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Leasing and Finance Industry Help Wanted

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Leasing News Advisory Board Chair
Shari L. Lipski, CLFP

Shari L. Lipski, CLFP
Principal
ECS Financial Services
3400 Dundee Road, Suite 180
Northbrook, Illinois 60062
847.897.1711
SLipski@ecsfinancial.com
www.ecsfinancial.com

December 31, 2020 she was named Chair of the Leasing News Advisory Board when Bob Teichman, CLFP, retired. January 1, 2019 Shari was named Vice-Chair of Board. She is both intelligent and diplomatic, and well respected in the industry.

Shari previously served on the Leasing News Advisory Board from March, 2003 to January, 2005 and rejoined in February, 2016. Her resume includes over 30 years of experience in equipment lease portfolio management, lease originations, and corporate business development.

From 1989 through 1997, Shari worked for Public Funding Corporation, a financer of small-ticket governmental equipment leases. During her time with Public Funding, she held various positions including Lease Administrator, Corporate Secretary, and garnered equity ownership when she took the position of Vice President. In 1997, Public Funding was sold to First Sierra Financial, Inc. It was at that time Shari assumed responsibilities for managing operations in the Chicago branch office, as well as a portfolio of vendor relationships.

In 1999, Shari joined ECS Financial Services, Inc., CPAs, and is responsible for corporate business development with a direct focus on the Equipment Lease and Loan Portfolio Management Division as well as the Tax, Accounting, and Audit Divisions. She also serves the firm’s clients by offering an expertise in many areas including marketing and managing a lease/loan portfolio, back-office leasing company operations, business process outsourcing, sales and personal property tax compliance, and consulting.

Shari has written for several trade publications, served as an educational instructor for several associations, as well as the Certified Leasing and Finance Professional Foundation. She was featured in the 2019 Monitor Magazine “Women in Leasing.”

OFFICES/POSITIONS HELD:
2021-present: Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation, Trustee
2017-2020: SFN-Midwest Leadership Committee Member and Membership Committee, Co-Chair, and Women in Commercial Finance Committee Member (formerly CFA)
2017-2020: ELFA, Service Providers Business Council Steering Committee
2019 Named one of the Top 50 Women in Equipment Finance, Monitor Magazine (accolade)
2019 NEFA Funding Symposium Conference Co-Chairperson
2017-2019: ELFA, Women’s Council Founding Member
2016-present: Advisory Board Member
2012-present: Women In Leasing, LinkedIn Discussion Group, Owner
2013: Advisory Committee Member, Rockford Career College
2012: NEFA, Funding Symposium-Conference Committee
2011: NEFA, Finance Summit-Conference Chairperson
2010-2012: NEFA, Conference Committee Member
2008-2012: ELFA, Service Providers Business Council Committee Member, State Government Relations Committee Member, and Annual Convention Review Committee Member
2009 Named of the 20 Most Influential Women in Leasing, Leasing News (accolade)
2005-2008: EAEL, Director
2006-2008: CLP Foundation, Director
2007 EAEL, Fall Expo-Conference Chairperson
2003-2005: Leasing News Advisory Board
2004-present: ECS Financial Services, Inc., Principal
2003: NAELB, Conference Chairperson
2002-2003: CLP Foundation, Marketing Committee Chairperson
2001-2004: Mid-America Association of Equipment Lessors (MAEL), Director
1998: UAEL, Illinois Regional Chairperson
1999-2004: ECS Financial Services, Inc., Lease Portfolio Manager
1993-1997: Public Funding Corporation, Vice President
1989-1993: Public Funding Corporation, head envelope and stamp licker

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Looking Back to Learn What to Expect Tomorrow
By Scott Wheeler, CLFP

For more than a decade, the commercial equipment finance and leasing industry has enjoyed low interest rates and more importantly, easy access to multiple sources of unlimited capital. Over the past year, the industry has navigated rising interest rates relatively successfully. The market continues to adjust to higher yields. (Industry participants, end-users, vendors, and other stakeholders have altered their expectations to match market conditions.) Twenty-twenty-three is quickly being defined by participant's access to capital and competition for reliable funds.

The supply of funds (both internal and external funds) is becoming more competitive. Sources of capital are reallocating their capital to higher quality assets with yields that fully align with current economic conditions. Management and origination teams are pivoting from a decade-long obsession on extreme growth to a focus on controlled growth with the highest quality assets which protect long-term sustainability and profitability. For veterans in the industry, the current flight to quality and the limitations on capital (liquidity) is no surprise and, to a greater extent, has been fully expected. Savvy teams are adjusting to turn potential challenges into greater opportunities.

The current sentiment is summarized below:

Currently, activity remains strong, and the availability of funds remain for quality transactions. Credit requirements continue to tighten; but originators are still winning, approving, and funding the majority of their transactions.
Executive teams and owners have concerns related to access to internal and external capital in 2023. They are cautiously optimistic.
There are a few cracks in portfolio performance, but delinquencies are still well within historical standards. Companies are increasing their collection efforts and taking more aggressive actions earlier in the collection process.
There is a race to quality - quality transactions, quality relationships, quality talent.
There is a market pivot in process. Vendors and end-users are placing less emphasis on the lowest yields. They are focusing on partners that can to deliver an approval with the greatest, immediate cash flow savings. Structure matters.
Originators with financial analysis and structuring skills have a powerful competitive advantage in today's market. Well-rounded professionals are capturing additional market share.

Significant funding remains available for the strongest assets; however, the supply of money is quickly avoiding lesser quality assets, sub-par yields, or riskier collateral. Transactions are once again being viewed as investments which need to provide significant returns for the assumed risk.

The broad tightening of money supply and credit requirements are affecting every participant in the industry. The reality is that many of these changes will make the industry stronger and force participants at every level to embrace their fiduciary responsibilities. Participants must be encouraged to work smarter rather than longer. Participants must be willing to move beyond an application-only environment and add value to every opportunity. Participants will need to be aware of challenges in order to focus on new opportunities which align with their current capabilities. Participants that embrace change and provide value-added, superior services will thrive while commodity driven order-takers will be quickly diminished.

