Bank of the West Sold for $16.3 Billion
Once Very Active in Leasing and Finance
By Christopher Menkin, Editor

To be Merged into BMO Harris Bank N.A.

Bank of Montreal with its Chicago-based subsidiary BMO Harris Bank announced Monday that it was purchasing BNP Paribas’ Bank of the West to bolster its customer count and drive more growth in coveted market.

The $16.3 billion acquisition price is estimated to be 1.5 times Bank of the West’s book value.

Once very active in the leasing and finance business marketplace, the leasing/finance, vendor and indirect operations were moved to Arizona from San Francisco and Dublin, California. The logo changed from a California bear to shooting stars. Top executives retired or moved to other companies, followed by their top producers.

Jerry Newell, CLP, Executive Vice President
Equipment Finance Division
Bank of the West

Jerry Newell, CLP, took early retirement. (1)

BMO’s Chief Executive Darryl White, said in a statement, “This acquisition will add meaningful scale, expansion in attractive markets, and capabilities that will enable us to drive greater growth, returns and efficiencies.”

The deal, which was funded primarily with existing capital, is one of the bank’s first major cash deployments after it spent more than a year building up its coffers in the event of mass loan defaults during COVID-19.

BMO took the opportunity to purchase San Francisco-based Bank of the West because it offers a complementary footprint to its existing U.S. business.

The Canadian Press reported, “Bank of the West, BMO said, was highly attractive because of its presence in the California market, where 70 per cent of Bank of West deposits stem from.

“BMO estimates the acquisition will also add nearly 1.8 million customers to the bank and will expand its banking presence through 514 additional branches in key U.S. growth markets.

“The deal will leave BMO with a footprint in 32 states and an estimated annual return of about 14 per cent.

“The transaction has already received approval from BMO and BNP Paribas’ boards of directors.

“The deal is expected to close by the end of calendar 2022, but is subject to regulatory approvals.”

1. The House that Jerry Built
   By Christopher Menkin, Publisher
   https://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2013/2_01.htm#house
   
   

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New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
and Related Industries

Kevin Bell was hired as Sales Support, NewLane Finance, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He is located in Bellmawr, New Jersey. Previously, he was Senior Funder, Partners Capital Group (September, 2021 - November, 2021); Sales Support, Marlin Business Services Corp. (June, 2007 - September, 2021); Contract Man, Marlin Capital Solutions (June 2007 - August, 2021). Educations: Camden County College, Business Administration and Management, General.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-bell-2a65b6122/

Mara Carter was hired as Finance Coordinator, NewLane Finance, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Previously, she was Account Manager, DLL (February, 2018 - January, 2021); Territory Manager, Technology Finance, PNC Equipment Finance (previously ECN Capital) (August, 2015 - January, 2018); National Accounts Manager, Marlin Business Services Corp. (November, 2013 - August, 2015). Volunteer: Foster Parent, Kids Peace Foster Care (July, 2016 - Present). Education: Southern New Hampshire University, Organizational Leadership (2019 - 2023). Manor College. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mara-carter-585b19126/

Alyssa Doxey was hired as Vice President of Business Development, Financial Partners Group, West Des Moines, Iowa. She is located in Houston, Texas.  Previously, she was Senior Business Development Manager, Elite Capital Corporation (February, 2021 - December, 2021) Senior Business Development Manager, Equipment Finance (August, 2020 - February, 2021). She joined Ascentium Capital February, 2012, as Vendor Service Representative, promoted January, 2017, Sales Coordinator; Administrative Assistant, Local Initiatives support Corporation (LISC) (October, 2010 - August, 2011); Administrative Assistant, Acoustical Concepts (November, 2008 - September 2010). Education: Sam Houston State University, Bachelor of Science (BS), Criminal Justice and Corrections (2010 - 2013). San Jacinto College, Associate of Science (A.S.), Criminal Justice and Corrections (2008 - 2010). https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssa-doxey-76589553/

Joseph Flavin was hired as Sales Director, LEAF Commercial Capital Inc., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Previously, he was Business Development Officer, Summit Funding Group, Inc. (January, 2021 - October, 2021);  Financial Solutions Consultant, Technology Finance Corporation (April, 2019 - December, 2020); Sr. Account Executive, Presidio Technology Capital, LLC (June, 2000 - March, 2019); Client Manager, CIT Technology Finance (April, 2007 - June, 2008); Client Sales Manager, CitiCapital Vendor Finance (September, 2003 - April, 2007); Account Executive, De Lage Landen Financial Services (1985 - 1988); Leasing Support, Master Lease (1985 - 1988). Education: Saint Joseph University. Business. (1983 - 1985).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-flavin-4688a9b/

Kevin Rice was hired as Vice President, Financial Partners Group, West Des Moines, Iowa. He is located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  Previously, he was Vice President, Sales, Alliance Funding Group (August, 2018 - November, 2021); Client Service Manager, Direct Capital, a Division of CIT Bank, N.A. (September, 2014 - July, 2108); Finance Manager, Honda BMW of Champaign (August 2013 - August, 2014); Finance Manager Direct Capital, a Division of CIT Bank N.A., (May, 2010 - August, 2013): Human Capital Management Operations Intern, (Direct Capital, a Division of CIT Bank, Na. (September, 2009 - December, 2009); Manager, Wolfeboro Dockside Grille (May, 2004 - October, 2009). Education: UNH Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics BS, Entrepreneurship, Management (2004 – 2009). Activities and Societies: UNH Shooting Sports (President/Captain), UNH Ski and Board Club.  Charline Mason Seminars Unlimited, Real Estate, Pre-Licensing.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-rice-632a8720/

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Help Wanted Ads

It may be time to ‘fire’ some vendors! Part I

Sales Makes it Happen by Gerry Egan

(This appeared March 3, 2010 and is as important today as it was then. Gerry retired in October, 2018, as Executive Director of the National Equipment Finance Association, after almost 40 years in the leasing/finance business. Editor)

I reached a point many years ago where I stopped thinking in terms of vendors as companies and began thinking in terms of individual vendor sales reps. I did so based on what’s sometimes known as the Pareto principle, (commonly referred to as the 80/20 rule). Management experts also call it the law of the critical few and the trivial many and it basically posits that in any given enterprise, the majority of the results are produced or driven by a relatively small percentage of the efforts or input. Many experienced sales managers will testify to seeing it at work in their sales organizations.

If you understand and accept that, it's not hard to extrapolate that in any given vendor, a relatively small percentage of the sales force, (20%, perhaps), produce the majority of the sales. That means that the majority of the sales force, (perhaps 80%), are --at best-- average performers, and produce a relatively small portion of the sales.

