Headlines---

 

Classified Ads--Senior Credit Officer/Senior Management

    Mortgage Rates Drop Again

            Silvermark Capital Portfolio Acquisition Program

                Equipment Financing Group expands Lease Training

            American Bankcard Launches Small Biz Advantage Program

        Grant Thornton places in Top 20 worldwide M&A advisors

    News Briefs--

Sports Briefs---

    "Gimme that Wine"

This Day in American History

 

 

Looking for a company change? SCL is adding to the sales force. We are looking for 8 new sales people.  We are a vendor driven company with a large funding portfolio. High Impact commission, 50-65%! We can provide Real Estate Loans to your commercial clients. Profit sharing & Medical.  Call 714-573-9804  bgriffith@socallesing.com About the Company: 250 El Camino Real   #111 Tustin Ca. 92780. UAEL Member

 

Classified Ads--Senior Credit Officer/Senior Management

 

Senior Credit Officer experienced in middle- market leasing; structured, vendor and 3rd party to the fortune 1000. Proactive team builder, originations capable with strong work ethic. Email: kyletrust@hotmail.com

 

Senior Management: Baltimore, MD

25 year veteran of commercial and equipment leasing seeking a senior management position with leasing or asset based financing company in the southeast (Florida preferred)

Email: kellogg_md@yahoo.com

   

 

Senior Management: Denver, CO. Fortune 500 GM/SVP wants to team up with aggressive lender looking for Western expansion mid-market equip. finance/leasing. 20+ years experience within Rocky Mountain/ Southwest and Ca markets.

Email: legal@csotn.com

 

Senior management: Hope, NJ.

25 years in optimizing call center operations, collections, billing, and back end revenue generation. Experienced in $7 + billion dollar portfolios. Verifiable achievements.

E-mail: cmate@nac.net

 

Senior Management: Irvine, CA.

Credit executive, portfolio manager and syndication facilitator. Extensive business building experience in small and mid-ticket operations. Highly innovative. Fortune 100 audit and technology skills. Bottom-line manager.

Email: lenhubbard@bigfoot.com

 

Senior Management: Long Island, NY

Degree Banking/Finance. 13 years leasing exp. Now prez young leasing company where promises were not met. Interested in joining established firm with future. Email:bob33483@yahoo.com

   

 

Senior Management: Portfolio Management Consultant; 25+years experience in Collections, Customer Satisfaction, Asset Management, Recoveries, Continuous Process Improvement, Back end Revenue Generation, Cost per Collection Analysis. $5+Billion Portfolio expertise. Email: efgefg@rogers.com

 

Senior Management: San Francisco, CA., 25 years experience w/global leasing company, sales,marketing,business dev., P&L responsibility, asset mgmt, brokering and re- marketing. Interested in joining an est. firm with a future. Email:rcsteyer@yahoo.com

 

Senior Management: Somerville, NJ.

28 year veteran in Construction Equipment/ Transportation.

Full P&L responsibility, profit driven, team builder, sales manager, strong portfolio management skills. Will consider relocation. email: leasingman_95@hotmail.com

 

 

   full listing of all Classified ads:

 

http://64.125.68.90/LeasingNews/JobPostings.htm

[Headlines]

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

 

Mortgage Rates Drop Again

 

Mortgage rates dropped to their lowest level in almost a year with the 30-year, fixed-rate to 5.41% from 5.59 percent last week.  The lowest rate was 5.4% last July.

 

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 4.69 percent from 4.88 last week.

 

Rates for one-year adjustable mortgages fell to 3.41 percent, from 3.47 percent last week.

 

Investors, anticipating a rise in prepayments, have been reportedly adding "duration" to their portfolios by selling higher-coupon MBS, and buying lower-coupon MBS issues and other assets like Treasuries.

 

U.S. Mortgage Bonds flow was relatively light in Thursday trade, as players prepare to notify one another, during the so-called 48-hour rule period, on the status of loans that were pledged as MBS collateral for March delivery, analysts said.

