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Credit Analyst: Seeking an energetic and organized Credit Analyst. At least one to two years of experience as a Credit Analyst in financial services (banking, insurance, leasing, or mortgage) is required. Funding Manager: Seeking a very organized, detail oriented Funding Manager. Minimum two years experience in brokering and discounting commercial equipment transactions is required. Operations Manager: Seeking an experienced Operations Manager with knowledge of all sides of operations. Must have a minimum of five years related experience. Send
email or fax to Ryan Johnson, Corporate Recruiter. |
Thursday,
August 19, 2004
Headlines---
Classified
Ads---Contract Administrator
National
Lease Funding Source Showcase
First
Golden Moment for U.S. Fencers
U.S.
Housing Starts—July—Bounce Back
Dog
Days of Summer May Be Numbered
######## surrounding the article denotes it is a “press
release”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Classified Ads---Contract Administrator
Los Angeles, CA
Documentation Manager; 25+ years experience; strong
documentation skills; solid reputation for submitting complete funding
packages consistently resulting in same day fundings; will consider
reasonable commute.
Email: sgrigs@netzero.net
New York, NY.
10+ years in equipment leasing/secured lending. Skilled in management & training, documentation, policy and procedure development & implementation, portfolio reporting. Strong work ethic.
Email: dln1031@nyc.rr.com
Portland, OR.
6+ years small ticket leasing/financing. Documentation/funding
Policy development &implementation, management
&training, process mapping, customer service, broker, vendor, portfolio
experience.
Email: susanc777@hotmail.com
full list located at: http://64.125.68.90/LeasingNews/JobPostings.htm
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
National Lease Funding Source Showcase
August 25-26 | Ritz-Carlton | Atlanta, GA
Unprecedented industry consolidation combined with
increasing interest rates, makes access to surviving national and regional
equipment lease funding sources and their current buy/sell investment
strategies more important than ever. This is where the deals are made!
Canceled (Fully
Paid) Attendee Registration Available
(We Don't Like Empty Seats !)
http://www.lessors.com/Events-2004/Fall/register-attendee-free.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
First Golden Moment for U.S. Fencers
Mariel
Zagunis of Beaverton, Oregon, right, during her semifinal victory over
Catalina Gheorgitoaia of Romania in saber.
Zagunis, a student
at Notre Dame, was not supposed to compete in the Olympics. Sada Jacobson
and her sister Emily had secured the two American spots. Then the Nigerian
Olympic committee decided not to send its entrant, Jacqueline Esimaje.
Normally her place
would have gone to the highest rated fencer from the same continent.
Africa had no ranking fencers, so the governing body of international
fencing awarded the place to the highest ranked saber fencer not yet
qualified for the Games: Zagunis, who was fourth in the world this year.
Saber rewards an
aggressive, slashing style, and Zagunis made her intention to seize
control clear from the moment the four women were introduced before
the semifinals. She was the third woman called onto the piste, and as
she took her place in the line she nearly stood on Tan, forcing her
to move.
Against Gheorgitoaia
in the semifinal, Zagunis lost the first point, then reeled off 6 straight.
"The Romanian
starts slowly; I made sure I started quicker," Zagunis said.
She led by 9-2 and
12-7 before Gheorgitoaia began to creep back. But when Gheorgitoaia
cut the gap to 13-10, Zagunis lunged out of the en garde position to
win the next point with her first thrust. At 14-10, she did the same
thing to finish the match.
The final followed
the same pattern.
"I knew going
in that Tan has a very strong attack," Zagunis said. "I have
a very strong attack as well, and part of the mental aspect of fencing
is to take opponents' strengths and turn them into weaknesses.''
Zagunis leaped to
a 9-2 lead. After Tan won 4 straight points, Zagunis reasserted her
control to move to 14-7, then closed out the match.
"I hope that
this helps propel fencing to the next level of popularity in America,"
Zagunis said.
After her teammates
stripped the sword from her hand, they propelled her quite high in the
converted aircraft hangar that is the site for fencing. Unaided, she
had reached higher than any American fencer in Olympic history.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Letters---We
get eMail
“I'm sorry I didn't
get back to you last night. I
am waiting to get the stamped filed copy of the complaint which was
filed in court back from the lawyers service.
My co-counsel had it filed on Monday and, unfortunately, he left
town the same day for a vacation and will be back Friday.
I am expecting to get it back in today's mail and will email
a copy to you . The leasing companies we have named thus far
are:
“POPULAR LEASING
USA, INC.
PARTNERS EQUITY CAPITAL
COMPANY, LLC,
INTERCHANGE FINANCIAL
SERVICES CORPORATION,
GENERAL ELECTRIC
CAPITAL CORPORATION,
CIT TECHNOLOGY FINANCING
SERVICES, INC.,
NORV CAPITAL,
DE LAGE LANDEN FINANCIAL
SERVICES, INC.,
ABB BUSINESS FINANCE,
ABB STRUCTURED FINANCE
(AMERICAS), INC.,
OFC CAPITAL,
ALFA FINANCIAL CORPORATION,
IFC CREDIT CORPORATION,
STUDEBAKER WORTHINGTON
LEASING CO.
“As soon as I get
the stamped filed copy of the complaint, I will send it to you.”
GARY S. GRAIFMAN
Kantrowitz Goldhamer
& Graifman, P.C.
747 Chestnut Ridge
Road
Chestnut Ridge, NY
10977
845-356-2570
Copy of Complaint:
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/Norvergence%20Class%20Action%20Complaint.pdf
----
“A moment of your
time if I may. Since you have been around for 33 yrs (approx.) , you
have seen some trends in leasing. I want to find out (briefly) what
leasing was like 15-20 yrs ago up to mid 90's. I suspect there were
a few banks offering leasing and some lease companies working with bank
loans (credit facilities) doing leases. In the late 90's, I do not recall
too many banks acting as funders. If memory serves, most of the lessors
were large lease cos. that had money from bank lines , insurance companies,
private equity, etc. This apparently dried up and only a few lessors
were left. Now local banks are rolling out lease programs for end users
and brokers. Is this how it was back in the 70's & 80's?
