving ahead with equipment purchases now anticipating there will be a reduction in taxes prior to the end of the year resulting in increased cash flow for them. We have also been reminding our customers of the Section 179 deduction for purchases this year." Rosanne Wilson, CLFP, BPB, 1st Independent Leasing

"We are seeing strong application flow setting us up for a good fourth quarter,"
Gary R. Shivers, President & CEO, Navitas Credit Corp.

"We are seeing steady activity and anticipate Q4 being seasonally more active, despite businesses appearing to pause a bit based on gridlock in Washington DC. Corporate optimism is high, but has yet to translate into meaningfully increased activity."
Rick Remiker, Sr. Executive Vice President, Director of Commercial
Banking, Huntington National Bank

"October originations are in line with expectations and we anticipate a better than projected results for month end due to delayed closings from September. Competition from banks and large independents continues to press margins and credit terms but will likely erode if there is a blip in the economy. We anticipate Q4 to be in line with our forecast and origination goals. "
Edward P. Kaye, Access Commercial Capital

"The last 3 months of the year are shaping up to be extremely busy and should rival last years’ record year. Of course, much is based on what is in Madison’s backlog. We have more in our backlog than at any other time in history for a last quarter. As a tax cut looks possible and with interest rates low, we are looking at a pro-business environment. The stock market looks strong; and, there are few negatives. I like the Allan Levine 25% rule. It is no exact and some latitude needed, but 25% of financing comes from banks, 25% charge cards and fin techs, 25% friends and family, and 25% from finance companies (poetic license). That’s us."
Allan Levine, Partner, Madi$on Capital

“Continued low interest rates coupled with positive economic growth will maintain capex needs to be financed. The uncertain political environment on policy agenda may keep businesses cautious.”
Paul Menzel, CLFP, President and CEO, Financial Pacific Leasing, Inc., an Umpqua Bank Company.

"October has been a strong month for proposal and application activity. Volume is much stronger than in the past several months and if this trend continues we will have a solid close to the year. We are seeing an increase in acquisitions of replacement and expense reduction equipment. We are not seeing as much activity in the “expansion” sector as we would like – a clear indication that small to midsize businesses are not feeling confident enough to take on debt to grow. Until we gain clarity on the healthcare and tax reforms we keep hearing about – I don’t think confidence will grow and expansion will occur.

"I also have a theory that when the stock market is performing as it has been of late – it deters business investment because wealth is being created in passive as opposed to active avenues."
Valerie Jester, President, Brandywine Capital

Full Report:
https://www.leasefoundation.org/industry-resources/monthly-confidence-index/

Leasing 102
by Mr. Terry Winders, CLFP

How to Trade Leads with Banks

Many community and regional banks do not offer leasing or plans for purchasing equipment. They provide accounts receivable financing, working capital loans, consumer financing, vehicle financing, and often the officers change banks and their abilities.

They also can be a wormhole, creating shortcuts for long journeys---both ways. You will find bank officers do not like to look for leasing, but on occasion one of their customers may ask about it. After they try and talk them out of it, they may search for alternatives. Therefore, one of the best markets for middle and small leasing companies is to get close to as many banks as you can for leads and funding. You can do this also by referring your customers to them. Most decision makers spend little time going to the bank and don't know who to talk to...

The reason most community banks shy away from leasing is the high cost of setting up a back office. In addition, they do not understand the documentation, don’t like the liability that exposes them as “lessor”, and many customers have complained about extra payments, deposits not returned, being hit with “fair market value” when they thought it was a $1.00 purchase option, or Evergreen Payments. Bankers are particularly not interested in reconciling the difference in an operating lease between a tax lease payoff and a book payoff.

To gain a bank’s trust, you need to explain your procedures and request that a bank loan officer accompany you on a few calls. They need to see how you react with their customers before they will allow you to contact a customer with their blessing. It is also a good idea to bring your leasing customer or vendor to the bank as a depositor or for other types of business besides leasing. It is an opportunity for you as well as the bank to create new business.

One of the reasons banks look to have someone do leases for them is when a customer is reaching their legal lending limit and they are afraid the customer may move to a larger bank. If you make a lease and use your credit to borrow from the bank, they can fund to you and save their customer. It may change your funding procedure on that customer so you may have to borrow the money our own credit because it would be hard to sell it or fund it with another bank.

Even though banks view leasing as fancy loans, you need to explain how leases can improve their return on investment by offering terms that are not usual in lending. For example, off irregular payments and terms that coincide with when the lessee needs to change equipment instead of just offering full year terms.

Banks are an excellent source of leads, but they require a lot of work and time because they look at us in the same light as used car salespersons.

Terry is now retired. The above is updated from a prior column.

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

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Interim Rent: Proper Accounting Function for
Short Term Advances --- Or Is It a Scam?

By Tom McCurnin
Leasing News Legal News Editor

Interim Rent is Legal in Most States that Have Considered the Matter
---But the Provision Has to be Fair, Clear and Unambiguous

Interim rent is the vehicle to compensate the equipment lessor for the time between the deliveries of the equipment (usually coincides with funding) and the first regularly scheduled lease payment. Today’s article will discuss whether the practice is legal and how the lessor can maximize the revenue from this cash cow.

In re Edison Brother Store, 207 B.R. 801 (Bankr. Del. 1997)
Amplicon v Marshfield Clinic, 786 F.Supp. 1469 (W.D. Wisc. 1992)
All-Luminum Products, Inc. v Winthrop Resources, 28 Fed. App. 611 (8th Cir. 2002)
Underwriters Laboratories v Solarcom, (n.D. Ill. 2002).