 

Treasury yields have fallen sharply since Friday after weak U.S. job growth in February raised hopes that the Federal Reserve will not raise short-term rates perhaps until 2005.

 

Asian central banks have been heavy buyers of Treasuries with dollars purchased to stem the rise of their currencies.

 

Last year low mortgage rates fueled home sales to record highs. Indicators are home sales are to remain

high this year.

 

The largest marketer of mortgages, Fannie Mae predicts loan applications processed by lenders to total $2.43 trillion, up from a previous forecast of $1.9 trillion. It may not reach last year's high, they add, but they expect 2004 to

be the third busiest year for the U.S. housing finance industry.

 

In 2003, mortgage lending was just over $3.7 trillion, an all-time high, with $2.53 trillion of that for refinancing, Fannie Mae said. They expect 2004 to be the fourth consecutive record year for home sales.

 

It should be noted the Mortgage Bankers Association said its index of mortgage loan applications for home purchases and for refinancings increased 1.2% last week from the previous week, thus one of the reason why the rates dropped to their lowest level since last July.

 

 [Headlines]

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 [Headlines]

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

 

SILVERMARK CAPITAL ANNOUNCES PORTFOLIO ACQUISITION PROGRAM

 

HOUSTON—SilverMark Capital, a division of Texas-based Sterling Bank

(Nasdaq SBIB), announced today a portfolio acquisition program for equipment leases and loans. The program is focused on addressing the capital and liquidity needs of independent leasing companies, bank-leasing operations, captive leasing programs, and established lessors serving the small-ticket leasing market.

 

“The program is designed to provide liquidity and assist in the funding needs of lessors nationwide,” said Fred Van Etten, CEO of SilverMark Capital.

 

For more information on SilverMark Capital’s portfolio acquisition program, contact Fred Van Etten or Ric Andersen at 888-776-8010; email smcportfolio@banksterling.com; or visit

 

www.silvermarkcapital.com.

###

About SilverMark Capital

SilverMark Capital (www.silvermarkcapital.com) is a division of Sterling Bank, Houston, Texas.  Sterling Bank was named to FORTUNE Magazine's 2004 List of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America.  With assets of $3.2 billion, Sterling Bank operates more than 35 offices in Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio.  The bank’s holding company is Sterling Bancshares, which trades its common stock through the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol SBIB. 

 

For more information, please visit the bank's website at www.banksterling.com.

2550 North Loop West        

Huston, Texas 77902

 

Contact: Susannah Moore Griffin   713-507- 7961

713-507- 2953                                                                     susannah.griffin@banksterling.com

[Headlines]

 

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

 

Equipment Financing Group, Inc. expands Lease Training

 

Equipment Financing Group, Inc. has launched it Leasing Training Programs nationwide. EFG has offered its proprietary training courses for over 6 years in California. Training Dynamics is a revolutionary training class structure.

 

 The classes from 1 to 3 days in length depending on the level and type of areas covered. The areas offered are Sales Growth, Broker relations, and Marketing. The classes are held at our California facility however larger groups can be administered at local offices.

 

For additional information on this program please feel free to contact our office.

 

Equipment Financing Groups tremendous grown signifies the value the leasing industry has placed on having a resource that can meet their unique business needs.

 

Steven Davis reported the increase in total funding for 2003 was due to very competitive rate structures and new leasing products. The company also reported they have just signed a multi year lease with The Boyd Company to expand the Fresno processing office to 6,000 S.F. EFG is currently under contract with the Fair Isaac Company to provide its Liquid Credit system to our clients.

 

EQUIPMENT FINANCING GROUP, INC.

Equipment Financing Group, Inc. (www.efglease.com) is a leading small to Mid ticket funding source located in Fresno California. The company operates additional offices in Los Angeles, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Started in 1992 the company has shown tremendous growth in the last 18 months. Equipment Financing Group, Inc. also plans to release its limited franchise offices in April of this year.