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Wheeler Business Consulting is working closely with management teams to reaffirm their strategic statements; and to train their sales and operational teams for success in 2023 and beyond. Developing an internal team aligned with a client's strategy increases short-term outcomes and profitability while improving a client's long-term market value. Sales teams are focused on controlled growth with the highest quality transactions which can be approved, won, and funded

Scott A. Wheeler, CLFP
Wheeler Business Consulting
1314 Marquis Ct.
Fallston, Maryland 21047
Phone: 410 877 0428
Fax: 410 877 8161
Email: scott@wheelerbusinessconsulting.com
Web: www.wheelerbusinessconsulting.com

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This Day in American History

   1521 - Magellan discovered Guam, today an American protectorate. During his first day off the shores of Guam, Magellan's skiff was taken. In retaliation for the theft, Spanish soldiers burned a village, killed and attempted to kidnap a number of natives and exchanged bullets with sling stones in a skirmish on the shore of Umatac Bay. Angered, Magellan would name the islands "Islas de Ladrones" (islands of thieves) -- a name that would carry for the next 150 years. It should be noted that Magellan was killed in an encounter at the very next landfall in the Philippines, giving some credence to the Chamorro proverb on revenge. Many explorers met their end in world travel, including some great Portuguese captains who were hero explorers in their day, but today are not remembered at all.
http://infoplease.lycos.com/ce6/world/A0822005.html
http://infoplease.lycos.com/ce6/people/A0831125.html
http://ns.gov.gu/resolut.html
http://www.justice.gov.gu/Superior/History/hist_02.htm
http://www.pacificworlds.com/guam/visitors/explore.htm
http://www.gov.gu/quipua.html
    1744 - Colonial missionary to the Native Americans, David Brainerd, wrote in his journal: 'In the morning, spent an hour in prayer. Prayer was so sweet an exercise to me that I knew not how to cease, lest I lose the spirit of prayer.'
http://www.cantonbaptist.org/halloffame/brainerd.htm
http://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/biorpbrainerd.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0801009766/inktomi-bkasin-20/
102-1682336-8966565
    1776 - US commodore Esek Hopkins occupies Nassau in the Bahamas
http://www.anyflag.com/history/gadsden.htm
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-h/e-hopk-c.htm
http://www.navyhistory.com/Brigatines/Cabot.html
http://www.sentryoveramerica.com/RRD_MA_Navy_Jack.htm
http://www.interesting.com/stories/gadsden/
    1791 - The first internal revenue law was passed by Congress. Fourteen revenue districts were created and tax of 20 to 30 cents a gallon put on distilled spirits. The legislatures of North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland passed resolutions of disapproval shortly thereafter.
    1794 - Richard Allen, a Black slave, founded African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and the Free African Society. He preached to both Black and White congregations.
http://www.brightmoments.com/blackhistory/nrallen.html
http://earlyamerica.com/review/spring97/allen.html
http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/allen/menu.html
    1815 - War against Algeria was declared by Congress. The dey of Algiers, (the title given to the rulers of the Regency of Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 onwards) had molested U.S. ships and insisted on payment of tribute. The war would end on June 30 against Algeria and the Barbary Coast pirates when a peace treaty was signed with the dey of Algiers. It was followed by similar treaties with Tunis on July 26 and Tripoli on August 5. The treaties, exacted by Commodore Stephen Decatur, required the pirates to cease their hostile acts, free all American prisoners, and compensate the U.S. for vessels seized. It was the US Navy and the US Marines working together and that's where we get the “from the shores of Tripoli...” The rule of the deys of Alger came to an end on 5 July 1830, when Hussein Dey surrendered to invading French forces.
    1819 - Missouri Compromise Bill was introduced to admit Missouri to the Union as a state that prohibited slavery. At the time, there were 11 free states and 10 slave states. Southern congressmen feared this would upset the balance of power between North and South. As a compromise, on this date, Missouri was admitted as a slave state but slavery was forever prohibited in the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase.
    1821 - Thomas Jennings becomes the first Black American to receive a patent, for a dry-cleaning process.
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bljennings.htm
    1831 - George M. Pullman (d. 1897) birthday, Brocton, NY. He was an inventor and industrialist who became famous for his design and production of the “Pullman” railroad sleeping car. His first attempt at improving railroad sleeping accommodations began in 1858, while working as a contractor for the Chicago & Alton Railroad at Chicago, IL. His initial model was not adopted, but in 1863, a new design was enthusiastically received. He secured a patent for the folding berth design in 1864 and one for the lower berth design in 1865. By 1867, Pullman and his partner organized the Pullman Palace Car Company, which became the greatest railroad car-building organization in the world. In 1881, the town of Pullman, IL, south of Chicago, was formed by Pullman to house his employees. Because rents were not lowered when wages were cut, a strike was initiated against Pullman's company in May, 1894. Pullman was eventually forced to give up control of all property in the town not directly required for manufacturing. This era in history where railroad barons "ruled" the country was about to end.
    1836 - Jefferson Franklin Long (d. 1901), a black slave who became a congressman December 22, 1870, was born in slavery near Knoxville, Crawford County, Ga. Republican. U.S. Representative from Georgia 4th District, 1870-71. Interment at Lynwood Cemetery, Macon, Ga.
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=L000419
    1843 - After lobbying Congress for six years, Samuel Morse received $30,000 to build an experimental telegraph line from Baltimore, MD to Washington, DC. On May 24, 1844, Morse sent the historic message, "What hath God wrought?" The first internet had arrived.
    1845 - Florida became the 27th state. The word ‘Florida' comes from the Spanish ‘feast of flowers.' The capital of the Sunshine State is Tallahassee. The state flower is the fragrant orange blossom and the mockingbird is the state bird. State song, "Suwannee River." State motto is: “In God we trust.”
    1845 - John Tyler, a man elected without a party, known as “outcast president” and considered a weak candidate in his last efforts as president, is the first to have his veto over-ridden by Congress. He was a compromise candidate for vice-president and became president after William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia on April 4, one month after his inauguration. The veto matter concerned “an act relating to revenue cutters and steamers,” which provided that no revenue cutter could be built without prior appropriation. President John Tyler vetoed the bill on February 20, 1845, arguing that contracts for two revenue cutters had already been arranged, one with a firm in Richmond, VA, and another with a contractor in Pittsburgh, PA. The bill was reconsidered by the Senate and House on March 3, 1845. The Senate overrode the veto without debate by a vote of 41-12, and the House by a vote of 127-30. They didn't like President Tyler, to say the least.
http://www.americanpresident.org/presbios/assets/images/prezbkgd.gif
