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Day in American History

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Headlines---

Classified Ads--- Sales
    Dell Sued For The Old Bait-and-Switch
        “SILO:” ELA Responds to Treasury and IRS
            Cartoon----
Classified Ads---Help Wanted
    Venue Losses by Lessors local and federal courts
        Maryland to Change Law re: Commercial/Consumer
Up-Date: Leasing Association Conferences-Spring
    Ryder to Settle IRS Audit by Paying $175 Million
        MicroFinancial 4th Quarter/Year-end Results
Synovus Quarterly Cash Dividend Increase
    CHP "breakthrough" Alfa Lease Platform
        News Briefs---
Sports Briefs---
    California News Briefs---
        "Gimme that Wine"
            This Day in American History
Winter Poem

######## surrounding the article denotes it is a “press release”

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Classified Ads--- Sales

Sales: Bakersfield, CA. I have an extensive sales and management background in equipment leasing. My work history exhibits my major strength in small ticket equipment leasing. Email: pangress@msn.com	Sales: Boston, MA. Middle market originator, construction/Trucks / Trailers w/ 8 years in territory, looking for company / bank with competitive products Email: mrichlease@comcast.net
Sales: Boston, MA. Vendor Program Specialist. Relationship seller with major end users in Northeast as well. Top references email: gymqunhrh1@aol.com	Sales: Cedar Rapids, IA. Formally trained in Credit, Collections, & Sales with regional bank. Seeking sales or sales management. Over ten years in SM, vendor and end user. Email: mjrprime@yahoo.com
Sales:Cedar Rapids, IA. Formally trained in Credit, Collections, & Sales with regional bank. Seeking sales or sales management. Over ten years in SM, vendor and end user. E mail: mjrprime@yahoo.com	Sales: Central, NC. 7 yrs.equip leasing &finance; specialist in heavy construction equip for 2-top-5-specialty finance/lease companies, NC &VA territories. $10-15MM annual funding. Downsized in 2002, now independent broker with varied customer base. Email: sunriseleasing@aol.com
Sales: Chicago, IL. 12+ yrs multinational/national sales & business development. Seeking role with captive lessor or global leasing company. Will relo right opportunity. Experience structuring complex transactions. Email: leasingismylife@yahoo.com	Sales: Dallas, TX 30 years lease experience. Looking for Lender wanting to get into the Electronic Market can bring 11 years experience with national vendors and customers. Email: alpnb@msn.com
Sales: Denver CO. Experienced Equipment Leasing Broker looking for a in house leasing company. Can bring a book of business with me or develop new territory where needed. Email: Steven@eagle2.net	Sales: Detroit Mi 5 yrs sales experience in IT small ticket leasing/Greenbelt Certified with Fortune 100 company/strong communication and negotiation skills/book of business available.scottpoko@comcast.net
Sales: East Central Florida 20+ years experience in all areas of leasing; sales, credit, operations, syndication. Currently independent seeking position with direct middle market lender in regional capacity email: southernleasing@bellsouth.net	Sales: Fresno CA. Account Exec/Manager. 7+ years Leasing Sales: underwriting/contract, complex transactions, hi-tech, government, direct & vendor leasing. Captive & syndicator environments. Expert deal closer. Will send resume.Email: dsp559@pacbell.net Resume
Sales: Grand Rapids, MI. 17 years sales/ sales management in Britain specializing in operating leasing/ Asset Management within middle ticket market. Credit/ documentation skills. Previous sales experience in Michigan. email: ppnh4x55@hotmail.com Resume	Sales: Greensboro, N.C. Seeking direct & broker sales w/major finance companies in NC or southeast market. Small to mid-ticket range. Stable &family oriented. Will have series 6,63,65 license shortly. Email:kc1492@aol.com
Sales: Kansas City, MO. 15+ years in finance/leasing industry, extensive knowledge in sales and management. Specializing in construction, transportation and machine tool industries. Will re-locate for right opportunity. Email: Financerep@aol.com	Sales: Kansas City, MO. 20 years Senior Sales/Management experience in small ticket/government leasing. Program Management experience, managing 12 Reps. Credit Auth to $50K. Success in soliciting and maintaining accounts. Email: dhundley1@kc.rr.com
Sales: Los Angeles, CA. 12+years Leasing sales, underwriting/contract exper. including hi-tech, govt, direct & vendor leasing. Seeking role w/institution or captive. Exper. w/ complex transactions, including securities. Possible relocation. Email: rahlease04@hotmail.com	Sales: Los Angeles CA. 5 years experience structuring off-balance sheet finance solutions on computer and medical equipment. Perform detailed competitive analysis and market research. I uncover leads and sell. email: barretthawk@hotmail.com
Sales: Louisville, KY 27 years veteran of the construction, machine tool, manufacturing and transportation market. Located in Louisville , KY willing to transfer for the right company.  Looking for full time employment with base and benefits. Email: jim_jrd@msn.com Resume | Cover letter	Sales: Mission Viejo, CA Account Sales Executive with 10 years of leasing experience looking for company to bring existing customer base. Email:makelly21@hotmail.com
Sales: Montgomery, AL. Individual with 10 years advertising sales exp. & 7 years insurance sales exp. Wants independent contractor situation in Alabama. Work with leasing company or broker.334-281-5200 E-mail: billmcneal2003@yahoo.com	Sales: Nashua, NH. 10+ years sales experience small & mid-ticket hi-tech & telecom in a captive and vendor environment. Seeking new sales opportunity in New England. E-mail: RPepa@aol.com
Sales: Orange County, CA. Skilled deal-closer at above-average rates. Entrepreneurial. Accomplished lease-structurer specializing in transportation. Exp. in direct/captive & syndicator environments servicing vendors, brokers, & end-users. Email:originator@sbcglobal.net	Sales: Philadelphia , PA Seeking an open opportunity to advance in the automotive, commercial leasing & finance industry......... Email: alexe362002@yahoo.com
Sales: Portland, OR. "Exp. In direct sales and sales mgmt. I love Portland, but decent here jobs are few. Willing to be re-located, would like to work for you. Email: pthygeson@netscape.net"	Sales: Prairie Village, KS Have substantial deal flow and database of broker referral sources. Generated and closed over $22M LY. Seeking exclusive relationship w/direct founder. Email:fiergl@aol.com
Sales: San Bernardino, CA. Account executive w/4 years exp. in small ticket &lower end middle market lease transactions, Outstanding ACT database compiled of over 500 vendors. Seeking a career driven position w/a reputable lessor Email: moneytoloan@hotmail.com	Sales: San Francisco Bay Area, CA 10+ yrs in middle market leasing. Seek direct lessor only. Transaction size from $500M to $10.0MM. Client base: printing, food, retail, manufacturing. Email:edm173@sbcglobal.net
Sales: SF Bay Area, CA. 15+ yrs--mid mkt. $500M to $10.0MM. Seeking role w/ captive or global leasing firm. large book to bring with me! Debt, tax, 1st amendment, etc. Email: lac4002@yahoo.com	Sales: San Francisco, CA. Business Development "Hunter" with 20 years experience, 5 ½ in development of CONTRACTUALLY BASED VENDOR PROGRAMS primarily in high tech. Can bring rolodex, not programs. E-mail: BizDev7@aol.com
Sales: San Francisco, CA. 10 years of sales production to middle market technology credits. Strong Act, Goldmine and Microsoft Office Skills. Seeking position with direct lessor, captive or service provider. email: bamrborges@msn.com	Sales: Seattle / Tacoma, WA.Award-winning commercial equipment leasing pro. Canadian-American knowledge. This pro can sell like few others and is a relationship-builder. Grab me before I sell against you. Email: greenawayslove@aol.com
Sales: Southern California Equipment Financing Professional with strong background in Sales, Management, Marketing & Operations. Will consider relocation for Senior Sales or Management position offering dynamic growth opportunity. Email:natsif@hotmail.com	Sales: South Central U.S. TX, OK, KS & AR Territory. Equipment finance and leasing professional, 20 years experience. Top producer in middle to upper middle markets. Extensive customer base. Email: leasingrep2004@yahoo.com

