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 Accounting: PricewaterhouseCoopers seeks executives with experience in equipment leasing to help clients improve their leasing businesses by assessing "as is" conditions and designing and implementing solutions to operational issues. PwC also seeks CPA's with a broad based knowledge of FAS13 and familiarity with accounting for leases with simple and complex transaction structures. Email: anthony.g.anderson@us.pwc.com About the Company: PricewaterhouseCoopers, New York, NY. |
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Headlines---
Trucker
protest spreads to California depots, interstates and ports
From
the Archives—May 5,2000---Kropschot Opens Shop Again
"California
Lender License Roundtable” May
11th
ChooseLeasing.org,
Answers Equipment Leasing Questions
NACM:
The Economy Continues to Grow
######## surrounding the article denotes it is a "press
release”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Classified
Ads---Outsourcing
Collector: Near
Boston, MA
My name is John Kenny.
I have 14 years experience in leasing collections. I currently offer
outsourced services to clients nationwide on a contractual, contingency
basis. E- mail:ReceivablesMgmt@prodigy.net
Collector:
Los Angeles, Ca.
Expert skiptracers
covering Southern California. We locate skips, judgment debtors and
collateral. When you can't get the job done in house, give us a call
at 1-800-778- 0794. E-mail: ceo@interagencyLA.com
Collector:
Fountain Valley, CA
Commercial Collector
with a track record of collecting lost leasing deposits and advance
payments on un-funded deals. If you have been burned, we are the ones
to call. 1-888- 278-0658 ext. 233. E- mail:jcasperson@omniusco.com
Collector:
Louisville, KY.
We are a full service
collection agency with attorney network. 21 years experience. Please
call Jon Floyd, VP at 1-800-264-6850
email: jfloyd@collectcsg.com
Collector: Saint
Louis, Mo.
Complete commercial
collection agency. Licensed bonded in all states and will out performed
any other agency! Call 1-800-659- 7199 ext.315
E-mail: jfloyd@lindquistandtrudeau.com
Collections -
repossessions: Tampa, FL.
IRTC Continencies:
Commercial Collections- Skip Trace- Repossessions-judgment served- Investigations-
Asset Re-marketing& No Cost Warehousing East Coast USA. Call 813-467-
4324 ask for Robert or E-mail to Robertmbs@covad.net
Consultant: Sausalito,
CA
Lease trainer and
consultant. 38 years in equipment leasing. Expert in transaction analysis,
financial statement analysis, credit, packaging, structuring. Presents
highly popular classes and workshops. E-mail:BoTei@aol.com
Trainer: Atlanta,
GA
Able to provide training
to dealers on financial merchandising as well as provide asset management
service E- mail:kingcole@mindspring.com
Vendor Sales Training:
Atlanta, GA. 6yrs exp.in training Re-sellers, Dealers & Vendors
on how to "Sell Leasing". Will train your dealers on your
specific program or generic "Leasing 101". E- mail:mreedy@softtechleasing.com
Syndicator:
Overland Park, KS.
Top Syndicator from
single deal to portfolios. 20+ yrs exp. Available for contract work
or full time position. Nationwide contacts.
E-mail: FFLLeasing@aol.com
full list of all Outsourcing ads:
http://64.125.68.90/LeasingNews/JobPostingsOutsourcing.htm
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trucker
protest spreads to California depots, interstates and ports
by Dick Larsen, senior editor
(Landline Magazine—
The official publication of the owner-operator Independent Drivers
Association)
California's soaring
diesel prices spurred a flurry of protests at rail depots earlier this
week and along portions of I-5 - by week's end, protesting truckers
had abandoned rigs on the northbound lanes east of downtown Los Angeles.
(Leasing News has
heard from readers who state trucks have been "abandoned” at
intersections, such
as on Sepulveda Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, protesting the
cost of diesel fuel. Local television stations interview the drivers
who say more
than half, and some 2/3rds, of the income is going toward
fuel. Leasing Companies
are reporting more
slowness with California owner-operator. Kit Menkin. Leasing
News Editor)
CHP Officer Spencer
Amons told Land Line I-5 is now open to all traffic - about six trucks
were cleared and fewer than 10 truckers were arrested.
Amons also reported
a slowdown of traffic on southbound Interstate 110, "but when we
arrived, things got back to normal."
He said a group of
truckers is heading toward a rally at a park in Wilmington, CA near
the Pacific Coast Highway, which is close to Long Beach.
Meanwhile, officials
within the shipping industry said the truckers are preparing for some
kind of action April 30 at the ports of Oakland, Los Angeles and Long
Beach, according to news accounts.
While it remains
unclear how many truckers would participate or what they would do during
a protest, fliers are being circulated around the docks urging truckers
not to work.
The protest began
in Central California April 27 as hundreds of drivers refused to take
containers from a railroad depot in Lathrop. The truckers also protested
at freight terminals operated by the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern
Sante Fe railroads in and near Stockton, CA, The Sacramento Bee said.
The truckers don't
blame ports or railroad companies.
