The “Dawn of Wine” Wins 2013
Wine Spectator Video Contest
--"Godzilla takes on Napa Valley and learns to love wine"

“Tina Termsomket's video reminds us why we love wine.”

Created by a young woman from Thailand and set in Napa Valley, “The Dawn of Wine” wins the Wine Spectator 2013 Wine Spectator Video Contest.

The film was made in collaboration with Chris Doran, owner/winemaker of J. Doran Vineyards, and shot at Juice Box Custom Crush in Napa Valley.

The Wine Spectator wrote: “Termsomket "met" Doran on Facebook (his initial reaction, ‘Wow, your country makes wine?!’) and pitched her video proposal to him (his immediate reaction was, ‘That sounds like a great idea!’). Termsomket said, ‘[Chris] always talks about how he learned wine. And his approach to wine is fun; there’s a giant disco ball in the winery’.”

Second Place (tie): Family biodynamics
Second Place (tie): A Taste of Life
Third Place: Urban Winery Investment
Fourth Place: Unearthing Chile

Video voting has all the 12 contestants:
http://www.winespectator.com/videovoting

Sorry our Ted Nugget did not wine for the report he ran on Leasing News June 2, 2011:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=BHaLW7TzOAc#t=0

Here are some of the readers’ comments who voted
for "Nugget News" on wine:

“I did vote for Ted – his was very clever.

“FYI - I have a strong Chilean connection (and an apartment in Santiago). My wife is Chilean and grew up in the middle of the wine growing country (literately wineries on all sides around her parents’ home). We have a lot of family there, including my 28 year old son. While I voted for Ted, I found the Chilean video most interesting.”

Neil Zobler
Catalyst Financial Group, Inc.

“OK...I voted for Nugget!”
David Silverman

“I love this guy!”
Dash Menkin

“I voted! A great video for those of us who appreciate wine!”
Edward Castagna

“Voted to the limit, thanks for the heads up.”
Bud Callahan

 

 

 

Classified Ads---Sales

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

Boston, Mass. Accomplished Sales & Relationship Management Professional with business development experience in the financial services industry. Recognized by market leaders as industry expert in Professional Practice financing, as well as Residential Mortgage Lending. Keen insight and understanding of transaction process and financial requirements of customer. Proven record of exceeding sales goals. deb.harold@hotmail.com

Central Coast of California, equipment financing sales, 25 years B2B small business sales, business development, vendor and program management, 10 years in broker business as owner, seeks opportunity to cover Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Kern and Fresno Counties or larger Western Region – experience with most equipment applications, travel welcomed.  Joe Friedling Paso Robles, CA joe@pecusainc.com 1-888-606-7300

Montgomery, AL Individual with 10 years advertising sales exp. & 7 years insurance sales exp. Wants independent contractor situation in Alabama. Work with leasing company or broker. 334-590-5133 E-mail: billmcneal2003@yahoo.com

 

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

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

 

 

 

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Colorado 100 Year Flood Affects Leasing Companies
Pawnee Leasing/BSB Leasing

The view on I-25 south of Fort Collins
(Photo: Trevor Hughes)

One of the main areas hit by the Colorado flood was Larimer County, who's county seat is Fort Collins, the location of Pawnee Leasing. Gary Souverein President & COO, was contacted and asked for a report:

Gary Souverein
President & COO

"Thanks for thinking of us. It has been an extraordinary long week in northern Colorado since last Monday when the rains began. Colorado gets its share of adverse weather but these rains, deemed of ‘biblical’ proportions, were something I've not seen in my 25 years here. I believe our rainfall totals were in the neighborhood of 15-20 inches, more than we typically get in a whole year. The devastation is concentrated around several rivers and canyons, including the Poudre River, which crosses through Fort Collins although many homes with basements experienced flooding damage.

"Fortunately, Pawnee Leasing's business location was not impacted however on Friday about 50% of our employees were unable to get to our office as every bridge in Fort Collins and many main roadways were closed, including I-25, the major interstate highway adjacent to our community due to the flood stage levels of the Poudre River. We appreciated our brokers patience, especially of Friday, when we experienced a shortage of personnel.

"The impacts of the flood stage of the Poudre and other waterways have destroyed countless bridges, roads, businesses, homes and most tragically several lives. As it was still raining heavily yesterday and has only stopped late this morning, I suspect we'll only begin to learn the extent of the damages around our community in the next several days as many areas have had road access, power, water and communication services cut-off from them. Seeing some of the damage to several roadways, it will be many months until they can be reconstructed.

"All of our employees are safe, a few had some minor flooding damage to their homes, two were in areas that were evacuated, one had family members that had to be airlifted and a few have family members that have lost entire homes in the flooding. Pawnee Leasing is considering ways to help the community and especially to help several of our employees family's recovery effort.

"Below is a short video link from our local news organization that was taken Saturday, the one day we had a break in the rain.

VIDEO: Aerial tour of Fort Collins and Loveland floods (To view the contents on www.coloradoan.com, go to:
Video link

Again, thanks for reaching out and do let your readers that we are still open and ready to fund their business!

Best,
Gary Souverein
President & COO

“There's definitely party atmosphere in Fort Collins today: w/no reported injuries, damage, people out sightseeing.”
(Photo: Trevor Hughes)

Don Myerson, President
BSB Leasing

"BSB and our staff were all lucky to escape the majority of the damage from the rains and flooding this past week in Colorado. The only casualty was our phone and internet service went down Thursday night and just came back up on Monday morning. Thank God that all of our people and their property came through unharmed."

Don Myerson
President
BSB Leasing, Inc.
Englewood, Colorado

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Steven Udavar-Hazy: Richest Man in Leasing
Says Forbes Top 400---Aircraft Leasing

Steven Udvar-Hazy, 67, Beverly Hills, California rises up the Forbes Top 400 list to $3.4 billion from $2.8 billion, but goes from 132 to 143 on the list as many of the rich got even richer.

"Left Budapest as a child, moved to New York. Entered aircraft business while still an undergraduate at UCLA; put together $1 million airplane deal for Air New Zealand senior year. With fellow Hungarians Louis and Leslie Gonda, used $150,000 savings and $1.7 million bank loan to start International Lease Finance Corp. Sold to AIG for $1.3 billion in stock in 1990; claims to have cashed out of AIG stock before stock plummeted. Recently announced plan of IPO for his new company Air Lease Corp that could raise up to $100m. Retired as ILFC chairman and chief executive in February; certified jet-pilot starting a new aircraft leasing business. Gives to Smithsonian."
http://www.forbes.com/profile/steven-udvar-hazy

ILFC was the nation's largest lessor and financier of jet aircraft.