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Dell Sued For The Old Bait-and-Switch

By Michael Singer

Internetnews.com

Two Dell customers in California have filed class-action lawsuits against the company for what their lawyers call bait-and- switch marketing tactics.

San Francisco residents Rosemary M. Weber and Jonathan V. Holtzman say they got a bum deal when it came to ordering through Dell's catalogue. Both complained they had been pressured by salespeople with promises of either low-cost financing to lure them into installment payment schemes or better quality equipment than had been delivered.

Lawyers from Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins filed a class action suit on Feb. 14 in Superior Court for San Francisco County against Dell, Dell's financial services division (DFS) and its finance partner, CIT Bank, on behalf of Dell customers.

The complaint alleges that Dell preys on unsuspecting consumers with its scripted sales force, ever-changing ad offers and highly promoted "preferred" rates and "easy" financing packages which, without notice, then are changed to include much higher interest rates and hidden charges. Specifically, the suit claims Dell violates California's Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), the California Business and Professions Code and the Unruh Act.

"Dell offers one low-priced product and then substitutes a higher cost or lower quality item," Reed Kathrein, a Lerach partner whose firm is best known for filing stockholder lawsuits, said in a statement. "Dell promises 'easy' credit but no one qualifies. It then charges unconscionable high interest and other credit charges."

Kathrein told internetnews.com that Dell responded to the law firm's initial letter but could not confirm if Dell has seen the legal filing. He also said his office had received close to 100 complaints since August 2004.

"We received too many complaints to ignore," Kathrein said.

Dell spokesman Lionel Menchaca said the company would not comment on pending litigation.

In Weber's case, the San Francisco nurse told lawyers she had limited experience with computers when she responded in 2003 to a Dell ad and bought a notebook computer listed at $599, along with an $89 printer. She was billed $1,352 for her order and, at the urging of Dell's sales person, financed her purchase through DFS at an undisclosed interest rate that turned out to be between 27 and 39 percent.

Holtzman told his lawyers he responded to a Dell e-mail offer by ordering computer products at Dell's online store. He received a confirmation of his order and billing rate, but the products that arrived were of a lesser quality. Efforts to reach Dell and resolve the matter were frustrating and unsuccessful.

Lawyers at Lerach claim that because Dell equipment and services are sold exclusively by telephone and through Dell's Web site, their customers can view only pictures of the products prior to sale -- never the product itself.

In 2004, Dell spent $300 million advertising its products on television, in newspapers and catalogues and on the Internet. It shipped 5.4 million personal computers in the United States and generated $6 billion in revenue from U.S. consumers that year.

"Knowing that these consumers are not sophisticated, Dell nonetheless inundates them with a dizzying array of advertisements for Dell products," the complaint says. "While the names of the computers, model numbers and pictures are usually consistent, the details of Dell offers vary from one ad to another and even from day to day or hour to hour, with 'small print' disclaimers, the suit charges."

The class action applies only to California residents. A Proof Of Service document is due by April 15, 2005, with a case management statement due on June 30. The first case management conference is scheduled for July 15.

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“SILO:” ELA Responds to Treasury and IRS Notice 2005-13

ELTnews

The decision by the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service, Notice 2005-13 (the "Notice"), to issue guidance that designates "sale-in/lease out" or SILO arrangements with tax-indifferent, including tax-exempt, lessees as abusive tax avoidance transactions is troubling to the Equipment Leasing Association and its members, said Michael Fleming, President of the Equipment Leasing Association.

The Equipment Leasing Association (ELA), the trade association for the equipment leasing and finance industry, questions the Treasury Department's decision to "list" so-called "SILO" transactions with tax-indifferent lessees. That treatment is inconsistent with the estimate of additional tax revenues attributed to the provisions of new section 470 of the Internal Revenue Code, as enacted last year. That estimate was based upon the premise that the section 470 law change would generate billions in revenue by preventing transactions that otherwise were permitted under current law. This Notice obviously is premised on a different view of current law.

The Association also is concerned with the breadth of the Notice's potential application and its implications and will be responding in specific detail as this issue moves forward. Finally, the Association is troubled by the continuing steps by the Treasury Department to set policy with respect to leasing without meaningful input from, or dialogue with, the leasing community. ELA remains committed to a meaningful dialogue with Treasury and with the Congress to ensure that the leasing industry receives a fair hearing on important legislative and regulatory issues.

(Leasing News wrote about this decision in its February 17 th edition:
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/February%202005/02-17-05.htm#silo

The story also had a copy of the U.S. Treasury Department/IRS Announcement:
http://www.treasury.gov/press/releases/reports/notice200513.pdf

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Classified Ads---Help Wanted

Leasing Sales Representative

National Account Manager

Platform Business Manager / Asset Manager

Sales Professionals

Small Ticket Sales Representative

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Venue Losses by Lessors in both local and federal courts

According to ELTnews, the Equipment Leasing Association has filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Preferred Capital's appeal of an adverse ruling on forum selection provisions in its NorVergence case.

(This file plus the previous “white paper” is available only to members, and Leasing News has not received permission to print them. ELA appears to continue to “champion” what are known as “hell and high water” leasing contracts. Of course, it is their role to champion their members. They have gone to extra lengths and should be commended for their vigorous efforts. editor)

Last week the Federal Court in Illinois echoed other court rulings in various states regarding the “vague” venue provision in the “Equipment Rental Contracts” generated by NorVergence and used by most whom they “discounted” or who funded their invoice.

The ruling states:

"The purported forum selection clause does not designate a specific state to which the parties will litigate any issues one the lease is assigned and confers upon the lessor the right to assign to any creditor in any state. Defendants have no way of knowing, at the time the lease was executed, what state in the union they would be required to litigate. As such, Defendants cannot be found to have consented to jurisdiction in Illinois. The cases cited by Plaintiff all contain clauses which designate a specific forum at the time of execution of the agreement."

According to a well-known attorney who would like to appear anonymous in his opinion, “Although a ruling in a federal court in Illinois could be considered ‘persuasive' authority on a state court in Illinois, it would not be binding authority or precedent. Even among judges of the same federal district court in Illinois, one judge's ruling would not bind another. In addition, I believe IFC has brought its cases in state court and I assume the successful case at issue was "removed" to federal court. That being said, I believe the dismissal is still positive news.