 

http://www.efginc.net/team.html

[Headlines]

 

 

 

Sales: Tired of working on commission and not getting your fair share of the split? We pay up to 60% of gross margin +residuals !! Contact Michael Wagner @ 949-250-0585 x222 or Fax: 949-250-8042. E-mail: mwagner@dimensionfunding.com About the Company: Dimension Funding, LLC Formed in 1979. Located on 17748 Sky Park Circle, Irvine, CA. 92614. Website: www.dimensionfunding.com

 

 

 

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

 

Grant Thornton places in Top 20 worldwide M&A advisors

 

CHICAGO,  Grant Thornton Corporate Finance LLC was credited with 109 M&A transactions in 2003, placing the firm 19th in the annual M&A league tables produced by Thomson Financial. This is the third year in succession that the firm has placed in the Top 20, ranking 18th in both 2001 and 2002.

 

"Once again our firm has been recognized as one of the foremost M&A advisors to owners of middle-market companies with typical transaction sizes in the $20 million to $200 million range," says George Shaw, managing director of Grant Thornton Corporate Finance LLC. "Our position in the league tables gives us credibility as dealmakers globally, regardless of deal size."

 

From investment banking to due diligence, valuations, corporate recovery and restructurings, Grant Thornton has approximately 1,000 corporate finance professionals around the world, providing a broad range of advisory services to the middle market.

 

Positive indications for 2004

 

While 2003 was no breakout year by any measure, there were many positive indications for a strong 2004. The DOW Jones Industrial Average finished the year up 25 percent and the tech-heavy NASDAQ was up 50 percent.

 

Even though the number of IPOs dropped from 94 in 2002 to 84 in 2003, 24 of the offerings occurred in December. And, for the first time since 2000, the number of M&A transactions (8,037) increased, albeit only by 1 percent.

 

"Based on activity we have seen in the last three months, more buyers are coming back to the market, valuations are creeping up and banks seem to be willing to lend more money to fund good deals," Shaw says.

 

"In the first two months of 2004 the pace of M&A activity seems set to continue, and it appears the mega-deal is back in vogue: JP Morgan Chase's $58 billion deal for Bank One, Comcast's $54 billion bid to acquire Disney, and the sale of AT&T Wireless to Cingular for 10 plus times EBITDA," Shaw adds.

 

About Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton International is the world's leading accounting, tax and business advisory organization dedicated to mid-size companies. Through its network of 585 offices in 110 countries, including 48 offices in the US, partners of the member firms of Grant Thornton provide personal attention and seamless service delivery to public and private clients around the globe. Grant Thornton LLP's web site is www.GrantThornton.com.

 

 

 

=========Early American History=========

=========Colonial Times=========

=========Westward Expansion=========

=========Civil War—including pre and post=========

=========Gilded Age=========

=========World War I --pre and post=========

=========FDR=========

=========Post World War II=========

=========1950’s=========

=========1960’s=========

=========1970’s=========

=========1980’s=========

=========1990’s=========

 

=========Early American History=========

    1609-Quite by accident, Bermuda was colonized.  The ship of Admiral Sir George Somers, taking settlers to Virginia, was wrecked on the reefs of Bermuda. The islands had been discovered in the early 1500s, but were uninhabited until 1609.

    1613-The first colonial warfare between England and France in America occurred at Mount Desert, ME, where Father Pierre Biard, superior of Saint Sauveur, had established a settlement of French Jesuits. The settlement was attacked by an English expedition under the command of Captain Samuel Argall. His aim was to suppress piracy and defend England’s claim to the country, which was based on explorations made by John and Sebastian Cabot in the 15th and 16^th centuries.  The seas around

this area were also ripe with fish and European countries would set sail for the area just

for the fishing.  