How this affects us is that when we promise to be 'the vendor's leasing program' we are, in effect, promising to work with the whole company, all the salespeople, the good ones and the bad ones, promising to work on whatever they call us with, whether or not they are transactions we personally would have chosen to work on or know we can get funded. So, we risk spending a lot of time chasing undoable deals to satisfy our commitment to the 80% of the sales force, (the average performers), who are producing the smallest portion of the sales.

The 80% group, the average performers, can take a lot of your time, too. They’re not that busy so spending time shopping rates is easy for them. And not having a lot of good prospects they’re more than willing to spend limitless time on any kind of prospect they do have and are glad for you to do the same.

Instead, I chose to focus on vendors not as companies but as individual reps and developed close personal relationships with the top performers in each vendor's office. The interesting thing is, once I changed how I looked at that, it became very easy to do.

When you work with the just the top performers, you get to run marketing programs targeting just the customers you think you can approve. And another thing, the top performers can work with anyone they want to. Nobody questions them. Average salespeople are expected to work the company approved plan; top performers are allowed a lot of leeway.

This was all so easy to learn and so easy to work. The hardest part was making the decision to change, to differentiate myself. I maintain that if you had a close working relationship with the just the top salesperson at ten different vendors, you'd have trouble keeping up with the business. And guess which salespeople in the vendor's office last longest in tough times? In any typical vendor sales organization of ten salespeople, I'd gladly give anyone else full access to the bottom eight performers if you'd just let me keep the top two.

Gerry and Jamie Egan
(Photo: Allan Levine)
NEFA Retirement Conference

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The United Nations’ partner organization estimates that by mid-2020, there were about 280.6 million international migrants globally, a figure that is growing year by year and represents 3.6 per cent of the world's population. In 2010, it was 221 million and in 2000 it was 173.2 million.

The United States has been the main destination country for international migrants since 1970. The number of foreign-born people residing in the country was almost 51 million in 2020

In terms of the place of birth of international migrants, 18 million people came from India, the country with the highest number of migrants in the world last year. Mexico was the second largest country of origin with 11.2 million people, followed by the 10.8 million Russians living abroad, along with 105 million Chinese and 8.5 million Syrians.

By Martin Armstrong, Statista

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Chesswood Continues to Grow
Looking Forward to 2022

Chesswood Group Limited (TSX-CHW) through two wholly-owned subsidiaries in the United States and three subsidiaries in Canada, is North America's only publicly traded commercial equipment finance company focused on small and medium-sized businesses.

Colorado-based Pawnee Leasing Corporation, founded in 1982, finances a highly diversified portfolio of commercial equipment leases and loans through relationships with over 600 brokers in the United States.

Tandem Finance Inc. provides financing in the U.S. through the equipment vendor channel.

In Canada, Blue Chip Leasing Corporation has been originating and servicing commercial equipment leases and loans since 1996 and today operates through a nationwide network of more than 50 brokers.

Vault Credit Corporation specializes in equipment leases and commercial loans across Canada, allowing for customizable financing solutions while catering to a wide spectrum of credit tiers, equipment types and sectors by offering industry-leading service levels, experienced underwriters and account administrators.

Vault Home was launched in September 2021 and focuses on providing home improvement and other consumer financing solutions in Canada.

Based in Toronto, Canada, Chesswood Group Limited's shares trade on the TSX under the symbol CHW.

To learn more about Chesswood Group Limited, visit www.ChesswoodGroup.com.

The websites of Chesswood Group Limited's operating businesses are:

www.PawneeLeasing.com, www.BlueChipLeasing.com
www.TandemFinance.com, www.VaultCredit.com
www.VaultPay.ca

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

ELFF Projects 3.5% US GDP Growth in 2022
4.6% Equipment Investment Growth

Among the range of details in the Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation news release:

• GDP growth: Overall, the Foundation projects the U.S. economy will grow by 3.5% in 2022.

   o U.S. GDP growth slowed markedly in Q3 2021, expanding 2.1% (annualized) as the Delta variant and snarled supply chains slowed growth. Growth in Q3 was driven by increases in consumer spending and a buildup in private inventories.

• Economic tailwinds for growth in 2022 include:

   o Improved public health situation given the widespread availability of vaccines and relatively high vaccination rates.
   o Infrastructure bill, the largest public infrastructure spending initiative since the 2009 Recovery Act. It will be a tailwind for equipment verticals including trucks, railroad, communications and materials handling equipment (along with software).

•  Economic headwinds include:

   o Labor market tensions as workers use their leverage amidst robust demand for labor.
   o Persistent supply chains disruptions with many industries facing high shipping costs and delivery delays, and the potential for additional bottlenecks if U.S. trading partners shutdown borders in response to new virus strains.
   o Worsening inflation pressures that previously were mostly contained to industries impacted by the pandemic, and are now more broad-based.

•  Additional factors to watch include:

  o Housing market activity which is showing some signs of slowing.
  o Over-valued equity markets given substantial increases in the last 18 months and the sell-off that followed news of the new Omicron variant.
  o Accelerated financial tightening as the Fed signals rate hikes and ending its asset purchase program sooner than expected.

•  Equipment investment is expected to grow at a 4.6% pace (annualized), a slower pace compared to 2021.

•  New business volume growth reported in in ELFA’s Monthly Leasing and Finance Index expanded 16% year over year in October. Solid business investment growth is expected to drive new business volume growth throughout 2022, although Y/Y growth may ease compared to double-digit expansion in 2021.

Prepared by Keybridge Research and updated quarterly, the snapshot is available for free download at https://www.leasefoundation.org/industry-resources/industry-snapshot

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

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Special Christmas Edition, Part Two
by Fernando Croce

When it comes to celebrating Christmas with your loved ones, a great movie is as much of a seasonal staple as eggnog and mistletoe. So check out Netflix for the rest of our Yuletide recommendations!

Grand Illusion (Jean Renoir, 1937): One of the screen’s greatest humanists, French master Jean Renoir could depict the deepest and most complicated sides of his characters. Among his most famous films is this antiwar classic, taking place during World War I and following a group of captured French soldiers. While a friendship grows between the German commander (Erich von Stroheim) and the aristocratic French captain (Pierre Fresnay), the rough lieutenant (Jean Gabin) escapes and ventures toward the snowy frontier with a fellow prisoner (Marcel Dalio). In a film full of moving scenes, a particularly memorable one is the Christmas the two French fugitives spend with a brave Swiss woman (Dita Parlo) and her little daughter, during which a basic love transcends language and nationality. Not to be missed. With subtitles.