Historical Application of Interim Rent
When I first entered leasing, interim rent was simply a matter of taking a single payment and dividing it by 30, then multiplying it by the number of days between the delivery and acceptance certificate and the next month’s payment, usually no longer than 29 days. Other lessors used the date of funding the invoice, which was generally within a day or two of the delivery, as the first day of interim rent. To my knowledge, interim rent rarely exceeded a month.

Some bright leasing executive figured out that because the interim rent was less than one of the stated monthly payments, the revenue would not reduce the balance on the equipment lease, and was therefore, 100% pure profit (except for cost of funds). It didn’t take long for lessors to figure out that increasing the time period of interim rent beyond the one month period would a windfall to the lessor. Enter the doctrine of quarterly payments.

Quarterly Payments
The equipment lessor Amplicon first used quarterly payments and interim rent in 1992. It was sued over the practice and, in a reported decision out of Wisconsin, the application of interim rent and quarterly payments was upheld.

The lessor’s sales pitch goes something like this:

Salesperson gets the lessee on the phone and tell the lessee that “for the lessee’s convenience ” the lessor will agree” to quarterly payments on the leased equipment so the lessee is no longer bothered with monthly checks. What the salesperson doesn’t tell the lessee is that the lessor will charge the lessee interim rent for the period between funding and the first payment which could be as long as 89 days. The salesperson also doesn’t tell the lessee that the interim rent payment will not be credited against the account and does not reduce the lease balance.

The lessee gets a standard lease document which contains an interim rent provision, generally pays no attention to it, and signs the lease. When the lessee figures out that it just threw three months’ worth of payments down the drain, the lessor points to the provision which the lessee signed, and it’s all over but the crying.

In the Amplicon case referenced above, the lessee claimed that the interim rent provision was unfair. A heartless Wisconsin Federal Judge simply ruled that the issue was a matter of contract and, since the provision was clear and unambiguous, it would therefore be enforceable. It’s hard to disagree with this logic because if the lessee doesn’t read or understand a commercial lease agreement, is it really the lessor’s duty to explain the minefields in the lease document?

The Legality of Interim Rent—Interim Rent Upheld

The issue of interim rent is not addressed in the Uniform Commercial Code, neither in Article 9 nor in Article 2A. The Code drafters were wise not to get bogged down in details and avoided legislating every aspect of equipment leases so interim rent was left to contract provisions. Cases interpreting interim rent have been kind to the practice of interim rent.

In the Edison Brothers case above, the lessee claimed that interim rent was merely a device to increase the lessor’s yield. The Court disagreed, holding that it compensated the lessor for the lessee’s use of the equipment from installation until the date of the first payment

In the All Luminum decision, the lessee argued that since the lease had a 7% yield, the 8th Circuit should essentially re-write the lease to lower interim rent to an interest only number. The court declined to do so.

Interim Rent Provisions Struck Down

The only case which casts doubt on the use of interim rent provisions is the Illinois decision of Underwriters. The facts of the Underwriters decision are interesting. Underwriters Labs (yes the same company that tests electrical fixtures) leased an enormous amount of solar equipment from the lessor Solarcom.

The lessee claimed that the lessee was promised by a salesperson that the quarterly payments would be all that would be owed, and no other payments would be collected. When the lessee received an invoice of $930,000 for interim rent, it offered to pay the lessor interest only on the obligation but balked at paying the huge interim rent amount. When the lessor refused the offer, the lessee sued.

The lessor filed a motion to dismiss. In considering the motion, the Court was troubled by the large interim rent provision. The court was further troubled by the nature of the transaction, an Article 9 lease, essentially a loan of money, yet the lessor expressed the obligation in the financial terms of a lease. The court noted that “If the parties had used documents tailored to the nature of the transaction—the lending of money—and had included a clause specifying that interest was payable at a specified rate for the period from the date the funds were advanced to the beginning of the quarterly period, [the lessee] would have nothing to complain about.” Consequently, the Court denied the lessor’s motion to dismiss. Although not covered by the opinion, the interim rent provision in the lessor’s lease is a little vague in my opinion.

I don’t think that the Underwriters case is necessarily an aberration, as bad facts make bad law. The salesman may have misrepresented the transaction and the lessor’s documents were not terribly clear. It should be noted that the case settled a little over 90 days after this decision was rendered, so a compromise must have been reached.

Lessons for the Equipment Lessor

I have yet to find a case in which interim rent was charged on a monthly contract and was struck down. So for the vast majority of equipment lessors that use interim rent for its intended purposes, you should rest easy tonight. However, the Underwriters case should give the equipment lessor some pause.

First, let’s be honest here—quarterly payments and an interim rent provision is not for the convenience of the customer—it is almost 100% pure profit. If the lessor socks a lessee with 89 days’ worth of interim rent, do you think the lessor will get that repeat business from that lessee?

Second, if your company is drafting an interim rent provision, make it clear and unambiguous, so a high school senior could understand the provision. For those judges who defer to contractual provisions, this may carry the day.

Third, if a complaint regarding interim rent is received, have in place a structure to elevate the complaint to somebody who understands litigation and risk. Since the interim rent is almost 100% pure profit, the lessor can afford to be magnanimous.

Fourth, sales personnel should obviously not misrepresent the contents of a lease, nor make contradictory statements about the intent of the lessor or the effect of a particular clause. I’ve often thought that sales conversations should be recorded so the issue of misrepresentation can be settled once and for all.