They are, however,
upset at shipping and trucking companies that rely on the railroads
and ports to make a profit. Truckers say the profits they make hauling
containers have been reduced because of the higher fuel prices. Truckers
are usually paid for every container they haul, but that price has not
risen to match the increased fuel costs.
Among the stated
demands are a 30 percent increase in the fees paid per container a trucker
hauls and a sliding fuel surcharge rate based upon the price of fuel.
Effect on shipping
While the initial
protest largely focused on railroad distribution centers in the Central
Valley, its ripple effect has caused pinched operations for shippers
in other regions and for companies relying on deliveries.
"Basically,
all our products come out of Georgia, and they are now stuck in Lathrop,"
said Dorothy Stein, an assistant at John Towns and Associates, who spoke
to the Alameda Times-Star. The company ships erosion control blankets
and other soil stabilization and paving products. "People expected
deliveries and never received them. It has just been that sort of day."
Jeff Bromley, a Union
Pacific Railroad spokesman who also spoke to the newspaper, said the
company has seen a 95 percent decline in cargo movement since the protest
began at its Lathrop Distribution Center.
The center usually
moves about 1,000 containers to and from its center, but on April 27-28,
it moved about 250 per day, he said.
The crux of the protest
The truckers have
focused on the fuel surcharge, saying carriers are keeping 70 percent
of it. The surcharge drivers do receive is based on the national average,
not the California price, which is typically the highest in the nation
each week.
But truckers also
noted their tight financial situation - including low freight rates,
and the lack of health and other insurance benefits.
Meanwhile, the truckers
taking part in the protest are not alone. OOIDA and Land Line have heard
from several other truckers who have parked their rigs due to high fuel
prices.
"Virtually every
trucker is significantly impacted by the run up in fuel costs and the
possibility that costs may keep climbing," Todd Spencer, executive
vice president of OOIDA, said. "As of April 30, the national average
price of diesel fuel was $1.74 and in California, the average price
was $2.26."
See pictures of the
shutdown at this website:
http://www.nbc4.tv/slideshow/traffic/3254992/detail.html?qs=;s=1;p=traffic;d
by Dick Larsen, senior
editor
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
From the Archives—May 5,2000---Kropschot Opens Shop Again
BRUCE
KROPSCHOT RE-ESTABLISHES KROPSCHOT FINANCIAL SERVICES
Bruce Kropschot announced
today that he has re-established Kropschot Financial Services, which
he founded in 1986 as a merger and acquisition advisory firm for the
equipment leasing and financing industry. Mr. Kropschot left the firm
in late 1997 to become Vice Chairman - Mergers and Acquisitions of UniCapital
Corporation, which he helped acquire 17 equipment casing businesses.
and go public in May 1998 in the largest roll-up initial public offering
ever Effective April 1.2000, Mr. Kropschot retired from UniCapital Corporation,
where he was also President of UniCapital Business Credit Group.
Under Mr. lKropschot's
leadership. Kropschot Financial Services arranged over 125 acquisitions
of equipment leasing and specialty finance businesses from 1986 through
1997 and was ranked as the leading provider of merger and acquisition
advisory services in this sector, Mr. Kropschot stated, "I am pleased
to be devoting again all of my attention to M&A activities. There
is a need for an advisory firm that understands the opportunities and
the challenges unique to the equipment leasing market. When representing
owners in the sale of their businesses. Kropschot Financial Services
will riot only be looking to maximize the sale price but also to find
a buyer under whom the business and its employees can achieve their
potential. When representing acquisition searches for buyers, we will
utilize our vast knowledge of the leasing industry and its many participants
to locate those companies that best fit the defined acquisition parameters.
Ihe firm will also arrange financing for equipment leasAng and specialty
finance companies and perform business valuations. Mr. Kropschot indicated
that Kropschot Financial Services would soon be making an announcement
regaining other key executives who will be joining the firm.
Bruce Kropschot has
been in the equipment leasing industry for nearly 30 years. Prior to
founding Kropschot Financial Services, he was Executive VP of HBE Leasing
Corporation and President and an owner of Master Lease Corporation (now
known as De Lage Landen Financial Services). He is a CPA and holds BBA
and MBA degrees in accounting and finance from the University of Michigan.
He has served on the Board of Directors of the Equipment Leasing Association
of America, United Association of Equipment Leasing and Eastern Association
of Equipment Lessors and is a founding member of Intemational Merger
& Acquisition Professionals, an organization of leading M&A
intermediaries located throughout North America and Europe Mr. Kropschot
can be reached in his Stuart, FL. office at 561-225-8800 or through
e-mail at bkropschot@aol.com.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
****
Announcement ****************************************
"California
Lender License Roundtable” May
11th
When: Tuesday, May 11th, 2004 @ 2:00 PM
Where: Citi Bank
Commercial Building
15233 Ventura Blvd (at Sepulveda)
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
**UAEL
Reserved a Conference. Please
ask the Lobby Attendant to
direct you to Conference Room. (818)-528-7596
Event: California Lender License
Presented by, Stephen
E. Jenkins, Esq.
Hemar, Rousso &
Heald, LLP.