“While defendant's in non-IFC cases in other states could certainly cite to the Illinois district court case, such a citation would be only persuasive authority and not binding authority.”

What has happened is the “venue” statutes have been challenged, and in most instances, it means the lessor has had to sue the lessee in the county when the lessee is located. This means more expense, and in some situations, the difficulty of that state's laws such as Texas or Massachusetts. It also may mean for instance, a Chicago lawyer has to make his case to a jury in a small county located in Alabama, where at best he would be considered a “carpetbagger.”

It does appear several of the lessors have decided to make a cash flow business decision: that it is “cash flow” wise better to fight than come up with $500,000 or a $1 million to pay off a bank line—while they may need to do so in the interim, the loan is made with the concept the “winnings” would pay it off.

They may find defendants who would prefer to settle than also pay for the court costs and attorney fees, plus in some courts, they may be able to prove their position, so from a business decision viewpoint, they have decided to bring matters to court to decide.

So to take two years with a cost of $10,000 per month with the hopes of settling some, winning some, is a better cash flow decision than forgiving 85% as GE agreed recently agreed to do for 660 small businesses in 12 states, according to a preliminary settlement approved by Judge Jonathan N. Harris in Hackensack, New Jersey.

Leasing News has made it very plain, such as in a recent editorial, we favor settlement to this matter rather than letting it fester in court where both sides will be losers.

http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Novergence_67.htm

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Maryland to Change Law re: Commercial/Consumer

In Maryland, yesterday, Wednesday Feb 23 rd , there was a hearing in the Maryland Legislature for House Bill 588.  This bill is to amend the Consumer Protection - Claims and Defenses in Consumer Credit Contracts-Business. 

The focus of the bill was primarily to provide protection in Maryland to a business that enters into a contract, loan or lease, which the
individual is personally liable as either a signatory or a guarantor.
It would then classified the transaction as “consumer” versus a commercial and come under the laws for consumers, which is much more liberal than the commercial laws in the state.

There is a move in several states to make such changes, primarily brought along by the action of NorVergence and telecommunication leases.

http://leasingnews.org/PDF/Copy_of_house_bill.pdf

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Leasing Association Conferences—Spring

UAEL Regional Meeting---March 17th

United Association of Equipment Leasing Regional Meeting

Thursday, March 17th 2005
4:30 pm – 7:30pm
Renaissance Club Sport, 2805 Jones, Walnut Creek
680 & Geary/Treat Blvd, across from Pleasant Hill BART

Please reserve your ticket by Monday, March 7th, via email at:
jhaenselman@befcfinance.com
or call John Haenselman at 650-616-1948

for more information, please go here:
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/NorCalMarch05Flyer.pdf

April 6-7,2005

National Funding Exhibition Fairmont Hotel
Chicago, IL

(note: ELA will allow a one time conference attendance to a non-member. However, the ability to attend not only the conferences but information from their website is well-worth the membership fee)
http://www.elaonline.org/events/calendar/ataglance.cfm#now

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April 14-17,2005
Mills House
Charleston, South Carolina

“The famous Mills House in beautiful, historic Charleston, South Carolina will be the setting for this super conference. Bill Cowden of Springs Leasing, chairman of this event, promises a conference to remember. If you have any workshop ideas or want to volunteer as a panelist, call Alison at 212-809- 1602.”
        EAEL.org web site

To view the Mills house, please go here:
http://www.millshouse.com/virtual-tour.htm

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April 21-24, 2005

Spring Leadership Conference
Doubletree Paradise Valley Resort
Scottsdale, Arizona
Chairman: Steve Reid - Pacific Capital Bank

Content:
- Great Educational Sessions and Roundtables
- Strong Speakers
- Spouse Function
- Golf
- Texas Hold-em Tournament
- Arizona Diamondbacks Game

For brochure, click here:
http://www.uael.org/events/conferences/slc/register.asp

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May 4-6,2005

Loews Miami Beach Hotel
South Beach, Miami, Florida

for more information, please go here:
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/25AM05_springpgm.pdf

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May 12-15,2005

Hyatt Regency Union Station
St. Louis, Missouri

Claude Elmore—Conference Chairman
Netbank Business Finance

Conference information:
http://www.naelb.org/associations/2004/files/
NAELB05%20Reg%20Brochure%20FINAL.pdf

General Conference Information:
http://www.naelb.org/displayconvention.cfm

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"Ryder to Settle IRS Audit by Paying $175 Million"

ELTnews

Truck-leasing giant Ryder System has agreed to pay about $175 million plus interest to settle an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audit of the company's accounting practices regarding sales of assets and lease-back deals from 1998 to 2000.

In a December filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ryder had announced that the IRS was investigating a reported loss on the Miami-based company's accounting of equipment leasing and sales and its sale of a stake in an insurance unit.

Ryder says "it has not entered into any other transactions since 2000 that raise the same type of issues."

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

MicroFinancial Incorporated Announces Fourth Quarter
and Year End 2004 Results

WOBURN, Mass----MicroFinancial Incorporated (NYSE-MFI) a financial intermediary specializing in vendor based leasing and finance programs for microticket size transactions in the $500 to $15,000 range, announced today its financial results for the fourth quarter and the year ended December 31, 2004.

Net income for the quarter was $4.6 million, or $0.33 per diluted share, compared to a loss of $8.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2003. The increase in income for the quarter is due in part to the reduction of a $7.9 million tax liability as discussed below.

Fourth quarter revenue for the period ended December 31, 2004 was $12.4 million compared to $20.0 million in the prior year's fourth quarter. Income on leases and loans was $2.0 million, rental income was $6.8 million, and other income components contributed $3.6 million for the quarter.

Richard Latour, President and Chief Executive Officer said, "Our dedicated focus on operational goals drove our improved financial performance in the fourth quarter and all of 2004. Specifically, we reduced operating expenses by 45% for the fourth quarter and 23% on an annual basis compared to the prior periods. Additionally, the Company improved its financial flexibility in 2004 through the closing of a new $30 million credit facility, which we believe positions MicroFinancial very well for future growth."

Total operating expenses for the quarter declined 44.8% to $18.4 million from $33.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2003. Interest expense was $0.3 million as a result of lower debt balances. Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased $2.7 million to $5.5 million from $8.2 million for the same period last year.

MicroFinancial Incorporated Richard F. Latour, 781-994-4800 President and CEO

Full Press release at:
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=
news_view&newsId=20050223005902&newsLang=en

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Synovus Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend Increase

COLUMBUS, Ga----Synovus (NYSE:SNV) today announced a 5.3% increase in its quarterly cash dividend, from $0.1733 to $0.1825 per share. The cash dividend is payable on April 1, 2005, to Synovus shareholders of record as of March 24, 2005.

"We have solid strategies in place for accelerating growth in our existing and emerging high growth markets, for broadening our customer relationships and for providing opportunities for our team members," said James H. Blanchard, Synovus CEO. "Synovus' recent growth ranks high among its peers, and we are optimistic about our future prospects."