They would place orders for jets way in advance often with no deposit, letting the airplane manufacture finance the transaction, and by choosing the right aircraft, often directing the marketplace, inflation and demand would push the selling price so far up that a lease or finance was even more attractive than a purchase.

Major sponsor of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum:
http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/

The National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

The latest Forbes Top 400 sets a record, Forbes said, and marks a jump from last year's total of $1.7 trillion. The average net worth of a Forbes 400 member is now $5 billion—also the highest ever. Many of them right here in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Forbe's 400 Richest in America
http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/

Youngest Billionaires
http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eimh45igdg/1-dustin-moskovitz/#gallerycontent

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Sales Makes it Happen by Steve Chriest

Work on the Mighty Middle

Anyone who has ever lead a team of employees, or an organization, knows the feeling of doing or saying something that deflates the morale of an employee or an entire team. This can happen in any segment of the business, but the sales organization is particularly vulnerable to morale deflation from well-intentioned - and old style - reward programs.

The natural tendency of most sales managers is to reward top performers. Elite salespeople often receive large bonuses, free trips and other rewards in recognition of their superior performance. While it is critical to recognize and reward extraordinary sales performance, doing so at the exclusion of a reward program for improved performance, even by the least productive, but willing performers, can devastate the morale of a sales team.

When managing a team of sales professionals, it is well advised for managers to become familiar with Constraint Theory. A simple example is an easy way to explain the theory. If you are coaching a team of Girl Scout runners, and your team is racing against four other teams of girl scouts, at what precise moment does the winning team of scouts win the race? The answer: When the last scout on the winning team crosses the finish line.

The fastest team in the race, then, is as fast as its slowest runner. To create an even faster racing team, an inexperienced coach might be tempted to spend the majority of coaching time on the team's fleetest runners. Constraint Theory teaches that improvement occurs only when constraints are eased or eliminated. It may be true that additional coaching might help fast runners become even faster, but coaching the slowest members of the team, and gaining even moderate improvement in their performance, will result in an overall faster team performance!

Neglecting what someone once called the "mighty middle" can be disastrous for a company. Not only does the company's attrition rate increase dramatically as middle performers sense that they are being ignored, but competitors gain an opportunity to develop these experienced salespeople who, after all, had the self-confidence and motivation to seek out employers who value their potential.

Becoming familiar with Constraint Theory is important for any sales manager. Understanding the theory brings sales managers to the realization that the only thing worse than losing all your top talent is losing your "mighty middle." Working hard to improve the less talented, less productive - but willing - team members will make the most difference in the team's overall performance.

No matter what you do, the top 10-15% performers are going to succeed, and the bottom 5-10% will generally underperform, again no matter what you do. That leaves the middle 75-85% of the team that, in my view delivers the most return on the invested time to help them improve. If that 75-85% improves just 5% each, the performance of the entire team is improved significantly.

About the author: Steve Chriest is the founder of Selling UpTM (www.selling-up.com), a sales consulting firm specializing in sales improvement for organizations of all types and sizes in a variety of industries. He is also the author of Selling The E-Suite, The Proven System for Reaching and Selling Senior Executives and Five Minute Financial Analyst, Basic CREDIT & Analysis Tools for Non-Accountants. He was the CEO of a very successful leasing company and executive at a major company. You can reach Steve at schriest@selling-up.com.

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How Maxim Commercial Credit Works to Help Clients

The Situation

A mortgage broker representing the owners of a 20-year-old gas station and convenience store came to Maxim looking for a $2.2M Bridge Loan to pay off the existing mortgage and satisfy $630,000 in tax liens and other back payments caused by a second non-performing gas station they had closed a couple years ago. The Debtors had an attractive first mortgage but were paying almost $15,000 per month on the tax lien plus the payment on the first mortgage. The customers had tried for over a year to refinance their $3MM property, but could not qualify for a conventional loan due to their tax issues.

The Solution

Instead of paying off the attractively priced first mortgage, Maxim structured a $630,000 bridge loan for the customers to pay off IRS lien and real estate taxes using the gas pumps, tanks and FF&E in the convenience store as well as a second position lien on the commercial property. By accepting Maxim’s offer, the business was able to pay off the liens and qualify for the refinance with a traditional lender. By taking on the Bridge Loan the customer increased long-term cash flow by over $10,000 per month.

The Source

“We spent over a year looking for a bank refi on our mortgage. It just didn’t work. Maxim helped us get our money situation back in order, and the money saved each month has allowed us to reinvest in our business.

-Brian B., Gas Station Owner

Mae Philpott
mae@maximcc.com

Why I Became a CLP

Russell Wilder, CLP
EVP, Chief Credit Officer
ATEL Capital Group, Inc.

At the time I took the CLP exam it was 1990 and the CLP designation was pretty new. I had been an active attendee to many WAEL (Western Association of Equipment Lessors -now known as National Equipment Finance Association) events from 1985-1989 when I ran a small ticket leasing operation for Fireside Thrift Co., which was and still is, primarily a consumer lending outfit.

About the middle of 1989 Fireside's ownership structure was changed. What was formerly a subsidiary of Teledyne, Inc. became a subsidiary of a new holding company spun off from Teledyne that had a bunch of finance and insurance firms Teledyne had acquired over the years. Shortly thereafter the senior honchos at the new holding company parent visited Fireside's headquarters where my office was located and discovered that the largest branch (in terms of loans on the books) of Fireside Thrift was in fact a business equipment financing operation. As there were some recent changes in our regulatory environment from the state, as part of some refocusing of Fireside's operations it was decided to shut down my operation as my operation was like a square peg trying to fit into a pegboard with round holes.

After my severance from Fireside Thrift at the end of 1989 and spending a couple of months trying to find a new job I started laying the groundwork to become a lease broker. As Fireside Thrift had exited the business they let me take the entire contact list of every lessee we had ever dealt with in the nearly five years I was there so I thought I would have a good start on the marketing side. At the time I thought having the CLP designation would give me more credibility in developing potential funding sources at least, if not my customer base. I signed up to take the CLP exam.

