“I have taken a position as of ***** as VP, Commercial Banking , ******* in *********.

“Thanks for allowing me to post my ad on your site. I did receive numerous contact from it.

His ad is now removed from the sales category. Here are the ads from other professionals looking for a position.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mission Viejo, CA
Account Sales Executive with 10 years of leasing experience looking for company to bring existing customer base.
Email: makelly21@hotmail.com

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

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

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

Philadelphia , PA
Seeking an open opportunity to advance in the automotive, commercial leasing & finance industry.........
Email: alexe362002@yahoo.com

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"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The “dot.commers” thought that if they put on a web site the ability to “bid” for a lease, meaning get the best terms and conditions, businesses would come running. They thought by even having the latest credit scoring technique along with the best funders with very fast answers, the world would beat a path to their mouse trap.

Some in the equipment leasing business fell for it, others made
the best electronic brochure on line, including an application
process. The world wide web has not replaced the “salesman,”
but has augmented their tools.

What the “dot.commers” and the equipment leasing companies did not realize is the internet has given new powers to consumers and business customers to not only post their complaints, but organize and ban together in a manner as never before. Perhaps the internet has become more of a “warning” media than the Better Business Bureau with its www.bbb.org . Many of the older generation who manage the large corporations are not fully aware of its powers.

Some companies have learned to “manipulate” the system, as NorVergence did. Leasing News was the first electronic news media to voice concerns in its Weekly Bulletin Board Complaint listing on October 15, 2003:

NorVergence had already experienced complaints, made
moves to control what was seen on the top twenty to twenty-five
search results when they name was put in the address bar.

Yes, your appearance can be manipulated and perhaps you have gotten e-mails from companies that have promised to put you in the top ten “of the top 25 search engines.”

Again, yes, they can do this, perhaps for a limited time, and thus you need their service at least quarterly as the search engines are way behind on maintenance on their engines.

NorVergence evidently spent a lot of money by having the top twenty sites on Google, for instance, to their controlled web sites. In fact, one of them was NorVergencefraud.com ( I believe that was the address.) If you had a complaint, you naturally choose this handy site.)

They also had the ability to block sites, for instance, to this
day if you do a NorVergence search on Google, you will
not find LeasingNews.com in the top twenty ( a check
at this writing brought this same fact;) however, if you
search other subjects this trade publication has written
about on Google, Leasing News appears as number one,
especially if it is a complaint about a specific leasing
company. But not NorVergence.

“BalboaBitesMe.com.” Leasing News wrote about the complaint from a customer who was airing his grievances on line, asking Balboa Capital for a comment. Then company President Shawn Giffin took immediate action to settle the matter and get the web site turned off. He realized the potential damage.

Whether his company was right or wrong on the issue, he did immediate damage control.

The various free listserves, basically a chat room extension, sponsored by the browser themselves, such as Yahoo, allow groups to communicate among each other, sending e-mail postings to a message board and/or to those e-mail addresses who have subscribed.

The browsers themselves also now have a new feature that allows paid advertising on the top of the page, meaning when you complete a search, advertisers who want to reach this audience, will place their

NorVergence Legal Co-op
Join others to legally overturn the
leases and minimize court expenses
www.LegalCoop.com

Norvergence Fraud Victims
Protect Your Rights! We Defend
IFC Lawsuits in IL. 312-346-8111
www.aviationattorney.com

NorVergence Customers
Service shut off today
Free Quotes from Multiple Providers
http://www.t1price.net

NorVergence migration
Check our pricing of Voice and Data Service provider in your area. aff
ShopForT1.com

And then compilers of sites on the subject, such as:
http://www.allt1.net/norvergence-salzano.html

There have been trade publications, such as telecomagents.org, where you must join to read all about the class action suit they are sponsoring, as well as LeasingNews.org, where information is available without a subscription and claims to be “fair, accurate and independent.”

There are others who claim they are not, and have a specific purpose. In this topic of telecommunications leasing, fightthescame.com is perhaps the most active and effect as they not only has the anger and passion “to get even,” but the knowledge and skills:

“A+ Tech Services is a family owned and operated computer repair center that specializes in web development for small business. Located in Pinellas Park, (Tampa Bay) Florida, our mission is to generate revenue for our clients by increasing their I.T. productivity by maintaining and repairing PCs, Servers, and streamlining their Networking and Web sites for maximum Internet traffic.

“A+ Tech Services, a division of Trig Enterprises, is a victim of the Norvergence scandal just like you. Being a web design, software development and hosting company, we decided to DO SOMETHING about this incredible fraud Norvergence

“We are doing much more than just this web site and we will continue the fight until this issue has been resolved. We are lobbying various agencies, getting the word out to news programs and listing this site to over 10,000 search engines, FFA links and Directory links. This is a service we do for our web clients as well, as part of our business web hosting services. With your help, we will get this information out to the public.