"Do you need a CA
Lender and/or Broker License?”
”How do you obtain
a CA Lender and/or Broker License?”
”What is required
after you have a CA Lender and/or Broker License?”
Cost: There is no charge to UAEL Members.
$10.00 Fee Non UAEL Members
Please Reserve your
ticket via email at: giacono@westoverfinancial.com
Event Hosted by UAEL
Southern California Regional Committee
****
Announcement ******************************************
### Press Release
####################################
New Web Site,
www.ChooseLeasing.org, Answers Questions About Equipment Leasing Conservation
of Capital as Main Reason Small Businesses Lease, According to Survey
Arlington, VA——The
Equipment Leasing Association (ELA) today announces the launch of a
new educational Web site for businesses seeking information on equipment
leasing. Located at www.ChooseLeasing.org, the site was developed in
response to recent market research that shows businesses are using leasing
more as a strategic financing option and not just as a hedge against
obsolescence. The Choose Leasing Web site, in response to these shifts,
includes more analysis of leasing versus purchasing equipment and includes
more in-depth information on how leasing’s benefits apply to a business
scenario.
"Business leaders
have always known that choosing a mix of financing options for acquiring
equipment is important,” said ELA President Michael Fleming. "We now
find the reasons for choosing leasing, however, have evolved. Historically,
avoiding obsolescence was a main reason to lease. While the high tech
markets continue to report that avoiding obsolescence is a major factor,
now we are seeing more businesses also taking advantage of leasing’s
flexibility and contribution to cash flow management.”
Several ELA-sponsored
research projects underscore this premise, including a recent Entrepreneur
magazine—ELA joint survey of small businesses. In that survey, almost
36 percent said the conservation of capital was the main reason to lease
and just over 26 percent of the 285 respondents cited the flexibility
of lease financing. Just under 18 percent cited avoiding obsolescence
as the main factor for leasing.
Results of the survey
also show that just under 73 percent of small businesses report they
will increase equipment spending this year. Nearly one third of survey
respondents said they use leasing as a financing option now and one
third expect to use leasing in the near future.
"Regardless of their
reasons, equipment leasing continues to be a mainstay of equipment acquisition,
particularly for smaller businesses,” said Fleming. "The economic upturn
is creating the need for new equipment. Businesses can use the information
on the Choose Leasing site to help make their financing decisions.”
The Choose Leasing
site also contains a directory of equipment leasing companies, a list
of kinds of equipment that can be leased, case studies, the 10 questions
to ask before signing a lease, and a glossary of terms.
More than 80 percent
of U.S. businesses lease some or all of their equipment. Leasing is
particularly well suited to the needs of small businesses and start-ups
for a number of reasons, among them that set lease payments provide
them with financial certainty in the face of changes in interest rates,
inflation and business volume. Virtually every U.S. industry leases
and finances a broad range of equipment, ranging from computer laptops
to jumbo jets.
About the Equipment
Leasing Association
Organized in 1961,
the Equipment Leasing Association (ELA) is the premier non-profit association
representing companies involved in the dynamic equipment leasing and
finance industry to the business community, government and media. As
the voice of the leasing industry, ELA promotes the estimated $218 billion
industry as a major source of funds for capital investment in the United
States and abroad.
ELA provides its members with comprehensive services, assists in
the resolution of industry issues, educates financial decision-makers
on the benefits of leasing and promotes high standards of business practices
within the industry. ELA has more than 800 member companies and a staff
of 25 professionals. For more information on ELA, please visit ELA Online
at http://www.ELAOnline.com.
About Entrepreneur
Media Inc.
Entrepreneur Media
Inc. is an organization of people dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs
worldwide to start and grow successful companies.
To provide entrepreneurs with the relevant information they need
to make informed decisions, Entrepreneur Media Inc. offers a full range
of products and services. Products
include: Magazines – Entrepreneur, Entrepreneur’s Be Your Own Boss,
Entrepreneur China, Entrepreneur Japan, Entrepreneur Mexico and Entrepreneur
Philippines; Web sites – Entrepreneur.com, SoyEntrepreneur.com, EntrepreneurPress.com
and Freebks.com; Book Publishing – Entrepreneur Press, The Oasis Press,
Entrepreneur’s eBooks and Business Start-Up Guides; also – Conferences,
Custom Publishing and Card Decks.
Diane Johnson
On Behalf of the
Equipment Leasing Association
Special Consultant
to Four Leaf Public Relations LLC
703-391-2056 - direct
line
703-203-7746 - mobile
diane@dtjorg.com
CONTACT:Amy J. Holmes,
CAE
Equipment Leasing
Association
Phone Number: 703-516-8367
E-mail: aholmes@elamail.com
### Press Release
##################################
NACM
Credit Manager's Index (CMI) for April 2004: The Economy Continues to
Grow.