“In your opinion,
do you think the next few years leasing one will see banks offering
leasing and accepting some broker business? This appears to be the trend.
This compiled with many lease companies going direct should mean lower
rates for end-users and less commissions for brokers. Am I correct?
I cannot see how superbrokers are needed in this environment.”
Eric
(You answered your
own question. In the 1970's there were very few lessors and almost
no brokers. In the 1980's there were a lot of lessors and some brokers.
They were quite divided. They gradually were
accepted as members to leasing associations and a good source of business.
Toward the end of this decade,
more leasing
companies started relying on brokers instead of their own salesmen.
In the 90's, it was like the roaring twenties, the birth of securitization,
many, many lessors and leasing companies discounting, dealing with brokers,
a broker association really grew, application only began over $10,000
and then up to $150,000 and the economy was going great until 2000,
and perhaps the y2k, the world economy and economic growth of China,
South America, to name a few, more than a change in political office, brought
a recession and leasing companies business fell off, they could not
make the cash flow, starting doing
desperate things, and began blaming it on the brokers.
Having personally
used “community banks” for over twenty-five years as a recourse and
non-recourse funding source, it really is up to the sophistication and
willingness of “representations and warranty” to form a relationship
with a “community” or any bank. Banks
have always been accessible for the right net worth and credit of the
borrower, whether recourse or non-recourse.
The key is the “cost of money.”
If you can buy money on a non-recourse basis cheaper than recourse,
then the only other requirement is “they approve all the credit” and
do you want the risk to “approve the credit?” Also do you want to build a staff or use a
“service” for the privilege of creating more sales.
With all the schools
now in existence wanting to create more brokers, they have to start
somewhere, I think super brokers will be around for quite some time
as often the distinction of this occupation is a “fine line.”
They key to staying in any retail or wholesale business is “margins.”
As a Dun & Bradstreet course I took in the early 1970’s informed
us, credit was an adjustment to how much profit and what loss you were
willing to take to increase your margins.
editor)
--
Alliance Funding Group/CapitalWerks-PreferredLease
“Mark and Jim have
lost their credibility in the
industry and Brij
is catching up fast. Again, as a friend, you are
losing credibility
and come across as being naïve when you print things
like this from today's
edition---
" ‘As to Brij
Patel, Jim Raeder, Mark McQuitty, they are
leaders in the leasing
industry, writing many leases;
very smart individuals.
Every issue, every complaint,
everything brought
to them by Leasing News, they
have handled
themselves, looked
into themselves, not sloughed it off or did not care, but took action. There are other presidents of leasing companies
who get personally involved, too, as they want to get to the bottom
of the complaint.’
“I have been in the
trenches with these guys and they
foster cheating,
lying and doing what is necessary to make a buck
without consideration
of who it hurts You. see what
they want you to
see and they put on their white hats to impress you,
but the black hats
fits them better.
“You have a tough
job trying to be fair, but the bad guys have
deceived you and
your trust.”
(Name With Held)
( I can only go by
my personal experience with them. In
every
complaint, they have
gotten involved personally to get to
the bottom. In most
of the cases, they start out defending
their salesman or
what has happened, but take care of
business. In the last one, CapitalWerks funded a $140,000
lease, taking more
than a month longer that the applicant
wanted, but there
were extenuating circumstances, on
the applicant’s part, but the fact is, the lease happened and the
customer was satisfied. I would also say these comments are
from their competitors,
who lose deals to them every day,
and perhaps exaggerate
or make up stories. If they were
that “bad,” they
would have been out of business a long
time ago. As important, I have seen copies of what others
are saying about Alliance Funding and CapitalWerks, and from two companies
on our Complaint Bulletin Board! (
a reader sent me a copy he received.)
Mark McQuitty is
one of the most brilliant people I have met in the leasing industry
in 33 years. Jim Raeder is tough, smart, and you would rather
be on his side than against him. Brij
Patel has built
a company that is
beating his competitors and people are simply
jealous. If that
makes me naive, then that’s what I am.
The precept of this
country is that in a court of law you are innocent
until proven guilty
in a judicial process. While
I am not defending
them as being “innocent,”
they certainly are only guilty of being
aggressive and successful,
until proven otherwise. Editor. )
“My opinion Kit is
that some individual salespersons are too aggressive and may have promised
more than they can deliver based on a clean solid credit bureau for
new businesses and on a marginal bureau for established but troubled
credits. They must know enough to price themselves under what the prevailing
rates are generally for a given credit situation but it may not be the
policy of the whole company to mislead.
“Caution is the best thing and document any "Approvals"
or pre approvals with actual documents not proposals with a fee required
to obtain their terms. Also always ask if they are a member of any ORGANIZATION
in the industry. If someone's terms seem
substantially different from another company's terms offered there should
be a flag in their mind to at lease bounce those terms off of 3-4 other
similar brokers or leasing providers before proceeding. I cannot imagine
sending several thousand dollars to anyone I have not checked out pretty
thoroughly.”
( name with held )
(In our experience,
many of these companies have been turned
down before, realize
they may have some credit or “cash flow”
problems, or have
what is known as a “beer budget” with a
“Champagne appetite”
and want to believe what they hear
as they need the
equipment to make a living or turn a profit,
so they “take a chance.”
In the New York Times article,
Equipment Leasing
Association President Mike Fleming
said it best: ---- "There is no substitute for doing
your homework and learning the terminology and common practices.'' He
also recommended http://www.chooseleasing.org/ )
--
“I have run into
Alliance at least 3 times where they have promised something that seemed
too good to be true and in all but one of the 3 instances I advised
the lessee, who was also potentially a client of mine, not to send any
money at all until they could see actual documents, not proposals. This
nipped in the bud the false claims and the lessee's never heard from
Alliance Funding again on that matter. One lessee had sent a check and
immediately stopped payment on the check and was successful in preventing
it from being cashed.