“A+ Tech Services, a retail computer repair and web design center owned by Trig Enterprises, Inc., was sold the NorVergence package of long distance, T1 Internet and Cell Phone usage back in August of 2003. We are being harassed by US Bancorp, a leasing company Norvergence sold our leasing agreement to less than 48 hours after we signed the deal, to the tune of $24,000.00. They have since reduced the settlement offer to $13,000, then down to $8,000.00. We have repeatedly told them we will not settle.

“We have joined a class action lawsuit against this outrageous scam and are fighting it with every tool in our arsenal. But we refuse to pay them ONE RED CENT. If at all possible, you should do the same. The more Norvergence customers that fold under pressure, the harder it will be to for us to win this war.

“This site is for information purposes ONLY. If you have anything to contribute to this effort, please feel free to contact Charles or Erica of A+ Tech Services.”

Background Info on Norvergence
The Sales Pitch
Leasing Companies
Norvergence Training Manual - PDF File
ABC Action News Fighting for Florida Scam Victims
List of Attorney General Offices
Class Action Lawsuits
A+ Tech Service's Story
Court Documents regarding Norvergence
Breaking News Stories
email us!
Personal Stories
STORY - Norvergence mastermind no stranger to bankruptcy
I feel lost! Where do I start?
Audio Files from Norvergence - More lies
NorVergence closing script”
IMPORTANT INFO
YOUR LEASE CONTRACT
Think your Lease Agreement looks fishy? Look at this important post from R_Bentley, a fellow Norvergence victim about your Bank lease agreement and NorVergence contract
WHAT DO I DO NOW?!
The question has been asked over & over again by NorVergence victims:
The Leasing Companies are hounding me...
WHAT DO I DO NOW??
Find out how to Get Started HERE

You will not find any mention about Leasingnews.org. We are promoting a “generous, amicable, settlement,” as evidenced by not only our stories but editorials. They are against that; however, you will find our placard on their site:

“DVI Trustee Dennis J. Buckley is also trying to get broker commissions sent back paid within and prior to the 90 day petition date. What defenses do we have as brokers to avoid turning over our earned fees for referred deals?

“We are a small group but very active by holding 3-4 meeting a year for the Arizona Leasing people. We usually get between 30-50 people to attend. We usually have a number of leasing companies from out of state attend the meetings also.”

Patrick McCann, CLP
Universal Financial Group, Inc.
universal5@cox.net
480-218-0535

Thursday, February 10, 2005
Time: 4:58 pm
Place: Raven Golf Club (Restaurant Grill Area)
3636 E. Baseline Rd. Phoenix, Az. 85004
602-243-3636
Full details here:
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/05_winter_event..pdf

During an interview by e-mail with Jim Raeder of Capitalwerks
regarding the Alabama $9 million lawsuit judgment, and
his now being able to receive a Stella award, plus needing
to file key vacancies to people who left without the standard
two to four week notice, Kit Menkin reminded him that:

“Character? You mean like the Coyote in the Road Runner Cartoon? That's what I feel like right now! “

“In Friday's edition of LeasingNews the article on CIT made the following statement,

" ‘and perhaps this is talk again for another company to make a move on them as Tyco did. The rumor is Fleet Bank.'

“One problem: Fleet Bank no longer exists. Bank of America is now in the process of aggressively phasing out the name Fleet Bank. Any correspondence to former Fleet customers boldly shows the Bank of America name and logo with a less prominent Fleet name and logo. While it is conceivable that Bank of America could purchase CIT, given the current integration process with Fleet, a potential acquisition of CIT would be a substantial undertaking considering the array of financial products CIT offers. That is not to say Bank of America would not be interested in specific product lines offered by CIT.

“It is simply an observation that B of A has it hands full right now. There also are some units which do not fit the current B of A profile... if CIT wanted to sell out why would they state concern over their sub-prime mortgage unit in an interest rate increasing environment along with comments about their need to cut expenses. A company up for sale would avoid making such statements for fear of negatively “impacting the asking price.

(Sorry, I am an old Bank of America customer, my first bank, my first credit card, and I had met the daughter of A.P. Giannini, the bank started in this area, and I also at one time knew most of the managers in Santa Clara County who referred me business, had met many of the top executives, been to lunch with them in San Francisco, so it is very difficult for me to think of it as the “old” “B” of “A.” Plus I think the president got tricked in the sale, but that is another story.*

“ I see “red flags” in the financial media that leads me to believe that something is going on here. The point you missed in my column was that I don't think the board of directors want to go through another

“Tyco” adventure. It is not they who are interested or want to be pursued. I stand by my opinion that I will not be surprised if someone makes an offer or goes after CIT aggressively. Kit Menkin.)

