Orange County, CA.
Operations/Credit Manager with 15 Years Experience, Middle & Large Ticket, initiated policies for Patriot Act and Sarbanes Oxley, Team Motivator.
E-mail: equiplender@aol.com

Experienced Credit, Collections, lease and Finance operations. Manager w/expertise in improving bottom line performance, excellent trainer, manager, motivator. Get result/keep the customer coming back.
Email: rgmorrill@comcast.net

New York, NY.
10+ years in equipment leasing/secured lending. Skilled in management & training, documentation, policy and procedure development & implementation, portfolio reporting. Strong work ethic.
Email: dln1031@nyc.rr.com

New York/New Jersey
5+ years experience in leasing. Knowledge of positions: SMB Credit and Contract Administrator. Relocating to the NY/NJ area.
Email: LeaseOps2004@AOL.com

Wayne, NJ
20+ heavily experienced collection/recovery VP looking to improve someone's bottom line. Proven, verifiable track record. Knowledge of all types of portfolio. Will relocate
Email: cmate@nac.net

Tech Com, Inc.
1945 Placentia Ave
Bldg A - Second Floor
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Tel: 949-645-1562

(We believe she is only acting as a "figurehead" based on her credit and to hide other individuals)

** The fraudulent bank ratings used were "SUNTRUST Bank" - Maryland. and "PEOPLES Bank" - California.

We have information beyond a reasonable doubt that leads us to form the opinion that a vendor by the name of TECH COM , INC. (Costa Mesa, CA) is involved in a sophisticated scheme to fund transactions using various forms of false information. Several transactions have been funded and the appropriate funding sources have been notified. First payments due by the Lessees have been made, however, it is our opinion that it could be just a matter of time until the vendor has "sold" enough equipment to satisfy their needs, at which time the lease payments may stop. Police and FBI have been notified. At this stage there have been no criminal charges filed and we may be inadvertently "tipping" off the bad guys, however, we are taking this risk as a professional courtesy, in an effort to protect others in the leasing industry as we are aware that numerous transactions are in for funding at this time.

(Recently the Governments case against the California Computer Vendor named Tech Com with operators Ernie Reinhardt and Byron Allen - which has transaction dating back over 4 years ago, resulted in two convictions. They are currently in the penalty phase...

(“There were originally 14 defendants and 12 agreed to Plea Bargain. The main 2 individuals who did not Plea Bargain- Reinhardt and Allen - were found guilty this month by a Jury Trial.”

Don Froomer went on to create “Quik Track,” a company that provides site inspections and other services for the equipment leasing industry.

Next month, Jeff is holding two seminars, one in Scottsdale, Arizona, and the other in Orange County, California.

Mr. Taylor is the Founder of ExecutiveCaliber, The Leasing Coach, The Leasing Academy, Equipment Leasing On The Air and the author of Selling Leasing In A Tough Economy.

For 25 years he has trained more than 20,000 leasing professionals for some of the top equipment leasing companies in the world. His diverse repertoire includes sales training, lease accounting & tax, pricing and back office administration.

Top of the morning
Is what we say
On March 17th
St. Patrick's Day.
Wear your green
And I am told,
If you catch a leprechaun
He'll give you his gold.

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

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

Attorneys for NorVergence lessors believe the FTC is solely centering on “forced insurance,” or will be deterred by attorney general settlements in many states. Others believe specific believe the state's top cops have moved onto other cases and have too large a load to keeping working on the leasing company-telecom fiasco.

Here is a recent judgment, adding to others, showing the continued loss of venue in pursuing remedy, and considered public information as it is being spread over the internet:

Here is one attorney letter regarding CCL and their position on the loss of momentum of the various attorneys generals and FTC ( it definitely is worth reading and then “the other side” follows it) :

“Commerce Bank apparently saw NorVergence as a potential customer and wanted to accommodate NorVergence's request for participation as a leasing company, through its subsidiary, Commerce Commercial Leasing, LLC, a New Jersey limited liability company. Commerce Bank and CCL do not directly handle what they refer to as small leases.

company proposed to CCL that it would handle the leases referred from Commerce Bank, and pay Commerce Bank a fee for doing so. For whatever reason they thought to be to their best interest, Commerce Bank and CCL appointed PECC the agent of CCL to handle the leases.