“Please keep my name
or e-mail address off the record Kit. This is a chat not a spat.”
(Name With Held)
--
“Memo to the company's
tossing mud at both AFG, Inc and Preferred Lease, If you don't have
the nerve to at least print your name, than keep quiet until you will. I have worked for both company's and have nothing
but respect for both owners. Both
company's work extremely hard on doing clean business and police deals
as closely as they can. As much
as company's feel were both scumbags in the industry, its easy to point
a finger at another rather than yourself.
All of the company's who claim they do honest business, don't
keep checks or any other of the not me BS are complete liars. They're are plenty of ethical people and company's
in our business and there are those who choose otherwise. But don't stand on your high horse and claim
one thing when you know damn well your not.
“Remember Mike Cingari...?
His new company Crosswater Capital located in South Orange County
is up and going. While at MSM he ripped off 1.3 million in deposits
and over 250k from his employee's and we don't see articles warning
people of this guy's new company, especially in the NY Times. Hell if anyone should be rotting in a jail
cell its him. Not only is this
bad journalism on the part of leasing news and the Times, but its irresponsible.
Research should be done on the industry as a whole, rather than
a witch hunt on two company's who have never been convicted or charged
with wrong doing. If people want to crusade to clean up the industry, you should start
by cleaning your own closet first.”
Mark Bloom
( Leasing News has
written several times about Mike Cingari and his new company. And others. We also get “thank you’s” from people who have
discovered Leasing News before they started to do business with these
“new” companies or companies that are posted on our Bulletin
---
“Ethics, in this
business or any other, is largely a personal decision.
I used to think that, as an industry or through our affiliations
with associations, that we could somehow "force" ethics upon
other members of our industry. I
realized how wrong I was about that.
As a business person you either have ethics or you don't.
If you are competing against people who don't have good business
ethics then shame on you if you can't turn that against the competitor
and into a positive for you. Instead
of whining about how unethical your competitors are, use your ethics
and good character to uncloak these characters and beat them on the
street.
“Lastly, it never
ceases to amaze me that funding sources know that these practices take
place yet continue to preach about representations, warranties and ethics. The biggest and most respected names in the
business are always associated with the worst players. As a prime example,
look at this list of lenders that were lined up to get a piece of the
Norvergence business. I can’t
be the only one in this industry that is still amazed by this even if
I have become numb to it after all these years.”
Bob Rodi, CLP
President
LeaseNOW, Inc.
drlease@leasenow.com
www.leasenow.com
1-800-321-LEASE (5327)
x101
----
“In your recent articles
regarding NorVergence, Bob Fine's name is mentioned along with his role
as President of the EAEL. It should be noted that the Eastern
Association of Equipment Lessors is in no way associated or affiliated
with NorVergence.
”The EAEL is a trade association with over 160 members consisting of
leasing companies, attorneys, bank lessors and other companies serving
the leasing industry. It's purpose is to provide networking opportunities,
education, business development opportunities, professional standards
and advocacy for its members.
”Although Bob has been an active member of the association for many
years serving the organization in capacities ranging from hosting networking
events to working on the membership drives, his tenure as president
of the association lasted only about a year. He resigned in July of
this year. The association accepted his resignation and has since replaced
him.
”It is only fair to the members of the association that references to
Bob's involvement at NorVergence be separated from his voluntary service
to EAEL.”
Thanks.
George Parker
Leasing Technologies International, Inc.
Wilton, Conn
(The press release
from EAEL was printed here, mentioned in several
times in subsequent
stories. The main point is the
list serves and communication from NorVergence customers continue to
point to Fine as he was in charge of securing funding, "assignees."
They claim he used his position as president to further the NorVergence
cause. In the many talks with him, he refuted to Leasing
News what readers were telling us.
He held this position not only as an officer
of NorVergence, plus
president of the financing company. The NorVergence customers believe the leasing companies were "all
in bed." They believe Fine conspired, knew about the service agreements,
about the valueless equipment, his
friends and leasing contacts all knew, and in all communication they
point to his relationship as head of a leasing association. editor)
---
“Inflexion is a company
located in Detroit MI that is attempting to
replicate the NorV
model. They present their offer
as primarily a
hardware lease (from
75% hardware -- 25% soft costs, to 90%
hardware -- 10% soft
costs)
“I was the *****
MVP, left the company ***** after *** months, we
were not a match. I was one of the lucky ones.
“I have just started
receiving calls from NorV customers who are
being approached
by Inflexion and considering their offer (can you
imagine??!!)
“It is my understanding
that Inflexion has hired a whole bunch of
sales personnel from
NorV and is looking to open 12 markets.”
(name with held )
--
“You should be so
proud of Dash and his service to our country.
I want you to know that we are too!!
Next time you send him an E-mail, please let him know that Bob
and Cindy in Wayne, PA thank him for his service and all he is doing
to help keep our Marines safe and the role he is playing in the rebuilding
and democratization of Iraq.”
Cindy
Cynthia W. Spurdle
Executive Director
CLP Foundation
PH: 610/687-0213
FAX: 610/687-4111
E-mail: cindy@clpfoundation.org
(Thank you. I am
very proud of him; however, as a father, I don’t like
his volunteering
as he is the “smallest” of the boarding party,
which means they
like him to go down the ladders of the ship
into the holes of
the ship, into compartments, lead
the landing party, and he thinks it is a privilege to do this.
Two Navy men were
killed in June doing this. I like it when he works on the electricity
as he is not only educated for this by the Navy, but has practical experience
before joining, so they like to call
on him for problems.
He likes the deep sea diving, too.