Back then the CLP Handbook had not been developed yet but WAEL did run a one or two day cram course for the exam and I flew down to southern California to take it. This was a useful course, especially on the use of the HP 12C. While I had by then been in the equipment financing and leasing industry twelve years on the credit, documentation, collection and other operations end I had never been on the sales side and really had very little experience doing lease pricing as I had mostly just been "PVing" rental streams on leases discounted to Fireside Thrift or my prior employers.

The exam itself was like taking three blue book finals in college all in the same day. My writing hand was very fatigued by the end of the exams.

After getting the CLP designation I tried brokering leases and learning the sales side. I believe having the CLP designation was useful in lining up potential funding sources when I was getting the brokering operation set up as I did not have much trouble getting approved by any.

I was not successful as a broker though. Primarily this was because I had no training in sales. Also my timing of entry was poor as Gulf War I had broken out in August 1990 and the economy went into a mild recession. Firms I contacted were not acquiring new equipment unless they absolutely had to.

While brokering deals I was still trying to get full time employment with an equipment financing or leasing firm or a bank. By the early 1990s many of the firms that had branches in the Bay Area that competed with my former employers in the equipment financing industry (Westinghouse Credit Corporation, Wells Fargo Leasing Corporation) had either closed down their offices in the Bay Area entirely or vastly reduced the headcounts here to just sales offices so there was much less opportunity in the area than when I had started in 1978.

I think I was able to get maybe two or three interviews with equipment leasing or financing firms in two years. To any of them that were WAEL members at the time, I think having the CLP designation was a plus. In reality, I did not get any job offers as nearly all the firms I spoke with ended up closing their offices in the Bay Area in the next year or two.

I suspect the senior management of those offices became aware of the likelihood of their closing down in the near future while I was in the interview process.

I also applied to banks as I figured my credit and collections experience would be transferable skills and experience to a bank's commercial or corporate lending groups, especially since I had undergone one formal training program while at Wells Fargo Leasing Corporation that was designed for the bank's commercial and corporate lending groups.

What I found though was that banks by and large did not want to talk to me. My perception was that bankers did not understand leasing and did not see how anyone with a leasing background had experience applicable to their needs. My having the CLP designation meant nothing to any banks I was able to interview with. To say the least, I was getting pretty discouraged, and was barely making a living as a lease broker. Trying to move from credit into sales was not working for me, and maybe those who I was interviewing with thought that was what I really wanted to do. It wasn't.

Ultimately, after a few months of "off and on" conversations with ATEL founder AJ Batt, who was quite a unique man, I joined ATEL in the fall of 1992.

The CLP designation has always meant something to me as I have renewed it now two or three times. When ATEL was actively in the small ticket market the packages I received from brokers that had the CLP got a bit more consideration from me as they were clearly more complete, organized and otherwise more professionally packaged than most submissions via brokers. I think more leasing professionals having the CLP would definitely improve the overall caliber of professionalism within the industry and any serious broker should seek the designation.

CLPs in Good Standing
http://www.clpfoundation.org/members/members.php

Why I Became a CLP series:
http://www.leasingnews.org/CLP/Index.htm

 

Working Capital Loans $10,000-$250,000
www.channelpartnersllc.com p: (763) 746-7760 f: (763) 592-8297 information@channelpartnersllc.com

 

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

Steven E. Byrnes to Head The Alta Group’s
New Application Consulting Practice

New Managing Director

RENO, Nev., -- Steven E. Byrnes, who has provided business transformation services for more than 50 of the world’s largest lending and leasing companies, has joined The Alta Group to lead its new application consulting practice, Alta CEO John C. Deane announced. Prior to becoming a managing director at Alta, Byrnes was a principal and leader of Capgemini’s North American Diversified Lending practice.

The timing of Alta’s new practice reflects the increased emphasis on leveraging operations and technology to achieve the primary business objectives of equipment leasing and asset finance companies. Byrnes said the application consulting practice guides clients from strategy through to execution, with business solutions and supporting technologies. Specific services include business practice review and re-engineering; business process transformation; information technology (IT) assessment and strategy; and system selection, implementation, and process optimization.

John C. Deane, CEO

“Alta has always been viewed primarily as a strategic consulting firm. With new practices, including application consulting, we are responding to our clients’ requests that we combine that superior strategic perspective and experience, with tactical services,” Deane noted.

He cited Byrnes’ professional background as integral to launching the newest practice. Earlier in his career, Byrnes held senior management positions at Blackwell Consulting, was one of the founders of Northern Consulting, and was employed by LINC Capital, Newcourt Financial and the Bank of Ireland. He is active in the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) and is a frequent industry speaker and author.

“My goal is to apply my global financial services background to help customers transform their businesses efficiently, and profitably,” Byrnes said.

About The Alta Group
The Alta Group is the leading global consultancy focused on equipment leasing and asset finance. Since 1992, Alta has represented equipment leasing and finance companies, financial institutions, manufacturers and service providers, offering management consulting and expertise in global market entry, vendor and captive finance, professional development, legal support services, asset management, and mergers and acquisitions. For more information on the group’s services in the United States and Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, China, and Asia-Pacific, please visit http://www.thealtagroup.com.

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

Top Ten in Burger Brand Quick Services
QSRmagazine.com

In 2012, Chick-fil-A surpassed KFC to become the best-selling chicken chain, Jimmy John’s and Five Guys joined the billion-dollar-brands club, and fast-growing Wingstop and Moe’s Southwest Grill climbed into the limited-service industry’s upper echelon for the first time. McDonald’s, meanwhile, maintained its stranglehold on the No. 1 position, nearly tripling runner-up Subway’s domestic sales. Dig deep into the data driving the quick-service and fast-casual restaurant industries with this year’s QSR 50.