About Synovus(R)

Synovus (NYSE:SNV) is a diversified financial services holding company with over $25 billion in assets based in Columbus, Georgia. Synovus provides integrated financial services including banking, financial management, insurance, mortgage and leasing services through 40 banks and other Synovus offices in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee; and electronic payment processing through an 81-percent stake in TSYS (NYSE:TSS), the world's largest third-party processor of international payments. Synovus has been named one of "The 100 Best Companies To Work For" in America by FORTUNE magazine, and has been recognized in its Hall of Fame for consecutive appearances on the list since its inception in 1998. In 2004, Synovus was also named as one of "America's Most Admired Companies."

See Synovus on the Web at www.synovus.com.

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World Leasing Yearbook 2005 ISBN:184374 142 3 Pages: 524 Edition: 26th Directory Contacts: 4,400 Companies Price: $250.00 The only annually-updated international reference book for the asset financing and leasing industry available. The new 26th edition includes the latest market trends, over 100 authoritative articles and reports on the leasing software and IT market, an exclusive ranking of the top 50 leasing markets by size worldwide with feature profiles from Africa to Venezuela PLUS a directory of over 4,400 companies. To order call +44 (0) 20 7779 8999 or toll free in the US +1 800 437 9997 to receive your 10% discount. You can also order on line at http://www.euromoney-yearbooks.com

CHP CONSULTING INTRODUCES BREAKTHROUGH

ALFA LEASE TRANSACTION PLATFORM

TO NORTH AMERICA

Enterprise software system features both front- and back-office capabilities, improving efficiency, costs and customer relationships.

LONDON, – CHP Consulting Ltd., the leading provider of enterprise management software and consulting services to the global lease finance industry, announced that its time-tested and proven ALFA lease transaction platform is now available to North American lessors.

Unlike most lease transaction systems currently found in North America, the breakthrough ALFA enterprise software platform features integrated front- and back-office capabilities, facilitating a truly seamless approach to lease origination and management. Other vendors rely on multiple software systems that do not always integrate easily and often cost more to operate.

For lessors, the CHP platform improves the efficiency of the lease finance process, enabling them to conduct more business than ever before with less costs, while enhancing their customer relationships.

The ALFA platform already is in place at more than 30 customer locations in Europe and Australasia. CHP customers include top banks, equipment manufacturers with captive-finance programs and finance companies.

“Based on a number of discussions we've had with existing customers, there appears to be a huge need in North America for an innovative product like the ALFA software platform,” said CHP Director Andrew Denton. “To our knowledge, there is no other vendor that offers such an end-to-end system, from lease origination through asset disposal. Such functionality, combined with our unmatched knowledge of the equipment leasing industry, clearly sets CHP apart from others in North America.”
From the lessor's perspective, there are several benefits to using the ALFA platform, among them:
· Common workflow between front- and back-office operations, facilitating communications between the sales organization, credit and lease administration personnel.
· Common accounting engine, assuring pricing and evaluation processes are based on same financial parameters as those used by the back office personnel, helping eliminate mistakes.
· Common database, linking all important transaction information between front- and back-office.
· Common timing cues to alert the sales team of repeat lease sales opportunities and other chances to build stronger ties with lessees.

Based on its successful track record in Europe and Australasia, Denton expects strong interest in the ALFA technology platform from North American manufacturers with captive finance operations that want to expand into key overseas markets. The ALFA platform has evolved during the past decade to be particularly capable of handling large volume, complex lease operations.

CHP also announced the introduction of the new ALFA Web Tier module for the ALFA transaction platform. Built on existing XML technology, this application provides a new means for delivering the ALFA platform to customers with an improved Web interface. Using the Web Tier module, lessor sales teams, proposal generators, lease brokers and other key third parties have remote access to front-office services including lease quotation, receipt preparation and lease termination tools. This technology also facilitates outside inquiries from prospective customers.

“ALFA Web Tier provides a Web application framework that enables our customers to take ownership of their transaction channels – selling to anyone, anywhere,” Denton said. “The flexible nature of this product means they can develop new channels to market as well as multiple white label offerings in a short amount of time with little assistance from us.”

ALFA Web Tier uses J2EE technology to deliver a scalable solution on any Web server platform. It has access to the entire functional capability of the ALFA Systems solution using Web services to communicate with the XML-based, ALFA/XA Extended Architecture. Both ALFA Web Tier and the remaining ALFA Systems can serve as component parts of a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) delivering true enterprise integration.

Established in 1990 and headquartered in London, CHP Consulting specializes in strategic and information technology consulting to the finance industry. Key areas of expertise include consumer finance, corporate asset finance, vehicle finance, fleet management, asset management and structured asset finance.

The firm employs more than 100 consultants to support clients in the United Kingdom, Europe, North America and Australasia. These include Lombard, HSBC, Nissan Finance, Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland, Société Générale and ING Lease. Global clients include National Australia Group and GE Capital.

CHP products and services include the ALFA platform, strategic consulting, business process reengineering, e-commerce strategy and systems implementation, software development, systems selection, technical architecture consulting, project and facilities management, disaster recovery services and ASP.

For more information, visit www.chp.co.uk.
Susan Carol, APR
Chief Executive Officer,
Susan Carol Associates
www.scapr.com
540-659-0843
Email: sca@scapr.com

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News Briefs---

Oil Prices Hover Near Recent Highs
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49037-2005Feb24.html

Consumer Prices Edged Higher as Average Wage Fell
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/
A46544-2005Feb23.html

U.S. Participation Rate Hits 17-Year Low
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/
A49033-2005Feb24.html?nav=headlines

Los Angeles seeks to be declared disaster area after storms kill nine
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1540&u=/
afp/usweathercalifornia&printer=1

San Diego Mayor Murphy declares state of emergency after storms
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/
20050223-1644-disaster.html

Massachusetts Gov. Romney unveils $600m job-growth plan
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/02/24/romney_
unveils_600m_job_growth_plan/

Health care tab ready to explode
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/
2005-02-24-health-care-costs_x.htm

EDS has major revamp in mind
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/
2005-02-24-eds_x.htm

St. Louis Musicians' strike is illegal, says Symphony
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/stories.nsf/music/story/
929F36ED48F9CECD86256FB20023BA22?OpenDocument&Headline=
Musicians'+strike+is+illegal,+says+Symphony

American Idol, four were eliminated last night.

Jared Yates, Judd Harris, Melinda Lira, and Sarah Mather all got sent home. Spend one last moment with them in our Contestant Section. And get to know the 20 souls that will be dealing with the increased pressure in the next round!
http://idolonfox.com/contestants/

Canadian Pair's Final Photos Show Tsunami
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2005/02/23/
international/i185139S54.DTL

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Sports Briefs---

First Rice, Now Randy Moss Goes to Oakland Raiders?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/
archive/2005/02/24/MOSS.TMP
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/football/nfl/
oakland_raiders/10972946.htm?1c

Cowboys Quick fix: Bledsoe fits bill, Jerry Jones says
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/football/nfl/stories/
022405dnspobledsoe.d86651dc.html

Sosa's Power Stroke Awes New Teammates
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/sports/AP-BBO-Spring-
Training-Rdp.html

[headlines]

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California News Brief---

Schwarzenegger's job approval suffers, poll says
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-02-23-
schwarzenegger-poll_x.htm

[headlines]

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“Gimme that Wine”

Best Supporting Grape---Eric Asimov http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/23/dining/23pour.html?