He always likes the
action better, he says. I like it
better when he stays
out of harm’s way. His father.)
Classified
Ads---Help Wanted
Credit-Funding-Operations
|
Credit Analyst: Seeking an energetic and organized Credit Analyst. At least one to two years of experience as a Credit Analyst in financial services (banking, insurance, leasing, or mortgage) is required. Funding Manager: Seeking a very organized, detail oriented Funding Manager. Minimum two years experience in brokering and discounting commercial equipment transactions is required. Operations Manager: Seeking an experienced Operations Manager with knowledge of all sides of operations. Must have a minimum of five years related experience. Send
email or fax to Ryan Johnson, Corporate Recruiter. |
|
|
Controller / Vendor Sales Specialist/ Entry Level Accountant
|
Equipment Finance Sales Executive
|
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Senior Contract Specialist
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S.
Housing Starts—July—Bounce Back
(Please read this economist report as
they have been
Housing starts bounced
back in July, increasing 8.3% to 1.978 million (SAAR). Both single family and multi family were up
with single family up 8.5% to 1.65 million (SAAR). Regionally, there was strength in all regions, ranging from 4.3%
in the South and MW to 15.8% in the NE and West. Permits, an indicator of future activity, were up 5.7%.
Analysis and outlook: Housing bounced back in July, spurred by a
pull-back in mortgage rates as the 30 year fixed rate dipped below 6%. In addition, builders are offering more incentives
to keep the market moving forward – some are offering mortgage rates
one quarter percentage point below market; others are offering to lock
in today’s low rates for a house that may not be bought for up to 6
months; while others are offering to pay as much as 2% of a loans total
amount to cover buyer’s closing costs.
Housing fundamentals remain solid –
retail inflation (CPI) actually fell in July; consumer confidence/sentiment
continues to improve; industrial production bounced back in July as
capacity utilization is back above 77%; builder confidence is buoyant
(NAHB index); employment activity has worsened a bit in the past two
months, but is still much better than
12 months ago.
Looking forward,
there is still some concern by analysts that the economy may be slowing
a bit – the FED doesn’t think so however.
The main concern continues to be terrorism and its impact on
economic activity. The vehicle of course is oil prices, and its
impact on consumer spending which accounts for two thirds of the U.S.
economy. The world economy is starting to slow also,
particularly countries that rely heavily on oil imports – South Korea,
Japan and SE Asia including China; and Europe to a lesser extent. Again oil is the Achilles heel, so if oil
prices subside, we should be OK, but if prices rise above $50/barrel
(and stay there for awhile), we could have problems as consumer spending
would be affected.
Threats: A recent poll of 172 members of the National
Association of Business Economists found 40% of respondents said terrorism
was the largest short term threat to the economy, more than double the
19% who said so six months ago. The
ballooning U.S. deficit (that is inflationary) was identified as the
biggest concern by 23% of respondents while inflation was cited by 9%
as the top threat. Most respondents expect the FED to continue
to raise rates through year end and through next year as they felt that
monetary policy is too loose.
Summary: Overall,
housing fundamentals still look good, although rising mortgage rates
and material costs are pushing some fist time buyers out of the market
however soaring construction costs and mortgage rates are not denting
the luxury home market according to some construction firms. According
to John Ruble, president of the Home Builders Association of Mississippi,
“those hurt most by affordability concerns are working class and 1st
time home buyers while luxury home buyers – wealthy retirees, high income
professionals and investors that see real estate as a safer return than
Wall Street”. In addition to rising mortgage rates, material shortages
(cement for concrete, gypsum, some wood products, and steel – all blamed
on China) are pushing up the cost of building new homes by as much as
10% according to some estimates. There
is some indication that remodeling activity is slowing in response to
rising rates. Remodeling expenditures
are more discretionary, hence most analysts expect such expenditure
will continue to pull back some as rates trend upward.
US HOUSING STARTS |
|||
MILLIONS - SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ANNUAL RATE (SAAR) |
|||
July |
June |
% CHANGE |
|
Revised |
|||
| U.S. TOTALS: | |||
STARTS |
1.978 |
1.826 |
8.3% |
PERMITS |
2.055 |
1.945 |
5.7% |
| SINGLE FAMILY | |||
STARTS |
1.651 |
1.522 |
8.5% |
PERMITS |
1.569 |
1.546 |
1.5% |
| MULTI FAMILY | |||
STARTS |
0.327 |
0.304 |
7.6% |
PERMITS |
0.486 |
0.399 |
21.8% |
| STARTS AND PERMITS | |||
| BY REGION: | |||
| NORTHEAST | |||
STARTS |
0.192 |
0.166 |
15.7% |
PERMITS |
0.193 |
0.197 |
-2.0% |
| MIDWEST | 0.336 |
0.322 |
4.3% |
STARTS |
0.359 |
0.339 |
5.9% |
PERMITS |
|||
| SOUTH | |||
STARTS |
0.901 |
0.864 |
4.3% |
PERMITS |
0.954 |
0.902 |
5.8% |
| WEST | |||
STARTS |
0.549 |
0.474 |
15.8% |
PERMITS |
0.549 |
0.507 |
8.3% |
+ |
|||
Courtesy of:
Carl Villella, CLP
President
Acceptance Leasing and Financing Service, Inc.
Airport Corporate Centre
894 Beaver Grade Rd., Suite 304
Moon Township, Pa. 15108
412-262-3225 Phone
412-262-1154 Fax
CVillella@acceptlease.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dog
Days of Summer May Be Numbered
ABSnet
Demand for new issues
had dipped a bit early this week, as investors digested the Fed's prediction
that the U.S. economy will keep improving despite recent indications
that the recovery might be faltering.
The resulting lull
in trading didn't last long, since the higher interest rates were already
built into the prices of most securitized products. "It looks like
[interest] rates are going to rise, but very gradually," said Jeff
Salmon, Barclays Capital's asset-backed research chief. "It's not
the rapid rate increase that people had worried about at the beginning
of the year."