Penny Serenade (George Stevens, 1941): Before becoming a chronicler of mythic epics, director George Stevens (“Shane”) specialized in modest, textured films such as this affecting drama, which follows a couple over the years as they struggle to start a family. Julie (Irenne Dunne) and Roger (Cary Grant) first meet browsing songs at a record store, and, after an impulsive wedding, move to Tokyo. When their plans come literally crashing down during an earthquake, they start anew in California and apply at an adoption agency. Brimming with emotional ups and downs, the movie captures the characters’ struggles with an expert mix of heartbreak and gentle humor, anchored by superb performances by Dunne and Grant. Especially memorable is the scene in which their tiny daughter takes part in her school’s Christmas play.

A Charlie Brown Christmas (Bill Menendez, 1965): The first animated adaptation of cartoonist Charles M. Schultz’s beloved Peanuts characters, this TV special looks at Christmastime through the eyes of a child. Namely Charlie Brown, who, while everybody else is getting into the holiday spirit, is having a bit of trouble remembering the season’s true magic. He agrees to direct the school’s Christmas play, only to run into trouble when he can’t find a proper tree. When the only one he can find is so skinny it can’t even hold a single ornament, it’s up to his friend Linus to remind everyone of the meaning of Christmas. Combining the wry humor from the comics with charming designs and voices, Bill Menendez’s classic endures as a staple of seasonal animation.

Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (Nagisa Oshima, 1983): Best known for his controversial “In the Realm of the Senses,” Japanese provocateur Nagisa Oshima would seem to be an unlikely candidate for serving up a seasonal tearjerker, yet that’s what he does in this striking drama about clashing cultures. Set in a Japanese POW camp during World War Two, the story charts the complex interactions between captors and prisoners. On one side is stern, repressed camp commander Yonoi (Ryuichi Sakamoto), on the other British lieutenant Lawrence (Tom Conti), the only inmate who speaks Japanese. In the middle are the volatile figures of sergeant Hara (Takeshi Kitano) and a new prisoner, Major Celliers (David Bowie). Strange and moving, grim and delicate, Oshima’s film plays like a miniature version of “The Bridge on the River Kwai.”

Reindeer Games (John Frankenheimer, 2000): When it comes to action Christmas movies, usually “Die Hard” and “Lethal Weapon” get brought up. That list should also include this robust and dark-humored thriller, which marked the last theatrical feature from veteran genre specialist John Frankenheimer (“The Manchurian Candidate”). Ben Affleck stars as Rudy, a convict who, on the eve of his release from prison, sees his cellmate killed during a riot. When outside, he uses the dead man’s identity to become involved with his girlfriend, Ashley (Charlize Theron). The scheme backfires, however, and Rudy soon finds himself forced to take part in a casino heist masterminded by the brutal Gabriel (Gary Sinise), in which the criminals are disguised as Santa Claus. A flop when first released, the movie is ripe for rediscovery.

Doberman Pinscher (mixed)
Williamsville, New York  Adopt-a-Dog

Colby

Male
3 years old
60 lbs.
Adoption fee: $375
Includes a Martingale collar and Lease
All of our adoption fees include the following:
Neuter
Age appropriate vaccinations
Deworming
Flea/tick treatment
Heartworm test (if the dog is over 6 months of age)
Microchip​ insertion and Registration
​

We offer a $50 refund of your adoption fee if you complete an obedience class within 6 months of adoption and email proof of completion.

Nickel City Canine Rescue
5635 Harris Hill Road
Suite 6
Williamsville, New York 14221
(No Dogs are housed here)
https://www.nickelcitycaninerescue.org/

How does this Process work?
Once Approved:
Fill out the online application.

Once received, a volunteer will be assigned to your app. They will first make the reference calls and contact your vet.

If you have current pets or have had any in the past 2 years they MUST be spayed or neutered and up to date of required

vaccinations. Required vaccinations include rabies for both dogs and cats and distemper/parvo for dogs. Kennel cough/Bordetella is highly recommended but not required for dogs. If current animals are not vaccinated and spayed/neutered, the application will be denied.​

After calls have been completed, the volunteer will contact you to set up a home visit. Please keep in mind this is a VOLUNTEER doing this in their free time, it may not happen immediately.

Once the home visit is completed and if you are approved, you will receive an approval card and can then express interest in a dog.

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Commitments May Be Required to Disclose all in California
and New York in 2022 (perhaps to be followed by other states)

In small and medium size leases, the actual lease payment is often given and calls for the first and last payment as well as the documentation fee. Often a clause contains a "documentation" fee is noted, along with a clause that it is non-refundable if the lease is not approved. Often the wording is different and seems to be buried. Sometimes it is quite obvious and is spelled out as a processing fee.

This form was developed by Attorney Ken Greene, who is also a longtime advisor to Leasing News. It is aimed at keeping fees for working on an application.He is currently General Counsel for the American Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (formerly the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers) and has spoken at conference panels.

Greene Agreement to Keep Expenses
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/GreeneAgreementExpenses2016.pdf

In larger ticket size leases, a form as this is often used, which specifically charges a fee to process the application:

Charges a Fee Form
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/ChargesFeeForm2016.pdf

Business Loans or "Working Capital" loan commitment letters are explicit.  This is a form most often used by California License Finance Lenders:

Authorization to Find Lender
pdf

The dollar size of the lease proposal often dictates the details and length of the commitment letter.

This form is one of the most widely used in the leasing industry for leases $50,000 and above and covers most of the bases. Note: Last sentences about the signatures makes this more a “proposal,” than commitment. If required, these sentences may be removed.

Lease Commitment Agreement
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/LeaseCommittmentAgreement2016.pdf

It is a good idea to have the form you use reviewed by an attorney with equipment leasing experience. This does not mean your college friend who became a lawyer. You wouldn't take your children to an Endodontist to get braces on their teeth, although the practitioner is a "dentist." The same with going to an attorney. You go to a specialist who has experience in the leasing and finance industry.

Some things to consider in your form.

#1: ACH---If you are going to require it or may require it, you should have this spelled out in the agreement. If not in the contract and becomes a requirement of the lease, the proposal is invalid.

#2 Date---It is a good idea to have a time period involved. This can be  based on completion of all the documents and/or lease contracts. The time factor may be important, particularly if the matter goes to small claims court, or a higher court, depending on the money involved.
(Attorneys most likely will have different opinions on this, but it is important to let the applicant know there is a time frame involved in conducting credit or having to re-do credit and even ask for more current financial information, due to the time involved in collecting what you originally required.)

#3 Personal guarantees---of all officers who own 10% or more of a privately held corporation. (This will protect if the final approval comes in with terms and conditions but requires other guarantors who are not named on the application or in the proposal.)