Weak dollar strengthens U.S. wine sales abroad
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/
articles/0222eurowine22.html

For Passover, market expands for dry kosher wines
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/style/fooddrink/winecellar/
s_306521.html

The Doobie Brothers Commit Five Years Of Proceeds From Doobie Red Wine To National Veterans Foundation
http://noted.blogs.com/westcoastmusic/2005/02/
the_doobie_brot.htm

[headlines]

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This Day in American History

    1803- Supreme Court first rules a law unconstitutional (Marbury vs Madison) This 1803 decision marked the first time the United States Supreme Court declared a federal law unconstitutional. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote the opinion for the court. He held that it was the duty of the judicial branch to determine what the law is. His opinion established the power of judicial review—that is, the court's authority to declare laws unconstitutional
http://www.stanley2002.org/marbury.htm
    1811-Bishop Daniel Alexander Payne, sixth Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church and a founder of Ohio's Wilberforce University, was born to free black parents in Charleston, South Carolina. Named for English abolitionist Lord William Wilberforce, Wilberforce University in Xenia, Ohio, was the first black-owned college in the United States. Payne was named the university's president in 1863, becoming the nation's first black college president.
http://www.amecnet.org/payne.htm
http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/payne70/frontis.html
    1836-Home Winslow Birthday; American artist born at Boston, MA. Noted for the realism of his work, from the Civil war reportage to the highly regarded rugged outdoor scenes of hunting and fishing. Died at his home at Prout's Neck, ME, Sept. 29, 1920.
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/H/homer.html
    1836-Texan Colonel William Travis sends a desperate plea for help for the besieged defenders of the Alamo, San Antonio, Texas, sending the message with the famous last words, "Victory or Death." On March 6, the Alamo , where 182 Texans were garrisoned was captured by the Mexican leader Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who had led over 3000 troops across the Rio Grande. Every Texan except a mother, a child, and a servant was killed. “Remember the Alamo” became a battle cry that brought Texans and friends from neighboring states together that eventually formed the Republic of Texas. The movie in the 1950's “Davey Crockett,” would bring the event to worldwide attention as he died in the Alamo along with Colonel Travis, making the “Bowie” knife and coonskin cap famous ( as a point of history, Crockett never wore a coonskin cap. He was a former legislator and well-educated man for his time, not a hick or country bumpkin as the role Fess Parker made famous. )
    1852 -the Susquehanna River ice bridge at Havre de Grace, Maryland began to break up after 40 days of use. A total of 1738 loaded freight cars were hauled along the rails laid on the ice.
    1857- Los Angeles Vineyard Society organized by two men in San Francisco named Charles Kohler and James Frohling, who were looking for an area to establish a vineyard colony. Kohler and Frohling, with a group of German immigrants, formed the Los Angeles Vineyard Society on February 24, 1857. George Hansen, a Los Angeles surveyor, was selected to find an ideal site for their planned community. He found it on the Rancho San Juan Cajon de Santa Ana, which was then in Los Angeles County. Plans were formed for the new town, which was named "Anaheim," but known to their Spanish-speaking neighbors as "Campo Aleman." Although the first settlers arrived in town in 1859, it was not until 1870 that the city was first organized as a municipality.
http://www.anaheim.net/depts_servc/police/history/intro.htm
    1860 -- Printer Daniel Berkeley Updike born, Providence, Rhode Island. (founder of Merrymount Press) he influences the world of typography with his two-volume Printing Types — Their History, Forms & Use.
    1863-Arizona becomes its own territory.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/feb24.html
    1864- Battle of Tunnel Hill GA (Buzzard's Roost). This started as a skirmish on February 22 but grew into a battle that lasted until February 25
http://bachelorsgrove.com/archive/obituaries/info/jamfuller/
stories/index4.html
http://www.northga.net/whitfield/tunnel.html
http://roadsidegeorgia.com/city/tunnelhill.html
http://www.ganet.org/civilwar/georgia.html#anchor221032
    1867-Impeach President Andrew Johnson: In a showdown over reconstruction policy following the Civil War, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson. During the two years following the end of the war, the Republican-controlled Congress had sought to severely punish the South. Congress passed the Reconstruction Act that divided the South into five military districts headed by officers who were to take their orders from General Grant, the head of the army, instead of from President Johnson. In addition, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act, which required Senate approval before Johnson could remove any official whose appointment was originally approved by the Senate. Johnson vetoed this act but the veto was overridden by Congress. To test the constitutionality of the act, Johnson dismissed Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, triggering the impeachment vote. While Johnson was not pro civil rights, he was pro South ( in fact, one of his last acts of office in December was to pardon Jefferson Davis, who was on trial for treason) . Stanton was very much anti-South and harbored many ill feelings, basically because of his blundering of military assignments to “society” generals. .On Mar 5,1868, the Senate convened as a court to hear the charges against the President. The Senate vote of 35—19 fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed for impeachment. Thus the South became Dixie Democrats until modern times. The 1868 presidential election was close, with Ulysses S. Grant's popular majority a scant 306,000 out of 5,7175,000 votes, although the electoral vote was 214 to Republican Horatio Seymour. The black vote, which totaled over 700,000, decided the election for Grant. In 1872, Grant beat Republican Candidate Horace Greely 3,597,132 to 2,384,124 for Greely; electoral votes 286 to 66. History changed and the Democratic Dixiecrat destroyed reconstruction and controlled the house with an inside deal to give. The election had been thrown back to congress before, such as the one between Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson. This was the first time the nation faced a dispute over the results of a presidential election. A candidate needed 185 electoral votes to win and Samuel J. Tilden the Democratic candidate, clearly had 184. In dispute were the 19 electoral votes of three states till under carpetbag rule---Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina---plus one vote in Oregon. In Congress both parties agreed on January 29, 1877 to establish an electoral commission to decide the issue. The commission, with five members from each house of Congress, and five members from the Supreme Court, was made up of eight Republicans and seven Democrats. All the commission's decisions were to fall along party lines. On March 2, Congress accepted the commission's decision, which awarded all the disputed votes to the Republican candidate , Rutherford B. Hayes, who thus received 185 electoral votes to Tilden's 184. The Republicans were accused of offering southern Democrats economic favors for their region if they supported Hayes's claim. In any event, the new president showed a conciliatory attitude toward the South: all the programs in place that had elected blacks to office, given them property and protection were removed, and the last federal troops were withdrawn and there was no further effort to protect the rights of blacks. Reconstruction was over.