=========Colonial Times=========

 

     1773-  French-African Jeanne Baptiste Pointe de Sable founded settlement now   known as Chicago, Ill, 1773

http://www.choosechicago.com/HISTORY.HTM

 http://www.chipublib.org/004chicago/timeline/dusable.html

=========Westward Expansion=========

    1831-Clement Studebaker was born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Clement and his brother, Henry Studebaker, founded H. & C. Studebaker, a blacksmith and wagon building business in South Bend, Indiana. The Studebaker brothers made their fortune manufacturing carriages for the Union Army during the Civil War. By the end of the war, the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company had become the world's largest manufacturer of horse- drawn carriages. With the advent of the automobile, Studebaker converted its business to car manufacturing, becoming one of the larger independent automobile manufacturers. Another major war would effect the company's fortune almost a century after its founders had benefited from the demand caused by the Civil War. During World War II, Studebaker manufactured airplane engines, trucks, and weasels (small military vehicles) for the war effort. Like many of the independents, Studebaker fared well during the war by producing affordable family cars. As their advertisement claimed, "Studebaker is building an unlimited quantity of airplane engines, military trucks, and other materiel for national defense... and a limited number of passenger cars, which are the finest Studebaker has ever produced." However, after the war, the Big Three--GM, Ford, and Chrysler--bolstered by their new government-subsidized production facilities, were too much for many of the independents, and Studebaker was no exception. Post-WWII competition drove Studebaker to its limits, and the company was absorbed by the Packard Corporation in 1954.

=========Civil War—including pre and post=========

    1877-- David McKendree served as postmaster general in the cabinet of President Rutherford B. Hayes this day until August 24,1880.  McKendree was a lieutenant colonel in the 43^rd regiment of Tennessee and had been wounded and captured at Vicksburg.  He also was a U.S. Senator. The appointment was quite controversial at the time.

=========Gilded Age=========

     1884 - The State of Mississippi authorized the first state-supported college for women. It was called the Mississippi Industrial Institute and College.

   1896 -- Jesse "Lone Cat" Fuller born, Jonesboro, Georgia. A country blues singer and one-man-band, he wrote the classic "San Francisco Bay Blues," among many other songs, and influenced numerous early-60s white folk-blues artists.

http://www.taco.com/roots/fuller.html

   1888-One of the most devastating blizzards to hit the northeastern US began in the early hours of Monday.. A snowfall of 40-50 inches, accompanied by gale-force winds, left drifts as high as 30-40 feet. More than 400 persons died in the storm (200 at New York City alone). Some survivors of the storm, "The Blizzard Men of 1888,' held annual meetings at New York City as late as 1941 to recount personal recollections of the event.

    1901---Andrew Carnegie donates $5.2 million to build 65 branch libraries in New York.

He believes reading is very important.  In 1775,  less than 60% could read, not including

slaves which was a lot higher, and women, reportedly 75% could not read or write.  The

free education system through reading brought “equality” and a better style of life

for the entire country.

 http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/mar12.html

    1903 -The New York Highlander franchise (to be renamed Yankees in 1913) is approved as a member of the American League.

   1904-Raphael Hawaweeny was ordained Eastern Orthodox bishop of Brooklyn, NY, at St. Nicholas Church. As a vicar under the Holy Synod of the Church of Russia, Hawaweeny thus became the first Russian Orthodox bishop ordained in America.

   1912- Juliet Low founded the Girl Scout of the USA at Savannah, Georgia. As is the tradition, Girl Scout cooks are on sale during this week. At first, the girls weren’t called Girl Scouts at all. They were called Girl Guides until the name was officially changed a short time after the group’s founding.

 

=========World War I --pre and post=========

    1917- Earl Heywood, known as "Canada's Number-One Cowboy Singer," was born in London, Ontario. He began his career in 1941 on CFCO in Chatham, Ontario. The following year he moved to CKNX in Wingham, where he remained as a singer and announcer for more than 35 years. Heywood appeared for almost 20 years on the weekly "CKNX Barn Dance" and was host for "Serenade Ranch" from 1946 to 1953. Heywood and his Serenade Ranch Boys recorded 18 songs for RCA Victor, the most popular of which was "Alberta Waltz."

http://www.hillbilly-music.com/artists/artist_details.cfm?artistid=12027

    1917-Chess record producer Leonard S. Chess born Motol, Poland.