Ken Greene
Law Offices of Kenneth Charles Greene
5743 Corsa Avenue Suite 208
Westlake Village, California 91362
Tel: 818.575.9095
Fax: 805.435.7464
Skype: 424.235.1658
ken@kengreenelaw.com
kenlaw100@gmail.com

 

News Briefs---

H-2B: President Biden to make 20,000 additional guest-workers
      visas available this winter amid labor shortages
https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/12/20/h-2b-president-biden-to-make-20000-additional-guest-worker-visas-available-this-winter-amid-labor-shortages/

As Rivian struggles to meet early demand, Illinois looks
     to become manufacturing hub in coming EV revolution
https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-rivian-ev-production-ramping-demand-20211221-e3l2bvfapfet3lns2cnkx7f3ny-story.html

Great Resignation strains Colorado ski town
     economies during winter peak
https://www.courthousenews.com/great-resignation-strains-colorado-ski-town-economies-during-winter-peak/

Rite Aid is closing more than 60 stores
     .....amounts to just 2% of its retail footprint
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/21/business/rite-aid-store-closures/index.html

McDonald’s worker jumps through
     drive-thru window to save customer
https://nypost.com/2021/12/21/minnesota-mcdonalds-worker-sydney-raley-saves-choking-woman/

Tom Brady’s anger reaches the Surface: NFL star
     slams Microsoft tablet in rare shutout loss (with video)
https://www.geekwire.com/2021/tom-bradys-anger-reaches-the-surface-nfl-star-slams-microsoft-tablet-in-rare-shutout-loss/

How Wyoming Became One of the
     World's Top Tax Havens
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2021/wyoming-trusts-finance-pandora-papers/

American Workers Are Burned Out
     and Bosses Are Struggling to Respond
 https://www.wsj.com/articles/worker-burnout-resignations-pandemic-stress--11640099198?st=gmx29v4c9of0o70&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

 

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You May Have Missed---

Your questions on the coronavirus, answered: What home
      supplies should you have if someone is infected?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/covid-home-supplies/2021/12/17/5a1b2412-5dfe-11ec-bda6-25c1f558dd09_story.html

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Sports Briefs---

Jerry Jones likens 2021 defensive line to
     Cowboys' Super Bowl-winning fronts of the 1990s
https://www.theredzone.org/Blog-Description/EntryId/19835/Jerry-Jones-likens-2021-defensive-line-to-Cowboys--Super-Bowl-winning-fronts-of-the-1990s

 

Chiefs' Travis Kelce among 51 NFL players
placed on COVID-19 list on Monday
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/chiefs/2021/12/20/nfl-covid-updates-travis-kelce-placed-reserve-list/8975472002/

N.H.L. Players Will Skip Beijing Olympics
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/21/sports/olympics/nhl-olympics-beijing-hockey.html

Why the Warriors don’t plan to change their roster anytime soon
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/Why-the-Warriors-don-t-plan-to-change-their-16720750.php

How the 49ers, in five moves, may have saved their season
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/49ers/article/How-the-49ers-in-five-moves-may-have-saved-16708379.php

Embarrassing but Predictable Cardinals Collapse
Leaves Door Wide Open in NFC
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2951659-embarrassing-but-predictable-cardinals-collapse-leaves-door-wide-open-in-nfc

5 NFL Teams Peaking at the Right Time as Playoffs Near
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2951614-5-nfl-teams-peaking-at-the-right-time-as-playoffs-near

Oakland A’s promote Kotsay to replace Melvin as manager
was Oakland Athletics’ third-base coach for 2021
https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2021/12/20/oakland-athletics-hire-former-player-mark-kotsay-as-manager-replacing-bob-melvin/

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California Nuts Briefs---

San Francisco Bay Area transit faces ‘fiscal cliff’
    as ridership collapse endures
https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/12/20/bay-area-transit-faces-fiscal-cliff-as-ridership-collapse-endures/

South Lake Tahoe is Zillow’s most popular
2021 place in the entire U.S.
https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/South-Lake-Tahoe-Zillow-most-popular-place-2021-16720241.php?IPID=SFGate-HP-CP-Spotlight


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"Gimme that wine"

Riboli Family Wines Acquires Jada Vineyard & Winery
    in Paso Robles
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/article/254352

Champagne to pop sales record as demand flows again
https://news.trust.org/item/20211220151729-1awsv

Ten Texas Wines to Toast the Holidays
https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/ten-texas-wines-toast-holidays/

Napa Valley’s Mayacamas Winery rebuilds after 2017 fires;
   Sonoma County launches online solar permitting;
Vallejo’s Touro gets more accreditations
https://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/article/industrynews/napa-valleys-mayacamas-winery-rebuilds-after-2017-fires-sonoma-county-lau/

“Gimme that Wine”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJnQoi8DSE8

Free Wine App
https://www.nataliemaclean.com/mobileapp/

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

This Day in History

     1696 - Birthday of William Oglethorpe (d. 1785), London, England.  English general, author, colonizer of Georgia, and founder of the city of Savannah.
http://www.ourgeorgiahistory.com/people/oglethorpe.html
http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/hogarth3.htm
    1727 - At Newport, RI, birthday of William Ellery (d. 1820), signer of the Declaration of Independence. During the British occupation of Rhode Island, Mr. Ellery's house was burned and much of his other property “injured.” 
http://www.williamellery.com/
http://www.colonialhall.com/ellery/ellery.asp
    1770 - Birthday of Father Demetrius Gallitzin (d. 1840), The Hague, Netherlands.  A Dutch Catholic priest, he arrived in America in 1792, and spent his remaining years as a frontier missionary, building up the Catholic Church in parts of PA, MD, VA and WV. Gallitzin became known as the "Apostle to the Alleghenies."
http://www.slider.com/enc/21000/Gallitzin_Demetrius_Augustine.htm
http://www.gsd1.org/business/GlendaleBoatSales/history.htm
http://www.catholicism.org/PAGES/gallitzin.htm
1775 - Esek Hopkins of Rhode Island became the first Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy and its seven ships and served until January 2, 1778. He was the first to fly the Gadsen flag, show in the masthead of Leasing News. It was designed by a man from Charleston, South Carolina, with a coiled rattlesnake and the motto “Don't Tread on Me.'' The connotation of the rattlesnake in Colonial times was quite different than today; the flag had quite a different meaning. History has forgotten Hopkins, primarily because he disobeyed Congress, or as he put it, he interpreted his orders rather broadly in diverting his fleet from its announced destination of Charleston to the Bahamas, where he made a successful raid on military shores. The Bahamas was the major shipping stop from North and South America to Europe and then controlled by the British. Congress sacked him, not believing his excuse. Some say his real crimes were a hot temper and an unguarded tongue. Others say he had secret orders. Among his officers was First Lieutenant John Paul Jones, who helped take New Providence.
http://www.worldsfinestnavy.com/EsekHopkins.html 
http://www.famousamericans.net/esekhopkins/
http://www.sat.quarterman.org/who/essexhopkins.html
http://www.sat.quarterman.org/gif/gadsden1.gif
    1807 - Congress passes the Embargo Act, which halts all trading completely. It is hoped that the act will keep the United States out of the European Wars.