“The written agreement among Commerce Bank, CCL and PECC, provides that upon PECC signing a Vendor Program Agreement in the name of CCL, all right, title and interest in the Vendor Program Agreement is immediately assigned to PECC without further action of any party. NorVergence signed a Vendor Program Agreement with "Commerce Commercial Leasing VendorLease" (CCL VL) which warranted to NorVergence that it was a duly created and existing limited liability company (which it was not and never has been). One of PECC's officers signed the document on behalf of CCL VL.

Based upon the two documents operating together, each lease that was entered into between NV and its customer which was then assigned to CCL automatically became the property of PECC when the lease was signed, and the Matrix box became owned by PECC when the lease was funded (even though the invoice from NV was addressed to Commerce Bank).

“The CB, CCL and PECC contract required that all collection activity be done in the name of CCL. I have removed one of the cases I am defending to federal district court. The federal rules (and most state rules of procedure are patterned after them) provide that each suit must be brought in the name of the real party in interest. This procedural requirement takes precedence over an ill-conceived contractual provision whereby PECC believed it had to sue in the name of CCL. (Of course, suing in the name of CCL does not mean that all of PECC's attributes---specifically, its principal place of business is substituted in place of those of CCL.)

“CCL VL was never created; PECC never registered the fictitious name of CCL, LLC, in PA, and CCL, LLC, the NJ LLC is now authorized to do business in PA, so PECC can not now register it as a fictitious name.

“In my opinion, all suits brought in the name of CCL must be dismissed for violation of the real-party-in-interest rule, and the suits, if refilled, will have to be refilled in either NJ or in the state where the lessee resides or has its principal place of business.

“In short, neither Commerce Bank nor CCL have any interest in these leases which can be enforced in law given the provisions of the contracts that I have read.

“Ronald P. Gossett
rongossett@gossettlaw.com
“Gossett & Gossett, P.A.
Building I
4700 Sheridan Street
Hollywood, FL 33021
(954) 983-2828”

None of the companies mentioned would return our telephone calls, and Leasing News welcomes any comment they may wish to make.

In addition, Leasing News is seeking an interview with Randy Brooks, lead Federal Trade Commission attorney in the NorVergence litigation. Many readers may remember he was also the lead FTC attorney who secured a judgment against Leasecomm/Microfinancial.

By furnishing third-party finance companies with rental agreements that may allow the finance companies to:
a. Misrepresent that consumers owe money regardless of
whether NorVergence provides the promised telecommunications services; and
b. File collection suits in distant forums, NorVergence provided others with the means and instrumentalities for the commission of deceptive or unfair acts or practices.

In addition, as we the FTC finds additional issues during the course of their action, are they going to actively pursue those issues as well.

Will there be any criminal charges made against individuals for their role in any of the actions that violate the law?

In the course of a conversation with Cindy Spurdle, executive director of the Certified Leasing Profession, I suggested a second designation besides the “CLP.” This came from the results of the questionnaire about regulating the leasing industry, as one reader, the John Winchester, had suggested the CLP program was the right direction for the industry to support.

It seemed to me to allow for a “lease professional” or other title, might be a good idea, and to perhaps include our readers in coming up with a designation. Perhaps instead of a five year requirement, make it two years, and utilize a high school test rather than an MBA test to become a full CLP; and of course, a lower cost for both the test and position.

Steve Crane of Bank of the West, the president of the CLP Foundation, as well as Bob Teichman, of Teichman Financial Training, in a telephone conversation thought it had enough merit to bring before their board of directors.

Unknown to the both of them, I queried the Leasing News Advisory Board for their position: what they thought our promotion involvement should be on this idea. Both Steve and Bob are members of the advisory board, and since they already agreed to take the idea before the full CLP board, their input was not requested.

Surprisingly, one third of the Leasing News Advisory Board had “no opinions,” one third were against it, and perhaps even less than a third were in favor:

“Personally I believe that anything that would pressure leasing sales people to seek education about business ethics and practices is a great idea.

“Consider this; if we required anyone who sold leasing to take a course that stressed ethics and practices before they picked up a bag and a calculator would it have an impact on our industry? What if we were competing with companies that did not require any certification, by letting the potential client know that; “all of our sales people were required to take a certified course before they were allowed to call on a customer?”

“Such a designation may stem of industry regulation. It may be inevitable anyway, because it isn't too far fetched to think that the Government might step in eventually with some kind of leasing license requirement soon, much like a series 7 license for SEC. Especially after the current headlines.