Note the fastest growing burger franchise "Five Guys Burgers & Fries:"

• Contract Negotiations • Fraud Investigations  • Credit Investigations • Skip-tracing  • Third-party Commercial Collections John Kenny  Receivables Management For flat fee or commissions basis  john@jkrmdirect.com | ph 315-866-1167| www.jkrmdirect.com

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

 

 

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The World’s Largest Automakers
By Douglas A. McIntyre, Thomas C. Frohlich and Alexander E.M. Hess
237Wallst.com

10.
Renault
Vehicles produced: 2,676,226
1-yr. change: -5.3%
Cars produced: 2,302,769 (10th most)
LCV produced: 373,457 (9th most)

9.
Suzuki
Vehicles produced: 2,893,602
1-yr. change: +6.2%
Cars produced: 2,483,721 (9th most)
LCV produced: 409,881 (8th most)

8.
Peugeot
Vehicles produced: 2,911,764
1-yr. change: -18.7%
Cars produced: 2,554,059 (8th most)
LCV produced: 357,705 (10th most)

7.
Honda
Vehicles produced: 4,110,857
1-yr. change: +41.3%
Cars produced: 4,078,376 (5th most)
LCV produced: 32,481 (29th most)

6.
Nissan
Vehicles produced: 4,889,379
1-yr. change: +5.6%
Cars produced: 3,830,954 (6th most)
LCV produced: 1,022,974 (5th most)

5.
Ford
Vehicles produced: 5,595,483
1-yr. change: +1.4%
Cars produced: 3,123,340 (7th most)
LCV produced: 2,394,221 (2nd most)

4.
Hyundai
Vehicles produced: 7,126,413
1-yr. change: +7.7%
Cars produced: 6,761,074 (3rd most)
LCV produced: 279,579 (13th most)

3.
Volkswagen
Vehicles produced: 9,254,742
1-yr. change: +8.6%
Cars produced: 8,576,964 (the most)
LCV produced: 486,544 (7th most)

2.
GM
Vehicles produced: 9,285,425
1-yr. change: +2.8%
Cars produced: 6,608,567 (4th most)
LCV produced: 2,658,612 (the most)

1.
Toyota
Vehicles produced: 10,104,424
1-yr. change: +25.5%
Cars produced: 8,381,968 (2nd most)
LCV produced: 1,448,107 (4th most)

Note: The most produced cars is Volkswagen, Toyota second, Hyundai is third, GM is four. Including light vehicles such as SUVs and pickups, Toyota is first, GM moves up to second and VW drops to third.

Full Story:

http://247wallst.com/special-report/2013/09/13/the-worlds-largest-automakers/

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

 

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Classified ads—Software

Leasing Industry Outsourcing
(Providing Services and Products)

Software: Edmonds, WA Preferred Broker Solutions offers software support (also custom templates & reports) for the System 1 and CapitalStream Advantage products. Ask about our Web Application interface. E-mail:support@pbs4u.com

SalonBooker is a leading provider of web-based salon management software that improves every aspect of a salon’s client experience, drives more appointments, and increases profitability. Accessible from any internet enabled device, our platform enables salons to manage operations efficiently while promoting their services and capturing clients through new marketing channels. http://www.salonbooker.com/

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

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

Labrador Retriever
Fort Collins, Colorado Adopt-a-Dog

Kip
Age:2 years 11 months 21 days
Sex: Male
Size: Large
Color: Black
Neutered
Housetrained Unknown

 

Site: Animal House Rescue & Grooming
Location: Adoption Floor
Intake Date:9/9/2013

“Kip is a fantastic dog!! He is a very handsome boy with soulful eyes that will melt your heart. He has a wonderfully sweet and kind disposition with everyone he meets - adults, kids, and other dogs. He is well behaved and very gentle. He would make a great walking, hiking, or running buddy.”

Animal House Rescue & Grooming
1104 W. Vine (at Shields)
Ft. Collins, CO 80521
Tele: (970) 224-DOGS (3647)
Fax: (970) 221-DOGS
Email: http://www.animalhousehelp.org/contact.php
Adoption Hours
Monday - Friday: 11:00 am - 5:30 pm
Saturday - Sunday: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

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

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

 

News Briefs----

FDIC Filing More Suits Against Leaders of Failed Banks

U.S Bank Expands Mobile Banking Offering Western Union Partnership

Manufacturing sales in Canada rose in July

Second, larger Dreamliner model makes first flight

Adobe’s Profit Falls 59 Percent, but Cloud Subscribers Jump

GM working on 200-mile electric car, exec says

Congressional Black Caucus Foundation invests $5 million in black-owned banks

Eiji Toyoda, car family scion who developed Corolla and Lexus, dies

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--You May Have Missed It

iPhone 5S's Powerful New Chip Could Spawn Next-Gen Apps

[headlines]
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SparkPeople--Live Healthier and Longer

15 Comfort Foods that are Good for You
Feel Better While Staying Healthy

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Baseball Poem

If I were the teacher

If I were the teacher
My students would confirm
I spend all day talking about
Important things to learn:

Math
    Statistics, Batting Averages and
    the confusing ERA.

History
    Who invented baseball?
    Was it really Doubleday?

Biology
    How does photosynthesis affect
    the left field grass.

Spelling
    "Nite Game" is
    close enough to pass.

English
    Never say, he slided";
    Always say, "he slid."

Geography
    Which country has a ballpark
    next to a pyramid?

If I were the teacher
My students would confirm
They spend all day hearing about
Important things to learn.

Written by Dan Zamudio,
“Catcher in the Wry,” baseball poems,
published by McFarland & Compan

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Sports Briefs----

Michael Vick: Reid great man, coach

Together at last: 49ers sign Harbaugh favorite, Owen Marecic

49ers flaws were exposed Sunday and the rest of the league was watching

Colts Quarterback Andrew Luck Dumps Gatorade for a Stake in Upstart Bodyarmor

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California Nuts Briefs---

San Jose: Cisco sells eight buildings in north San Jose

 

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“Gimme that Wine”