http://clerk.house.gov/images/bg2.gif
http://www.americanpresident.org/KoTrain/Courses/JT/JT_In_Brief.htm
    1847 - Alexander Graham Bell (d. 1922) birthday, inventor of the telephone, born at Edinburgh, Scotland. Bell acquired his interest in the transmission of sound from his father, Melville Bell, a teacher of the deaf. Bell's use of visual devices to each articulation to the deaf contributed to the theory from which he derived the principle of the vibration membrane used in the telephone. On March 10, 1976, Bell spoke the first electrically transmitted sentence to his assistant in the next room: “Mr. Watson, come here, I want you.” Bell's other accomplishments include a refinement of Edison's phonograph, the first successful phonograph record and the audiometer, and he continued exploring the nature and causes of deafness.
    1853 - A transcontinental railroad survey was authorized by Congress. $150,000 was appropriated to find the most practical railroad route across the country. The survey was to be conducted by the War Department. The iron rails of the railroads were weaving a network of lines around the nation at an ever greater rate. In the 1850s, there were about 9000 miles of track. By 1860, there were more than 30,000. The Pennsylvania Railroad connected Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in 1852. The New York Central came into being in 1853, combining seven short lines between Albany and Buffalo, N.Y., into one. On January 12, 1853, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad began rail service to Wheeling, W.Va., from Baltimore. Rail service between New York and Chicago was available, although not in one continuous line. In 1856, the Illinois Central became the longest railroad in the world, with 700 miles of main line track. The Illinois Central was also the first railroad to which the federal government granted large tracts of public land as a subsidy; it was given 3,736,000 acres.
    1859 - Over 400 men, women and children formerly held by Pierce M. Butler as “slaves” were auctioned in order to pay debts incurred in gambling and the financial crash of 1857-58. Journalist Q. K. Philander Doesticks (Mortimer Thomas) attended the two-day sale and wrote about it: “What Became of the Slaves on a Georgia Plantation?” includes vivid descriptions of the largest “recorded” slave auction in U.S. history. Many of the slave owners in the South had upwards of 40 and 50 slaves who were basically farm labor (plantation.) When the Confederate States of America formed and wrote their constitution, it was made perfectly clear the purpose of the government was to insure slavery was legal in this new sovereign nation.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/mar03.html
    1860 – John Montgomery Ward (d. 1925) was born in Bellefonte, PA. During his illustrious career in the Majors, Ward hit for a .371 batting average twice, won 40-plus games as a pitcher twice, including the second perfect game in baseball history, captained and managed the original New York Giants, and was a prime mover in the constitution of the Brotherhood and of the Players League. Ward was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1964.
    1862 – Union General John Pope lays siege in front of New Madrid, Missouri and captures the city in an effort to control the supply route of the Confederates on the Mississippi River.
http://new-madrid.mo.us/riverview.html
http://www.civilwarhome.com/summarynewmadrid.htm
http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/mo/mo012.html
    1863 - President Abraham Lincoln approved the “National Academy of Science,” with the mission “to investigate, examine, experiment and report on any subject of science," with experiments and reports paid with government appropriations.
    1863 - The Territory of Idaho was carved from four existing territories: Washington, Utah, Dakota, and Nebraska. It included the later states of Montana and Wyoming.
    1863 - A conscription act, first in the nation's history, was passed by Congress. It called for registration of all male citizens between 20 and 45 years of age and aliens in the same age bracket who had declared their intention of becoming citizens. Conscripts could be exempted from military service by payment of $300 or by providing a substitute.
    1863 - Free delivery of mail in cities was authorized by the United States Postal Service.
    1865 - Freedman's Bureau created. President Lincoln signs a bill creating the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. Known as the Freedmen's Bureau, this federal agency oversaw the difficult transition of blacks from slavery to freedom. The Freedman's Bureau was born out of abolitionist concern for freed slaves during the war. Union General Oliver O. Howard, for whom Howard University which he co-founded, is named, served as commissioner for the entire seven years of the bureau's existence. The bureau was given power to dispense relief to both white and black refugees in the South, to provide medical care and education, and to redistribute "abandoned" lands to former slaves. The latter task was probably the most effective measure to ensure the prosperity and security of the freedmen, but it was also extremely difficult to enact. Many factors stymied the bureau's work. White southerners were very hostile to the Yankee bureau members, and even more hostile to the freedmen. Terror organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan targeted both blacks and whites and intimidated those trying to improve the lives of the freedmen. The bureau lacked the necessary funds and personnel to carry out its programs, and the lenient policies of Andrew Johnson's administration encouraged resistance. The compromise of John Tyler's election killed all such programs in the south.
http://freedmensbureau.com/
    1865 - The first bank for freed African-American slaves was the Freeman's Savings and Trust Company, for the Negro, chartered by Congress. A central bank was established in Washington, DC, with branches in 34 cities. The bank was in operation about eight years, during which time it received deposits amounted to $57 million. The depreciation in securities values due to the panic of 1873 caused the trustees to vote to close the bank, the affairs of which were placed in the hands of three commissioners. A CD-ROM has been made of bank records which give a rich history of the depositors and their families: “The record of Abner Binford Smith, for example, shows the bank location and date, his parents' names, place of birth, complexion ("very light") and current residence. You also learn he was a 10-year-old boy who "goes to school." Like Abner's parents, John and Mary, many names in the database are incomplete since slaves may not have had surnames. And don't be surprised to find a lot of blank fields— information varies wildly from record to record. You might also discover the name of the plantation, master and mistress, military information and occupation. When looking for African-American ancestors in this database, keep in mind that the Freedman's Bank's 37 branches operated in larger cities in the South, as well as a few Northern cities such as New York and Philadelphia.” There are also many libraries with copies on microfilm and CD-ROM. You may find it at your library, or request it.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~fltgs/freedmans.html
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/articles/aug01/freedmancd.html
    1872 – Wee Willie Keeler (d. 1923) was born in Brooklyn. Keeler will hit over .300 16 times in 19 seasons, hit over .400 once, and complied a .341 batting average over his career, currently 14th on the all-time list. He still holds the Major League record for consecutive games with a hit to begin a season, 44, one of the records Joe DiMaggio passed on his way to 56 in 1941. Keeler was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1939.