Kind Regards,
Fred St Laurent
2025 Commonwealth Place
Cumming GA 30041
Phone: 678.947.9910
Fax: 678.623.8283
Email: Fred@fredstlaurent.com

“Anything that encourages continuing education sounds like a great idea. I understand The CLP Foundation has been making considerable progress with the content and accessibility of education materials, the Mentor Program comes to mind. Curios to know the level of interest in the idea of an “associate or under-grad” CLP “degree”. “

“I think that would be a good idea. One of the reasons I have not gone through the program is there is a lot of the program that has to do with the 12C calculator to determine present values etc. I have been in this business for 27 years and have never used a 12 C and have made a lot of money. I guess I am like a dinosaur, but I bet there are a lot of pros out there in the same category. I think time in business, practical experience and reputation are really the important factors.”

Global Financial Services
17 State Street
New York NY 10004
Email phil@globaleasing.com
Phone 212-480-4900
Philip Dushey

“Perhaps you could call them candidates which would designate the people who are in the program but have not yet completed it. Like an associates degree for 2 years of college. Be careful not to dilute the potency of the full designation.”

“I believe coming out with a "lighter" exam and a quasi CLP, you are lowering the value of the CLP. The original intent I believe, was to signify that someone had a good understanding of our industry and became "certified". So does this lighter title mean they are somewhat of an expert? What is the purpose of this quasi CLP? You can properly assume that I would be against it.

Steve Reid, CLP
VP Marketing, Leasing Division
Pacific Capital Bank
2230 W. Chapman Ave #200
Orange, Ca 92868
800-700-9858
714-938-0288 (fax)
email: steve.reid@pcbancorp.com

“I question if anyone with only 2 years experience should qualify for a designation that is "meaningful". Are you aware that you can take and pass the CLP exam at anytime and simply wait for your five years to receive the actual designation. I am very concerned that any other designation would damage the CLP designation. Also keep in mind you only need 3 years in leasing if you have previous comparable experience i.e. a commercial bank loan officer.”

Regards Bob
Robert D Baker CLP
President/CEO
Wildwood Financial Group, Ltd
2646 Highway 109 Suite 101
Wildwood, Mo 63040
800 373 3581
877 235 0808 Fax
www.wildwoodfinancial.com

Sal Maglietta met with Michael Jackson before the trial to advise him in no uncertain terms to "don't act weird," “tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, "plus "What is a 45 year old man doing in the bedroom with a 15 year old boy?"

(Send us your picture with Sal at one of the leasing association conferences and we will print it.editor)

The Conforming States Committee (CSC) and the Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP) met in Atlanta from Sunday, March 6 through Wednesday, March 9. This report will not cover all issues tackled during the four days of deliberations as the CCH report distributed earlier already provided an in-depth look at issues such as definitions for buy downs and a bundled transaction.

Lease Accounting Gets Uglier Lease accounting, in which companies rent out or "lease" factories, buildings or equipment instead of buying them outright, is fast becoming the most troublesome area of accounting

Accounting watchdog Jack Ciesielski, publisher of the Analyst's Accounting Observer in Baltimore, Md., so far counts 145 companies that have been hit with lease-accounting problems. Companies have either restated, or plan to restate, their financials due to improper lease accounting. Other companies have taken a cumulative catch-up charge to fix their lease accounting, or say they are suspicious that they have a problem.

Glass Lewis, a San Francisco investment-research house, has also been tracking the problem and has identified a flurry of restatements due to problematic lease accounting at 36 companies, including Starbucks (nasdaq: SBUX - news - people ), Wendy's International (nyse: WEN - news - people ) and Pep Boys (nyse: PBY - news - people ).

"It has been surprising to see the number of companies, with the blessing of their auditors, who got this simple, basic accounting wrong," says Lynn Turner, a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chief accountant, who is now a consultant to Glass Lewis. Turner adds that while at the SEC, he had "audited several companies in the franchising and retailing industry, and certainly this is nothing new."

On top of its other accounting problems, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (nyse: KKD - news - people ), for example, has had lease-accounting troubles. The donut maker has ditched its use of an exotic, off-balance sheet twist known as "synthetic" leases (see "Debt? Who, Me?". Iron Mountain (nyse: IRM - news - people ) also stopped using "synthetic" leases (see "False Front").