Emboldened by that
knowledge - and an increasing confidence in the ability of American
consumers to pay back their securitized loans - investors remain comfortable
dumping large amounts of cash into the asset-backed market. That means
spreads are likely to remain extremely tight for at least a few more
weeks.
However, it's possible
that spreads on certain types of bonds could widen late this month.
In most years, new-deal activity drops off in August. But this time
around, investors hope issuers will seek to beat the rush that usually
follows in September by flooding the market just before Labor Day.
That's exactly what
happened last year, especially among issuers of bonds backed by various
mortgage products. They included Lehman Brothers, GMAC's Residential
Funding Corp., Countrywide Home Loans, Wells Fargo, Banc of America
and Bear Stearns, according to Asset-Backed Alert's ABS Database.
If such a surge occurs
this month, spreads could finally widen from the extremely tight levels
where they have been hovering for several months. That would be good
news for investors, some of whom have had to seek larger returns by
purchasing lower-rated securities than usual.
"Home-equity
issuance continues to take front and center stage. That will continue
to be the main driver," of securitization volume for the near future,
Barclays' Salmon said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Your
One stop solution for training and reference material for the
Leasing Professional
www.theleasinglibrary.com |
News
Briefs---
Oil charges to new
high above $47 a barrel
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20040818-1358-oilprices.html
Rising Cost of Health
Benefits Cited as Factor in Slump of Jobs
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/19/business/19care.html?hp
Google IPO raises
$1.2 billion, $85 a share
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/08/19/GOOGLE.TMP
Elmer Bernstein,
Film Composer, Dead at 82 (one of the greats!)
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/arts/AP-Obit-Bernstein.html
Records Contradict
Kerry Critic's Charges – Report
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-campaign-kerry-critic.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sports
Briefs----
Yankees Glimpse October,
and It's Not Pretty
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/19/sports/baseball/19yanks.html
U.S. breathes easier
as late goal ties Jamaica
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/national/2004-08-18-us-jamaica_x.htm
Earthquakes may be
sold this week
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/
soccer/9430185.htm?ERIGHTS=7484227
154127118105mercurynews::kitmenkin@leasingnews.org&KRD_RM=8oppqqu
twvrusqvxuqpooooooo|Kit|N
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California
Nuts Briefs---
Tribe reaches deal
for giant San Pablo casino
Schwarzenegger OKs
Pomo Indian plan for nation's third-largest gambling palace
Governor on bridge
costs: pay up and shut up
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/08/18/BAG5589TOM1.DTL
Blizzard of late
bills will put Schwarzenegger to the test
Decisions will help
define his administration
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/08/18/MNG7E87MA681.DTL
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“Gimme
that Wine”
Vintners party with
first grapes in Lampoc, California
http://www.lompocrecord.com/articles/2004/08/17/news/news06.txt
Wine Events Calendar
http://www.wineevents-calendar.com/index.lasso
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This
Day in American History
1099-
The armies of the First Crusade defeated the Saracens at the Battle
of Ascalon (an historic Palestinian city on the Mediterranean), one
month after they had captured Jerusalem. As they did in the Holy City,
they killed all “non-believers,” including men, women, and children.
1791-African-American
Benjamin Banneker published his first Almanac.
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Banneker.html
1812-
Lucy Brewer, alias George Baker and Louisa Baker, concealed her sex
and served on board the Constitution as a US Marine in its battle with
the Guerriere. She thus became the first woman to serve as
a US Marine. This also was considered
by historians to be the most important Naval action of the war that
took place in the Atlantic Ocean about 750 miles east of Boston. The American loss was 14 killed or wounded; the British, 79 killed
or wounded and Congress awarded $50,000 to
1814-The British land in Maryland to invade Washington, DC.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/aug19.html
1814-
Mary Ellen "Mammy" Pleasant birthday - Afro-American activist.
She is often called the mother of black civil rights in California.
Much of her life is clouded in legend which says that she freed slaves
who were being held illegally in free California.
She worked to win the rights at African Americans to have their
testimony accepted in court (1863) and helped to end discrimination
on California streetcars with Pleasant v North Beach and Mission Railroad
Company (January 1868). Her civil rights actions are part of the black folklore of California
in which some claim she worked as a stop on the underground railway
before moving to California while others say she helped financed John
Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry.
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/BHM/mepleasant.html
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist10/mammy.html
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/ImageFinder/Bancroft/z024.html
http://www.shapingsf.org/ezine/afamerican/mpleasant.html
http://www.mepleasant.com/story2.html
http://www.press.uillinois.edu/f02/hudson.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0912238046/fast-bkasin-20/103-5362656-4423850
1846
-Gen Stephen W Kearney's US forces captures Santa Fe, NM
http://bchs.kearney.net/BTales_197901.htm
1871-Birthday
of Orville Wright, aviation pioneer, born at Dayton, OH, and died there
January 30, 1948.
There has been controversy as to who launched the first air plane flight
in the United States, but he certainly is the one he made flying famous.
1871-
Florine Stettheimer birthday - U.S. artist. After failing to sell a single painting in
her first showing, she never offered for sale a single painting in her
lifetime although in her maturity, her work was sought after. At her death, her sister Ettie mounted a memorial show at the Museum
of Modern Art that received rave reviews and Columbia University established
a room for her work. Her refusal
to sell was backed by a substantial fortune which she shared with her
two sisters. At an early age, the three sisters decided they would never
marry (forming what has been called a "cult of virginity"
and do creative things. One sister became a novelist under the name
"Henrie Waste." The
sisters were described by contemporaries as having "exquisite taste."