Without the two Chess brothers most of the blues songs would not

have been recorded, or influenced the Rock’n’Roll musicians that followed

http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,414291,00.html?artist=Leonard+Chess

http://www.cnn.com/2000/books/news/09/08/arts.us.bluesintogold.ap/

http://www.saveamericastreasures.org/profiles/chess.htm

    1918-Organ player Sir Charles Thompson  born Springfield OH

http://search.centerstage.net/music/articles/charlesthompson.html

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/reviews/r1200_137.htm

   1922- American poet and novelist Jack (Jean-Louis) Kerouac, leader and spokesman for the Beat movement, was born at Lowell, MA. Kerouac is best known for his novel On the Road, published in

1957, which celebrates the Beat ideal of nonconformity. Kerouac published The Dharma Bums in    1958- followed by The Subterraneans the same year, Doctor Sax and its sequel Maggie Cassidy in 1959; Lonesome Traveler in 1960, Big Sur in 1962 and Desolation Angels in 1965. Kerouac died at St. Petersburg, FL, at age 47, Oct 21, 1969. A previously unpublished part of On the Road called Visions of Cody was published posthumously in 1972.

http://www.levity.com/corduroy/kerouac.htm

http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/kerouac.htm

    1923- the first movie with sound was shown before the New York Electrical Society in New York City by Dr. Lee De Forest. Called “ The Gavote” it should a man and woman dancing to old-time music performed by four musicians playing on wind, percussion and string instruments.  An Egyptian dance “trailer” was also shown.  No voices were heard, only music. . As a pioneer of ‘modern’ radio in the early 1900’s, DeForest called his invention; phonofilm. Today it's called soundtrack.

   1926-“The home of the Happy Feet,” Harlem’s famous Savoy Ballroom opens.

“Stompin’ at the Savoy,” Count Basie (also one of Benny Goodman’s hits) The

entrance fee was very small, and often the crowd was 15% to 25% white; supposedly

the room was very well lit so you could view other dances and very well-ventilated

( the days before air conditioning this was very important.)

http://www.findarticles.com/g1epc/tov/2419101066/p1/article.jhtml

http://www.savoyplaque.org/about_savoy.htm

http://www.savoyballroom.com/

http://www.savoystyle.com/history.html

http://www.savoystyle.com/movies.html

    1928-sax player Willie Maiden born Detroit MI

http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,462246,00.html?artist=Willie+Maiden

   1928 - The St. Francis dam 40 miles north of Los Angeles burst and flooded the valley; over 500 people were drowned.

http://www.usc.edu/isd/archives/la/scandals/st_francis_dam.html

http://seis.natsci.csulb.edu/VIRTUAL_FIELD/Francesquito_Dam/franmain.htm

   1932- Andrew Young, civil rights leader, former mayor of Atlanta, GA, born New Orleans, LA.

http://search.eb.com/blackhistory/micro/650/54.html

=========FDR=========

     1933-. Eight days after he was inaugurated, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave his first presidential address to the nation for the first of one of his famous "Fireside Chats". The name was coined by newsman, Robert Trout, who thought the President sounded as if he was sitting in living rooms all over the nation, next to a roaring fire.

 Speaking by radio from the White House, he reported rather informally on the economic problems of the nation and on his actions to deal with them. His subject was the reopening of the banks during the following week. 1935 - Pari-mutuel came into being as horse race bets were legalized in Nebraska. Today, there are still states where horse racing, betting or other forms gambling still bother legislatures, despite that other states have been participating in these activities for years

1935-Pianist Hugh Lawson  Detroit MI

http://www.52ndstreet.com/reviews/reissues/lawsoncolours.reissues.html

    1939 - Artie Shaw and his band recorded "Deep Purple" for the Bluebird label. After the first minute, you can hear Helen Forrest sing the vocal refrain. Larry Clinton had a number one song with a similar arrangement of the same song this same year; which was a hit for saxophonist, Nino Tempo and his sister, April Stevens in 1963. Hundreds of versions of this song have been recorded.