    1877 - Garrett Morgan (d. 1963), prolific inventor, born, Paris, KY. He patented two life-saving inventions: the Safety Hood (an early gas mask) and the first three-way traffic signal. He was also an active campaigner for the rights and welfare of black people.
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/collections/exhiblets/morgan/start.asp
http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1624.htm
    1879 - The first woman lawyer admitted to practice before the Supreme Court was Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood.
    1880 - Theodore Roosevelt writes in his diary about his life and particularly, his love for his wife, who is later to die in childbirth.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/feb03.html
    1893 - Avant-garde artist Beatrice Wood (d. 1998) born, San Francisco. She exhibited with the Dada movement but is best known for her ceramics. She had painted oils for years in the Dada style before turning to ceramics in order to match a missing teapot. In addition to pottery, she sculpted in ceramic clay. Her ceramic sculptures were in a whimsical, sensual style. She developed her own distinctive colors and color schemes. She lived to 105 working and painting her pottery daily past 100. Her home west of Los Angeles became museum-like during her lifetime as hundreds visited daily to view her art. Wood's ceramics are displayed in the permanent collections of major U.S. museums, including the Smithsonian and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as museums worldwide. Part of her very unconventional love life became the inspiration for the fiction novel (and movie) “Jules et Jim,” written by Henri-Pierre Roche.
    1895 - Matthew Bunker Ridgway (d. 1993), American Army officer, born at Fort Monroe, VA. As major general commanding the newly formed 82nd Airborne Division, he led it in the invasion of Sicily in July, 1943 and the invasion of the Italian mainland in 1944. Ridgway replaced General MacArthur as commander of the US Eighth Army in Korea in 1951 and succeeded General Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1952. He became US Army Chief of Staff in 1953.
    1906 - Clarinetist Albany Leon ‘Barney’ Bigard (d. 1980) birthday, New Orleans.
http://www.redhotjazz.com/bigard.html
http://atj.8k.com/noartist/atjbigard.html
http://www.worldofgramophones.com/barneybigard.html
This is one of Barney Bigard and Louis Armstrong's best albums:
http://www.buybestmusic.com/reviews1/B000002ADP.html
    1911 - The first Federal cemetery to contain graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers was opened in Springfield, MO, by act of Congress. Part of it was formerly a Confederate cemetery, maintained by the state of Missouri, which deeded it to the federal government on June 21, 1911. A stone wall separates the graves of the Confederate troops from those of the Union soldiers. The cemetery contains over 3,100 graves.
    1911 - Actress Jean Harlow’s (d. 1937) birthday, born Harlean Harlow Carpenter, Kansas City. Hollywood's first blonde sexpot. From 1933 onward, Harlow was consistently voted one of the strongest box office draws in the United States, often outranking her fellow female colleagues at MGM in audience popularity polls.   By the mid-1930s, Harlow was one of the biggest stars in the United States. Harlow's movies continued to make huge profits at the box office even during the middle of the Depression. Although her film roles always posed her as being able to hold her own with men in a worldly-wise manner, in reality she was a dependent person who was abused. Her fatal liver ailment at age 26 resulted from an earlier beating by a lover. Her striking, frankly sexual beauty radiated on the screen and directors lit her with high spots to emphasize her platinum blond hair.  The American Film Institute ranked her as the 22nd greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema.
http://www.jeanharlow.com/
    1913 - National American Woman Suffrage Association parade held in Washington, D.C., on the day before Woodrow Wilson's inauguration, turned into a near riot when people in the crowd began jeering and shoving the marchers. The 5,000 women and their supporters were spit upon, struck in the face and pelted with burning cigar stubs while police looked on and made no effort to intervene. Soldiers had to be called to restore order.
    1915 - The now-famous film, "Birth of a Nation," debuted in New York City. The motion picture brought Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh and Wallace Reid to the silver screen in what has frequently been called the greatest silent film ever produced. A 40-piece orchestra accompanied the silent film. The movie, at 2 hours and 40 minutes, was unusually long for its day and used revolutionary filmmaking techniques, including editing, multiple camera angles, and close-ups. However, the film, originally entitled “The Clansman,” was denounced by the NAACP for its negative portrayal of African Americans. D.W. Griffith’s next picture, “Intolerance” (1916), took two years to make and featured a complex, interwoven plot examining racism, prejudice, and injustice throughout history. He used much of his own money to finance the $2.5 million film, and its failure ruined him financially. His career foundered for several years after that.
    1917 - From a flat tax to a new tax levied by Congress on excess profits of corporations, passed this day, an “act to provide increased revenue to defray the expenses of the increased appropriations of the army and navy and the extension of fortifications” was passed. The act provided for taxation of the profits of all corporations in excess of 7 to 9 percent of the capital. The rates were 15 percent; 35 percent of the excess from 15 to 25 percent; 35 percent on the excess from 25 percent to 33 percent and 60 percent on the excess above 33 percent (and this was before depreciation or any other “tax write off”).
The act was repealed by the Revenue Act of 1918, which was approved on October 3, 1917
    1923 - Guitarist Arthel “Doc” Watson (d. 2012) born Deep Gap, NC.
http://www.merlefest.org/DocsBiography.htm
http://www.docsguitar.com/biography.html
    1923 - Time Magazine first published. The magazine was founded by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden.
http://www.univie.ac.at/Schroedinger/3_96/time01.htm
http://www.time.com/time/
    1926 - Pulitzer Prize-winning poet James Merrill (d. 1995) is born in New York. Merrill was the son of financier Charles Merrill, who founded the brokerage Merrill-Lynch. Merrill served as an Army infantryman during World War II and graduated from Amherst College in 1947. He became one of the most highly regarded poets of his time. Merrill's parents divorced in 1939. The divorce provided him with rich material for many poems, including "Broken Home." Much of his work was autobiographical and explored his family relationships, privileged upbringing, and homosexuality. His poems appeared in Poetry and the Kenyon Review, and his debut book, “First Poems,” was published in 1951. Thanks to a large trust fund, Merrill traveled widely and owned houses in Greece and Connecticut. In 1966, Merrill won the National Book Award for “Nights and Days.” A decade later, he published “Divine Comedies,” which won the 1977 Pulitzer Prize. “Divine Comedies” was the first in a trilogy of ambitious, book-length poems, some of which were written with the assistance of an Ouija board. He published 12 books of poetry and also wrote plays and novels. A final collection of poems was published after he died of a heart attack in Tucson, Arizona, in 1995.
