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These are some of the notable companies
laying off workers since 2022

######## surrounding the article denotes it is a “press release,” it was not written by Leasing News nor has the information been verified, but from the source noted. When an article is signed by the writer, it is considered a “byline.” It reflects the opinion and research of the writer.

May Begins with Another Bank Failure

By Scott Wheeler, CLFP, Wheeler Business Consulting

The demand for commercial equipment is steady. However, the supply of capital is limited and may become more restrictive over the coming months. Banks, independents, and captives are systematically, and rightfully, allocating their capital in transactions (assets) that are considered the strongest and most profitable for their organizations. Quality and profitability are the priority; controlled growth is secondary. The strongest companies, management teams, and originators are able to flaunt their expertise and their ability to add value. The strongest companies, management teams, and originators are strategic and pursuing relationships with the greatest long-term potential and sustainability.

Seasoned professionals in the industry have recently made the following comments:

The current economic cycle which the equipment finance industry is experiencing is not new. The industry has experienced many similar cycles over the past forty years. The strong will thrive and the weaker participants will either change or perish.

Vendors and end-users had the upper hand at the negotiation table for over a decade. If a finance and leasing company was unable to meet their vendor's or end-user's demands, there were other finance companies waiting in line to deliver. Today, the participants at the negotiation table are more of equal status. Today, each party requires a partner that is willing to work together to create a long-term mutually beneficial relationship. These are the best of times for the professional, knowledgeable originator. Real relationships are paying dividends for the parties involved in the process.

The strongest companies, management teams, and originators have always focused on quality and resisted "get rich quick" schemes. The strongest participants stick to the equipment, industries, and clients which they understand best. While others chase single opportunities, the strongest participants go deep and build relationships based upon value rather than easy credit requirements or sub-market yields. The strongest participants thrive in all economic cycles.

The strongest employees for any organization appreciate consistency, prudent managerial decisions, and a workplace that promotes knowledge-based career growth opportunities. A strong management team can develop talent which fully understands the dynamics of risk and reward and is capable of thriving in all economic cycles.

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

Wheeler Business Consulting is helping its clients to maximize their position in the market. I am facilitating sales training to help seasoned (and relatively new) originators aggressively sell in a changing market. I am providing strategic options to participants that are navigating a changing economic environment.

Wheeler Business Consulting works with banks, independents, captives, origination companies, and investors in the equipment leasing and finance arena. We provide training, strategic planning, and acquisition services. Scott Wheeler is available to discuss your long-term strategy, to assist your staff to maximize outcomes, and to better position your organization in the market.

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Community Advantage Lenders Given Permanence
with New Small Business License
By Delaney Sexton, Contributing Editor, Coleman Report

The current definition of underserved markets includes rural, low to moderate income, HUBZones, start-ups, and veteran-owned businesses. Women-owned and minority-owned small businesses are excluded from the label of underserved markets. Although they do not fall under the definition of underserved, populations such as women, minorities, tribal groups, and others are often in the inner cities and rural areas that are regarded as underserved communities.

In the 7(a) program and 504 program, lenders make roughly 50% of their loans to businesses that fit the current definition of underserved markets regardless of the type of lender or loan size. The SBA’s Community Advantage loan program further targets these groups by requiring participating lenders to maintain at least 60% of their loan portfolio in underserved markets.

As part of the recent final rules, the SBA is seeking to provide permanence to Community Advantage lenders by creating Community Advantage SBLC licenses. The pilot program is set to expire on September 30, 2024, but with the new rule, current CA lenders will transition into Community Advantage SBLC licenses to ensure their continued participation in serving underserved markets.

Also in support of the SBA’s mission, the SBA Council on Underserved Communities aids the SBA’s efforts to expand its reach into these underserved communities. The Council extends input, advice, and recommendations on how to increase capital access and promote sustainability, growth, and job creation.