Finally, lessees should obviously read contracts before signing them, and quite frankly, the issue of interim rent and quarterly payments is such a loaded issue, that red flags should be raised.
The bottom line to interim rent is that the vast majority of lessors use it for its intended purpose—to compensate the lessor for the time period between funding and the first schedule payment, usually 29 days or less. However, when quarterly payments are coupled with interim rent, the lessor’s profit and risk increases significantly.

All-Luminum Case
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/InterimRentAllLuminumCase_32014.pdf

Amplicon Case
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/InterimRentAmpliconCase_32014.pdf

Edison Case
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/InterimRentEdisonCase_32014.pdf

Underwriters Case
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/InterimRentUnderwritersCase_32014.pdf

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

Tom McCurnin
Barton, Klugman & Oetting
350 South Grand Ave.
Suite 2200
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Direct Phone: (213) 617-6129
Cell (213) 268-8291
Email: tmccurnin@bkolaw.com
Visit our web site at www.bkolaw.com
Previous Tom McCurnin Articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/leasing_cases.html

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90 Day Interim Rent, Evergreen Clause Turning Clients Off;
Trend is to Equipment Loans: No Money Down, No Residuals

By Christopher Menkin

In the under $500,000 equipment financing market, the tax advantage in leasing has been replaced by Section 179 while equipment loans have become attractive with no money down and all the games played in leasing being remembered by those who were “scammed.”

Where did this all begin? It was Amplicon in Southern California that promoted the changes and most of the companies and brokers that worked here followed the practices (this is well-known by those who were active in leasing at this time).

Amplicon made famous the ABC Leasing, "The ABC lease gave the customer only three options at the end of the lease term: (a) purchase the leased equipment at a "mutually agreeable price" (b) renew the lease at the same rate; or (c) lease new equipment at the same or greater expense. If the customer and Amplicon did not reach an agreement on options (a) or (c), then option (b) providing for renewal of the lease was automatically effective." (1)

Leasing in the smaller marketplace became popular when most of the deals were 25% down by Westinghouse and others in the late 60's and early 1970's, thus small equipment Leasing became more popular. They also offered the choice to the client of either the first of the month or the 15th.

It was also very common to continue lease payments via Evergreen clause until the lessee decided to buy or return the equipment...and many companies, such as Manifest, would evenly split the extra payment with the broker since the lease was often “discounted” and the residual went to the broker, not to the lessor. It was a common practice among many lessors in the day.

As this got more popular, the reverse of this was started, meaning interim rent, controlling the lease payment, billing the lessee in "advance" and paying the bank or the bank collects in "arrears." It builds up the yield and allows for an interim rent which is explained as the start of the lease, taking the lease payment by the days involved (it also should be noted in the lease payment, in reality it was all extra profit as was the evergreen payment.) It also changed the small ticket marketplace where almost all the deals with 1st and 10%, with the 10% being the purchase option. It should be noted prime rate was high and buy rates would be 18% to 22% and more, so for the broker to be more competitive, the 10% was really their profit.

When prime went down, this changed the style of 1st and 10%. You have to remember in the 60's and 70s all financing was 25% down and when equipment was changing fast, including milling machines, computers, no one wanted to keep them, they wanted to get the latest, thus the phrase, " It is not owning the equipment that makes you money, but its use."

The style changed to collecting one month as a security deposit, often saying it could be used to help pay the purchase option. There were companies who did not do this, but charged an extra payment when lessees were not counting monthly payments (Puget Sound Leasing). (2)

Master leases often charged a portion advanced by utilizing the lease factor, which also included both interest and principal. But in many cases, interest was not deducted but kept as additional profit.

Thus the growth of charging interim rent on when a lease began. These in the last ten years, moved into leases based on quarterly payments. Most often, the salesman would take the monthly and make it 90, or three times the month, telling the lessee it was a better rate financially In reality, it is not, as well as an interim rate profit increases dramatically.

These practices have made small and middle market equipment loans and equipment finance agreements much more popular.

ABC Lease
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ca-court-of-appeal/1402769.html
Puget Sound Leasing Jury Verdict In---No One Win
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Oct2011/10_10.htm#puget

News Briefs----

U.S. fiscal year deficit widens to $666 billion
deficit increased to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-budget/u-s-fiscal-year-deficit-widens-to-666-billion-idUSKBN1CP2FS

Tesla nearly doubles its borrowing capacity for car leases
to $1.1 billion
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/21/tesla-nearly-doubles-its-borrowing-capacity-for-car-leases-to-1-point-1-billion.html

GE Chief Exec Calls Q3 Results ‘Unacceptable’
indicated there are big changes ahead for the conglomerate
http://ww2.cfo.com/financial-performance/2017/10/ge-chief-q3-results-unacceptable/

Goldman Sachs & Morgan Stanley vs.
the best U.S. bank to work for now
https://news.efinancialcareers.com/uk-en/298694/which-is-the-best-investment-bank

Amazon has triggered a $5 billion bidding war
Here are some of the craziest proposals for its new Headquarters
http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-headquarters-cities-in-a-bidding-war-2017-9

Working Capital from $10,0000 to $250,000 ChannelPartnersCapital.com

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You May Have Missed---

Top 50 Digital Only Bank Ranking
2017 World Wide
http://fintechnews.hk/2649/various/top-50-digital-banks-ranking-2017/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=fintechweeklycom

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Baseball Poem

God Protects Fools with Curveballs
by Tim Peeler

Going after her
Was chasing
A bad pitch,
A sharp curve
That tailed off
Into the dirt,
Evaded the end
Of my whirling bat.
Thank goodness
I only looked stupid
On the first strike.