A growing number of outfits are using all types of leases. Eight of ten companies lease all or some of their equipment, as a whole spending $218 billion--or 30% of their capital expenditures last year--in doing so, says the Equipment Leasing Association, an Arlington, Va.-based trade group.

Not surprisingly, as leases grow in popularity, the auditors can't always figure out what constitutes proper accounting for them. The problems typically involve incorrect amounts booked for depreciation costs, whereby companies wrongfully stretched out their depreciation and amortization costs for buildings and other assets subject to leases.

The bad news comes at a time when companies are struggling with tougher disclosures demanded by the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, which forces executives to tighten internal controls over their financial reports. The new requirements have prompted an industry-wide review of lease-accounting practices in the retail and restaurant industries, which tend to be heavy users of leases.

What's also spooking companies is an unusual letter sent by current SEC Chief Accountant Donald Nicolaisen to the accounting profession, warning that companies must do a better job disclosing both their capital- and operating-lease obligations in security filings.

Given the choice between leasing and owning real estate or equipment, many companies pick operating leases, which lower reported debt and boost returns on assets. They also typically fatten earnings through, among other items, lower depreciation expenses.

Ciesielski says investors can expect to "see the restatement trend continue until the first-quarter" filings have been completed, adding that, by that time, companies "should have had their audits out of the way, and had the chance to do their evaluations of lease policies."