   1940—Singer Al Jarreau  born Milwaukee WI

http://www.aljarreau.com/biography.html

   1946 - The filming of the controversial Forever Amber began in Hollywood, with a record-breaking $3 million budget. The film, based on the steamy best-selling novel by Kathleen Winsor which was banned in Australia, starred Linda Darnell, Cornel Wilde, George Sanders, Richard Haydn, Leo G. Carroll, and Jessica Tandy. The film went way over budget, ultimately costing $6.5 million, or $2.5 million more than Gone With the Wind less than a decade earlier. The film's budget skyrocketed partly because Darnell replaced actress Peggy Cummins in the lead role after she was fired, which forced a temporary production shut-down. Despite its stellar cast, superb musical score, expensive costumes, and ambitious plans, the 140-minute epic was a big flop at the box office.

http://www.norcalmovies.com/ForeverAmber/

=========Post World War II=========

    1946—vocalist Liza Minelli born Los Angeles, CA, the daughter of Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minelli. She made her professional debut at the age of three in a toddle- on role in the film "In the Good Old Summertime," directed by her father and starring her mother. But Liza Minelli soon dispelled notions that she was coasting on her parents' reputations. When she was 19, she became the youngest performer to win a Tony Award for he role in the Broadway musical "Flora, the Red Menace." Six years later, she was a star of the first magnitude capturing an Oscar for her singing, dancing and acting in "Cabaret."

 http://www.lizamay.com/

   1947 – President Harry S. Truman asks Congress for "anticommunist" aid to Greece and Turkey. The speech is dubbed as the Truman Doctrine and officially ushers in the Cold War era. President Truman declares the U.S. must help "free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures."  President Truman declares the world "must choose between alternative ways of life." One based on "the will of the majority . . . distinguished by free institutions"; the other on "the will of a minority . . . terror and oppression . . . the suppression of personal freedoms."

http://www.picturehistory.com/find/p/17456/mcms.html

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ht33.html

    1948-singer/composer James Taylor born Boston, MA. His first professional experience was with a rock band called the Flying Machine. Then came his first solo album for the Beatles' Apple Records. It didn't do very well, but after a switch to Warner Brothers, he hit it big. Taylor's second album, "Sweet Baby James," sold three-million copies. "Fire and Rain" from that LP hit the top of the singles chart in 1970 and helped make James Taylor a household name. He won a Grammy Award in 1978 for his recording of "Handy Man," a slowed-down version of the old Jimmy Jones rock 'n' roll song. Taylor married singer Carly Simon in 1972, but she sued for divorce ten years later.

 http://www.james-taylor.com/

=========1950’s=========

   1951—Top Hits

If - Perry Como

My Heart Cries for You - Guy Mitchell

Be My Love - Mario Lanza

There’s Been a Change in Me - Eddy Arnold

   1954-A bridge hand in which each player was dealt a perfect hand of 13 cards of the same suit occurred at Cranston, RI. Irene Motta bid seven hearts and won the bid.

   1954 -a blizzard raged from eastern Wyoming into the Black Hills of western South Dakota while a severe ice storm was in progress from northeastern Nebraska to central Iowa. The ice storm isolated 153 towns in Iowa. Dust from the Great Plains caused brown snow, while hail and muddy rain fell over parts of Wisconsin and Michigan.