Touching All Bases
Poems from Baseball
Tim Peeler
www.mcfarlandpub.com

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Sports Briefs----

NFL Week 7: Sunday's Live Updates, Scores and Highlights
http://bleacherreport.com/live-blogs/nfl-week-7-2017-10-22

Report card: Young 49ers get F against Dallas
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nfl/san-francisco-49ers/article180324856.html

Troy Aikman recalls getting left behind by Jimmy Johnson
after Cowboys beat 49ers in '92 NFC title game
https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-cowboys/cowboys/2017/10/22/troy-aikman-recalls-getting-left-behind-jimmy-johnson-cowboys-beat-49ers-92-nfc-title-game

49ers Dwight Clark: 'I need your thougths and prayers'
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/10/22/49ers-icon-dwight-clark-i-need-your-prayers-and-thoughts/

49ers fans didn’t show up for Dwight Clark and that is shameful
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/10/22/dwight-clark-day-san-francisco-49ers-dallas-cowboys/

Marcus Peters wants to speak in support of Marshawn Lynch
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/marcus-peters-wants-speak-support-marshawn-lynch-193105820.html

World Series questions -- Do the energized Astros have an edge over the Dodgers?
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/21112712/world-series-questions-do-energized-astros-edge-dodgers

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California Nuts Briefs---

Sonoma County faces long road to recovery following devastating Wine Country fires
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/7520688-181/sonoma-county-faces-long-road?artslide=0

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“Gimme that Wine”

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

Sonoma, Napa winemakers need property access
to salvage grapes, monitor fermentation
http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/northbay/sonomacounty/7534471-181/sonoma-napa-fires-wine-harvest?artslide=0

A closer look at 22 wineries damaged by Wine Country fires
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/10/16/a-closer-look-at-the-22-wineries-damaged-by-wine-country-fires/