They opened the memorable Stettheimer gallery which drew many of the
top artists of the day. The sisters themselves were works of art as they dressed in old-fashioned
Bohemian styles.
http://www.hollistaggart.com/Exhibitions/BakerPisano2002/Stettheimer.html
http://www.diamondial.org/cgi-local/DiaImage.cgi?acc=51.12
http://www.americanart.si.edu/journal/v14n1/whitingabstract.html
http://www.annasuibeauty.com/site/genius_florine_stettheimer.htm
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/stettheimer_florine.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/103-5362656-4423850?tag
=fast-bkasin00-20&keyword=Florine%20Stettheimer&mode=books
1873- Mt Whitney, the second highest peak in the US, was conquered for the first time by a trio of American climbers, Charles D. Begole, A.H. Johnson and John Lucas.
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/DD/fduqk.html
http://www.americasroof.com/ca.html
http://www.nps.gov/seki/whitney.htm
1883-Birthday
of 1883, Coco Gabrielle Chanel - French dress designer.
Coco Chanel was the preeminent Parisian haute
couture and premier arbitrator of western women's fashions for almost
six decades. Coco Chanel almost
single-handed changed women's wardrobes from works of architectural
wonders to clothes that allow a woman to move.
Her clothes were first designed for working girls, but soon wealthy
women flocked to her small shop to find the clothes that freed them
from the abusive corsets. Chanel, for the first time in history, presented
women with clothing that fit a woman's body and did not force a woman
to fit her designs. She was also one of the first women to make it big
in the women's fashion industry. She
presented bobbed hair, trench coats, jersey dresses, sweaters, bell-bottom
slacks/trousers as well as the classic straight-line skirt as knee length
with a boxy jacket that allowed freedom of motion.
She retired in 1939 but came back in 1954 when Dior and others
started a "romantic" fashion that threatened to return women's
clothing to the turn of the century. She raised hems, introduced the
chemise dress, the classic Chanel suit look we know today as a simple
boxed jacket with a straight skirt with enough room to walk and climb,
and, of course, the staple in every wardrobe, "the little black
dress." In 1922 she developed
a fragrance that is still one of the most highly sold fragrances in
the world: Chanel #5. She was
orphaned a age six. Her early years are obscure but there were no wealthy
men behind her when she opened a small millinery shop in Paris in 1913
and within a very short time, her comfortable clothing had made her
the rage of post World War I Paris. At her height, she employed 3,500! She was described by Vogue as "a revolutionist,
a non-conformist, a lone rebel who let women out of the prison of tight
corsets. She led women to cut their hair in the 1920's, raise hemlines,
stripped away trimmings and feathers, and produced a simplicity that
freed women." Coco Chanel
said in a 1954 interview, "There are too many men in this business
and they don't know how to make clothes for women. All this fantastic
pinching and puffing. How can a woman wear a dress that's cut so she
can't lift up her arm to pick up a telephone?" One of the most
influential of women’s clothing in America.
1886 -The Christian Union was founded by Baptist clergyman Richard
G. Spurling (1858-1935) in Monroe County, Tennessee. In 1923, this Pentecostal
denomination changed its name to the Church of God. Headquartered today
in Cleveland, Tennessee, its current membership is nearly 500,000.
http://earth.vol.com/~lmartin/EARLYDOC.HTM
1893-
Frank J. Wisner, owner of Cripple Creek Brewing, served the first “Black
Cow” root beer float in Cripple Creek, CO. Inspired by the moon-lit
view of the snow-capped Cow Mountain which reminded him of vanilla ice
cream floating on top of the pitch-black mountain, he added a scoop
of ice cream to his Myers Avenue Red root beer and began serving it
as the “Black Cow Mountain Ice Cream Root Beer Float.” Kids loved it
and shortened the name to “Black Cow.” Cripple Creek Brewing, now located
in Warrenville, IL, celebrating its 107th anniversary, sells beverages
based on the original formulas, including Myers Avenue Red root beer.lbartl64lS@aol.com.
Web: www.cripplecreekbrewing.com
1896---In
the Klondike region of the Yukon, at Bonanza Creek (formerly known as
Rabbit Creek), George Washington Carmack discovered gold August 16 or
17 ( it is considered the 16 as an anniversary date in Canada ). During
the following year more than 30,000 people joined the gold rush to the
area. Anniversary is celebrated as a holiday ( Discovery Day) in the
Yukon, on nearest Monday.
1902-Birthday
of Ogden Nash, American writer, best remembered for his humorous verse.
http://canada.gc.ca/canadiana/cdaind_e.html
Born at Rye, NY, died May 19, 1971. “ Undeniably brash/Was young Ogden
Nash/ Whose notable verse/Was admirably terse/ And written with panache.”
http://www.aenet.org/poems/ognash1.htm
1905-Birthday
of drummer Tommy Benford, Charleston, WV. Died March 24,1994
http://www.musicweb.uk.net/encyclopaedia/b/B352.HTM
1906-Birthday
of trombone player/guitarist/arranger Eddie Durham, San Marcos, TX Died
March 6, 1967
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/DD/fduqk.html
http://www.umkc.edu/orgs/kcjazz/jazzfolk/durhe_00.htm
http://www.craftone.co.jp/solo_flight/guitarist/durham,e/discography.html
1907-Birthday of sax player Joe Rushton, Evanston, IL.
http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,487951,00.html?artist=Joe+Rushton
1909
-- First edition of The Little Red Songbook published.
http://www.bloomington.in.us/~mitch/iww/lrs.html
1912-
Jimmie Shields, one of the most popular Irish tenors in Canada during
the 1930's, was born in St. Catharines, Ontario. Shields rose to further
fame in the US from 1937 to 1941 when he appeared with the orchestras
of Eddie Duchin and Morton Gould. He also appeared on several leading
radio shows, and in 1939 had his own weekly program on NBC, "Enna-Jettick
Melodies." Shields was a regular performer on the CBC from 1948
until his retirement in 1964.