    1828 - Rachel Jackson, beloved wife of Andrew Jackson, died of heart disease just weeks before her recently elected husband was inaugurated as president of the United States.  Her first marriage to Captain Robards, a landowner and speculator, was not a happy affair and the two separated in 1790. Believing she was a free woman, Rachel married Andrew Jackson in 1791. Two years later, the couple discovered that Robards was finally suing for divorce on the grounds of adultery and desertion. The divorce was granted and, in 1794, the couple quietly remarried. Yet, for the rest of her life, Rachel was unjustly slandered for her irregular marriage. The gossip became particularly painful during the 1828 presidential campaign when the 37-year-old scandal was resurrected as a campaign issue. Andrew Jackson defeated his opponent John Quincy Adams but, when Rachel died soon after the election, Jackson bitterly attributed her death to "those vile wretches who...slandered her." 
    1829 - The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad opens the first passenger railway line.
    1833 - Mercer University was chartered in Penfield, Georgia under Baptist support. In 1871, the college moved its campus to Macon, Georgia.
http://www2.mercer.edu/About_Mercer/default.htm
    1839 - The second of triple December storms hit the northeastern U.S. The storm produced 25 inches of snow at Gettysburg, PA, and gales in New England, but only produced light snow along the coast.
    1849 - California Gov. Burnett was inaugurated and Military Governor Riley immediately resigned. Legislature selected Col. John C. Fremont and William M. Gwin as U.S. senators to take their seats when California wins statehood.
    1862 - Birthday of Connie Mack, Baseball Hall of Fame manager and owner, born Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy (d. 1956) at East Brookfield, MA. Mack was a major league catcher who became the original manager and co-owner of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1901. He managed the team, always wearing street clothes, usually a suit, tie, and white shirt with a starched collar, and signaling to his players with a scorecard, through the 1950 season and retired after the 1953 season The Mackmen often finished as also rans, but his teams did win nine pennants and five world Series.  Many historians consider the A’s of 1929 to be among the best ever, but the Great Depression hit attendance and by the mid-1930s, Mack had sold or traded his biggest stars because he could not afford to keep them.  Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/dec22.html
http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/hofer_bios
/mack_connie.htm
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers
/M/Mack_Connie.stm
    1864 - Union General William T. Sherman captured Georgia's largest city after his famous "March to the Sea" from Atlanta. Savannah had been one of the last major ports that remained open to the Confederates. Along the way, his troops destroyed nearly everything that lay in their path. Sherman's intent was to wreck the morale of the South and bring the war to a swift end. For nearly six weeks, nothing was heard from Sherman's army. Finally, just before Christmas, word arrived that Sherman's army was outside Savannah. A Union officer reached the coast and found a Union warship that carried him to Washington to personally deliver news of the success. Sherman wired Lincoln with the message, "I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about 25,000 bales of cotton."
    1869 - Birthday of Edward Arlington Robinson (d. 1935) at Head Tide, ME  Three-time Pulitzer Prize winner best known for his short dramatic poems, including "Richard Cory" and "Miniver Cheevy." http://robinson.bokardo.com/biography.phtml
    1882 – ‘Tis the season… the first string of Christmas tree lights was created by Thomas Edison.
    1883 - Birthday of Arthur Wergs Mitchell (d. 1968), at Lafayette, AL.  The first African American elected to Congress as a Democrat, Arthur Mitchell served four terms in the U.S. House, illustrating a shift among black voters, who traditionally backed Republican candidates. Throughout his congressional career, Mitchell faithfully supported President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal legislation that attracted many black voters during the Great Depression. As the only black Representative between 1935 and 1943, Mitchell was expected by African Americans in his Chicago district and across the country to use his political power to represent his race.
http://www.system.missouri.edu/upress/spring1997/nordin.htm
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000805
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/493
/Arthur_W_Mitchell_political_pioneer
    1886 - The first national accounting society, the American Association of Public Accountants, was formed in New York City. The first president was James Yalden. 
    1888 - Birthday of Dr Chancellor Williams (d. 1992), at Bennettsville, SC.  Historian and author of “Destruction of Black Civilization.”
http://saxakali.com/Saxakali-Publications/runoko8.htm
http://www.raceandhistory.com/Historians/chancellor.htm
http://aalbc.com/reviews/chancell.htm
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/search-ng.gsp?search_constraint=3920&
search_query=Williams%2c%20Chancellor
    1891 - Asteroid 323 Brucia becomes the first asteroid discovered using photography.
    1894 - The United States Golf Association, the governing body for golf in the US, was founded at a meeting of representatives from five golf clubs.
    1904 - Birthday of Kenneth Rexroth (d. 1982), at South Bend, IN.  Beatnik poet and well-known San Francisco personality. 
http://www.charm.net/~brooklyn/People/KennethRexroth.html
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/m_r/rexroth/rexroth_lif
http://www.rooknet.com/beatpage/writers/rexroth.html e.htm
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1556591713/
102-8569588-7388914?v=glance
    1910 - Birthday of trumpet player Reunald Jones (d. 1989) born Indianapolis, In. Jazz trumpeter, who worked in big bands and as a studio musician, he played lead trumpet with the Count Basie Orchestra (1952–57). One of the “Jones Boys.”
http://www.centrohd.com/biogra/j2/reunald_jones_b.htm
http://www.52ndstreet.com/reviews/mainstream/vajonesboys.html
    1912 – Former First Lady ‘Lady Bird’ Johnson, wife of President Lyndon Johnson, was born Claudia Alta Taylor (d. 2007), in Karnack, TX.
    1913 - Pianist Dudley Alonzo Brooks (d. 1989) was born Los Angeles, Ca.  African-American musician, arranger and composer who contributed on many of Elvis Presley's early records and film soundtracks and whose work and contribution with Elvis may have been somewhat overlooked. Dudley Brooks also worked with Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, and played alongside Charlie Christian on Benny Goodman's "Six Appeal" session and arranged for Count Basie.