“Why don't you ask one of the leasing companies, particularly one
of the more aggressive ones, for a copy of their due diligence
report? I'm sure you know what is common practice in the leasing
industry, but let's see exactly what was done with NorVergence's
MATRIX.

“If the leasing companies have nothing to hide, they should have no
problem providing you with this information. Don't you, as a
reporter, have an obligation to obtain the facts? Let's see how well
they cooperate and then you can report back to the board.

“Did they know that service reflected 95% or more of the value of the
ERA? Did they know the retail value of the MATRIX? Did they know
that Tom Salzano was already involved in a telecommunications scam
of major proportions? Did they know the varying prices for the

exact same equipment? What did they know about NorVergence before they signed their master agreement? Why did they originally sign NorVergence up as their agent but then change that relationship?

Again, much of such information will be coming from the bankruptcy hearings. I found it very revealing that NorVergence and the president guaranteed some leases; at least over $1 million dollars worth ( He says a rubber stamp was used and denies it.)

To me this opens a Pandora's box about knowledge of the company and the need for the guarantees. It somewhat answers some of the questions you have made, and at worst, indicates there is much more to come on the issue of what they knew and did not know, and why they were "comfortable" with these transactions, only with NorVergence guarantees, and why some with personal guarantees?

It appears not all the leasing companies asked for the guarantees, but who did and why, and what did they learn in their credit and "due diligence" investigation that they required these guarantees for the lease transactions.

“Attached is the request for proposal for the Streamline central registration system.”

Middle Market Sales Rep.: exp. sales reps throughout country for middle market leasing/financing. Must have min.5-years exp. in “hard assets” ranging from 100K -$1.0MM generated from vendor and /or direct sources. Excel. benefits, base salary and commission program. Resumes to amandell@eqcorp.com .

About the Company: A rapidly expanding Middle Market Leasing / Finance Company located in CT. Equilease Financial Services, Inc

Business Channel Manager / National Sales Manager/ Small Ticket Leasing Sales People

(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)

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

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April 21-24, 2005
Spring Leadership Conference
Doubletree Paradise Valley Resort
Scottsdale, Arizona

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May 12-15,2005
Hyatt Regency Union Station
St. Louis, Missouri
(as more specific information becomes available, we will add it to this page.)

ROSLYN HEIGHTS, NY, — Repossessions of construction equipment dropped by 53 percent from First Quarter to Fourth Quarter 2004, according to Nassau Asset Management's NasTrac Quarterly Index (NQI). When averaging all four quarters, the annual volume of construction repossessions was down 6 percent compared with 2003.

“Nassau's repossessions index shows that construction companies were able to honor their lease and loan commitments at a much higher rate in 2004,” says Ed Castagna, senior executive vice president of Nassau, who will speak at the Construction Industry Roundtable session Feb. 15 during the Equipment Leasing Association's (ELA) Equipment Management Conference in Tucson, Arizona.

“The trend provides yet another economic indicator that construction spending has strengthened considerably in the past year and should continue to do so in 2005,” Castagna says.

Nassau's findings correlate with CIT Equipment Finance's 2005 Construction Industry Forecast that surveys U.S. construction executives, he adds. The survey recently reported that contractors plan to double their spending on new equipment this year. Likewise, 54 percent of equipment distributors expect to sell more new equipment this year than they did in 2004.

Despite an overall drop in the volume of construction equipment repossessions in 2004, the value of repossessed construction equipment actually rose during the 4th Quarter.

Castagna says more cranes and top-dollar equipment went on the block in 4th Quarter, as did equipment seized from smaller industry players squeezed out of business by larger companies. The result was a 131 percent increase in the value of construction equipment Nassau repossessed in 4th Quarter 2004 compared with 4th Quarter 2003.

Each quarter, Nassau Asset Management releases its public NasTrac Quarterly Index on the top five repossessed capital assets. The index is based on the company's internal records on liquidations. Results must be viewed over several quarters to establish long-term trends since all industries experience cyclical changes.

Nassau tracks many equipment types as a function of its nationwide remarketing operation, which liquidates all types of assets including trucks/trailers, buses, construction equipment, medical devices, machine tools, and woodworking equipment.

Finance companies and industry analysts can contract with Nassau to dig deeper into the numbers, determining the root causes for trends and researching specific equipment types. Companies can use their private reports to help mitigate risk in portfolios and/or provide useful economic indicators to their own clients.

Nassau Asset Management of Roslyn Heights, NY, has been providing full service asset management for more than 25 years to the equipment leasing and finance industry. Areas of expertise include: large-scale, end-of-term fleet liquidations; full plant liquidations; asset recovery; collections; global remarketing; appraisals; legal services through a nationwide attorney network; and Nassau's global remarketing Web Site,
www.nasset.com

ONTARIO, Calif.-----CVB Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:CVBF) and its subsidiary, Citizens Business Bank ("the Company"), announced record results for the year ending December 31, 2004. This included record deposits, record loans, record assets and record earnings. It was the strongest year in the history of the Company.