     1955  “ Bird Lives”

 http://www.chasinthebird.com

http://www.abraxis.com/cmjazz/Parker.html 

http://www.cmgww.com/music/parker/bio.html

http://www.charlieparkerresidence.net/  ( national register of historic places )

   1955 - One of the great groups of jazz appeared for the first time at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The Dave Brubeck Quartet presented a magnificent concert for jazz fans. Joining with Brubeck, in what would become one of the most popular concert draws on college campuses, were names that would become legends in their own right, including Paul Desmond on alto sax, Joe Morello on drums and Eugene Wright on bass. http://dave-brubeck.com/ene Wright on bass. http://www.cosmopolis.ch/english/cosmo17/dave_brubeck.htm.

   1956-Dick Farley of the Syracuse Nationals fouled out on an NBA game against the St. Louis Hawks after playing just five minutes, the fastest disqualification in league history.

   1959--- Top Hits

Venus - Frankie Avalon

Charlie Brown - The Coasters

Alvin’s Harmonica - David Seville & The Chipmunks

Don’t Take Your Guns to Town - Johnny Cash

=========1960’s=========

    1964 -Malcolm X confirms resignation from Nation of Islam

http://www.cmgww.com/historic/malcolm/bio.html

    1966- Chicago Blackhawks left wing Bobby Hull became the first NHL player to score more than 50 goals in a season when he tallied his 51^st goal of the year against the New York Rangers.

    1967---Top Hits

Love is Here and Now You’re Gone - The Supremes

Baby I Need Your Lovin’ - Johnny Rivers

Penny Lane - The Beatles

The Fugitive - Merle Haggard

    1967 -a tremendous 4 day storm was in progress across California. Winds to 90 mph closed mountain passes, heavy rains flooded the lowlands, and in 60 hours Squaw Valley was buried under 96 inches of snow.

     1968 -McCarthy does well in the Democratic primary.

Senator Eugene McCarthy (D-Minnesota), an outspoken critic of the Johnson administration's policies in Vietnam, polls 42 percent of the vote in New Hampshire's Democratic presidential primary. President Lyndon B. Johnson got 48 percent. A Harris poll later showed that anti-Johnson, rather than antiwar, sentiment provided the basis for McCarthy's surprisingly strong performance.

McCarthy had been a contender to be President Lyndon B. Johnson's running mate in the 1964 election, but since then he had become increasingly disenchanted with Johnson's policies in Vietnam and the escalation of the war. In 1967, he published The Limits of Power, an assessment of U.S. foreign policy that was very critical of the Johnson administration. McCarthy announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in January 1968, saying that he hoped to harness the growing antiwar sentiment in the country, particularly among the young. His showing in the New Hampshire primary astonished most of the political pundits. Johnson, frustrated with his inability to reach a solution in Vietnam and stunned by his narrow victory in New Hampshire, announced on March 31, 1968, that he would neither seek nor accept the nomination of his party for re-election. The rest of McCarthy's campaign was almost an anticlimax. Senator Robert Kennedy of New York entered the race and won most of the Democratic primaries until his assassination in June. When the Democratic National Convention opened in Chicago, a conflict immediately erupted over the party's Vietnam platform. While demonstrations against the war took place in the streets outside the convention hall, Vice President Hubert Humphrey won the party nomination. Humphrey was defeated in the general election by Republican Richard Nixon. McCarthy retired from the Senate in 1971, but his surprising showing in the primary was evidence of the strong antiwar sentiment in the country.

=========1970’s=========

   1974 - "Wonder Woman" debuted on ABC-TV, although it eventually moved to CBS. It starred Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman, whose real name was Diana Prince. Wonder Girl, Diana's sister, was Donna Troy.

http://timstvshowcase.com/wonderwomanbak.jpg

    1975---Top Hits

Have You Never Been Mellow - Olivia Newton-John

Black Water - The Doobie Brothers

My Eyes Adored You - Frankie Valli

Linda on My Mind - Conway Twitty

=========1980’s=========

     1983---Top Hits

Billy Jean - Michael Jackson

Shame on the Moon - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band

Do You Really Want to Hurt Me - Culture Club

The Rose - Conway Twitty

    1984-A the World Figure Slaking Championships, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean of Great Britain became the first ice dancing team to earn nine perfect marks of 6.0

    1985 - Larry Bird of the NBA’s Boston Celtics scored a club-record 60 points in a 126-116 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Bird broke the record previously held by teammate Kevin McHale, who scored 56 points just nine days earlier.