    1927 - Bluesman Herman (Junior) Parker (d. 1971) was born in West Memphis, Arkansas. Influenced and aided early in his career by Sonny Boy Williamson, Parker cut his first records for the Sun label in 1952. His "Feelin' Good" hit the R & B top ten the following year. Elvis Presley recorded Parker's "Mystery Train" for Sun in 1955. Parker later took his modern country blues to Duke Records, where he had his biggest hit in 1962 - "Annie Get Your Yo-Yo."
http://www.eharmonica.net/herman_parker.htm
http://www.oldies.com/artist/index.cfm/id/294.html AR
    1930 - Bert Lahr from "The Wizard of Oz" and Kate "God Bless America" Smith starred in the opening of "Flying High" at the Apollo Theatre in New York City. The show ran 45 weeks at what is now America's most famous black entertainment theatre.
    1931 - On Brunswick Records, Cab Calloway and his orchestra recorded "Minnie the Moocher" for the first time. The song was featured in the 1980 motion picture, "The Blues Brothers," starring John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd.
    1931 - The US Congress recognized Star Spangled Banner, written by Francis Scott Key, as the official national anthem. Despite the fact that millions sing (in a manner of speaking) the anthem before sporting events, civic club meetings and other public gatherings, it is still ranked as the most difficult national anthem on earth to sing. While Key’s lyrics reflected an enduring sentiment of America during war time of 1812, with its "rockets’ red glare and bombs bursting in air" over Fort McHenry at Baltimore, MD, the melody goes against most everything musical and the words themselves are quite difficult to remember -- especially those following the first verse. Originally an English drinking song, “To Anacreon in Heaven,” the melody is next to impossible for most people to sing. Amateur singers embarrass themselves as they attempt to hit the high notes at the end of the song. They do this in the shower and at community events while professional opera singers and pop music stars go flat, or forget the words, in front of national television audiences. Performers such as Robert Morley, Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Jose Feliciano, Ray Charles and others have had difficulties in musically translating the national anthem. Almost from the moment the song was adopted officially, there has been movement to bring about change. Many would like to see “America the Beautiful” become the U.S. national anthem.
   1934 - Bass player Jimmy Garrison (d. 1976) born Miami, FL.
http://www.downbeat.com/artists/window.asp?aid=301
http://www.garrisonjazz.com/Jimmy%20Garrison.html
    1934 - John Dillinger escapes prison with fake wooden pistol
http://www.geocities.com/hydey6/bio.html
    1937 - Benny Goodman Band opens at Paramount Theater in New York City to tumultuous response.
    1938 - Drummer Gene Krupa plays last date with Benny Goodman, Earle Theatre, Philadelphia, PA.
    1938 - A world record was set for the indoor mile run at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, when Glenn Cunningham went the distance in 4 minutes, 4.4 seconds.
    1939 - A new craze swept college campuses starting at Harvard University. The fad was goldfish swallowing.
    1940 - Clarinetist Artie Shaw records “Frenesi,” Hollywood, Ca.
    1943 - The state of Georgia lowered the minimum age to vote in elections to 18 with an amendment to the state constitution. It was approved by popular vote on August 4, 1943, but a 3 to 1 majority. The first election held under this law took place on November 7, 1944. The national voting age was lowered to 18 in 1971, when the 26th amendment to the Constitution was ratified by the required number of states. It became law on July 5, 1971.
    1945 - HARRELL, WILLIAM GEORGE, Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, 1st Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division. Place and date: Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 3 March 1945. Entered service at: Mercedes, Tex. Born: 26 June 1922, Rio Grande City, Tex. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as leader of an assault group attached to the 1st Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division during hand-to-hand combat with enemy Japanese at Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, on 3 March 1945. Standing watch alternately with another marine in a terrain studded with caves and ravines, Sgt. Harrell was holding a position in a perimeter defense around the company command post when Japanese troops infiltrated our lines in the early hours of dawn. Awakened by a sudden attack, he quickly opened fire with his carbine and killed 2 of the enemy as they emerged from a ravine in the light of a star shell burst. Unmindful of his danger as hostile grenades fell closer, he waged a fierce lone battle until an exploding missile tore off his left hand and fractured his thigh. He was vainly attempting to reload the carbine when his companion returned from the command post with another weapon. Wounded again by a Japanese who rushed the foxhole wielding a saber in the darkness, Sgt. Harrell succeeded in drawing his pistol and killing his opponent and then ordered his wounded companion to a place of safety. Exhausted by profuse bleeding but still unbeaten, he fearlessly met the challenge of 2 more enemy troops who charged his position and placed a grenade near his head. Killing 1 man with his pistol, he grasped the sputtering grenade with his good right hand, and, pushing it painfully toward the crouching soldier, saw his remaining assailant destroyed but his own hand severed in the explosion. At dawn Sgt. Harrell was evacuated from a position hedged by the bodies of 12 dead Japanese, at least 5 of whom he had personally destroyed in his self-sacrificing defense of the command post. His grim fortitude, exceptional valor, and indomitable fighting spirit against almost insurmountable odds reflect the highest credit upon himself and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
    1945 - WAHLEN, GEORGE EDWARD, Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Pharmacist's Mate Second Class, U.S. Navy, serving with 2d Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division. Place and date: Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands group, 3 March 1945. Entered service at: Utah. Born: 8 August 1924, Ogden, Utah. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 2d Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima in the Volcano group on 3 March 1945. Painfully wounded in the bitter action on 26 February, Wahlen remained on the battlefield, advancing well forward of the frontlines to aid a wounded marine and carrying him back to safety despite a terrific concentration of fire. Tireless in his ministrations, he consistently disregarded all danger to attend his fighting comrades as they fell under the devastating rain of shrapnel and bullets, and rendered prompt assistance to various elements of his combat group as required. When an adjacent platoon suffered heavy casualties, he defied the continuous pounding of heavy mortars and deadly fire of enemy rifles to care for the wounded, working rapidly in an area swept by constant fire and treating 14 casualties before returning to his own platoon. Wounded again on 2 March, he gallantly refused evacuation, moving out with his company the following day in a furious assault across 600 yards of open terrain and repeatedly rendering medical aid while exposed to the blasting fury of powerful Japanese guns. Stouthearted and indomitable, he persevered in his determined efforts as his unit waged fierce battle and, unable to walk after sustaining a third agonizing wound, resolutely crawled 50 yards to administer first aid to still another fallen fighter. By his dauntless fortitude and valor, Wahlen served as a constant inspiration and contributed vitally to the high morale of his company during critical phases of this strategically important engagement. His heroic spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of overwhelming enemy fire upheld the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