Net income for the twelve months ending December 31, 2004 was $61.5 million. This represents an increase of $8.7 million, or 16.38%, when compared with net earnings of $52.8 million for the year ending December 31, 2003. Diluted earnings per share were $1.00 for the twelve months ending December 31, 2004. This was up $0.14, or 16.28%, from diluted earnings per share of $0.86 for the same period last year. These per share amounts have been adjusted to reflect the five for four stock split declared in December of 2004.

Net income for the twelve months ending December 31, 2004 produced a return on beginning equity of 21.44%, a return on average equity of 20.33% and a return on average assets of 1.47%. The efficiency ratio for the twelve-month period was 50.10%, and operating expenses as a percentage of average assets were 2.14%.

Net income before the other-than-temporary impairment write-down, net gains on sales of investment securities, net gain on sale of real estate and estimated robbery loss was $63.5 million for the twelve months ending December 31, 2004. This represents an increase of $12.1 million, or 23.62%, when compared to net earnings before net gains on sales of investment securities, the prepayment penalty, and the reversed excess legal fee accrual of $51.4 million for the same twelve-month period in 2003. These results produced a return on beginning equity of 22.15%, a return on average equity of 21.00%, and a return on average assets of 1.51%. The related efficiency ratio for the twelve-month period was 49.29%, and operating costs as a percentage of average assets were 2.14%.

The Company reported net income of $16.9 million for the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2004. This represented an increase of $2.8 million, or 19.72%, when compared with the $14.1 million in net income reported for the fourth quarter of 2003. Diluted earnings per share were $0.28 for the fourth quarter of 2004. This is up $0.05, or 21.74%, when compared with earnings per share of $0.23 for the fourth quarter of 2003.

Net income for the fourth quarter of 2004 produced a return on beginning equity of 21.67%, a return on average equity of 20.98% and a return on average assets of 1.52%. The efficiency ratio for the fourth quarter was 53.79%, and operating costs as a percentage of average assets were 2.29%.

Net income before the estimated robbery loss was $18.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2004. This represents an increase of $4.3 million, or 30.80%, when compared to net earnings of $14.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2003. These results produced a return on beginning equity of 23.67%, a return on average equity of 22.92%, and a return on average assets of 1.66%. The related efficiency ratio for the fourth quarter of 2004 was 51.33%, and operating costs as a percentage of average assets were 2.29%.

The Company sustained a loss during the year on a robbery at one of its banking facilities. By the end of the year, it became probable that the Company's insurance company would deny this claim. Therefore, the Company has made a reserve for $2.2 million at the end of the year in the event the Company is required to pay amounts associated with this robbery. The Company intends to pursue any available causes of action against its insurance company to the extent the Company determines that the insurance company should be covering this claim.

As a result of filing the 2003 federal and state income tax returns in October 2004, the Company will receive a refund. During the fourth quarter of 2004 the Company recognized the refund. This resulted in the reduction of the tax provision by $2.3 million.

CVB Financial Corp. is the holding company for Citizens Business Bank. The Bank is the largest financial institution headquartered in the Inland Empire region of Southern California. It serves 30 cities with 37 business financial centers in the Inland Empire, Los Angeles County, Orange County and the Central Valley areas of California. Its subsidiary, Golden West Financial Services, provides vehicle leasing, equipment leasing and real estate loan services.

Shares of CVB Financial Corp. common stock are listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol of CVBF. For investor information on CVB Financial Corp., visit our Citizens Business Bank website at www.cbbank.com and click on the CVB Investor tab.