    1985 - Auto dealer Tom Bensen and several investors plunked down some cash to buy the New Orleans Saints football team. The bankroll was quite substantial -- about $64 million.

http://www.neworleanssaints.com/stories.php?story_id=8

    1986 --  Susan Butcher wins 1,158 mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/but0pro-1

http://www.barberusa.com/motive/butcher_susan.html

    1987 - After breaking all records for advance ticket sales, the British musical Les Miserables opened on Broadway.

    1987- A&M Records presented Special Olympics International with a check for $5-million. It was the first proceeds from sales of "A Very Special Christmas," a collection of yuletide songs by such superstars as Bruce Springsteen, U2, Bon Jovi and Run-DMC.

     1989 - An early season heat wave continued in the southwestern and central U.S. Nineteen cities reported record high temperatures for the date. Wichita Falls TX, which six days earlier reported a record low of 8 above, reported a record high of 95 degrees. Childress TX was the first spot in the country in 1989 to hit the century mark

=========1990’s=========

    1990 -unseasonably warm temperatures occurred from the Mississippi Valley to the Atlantic coast. Over 90 high temperature records for this date were broken or tied. Many of the records were topped by 15 degrees or more and some of the records broken had been set 100 years ago or more. The high temperature for the nation was recorded in Baltimore, Maryland where the temperature reached 95 degrees. Washington, DC and Richmond, Virginia both recorded 89 degrees.

    1991---Top Hits

Someday - Mariah Carey

One More Try - Timmy -T-

Show Me the Way - Styx

I’d Love You All Over Again - Alan Jackson

    1992- Eric Clapton appeared on MTV's "Unplugged." His acoustic performance was released as an album, becoming one of his biggest sellers. It included a remake of his 1970 Top-10 hit "Layla," which almost matched the original in popularity. The format produced many other “relaxed, simple, and

intimate” performances and records.

     1993 -what was to become the "Great Blizzard of '93" began to develop as a huge mesoscale convective complex formed in the western Gulf of Mexico. As the low pressure area moved eastward and intensified, howling north winds exceeding hurricane force behind the storm were reported by platforms in the Gulf. One platform near 28.5n/ 92.5w recorded sustained winds of 85 mph with gusts to 99 mph. As the low crossed the coast around midnight near Panama City, Florida, the central pressure was already down to 980 millibars (28.94 inches). During the late evening into the early morning hours of the 13th, a vicious squall line swept through Florida and spawned 11 tornadoes resulting in 5 fatalities. Thunderstorm winds gusted to 110 mph at Alligator Point and 109 mph at Dry Tortugas. Extremely high tides occurred along the western Florida coast. A 13 foot storm surge occurred in Taylor county, Florida, resulting in 10 deaths with 57 residences destroyed. A 5 to 8 foot storm surge moved ashore in Dixie county. Over 500 homes were destroyed with major damage to another 700 structures.

     1994 - The Church of England broke with 460 years of male dominance when it ordained its first women priests in Bristol Cathedral.

    2001- Richard Hidalgo signs the third-richest contract in Astro history with a four-year $32 million, deal with the club. The outfielder's pact is less than teammate's Jeff Bagwell's $85 million (5-years), and Craig Biggio's $33 million (4-years).

     2003- The second exhibition season bench-clearing brawl this week occurs as a raging Mike Piazza, after being hit by a pitch, charges the mound in pursuit of Guillermo Mota, who makes to the dugout without being caught. The incident may be a follow-up to an incident last spring which resulted in a shoving match after a similar event and the Met All-Star catcher waited for the Dodger reliever, who was coming off the field in the eighth inning and grabbed him by the jersey.