Source:
Senate Committee Hearing

Coleman Report
28081 Marguerite Pkwy.
#4525, Mission Viejo, CA 92690
bob@colemanreport.com

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How Tesla’s Price Cuts Illustrate EV Ownership
Cost Volatility for Fleets

Scott Painter bought 500 Teslas in November 2022, and was $8 million underwater
on them the day the discounts went into effect. (Photo: Expo Ease, Inc.)

When Tesla started cutting prices in December 2022, prospective buyers rejoiced. But fleet lessors and owners winced, understanding that when automakers drop money on the hood of a vehicle to juice sales, the incremental erosion in residual values is sure to be felt downstream.

The successive discounts dropped prices on new Tesla models by 6% to 19%, enormous by historical standards, and the effects weren’t incremental, they reverberated almost immediately. According to an analysis by iSeeCars, the Tesla Model 3 saw its used value drop 21.5% in March compared to its value in September 2022.

This also had an immediate impact on one of the largest fleet owners of Tesla, at least on paper. “I bought 500 Teslas in November, and I was $8 million underwater on them the day they discounted,” said Scott Painter, founder of EV subscription startup Autonomy.

Painter, who also founded CarsDirect.com, TrueCar, and Fair, is in the process of fleeting 23,000 EVs worth $1.2 billion from multiple manufacturers. Painter shared these thoughts during the keynote presentation at the 2023 International Car Rental Show on April 17.

Painter also broached Tesla’s sales model as a cause: “It wasn't because (Elon Musk’s) cars were priced wrong,” he said. “It was because he doesn't have a dealer distribution system. He has no physical ability to distribute cars more quickly. He had to make the leap and start selling.”

Full Article:
https://www.automotive-fleet.com/10197824/how-teslas-price-cuts-illustrate-ev-ownership-cost-volatility-for-fleets

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TopMark Funding Reports Significant Funded
Transaction Growth in Q1 2023 with New Year-Over-Year
Record Set to Start the Year

TopMark's Q1Transaction Increase Attributed to Growing Senior Finance Professionals and Focused Leadership Team

ROSEVILLE, Calif., -- TopMark Funding, a premier funding destination for commercial vehicles, opens 2023 with strong originations in the first quarter. The company set its all-time record for funded transactions in March 2023. This contributed to a 22% increase in funded transactions in Q1 FY23 when compared to Q1 FY22.

TopMark Funding, LLC is a premier funding partner for dealerships.

The increase in funded transactions is both the result of last year's focus on growing valuable relationships with dealers by offering attractive solutions for their wide range of client needs and growing the sales force through the addition of Senior Finance Professionals. TopMark continues to build by investing in technology and senior commercial vehicle specialists to fund more transactions. The company is working to do it more efficiently than others serving the space. In fact, TopMark's investment has decreased the average approval-to-funding time by more than 20% year over year.

Managing Director and Co-Founder Evan Lang, said, "TopMark has spent the first eight years building its reputation as the premier funding resource for small to mid-size fleet owners and dealerships serving those clients

"As we look ahead at what the company's goals are for the future, we see an opportunity to serve an expanded audience within the total commercial vehicle space which includes expanding beyond over the road class 8's into additional types of commercial vehicles."

In Q1 2023, TopMark Funding opened its second West Coast office. Located in Long Beach, California, the new office will be a hub for additional finance and technology team members. The Southern California office is part of the company's ongoing investment in building platforms and processes that make funding transactions more seamless and efficient for dealers and customers.

About TopMark Funding
TopMark Funding, LLC, is a premier funding partner for dealerships specializing in financing commercial vehicles and can effectively and efficiently handle dealer transactions. Founded in 2015, the company has a proven track record of helping transportation companies expand by offering strategic funding solutions for growing small and mid-sized fleets. With a laser focus on speed, accuracy, and unmatched customer service, TopMark Funding and its dedicated team actively assist dealers in financing more than $12 million of commercial vehicles each month.

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California Financial Regulator Takes
Possession of First Republic Bank

SAN FRANCISCO – The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced today that regulators have taken possession of First Republic Bank.