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

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

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

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

This Day in History

     1694 – British and American colonial forces failed to seize Quebec from the French.
    1760 – The first Jewish prayer books in the US were printed.
    1761 - A hurricane struck southeastern New England. It was the most violent in thirty years. Thousands of trees blocked roads in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
    1775 - Continental Congress approved a resolution barring blacks from army.
    1783 - Virginia emancipated slaves who fought for independence during the Revolutionary War.
    1813 - The Americans operating the Pacific Fur Company trading post in Astoria, Oregon turn the post over to their rivals in the British North West Company, and for the next three decades, Britons dominate the fur trade of the Pacific Northwest. By the 1840s, the beaver population had dwindled, while American settlement in the area was on the rise. Unwilling to protect the Hudson Bay Company's claim to the region, the British agreed to accept American control of the territory below the 49th parallel in 1846 and ceded to the U.S. the territory encompassing the future states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. (See Real Facts/Snapple)
    1824 - John Stevens, age 76, designed and finished construction of the first steam locomotive to pull a train on a track. The locomotive could pull a 1,000-pound load at 12 miles per hour. It was operating on a circular track 220 feet in circumference on Steven's estate at Hoboken, New Jersey. It moved by means of a large gear wheel engaging a toothed rack placed on the ties between the rails. The wheels had no flanges, so to keep the train from running off the track, Stevens affixed little horizontal friction rollers on the underside chassis that pressed and rolled along the inner vertical face of the wooden beams used for rails. The 1830's saw the invention of the locomotive grow. The Baltimore and Ohio bid out for the building of the first engine, which was won by Phineas Davis of York, PA, who built the “York.” In 1831, he built the first locomotive to burn coal. It was the first locomotive that had coupled wheels and a double instead of a single pair of drivers. It weighed 3.5 tons and attained velocity by gearing, using a spur wheel and pinion on one of the axles of the wheels. The only accident in which it was involved occurred on September 27, 1835, as the result of a defective track. The accident killed Phineas Davis, who was riding on the locomotive.
    1828 - Birthday of Turner Ashby (d. 1862) at Fauquier County, VA. Confederate Brigadier General and Stonewall Jackson's cavalry commander during Valley Campaign of 1862, Ashby was killed in the Battle of Good's Farm at New Market, VA while fighting rear guard action during Jackson's withdrawal from the Valley. His brother is buried with him and was murdered by a Union patrol in 1861.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=grandGRid=8336
    1843 - "Indian Summer" was routed by cold and snow that brought sleighing from the Poconos to Vermont. A foot of snow blanketed Haverhill, NH and Newberry, VT and 18 to 24 inches were reported in some of the higher elevations. Snow stayed on the ground until the next spring. (22nd-23rd)
    1844 - A group who followed William Miller, whose day of reckoning did not happen the day before, began a new order and thus began the Seventh Day Adventist.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/61h/61h031.html
    1850 - The first National Women’s Rights convention began in Worcester, MA. Combined both male and female leadership, and attracted a wide base of support including temperance advocates and abolitionists. Chief among the concerns discussed at the convention was the passage of laws that would give suffrage to women. Some 900 people showed up for the first session, men forming the majority, with several newspapers reporting over a thousand attendees by the afternoon of the first day, and more turned away outside. Delegates came from eleven states, including one delegate from California – a state only a few weeks old.
    1861 – President Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus in Washington, DC for all military cases for the remainder of the Civil War.
    1869 - The New York Stock Exchange put memberships up for sale for the first time in its seventy-seven-year history.
    1869 - Birthday of John William Heisman (d. 1936), football player, coach and administrator, at Cleveland, OH. Heisman played football at Brown and Pennsylvania and began coaching at Oberlin. He moved to Akron, Oberlin again, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Pennsylvania, Washington and Jefferson, and Rice. After his retirement, he became athletic director at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York. The club's annual award to the best college football player in the country was named in his honor posthumously.
    1871 - Birth of Edgar J. Goodspeed (d. 1962) at Quincy, IL. American theologian and Greek N.T. scholar. He taught at the University of Chicago 1898-1937. In 1931, he co-authored with JMP Smith "The Bible: An American Translation," better known today as "Smith and Goodspeed."
    1885 - Formal opening of Bryn Mawr College, outside Philadelphia, the first college in the US to offer advanced degrees to women and one of the “Seven Sisters.”
http://www.brynmawr.edu/about/who_goes.shtml
    1891 - Birthday of blues pianist “Speckled Red” Rufus Perryman (d. 1973), Hampton, GA. http://www.centrohd.com/biogra/p2/rufus_perryman_b.htm
http://shopping.yahoo.com/shop?d=productandid=1927171497
http://sunsite.kth.se/feastlib/mrf/yinyue/pw/SPECKL.HTM
    1906 - Jonathan Latimer’s birthday in Chicago (d. 1983). American hard-boiled mystery writer, noted for his Bill Crane series, described as an "alcoholic private detective," but who represents more accurately the "screwball-comedy" school of the 1930s mystery fiction. Latimer wrote also screenplays, notably Dashiell Hammett's “The Glass Key.”
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/latimer.htm
http://www.thrillingdetective.com/crane.html
    1910 - Blanche S. Scott became the first woman to make a public solo airplane flight in the United States.
    1915 - 25,000 women march in NYC, demanding right to vote
    1915 - The first U.S. championship horseshoe tourney was held in Kellerton, IA.
    1918 - DUNN, PARKER F., MEDAL of HONOR
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company A, 312th Infantry, 78th Division. Place and date: Near Grand-Pre, France, 23 October 1918. Entered service at: Albany, N.Y. Birth: Albany, N.Y. G.O. No.: 49, W.D., 1922. Citation: When his battalion commander found it necessary to send a message to a company in the attacking line and hesitated to order a runner to make the trip because of the extreme danger involved, Pfc. Dunn, a member of the intelligence section, volunteered for the mission. After advancing but a short distance across a field swept by artillery and machinegun fire, he was wounded, but continued on and fell wounded a second time. Still undaunted, he persistently attempted to carry out his mission until he was killed by a machinegun bullet before reaching the advance line.
    1920 – A Chicago grand jury indictment added former featherweight boxing champ Abe Atell and baseball players Hal Chase and Bill Burns as go-betweens in the 1919 World Series scandal. Black Sox Ed Cicotte, Joe Jackson, Lefty Williams and Happy Felsch signed confessions, which they will later recant.