    1868- 1st US parade with floats (Mardi Gras-Mobile AL)
http://www.fabuloustravel.com/usa/mardigras/almardigras.html
http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/6483/mg1.html
http://www.mglinks.com/mg101.htm
http://www.mglinks.com/
    1891 -The term "honky tonk" introduced, appearing in an Oklahoma paper, The Daily Ardorite, which reports "the honk-a-tonk last night was well attended." The word is most likely a Creole derivative, but could not find a definitive source. “Honkey” or "Honkie" might be its original source or a “spin-off.”
http://mmd.foxtail.com/Archives/Digests/199703/1997.03.05.06.html
    1895- Cuban war of independence begins.
http://www.autentico.org/oa09313.html
http://www.historyofcuba.com/cuba.htm
    1897- Emile Berliner took out a Canadian patent on his gramophone talking machine. Manufacturing facilities were set up in Montreal. Berliner had built a crude model of his machine ten years earlier at his home laboratory in Washington, DC, and he applied for a US patent on it on September 26th, 1887. Today the terms "gramophone" and "phonograph" mean the same thing. But in Berliner's day this was not so. "Gramophone" referred to a talking machine employing lateral-cut discs, while the phonograph, invented by Thomas Edison, used vertical-cut cylinders. Berliner's discs eventually made Edison's cylinders obsolete. Berliner also invented the microphone, which we still use today.
http://www.invention.org/electronic-music/berliner.html
    1905 -the temperature at Valley Head, Alabama fell to 18 degrees below zero. This was the coldest temperature ever recorded in Alabama until January 30, 1966 when it reached -27 at New Market.
    1909-The Hudson Motor Car Company, founded by Joseph Hudson, in Detroit, Michigan, was incorporated. Hudson is perhaps most famous for its impact on NASCAR racing, which it accomplished thanks to a revolutionary design innovation.
    1910-Arranger/Pianist Clyde Hart born Baltimore, MD, died March,1945
http://www.centrohd.com/biogra/h1/clyde_hart_b.htm
(Ben Webster talks about Clyde Hart:
http://www.jazzprofessional.com/interviews/BenWebster.htm
(CD had Clyde Hart All-stars with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie)
http://www.geocities.com/ladenso1/RBird/RepliestoKLONBird3_2_.html
Una Mae Carlise Orchestra
http://www.welwyn11.freeserve.co.uk/LY_smallgps.htm
    1912-Hadassah: Twelve members of the Daughters of Zion Study Circle met at New York City under the leadership of Nerietta Szoid. A constitution was drafted to expand the study group into a national organization called Hadassah (Hebrew for “myrtle” ) and the biblical name of Queen Esther) to foster Jewish education in America and to create public health nursing and nurses training in Palestine. Hadassah is now the largest women's volunteer organization in the US with 1,500 chapters rooted in health care delivery, education and vocational training, children's villages and services and land reclamation in Israel.
    1912 -- Labor activist Elizabeth Gurley Flynn heads "Bread & Roses" Lawrence Textile Strike of 20,000 women in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Police attack 150 children & their parents at the town railroad station. Many strikers are sending their kids to safe homes with friendly families in other cities. The exodus has generated so much publicity that Lawrence authorities have resolved to crush it. Today they force 35 women & their children into patrol wagons. After charging the women with neglect & handing jail sentences & fines to the organizers, the town fathers send 10 of the kids to the Lawrence poor farm. This prompts only more publicity, forcing Congress to investigate the strike. Sixteen children will testify, describing the poverty that led them to leave school & take jobs in the mill. The American Woolen Company will have no choice but to yield to the strikers' demands.
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5202/rebelgirl.html
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45b/index-a.html
    1921-Abe Vigoda birthday, actor ( “Barney Miller,” “Fish.”), born New York, NY.
http://www.tvland.com/shows/barneymiller/actor1.jhtml
http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800022099&cf=biog&intl=us
    1927-West Coast bassist Ralph Pena born Jarbridge, NV. He played with Pete Jolly and was also popular at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, California, where we saw him play often with many jazz groups. Died, 1969.
http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,478135,00.html?
artist=Ralph+Pena
    1928 -- In its first show to feature a Black artist, the New Gallery of New York exhibits works of Archibald Motley.
    1932-composer Michel Legrand born Paris, France
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Legrand,+Michel
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005YW0W/
inktomi-musicasin-20/102-1682336-8966565
    1933-Tenor Sax David “Fathead” Newman Birthday
http://www.davidfatheadnewman.com/
http://www.interneted.com/Reviewpages/newmandaviddaveyblue.htm
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000333E/
avsearch-df1-9-20/102-1682336-8966565
    1933-Tenor Sax David “Fathead” Newman Birthday
http://www.davidfatheadnewman.com/
http://www.interneted.com/Reviewpages/newmandaviddaveyblue.htm
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000333E/
avsearch-df1-9-20/102-1682336-8966565
    1936 - Vermont and New Hampshire received brown snow due to dust from storms in the Great Plains Region. A muddy rain fell across parts of northern New York State. (24th-25th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
    1940 - On Decca Records, Frances Langford recorded "When You Wish Upon a Star" during a session held in Los Angeles, California. Many artists have recorded that particular song, including Linda Ronstadt with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra in the early 1980s. The song can also be heard in the opening credits of any Disney movie, video or television program.
    1941- '60s pop singer Joanie Sommers birthday.
    1942- Harry James records “Trumpet Blues( and Cantabile)-Col. 36549
    1942 -- The Army, mistaking a weather balloon that strayed over Los Angeles for a Japanese bomber, unleashes a saturation antiaircraft barrage. Three civilians are trampled to death in the attending panic, and dozens more injured by falling shrapnel. The Japanese later in the war deployed large balloons with bombs, most landed in Oregon and Northern California, causing damage, but was kept out of the news, and the Japanese thinking they were not effective, ended the program.
    1943 - The Human Comedy, a novel written by William Saroyan, was published on this date in New York.
http://www.housecollectibles.com/highschool/catalog/
display.pperl?0440339332
    1943 - George Harrison Birthday: (Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer, former Beatle: My Sweet Lord, Isn't It a Pity, What is Life?, All Those Years Ago, Concert for Bangla-Desh; actor: A Hard Day's Night, Help!, The Beatles, Magical Mystery Tour, Yellow Submarine, Let It Be, The Concert for Bangladesh, Shanghai Surprise, You Can't Do That! The Making of ‘A Hard Day's Night'; Harrison believed for most of his life his birthday was Feb 25 but a family birth record has his birth at near 11:50 p.m. Feb 24; died Nov 29, 2001)
    1944 --"Merrill's Marauders" hit Burma The Marauders' mission began with a 1,000-mile walk through dense jungle, without artillery support, into Burma. On February 24, 1944, they began their Burmese campaign, which, when done, consisted of five major and 30 minor engagements with a far more numerous Japanese enemy. They had to carry their supplies on their backs and on pack mules, and were resupplied only with airdrops in the middle of the jungle. Merrill's Marauders succeeded in maneuvering behind Japanese forces to cause the disruptions necessary to throw the enemy into confusion. They were so successful, the Marauders managed even to capture the Myitkyina Airfield in northern Burma.
    1947-base player Bob Magnusson born New York City, NY,