COLUMBIA, MD: --The
National Association of Credit Management (NACM) has released its Credit
Manager's Index (CMI) for April 2004. The CMI, a monthly survey of the
business economy from the standpoint of credit and collections, was
launched in January 2003 to provide financial analysts with another
strong economic indicator.
The economy continues
to grow! Gains registered in March continued through April, albeit at
a slower rate. The combined CMI picked up 210 basis points, whereas
the manufacturing and service sectors rose 160 and 250 points, respectively.
These are all record highs for these indices since the inception of
the CMI in February 2002.
The CMI survey asks
credit managers to rate favorable and unfavorable factors in their monthly
business cycle. Favorable factors include sales, new credit applications,
dollar collections and amount of credit extended. Unfavorable factors
include rejections of credit applications, accounts placed for collections,
dollar amounts of receivables beyond terms and filings for bankruptcies.
A complete index
including results from the manufacturing and service sectors, along
with the methodology, is attached. To view the complete index online,
go to http://www.nacm.org/resource/press_release/pressApr04.html.
###
The National Association
of Credit Management (NACM), headquartered in Columbia, Maryland supports
more than 25,000 business credit and financial professionals worldwide
with premier industry services, tools and information. NACM and its
network of Affiliated Associations are the leading resource for credit
and financial management information and education, delivering products
and services which improve the management of business credit and accounts
receivable. NACM's collective voice has influenced legislative results
concerning commercial business and trade credit to our nation's policy
makers for more than 100 years, and continues to play an active part
in legislative issues pertaining to business credit and corporate bankruptcy.
Contact: Norma Heim,
NACM
410-423-1842
NACM's Annual Credit
Congress takes place May 16-19 in Phoenix, Arizona this year.
###
Press Release ######################################
Willis
Lease Finance Reports First Quarter Profits up 15%
SAUSALITO,
Calif.----Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC), a leading
lessor of commercial jet engines, today reported net income rose 15%
in the first quarter of 2004 compared to the same period a year ago.
For the first quarter, net income was $969,000, or $0.11 per diluted
share, compared to $842,000, or $0.09 per diluted share, for the first
quarter of 2003. First quarter lease revenue increased 5% to $14.8
million from $14.0 million in the first quarter a year ago.
Current Market
"We had net income of nearly $1.0 million
in the first quarter of 2004, and I think we are off to a good start
for the year. Both our operating environment and industry conditions
have improved considerably since last year at this time," said
Charles F. Willis, President and CEO. "It is hard to believe
that only one year ago our industry was dealing with the effects of
SARS, the war in Iraq and a handful of airline bankruptcies -- and
all the uncertainty that accompanied these events. Uncertainty has
clearly been reduced since then -- which is great for our customers.
There is a lot of activity in the market. The pent-up demand from
deferred overhauls and improving traffic is generating strong demand
for leased engines from both airlines and maintenance, repair and
overhaul providers (MRO's), in sharp contrast to the depressed market
of a year ago. Customers are making longer commitments and lease rates
for most engine types are rising. I like what I see out there.
"Another major improvement in our environment
is that the aviation industry appears to be attracting renewed attention
of the investment community, including commercial banks. Interest
in aviation investment opportunities seems to be greater today than
at any time in the last several years," Willis commented. "Over
the last 6-9 months, very large private equity investments have been
made in MRO's, airlines and aircraft leasing companies around the
world. This is a big change, which we hope will create opportunities
to improve our capital base."
The portfolio utilization rate at March 31,
2004 was 88.0%, up from 85.8% at March 30, 2003, down only slightly
from 88.3% at December 31, 2003. While the utilization rate was essentially
unchanged at the end of the first quarter 2004 compared to the end
of the previous quarter, the company reached a high of 92.6% at the
end of February 2004, which was the highest utilization since June
2001. "We are proud of our remarketing achievements in the first
quarter," said Donald A. Nunemaker, Chief Operating Officer.
"We had a lot of engines moving around during the quarter. It
is important to remember that the utilization rate is subject to volatility
from month to month as engines come on and off lease. We are pleased
with the demand we see in the marketplace, and we are continuing to
aggressively pursue opportunities to place our engines on lease or
keep them with existing lessees. At the present time, our most popular
engine types are fully leased, except for those engines we have in
the shop undergoing repairs or overhauls. This situation permits us
to be more selective of lease opportunities and allows us to realize
longer lease terms and higher lease rates. Remarketing activities
continue to be our top priority."
Results from Operations
Lease revenue in the first quarter rose 5%
to $14.8 million from $14.0 million in the first quarter of 2003.
During the first quarter of 2004, sales of equipment generated a net
gain of $148,000 compared to a net gain of $38,000 in the first quarter
last year. First quarter 2004 other income was $174,000, primarily
from service fees generated from our third-party lease placement service
launched in the second half of 2003. Total revenue in the quarter
ended March 31, 2004, increased 7% to $15.1 million compared to $14.0
million in the same quarter of 2003.