    1921 – In their first game in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers beat Minneapolis, 7-6.
    1925 - Heeerrrrre's Johnnnnnny—Johnny Carson's (d. 2005) birthday, Corning, Iowa. Succeeding the second “Tonight” Show host, Jack Paar, in 1962, Carson became the king of late-night and hosted “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” for 30 years. During that time, he became an icon, successfully defending threats from wannabe shows with Merv Griffin, Dick Cavett, Joey Bishop, John Davidson, Joan Rivers, and others. The show was also the launching pad for the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Drew Carey, Roseanne, Jeff Foxworthy and others.
http://www.johnnycarson.com/carson/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6504289
4531 Episodes http://www.timvp.com/carson.html
http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/01/23/carson.obit/index.html
    1927 - Surrealist poet Philip Lamantia (d. 2005) was born in San Francisco. Lamantia discovered Surrealism as a teenager. Immediately drawn to this movement, he began to write poetry and left California for New York to meet Andre Breton, who recognized his talent and began publishing his poems. Lamantia's work appeared in Breton's “VVV,” as well as Charles Henri Ford's “View” and other experimental journals. He married Nancy Peters, a surrealist poet and co-owner, with Lawrence Ferlinghetti, of City Lights Books publishers, which is still in business in North Beach, the original haven for “Beatniks.”
http://www.charm.net/~brooklyn/People/PhilipLamantia.html
http://www.citylights.com
    1927 - Alto sax player Sonny Criss (d. 1977) birthday, Memphis. http://www.musicweb.uk.net/encyclopaedia/c/C362.HTM
http://members.tripod.com/~hardbop/criss.html
http://members.tripod.com/~hardbop/criss_discography.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000000YVC/avsearch-musicasin-20/
103-0570268-6906239
    1929 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged, starting the stock-market crash that began the Great Depression.
    1931 – Former senator and Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Bunning (d. 2017) was born in Southgate, KY. He pitched a no-hitter in each league, including a perfect game against the Mets for the Phillies in 1964. When he retired, he had the second-most strikeouts in MLB history behind Walter Johnson.   He was the Republican senator from Kentucky (1999-2011) and the Representative from the 4th district from 1987-99.
    1934 - Birthday of golfer Juan “Chi-Chi” Rodriquez, born Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico.
    1935 – Mobster Dutch Schultz and several others were fatally shot at a saloon in Newark, NJ in what will become known as The Chophouse Massacre.
    1939 - North of Murmansk, a German prize crew steers the US ship City of Flint into Kola Bay. The steamer was seized as contraband by a German cruiser. SS City of Flint, a freighter of the United States Merchant Marine, was the first American ship captured by the Germans…and this was more than two years prior to the US entry into World War II. Under the command of Captain Joseph H. Gainard, City of Flint first became involved in the war when she rescued 200 survivors of the torpedoed British passenger liner SS Athenia in early September, 1939. On October 9, City of Flint was carrying 4000 tons of lubricating oil from New York to Great Britain. Panzerschiff Deutschland seized her some 1200 miles out from New York, declaring her cargo to be contraband and the ship a prize of war. A German prize crew painted out all US insignia and hoisted the German ensign. To avoid the Royal Navy, the prize crew headed for Tromsø. The Norwegians, neutral at the time and disturbed by the sinking of the merchant SS Lotent W. Hassen, refused entry to the Germans. The prize crew then sailed for Murmansk, claiming havarie (the privilege of sanctuary for damage caused at sea), but the Russians also refused entry, stating that if the Germans claimed havarie, the American crew could not be prisoners of war. In the several weeks that elapsed, the United States ordered many US merchant ships to register with other countries to continue supporting the Allies without violating the US's nominal neutrality. The Royal Navy began closing on the captured ship. The prize crew then tried Norway again at the port of Haugesund. The Norwegian government again refused entry, describing the German crew as kidnappers. The approaching Royal Navy left the prize crew no choice, though; on November 3, they entered the harbor. The Norwegian Admiralty interned the German crew and, on November 6 returned City of Flint to Captain Gainard's command.
    1940 - Birthday of Pele, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, famous soccer player, Tres Coracoes, Brazil. 3 winning teams [1958, 1962, 1970].
    1941 - The Lend Lease Act was passed by the US Senate, giving the president authority to send materiel to Europe and continue neutrality in the war. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/oct23.html
    1941 - Walt Disney's classic animated film, “Dumbo,” was released to theaters. It was one of the shortest Disney full-length animations produced, at a running length of 64 minutes. Critics considered it the best of Disney's animations to date because of its heart, compassion, and skill. It was also one of the least expensive to make, costing about $950,000.
    1944 - In response to the Allied invasion of the Philippines at Leyte, the Japanese initiated "Sho-Go" (Operation Victory), an attempt to counter the Allies' next invasion by heavy air attacks. Four carriers were sent south from Japanese waters to lure the US aircraft carriers away from Leyte Gulf. At the same time, Japanese naval forces from Singapore were sent to Brunei Bay, spilt up into two groups and converged on Leyte Gulf from the north and southwest. The group in the north, under Vice Admiral Kurita Takeo, was to enter the Pacific through the San Bernardino Strait between the Philippine islands of Samar and Luzon. On Oct 23, in the largest naval battle in history, Kurita lost two of his heavy cruisers to US submarine attack, and one of Japan's greatest battleships, the Musashi, was sunk in an aerial attack the next day. The southern group commanded by Vice Admiral Nishimura Teiji was detected on its way to the Surigao Strait and was practically annihilated by the US 7th Fleet, resulting in serious losses for the Japanese.
    1944 - The 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry, 36th Infantry Division (TX), soon known as the "Lost Battalion" was cut off on top of a hill by German infantry and armored forces. After six days of stemming repeated enemy attacks and suffering extremely high losses and with ammunition, food and water running out, the battalion was relieved by the other two battalions of the 141st along with the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team made up of Japanese-Americans.
    1945 - Dodgers President Branch Rickey announced that Jackie Robinson has signed to play with Brooklyn's Triple A team in Montreal. The 26-year old Negro League star will be the first black player to play in organized baseball since 1884.
    1946 – The UN General Assembly met for the first time, in an auditorium in Flushing, Queens, NY.
    1947 - The NAACP petitions the United Nations about racial injustices, titled "An Appeal to the World," drafted by civil rights leader W.E.B. Du Bois, accusing the U.S. of human rights violations because of discrimination against African-Americans.    Eleanor Roosevelt, an active NAACP board member from 1945 to 1958, initiated the U.N.'s human rights protocol. Four years later, the noted African-American singer and civil rights activist Paul Robeson, on behalf of the Civil Rights Congress, submitted a petition to the UN, “We Charge Genocide,” accusing the U.S. of genocide regarding African-Americans.