Traditional arrival date for the long-billed curlew at the Umatilla (Oregon) National Wildlife Refuge. More than 500 of the long-billed curlews have been reported at this location during their nesting season. http://www.animaltrial.com/curlewbird.html
http://www.imperial.cc.ca.us/birds/curlew.htm
http://www.4to40.com/earth/geography/htm/birdsindex.asp?counter=34
    1739-Birthday of George Clymer, Signer of the Declaration of Independence and of the US Constitution. Born at Philadelphia, PA and died there Jan 24, 1813. British troops advancing on Philadelphia detoured for the purpose of vandalizing Clymer's home in Chester County about 25 miles outside the city. His wife and children hid nearby in the woods. He was considered the smartest and most respected of the signers, except for Benjamin Franklin.
http://www.georgeclymer.com/
http://www.colonialhall.com/clymer/clymer.php
http://www.constitution.org/img/found017.htm
    1751-Birthday of James Madison. 4th president of the US (March 4,1809—March 3,1817), born at Port Conway, Virginia, 1751. He was president when British forces invaded Washington, DC, requiring Madison and other high officials to flee while the British burned the Capitol, the president's residence and most other public buildings (August 24—25,1814). Died at Montpelier, VA, June 28, 1836.
(second part of: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/mar16.html )
    1802-U.S. Military Academy founded. President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation establishing the US Military Academy to train officers for the army. The college is located at West Point, NY, on the site of the oldest continuously occupied military post in America. Women were admitted to West Point in 1976. The academy's motto is “ Duty, Honor, County.”
For more info: www.usma.edu .
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/mar16.html
    1822-John Pope Birthday, a Union general in the Civil War, was born at Louisville, KY, graduated from West Point in 1842 and fought under General Zachary Taylor in the Mexican War. During the Civil War President Abraham Lincoln put Pope in charge of the Army of Virginia. He led the Union forces at the second Battle of Bull Run (August 1862) to a disastrous defeat, losing about 15,000 troops. He was immediately relieved of his command and sent to Minnesota to handle rioting Sioux Indians. Pope continued to deal with Indian matters until 1883 and eventually espoused the goal of assimilation into white culture. Pope was a well-informed commander with a real understanding of and empathy for the problems of the Indians as well as the nearby white settlements. He died at Ohio at age 70, Sept 23, 1892.
http://www.civilwarhome.com/popebio.htm
http://www.picturehistory.com/find/p/16700/mcms.html
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/cwp/4a40000/4a40100/4a40126u.tif
    1827- the first black newspaper went to press in the U.S., “Freedom's Journal,” on Varick Street, New York, NY. The paper was founded by John Russwurm and Samuel Cornish.
    1843-a great northeast snowstorm swept from the Gulf of Mexico to Maine. Natchez, Tennessee received 4 inches and Shelbyville, Tennessee received 21 inches. Philadelphia and New York City each received 12 inches, and Concord, New Hampshire recorded 8 inches.
    1892-birthday of music union boss James C. Petrillo
http://www.wttw.com/chicagostories/petrillo.html
http://www.bartleby.com/63/67/7867.html
    1862- Battle at Pound Gap KY (near Virginia): Confederates separate battles
http://www.shadybanks.net/Wise2/CivilWarWise.html
http://www.geocities.com/rlperry.geo/EasternKentuckyBattles.html
http://www.geocities.com/heartland/9999/MountSterlling
PoundGapRoad.html
    1870- Hiram R Revels makes the first official speech by a black in the Senate
http://search.eb.com/blackhistory/micro/501/10.html
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000166
http://ctct.essortment.com/africanamerican_pwr.htm
    1909-Don Raye born Washington, DC. Songwriter of “Ill Remember April,” “Star Eyes,” “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” and many other swing standards.
    1916- Brig. General John. J. Pershing entered Mexico on a punitive expedition in pursuit of Pancho Villa and his brigands.
    1916- The Dixieland Jass Band opened at Schiller's Cafe in Chicago. The band included Dominque La Rocca, Eddie Edwards, Henry Ragas, Alcide “Yellow” Nunez, and Tony Sbarbaro. It achieved great popularity and with somewhat different personnel, went on to New York City in the following year, where it was billed as The Original Dixieland Jass Band. There are recordings of this group, san the drums as they did not have the recording ability for this “low” sound. Many of the bands adopted Tuba players, primarily for recording purposes, and Turk Murphy in his first revival had a tuba player, not a drummer ( I have that first shellac recording ).
    1918- "K-K-K-Katy," subtitled "The Stammering Song," written by Chatham, Ontario composer Geoffrey O'Hara, was published. It became one of the most popular songs of the First World War era, selling more than a million copies in sheet music. The song was also a big hit when recorded by American tenor Billy Murray. O'Hara wrote the song while on a visit to Kingston, Ontario.
    1927-birthday of corner player Reuben “Ruby” Braff born Boston MA
http://ubl.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,407350,00.html?artist
=Ruby+Braff
http://trumpetjazz.netfirms.com/Artists/Ruby_Braff.html
http://www.jazzreview.com/articledetails.cfm?ID=169
    1930- birthday of pianist Tommy Flanagan born Detroit MI. He made his professional debut at 15 playing with musicians such as Milt Jackson, Thad Jones, Elvin Jones and Kenny Burrell at Detroit's Famous “Blue Bird Inn.” In 1956, Flanagan came to New York, where his first job was to sit in for Bud Powell at Birdland. Soon the young pianist was tapped for recording dates with jazz greats like Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus and Miles Davis. He was one of Miles Davis's favorite pianist. However, he is perhaps best known for touring extensively with Ella Fitzgerald for over ten years.
http://lionellehamanaka.com/jazznotes.html
http://www.jazzpar.dk/Prize_Winners/tommy_flanagan.html
http://www.jchriss.com/bios/flanagan.html
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m1546/2_14/54479958/p1/article.jhtml
    1931- Canadian contralto Patricia Rideout was born in Saint John, New Brunswick. She has performed many roles from the standard operatic repertoire, most notably Suzuki in "Madame Butterfly." But Rideout's most significant accomplishment has been her performance of contemporary music. She has introduced North American and European audiences to many Canadian works, including Bruce Mather's "Madrigals Three," written especially for her.
    1932- Babe Ruth signs a deal for $75,000 and a percentage of the exhibition gate. Legend has it the Bambino signed a blank contract with the amount filled in later by Yankee owner Jacob Ruppert.
    1934 - , The Academy Awards for the films of 1932 and 1933, was held at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles with humorist/actor/writer Will Rogers as host.

This was the first Academy Award for Katharine Hepburn, for “Morning Glory” (1933). She would get nominated for