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

Your bottle of fine corked wine have bouquet of a wet dog? Here's why

Wine Grape Harvest Picks Up in Sonoma County

It's Harvest Time in Wine Country

Cascadia Winery closes

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

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

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

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

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

    1502 - Christopher Columbus landed at Costa Rica on his 4th & last voyage. He would retire a very wealthy man. 
    1634-The first religious leader in the American colonies who was a woman was Anne Hutchinson, born Anne Marbury in England. She and her family arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony this day. She organized groups of women who met at her house and led them in the discussion of secular and theological questions. She taught that each person could attain understanding in matters of faith and therefore owed no obedience to church law. Her influence became so great that in November, 1687, she was brought to trial in Cambridge for undermining the authority of the colony's Puritan ministers. Banished from the colony, she was given a safe haven in Roger William's settlement ( the future Providence, RI() along with 70 followers. In 1642, she moved to the wilderness near what is now Pelham Bay, NY, where she and her family were killed by Native Americans.
    1769-The first harpsichord piano was made by john Harris. It was called a spinet and was described in the Boston Gazette this day. I that only three or four octaves. Each jack was provided with a little spur of goose-quill that plucked the thin wire to cause vibration. It became very popular in many
New England homes and churches.
    1790-The first loan taken out by the US was negotiated and secured by Alexander Hamilton.. After beginning negotiations with the Bank of New York and the Bank of North America on Sept 18, 1789, Hamilton obtained the sum of $191,608.81 from the two banks in what became known as the Temporary Loan of 1789. The loan was obtained without authority of law and was used to pay the salaries of the president, senators, representatives and officers of the first Congress. Repayment was completed on June 8,1790. He leased his office furniture and gas Dictaphone ( this was before
electricity) from Charlie Lester.
    1793- President George Washington laid the Capitol cornerstone at Washington, DC, in a Masonic ceremony. That event was the first and last recorded occasion at which the stone with its engraved silver plate was seen. In 1958, during the extension of the east front of the Capitol, an unsuccessful effort was made to find it.
    1830- In a widely celebrated race, the first locomotive build in America, the Tom Thumb, lost to a horse in a famous race. Mechanical difficulties plagued the steam engine over the nine-mile course between Riley's Tavern and Baltimore, Maryland, and a boiler leak prevented the locomotive from finishing the race. In the early days of trains, engines were nicknamed "Iron Horse." People in the 19th century were opposed to change, and inventions took thirty to forty years before they were put in place, even though labor saving devices. Industries were also intertwined with company owned stores, houses, other retail businesses. The attitude at the time of this race
was steam locomotive would never replace the horse, which was faster, more mobile, and " user friendly." Why do we need a “rail road?” 
    1850- After long debates and failure to pass the omnibus bill, Congress passed Fugitive Slave Law as part of the compromise of 1850 in separate bills. It was supposed to cool down the growing differences between those opposing slavery and those that owned slaves, but according to historians, the bill was instrumental in dividing the sides as but did not as the law had slave catchers were only paid for slaves they caught: Northerners did not enforce their part of the Fugitive Slave Law; They did not catch or return any run-away slaves; This angered the South. Reason the North turned against Slavery: They saw slaves captured - (men, women, and children);They were chained and marched through the streets this angered northerners and turned them against slavery; People in the north did not like immigrants; They said that they lost jobs to these foreigners. They even started political parties against immigrants. People in the north did not want slaves or immigrants in their part of the country as it cost them jobs.
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0813116.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2951.html
    1851 - "The New York Times" began publishing “All the News That's Fit to Print.” The "Times" now owns other media, such radio, TV, cable and the Internet. Their edition on September 11, 2002, was one of the best ever. Perhaps the most well written newspaper in the United States.
    1863- Battle of Chickamauga, Tenn (near Chattanooga) begins; Union retreat 
http://www2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/battles/ga004.htm
http://ngeorgia.com/history/chickam.html
http://www.dean.usma.edu/history/dhistorymaps
    1889-Hull House Opens. This settlement house was founded in Chicago by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. It soon became the heart of one of the country's most influential social reform movements, offering a mix of cultural and education programs to new immigrants.
    1891- “White Woman” Harriet Maxwell Converse was made a chief of the Six Nations Tribe at the Tonawanda Reservation, NY. She was given the name Ga-is-wa-noh, which means “The Watcher.” She had been adopted as a member of the Seneca tribe in 1884 in appreciation of her efforts on behalf of the tribe. 
    1895- Booker T. Washington delivered his famous "Atlanta Compromise" speech at the opening of the Cotton States and International Exhibition in Atlanta, Georgia. Washington, the founder and president of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, was the first African-American man ever to address a racially-mixed Southern audience. He used the occasion to advocate a moderate approach to race relations in the New South.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/sep18.html
    1905-Birthday of Agnes DeMille, dancer, choreographer for ballet and Broadway shows such as Oklahoma, born at New York, NY. DeMille died at New York, NY. Oct 7, 1993.
http://kennedy-center.org/programs/specialevents/honors/history
/honoree/demille.html
    1905- Greta Garbo birthday, Swedish-American actor of the almost perfect face, and one of the great stars of cinema. She made 24 films in Hollywood and was nominated for Academy Awards four times. She was finally awarded a special Academy award in 1954 "for her unforgettable screen performances." Although she retired in 1941 to live in seclusion in New York, the papparzi continued to chase her and the gossip newspapers printed photos of her when she was in her 70s and 80s - even while swimming. She hated making movies and condemned their superficialities as well as the burden of being portrayed a beautiful thing rather than a human being. Greta Gustafsson left school at 14 to work after her father died. A film director saw her, admired her beauty and gave her a small part in a movie. She then studied at the Royal Dramatic Theater School in Stockholm for two years where she met Mauritz Stiller, the foremost Swedish film director of his time who renamed her Garbo. When he went to the United States to work for MGM, he took her along. Garbo's fame soon eclipsed his. One of the few stars who were able to move from silent films to talkies, she made The Torrent (1926), Flesh and the Devil (1927), Love (1927), A Woman of Affairs (1929), and Wild Orchids (1929). Garbo starred in "talkies" for the next 14 years before walking away from movies, some say because her box office draw was dwindling, others because she was aging and didn't want the world to watch the process. Others noted her hatred of the Hollywood superficiality. The Hollywood publicists blared "Garbo Talks!" as she starred in her first talkie, Anna Christie (1930), followed by Mata Hari (1932), Grand Hotel (1932), Queen Christina (1933), Anna Karenina (1935), Camille (1936), and Ninotchka (1939). She died in New York City on April 15, 1990. Yes, she was a lesbian rather than a bi-sexual. Ironically, Marlene Dietrich who was brought to the U.S. as a rival to Garbo was a bi-sexual who, in private life, also played the rival to several of Garbo's women lovers. "I said I wanted to be left alone, not I want to be alone. There is a great difference," Garbo explained about the misquote that is universally attributed to her.