    1914 - The mood to ban alcohol as a means of ending alcoholism and its abuse in the United States had it first test in the first alcohol prohibition vote taken in Congress that showed the House of Representatives with a dry majority. The representatives voted 197-189 in favor of a resolution to provide a constitutional amendment banning the manufacture and sale of intoxicating beverages. The resolution, offered by Representative Richmond Pearson Hobson of Alabama, failed to win the necessary two-thirds majority, but the mood and politics regarding prohibition was certainly changing. Hobson became known as the anti-alcohol crusader. Richmond Pearson Hobson was one of the great heroes of the Spanish-American War, following only Theodore Roosevelt and George Dewey. Hobson's fame and popularity was the result of leading an unsuccessful attempt to block the harbor of Santiago de Cuba by sinking the collier MERRIMAC in the entrance. Despite the fact that the effort was a failure, and Hobson and his crew were captured by the Spanish, he became a hero anyway. As a result of his status as a war hero, he was later elected to Congress, and became a prominent crusader for alcohol prohibition. He introduced the first national alcohol prohibition bill in 1911.
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000667
http://www.samford.edu/groups/amhf/id35.htm
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/people/hobson/
    1915 – TV mom Barbara Billingsley was born Barbara Lillian Combes (d. 2010) in LA.  She is best and forever known as June Cleaver, Beaver’s mom, in the long-running “Leave it to Beaver.” 
    1917 – Comedian and TV game show host Gene Rayburn was born Eugene Jelyevich (d. 1999) in Christopher, IL.  After a successful radio and Broadway career, Rayburn broke into TV as the original sidekick of Steve Allen on “The Tonight Show.”  From 1962 to 1969, then 1973-82, Rayburn hosted “The Match Game,” the role for which he is best known.
    1919 - Singer Lil Green was born Lillian Johnson (d. 1954) in Clarksdale, MS.  “Why Don’t You Do Right” was her big hit, later to be the theme song of Peggy Lee.
http://www.oafb.net/once29.html
http://www.geocities.com/theblueslady.geo/LilGreen.html
http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,551235,00.html?artist=
Lillian+%22Lil%22+Green
    1921 - The first U.S. commercial radio license assigned to a religious broadcaster was awarded to the National Presbyterian Church of Washington, D.C. Within five years, there were over 60 other licensed religious broadcasters, including KJS, Biola (L.A.); KFUO, Concordia Seminary (St. Louis); and WMBI, Moody Bible Institute (Chicago). 
    1921 - Country singer Hawkshaw Hawkins (d. 1963) was born Huntington, West Virginia. A recording contract in the late 1940's with the King label yielded such hits as "I Wasted a Nickel," "Slow Poke" and "Sunny Side of the Mountain." Hawkins had little success in the 1950's, but on March 3rd, 1963, his "Lonesome 7-7203" entered the charts on its way to number one. Two days later, Hawkins was dead, a victim of the same plane crash in Kansas that killed Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas.
    1937 - Lincoln Tunnel, connecting Jersey City, NJ with New York City, opens to traffic
http://www.nycroads.com/crossings/lincoln/
    1938 - Birthday of Mateo “Matty” Alou (d. 2011), former baseball player, born Haina, Dominican Republic.  Alou played in the Majors with his brothers, Felipe and Jesus.
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/A/Alou_Matty.stm
http://www.yankeeinfo.com/master.asp?id=alouma01
http://www.angelfire.com/va3/steelerchief/images/Matyalou.jpg
    1939 - Drummer Nick Ceroli (d. 1985) born Warren, OH. He began his professional career with the Ray Anthony band in the late '50s, and progressed through the bands of Lionel Hampton, Terry Gibbs, and Stan Kenton. Never a fan of rock or "pop" music, but rather a mainstream jazz and big band player, Nick nonetheless joined Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass in 1965. He spent five years with that incredibly successful group, lending his talent to an act once described as having "single-handedly returned instrumental music to the American popular consciousness."
http://www.centrohd.com/biogra/c3/nick_ceroli_b.htm
http://members.aol.com/jnetsites/ceroli2.html
    1941 - On Decca Records, Jimmie Lunceford and his orchestra recorded "Blues in the Night," which became one of Lunceford’s biggest hits. From 1934 to 1946 Jimmy Lunceford racked up 22 hits more hits.
http://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_lunceford_jimmie.htm
    1941 – Winston Churchill arrived in Washington, DC for a wartime conference with President Roosevelt and American war strategists.
    1942 - Sue Dauser takes oath of office as Superintendant of Navy Nurse Corps, becoming first woman with the relative rank of captain in U.S. Navy. She was promoted to the rank of captain on 26 February 1944.
    1943 – W.E.B. Du Bois elected First black member, National Institute of Arts and Letters
http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap9/dubois.html
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/dubois
    1944 - During the Battle of the Bulge, General Anthony McAuliffe responds to a German surrender request with a one word answer: "Nuts!"
    1944 – D’ALESSONDRO, PETER J., MEDAL OF HONOR.
Rank and organization: Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company E, 39th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Kalterherberg, Germany, 22 December 1944. Entered service at: Watervliet, N.Y. Born: 19 May 1918, Watervliet, N.Y. G.O. No.: 73, 30 August, 1945. Citation: He was with the 1st Platoon holding an important road junction on high ground near Kalterherberg, Germany, on 22 December 1944. In the early morning hours, the enemy after laying down an intense artillery and mortar barrage, followed through with an all-out attack that threatened to overwhelm the position. T/Sgt. D’Alessondro, seeing that his men were becoming disorganized, braved the intense fire to move among them with words of encouragement. Advancing to a fully exposed observation post, he adjusted mortar fire upon the attackers, meanwhile firing upon them with his rifle and encouraging his men in halting and repulsing the attack. Later in the day the enemy launched a second determined attack. Once again, T/Sgt. D’Alessondro, in the face of imminent death, rushed to his forward position and immediately called for mortar fire. After exhausting his rifle ammunition, he crawled 30 yards over exposed ground to secure a light machinegun, returned to his position, and fired upon the enemy at almost pointblank range until the gun jammed. He managed to get the gun to fire 1 more burst, which used up his last round, but with these bullets he killed 4 German soldiers who were on the verge of murdering an aid man and 2 wounded soldiers in a nearby foxhole. When the enemy had almost surrounded him, he remained alone, steadfastly facing almost certain death or capture, hurling grenades and calling for mortar fire closer and closer to his outpost as he covered the withdrawal of his platoon to a second line of defense. As the German hordes swarmed about him, he was last heard calling for a barrage, saying, "OK, mortars, let me have it--right in this position!" The gallantry and intrepidity shown by T/Sgt. D’Alessondro against an overwhelming enemy attack saved his company from complete rout.