    1640—The estimated colonial population was 27,947.
    1656- The first Jewish physician landed in America. He was Dr. Jacob Lumbrozo, who settled in Maryland. He was a native of Lisbon, Portugal. He died in May, 1666.
    1722- In Cambridge, Mass., Edward Wigglesworth was named to fill the newly created Thomas Hollis chair at Harvard College. Mr. Wigglesworth thereby became the first divinity professor commissioned in the American colonies.
    1738- Four months before his celebrated Christian conversion, Anglican missionary John Wesley wrote in his journal: 'I went to America to convert the Indians. But oh! who shall convert me? I have a fair summer religion... But let death look me in the face, and my spirit is troubled.'
http://www.ccel.org/w/wesley/
http://www.raptureme.com/resource/wesley/john_wesley.html
    1848-James W. Marshall, an employee of John Sutter, accidentally discovered gold while building a sawmill near Coloma, California. Efforts to keep the discovery secret failed, and the gold rush of 1849 was under way when . Actually, the first gold discovered in California was found near the San Fernando Mission in 1842, but no importance was given to it. News of the discovery of gold in California was slow to reach the East coast. Word of it first appeared in the New York Herald on August 19,1849, but no great excitement was created until President James K. Polk expressed enthusiasm about it in his message to Congress on December 5. The rush began by land across the continent and by sea and land via the Isthmus of Panama. The first shipload of prospectors arrived in san Francisco via Cape Horn on February 28, 1849. About 80,000 people made their wan to California in 1848—55,000 overland and 25,000 by sea. About 5000 who started out overland never made it because Asiatic chorea swept their ranks. By the end of 1849, gold worth $10,000,000 had been mined. The discovery of gold broke John Sutter. From the day he settled in Nueva Helvetia, at the junction of the American and Sacramento rivers, Sutter prospered. Then gold was found by James W. Marshall, who was building a sawmill for Sutter. The workers on the estate left to look for gold. Every kind of adventurer squatted on Sutter's land. In four years he was ruined. For the rest of his life, Sutter petitioned the state and the federal government for aid. He died on June 18, 1880, at age 77, while the bill he sought was being argued in the House of Representatives.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jan24.html
    1862 – Birthday of prolific American writer Edith Wharton ( The House of Mirth; The Age of Innocence ) born New York. she went on to become the first woman to ever win the Pulitzer prize for her novel The Age of Innocence, in 1921. You can read Wharton's own impressions of her life in the autobiography A Backward Glance . She died in 1937 in Paris, France
http://www.womenwriters.net/domesticgoddess/wharton1.htm
http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/wharton/whar3.htm
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/wharton.htm
http://www.edithwharton.org/
    1865-The exchange of prisoners of war was sporadic and one of the terrible occurrences of the war was the treatment of captured Union troops. Prisons such as “Andersonville” were common. This day in 1865, near the end of the war. The Confederate Congress agrees to continue prisoner exchanges, opening a process that had operated only sporadically for three years. In the first year of the war, prisoner exchanges were conducted primarily between field generals on an ad hoc basis. The Union was reluctant to enter any formal agreements, fearing that it would legitimize the Confederate government. But the issue became more important as the campaigns escalated in 1862. On July 2, 1862, Union General John Dix and Confederate General Daniel H. Hill reached an agreement. Under the Dix-Hill cartel, each soldier was assigned a value according to rank. For example, privates were worth another private, corporals and sergeants were worth two privates, lieutenants were worth three privates, etc. A commanding general was worth 60 privates. Under this system, thousands of soldiers were exchanged rather than languishing in prisons like those in Andersonville, Georgia, or Elmira, New York. The system was really a gentlemen's agreement, relying on the trust of each side. The system broke down in 1862 when Confederates refused to exchange black Union soldiers. From 1862 to 1865, prisoner exchanges were rare. When they did happen, it was usually because two local commanders came to a workable agreement. The result of the breakdown was the swelling of prisoner-of-war camps in both North and South. The most notorious of all the camps was Andersonville, where one-third of the 46,000 Union troops incarcerated died of disease, exposure, or starvation. Though the prisoner exchanges resumed, the end of the war was so close that it did not make much difference.
    1899- Humphrey O'Sullivan of Lowell, MA, made the first rubber shoe heel. On this date he received a patent for a “ safety-heel.”
    1908- The Boy Scouts movement begins in England with the publication of the first installment of Robert Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys . The name Baden-Powell was already well known to many English boys, and thousands of them eagerly bought up the handbook. By the end of April, the serialization of Scouting for Boys was completed, and scores of impromptu Boy Scout troops had sprung up across Britain. The American version of the Boy Scouts has it origins in an event that occurred in London in 1909. Chicago publisher William Boyce was lost in one of the city's classic fogs when a Boy Scout came to his aid. After guiding Boyce to his destination, the boy refused a tip, explaining that as a Boy Scout he would not accept payment for doing a good deed. This anonymous gesture inspired Boyce to organize several regional U.S. youth organizations, specifically the Woodcraft Indians and the Sons of Daniel Boone, into the Boy Scouts of America. Incorporated on February 8, 1910, the movement soon spread throughout the country. In 1912, Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girl Scouts of America in Savannah, Georgia. In 1916, Baden-Powell organized the Wolf Cubs, which caught on as the Cub Scouts in the United States, for boys under the age of 11. Four years later, the first international Boy Scout Jamboree was held in London, and Baden-Powell was acclaimed Chief Scout of the world. He died in 1941.
    1915-Brithday of Mark Goodson, producer and creator of TV game shows, born at Sacramento, CA. His career in entertainment began in radio where he created the first game show, “Pop the Question.” He later teamed with Bill Todman and that partnership led to “What's My Line? “ “I've Got a Secret,” “Password,” “The Price is Right” and “Family Feud.” He died Dec 18, 1992, at New York, NY.