First quarter total expenses increased by
$905,000, or 7%, to $13.7 million from $12.8 million in the first
quarter a year ago. The largest single component of the increase was
depreciation expense which increased $468,000, or 9%, compared to
the same period in 2003, due primarily to changes, in the fourth quarter
of 2003, in estimates of useful lives and residual values on certain
older engine types. General and administrative expenses rose $305,000,
or 9%, over the comparable period in 2003, due mainly to higher commission
and personnel expenses. Net interest and finance costs rose $132,000,
or 3%, over the previous year.
First quarter 2004 pretax income increased
11% to $1.4 million from $1.2 million in the first quarter of 2003.
First quarter 2004 net income increased 15% to $969,000, or $0.11
per diluted share compared to $842,000, or $0.09 per diluted share
in the first quarter a year ago.
Balance Sheet & Liquidity
At March 31, 2004, the company had 118 commercial
jet engines, 4 aircraft parts packages and 7 aircraft in its lease
portfolio with a net book value of $502.3 million compared to 116
commercial jet engines, 3 aircraft parts packages and 6 aircraft in
its lease portfolio with a net book value of $496.2 at March 31, 2003.
Assets totaled $551.7 million at March 31,
2004, compared to $545.3 million a year ago. Shareholders' equity
increased 5% to $110.8 million, or $12.46 per common share, compared
to $105.6 million or $11.95 per common share at March 31, 2003.
The company had approximately $32.5 million
available under its credit facilities at March 31, 2004 compared to
approximately $25.7 million a year ago. The company's funded debt
to equity ratio was 3.17 to 1 at March 31, 2004, compared to 3.46
to 1 at the end of the first quarter last year. WLFC had $36.9 million
of restricted and unrestricted cash and cash equivalents at March
31, 2004, compared to $36.0 million at March 31, 2003.
"We anticipate that interest rates may
rise during the next year and have added $60 million in hedges this
quarter," said Monica J. Burke, Chief Financial Officer, "which
brings total hedges in place at March 31, 2004, to $170 million against
variable rate debt of $333 million."
About Willis Lease Finance
Willis Lease Finance Corporation leases spare
commercial aircraft engines, rotable parts and aircraft to commercial
airlines, aircraft engine manufacturers and overhaul/repair facilities.
These leasing activities are integrated with the purchase and resale
of used and refurbished commercial aircraft engines.
CONTACT:Willis
Lease Finance Corporation Monica J. Burke, 415-331-5281
###
Press Release ####################################
Resource
America, Inc. Authorizes Payment of Cash Dividend
PHILADELPHIA--(-Resource
America, Inc.(NASDAQ:REXI)(the "Company") announces that
its Board of Directors has authorized the payment of a cash dividend
on May 28, 2004 in the amount of three and one-third cents per share
of the Company's common stock to all holders of record at the close
of business on May 14, 2004.
This dividend payment will make the 36th consecutive
quarter that the Company has paid a cash dividend to its stockholders.
The Company currently has approximately 17.4 million shares of common
stock outstanding.
Resource America, Inc. is a specialized asset
management company that uses industry specific expertise to generate
and administer investment opportunities for its own account and for
outside investors in the energy, financial services, real estate and
equipment leasing industries. For more information please visit our
website at www.resourceamerica.com or contact Investor Relations at
investor relations@resourceamerica.com.
Statements made in this release may include
forward-looking statements, which involve substantial risks and uncertainties.
The Company's actual results, performance or achievements could differ
materially from those expressed or implied in this release.
CONTACT:Resource
America, Inc., Philadelphia Pamela Schreiber, 215-546-5005 Facsimile:
215-546-5388
### Press Release
#######################################
|
Equip.
Leasing Sales Rep: Strong sales and bus. dev. skills
needed. Dev/manage portfolio, initiate bus. in upper Midwest
. 3-4 yr leasing exp. www.associatedbank.com About
the Company: Associated
Banc-Corp is a diversified multibank holding company with
$15.5 billion in total assets. Headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin
. Associated has more than 200 banking locations across
Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota. |
News
Briefs---
Manufacturing,
construction reports lift market
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20040503-1351-economy.html
Banker's
2nd Trial Ends With Conviction/Jury Says Quattrone Obstructed Probes
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64627-2004May4.html
Interest
Rates Not Expected to Change
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64650-2004May4.html
?nav=headlines
Oil
Price Hits Highest Level Since 1990
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040504/D82BDU4G0.html
worm
exploits Windows flaw
Destructive
virus does not require user to open an attachment
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/05/04/WORM.TMP
SF
Bay Lost 400,000 Jobs, But Getting Better
Teens
losing the race for summer jobs
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2004-05-03-
teen_x.htm
Tillman
remembered at memorial
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"
Gimme that Wine "
High-End
Wine Sales Rebound in Restaurants
http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Daily/News/0,1145,2456,00.html
New
York to Sell Wine in Grocery Stories???