    1944 - Birthday of Steven Norman “Steve” Carlton, Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher, born Miami, FL.  “Lefty” pitched for six teams across his career from 1965-88 but he is best remembered as the best left-hander for the Phillies.  In one of the more dominating seasons ever, for the last-place and woeful Phils, he won 27 games of their 59 total wins.  He has the second-most lifetime strikeouts of any left-handed pitcher (4th overall), and the second-most lifetime wins of any left-handed pitcher (11th overall). He was the first pitcher to win four Cy Young Awards in a career. He held the lifetime strikeout record between 1982-1984, before his contemporary Nolan Ryan passed him.
http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/
hofer_bios/carlton_steve.htm
    1946 - Birthday of Diane Sawyer, television journalist and prime time news anchor. "60 Minutes," "Prime Time Live", ABC Evening News, born Glasgow, KY.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/GoodMorningAmerica
/GMA_diane_sawyer_bio.html
    1946 - Otto Graham leads the Cleveland Browns to a 14-9 victory over the New York Yankees at Cleveland Stadium in the first All-America Football Conference championship game.  Graham is regarded by critics as one of the most dominant players of his era, having taken the Browns to league championship games every year between 1946 and 1955, winning seven of them. With Graham at quarterback, the Browns posted a record of 114 wins, 20 losses and four ties, including a 9–3 record in the playoffs.
    1947 - Drummer Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers cut first record, Blue Note Label.
http://www.audiogalaxy.com/bands/artblakeysjazzmessengers/
http://www.playjazz.com/DR005.html
http://home.ica.net/~blooms/Art1.html
http://800-buy-movies.com/GeneralDVD/gr107322D1.htm
    1948 - Birthday of Steve Garvey, former baseball player, born Tampa, Florida.
http://www.thebaseballpage.com/past/pp/garveysteve/
http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/garvest01.shtml
    1949 - Robin (d. 2012) and Maurice (d. 2003) Gibb of the Bee Gees were born on the Isle of Man. The Gibb family moved to Australia in 1958, and the twins, along with Brother Barry, began performing together. The family returned to England in 1966, where the Gibb brothers were signed by producer Robert Stigwood. A hit single, "New York Mining Disaster 1941," and a hit album followed within a year. The teenaged stars were unprepared for their sudden success, and the Bee Gees fell apart in the early 1970s. But in 1977, they contributed several songs to the soundtrack of "Saturday Night Fever." "How Deep is Your Love," "Stayin' Alive" and "Night Fever" all became number-one hits. And the "Saturday Night Fever" album was the biggest-selling L-P of all time, until Michael Jackson's "Thriller" came along. 
    1949 – The only punter to be drafted #1 in the NFL, Ray Guy, was born in Swainsboro, GA.  After being named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary Team, he was finally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014, the second kicker and first punter so honored.
    1951 - Top Hits
“Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” - Gene Autry
“White Christmas” - Bing Crosby
“Slowpoke” - Pee Wee King
“Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way” - Carl Smith
    1952 - “Ding Dong School” Premieres on TV. Named by a three-year-old after watching a test broadcast of the opening sequence (a hand ringing a bell), "Ding Dong School" was one of the first children's educational series. Miss Frances (Dr. Frances Horwich, head of Roosevelt College's education department at Chicago) was the host of this weekday show. 
http://www.richsamuels.com/nbcmm/dds.html
http://www.missfrances.com/memorabilia_cartoons.htm
http://www.skypoint.com/members/schutz19/dingdon1.htm
    1952 - The Modern Jazz Quartet cuts first recording on the Prestige label. 
http://www.holeintheweb.com/drp/bhd/MJQ.htm
http://www.jazclass.aust.com/lewis.htm 
    1955 - Alan Freed's Rock 'n' Roll Holiday Jubilee opens in New York. The twelve-day show features Count Basie, LaVern Baker, The Cadillacs, The Wrens, The Valentines, The Chuckles and a host of others.
    1956 - Elvis Presley had the most charting records this year with 17. Billboard reports Pat Boone was next with five, followed by Fats Domino, Little Richard and the Platters with three each.
    1957 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "April Love," Pat Boone.
    1958 - "Chipmunk Song" reaches #1
http://www.poplyrics.net/waiguo/compilations/xmascarols/012.htm
http://www.psci.net/~aa9ai/chip.ra
    1959 - Top Hits
“Heartaches by the Number” - Guy Mitchell
“Why” - Frankie Avalon
“The Big Hurt” - Miss Toni Fisher
“El Paso” - Marty Robbins
    1962 - The Rebels' instrumental "Wild Weekend" is released on Swan Records. It makes it to #8 on the pop chart.
    1962 - The Tornadoes' "Telstar" becomes the first record by a British group to top the American pop chart. The song was inspired by the launching of the Telstar commu-satellite in July.
    1963 - Oakland Raider Tom Flores passes for 6 touchdowns vs. Houston (52-49)
http://www.hickoksports.com/biograph/florestom.shtml
http://www.frameposters.com/Posters_Tom_Flores.html
http://www.geocities.com/madnessmike/tom_flores.htm
    1963 - Official 30-day mourning period for President John F Kennedy ends but for many who lived through the horror of the assassination, it has never ended.
    1964 - The first test flight of the SR-71 (Blackbird) took place at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, CA.
     1965 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Over and Over," Dave Clark Five. The song is the group's only No. 1 hit.
    1966 - The United States announces the allocation of 900,000 tons of grain to fight the famine in India. 
    1966 - Acting on an earlier order from John Lennon, producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick manage to adjust the tape speeds of two completely different versions of "Strawberry Fields Forever" in order to create the track we know today.
    1967 - Top Hits
“Daydream Believer” - The Monkees
“Woman, Woman” - The Union Gap
“Boogaloo Down Broadway” - The Fantastic Johnny C
“It’s the Little Things” - Sonny James
    1968 - President-elect Richard Nixon’s younger daughter, Julie, was married in New York City to Dwight David Eisenhower II, grandson of the former president.
http://www.jag.org/jn_eisenhower.htm
    1969 - In San Francisco, Radio Free Alcatraz broadcast for first time on Berkeley radio station KPFA.
    1969 – Pistol Pete Maravich sank 30 of 31 free throws for the NCAA record.
    1972 - Folk singer Joni Mitchell was awarded a gold record for her album, "For the Roses"; which included the song, "You Turn Me on, I’m a Radio". 
http://www.jonimitchell.com/
    1972 – A 6.25 earthquake strikes Managua, Nicaragua, killing over 12,000.  It was to help those still suffering there with supplies that the plane carrying Roberto Clemente crashed, killing him and all aboard.
    1973 - Barbra Streisand's hit record, “The Way We Were”, from the movie of the same title that she starred in with Robert Redford, debuted on Billboard's pop record charts on this date. The song was on the charts for 17 weeks total, and for 3 weeks was Number 1. It was later certified gold, and it won the Academy Awards for Best Song and for Best Original Dramatic Score. The music was written by Marvin Hamlisch, and the lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. 