    1949 - Automobile manufacturer Tucker Folds. My father, Lawrence Menkin, plays a small part in the Movie “Tucker,” the man behind the pharmacy counter who serves sodas to Tucker (Francis Ford Coppola was a fan of his “Captain Video,”). The movie was far from what really happened. It is true that after the war there were several new car manufacturers from Rambler to the one founded by Preston “P.T.” Tucker. His car did feature a third headlight that rotated with the axle, a “bomb shelter” in the backseat, disc brakes, six exhaust pipes, and went from zero to sixty in ten seconds, reaching 120 mph as if it were a race car. It was the prototype, but it never made it to the marketplace as “P.T.” was indicted with thirty-one counts of investment fraud by the Securities Exchange Commission. He did produce 51 prototypes, but they never made it to market as the Tucker Corporation went into receivership this day. He wasn't called “P.T.” for nothing.
    1950 - Top Hits
“Dear Hearts and Gentle People” - Bing Crosby
“There's No Tomorrow” - Tony Martin
“Music, Music, Music” - Teresa Brewer
“Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy” - Red Foley
    1951 - "Mr. Wizard” premiered on television. Don Herbert explained the mysteries of science while performing experiments in front of wide-eyed children, such as myself.
1953 - The Boston Braves, owners of the Milwaukee minor league franchise, blocked the St. Louis Browns' attempt to shift their franchise there. Lou Perini, the Braves' owner, invoked his territorial privilege, stating he has not been offered enough for the rights. By the time the season starts, it is the Braves who will have made Milwaukee their new home. In 1954, the Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Orioles. The Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966 while Milwaukee gained another Major League team, the Brewers, in 1970 when the Seattle Pilots were moved there after their bankruptcy petition. Meanwhile, Seattle sued MLB over the Pilots situation and were awarded a franchise in exchange for the withdrawal of litigation. They are known as the Seattle Mariners…follow the bouncing ball.
    1955 - A truck driver from Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis Aron Presley made his television debut on "Louisiana Hayride." This was a sign to promoters to send Elvis to New York City where he auditioned for Arthur Godfrey's "Talent Scouts" program. Talent coordinators and Godfrey passed on Elvis appearing on the show. Soon after, he was kicked out of the Grand Ole Opry and told to "go back to driving a truck." In a little over a year, the United States was caught up in Presley-mania.
    1956 - In an effort to keep the Giants in New York, Manhattan Borough President Hulan Jack proposed a new 110,000-seat stadium over the New York Central railroad tracks, on a 470,000-foot site stretching from 60th to 72nd streets on Manhattan's West Side. The estimated cost of $75 million for the stadium eventually doomed the project and became a major factor in owner Horace Stoneham’s decision to move to San Francisco.
    1957 - At the world figure skating championships in Colorado Springs, Colo., Carol Heiss won the women's singles title and David Jenkins won the men's singles.
    1958 - Top Hits
“Don't/I Beg of You” - Elvis Presley
“A Wonderful Time Up There/It's Too Soon to Know” - Pat Boone
“Tequila” - The Champs
“Ballad of a Teenage Queen” - Johnny Cash
    1959 - By a vote taken in both bodies, the Unitarian Church and the Universalist Church, along with their fellowships, the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America, merged into a single denomination.
http://www.uua.org/
    1959 - The San Francisco Giants baseball team's new home was officially named Candlestick Park. The name was picked in a contest. The contest winner didn't have to look hard, as the National League's least favorite stadium was a few hundred feet from Candlestick Point, on San Francisco Bay. A scandal of the day, developer Harney donated the land to the city with the stipulation that the new park be named Harney Park. But he kept the parking lot, and the city didn't like that, so it would not name the new park after him. In 1995, Candlestick Park was changed to 3COM Park, then changed again after a succession of firms who bought the naming rights.   Candlestick, famous for afternoon fog and evening chill from the Bay, was home to the Giants until 2000, when they moved into new PacBell Park (now AT&T Park) in China Basin. It served the San Francisco 49ers from 1971-2013, including their heyday Super Bowl winning years, and they left for Santa Clara and Levis Stadium. Its 36 “Monday Night Football” games are the most in the NFL. Candlestick is also the site of The Beatles final concert in August, 1966. Demolition was completed September 24, 2015.
    1959 - The Drifters, with new lead vocalist Ben E. King, record their breakthrough hit, "There Goes My Baby," at Atlantic's studios in New York. The song will become the group's first of 16 Billboard Top 40 hits.
    1960 - Along with 79 other soldiers, a newly-discharged Elvis Presley arrives at Fort Dix, New Jersey by plane. A press conference is held, then a party, attended by manager "Colonel" Tom Parker, and Nancy Sinatra, whom Elvis had met while at a USO show.
    1962 - Jacqueline (Jackie) Joyner-Kersee, Olympic gold medal heptathlete, born East St. Louis, Il. She is the first athlete to win back-to-back gold medals in the Olympic Heptathlons (seven events-the 200-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump, javelin throw, and 800-meter run- held over a two-day period). In 1988 she set a new world record in the Heptathlon and earned the title "World's Greatest Female Athlete." She won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals over four consecutive Olympic Games. By 1996, past her prime and injured with a bad hamstring, JJK was still able to reach down inside herself for one last attempt at Olympics glory, saying, "I had the rest of my life to recover." She ignored the pain to make the third longest long jump in the competition and add a Bronze as her sixth Olympic medal.
    1965 - Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, and Eleanor Parker starred in the film adaptation of the popular Broadway hit, "The Sound of Music." The musical, about the von Trapp Family of Austria, was a hit on the Great White Way for over three years and one of the most popular motion pictures of all time. The movie brought instant stardom for Miss Andrews, who went on to star in other singing roles in the theatre, on television in her own show, and movie, “Victor, Victoria” (1982), which earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
    1966 - Top Hits
“These Boots are Made for Walkin'” - Nancy Sinatra
“The Ballad of the Green Berets” - SSgt Barry Sadler
“My World is Empty Without You” - The Supremes
“Waitin' in Your Welfare Line” - Buck Owens
1966 - Canadian Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay, Dewey Martin and Bruce Palmer formed Buffalo Springfield in Los Angeles. The group laid the groundwork for country rock, and several members later found success in Poco and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. When Buffalo Springfield started, it was the house band for the influential Los Angeles nightspot "Whiskey A Go Go." Stephen Stills's composition, "For What It's Worth," gave the band its biggest hit in 1967. Before Buffalo Springfield's third album was released in 1968, the group had broken up, partly because of disagreements between Stills and Neil Young.