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/03/nyregion/03WINE.html
Rosenblum
Cellars May Move to Brentwood, Ca
http://www.timesstar.com/Stories/0,1413,125~1486~2120910,00.html
Young
Merlot as First Step for Long Island Wineries
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/02/dining/02livine.html
|
About the Company: A rapidly expanding Middle Market Leasing / Finance Company located in CT. Equilease Financial Services, Inc |
This
Day in American History
1494-
Christopher Columbus discovered Jamaica. The Arawak Indians were its
first inhabitants. This was his second journey. His first he basically
discovered Cuba, and on his third Trinidad, and on his fifth trip, 1502-1504,
Martinique, exploring the coasts of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.
He brought a lot of slaves back to Spain, his main
find in the islands.
1626-Dutch
colonist Peter Minuit arrived on the wooded island of Manhattan in present-day
New York. He bought Manhattan for $24, but from a tribe in Brooklyn,
almost like buying the Brooklyn Bridge. The story has been repeated so many times school
children believe the borough was bought for beads. Ironically, he Dutch had already established
the town of New Amsterdam at the southern end of the island. The American Indians had no comprehension of
land ownership. Shortly most of them were wiped out by small pox, influenza,
and a host of diseases brought from Europe in which
they had no immunity.
( lower half: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may04.html
)
1746-
The Moravians in Pennsylvania established the Moravian Women's Seminary
at Bethlehem. It was the first educational institution of its kind established
by the "Unitas Fratrum" in (colonial) America.
1796-Birthday
of Horace Mann, American educator, author, public servant, known as
the "father of public education in the US," was born at Franklin,
MA. Founder of Westfield (MA) State College and editor of the influential
Common School Journal. Mann died at Yellow Springs, OH, Aug 2, 1859.
1851-First
major San Francisco fire
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist5/5-51fire.html
1864-
General Grant's Army at Potomac attacks at Rappahannock
crosses Rapidan and
begins his duel with Robert E Lee
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?pp/cwp:@field(NUMBER+@band(cwpb+01175))
http://www.civilwar-va.com/virginia/va-central/1864tour.html
1864-
Over the objections of President Lincoln, the House of Representatives
on this date passed the Wade-Davis Reconstruction bill, containing stiff
punitive measures against the South that if put into aw would have destroyed
Lincoln’s more moderate reconstruction aims. The bill was also adamantly
opposed by Radical Republicans, led by Thaddeus Stevens for whom it
was insufficiently severe in its treatment of the Southern rebels. Lincoln
eventually killed the bill by using the pocket veto. When Andrew Johnson
became president, following Lincoln’s assassination, he basically abandoned
all Lincoln’s reconstruction plans and set up to punish the South.
1886
- Chichester Bell and Charles Tainter received a US patent for the graphophone.
This invention replaced Thomas Edison's phonograph, and featured wax-coated
cylinders. These were considered an improvement over the phonograph's
tinfoil cylinders, which had been delicate and difficult to remove.
1891-The
first hospital open to all races as a matter of policy was the Provident
Hospital, Chicago, Ill. Although
primarily for African-Americans, there was no racial barrier to the
admission of patients or staff appointments of physicians. Dr. Frank
Billings was chief consulting physician. Dr. Christian Fenger, chief
consulting surgeon; and Drs. Ralph N. Isham and Daniel Hall Williams,
attending surgeons. A nursing school, the Provident Hospital Training
School Association, was connected with the hospital.
1894—Bird
Day began.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may04.html
1896-
Labor union unrest at Chicago led to violence when a crowd of unemployed
men tried to enter the McCormick Reaper Works, where a strike was underway.
Although no one was killed, anarchist groups called a mass meeting in
Haymarket Square to avenge the "massacre. When the police advanced on
the demonstrators, a bomb was thrown and several policemen were killed.
Four leaders of the demonstration were hanged and another committed
suicide in jail. Three others were given jail terms. The case aroused
considerable controversy around the world.
1905- honky tonk singer Al Dexter was born in Jacksonville, Texas.
He perfected his style in the oil-boom dance halls of East Texas. And
he recorded one of the first songs to have the word "honky tonk"
in its title, "Honky Tonk Blues." Dexter, who died in 1984,
is best known as the composer of the wartime hit, "Pistol Packin'
Mama."
1909-
Tel Aviv founded. In 1910, the suburb was named Tel Aviv after Nahum
Sokolow's translation of Altneuland, Herzl's fictional depiction
of the Jewish State.
http://www.wzo.org.il/home/dev/ta1.htm
http://www.wzo.org.il/home/aliyah/aliya2b.htm
http://alpha.furman.edu/~mcknight/cr9.htm
http://www.ddtravel-acc.com/tel.htm
1926-Drummer
Sonny Payne birthday, New York City
"Atomic Bomb” Basie
album, best known for. Died Jan 29, 1979 in Los Angeles,
CAhttp://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Sonny_Payne.html
http://www.angelfire.com/mac/keepitlive/drummers/Payne/payne.htm
http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,477721,00.html?artist=
Sonny+Payne
1928-
Canadian jazz trumpet player, "screamer,” Maynard Ferguson was born
in Montreal. He went to the US at the age of 20, playing in the big
bands of Boyd Raeburn, Jimmy Dorsey, Charlie Barnett and Stan Kenton.