    1974 - Center Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins scored the 500th goal of his career in a 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Esposito played from 1963-64 through 1980-81 and finished with 717 regular season goals.  There was a billboard near the Boston Garden that shouted, “Jesus Saves…” to which someone spray-painted, “…and Espo scores on the rebound!”
    1975 - On CBS-TV's "All in the Family," Mike and Gloria Stivic, played by Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers, had a baby. 
    1975 - Top Hits
“That’s the Way (I Like It)” - KC & The Sunshine Band
“Let’s Do It Again” - The Staple Singers
“Saturday Night” - Bay City Rollers
“Convoy” - C.W. McCall
    1976 - Production of "Let’s Make A Deal" came to an end. During the games show's 3,200 episodes, Monty Hall gave away an estimated $35 million in prizes and over 20,000 kisses. The show's announcer was Jay Stewart, and Carol Merrill was the spokesmodel. 
    1976 - Bob Seger begins his breakthrough to stardom as his album, "Live Bullet," goes gold. The album features in-concert versions of "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man," "Beautiful Loser," "Get Out of Denver," "Travelin' Man" and "Katmandu."
    1977 - Not everyone who jumped from the top of the Empire State building committed suicide, as 26-year-old Thomas Helms, who jumped from the observation deck on the 86th floor landed on a narrow ledge on the85th floor, about 20 feet lower down. He was knocked unconscious for half an hour but was not seriously injured.    
    1978 - Faces drummer Kenney Jones becomes The Who's drummer, replacing the late Keith Moon who died two months earlier.
    1979 - Linda Ronstadt, the Eagles and Chicago played a political benefit for her then boyfriend, California Governor Jerry Brown in Las Vegas. That show, and one the night before in San Diego, raised $150,000.
    1979 - Former studio musician Rupert Holmes had the last number one record of the seventies with "Escape" (The Pina Colada Song). The tune stayed at the top for two weeks and the follow-up, "Him", also made the Top 10. Holmes had previously done studio work for The Drifters, The Platters and Gene Pitney. "Escape" made #23 in the UK. 
    1983 - Top Hits
“Say Say Say” - Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson
“Say It Isn’t So” - Daryl Hall and John Oates
“Union of the Snake” - Duran Duran
“Black Sheep” - John Anderson
    1984 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Like a Virgin," Madonna. Billboard ranks the song as the top single of 1984.
    1984 - CBS Records said it would release Mick Jagger’s, of the Rolling Stones, first solo album, in February, 1985. After a 20-year career with the self- proclaimed “greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in the world,” Jagger went solo with the album: "She’s the Boss".
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000002IXG/
102-8569588-7388914?v=glance
http://www.sweetstar.com/song/b000002ixg
    1984 – Subway rider Bernhard Goetz shoots four black would-be muggers on an express train in Manhattan.
    1986 - "Sports Illustrated" magazine named Penn State Head Football Coach Joe Paterno Sportsman of the Year, marking the second time a coach won the honor. The first coach to do so was UCLA basketball legend, John Wooden. For this issue, the magazine chose to change its logo to a two-line design.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/2002/sportsman/master_list/
http://www.gopsusports.com/football/people/paterno/paternobiobody.cfm
http://www.hoophall.com/halloffamers/Wooden.htm
    1989 - 137 cities set record lows for this date. 35 of those cities established new lows for December. New all-time records were set -4ºF in Oklahoma City, OK, -6ºF in Tulsa, OK, -12ºF in Pittsburgh, PA, -18ºF in Denver, CO, -23ºF in Kansas City, MO, -42ºF in Scottsbluff, NE, -47ºF in Hardin, MT & -60ºF in Black Hills, SD.
    1990 – The independence of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia is complete after termination of the US trusteeship   
    1991 - Top Hits
“Black or White” - Michael Jackson
“It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” - Boyz II Men
“All 4 Love” - Color Me Badd
“My Next Broken Heart” - Brooks & Dunn
    1991 - Gregg Allman makes his acting debut as a drug kingpin in the flick, "Rush." Eric Clapton did the excellent music score.
    1993 - Lake effect snows buried Turin, NY under 45 inches of snow with 5 inches falling in just 20 minutes. Boonville, NY had 31 inches in two days.
    1996 - Right wing Brett Hull of the St. Louis Blues became the 24th player in NHL history to score 500 regular-season goals. He tallied goals Nos. 498, 499 and 500 in a 7-4 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Another goal, originally thought to be No. 500 was later credited to teammate Sepahne Matteau. Hull and his father Bobby thus became the first father-and-son duo in NHL history to score 500 goals each.
http://www.hockey-fans.com/players/brett-hull.php
    1998 - U.S. Woman Combat Pilot Sees Action -- ABOARD THE USS ENTERPRISE (AP) -- The first American woman fighter pilot to see combat action took part in the air strikes on Iraq. Navy Lt. Kendra Williams, 26, flew her FA-18 fighter-bomber as part of the attack force launched from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise in the Gulf. Williams, who was raised in Anchorage, Alaska, was among the first group of women allowed to train for fighter duty, military officials said Tuesday. She graduated from jet training at the Naval Air Station in Kingsville, Texas, in 1997.
http://www.ctie.monash.edu/hargrave/williams_k.html 
    2001 – Richard Reid attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines Flight 63.  The revelation resulted in increased boarding security measures that now include shoe removal when going through airport security.
    2005 - The internet search engine Google announced that Janet Jackson was the most-searched name during the last twelve months, with people looking for pictures from her so-called "wardrobe malfunction" at Super Bowl 38 when she exposed her right breast.
    2008 - An ash dike ruptured at a solid waste containment area in Roane County, TN, releasing 1.1 billion US gallons of coal fly ash slurry, thereby unleashing a torrent of litigation by damaged citizens through the EPA.
    2010 - The British government declared the Beatles' famous Abbey Road zebra-crossing a national heritage site. Britain's Minister for Tourism and Heritage John Penrose said "This London zebra crossing is no castle or cathedral, but thanks to the Beatles and a 10-minute photo shoot one August morning in 1969, it has just as strong a claim as any to be seen as part of our heritage."
    2010 - The repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, the 17-year-old policy banning homosexuals serving openly in the United States military, is signed into law by President Obama.
    2019 - New Orleans wide receiver Michael Thomas sets NFL record for most catches in a season with his 144th as Saints beat Tennessee 38-28; breaks 17-year old record held by Marvin Harrison (143)