    1966 - ‘Lightnin' Lou Christie got a gold record for "Lightnin' Strikes." Christie was born Luigi Alfredo Giovanni Sacco, and joined The Classics before making his first recording in 1960. In 1961, he recorded as Lugee & The Lions until becoming Lou Christie for a string of hits in 1963. Other songs from Christie's Top 40 appearances include: "The Gypsy Cried," "Two Faces Have I," "Rhapsody in the Rain" and "I'm Gonna Make You Mine." He had a falsetto voice, similar to Frankie Valli's of The Four Seasons. "Lightnin' Strikes" was his only million seller.
    1966 - A tornado hit Jackson, MS, killing 54 persons.
    1968 - The Grateful Dead leave the Haight district in San Francisco with a farewell concert before relocating to Marin County.
    1969 - The three-man Apollo 9 spacecraft was launched from Cape Kennedy. The main aim of its 10-day flight was to test the lunar module in Earth's orbit.
    1969 - STONE, LESTER R., JR., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, 1st Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry, 11th Infantry Brigade, 23d Infantry Division (America). Place and date: West of Landing Zone Liz, Republic of Vietnam, 3 March 1969. Entered service at: Syracuse N.Y. Born: 4 June 1947, Binghamton, N.Y. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Stone distinguished himself while serving as squad leader of the 1st Platoon. The 1st Platoon was on a combat patrol mission just west of Landing Zone Liz when it came under intense automatic weapons and grenade fire from a well concealed company-size force of North Vietnamese regulars. Observing the platoon machine gunner fall critically wounded, Sgt. Stone remained in the exposed area to provide cover fire for the wounded soldier who was being pulled to safety by another member of the platoon. With enemy fire impacting all around him, Sgt. Stone had a malfunction in the machinegun, preventing him from firing the weapon automatically. Displaying extraordinary courage under the most adverse conditions, Sgt. Stone repaired the weapon and continued to place on the enemy positions effective suppressive fire which enabled the rescue to be completed. In a desperate attempt to overrun his position, an enemy force left its cover and charged Sgt. Stone. Disregarding the danger involved, Sgt. Stone rose to his knees and began placing intense fire on the enemy at pointblank range, killing 6 of the enemy before falling mortally wounded. His actions of unsurpassed valor were a source of inspiration to his entire unit, and he was responsible for saving the lives of a number of his fellow soldiers. His actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military profession and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
    1971 - U.S. 5th Special Forces Group withdraws. The U.S. Army's 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) departs South Vietnam. The Special Forces were formed to organize and train guerrilla bands behind enemy lines. President John F. Kennedy, a strong believer in the potential of the Special Forces in counterinsurgency operations, had visited the Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg to review the program and authorized the Special Forces to wear the headgear that became their symbol, the Green Beret. Some of my best friends were in this unit and we trained together. The 5th Group was sent to Vietnam in October 1964 to assume control of all Special Forces operations in Vietnam. Prior to this time, Green Berets had been assigned to Vietnam only on temporary duty. The primary function of the Green Berets in Vietnam was to organize the Civilian Irregular Defense Groups (CIDG) among South Vietnam's Montagnard population. The Montagnards--"mountain people" or "mountaineers"--were a group of indigenous people from several tribes, such as the Rhade, Bru, and Jarai, who lived mainly in the highland areas of Vietnam. These tribes were recruited to guard camps in the mountainous border areas against North Vietnamese infiltration. At the height of the war the Green Berets oversaw 84 CIDG camps with more than 42,000 CIDG strike forces and local militia units. The CIDG program ended in December 1970 with the transfer of troops and mission to the South Vietnamese Border Ranger Command. The Green Berets were withdrawn as part of the U.S. troop reductions in Vietnam.
    1973 - At this year's Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, the George Harrison-led benefit disc “The Concert for BanglaDesh” is awarded Album of the Year, while Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" wins Song and Record of the Year. Harry Nilsson wins Best Pop Vocal for "Without You," while Helen Reddy wins three awards for her hit "I Am Woman," causing a small controversy when she accepts by thanking God: "She makes everything possible."
    1974 - Top Hits
“Seasons in the Sun” - Terry Jacks
“Spiders & Snakes” - Jim Stafford
“Boogie Down” - Eddie Kendricks
“Another Lonely Song” - Tammy Wynette
    1980 - A coastal storm produced 25 inches of snow at Elizabeth City, NC, and 30 inches at Cape Hatteras, NC. At Miami, FL the mercury dipped to 32 degrees.
    1982 - The re-formed Mamas and the Papas, with original members John Phillips and Denny Doherty joined by Phillips' daughter MacKenzie and Spanky McFarlane of Spanky and Our Gang, play the first show of their brief reunion tour. Although Mama Cass Elliot has been dead for almost ten years, they do not change the lyrics to "Creeque Alley" which goes "No one's getting fat except Mama Cass."
    1982 - Top Hits
“Centerfold” - The J. Geils Band
“Open Arms” - Journey
“Shake It Up” - The Cars
“Lord, I Hope This Day is Good” - Don Williams
    1983 - The last of a series of storms to strike the California coast finally came to an end. Waves fifteen to twenty feet high pounded the coast for two days, and in a four-day period up to 18 inches of rain drenched the Los Angeles and Santa Barbara area. On the morning of the first, thunderstorms spawned two tornadoes which moved through the Los Angeles area.
    1984 - Peter V. Ueberroth elected Commissioner of Major League Baseball by the owners. Ueberroth, president of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, succeeded Bowie Kuhn. Ueberroth assumed his duties after his responsibilities with the Olympics were finished, and he remained in office through March 31, 1989. He is best remembered for reversing the Kuhn-imposed lifetime bans of two of the game’s greatest stars, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, resulting from their employments as greeters at casinos.
    1985 - Kevin McHale, formerly of the University of Minnesota, set a Boston Celtics scoring record this night as he poured in 56 points in a 138-129 win over the Detroit Pistons.
    1985 - Willie Shoemaker became the first jockey to pass the $100 million mark in career earnings by ridding Lord at War to victory in the Santa Anita Handicap.
    1985 - “Moonlight” premiered on TV. Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis starred in ABC's comedy-adventure hour with Allyce Beasley as rhyming receptionist Agnes DiPesto. The premise: former model Maddie Hayes (Shepherd) discovers that the Blue Moon Detective Agency is her only remaining asset after her business manager embezzled her wealth. After deciding to keep the agency, she and her sparring partner, wisecracking detective David Addison (Willis), go off on a series of madcap adventures. The show frequently broke with formula by using the show-within-a-show technique, having characters directly address the camera, shooting sequences in black and white or by going completely off-concept (as in an episode based on Shakespeare's “The Taming of the Shrew.”) Last telecast on May 14, 1989, the show foundered due to personality conflicts and production delays.
    1989 - Wintry weather prevailed from the southern Rockies to the Upper Great Lakes. Negaunee, MI received 19 inches of snow, and up to 24 inches of snow blanketed Colorado. Blizzard conditions were reported in Minnesota.