1913-Birthday of Harry Mills, leader singer
of the famed Mills Brothers, Piqua, OH
1915-
the Boston Braves opened their new ballpark, Braves Field, with a 3—1
victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Braves called this park home
through the 1952 season.
1915-Birthday
of famed writer Ring Lardner, Jr., son of fabled baseball writer and
humorist Ring Lardner. Lardner,
Jr., was an Academy Award winning screenwriter ( Oscar for Woman of
the Year; M*A*S*H) and he also wrote for television.
He was a member of the Hollywood Ten, a group of film industry
executives sent to federal prison in 1950 for their refusal to tell
the House Un-American Activities Committee if they were members of the
Communist Party. He served nine months, and was blacklisted for many
years. Died at New York, NY. Oct 31,2000.
1918—Pianist
Jimmy Rowles birthday
http://www.lajazzsociety.org/LAJS/Programs/Tribute/Past/Jimmy%20Rowles.htm
1921-Birthday
of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the popular TV series “Star Trek”.
Gene Roddenberry was born at El Paso, TX.
Turning from his first career as an airline pilot to writing,
he created one of the most successful TV science fiction series ever. The original series, which ended its run in
1969, lives on in reruns, and the “ Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Star Trek Deep Space Nine” and “ Star Trek:
Voyager” series have continuing popularity. Eight films also have been
spawned from the original concept.
Roddenberry died October 24, 1991 at
Santa Monica, Ca.
1921-
At the age of 34, Ty Cobb becomes the youngest player to reach 3000
hits when he singles of off Red Sox hurler Elmer Myers.
1927-Henry
and Edsel Ford drove the fifteen millionth Model T off the assembly
line at the Highland Park plant in Michigan, officially ending Model
T production. Production in England ended on August 19; in Ireland on
December 31. After revolutionizing the automobile market, sales of the
Model T had started to falter due to its failure to keep up with the
competition. Total world Model T production: 15,458,781.
1928-
Canadian pop singer Norman Brooks was born in Montreal. He is best known
for singing in the style of Al Jolson. Brooks played Jolson in the 1956
film "The Best Things in Life Are Free," and also starred
in "The Magic of Jolson" on Broadway in 1975. His 1953 recording
of "Hello Sunshine" was a substantial hit.
1934-
Roberto Walker Clemente, Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder born at Carolina,
Puerto Rico. Clemente, one of the game’s best and most exciting outfielders,
played his entire career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, leading them
to a World Series in 1971 and collecting 3,000 hits. While on a mission
of mercy to deliver supplies to victims of a Nicaraguan earthquake,
he perished in a plane crash. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973
after the mandatory 5-year waiting period was waived. Died at San Juan,
Puerto Rico, Dec 31, 1972.
1942-
First offensive action in the Guadalcanal where J.F.Junkin, Army air
pilot, shoots down a German flown aircraft ( allies of the Japanese
) in the Solomon Islands, after Carlson’s Raiders, a special guerrilla
unit led by Lt. Col. Evans Fordyce Carlson, landed on Makin Island,at
the northern end of the Gilbert Islands, with orders to destroy the
radio station on the island.In 40 hours, every Japanese member of a
force of 350 was killed, 1000 gallons of gasoline were setaflame, and
the island was rendered militarily useless.
1943-
singer Billy J. Kramer, whose real name is William Ashton, was born
in Bootle, England. It was Beatles' manager Brian Epstein who brought
Kramer together with a Manchester band, the Dakotas, and introduced
them to the songs of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Billy J. Kramer
and the Dakotas had their first hit in 1963 with Lennon and McCartney's
"Do You Want to Know a Secret." Kramer's other chart records
included "Little Children" and "Trains and Boats and
Planes." Kramer and the Dakotas parted company in 1966, with Kramer
turning to performing in small English clubs.
1946-
William Jefferson Clinton, The 42nd US President (1993—2001), born at Hope, AR. Re-elected to a second term in1996; left in disgrace due to lying and having
an affair with one of his young interns; however, remained popular with
those who forgave him. His autobiography was read by over a million
people. Accordingly, he appointed more women to important government
posts than all the presidents in history combined.
There is no controversy that he liked women.
1946-Woody Herman Band, directed by Igor Stravinsky,
records his” Ebony Concerto, “ Los Angeles.
1946-Nat King Cole records “ For Sentimental Reasons,”
Capital 304.
1950-ABC-TV airs the first children’s shows.
( bottom of: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/aug19.html )
1954---Top
Hits
Sh-Boom - The Crewcuts
The Little Shoemaker
- The Gaylords
Hey There - Rosemary
Clooney
I Don’t Hurt Anymore
- Hank Snow
1954-Ralph
J. Bunche, diplomat and first Black winner of Nobel Peace Prize,
named
undersecretary of the United Nations.
1957-New York Giants vote to move their franchise to San Francisco
in 1958.
1958-The
production of the elegant Packard line came to a halt on this day. Studebaker-Packard
attributed the decision to lagging luxury car sales, but many Packard
fans were disgruntled by the decision, which came shortly after Packard’s
acquisition of Studebaker. Many wondered why Packard, with its reputation
for high-quality cars and knowledgeable management, would buy the debt-ridden
Studebaker Company. Studebaker management assumed the company reins
after the merger, not Packard. It
was common to call the new car a “stupid-baker.”
1962---Top
Hits
Breaking Up is Hard
to Do - Neil Sedaka
The Loco-Motion -
Little Eva
You Don’t Know Me
- Ray Charles
Wolverton Mountain
- Claude King
1962- Homer Blancos plays the finest round in golf, shooting a 55.
1963-National
Association of the Advancement of Colored People Youth Council
begins sit-ins at
lunch counters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
1964-
The Beatles opened their first US tour at the Cow Palace in San Francisco.
Others to cross the stage include Jackie DeShannon and the Righteous
Brothers.