http://www.bombshells.com/gallery/garbo/
http://www.lynnpdesign.com/classicmovies/garbo/
    1910- birthday of Samuel “Sam” Bankhead, baseball player and manager born at Empire, AL. Bankhead starred for several teams in the Negro Leagues from 1930 to 1950., In 1951, he became organized baseball's first black manager handling the Farnham team in the Provincial League. Died at Pittsburgh, PA, July 24, 1976. 
    1914- Mrs. Frank Leslie, aka Baroness de Bazus, aka Miriam Florence Folline Leslie, died and her amazing will changes the course of history in the U.S. She bequeathed $2 million to Carrie Chapman Catt personally to get woman's suffrage approved in the U.S.! After legal battles that seemed to go on forever and caused Catt to remark that the money seemed to be more of a curse than a boon, Catt received about $900,000 - the rest eaten up by legal fees by family members trying to break the will.Catt put it all - every cent - into the Leslie publicity bureau which sent suffrage material to newspapers, magazines, and activists in a snow of information that turned a stalled movement into an avalanche of pressure. Would U.S. women gotten the vote without Leslie's money? Eventually, but history (read correctly) showed that even with the tremendous amount of pressure exerted by women, the results came down to ONE VOTE in the Tennessee legislature. Had that one vote not been cast for suffrage, the entire movement would have been stopped because a number of states were poised to rescind their favorable vote. One must remember that lifting any restrictions on women's freedom breaks one of the oldest of all prejudices reinforced by almost every religion, that of men have the right and duty to keep women, by force if necessary, as subservient slaves. Most sources simply state the donation by a Mrs. Frank Leslie and one is left to surmise that it was the will of pampered wife who didn't even lay claim to her own name and used HIS money for HER causes. But nothing could be further from the truth. Miriam changed her name to Frank legally after she was left a widow with bankrupt businesses. Through shrewd business dealings, she rebuilt what was left of her husband's publishing empire into the fortune.
http://www.undelete.org/library/library010-part1.html
http://www.undelete.org/library/library010-part4.html
http://fancyephemera.com/bsmdoll2.html#MRSFRANKLESLIE
http://www.thegavel.net/2014.html
    1927- the Columbia Broadcasting System was launched in the United States. Many of the radio network's programs originated at station WOR in New York. My late father Lawrence Menkin the late 1940's was station manager of WOR radio, and then worked for WOR-TV in the 1949 and early 1950's introducing “Harlem Detective,” “Hands of Murder,” and “One Man Theater.” He then went to work for DuMont TV, introducing these shows there, plus a new one, he is best known for, “Captain Video and the Space Rangers.” By the way, NBC was the first network. “The Tiffany Network,” as CBS was called, broadcast an opera, "The King's Henchman", as its first program. William S. Paley put the network together, purchasing a chain of 16 failing radio stations. The controlling interest cost between $250,000 and $450,000. The following year, the 27-year-old Paley became President of CBS. It only took one more year for him to profit 2.35 million dollars as the network grew to over 70 stations.
    1938-Birthday of drummer Walter “Popee” Lastie, New Orleans, LA. Best known for playing drums with Fats Domino, but his family well-known in musical circles in New Orleans. Walter "Popee" Lastie died in New Orleans, LA. at the age of 42.
http://publications.neworleans.com/no_magazine/34.1
2.34-MusicRhthym.html
http://www.wandarouzan.com/html/the_band.html
    1939-Birthday of former teen idol-singer-actor Frankie Avalon (Venus),
Philadelphia, PA. 
    1939-Saxophonist Steve Marcus Birthday
http://shopping.yahoo.com/shop?d=product&id=1927
006985&clink=dmmu.artist&a=b
    1940- Will Bradley records “Scrub Me, Mama, with a Boogie Beat,” ( sequel to Beat Me, Daddy recorded four months earlier.
    1944-Birthday of singer and songwriter Michael Franks, born in La Jolla, California. His pop-jazz tunes have been recorded by such artists as the Carpenters, Melissa Manchester and Manhattan Transfer. Franks's own albums have been moderately popular, and usually feature well-known backing musicians. For instance, he was aided on his 1976 LP "The Art of Tea" by the Crusaders. In the late 1960's, Franks spent some time at the University of Montreal, where he obtained a master's degree in contemporary culture. While in Canada, he opened shows for Gordon Lightfoot and played with the groups Carnival and Lighthouse.
    1944--JACKSON, ARTHUR J. Medal of Honor Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division. Place and date: Island of Peleliu in the Palau group, 18 September 1944. Entered service at: Oregon. Born: 18 October 1924, Cleveland Ohio. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on the Island of Peleliu in the Palau group, 18 September 1944. Boldly taking the initiative when his platoon's left flank advance was held up by the fire of Japanese troops concealed in strongly fortified positions, Pfc. Jackson unhesitatingly proceeded forward of our lines and, courageously defying the heavy barrages, charged a large pillbox housing approximately 35 enemy soldiers. Pouring his automatic fire into the opening of the fixed installation to trap the occupying troops, he hurled white phosphorus grenades and explosive charges brought up by a fellow marine, demolishing the pillbox and killing all of the enemy. Advancing alone under the continuous fire from other hostile emplacements, he employed similar means to smash 2 smaller positions in the immediate vicinity. Determined to crush the entire pocket of resistance although harassed on all sides by the shattering blasts of Japanese weapons and covered only by small rifle parties, he stormed 1 gun position after another, dealing death and destruction to the savagely fighting enemy in his inexorable drive against the remaining defenses, and succeeded in wiping out a total of 12 pillboxes and 50 Japanese soldiers. Stouthearted and indomitable despite the terrific odds. Pfc. Jackson resolutely maintained control of the platoon's left flank movement throughout his valiant 1-man assault and, by his cool decision and relentless fighting spirit during a critical situation, contributed essentially to the complete annihilation of the enemy in the southern sector of the island. His gallant initiative and heroic conduct in the face of extreme peril reflect the highest credit upon Pfc. Jackson and the U.S. Naval Service. 