http://www.emusic.com/cd/10600/10600220.html?fref=148694
    1949-First rock to reach outer space was a two-stage rocked consisting of a Wac Corporal set in the nose of a captured German V-2. It was fired from the White Sands Proving Ground, NM, by a team of scientists under Dr. Wernher von Braun. It reached an altitude of 250 miles.
    1951—Top Hits
If - Perry Como
My Heart Cries for You - Guy Mitchell
Tennessee Waltz - Patti Page
There's Been a Change in Me - Eddy Arnold
    1955-Steven Jobs birthday, co-founder of Apple Computer company, born Los Altos, CA. Jobs, the controversial co-founder of Apple Computer, started out selling his friend Stephen Wozniak's computers door-to-door at electronic hobbyist shops. By 1979, Apple Computer had become the fastest growing company in history, worth more than $1 billion. That year, Jobs led a team of several Apple developers, working on a new project called Lisa, on a visit to Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, where the team saw the Alto, an early computer with a graphical user interface using icons, a mouse, and built-in networking capacity. Both the Lisa and the Macintosh adopted key elements of the Alto. Jobs, whose impulsive personal style irritated some of Apple's key managers, was forced to leave Apple in 1985. He formed NeXT Inc., became president of Pixar animation studios, and returned to Apple in 1997 as acting president.
    1956- Need an adult to dance in Cleveland: Now the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, invoked a 1931 law barring people under 18 from dancing publicly without an adult guardian.
    1959---Top Hits
Stagger Lee - Lloyd Price
Donna - Ritchie Valens
The All American Boy - Bill Parsons
Don't Take Your Guns to Town - Johnny Cash
    1967---Top Hits
Kind of a Drag - The Buckinghams
Love is Here and Now You're Gone - The Supremes
The Beat Goes On - Sonny & Cher
Where Does the Good Times Go - Buck Owens
    1969- Johnny Cash recorded his second live prison performance, this one at San Quentin, Marin County, California. It followed a concert the previous year at Folsom Prison. The LP "Johnny Cash at San Quentin" topped the Billboard pop and country charts. It also contained the hit single "A Boy Named Sue."
    1970- Quarterback Jeff Garcia birthday, born Gilroy, CA.
    1971--Janis Joplin's "Pearl" goes gold.
    1972-Birthday of 1972, Manon Rheaume - The first woman to play in a professional hockey game. MR was goaltender when Canada won the 1992 and '94, world championships as a member of Canada's women's national team and was MVP of both tournaments. In 1986 she goaled the national team to the Olympic silver. " In 1992, Rheaume made sports history by appearing in an NHL exhibition game for the Tampa Bay Lightning, thus becoming the first female to play in a major professional sport. She continued her pro hockey career with various men's minor league teams but in 1995, she turned to professional roller hockey playing for the New Jersey Rock 'n Rollers." Small for her position, she is 5' 6" with a playing weight of 130 lbs.
    1973 - Roberta Flack's “Killing Me Softly With His Song” jumped to Number 1 on Billboard's hit record charts, and remained there for 5 weeks. It was rumored that the subject of her song was folk singer Don McLean. Actually it was not, as the original singer was “inspired” by the song and got the songwriter to make a few changes, but it was Roberta Flack who heard the song and decided she wanted to also record it.
http://www.superseventies.com/1973_9singles.html
    1975---Top Hits
Pick Up the Pieces - AWB
Best of My Love - The Eagles
Some Kind of Wonderful - Grand Funk
I Care - Tom T. Hall
    1976- the Eagles "Greatest Hits" became the first LP in the US to be certified platinum - two-million copies sold.
    1979-The Jefferson Starship releases the greatest hits LP "Gold" which eventually makes the top-20 on Billboard's LP chart.
    1980—Hockey Teams Wins Gold: Two days after defeating the Soviet Union 4-3, the US hockey team won the gold medal at the XIIIth Winter Olympic Games by beating Finland, 4-2.
    1981-School Headmistress and Socialite Jean Harris is convicted of murdering "The Scarsdale Diet" doctor, Herman Tarnower. Harris and Tarnower had been a couple since they met in 1966. However, Tarnower was a notorious womanizer who never followed through on his vague promises to marry the 56-year-old Harris. In the late 1970s, Harris discovered that Tarnower was having an affair with a younger woman. Nonetheless, she assisted him in writing and editing The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet, which became a surprise sensation, earning Tarnower wealth and fame. Harris later claimed that she went there with suicidal intentions. However, the fact that Tarnower was shot four times seemed to belie her defense. Rather than maintain that she had killed in the heat of the moment, which would have dealt a manslaughter conviction, Harris insisted that the shooting was an accident. Her gamble (or insistence on principle) failed when the jury convicted her of murder and gave her a life sentence.
Harris was a model prisoner who used every opportunity to bring attention to the plight of women prisoners. She wrote the well- received They Always Call Us Ladies in 1988, and finally won parole in 1993.
    1981 -Boston Celtics begin 18 NBA game win streak http://www.pataky.net/NBAFinals.asp
http://sporting.oneofakindantiques.com/2085_boston_celtics_basketball
_from_1980_to_1981_4.htm
    1982-Wayne Gretzky, 21-year-old center for the Edmonton Oilers, scored his 77 th goal of the season against the Buffalo Sabres to break Phil Esposito's single-season goal-scoring record. With Esposite, who had scored 76 goals in the 1970-71 season, in attendance, Gretzky stole the puck and broke a 3-3 tie with seven minutes to play. He added two more goals in the game's final two minutes and finished the season with 92 goals.
    1982-The 1981 Grammy Award winners are announced. Kim Carnes wins Record and Song of the Year with "Bette Davis Eyes," while John Lennon and Yoko Ono win Album of the Year with "Double Fantasy."
    1983 – Dow Jones average for the first time closed above the 1100 mark, after the stock market moved 24.87 points to close at 1121.81. In 1972, the 1100 plateau had been reached, but a rally could not keep the benchmark high at that point until the end of the trading day.
    1983---Top Hits
Baby, Come to Me - Patti Austin with James Ingram
Shame on the Moon - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
Stray Cat Strut - Stray Cats
Faking Love - T.G. Sheppard & Karen Brooks
    1985 - Quarterback Doug Flutie played his first professional game, leading the New Jersey Generals against Birmingham, to a 38-28 loss. The former Boston College star had a rough start in his USFL debut, but completed 12 of 18 passes in the game's fourth quarter. I bring this up as he is my double cousin on my mother's side ( son of my mother's sister's son.)
http://www.dougflutiejrfoundation.org/
http://members.aol.com/Argonuter/
    1985 - Yul Brynner reprised his "The King and I" role, setting an all-time box office weekly receipt record when the show took in $520,920.
    1987-Not a Welk Tune: A spokeswoman for bandleader Lawrence Welk said some Welk fans who bought his "Polka Party" compact disc ended up with the punk rock soundtrack to the movie "Sid and Nancy." The Welk Enterprises office in Los Angeles fielded several telephone calls from upset fans. The CD's apparently were mislabeled at the factory in Japan.
    1987 - The Los Angeles Lakers' Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, got his first three-point shot. At this date, the leading scorer in NBA history had reached 36,000 points, but until now, Kareem never scored over two at a time.
    1987-The 1986 Grammys are awarded: Paul Simon's "Graceland" wins Best Album; Steve Winwood's "Higher Love" wins Best Record and Bruce Hornsby and the Range win Best New Artist.