    1916- John Beasley Brickhouse born at Peoria, IL. A legend in Chicago broadcasting, Brickhouse was the play-by-play voice for the first baseball game televised by WGN, an exhibition game between the Cubs and the White Sox on Apr 16, 1948. He broadcasted Cubs games for 40 years, Chicago Bears games for 24 years and some Chicago Bulls and White Sox games. In 1983, he received the Ford C. Frick Award. Died at Chicago, IL, Aug 6, 1998.
    1916 - The temperature at Browning MT plunged 100 degrees in just 24 hours, from 44 degrees above zero to 56 degrees below zero. It was a record 24 hour temperature drop for the U.S
    1917- Denmark sells three of the Virgin Islands to USA for $25 million. During the 17th century, the archipelago was divided into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. The Danish portion, which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848. In 1980, the Virgin Islands Commission on Status and Federal Relations was created to educate the public on various political status options. A referendum was held in 1993 with only 10,710 or 31.4 percent of the 39,038 eligible voters participating which was below the 50 percent plus one needed. As a result, the Commission was disbanded on December 31, 1993.
Under legislation passed in 1968, the Virgin Islands has had a democratically elected form of government since 1970. Prior to 1970, the Governor of the Virgin Islands was appointed by the President of the United States and reported to the Secretary of the Interior under the territory's 1954 revised organic act.
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/vq.html
    1920-Birthday of saxophonist Jimmy Forrest, St. Louis, Mo, Died 1980.
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/reviews/r0799_16.htm
http://www.top10song.com/stars/03652-our-delightlive-at-barrel-12.html
http://www.52ndstreet.com/reviews/mainstream/grey_nighttrain.html
http://www.wmichjazz.org/
    1922 -54ºF (-48ºC), Danbury WI (state record)
    1922- Christian K. Nelson of Onawa, IA, obtained a patent for “Eskimo Pie.” The pie was an ice cream confection containing a normally liquid material frozen to a substantially hard state and encased in a chocolate covering to maintain its original form during handling. He originally called it an
“I-Scream” Bar.”
http://desmoinesregister.com/extras/iowans/cnelson.html
    1924-Birthday of pianist Joe Albany, Atlantic City, NJ, Died January 11,1988.
http://www.musicweb.uk.net/encyclopaedia/a/A39.HTM
    1929 -- Emily Dickenson poems found that had been hidden for forty years.
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/emilydickinson/
http://www.cswnet.com/~erin/edbio.htm
http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~emilypg/index1.html
    1930 - During his American boxing debut, Primo Carnera knocked out Big Boy Patterson in one minute, ten seconds of the opening round before 20,000 people in New York City.
    1935-Canned beer went on sale for the first time at Richmond, Virginia; Krueger Finest Beer.
http://www.bcca.com/bccacan1.html
http://www.breweriana.com/flats/flatkruegerfinestred.html
    1935 - Snowstorms hit the northeastern U.S. and the Pacific Northwest producing record 24 hour snowfall totals of 23 inches at Portland ME and 52 inches at Winthrop MA
    1936- Benny Goodman Band records Stompin' at the Savoy ( Victor 25264) The song became such a standard, that hundreds of artists have recorded it, including a vocal version by Barry Manilow. Goodman, the ‘King of Swing', recorded the song at the Congress Hotel in Chicago, Illinois.
    1938-Rock 'n' roll singer Jack Scott was born in Windsor, Ontario. He recorded several rockabilly numbers at the start of his career, but soon turned to a smoother ballad style on most of his records. "My True Love" was a big hit in 1958, and he scored a couple of years later with "What in the World's Come Over You" and "Burning Bridges."
    1941--Singer Neil Diamond birthday
http://www.neildiamond.net/
http://www.neildiamondhomepage.com/
    1941-Birthday of signer, songwriter Aaron Neville, New Orleans, LA.
    1943- at the end of the Casablanca Conference, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill held a press conference. Roosevelt stated, "Peace can come to the world only by the total elimination of German and Japanese war power. That means the unconditional surrender of Germany, Italy and Japan." This position calling for "unconditional surrender" has subsequently been criticized by some as having prolonged the war. criticism mostly from his detractors.
    1944 – Top Hits
My Heart Tells Me - The Glen Gray Orchestra (vocal: Eugenie Baird)
Shoo, Shoo, Baby - The Andrews Sisters
My Ideal - The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra (vocal: Bob Eberly)
Pistol Packin' Mama - Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters
    1949- Birthday of John Bulushi, actor, comedian ("Saturday Night Live," Animal House, The Blues Brothers ), “Jake Blues,” born at Chicago, IL. Died Mar 5, 1982, at Hollywood, CA.
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0000004/
http://www.bbring.com/
    1952 –– Top Hits
Slowpoke - Pee Wee King
Sin (It's No) - Eddy Howard
Shrimp Boats - Jo Stafford
Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way - Carl Smith
    1953- birthday of Olympic Gold Medal gymnast Mary Lou Retton, Fairmont, WV.
    1954 - The screen version of Herman Wouk's novel, The Caine Mutiny, starring Humphrey Bogart and Fred MacMurray, premiered in New York. Bogart was nominated as Best Actor by the Academy for his portrayal of Captain Queeg.
http://www.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/caine-mutiny-text.html
    1955- Some say for the sake a building a television audience, the Official Rules Committee of major league baseball announced a rule change to speed up the game. Pitchers are required to deliver a pitch within 30 seconds after having taken a position on the pitching rubber. Prior to the new ruling, pitchers could wait as long as they wanted before throwing.
1956 --- - Thirty-eight inches of rain deluged the Kilauea Sugar Plantation of Hawaii in 24 hours, including twelve inches in just one hour. (state record)
    1960 –– Top Hits
Running Bear - Johnny Preston
The Big Hurt - Miss Toni Fisher
Go, Jimmy, Go - Jimmy Clanton
El Paso - Marty Robbins
    1960---Johnny Preston hits Number One on the pop chart with "Running Bear," a song penned by the late J.P Richardson (alias the Big Bopper). Preston's smash will make it to Number One on the U.K. pop chart and #3 on the U.S. R&B chart.
    1962--- Jackie Robinson is 1st Black elected to Baseball Hall of Fame.
    1963 - A great arctic outbreak reached the southern U.S. The cold wave broke many records for duration of cold weather along the Gulf Coast. A reading of 15 degrees below zero at Nashville TN was an all-time record low for that location
    1964 - CBS-TV got the rights to televise the National Football League's regular     1964-1965 season. The move cost CBS $14.1 million a year. The NFL stayed on CBS for 30 years.
    1964 - Jockey Willie Shoemaker beat Eddie Arcaro's career earnings record by riding four winners at California's Santa Anita race track. Shoemaker's total career earnings reached $30,040,005.