    1944--OHNSON, OSCAR G. Medal of Honor Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company B, 363d Infantry, 91st Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Scarperia, Italy, 16-18 September 1944. Entered service at: Foster City, Mich. Birth: Foster City, Mich. G.O. No.: 58, 19 July 1945. Citation: (then Pfc.) He practically single-handed protected the left flank of his company's position in the offensive to break the German's gothic line. Company B was the extreme left assault unit of the corps. The advance was stopped by heavy fire from Monticelli Ridge, and the company took cover behind an embankment. Sgt. Johnson, a mortar gunner, having expended his ammunition, assumed the duties of a rifleman. As leader of a squad of 7 men he was ordered to establish a combat post 50 yards to the left of the company to cover its exposed flank. Repeated enemy counterattacks, supported by artillery, mortar, and machinegun fire from the high ground to his front, had by the afternoon of 16 September killed or wounded all his men. Collecting weapons and ammunition from his fallen comrades, in the face of hostile fire, he held his exposed position and inflicted heavy casualties upon the enemy, who several times came close enough to throw hand grenades. On the night of 1617 September, the enemy launched his heaviest attack on Company B, putting his greatest pressure against the lone defender of the left flank. In spite of mortar fire which crashed about him and machinegun bullets which whipped the crest of his shallow trench, Sgt. Johnson stood erect and repulsed the attack with grenades and small arms fire. He remained awake and on the alert throughout the night, frustrating all attempts at infiltration. On 17 September, 25 German soldiers surrendered to him. Two men, sent to reinforce him that afternoon, were caught in a devastating mortar and artillery barrage. With no thought of his own safety, Sgt. Johnson rushed to the shell hole where they lay half buried and seriously wounded, covered their position by his fire, and assisted a Medical Corpsman in rendering aid. That night he secured their removal to the rear and remained on watch until his company was relieved. Five companies of a German paratroop regiment had been repeatedly committed to the attack on Company B without success. Twenty dead Germans were found in front of his position. By his heroic stand and utter disregard for personal safety, Sgt. Johnson was in a large measure responsible for defeating the enemy's attempts to turn the exposed left flank. 
    1947- the US Air Force was officially established. Although its heritage dates back to 1907 when the Army first established military aviation, the US Air Force became a separate military service on this date. Responsible for providing an Air Force that is capable, in conjunction with the other armed forces, of preserving the peace and security of the US, the department is separately organized under the Secretary of the Air Force and operates under the authority, direction and control of the Secretary of Defense.
    1948 - "The Original Amateur Hour" returned to radio on ABC, two years after the passing of the program's originator and host, Major Bowes. Bowes brought new star talent into living rooms for 13 years. Ted Mack, the new host, had also started a TV run with "The Original Amateur Hour" on the DuMont network in January of 1948. 
    1949- Montreal-born jazz pianist Oscar Peterson made a sensational debut at Carnegie Hall as a surprise guest at a Jazz at the Philharmonic concert. The producer of Jazz at the Philharmonic, Norman Granz, had planted Peterson in the audience and had him come on stage midway through the event. Granz became Peterson's manager, an association that was to last 30 years. 
    1949- Montreal-born jazz pianist Oscar Peterson made a sensational debut at Carnegie Hall as a surprise guest at a Jazz at the Philharmonic concert. The producer of Jazz at the Philharmonic, Norman Granz, had planted Peterson in the audience and had him come on stage midway through the event. Granz became Peterson's manager, an association that was to last 30 years. 
    !950- “The Speidel Show” premiered, and became one of my favorite television
shows. Ventriloquist Paul Winchell was featured with his dummies, Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smith,, on this NBC comedy-variety series which ran for four years. Dorothy Claire, Hilda Vaughn and Jimmy Blame also made appearances on the show, which included the quiz segment “What's My Name?” Winchell later hosted a variety of programs such as “Circus Time,” “The Paul Winchell Show,” “CartoOnieS,” “Winchell and Mahoney Time” and “Runaround.” The Jerry Mahoney puppet was very popular and I had one, actually appearing in school shows with a comedy routine when I was
eight and nine years old.
    1952---Top Hits
Wish You Were Here - Eddie Fisher
Auf Wiedersehn, Sweetheart - Vera Lynn
Half as Much - Rosemary Clooney
Jambalaya (On the Bayou) - Hank Williams
    1955 - What had been "The Toast of the Town" on CBS Television (since 1948) became "The Ed Sullivan Show". This “rilly big shew” remained a mainstay of Sunday night television until June 6, 
    1961-15 year old English actress Hayley Mills sees her US debut recording "Let's Get Together" enter the Billboard charts, where it will reach #8.
    1961-Bobby Vee scores his third US top ten hit and his only number one with "Take Good Care Of My Baby."
    1971- Sullivan was a newspaper columnist/critic before and during the early years of this pioneering TV show. It was one of the most popular, introducing many stars including Elvis Presley, the
Beatles, and the home town boy of Port Chester, New York was not only famous, but
powerful, as if you appeared on his show, your career was sure to take off.
    1957 - "The Big Record", hosted by ‘the singing rage', Miss Patti Page, debuted on CBS-TV. "The Big Record" was a live musical showcase featuring established artists singing their big songs. "The Big Record" lasted one big season. 
    1957-“Wagon Train,” premiered on television. My father Lawrence Menkin wrote many of the
epos ides, plus contributed stories and “treatments” on the growth of the characters. This was a popular Western on both NBC and ABC, airing for eight years with its last telecast September 5, 1965. The series was about a journey along the wagon trial from Missouri to California. Each Week the travelers encountered new surroundings and interacted with different guest stars. Ward Bond played wagon master Major Seth Adams until his death in 1960. He was replaced by John McIntire as Chris Hale. and other regulars were Robert Horton as scout Flint McCullough, Frank McGrath as cook, Charlie Wooster, Terry Will as Bill Hawks, Danny(Scott) Miller as scout Luke Shannon, Michael Burns as Baraby West, a teen passenger and Robert Fuller as scout Cooper.
    1960-On his twenty-first birthday, Frankie Avalon is given $600,000 that he earned as a minor.
    1960---Top Hits
It's Now or Never - Elvis Presley
The Twist - Chubby Checker
My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own - Connie Francis
Alabam - Cowboy Copas
    1963- "The Outer Limits" premiers on TV. You may be getting tired of this inclusion, however, my father Lawrence Menkin wrote several of the episodes and provided story lines for others.
http://www.theouterlimits.com/noflash/episode.html. 
He came to Hollywood right after the War, didn't like it, did some movie work for Barbara Streisand, didn't like it, went back to New York City, where he was very well known locally, left for Hollywood TV in 1955 and stayed very active for ten years, the basically retired and taught at San Francisco State College and had his own actors/comedy workshop, while he worked on books (that were