    1987-the massive winter storm continued to pound the western US In southern California, Big Bear was blanketed with 17 inches of snow and Lake Hughes reported 4 inches in one hour. Snow pellets whitened coastal areas of Orange and San Diego counties with 3 inches falling at Huntington Beach. Thunderstorms producing hail and waterspouts also occurred. In Colorado, Purgatory was buried under 62 inches of snow over a 4 day period and Colorado Springs had 14.8 inches in 24 hours to set a 24 hour snowfall record for February.
    1988 - Strong winds produced snow squalls in the Great Lakes Region which created "white-out" conditions in eastern Upper Michigan. Squalls produced up to 14 inches of snow in Geauga County of northeastern Ohio.
    1988-Matt Nykanen of Finland, having already finished first in the 70-and 90-meter ski jumping events, won an unprecedented third gold medal in Nordic skiing when the Finnish team won the new 90-meter team jumping competition.
    1989-Jerry Jones Buys Dallas Cowboys: Jerry Jones announced the he had reached an agreement to buy the Dallas Cowboys from H.R. “Bum” Bright and that he had replaced Tom Landry, the only head coach in Dallas history, with University of Miami coach Jimmy Johnson.
    1989 - A total of thirty-three cities in the eastern U.S. reported new record low temperatures for the date, and an Atlantic coast storm spread heavy snow from Georgia to southern New England. Snowfall totals in New Jersey ranged up to 24 inches in May County, with 19 inches reported at Atlantic City. Totals in North Carolina ranged up to 18 inches in Gates County, and winds along the coast of North Carolina gusted to 70 mph at Duck Pier. Strong winds gusting to 52 mph created blizzard conditions at Chatham MA.
    1990 - Strong northerly winds prevailed from Illinois to the Southern and Central Appalachians. Winds gusted to 68 mph at Sewickley Heights PA. High winds caused considerable blowing and drifting of snow across northern and central Indiana through the day. Wind gusts to 47 mph and 6 to 8 inches of snow created white-out conditions around South Bend IN. Traffic accidents resulted in two deaths and 130 injuries. Sixty-five persons were injured in one accident along Interstate 69 in Huntington County. Wind gusts to 60 mph and 4 to 8 inches of snow created blizzard conditions in eastern and northern Ohio. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
    1991 - In the Gulf War, the ground campaign began with an allied night attack. More than 14,000 Iraqis were captured in the first 24 hours of fighting. The Persian Gulf War, codenamed Operation Desert Storm, authorized by the U.N. and led by the U.S. began with an all-out air war against Iraq on January 15, 1991. Its objective was to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait, which Iraq had occupied since August 2, 1990. Ground action began February 24 and three days later President George Bush halted the fighting with Iraqi forces routed. Iraq agreed to destroy its facilities for making chemical, nuclear, and biological weapons, but stalled the actual carrying out of the relevant UN resolution American casualties were 146 dead and 467 wounded. Iraq set fires to all the oil wells, gutted the hospitals, stole jewelry, automobiles, anything they could carry or drive. Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Turkey, all US allies in the Persian Gulf War, wanted the US presence out of the area as soon as possible.
    1991—Top Hits
All the Man that I Need - Whitney Houston
One More Try - Timmy -T-
Someday - Mariah Carey
Walk on Faith - Mike Reid
1992: GM loses $4.45 billion: The greatest loss by a US company was suffered by the world's largest industrial company, General Motors Corporation, who announced they had a $4.45 billion loss for the year 1991.
    1992-The U.S. Postal Service unveils 2 versions of its proposed Elvis stamp for fans to vote on. Eventually, the younger Elvis wins and is issued on January 8, 1993
    1992 -as of 2:45 am CST, International Falls, Minnesota had recorded 29.5 inches of snow for the month with snow still falling. This set a new monthly snowfall record for February. The old record was 29.0 inches set back in 1911. A new record was also set for winter season snowfall (Dec-Feb) with 68.5 inches. The old record was 67.9 inches.
    1993- British rock legend Eric Clapton, who had been virtually ignored in the Grammy Awards for most of his career, won six Grammys, including the music industry's three major awards - record, album and song of the year. Clapton was honored for his album "Unplugged," and the song "Tears in Heaven." Clapton wrote "Tears in Heaven" as a tribute to his infant son Conor, who died in 1991 when he fell out a window in Clapton's 53rd floor New York apartment.
    1998 – Andrew Boccelli, already an international singing sensation, released his second album, Bocelli, by Sugar Music. The album achieved double- platinum in Italy, sextuple platinum in Belgium, and quadruple platinum in both Germany and the Netherlands. His single song "Con te Partiro" topped the charts for 6 weeks in France, earning a triple-gold sales award. In Belgium, it became the biggest hit of all time, with 12 weeks at the top.
    1998 – Henny Youngman, legendary comedian, at age 91, died in Manhattan following a debilitating bout of flu. Youngman, often called "King of the One-Liners" was best known for his trademark "Take my wife, please!" Using that line since the 1930's, he continued after his beloved wife Sadie died in 1987.
http://www.iei.net/~liz/young.htm
http://www.comedycity.com/henny_youngman/
    1999 - Radio shock jock Doug Tracht, known as "Greaseman", was suspended indefinitely and then ultimately fired for a race-related remark made on station WARW-FM in Washington, D.C. On that morning's radio show, Tracht had noted that the Grammy Awards ceremony were scheduled for that evening and played a portion of a song by Lauryn Hill, a young black hip-hop artist nominated for 10 Grammys. Then he commented, "No wonder people drag them behind trucks." The reference was to the torture and death in Texas of James Byrd, Jr., a black man decapitated while being dragged behind a pickup truck. John William King, a white supremacist, was convicted of murder the previous day in the case. Tracht faxed a one-paragraph statement: "I'm truly sorry for the pain and hurt I have caused with my unfeeling comment. I have no excuse for my remark, and regret it. If I could take it back I would. In the course of my show, split second judgment is made over ad-libs. This remark was a grave error in my judgment." A statement from the station announcing Tracht's firing apologized to listeners who were offended. "While we will always strongly support the right of our on-air artists to express a wide range of opinions, even those that are unpopular or offensive to some, WARW cannot be associated with the trivialization of an unspeakable act of violence," the statement read.
    1999-- At the annual Grammy awards ceremony in the Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium, hip- hop star Lauryn Hill broke a record for female artists, winning five Grammy Awards for her album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Hill's five wins in one night - album of the year, best new artist, female rhythm and blues vocal, R & B song for Doo Wop (That Thing), and R & B album - topped the four Grammys won by Carole King in 1971 for Tapestry.
    2002- XIX winter Olympics closes in Salt Lake City UT/Québec City
http://www.utah.com/olympics/
http://www.saltlake2002.com/
http://anythingkiss.tripod.com/xix_olympics.html

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Winter Poem

Gabe

Witty, intelligent, funny, skinny
Son of Audrey and Steve
Lover of sports, video games, and candy
Who feels sad, mad, and happy
Who needs, TV, friends, and sports
Who gives his humor, his help, his courage
Who fears murderers, the dark, shots
Who likes to wear sunglasses, shirts, and jerseys
Who would like to see the Denver Broncos win the Super bowl again, Randy Moss up close, and Disney World
again

Resident of Briarcliff
Mrs. Sbarra's 3rd grade class

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