The DFPI appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver of First Republic Bank. The FDIC has accepted a bid from JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, Columbus, Ohio, to assume all deposits, including all uninsured deposits, and substantially all assets of First Republic Bank.

The DFPI took action pursuant to California Financial Code section 592, subdivisions (b) and (c), specifically “conducting its business in an unsafe or unsound manner” and being in a “condition that … is unsafe or unsound” to transact banking business.

As of April 13, 2023, First Republic Bank, based in San Francisco, had total assets of approximately $229.1 billion and total deposits of approximately $103.9 billion. Its deposits are federally insured by the FDIC subject to applicable limits.

For information about FDIC coverage limits and requirements, visit www.fdic.gov or call toll-free 1-877-ASK-FDIC.

About DFPI
The Department of Financial Protection and Innovation protects consumers, regulates financial services, and fosters responsible innovation. DFPI protects consumers by establishing and enforcing financial regulations that promote transparency and accountability. We empower all Californians to access a fair and equitable financial marketplace through education and preventing potential risks, fraud, and abuse. Learn more at  https://dfpi.ca.gov

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This Day in American History

      1494 - Christopher Columbus saw the island of Jamaica on his second voyage. He never actually saw nor did his discoveries include the United States, but the island off the continent. The islands were Europe's main gateway into the New World. Nearly 300 years later, the first Revolutionary War naval battle was fought here to gain control of this ocean thoroughfare.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may03.html
http://www1.minn.net/~keithp/cctl.htm
    1654 - Richard Thurlow built the first toll bridge with his own money over the Newbury River at Rowley, MA. The court fixed a rate of toll for animals, but passengers were permitted free passage. It remained until 1680.
http://www.angelfire.com/ny/chickened/thurlowfamily.html
    1761 - Large tornadoes swept the Charleston, South Carolina harbor when a British Fleet of 40 sails was at anchor. It raised a wave 12 feet high, leaving many vessels on their beam ends. 4 people drowned.
    1774 - A May snowstorm from New York City to Virginia covered the ground. A severe frost killed fruit in North Carolina
    1802 – Washington, DC incorporated. The US Constitution provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of Congress and the District is therefore not a part of any state. The states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, which included the pre-existing settlements of Georgetown and Alexandria. In the 1830s, the District's southern territory of Alexandria went into economic decline partly due to neglect by Congress. The city of Alexandria was a major market in the American slave trade and pro-slavery residents feared that abolitionists in Congress would end slavery in the District, further depressing the economy. Alexandria's citizens petitioned Virginia to take back the land it had donated to form the District, through a process known as retrocession. The Virginia General Assembly voted in February, 1846 to accept the return of Alexandria and on July 9, 1846, Congress agreed to return all the territory that had been ceded by Virginia. Therefore, the District's current area consists only of the portion originally donated by Maryland. In 1871, it created a single municipal government for the remaining portion of the District. The Twenty-third Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1961, granting the District three votes in the Electoral College for the election of president and vice president, but still no voting representation in Congress. In 1973, Congress enacted the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, providing for an elected mayor and 13-member council for the District. In 1975, Walter Washington became the first elected and first black mayor of the District.
    1825 - Laura Matilda Towne (d. 1901) birthday, Pittsburgh, PA. After the Civil War, she and her close friend, Ellen Murray, founded one of the earliest and most successful schools for former slaves on the coastal islands of South Carolina. She had studied homeopathic medicine privately and taught school in her native Pennsylvania before volunteering to teach - and in many ways care for - a large population of former slaves of the sea islands of South Carolina. She taught, acted as physician, and directed relief aid and, in 1862, with Murray founded the freedman's Penn School that used the same curriculum as New England schools. For dozens of years, Penn School was the only education available for the black population of the islands. Her school was eventually taken over by the South Carolina public school system.