1967-The
Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" hits #1 the pop charts. On
the same day, Ringo Starr and his wife Maureen have a baby boy named
Jason.
1969-Trumpeter
Miles Davis began recording sessions in New York for what would eventually
become the ground-breaking jazz-rock fusion album "Br*tches Brew."
Among the musicians taking part were Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter and
Joe Zawinul. There were no rehearsals and Davis gave the musicians only
minimal directions.
1969
- 'Never say die' Camille let loose a cloudburst in Virginia resulting
in flash floods and landslides which killed 151 persons and cause 140
million dollars damage. Massies Hill VA received 27 inches of rain
1970---Top
Hits
(They Long to Be)
Close to You - Carpenters
Make It with You
- Bread
Spill the Wine -
Eric Burdon & War
Don’t Keep Me Hangin’
On - Sonny James
1972
- NBC-TV presented "The Midnight Special" for the first time.
John Denver was the host for the first show. Wolfman Jack was the show’s
announcer. "The Midnight Special" proved to be a ratings success.
1976-The Republican National Convention nominates President Gerald
Ford for reelection in a narrow victory over former governor Ronald
Reagan of California. Senator
Robert J. Dole of Kansas was nominated for the vice-presidency. November
2 James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, Jr. was elected president of the United
States with Walter F. Mondale as vice-president. Electoral vote was
297 to Ford’s 240. The popular vote was Carter, 40,828,929, Ford, 39,149,940.
The
1977- Fleetwood Mac's reunion album "The Dance"
is released. The disc was taken from two shows that were recorded live
at a Warner Brothers soundstage a few months earlier.
1978---Top
Hits
Three Times a Lady
- Commodores
Grease - Frankie
Valli
Miss You - The Rolling
Stones
Talking in Your Sleep
- Crystal Gayle
1978-Alicia
Bridges enters the soul chart with "I Love the Nightlife."
Though the single will only reach as high as #31 in its seventeen weeks
on the chart, the song's title will become a disco-era catch-phrase.
1980-
Christopher Cross comes from nowhere and has one of the biggest hits
of the year off his debut album which goes platinum on this date. He
has three top fifteen hits, including the Number One, "Sailing."
He will take home five Grammys in February
1984 Lee Trevino wins the PGA
http://igolf.golfonline.com/profiles/profile.dbm?golfer_id=1240
1986---Top
Hits
Papa Don’t Preach
- Madonna
Higher Love - Steve
Winwood
Venus - Bananarama
Your the Last Thing
I Needed Tonight - John Schneider
1986
- The temperature at San Antonio, TX, soared to an all-time record high
of 108 degrees
1987
- It was on this day that consumer reporter David Horowitz was held
at gunpoint on camera. During a KNBC-TV newscast in Burbank, CA, Horowitz
was forced to read the assailant’s rambling note. The news director
took the program off the air until police could get the gunman off the
set. Horowitz was unharmed.
http://www.cspc.org/founders/horowitz.htm
1988 - Raleigh, NC, reported a record
hot temperature reading of 103 degrees. Afternoon thunderstorms in Oklahoma
produced wind gusts to 75 mph in southern Pittsburgh County. Thunderstorms
in Indiana produced 4.50 inches of rain at Morgantown
1990-
White Sox Bobby Thigpen records his 40th save as the Chicago White Sox
beat the Rangers, 4-2. He becomes the only eighth reliever to reach
this milestone in major league history.
1991
- Hurricane Bob was located 30-35 miles east of Cape Hatteras NC, and
was at its peak intensity of 115 mph. Damage from Bob was estimated
at $1.5 billion, making it the 15th most costly hurricane in U.S. History.
A total of 18 people died in the storm: six in Connecticut, three in
both New York and Maine, two in both Nova Scotia and New Hampshire,
and one in both North and South Carolina.
1992
-When Mariner second baseman Bret Boone, the grandson of Ray Boone (1948-60)
and son of Bob Boone (1972-90) makes a start against the Orioles, he
becomes part of the first three-generation family to play in the major
leagues.
1992--
IBM and Sears, Roebuck & Co. announce they are working together
to create a voice-and-data network service called "Advantis."
The two companies had already been working together since the mid-1980s
to create the online service Prodigy. With their entry into Internet
provider services, the companies expected to generate at least $1 billion
a year in revenue.
Rainbow
Slugger
by Tim Peeler
The people
that "love" you
Whip your
butt raw,
Drop you
head first
Into a
locked-closet weekend.
You will
grow up
To play
mailbox baseball,
You will
apply the geometry of your schooling,
See the
flat plane,
The simple
dimension of your swing,
A hand
flies at the face of your dream,
Your home
plate points toward hell,
The extended
angles climb
Toward
the misty heights of a rainbow.
The rainbow
on the side of a mailbox
Explodes
in chips of pastel paint
As you
connect so perfectly,
A cannon
blast against a siren
Against the black hide of the night.
(with permission of the author from his book:
“Touching All the Bases”
Poems from Baseball
available from Amazon
or direct from the publisher at: www.mcfarlandpub.com
“In the family pictures,
my brother stands at the plate
forever waiting on a pitch,
my dad squats hy the dugout fence,
his chin resting on his hands;
somewhere beyond the eye or the camera,
I hold a huge scarlet plum behind my back,
left leg kicked high in a pitching motion,
as near to the spirit or the game
as I'd ever be.”
Tim
Peeler celebrates with candor and wit both the overlooked and the standout
as he merges the topics of personal and baseball rediscovery. The poet
reconsiders events and people from his adolescence, offering the reader
new takes on old memories, gracefully relating the foibles of family
and friends, and cataloging the heroic feats and tragic flaws of players
he watched, read about — or merely imagined.
English
lecturer, journal editor, essayist and poet, TlM PEELER lives in Hickory,
North Carolina. He is a winner of the Jim Harrison Award for his contributions
to baseball poetry.
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