Ferguson won the Down Beat magazine reader's poll for trumpet in 1950,
'51 and '52. He later formed his own big band, which in the 1970's turned
in a jazz-rock direction. Ferguson's recording of "Gonna Fly Now,"
the theme from "Rocky," was a major hit single in 1977.
http://www.gr8music.com/Ferguson%2C_Maynard/mf-bio.html
http://www.maynard.ferguson.net/
http://www.super8filmmaking.com/maynard/maynard.htm
1929-Birthday
of Audrey Hepburn, whose first major movie role in Roman Holiday (1953)
won her an Academy Award as best actress, was born near Brussels, Belgium.
Here real name was
Edda Van Heemstra Hepburn-Rusten.She made 26 movies during her career
and received four additional Oscar nominations. During the latter years
of her life Hepburn served as spokesperson for the United Nations Children's
Fund, traveling worldwide raising money for the organization. Audrey
Hepburn died Jan 20, 1993, at Tolochenaz, Switzerland. Even when dying
of cancer, she traded ceaselessly in Third World countries, always for
the children, never stinting, giving everything she had.
Answering
a reporter's question about why she worked so hard for UNICEF, she answered
simply, "I do not want to see mothers and fathers digging graves
for their children." One
can only guess that she saw too much of that when as a girl she was
accidentally trapped in Holland during World War II. She suffered extreme
hardships during the war and several of her relatives and friends were
executed by the Nazis. AH acted as a courier for the underground. She even had to eat tulip bulbs when food supplies
ran out or they were confiscated by the Germans just before the Allied
troops freed the Netherlands.
1932
- Public Enemy Number One, Al Capone, was jailed - in the Atlanta Penitentiary
- for tax evasion.
1937-Bassist
Ron Carter birthday, Ferndale, MI
http://www.roncarter.net/officialSite.html
http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/carter_ron/bio.jhtml
1940-Duke
Ellington bad records "Cotton Tail,” "Don’t Get Around Much Anymore”
for Victor.
1956---Top
Hits
Heartbreak Hotel/I
Was the One - Elvis Presley
Moonglow and Theme
from ’Picnic’ - Morris Stoloff
Standing on the Corner
- The Four Lads
Blue Suede Shoes
- Carl Perkins
1956
- Gene Vincent and his group, The Blue Caps, recorded "Be-Bop-A
Lula" for Capitol Records in Los Angeles. Interesting note: Vincent
had written the tune only three days before he auditioned in a record
company talent search that won him first place. The record was rush-released
just two days later and became a rock and roll classic. Vincent recorded
two other charted songs in 1957 and 1958: "Lotta Lovin’" and
"Dance to the Bop".
1957-
"The Alan Freed Show" debuted on ABC-TV. The legendary disc
jockey's rock 'n' roll variety show was cancelled some months later
after black teenage singer Frankie Lymon was shown dancing with a white
girl.
1959-
the first Grammy Awards were presented by the National Academy of Recording
Arts and Sciences. Record of the year and song of the year was "Nel
Blu Dipinto Di Blu" - better known as "Volare" - by Domenico
Modugno. Henry Mancini won the Album of the Year award for "The
Music From Peter Gunn" and the Kingston Trio won the first country
Grammy for "Tom Dooley."
1961-Militant
students joined James Farmer of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
to conduct "freedom rides” on public transportation from Washington,
DC, across the deep South to New Orleans. The trips were intended to
test Supreme Court decisions and Interstate Commerce Commission regulations
prohibiting discrimination in interstate travel. In several places riders were brutally beaten by local people and
policemen. On May 14, members of the Ku Klux Klan attacked the Freedom
Riders in Birmingham, Alabama, awhile local police watched. In Mississippi,,
Freedom Riders were jailed. They never made it to New Orleans. The rides
were patterned after a similar challenge to segregation, the 1947 Journey
of Reconciliation, which tested the US Supreme Court’s June 3, 1946,
ban against segregation in interstate bus travel.
1963 - Andy Williams's
album, Days of Wine and Roses, hit the Number 1 spot on the LP pop chart,
and stayed there for 16 weeks.
1963-The
Beach Boys "Surfin U.S.A." LP debuts on the charts.
1964---Top
Hits
Can’t Buy Me Love
- The Beatles
Hello Dolly! - Louis
Armstrong
Bits and Pieces -
The Dave Clark Five
My Heart Skips a
Beat - Buck Owens
1964- "Another World, "created by lrna Phillips and sponsored by
P&G, this soap was set in fictional Bay City. It was the first soap
to air for a full hour and the first to beget two spin-offs ("Somerset”
and "Texas’). Charles Durning,Ted Shackelford, Eric Roberts, Ray Liotta,
Kyra Sedgwick, Faith Ford, Morgan Freeman, Jackëe Harry,Victoria Wyndham
and Valarie Pettiford are some of its well-known alums. The show was
cancelled in1999 and the last episode aired dune 25, 1999.