    1967- Aretha Franklin recorded her first major hit, "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)," at Muscle Shoals, Alabama. But the LP on which she was working had to be finished later in New York because Franklin's husband got into an argument with one of the studio musicians.
    1968 – – Top Hits
Judy in Disguise (With Glasses) - John Fred & His Playboy Band
Chain of Fools - Aretha Franklin
Green Tambourine - The Lemon Pipers
Sing Me Back Home - Merle Haggard
    1970 - Robert Moog introduced his "Mini-Moog" synthesizer, suitable for concert stages, and costing $2,000. The American Federation of Musicians considered banning the Mini-Moog, fearing that its ability to simulate acoustic instruments could put musicians out of work.
    1973 - ‘Little' Donny Osmond, of the Osmond Brothers/Family fame, was awarded a gold record for his album, "Too Young".
    1974- Last Japanese soldier, a guerrilla operating in Philippines, surrenders, 29 years after World War II ended.
http://ns.gov.gu/scrollapplet/sergeant.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0854682937/
avsearch-bkasin-20/104-4344982-0045565
    1976 –– Top Hits
Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To) - Diana Ross
Love Rollercoaster - Ohio Players
Love to Love You Baby - Donna Dummer
Convoy - C.W. McCall
    1977-Howard T Ward becomes Georgia's first Black Superior Court Judge.
    1982- the San Francisco 49ers won Super Bowl XVI by defeating the Cincinnati Bengals, 26-21. The 49ers sprinted to a 20-0 lead and had to scramble to hold off the Bengals who rallied for 21 points in the second half. Ray Wersching kicks a Super Bowl record-tying four field goals as the 49ers win their first NFL championship. The first cold-weather Super Bowl, the game was played in the Pontiac, Michigan Silverdome. MVP: 49ers QB Joe Montana. Tickets: $40.00. The CBS telecast was viewed by 110.2 million fans and CBS radio counted 14 million listeners to its broadcast of the game.
http://images.nfl.com/history/images/0124.jpg
    1984-The first Macintoshes became available for a price of $2,495 on this day in 1984. Despite a frenzy of publicity, including a $500,000 commercial aired during the Super Bowl, the Mac failed to catch on immediately. In fact, it was not until Aldus introduced PageMaker, the first desktop publishing software, in mid-1985 that Macintosh sales took off. Eventually, the Macintosh transformed computing through its user-friendly graphics and use of the mouse. The machine also introduced small, hard, plastic disks that would replace the larger, flexible floppy disks used by personal computers at the time.
    1984 –– Top Hits
Owner of a Lonely Heart - Yes
Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
Talking in Your Sleep - The Romantics
In My Eyes - John Conlee
    1987 - Temperatures in Minnesota plunged far below the zero mark. International Falls MN reported a morning low of 35 degrees below zero, and Warroad MN was the cold spot in the nation with a low of 45 below zero. A storm developing in northeastern Texas produced severe thunderstorms with large hail in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. Camden AR reported golf ball size hail.
    1989- Guild, the Rhode Island guitar company that made instruments for such stars as Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, was sold to a Wisconsin amplifier manufacturer. The court-ordered sale to Randall Corporation followed two months of bankruptcy proceedings. Guild had been losing about $30,000 a month.
    1989 -- First reported case of AIDS transmitted by heterosexual oral sex.
http://www.thebody.com/surveys/sexsurvey.html
    1989 The Rev. Barbara C. Harris, 55, of Boston, was confirmed as the first female bishop in the 450-year history of the Anglican Church .
    1990- Winston-Salaam State defeated Livingston 79-70, to give coach Clarence “ Big House” Gaines the 800 th victory of his college basketball coaching career.
    1991-World's largest oil spill, caused by embattled Iraqi forces in Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War. Iraq deliberately released an estimated 460 million gallons of crude oil into the Persian Gulf from tankers 10 mi off Kuwait on this day. Spill had little military significance. On Jan. 27, U.S. warplanes bombed pipe systems to stop the flow of oil.
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0001451.html
    1992--the producer of the New Kids on the Block album "Hangin' Tough" claimed the group performed only about 20 per cent of the music on it. Greg McPherson said the real voices behind the group were Michael Johnson and his brother Maurice Starr, the Kids' manager. The claims were in a suit filed by McPherson, who was seeking 21 million dollars for creative contributions and royalties. The allegations were denied by the New Kids, and McPherson dropped his lawsuit and withdrew his lip-synching claims three months later.
    1995 - A United States airman and his 10-year-old son given up for dead in snow-covered mountains in Turkey were found alive after living on snow for nine days.
    1995--Van Halen releases their "Balance" LP. It would be the last album with lead singer Sammy Hagar
    1996---- The O.J. Simpson Trial opens. The ex-football player turned movie star and sports commentator is later found not guilty of the murder of his ex-wife and her boyfriend.
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/
Simpson/Simpsonaccount.htm
    1996- "Oh What a Feeling," a four-CD box set to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and the Juno Awards, was released. It would sell more than 250,000 copies in 75 days, raising about two million dollars for charity.
    1998 - The soundtrack album from Titanic hit Number 1 on Billboard's charts and kept its top position for 15 weeks.
    1999 - Nobody was more surprised than baseball legend Hall Famer Joe DiMaggio when he saw a television report that he had died. "He was livid," his lawyer and neighbor Morris Engelberg said. "Then I made him laugh. I said, 'Joe, we must be in heaven together.'" The two were watching a tape of Gunfight at the OK Corral - DiMaggio's favorite Western - at the baseball great's home in Hollywood, Florida. They happened to stop the tape just when the report appeared as a "crawl" across the screen during Dateline NBC. NBC ran another crawl about 20 minutes later, saying its previous report was inaccurate. The network later said a technician in the New York control room inadvertently sent the item. NBC delivered an apology to DiMaggio to Engelberg's office the next day, spokesman Cory Shields said. The 84-year-old DiMaggio was recovering from pneumonia and lung cancer surgery on Oct. 12, and already was upset by a story in the New York Daily News that described him as bedridden and in grave condition. Unfortunately, he died a few months later, on March 8, 1999, Hollywood, Florida
http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/
hofer_bios/dimaggio_joe.htm