never published ).
    1964- “The Addams Family” premiered on TV. Charles Addams' quirky New Yorker cartoon creations were brought to life in this ABC sitcom about a family full of oddballs. John Astin played lawyer Gomez Addams, with Carolyn Jones as his morbid wife Morticia, Ken Weatherwax as son Pugsley, Lisa Loring as daughter Wednesday, Jackie Coogan as Uncle Fester, Ted Cassidy as both Lurch, the butler, and Thing, a disembodied hand, Blossom Rock as Grandmama and Felix Silla as Cousin Itt. Although the last episode aired Sept 2,1966, The Addams Family movie was released in 1991, starring Anjelica Huston as Morticia, Raul Julia as Gomez, Christopher Lloyd as Uncle Fester, Jimmy Workman as Pugsley and Christina Ricci as Wednesday.
    1965-Priemer of TV Show “ Get Smart,” a spay-thriller spoof appearing on both NBC (1965-69) and CBS (1969-70.) Don Adams starred ass bumbling CONTROL Agent 86, Maxwell Smart. His mission was thwart the evildoings of the KAOS organization. Agent Smart was usually successful with the held of his friends, Barbara Feldon as Agent 99 ( whom Smart eventually married), Edward Platt as the Chief, Robert Karvelas as Agent Larrabee, Dick Gautier as Hymie the Robot and David Ketchum as Agent 13. Gimmicks included agents in garbage cans that you did not see, the “Cone of Silence” so no one could wire tape the conversations, a telephone in the sole of a shoe ( way before wireless the size of a cigarette pack) and no one was shot or killed ( remember, it was a comedy ).
    1965 - Larry Hagman (Captain Tony Nelson) and Barbara Eden (Jeannie) starred in the first episode of "I Dream of Jeannie" on NBC-TV. Capt. Nelson had been forced to make a parachute landing on a desert island. He happened upon an old bottle that had washed up on the shore. He popped the top and - bingo! Out popped Jeannie, a 2000-year-old, very pretty genie. Jeannie took to Tony and started making weekly magic that lasted until September 1, 1970. 
    1966 - Herb Alpert's European tour culminated in a performance before Princess Grace and the royal family in Monaco. From Washington to the Riviera, it seemed that no place was out of place for Alpert's ‘Ameriachi' sound. 
    1967- the popular soap opera “Love Is a Many Splendored Thing” premiered. It was created by veteran writer lrna Phillips, airing on CBS for five years. It was based on the 1955 film starring William Holden and Jennifer Jones. line Phillips left the show after the network nixed interracial romance in favor of political storylines. David Birney, Leslie Charleson, Bibi Besch and Donna Mills have all appeared on the show.
    1968---Top Hits
People Got to Be Free - The Rascals
Harper Valley P.T.A. - Jeannie C. Riley
1,2,3, Red Light - 1910 Fruitgum Co.
Mama Tried - Merle Haggard
    1969- Tiny Tim announced his engagement to Vicki Budinger at the New Jersey State Fair. The falsetto-voiced singer said he was so moved, he shed a tear and put it into an envelope that he kept in his ukulele. The wedding took place live on Johnny Carson's "Tonight" show. 
    1970- Jimi Hendrix, rock music's most innovative guitarist in the late 1960's, was found dead in a London apartment at the age of 27. He had left the message "I need help bad, man" on his manager Chas Chandler's answering machine. The coroner said Hendrix choked on his own vomit after barbiturate intoxication. A month earlier, Hendrix had performed his last concert at the Isle of Wight Pop Festival. Hendrix, born in Seattle, Washington, had first gained fame in Britain in early 1967 when "Hey Joe" by the Jimi Hendrix Experience reached number six on the British chart. He did not perform in the US until June that year, at the Monterrey Pop Festival. He ended his appearance by burning his guitar. Hendrix's guitar heroics and flamboyant stage antics soon made him a superstar. But Hendrix, who considered himself more a musician than a showman, began ridding himself of his stage theatrics in 1968, concentrating on his music. He also appeared and did an album with the Canadian born great jazz composer/arranger Gil Evans. The Hendrix Experience fell apart in 1969, and Hendrix followed that group with Band of Gypsies, which stayed together for only a few months. His "Purple Haze" and "Foxy Lady" became anthems for a generation at war in Vietnam.
    1970-After scoring 12 US number one hits with The Supremes, Diana Ross has her first solo US chart topper with "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".
    1971- Pink Floyd became the first rock group to play at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. They performed "Atom Heart Mother," which had been released as an album the previous year.
    1971-Birthday of Lance Armstrong, cyclist, national and world champion, two time Olympic champion, five time winner of the Tour de France, born Piano, TX. 
    1975 - Publishing heiress Patricia Hearst was rescued/captured by the FBI in San Francisco, CA. She had been kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army on Feb 4, 1974, but had apparently fallen in with her captors and had participated in a bank holdup. Hearst was convicted of bank robbery on Mar 20,     1976. On Feb 1, 1979, her sentence was commuted to time served by President Jimmy Carter, but her conviction stood. On Jan 20, 2001, outgoing President Bill Clinton granted Patricia Hearst a full pardon. 
    1976-Boston's "More Than A Feeling" is released in the US, where it will reach #5.
    1976---Top Hits
Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry
I'd Really Love to See You Tonight - England Dan & John Ford Coley
A Fifth of Beethoven - Walter Murphy & The Big Apple Band
I Don't Want to Have to Marry You - Jim Ed Brown/Helen Cornelius
    1977 - The Voyager I spacecraft (launched on Sep 5, 1977 from cape Canaveral, FL) snapped the first photograph showing the earth and moon together. (As of Feb 17, 1998, Voyager I is further away from Earth than any other man-made object.) 
    1984---Top Hits
What's Love Got to Do with It - Tina Turner
Missing You - John Waite
She Bop - Cyndi Lauper
You're Getting to Me Again - Jim Glaser
    1993 - Garth Brooks' "In Pieces" debuted at #1 in the U.S. on both the "Billboard" "Hot 200" and Country LP charts. The album has sold over 8 million copies. 
    1995- Shania (sha-NYE'-ah) Twain won in five of the seven categories in which she was nominated at the Canadian Country Music Awards in Hamilton. The Timmins, Ontario, singer took the honors for female vocalist of the year, as well as best single and video for "Any Man of Mine" and album of the year for "The Woman in Me." Twain and her producer-husband Mutt Lange won for song of the year - "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under."   
    1996- Tupac Shakur's video "I Ain't Mad," which depicts the rapper being shot as he leaves a nightclub, premiered on MTV five days after he died of gunshot wounds in a Las Vegas hospital. The video was made about a month before Shakur was gunned down in a drive-by shooting on the Las Vegas strip.
    1996- Pitcher Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox tied his own record for most strikeouts in a 9-inning game when he struck out 20 Detroit Tigers in a 4-0 Red Sox victory. Clemens set the record on April 29, 1986, against the Seattle Mariners.
    1997-The Rolling Stones played a small Chicago club as a prelude to their "Bridges to Babylon" world tour. Those who were lucky enough to get into the Double Door paid just $7. 
    1999 -Slammin' Sammy Sosa becomes the first player in major league history to hit 60 homers twice. The Cub outfielder hits his milestone round-tripper off of Brewer hurler Jason Bere.