    1990 - Top Hits
“Escapade” - Janet Jackson
“Dangerous” - Roxette
“Roam” - The B-52's
“No Matter How High” - The Oak Ridge Boys
    1991 - Video catches Los Angeles Police Brutality. At 12:45 a.m. robbery parolee Rodney G. King stops his car after leading police on a nearly 8-mile pursuit through the streets of Los Angeles, California. The chase began after King, who was intoxicated, was caught speeding on a freeway by a California Highway Patrol cruiser but refused to pull over. Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) cruisers and a police helicopter joined the pursuit, and when King was finally stopped near Hansen Dam Park, several police cars descended on his white Hyundai. A group of LAPD officers led by Sergeant Stacey Koon ordered King and the other two occupants of the car to exit the vehicle and lie flat on the ground. King's two friends complied, but King himself was slower to respond, getting on his hands and knees rather than lying flat. Officers Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, Ted Briseno, and Roland Solano tried to force King down, but he resisted, and the officers stepped back and shot King twice with an electric stun gun known as a Taser, which fires darts carrying a charge of 50,000 volts. At this moment, civilian George Holliday, standing on a balcony in an apartment complex across the street, focused the lens of his new video camera on the commotion unfolding. In the first few seconds of what would become a very famous 89-second video, King is seen rising after the Taser shots and running in the direction of Officer Powell. The officers alleged that King was charging Powell, while King himself later claimed that an officer told him, "We're going to kill you, nigger. Run!" and he tried to flee. All the arresting officers were white, along with all but one of the other two dozen or so law enforcement officers present at the scene. With the roar of the helicopter above, very few commands or remarks are audible in the video. With King running in his direction, Powell swung his baton, hitting him on the side of the head and knocking him to the ground. This action was captured by the video, but the next 10 seconds were blurry as Holliday shifted the camera. From the 18- to 30-second mark in the video, King attempted to rise, and Powell and Wind attacked him with a torrent of baton blows that prevented him from doing so. From the 35- to 51-second mark, Powell administered repeated baton blows to King's lower body. At 55 seconds, Powell struck King on the chest, and King rolled over and lay prone. At that point, the officers stepped back and observed King for about 10 seconds. Powell began to reach for his handcuffs. At 65 seconds on the video, Officer Briseno stepped roughly on King's upper back or neck, and King's body writhed in response. Two seconds later, Powell and Wind again began to strike King with a series of baton blows, and Wind kicked him in the neck six times until 86 seconds into the video. At about 89 seconds, King put his hands behind his back and was handcuffed. Sergeant Koon never made an effort to stop the beating, and only one of the many officers present briefly intervened, raising his left arm in front of a baton-swinging colleague in the opening moments of the videotape, to no discernible effect. An ambulance was called, and King was taken to the hospital. Struck as many as 56 times with the batons, he suffered a fractured leg, multiple facial fractures, and numerous bruises and contusions. Unaware that the arrest was videotaped, the officers downplayed the level of violence used to arrest King and filed official reports in which they claimed he suffered only cuts and bruises "of a minor nature." George Holliday sold his video of the beating to the local television station, KTLA, which broadcast the footage and sold it to the national Cable News Network (CNN). The widely broadcast video caused outrage around the country and triggered a national debate on police brutality. Rodney King was released without charges, and on March 15 Sergeant Koon and Officers Powell, Wind, and Briseno were indicted by a Los Angeles grand jury in connection with the beating. All four were charged with assault with a deadly weapon and excessive use of force by a police officer. Though Koon did not actively participate in the beating, as the commanding officer he was charged with aiding and abetting it. Powell and Koon were also charged with filing false reports. Because of the uproar in Los Angeles surrounding the incident, the judge, Stanley Weisberg, was persuaded to move the trial outside Los Angeles County to Simi Valley in Ventura County. On April 29, 1992, the 12-person jury, which included 10 whites and no African Americans, issued its verdicts: not guilty on all counts, except for one assault charge against Powell that ended in a hung jury. The acquittals touched off rioting and looting in Los Angeles that grew into the most destructive U.S. civil disturbance of the 20th century. In three days of violence, more than 50 people were killed, more than 2,000 were injured, and nearly $1 billion in property was destroyed. On May 1, President George H.W. Bush ordered military troops and riot-trained federal officers to Los Angeles to quell the riot. Under federal law, the officers could also be prosecuted for violating Rodney King's constitutional rights, and on April 17, 1993, a federal jury convicted Koon and Powell for violating King's rights by their unreasonable use of force under color of law. Although Wind and Briseno were acquitted, most civil rights advocates considered the mixed verdict a victory. On August 4, Koon and Powell were sentenced to two and a half years in prison for the beating of King. Unfortunately, Rodney King was arrested again for drunk driving as he was evidently an alcoholic.
    1991 - Arthur Murray (Moses Teichman) died (yes, the famous dance teacher was our CLP and Leasing News Chairman of the Advisory Board Bob Teichman’s uncle).
    1994 - Barbra Streisand auctioned off part of her art collection for $5.7-million. The highest price paid at the New York sale was $1.98-million for "Adam and Eve," a 1932 Art Deco painting by Tamara de Lempicka. That was a nice profit for Streisand. She had paid $135,000 for the work a decade earlier.
    1996 - Apple decided to kill eWorld. It was an online service, which was launched on January 5, 1994 and the first high-profile decision by Apple's new chairman and CEO, Gilbert Amelio, hired earlier in the year (quite a wine collector.) Its share of the global PC market had plunged to about 7.8 percent from 25 percent in 1984. It continued to go down, but has always had a very strong, dedicated following such as BMW drivers possess, perhaps more so.
    2003 - It was a day of temperature extremes. Miami reached a high temperature of 90 degrees, the earliest observed 90-degree temperature since March 5, 1964. Meanwhile Marquette, MI, dropped to 30 degrees below zero, the lowest temperature ever recorded in the city in March.
    2013 - A 2-year-old Mississippi girl born with HIV/AIDS was pronounced HIV negative after receiving treatment for the virus within 30 hours after her birth.
    2014 - Bill Gates was named the world's richest person in the 'Forbes' annual ranking, with a total net worth of $76 billion; he outranked last year's wealthiest person, Carlos Slim, by $4 billion.
    2020 – Super Tuesday: The biggest voting day for democrats selecting their presidential candidate revives Joe Biden’s campaign as he won nine states while Bernie Sanders won four including California.
    2020 – The Federal Reserve made its largest rate cut in a decade, short-term interest rates by 0.5% to protect economy against COVID-19.

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