    1947 - The first Nobel Prize shared by an American husband and wife was the Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine, awarded to Dr. Carl Ferdinand Cori and Dr. Gerty Theresa Cori of the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, who discovered how sugar in the human system is converted into glycogen through an enzyme or biological catalyst called phosphorylase.
    1950 - Communist troops massacred 68 American POWs in the Sunchon tunnel. A 1st Cavalry Division force under the command of Brigadier General Frank A. Allen rescued 21 survivors.
    1951 - The NAACP pickets the New York Stork Club in support of Josephine Baker, who was refused admission a week ago. After a city- convened special committee calls Baker's charges unfounded, Thurgood Marshall calls the findings a "complete and shameless whitewash of the long-established and well-known discriminatory policies of the Stork Club." Josephine Baker rummaged for coal behind Union Station and for food behind Soulard Market in St. Louis. At age 13, she was a waitress at the Chauffeurs' Club on Pine Street and danced with a minstrel band. In 1925, she went to Paris with the Revue Negre. Baker starred in the Folies-Bergere the next season and became one of France's best-loved entertainers. During World War II, she was a heroine of the Resistance, earning the Legion d'Honneur. A French citizen, she remained an activist for civil rights in the US. On her death in 1975, Baker was given an unprecedented state funeral in Paris.
    1954 - Elvis Presley reaches a Billboard chart outside of Memphis for the first time when "Blue Moon of Kentucky" hits #6 in Nashville and #3 in New Orleans.
    1955 - Top Hits
“Love is a Many-Splendored Thing” - The Four Aces
“Autumn Leaves” - Roger Williams
“The Shifting, Whispering Sands” - Rusty Draper
“Love, Love, Love” - Webb Pierce
    1956 – “The Jonathan Winters Show” was televised in New York on WRCA-TV, taped with a RCA machine and then played back for the West Coast at a later time. It was the first telecast shown in full compatible color. It also was the first video recording on magnetic tape televised coast-to-coast.
    1959 - Birthday of singer, satirist Alfred Matthew “Weird Al” Yankovic, Lynwood, CA.
http://www.weirdal.com/
    1959 - Charles Van Doren recants his testimony. The son of author/teacher Mark Van Doren (Allen Ginsberg, et al) originally denied to a grand jury that the TV quiz show "21" had supplied him with questions and answers in advance. His confession was front page news and a shock to the American public that had made the television show the most popular on the air at that time. It also made suspect all television games and the medium itself.
    1961 - The first jazz composition to appear on the Top 40 charts was pianist Dave Brubeck's instrumental “Take Five,” which entered the Top 40 popular music charge published by the trade newspaper. It eventually reached 25.
http://www.cdlagoon.com/8910978.html
http://www.schirmer.com/composers/brubeck_bio.html
http://www.duke.edu/~smt3/brubeck.htm
    1961 - Dion's "Runaround Sue" was the #1 U.S. single. It remained at the top for two weeks until being knocked off by Jimmy Dean's "Big Bad John."
    1962 – US Ambassador to the UN, Adlai Stevenson, addressed the UN Security Council regarding the Cuban missile crisis. In his presentation, which attracted national television coverage, he forcefully asked Soviet UN representative Zorin if his country was installing nuclear missiles in Cuba, and when Zorin appeared reluctant to reply, Stevenson punctuated with the demand "Don't wait for the translation, answer 'yes' or 'no'!" When Zorin replied that "I am not in an American court of law, and therefore do not answer a question put to me in the manner of a prosecuting counsel...you will have your answer in due course," Stevenson retorted, "I am prepared to wait for my answer until Hell freezes over." Stevenson then showed photographs taken by a spy plane which proved the existence of nuclear missiles in Cuba, just after Zorin had implied they did not exist.
    1962 - Birthday of my cousin, Douglas Richard (Doug) Flutie, Manchester, MD. Heisman Trophy winner as QB for Boston College [1984], Flutie is still remembered for the most famous Hail Mary in college football. Against powerhouse University of Miami who staged a dramatic drive to take the lead, 45-41, in the closing minute of the game, Boston College then took possession at its own 22-yard line with 28 seconds to go. After two passes moved the ball another 30 yards, only 6 seconds remained. On the last play of the game, Flutie scrambled away from the defense and threw a deep pass into the end zone that was caught by Gerard Phelan as time expired, giving BC a 47-45 win. He played for several teams in the NFL who always thought him too small to play QB in the NFL. All he did was win, going 37-28 as a starter, coming off the bench to win several more games, and holding a 22-8 won-loss record at his home field. Today, he is a sportscaster.
    1962 - Twelve-year old Steveland Morris Judkins, renamed Little Stevie Wonder, records his first single, "Thank You for Loving Me All the Way," for Motown Records. The record doesn't do anything but he is billed as the twelve-year-old genius.
    1963 - Top Hits
“Sugar Shack” - Jimmy Gilmer and The Fireballs
“Be My Baby” - The Ronettes
“Busted” - Ray Charles
“Love's Gonna Live Here” - Buck Owens
    1965 - The Byrds' "Turn! Turn! Turn!" is released.
    1965 - The Temptations enter the Hot 100 for the seventh time with "My Baby," which will reach #13 in eight weeks on the chart.
    1966 - The Yardbirds and Country Joe and the Fish at the S.F. Fillmore.
    1970 – “Lady Soul,” Aretha Franklin, won a gold record for "Don't Play that Song."
    1971 - Walt Disney World opens in Orlando, Florida, 16 years after Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California. Disney World, featuring rides and characters from Disney's beloved movies, would later include EPCOT Center (which opened in 1982), based on Walt Disney's vision of a Utopian planned community. (EPCOT stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.) The Walt Disney Company launched a real planned community, Celebration, Florida, in 1996.
    1973 - Eight impeachment resolutions were introduced in the House, even as President Nixon announced he would turn over the subpoenaed Watergate tapes.
    1973 - A UN-sanctioned cease-fire officially ended the Yom Kippur War between Israel and Syria.
    1975 - Elton John's Los Angeles concert was sold out at Dodger Stadium. It was the finale to his concert tour of the western U.S.
    1975 - In a fitting finish to one of the most classic World Series ever played, the Reds beat the Red Sox in a thrilling Game 7 victory, 4-3. Joe Morgan's ninth inning looping single scoring Ken Griffey proves to be the decisive hit.
    1976 - Led Zeppelin make their US television debut on Don Kirshner's “Rock Concert,” where they perform "Black Dog" and "Dazed and Confused."
    1976 - Chicago's hit single, “If You Leave Me Now” also made it to the record charts top spot on this date, and remained Number 1 for 2 weeks.
    1978 - CBS Records becomes the first US label to announce a price hike to $8.98 for albums. Other labels soon followed suit.
    1979 - Top Hits
“Rise” - Herb Alpert
“Pop Muzik” - M
“I'll Never Love This Way Again” - Dionne Warwick