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/2200/
Laura_M_Towne_was_a_primetime_educator
    1862 - After nearly a month's siege, General Joseph Johnston's outnumbered Confederate forces evacuated Yorktown, VA, and moved back to Richmond. General McClellan's Army of the Potomac occupied Yorktown the following day. General Johnston is considered one of the top generals of the Confederacy and, if it were not for the overwhelming amount of money, the ability to “buy” foreign recruits, the war may have gone the way of the Confederacy due to military leaders such as Johnston. With the capture of Yorktown, President Abraham Lincoln left Washington, DC, for Fort Monroe, VA, to observe the ongoing Peninsula Campaign.
http://tennessee-scv.org/camp28/johnstonbio.html
http://ngeorgia.com/site/johnstonstatue.html
http://einsys.einpgh.org:8887/MARION/AAJ-1380
http://www.eaglesongthemusical.com/linkedpages/johnston.html
http://www.civilwarhome.com/johnston1stmanassas.htm
http://www.qmfound.com/BG_Joseph_Johnston.htm
    1886 - At the height of the movement for the 8-hour day, police opened fire in a crowd of workers participating in a general strike at McCormick Harvester Co. in Chicago. Four workers were killed.
    1895 - A F5 tornado carved a 13-mile path through Sioux County in Iowa. 9 people were killed and 35 were injured.
    1898 - Israeli founder and Prime Minister Golda Meir was born Goldie Mabovitch (d. 1978) in Kiev, Ukraine.
    1903 – Bing Crosby (d. 1977) was born Harry Lillis Crosby in Tacoma, WA. The first multimedia star, Crosby was a leader in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1931 to 1954. His early career coincided with recording innovations such as the microphone. This allowed him to develop an intimate singing style that influenced many male singers who followed him, including Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Dick Haymes and Dean Martin.  Yank magazine said that he was "the person who had done the most for the morale of overseas servicemen" during World War II. In 1948, American polls declared him the "most admired man alive", ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII. Also in 1948, Music Digest estimated that his recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hours allocated to recorded radio music. Crosby also influenced the development of the postwar recording industry. After seeing a demonstration of a German broadcast quality reel-to-reel recorder brought to America by John T. Mullin, he invested $50,000 in a Californian Electronics company called Ampex to build copies. He then convinced ABC to allow him to tape his shows. He became the first performer to pre-record his radio shows and master his commercial recordings onto magnetic tape. Through the medium of recording, he constructed his radio programs with the same directorial tools and craftsmanship (editing, retaking, rehearsal, time shifting) used in motion picture production, a practice that became an industry standard. In addition to his work with early audio tape recording, he helped to finance the development of videotape, bought television stations, bred racehorses, and co-owned the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. Crosby's was among the most popular and successful musical acts of the 20th century. Billboard magazine used different methodologies during his career. But his chart success remains impressive: 396 chart singles, including 41 No. 1 hits. If the many times "White Christmas" charted are counted, that would bring that number up to 43 – more than The Beatles and Elvis combined! He may have been the best-selling recording artist with up to 1 billion units sold. He received 23 gold and platinum records, according to the book Million Selling Records. The Recording Industry Association of America did not institute its gold record certification program until 1958 when Crosby's record sales were low. Before 1958, gold records were awarded by record companies. Universal Music, owner of Crosby's Decca catalog, has never requested RIAA certification for any of his hit singles.
    1903 - John “Honey” Russell (d. 1973), Basketball Hall of Fame player and coach born at New York, NY. Russell played in more than 3,200 pro basketball games in the sport's early years. In 1936, he became coach at Seton Hall University, remaining there for 11 seasons. He was also a baseball scout, a football scout and a promoter. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1964. [Note: Russell ran a tryout for the Phillies at Hinchcliffe Stadium in Paterson, NJ that I attended in 1962. As I was 15 at the time, he was kind enough to let me down easy for being too young to be signed…Ralph Mango]
http://www.hoophall.com/halloffamers/RussellJ.htm