Only one film from 1932 captured honors. Harold C. Lewis of the Paramount Studio Sound Department won the Best Sound/Recording award for "A Farewell to Arms". The Best Picture and Best Director Frank Lloyd) prizes went to the 1933, "Cavalcade" produced by Winfield R. Sheehan. The Best Actor was Charles Laughton in "The Private Life of Henry VIII", and the Best Actress was Katharine Hepburn in "Morning Glory" (1933). This was her first Academy Award, and the last she would receive for 34 years. The second cartoon to take home (to their little brick house) an Oscar was Walt Disney's "The Three Little Pigs" for Best Short Subjects/Cartoons.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0147975.html
    1939-Andy Kirk, with electric guitarist Floyd Smith, records “Floyd's Guitar Blues,” Decca 2483.
    1941 - The most severe blizzard in modern history struck North Dakota and Minnesota. The blizzard hit on a Saturday night while many are traveling, and thus claimed 71 lives. Winds gusted to 75 mph at Duluth MN, and reached 85 mph at Grand Forks ND. Snow drifts twelve feet high were reported in north central Minnesota. A cold front traveling 30 mph crossed Minnesota in just seven hours.
    1942 - In New York, Fats Waller recorded "The Jitterbug Waltz" for Bluebird Records
    1942- country singer and songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker, whose real name is Ronald Crosby, was born in Oneonta, New York. During the mid-1960s, Walker formed a folk-rock band called "Circus Maximus." By 1968 he was on his own, and he recorded his composition "Mr. Bojangles." It became a moderate hit for him, and an even bigger success for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970. Jerry Jeff Walker later became associated with the so-called outlaw country movement, headed by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, and centered in Austin, Texas.
http://www.library.swt.edu/swwc/archives/music/walker.html
http://www.jerryjeff.com/
    1942 -a widespread outbreak of tornadoes occurred across Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana. 25 tornadoes were of F2 intensity or greater. 75 fatalities occurred in Mississippi. Baldwyn, Mississippi was hit by 2 tornadoes (one F4 and the other F3) only 35 minutes apart. A violent (F5) tornado tore through Peoria and Marshall counties in Illinois, killing 7 and injuring 70.
    1952- The first religious program on TV, "This Week in Religion," debuted on Dumont television. It was the only ecumenical program of TV's early religious offerings, and ran for two years, last airing in October 1954. This ecumenical Sunday evening panel show divided the hour into 20-minute segments each for Protestant, Catholic and Jewish news. My father Lawrence Menkin was the program manager (also writer and director) at the time.
http://members.aol.com/cingram/television/dumonta2.htm
    1954-Singer Nancy Wilson was born in San Francisco. Heart, led by Nancy's sister, Ann, was formed in Seattle in 1972. The group's debut album, "Dreamboat Annie," was released first on a Canadian label, Mushroom, in 1976. The LP sold 30,000 copies in Canada, and when it was released in the US, it eventually sold 2.5 million. From "Dreamboat Annie" came two hit singles, "Crazy on You" and "Magic Man." Heart switched to the CBS family of labels in 1977, prompting a prolonged legal fight with Mushroom Records owner Shelly Siegel.
    1954-birthday of bass player Brian Torff born Hinsdale, IL
http://www.briantorff.com/
http://www.exploredance.com/photofile/iprez/p033103117.html
http://www.emusic.com/artist/10557/10557410.html
    1955 - Bill Hayes' "The Ballad of Davy Crockett", reached number one on the pop music charts for a five weeks stay beginning today. The hit song sold over 7,000,000 records on more than 20 different labels. Coonskin caps were all the rage as the Crockett craze spread.
    1955---Top Hits
The Ballad of Davy Crockett - Bill Hayes
Sincerely - McGuire Sisters
Pledging My Love - Johnny Ace
In the Jailhouse Now - Webb Pierce
    1957-“The Gumby Show” premieres on TV. This kids' show was a spin-off from "Howdy Doody," where the character of Gumby was first introduced in 1956. Gumby and his horse Pokey were clay figures whose adventures were filmed using the process of "claymation." "The Gumby Show," created by Art Clokey, was first hosted by Bobby Nicholson and later by Pinky Lee. It was syndicated in 1966 and again in 1988.
http://www.toontracker.com/gumby/gumby.htm
http://www.poster-pictures.com/Poster-Pictures-Gumby-Show,-The.html
    1963 - Peter, Paul and Mary released the single, "Puff The Magic Dragon", which was banned by several radio stations whose management figured the song was about smoking marijuana. The group denied the allegations saying “It's about a magic dragon named Puff.” The trio recorded a dozen hits that charted between 1962 and 1969. "Puff" was their third song, which went to number two on the pop charts for nearly three months.