“All the Gold in California” - Larry Gatlin and The Gatlin Brothers
    1979 - Billy Martin got into a fight with marshmallow salesman Joseph Cooper at a hotel in Minneapolis. According to Cooper, the fight started over a dispute on who should be "Manager of the Year." Martin reportedly egged Cooper on, offering a $500 bet and later sucker punching Cooper. Cooper required 15 stitches. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner fired Martin shortly thereafter, for the second of five times.
    1983 - A truck filled with explosives, driven by a suicide terrorist, crashed into the U.S. Marine barracks near the Beirut International Airport in Lebanon. The bomb killed 241 Marines and sailors and injured 80. Almost simultaneously, a similar incident occurred at French military headquarters, where 58 died and 15 were injured. An obscure group calling itself “Islamic Jihad” claimed responsibility for the bombings. This incident was the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II, the deadliest single-day death toll for the US military since the first day of the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, and the deadliest single attack on Americans overseas since World War II. Some analysts believe the newly formed Islamic Republic of Iran was heavily involved in the bomb attacks and that a major factor leading it to orchestrate the attacks on the barracks was America's support for Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War and its extending of $2.5 billion in trade credit to Iraq while halting the shipments of arms to Iran. A few weeks before the bombing, Iran warned that providing armaments to Iran's enemies would provoke retaliatory punishment. Four months after the Marine barracks bombing, U.S. Marines were ordered to start pulling out of Lebanon.
    1987 - Thirteen cities in the southeastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date. It marked the sixth record low of the month for Greer, SC and Columbia, SC, and the ninth of the month for Montgomery, AL. Showers and thunderstorms deluged Corpus Christi, TX with five inches of rain. Winnemucca, NV reported their first measurable rain in ninety-two days, while Yakima, WA reported a record 96 days in a row without measurable rainfall.
    1987 - Top Hits
“Lost in Emotion” - Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
“U Got the Look” - Prince
“I Think We're Alone Now” - Tiffany
“Fishin' in the Dark” - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
    1988 - Denver, CO, reported their first freeze of the autumn, and Chicago, IL, reported their first snow. In Texas, afternoon highs of 93 degrees at Austin and San Antonio were records for the date.
    1989 - Up to 3 feet of snow fell in the mountains around Lake Tahoe with 21 inches at Donner Summit. Locally heavy rains in the San Francisco area caused numerous mudslides, adding insult to injury for earthquake victims. Thunderstorms in northern California produced 3.36 inches of rain at Redding to set a 24-hour record for October. A storm moving out of the Gulf of Alaska brought rain and high winds to the Central Pacific Coast Region. High winds in Nevada gusted to 67 mph at Reno, and thunderstorms around Redding, CA produced wind gusts to 66 mph.
    1990 - Michael Jackson donates one of his stage outfits, including a hat and a rhinestone covered glove, to the Motown Museum in Detroit. In his address, Jackson thanks Berry Gordy, calling him "the man that made it all possible for me."
    1990 - Motorola announced it had developed technology to send data at high speeds within office buildings using digital radio transmission. The technology, powerful enough to transmit anywhere in a large building, would allow companies to move computers from one office to another without laying new wiring. While wireless communication for all kinds of computer devices became common in the late 1990s, most companies continued to rely on cable to connect in-office, desktop computers. The wireless telephone and communicator business is now bringing wireless capabilities further with longer distances of source available.
    1991 – After sensational confirmation hearings, Clarence Thomas was sworn in as Supreme Court Associate Justice.
    1993 - After his winning home run gave the Blue Jays the win, Joe Carter stepped on home plate and touched off a SkyDome celebration. The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4 games to 2 in the World Series to win the title for the second year in a row. This was only the second time in history that a walk-off homer won a World Series; the other was Bill Mazeroski’s game-winner in 1960.
    1994 - Mel Gray passes Ron Smith to become the all-time NFL leader in kickoff return yards. Gray finishes his career with 10,250 yards.
    1998 - An American-brokered peace deal was reached at the Wye Mills Plantation in Maryland between Yasser Arafat and Benjamin Netanyahu. Israeli and Palestinian extremists denounced the deal. Land for the Palestinians was exchanged for security guarantees to the Israelis backed by the American CIA. Pres. President Clinton agreed to release Jonathan Pollard, who was jailed 11 years ago, on charges of spying for Israel.
    1999 - Thirty years after making his initial US chart appearance with a song called "Jingo," Carlos Santana had his first number one hit with "Smooth." The track, which features the vocals of Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty, would stay at the top for twelve weeks and remained in the top ten for a record setting 30 weeks.
    2001 - NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft began orbiting Mars. In 2010, it became the longest-operating spacecraft ever sent to Mars.
    2001 - Apple Computer Inc. introduced the iPod portable digital music player.
    2002 - In Game 4 of the World Series, Barry Bonds is walked intentionally three times, setting a new record for a Fall Classic game. Angels starting pitcher John Lackey, who issues all the free passes to the Giants left fielder, does not factor in the decision in San Francisco's 4-3 victory at Pac Bell Park (now AT&T Stadium), which deadlocks the Series at two.
    2002 – In a poll of fans, sponsored by MLB and MasterCard, Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak being broken by Cal Ripken Jr. in 1995 is voted as baseball's most memorable moment. Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's all-time home run record, Jackie Robinson becoming the first black to play in Major League baseball, Mark McGwire breaking Roger Maris' single-season home run record and Lou Gehrig's farewell speech were also in the top five events selected by the fans.
    2005 - For 14th time in World Series history, a walk off home run ends Game 2 as Scott Podsednik's ninth inning blast at Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field beats the Astros, 7-6. In 1960, Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski was the first player to accomplish the feat as his game-winning homer makes the Pirates World Champions.
    2005 - On the verge of the first World Series game in Texas, much to the chagrin of the Astros, MLB rules Houston must play Game 3 of the Fall Classic with its Minute Maid Park roof open. During the regular season, the team had a much better record (38-17) when ballpark was enclosed than in games started in open air (15-11).
    2006 - Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling was convicted of 35 felony charges and sentenced to more than 24 years in prison for his role in the company's collapse.
World Series Champions

    1910 - Philadelphia Athletics
    1993 - Toronto Blue Jays

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