During his 16 years as an NFL quarterback, Joe Montana won four Super Bowls and the respect of fans everywhere. His legendary tenure with the San Francisco 49ers through the 1980s will be remembered as one of the most dominating periods in professional sports. And unlike many of the great quarterbacks, Montana posted both the numbers and the big wins necessary to cement his place in the Hall of Fame. With coauthor Richard Weiner, Montana relates his special knowledge of the game in Joe Montana's Art and Magic of Quarterbacking , a treasury of instruction, anecdotes, and inside-the-huddle information that should earn the cheers of football fans and players everywhere.

In addition to instructional chapters on ball-handling, offensive and defensive formations, pass patterns, and conditioning, Montana also covers the more advanced aspects of playing quarterback, such as reading defenses and calling audibles. With examples right out of the 49er playbook, he dissects contemporary offenses and defenses, emphasizing his points with well-known plays and situations from his own storied career, including postseason classics such as "The Catch" and "The Drive." A winning combination of color action shots and chalkboard-style diagrams--plus memorable sidebar quotes from coaches and players--makes Joe Montana's Art and Magic of Quarterbacking an attractive and informative addition to the pigskin bookshelf. A foreword by John Madden ("I'll say it without any disclaimer. Joe Montana is the greatest quarterback who ever played the game.") and a brief concluding history of the game serve as bonus bookends.