1964
- The Beatles set a "Billboard" magazine Top 100 chart all-time
record when, today, all five of the top songs were by the British rock
group. The Beatles also had the number one album with "Meet the
Beatles", the top album from February 15 through May 2, when it
was replaced by "The Beatles Second Album". During the first
three months of 1964, it was estimated The Beatles accounted for 60
percent of the entire singles record business. The top five Beatles
singles, setting the record, were: 1) Can’t Buy Me Love 2) Twist and
Shout 3) She Loves You 4) I Want to Hold Your Hand 5) Please Please
Me
1970- Still fresh in minds of students who attending college during
this time, four students (Allison Krause, 19; Sandra Lee Scheuer. 20:
Jeffrey Glenn Miller. 20 and William K. Schroeder, 19) were killed by
the National Guard during demonstrations against the Vietnam War at
Kent(Ohio) State .
1972---Top
Hits
The First Time Ever
I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack
I Gotcha - Joe Tex
Betcha By Golly,
Wow - The Stylistics
Chantilly Lace -
Jerry Lee Lewis
1973-Led
Zeppelin open their 1973 U.S. tour, which is billed as the "biggest
and most profitable rock & roll tour in the history of the United
States." A group spokesman predicts the group will gross over $3
million.
1974-The
first skyscraper higher than 1,400 feet in height was the 110-story
sears Building of sears Roebuck and Company, measuring 1,454 feet high
located on Jackson Boulevard between Adams and Franklin streets in Chicago.
http://www.sears-tower.com/index.html
http://www.the-skydeck.com/homeDefault.htm
1975-Baseball’s
One Millionth Run. Bob Watson of the Houston Astros raced around the
bases on Milt May’s home run against the San Francisco Giants an crossed
the plate with what was declared to be the one millionth run scored
in major league baseball history. Watson’s hustle paid off. Davey Conceptcion
of the Cincinnati Reds scored another run in a different game in a different
city seconds later.
1976-
The Illinois Legislature declares today as Rick Monday Day because of
his patriotic gesture of saving the American flag from being burned
in Los Angeles by two fans.
1978-Jefferson
Starship receive a platinum record for what will be their last LP with
Grace Slick and Marty Balin. Just a few weeks later, both are gone and
the band has to be revamped.
1980---Top
Hits
Call Me - Blondie
Ride like the Wind
- Christopher Cross
Lost in Love - Air
Supply
Are You on the Road
to Lovin’ Me Again - Debby Boone
1988---Top
Hits
Where Do Broken Hearts
Go - Whitney Houston
Wishing Well - Terence
Trent D’Arby
Angel - Aerosmith
It’s Such a Small
World - Rodney Crowell & Rosanne Cash
1989 - Col. Oliver North was found
guilty in the investigations into the Iran-Contra affair.
1991- Indians' first baseman Chris
James establishes the club record for RBIs by driving in nine runs with
a pair of homers and two singles, helping Cleveland to crush the A's,
20-6.
1994---Top
Hits
The Sign- Ace Of
Base
Bump N Grind- R.
Kelly
The Most Beautiful
Girl In The World- The Artist
Return To Innocence-
Enigma
1999---Top
Hits
Livin La Vida Loca-
Ricky Martin
No Scrubs- TLC
Kiss Me- Sixpence
None The Richer
Every Morning- Sugar
Ray
Stanley Champions This Date
1969 Montreal Canadiens
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Baseball Poem
SPRING TRAINING POEM (pitchers and catchers
report)
Carl Stevens
some say that the robin heralds in spring,
warm weather's coming when she starts to sing.
tulips, I guess, are harbingers too,
when they open their petals as the mourning doves
coo.
but there's a much surer sign that spring is near:
when the crack of the bat sings in my ear,
when the arms of warm leather embrace a hard ball
I know we're no longer in winter or fall.
the sun stays up longer, and the clouds do not mope;
baseball is back, so there's reason to hope.
some Midwestern slugger from triple A
hopes he can shine on a warm august day,
a young Venezuelan who's new on the scene
hopes to live out the American dream.
all they have is their talent, or brains and desire,
all burning with the same unquenchable fire:
to play like boys and get paid like men,
and do it again and again and again,
until crowds hold their breath, awaiting a pitch,
looking up with bright eyes from memory's ditch
as the sun shines like diamonds on diamonds so pure
that Shakespeare himself could write nothing so sure:
so sure as a homer that's lost in the night,
so sure as a fast ball that rides high and tight,
so sure as a runner thrown out at home plate,
so sure as a hitter who just stands and waits,
so sure as a bullpen that answers the call,
so sure as the ump who cries out "play ball!"
yes, I love baseball. it's my little fling,
my annual waltz with the daughter of spring.
I’ll sit in the bleachers with my little boys,
we'll eat peanuts and popcorn and make lots of noise,
and get reacquainted with a very old friend:
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