    1963---Top Hits
Walk like a Man - The 4 Seasons
Our Day Will Come - Ruby & The Romantics
You're the Reason I'm Living - Bobby Darin
The Ballad of Jed Clampett - Flatt & Scruggs
    1964 - The Beatles released in the U.S. their hit single, "Can't Buy Me Love/You Can't Do That" on the Capitol label.
    1968 - Otis Redding's (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay jumped into the Number 1 slot on Billboard's pop record charts and stayed there for 4 weeks. Redding had died three months earlier.
    1968-My Lai Massacre. Most-publicized atrocity of Vietnam War. According to findings of US Army's Peers investigating team, approximately 300 noncombatant Vietnamese villagers (at My Lai and Mykhe, near the South China Sea) were killed by infantrymen of the American Division. It was not until November 16,1969 the news reports charged a U.S. infantry unit with massacre at May Lai4, a village in the Songmy district in South Vietnam. More than 450 villagers, including many women and babies, were said to have been slain. Pending an investigation, Lt. William L. Calley, Jr., in charge of the U.S. unit at the time, was kept on active duty beyond his official tour. At this time, there were 544,000 troops in Viet Nam. April, 1969, President Nixon announced he would reduce the troops by 110,000, which was accomplished on December 15, when it was cut to 434,000.
    1971 - The Jackson 5 single, Never Can Say Goodbye, was released on this date, and within five days, it had sold 1,213,000 copies, an unparalleled success since the heyday of the Beatles.
    1971- Simon and Garfunkel won five Grammy Awards, including record and album of the year for "Bridge Over Troubled Water."
    1971---Top Hits
One Bad Apple - The Osmonds
Me and Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin
For All We Know - Carpenters
I'd Rather Love You - Charley Pride
    1979---Top Hits
I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
Tragedy - Bee Gees
Heaven Knows - Donna Summer with Brooklyn Dreams
Golden Tears - Dave & Sugar
    1985 - United States journalist Terry Anderson was kidnapped in Beirut; he was not released until December 4, 1991 after 2,454 days in captivity.
    1987-a severe thunderstorm dumped huge hailstones, 4.5 inches in diameter, on Del Rio, Texas. 3 people were injured when hailstones crashed through a shopping mall skylight.
    1971-The 13th Annual Grammy Award Winners are announced and the big winners are: "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel (Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists, Best Engineered Record and Best Contemporary Song).
    1979-Twisted Sister, a Long Island bar band formed six years ago, is the first to headline and sell out New York City's 3,000 seat Palladium without the benefit of a record. It will be another three years until the band signs a record deal
    1985 - "A Chorus Line" gave performance number 4,000 at New York's Shubert Theatre. The show opened in July, 1975, and became the longest-running show on Broadway in September, 1983.
1985 - When "People" magazine listed the top 57, money-making, stars, Paul McCartney was at the top. His musical empire was said to be worth $500 million. Bob Hope also made the list with a worth of about $200 million.
    1987---Top Hits
Jacob's Ladder - Huey Lewis & The News
Somewhere Out There - Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram
Let's Wait Awhile - Janet Jackson
Baby's Got a New Baby - S-K-O
    1988 - More than one hundred hours of continuous snow finally came to an end at Marquette MI, during which time the city was buried under 43 inches of snow. Unseasonably cold weather prevailed in the southeastern U.S., with forty-one cities reporting record low temperatures for the date.
    1990 - Low pressure crossing the Upper Mississippi Valley produced high winds from the Northern and Central Plains to the Great Lakes Region and Ohio Valley. Winds gusted to 73 mph at Iowa City IA, and wind gusts reached 79 mph at Waukesha WI. Winds of 75 mph were reported around Rapid City SD, with gusts to 100 mph. Up to a foot of snow was reported in western Iowa, western Minnesota, and extreme eastern North Dakota. Blizzard conditions were reported in northeastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota
    1995- Mississippi ratified the amendment to the U.S. Constitution that abolished slavery, almost 130 years after the fact.
1999-Jeff Beck releases his album, “Who Else, But!”-The theme song of Dr. Ray Williams.
    2001- Slammin' Sammy Sosa signs a four-year contract extension keeping the Cub right fielder in the Windy City until 2006. The prolific home run hitter has average nearly sixty home runs (179HRs/3 years) for the last three season.

The March wind roars
Like a lion in the sky,
And makes us shiver
As he passes by.

When winds are soft,
And the days are warm and clear,
Just like a gentle lamb,
Then spring is here.
- Author Unknown