    1906 - Birthday of actress Mary Astor (d. 1987), born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke, Quincy, IL. "She was so beautiful she almost made me faint." said John Barrymore but even beyond her beauty, she was a fine actor of screen and stage appearing in more than 100 movies. Astor began her long motion picture career as a teenager in the silent movies of the early 1920s. She eventually changed to talkies. At first her voice was considered too masculine and she was off the screen for a year. But she appeared in a play with friend Florence Eldridge and the film offers came in and she was able to resume her career in talking films. Four years later, her career was nearly destroyed due to scandal. In 1936, Astor was later branded an adulterous wife by her ex-husband, in a custody fight over her daughter. Overcoming these stumbling blocks in her private life, Astor went on to greater success on screen, eventually winning an Academy award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in “The Great Lie” (1941). She is also the creator of one of the most memorable roles on the screen, Brigit O'Shaughnessy in “The Maltese Falcon.”
    1911 - Trumpet player Yank Lawson (d. 1995) born Trenton, MO.
http://www.pudbrown.com/YankLawson.htm
http://www2.cybercd.de/artist/Lawson,+Yank.htm
    1913 - Birthday of playwright William Inge (d. 1973), born in Independence, Kansas. He won the Pulitzer Prize for “Picnic,” some of his other plays included “Bus Stop,” “Come Back, Little Sheba.”
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may03.html
http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc63.html
    1918 - Tenor Leopold Simoneau (d. 2006), considered one of the most distinguished Canadian singers of the century, was born in St-Flavien, Quebec. Simoneau developed an international reputation in the 1950's as a specialist in the works of Mozart. Among the many highlights of his career was his 1952 appearance in Paris in a production of Stravinsky's "Oedipus Rex," with the composer as conductor and Jean Cocteau as narrator.
    1919 - Birthday of folksinger, songwriter Pete Seeger (d. 2014), born New York, New York. In the 1940's, he performed with Woody Guthrie, before forming the Weavers, who had hits with such folk tunes as "On Top of Old Smokey" and "Goodnight Irene." Seeger was blacklisted by the US government during the '50s. On August 18, 1955, Seeger was subpoenaed to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) as he once was a member of the US Communist Party. Seeger refused to plead the Fifth Amendment and instead, as the Hollywood Ten had done, refused to name personal and political associations on the grounds that this would violate his First Amendment rights: "I am not going to answer any questions as to my association, my philosophical or religious beliefs or my political beliefs, or how I voted in any election, or any of these private affairs. I think these are very improper questions for any American to be asked, especially under such compulsion as this." Seeger's refusal to answer questions that violated his fundamental Constitutional rights led to a March 26, 1957 indictment for contempt of Congress; for some years, he had to keep the federal government apprised of where he was going any time he left the Southern District of New York. He was convicted in a jury trial of contempt of Congress in March, 1961, and sentenced to ten 1-year terms in jail (to be served simultaneously), but in May 1962, an appeals court ruled the indictment to be flawed and overturned his conviction. In the 1960s, he re-emerged on the public scene as a prominent singer of protest music in support of disarmament, civil rights, counterculture and the environment. A prolific songwriter, his best-known songs include "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” (with Joe Hickerson), "If I Had a Hammer" (with Lee Hayes of the Weavers), and "Turn, Turn, Turn" (lyrics adapted from Ecclesiastes), all of which became hits by multiple artists.
http://www.peteseeger.com
    1920 - Pianist John Lewis (d. 2001) born LaGrange, Il.
http://www.jazclass.aust.com/lewis.htm
http://www.holeintheweb.com/drp/bhd/MJQ.htm
    1921 - Reece “Goose” Tatum (d. 1967), basketball player, born at Calion, AR. Tatum played football and baseball and came into his own when Abe Saperstein asked him to play basketball with the Harlem Globetrotters. Tatum's best asset was his hands, big enough to allow him to hold the ball with one hand. He perfected the overhand hook shot later used by Wilt Chamberlain, Connie Hawkins and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Suspended by Saperstein in 1955, he formed his own team, the Harlem Magicians.
    1921 - “Sugar Ray” Robinson, boxer, born Walker Smith, Jr., (d. 1989) at Detroit, Ml. Generally considered “pound for pound the greatest boxer of all time,” Robinson was a welterweight and middleweight champion who won 175 professional fights and lost only 19. A smooth and precise boxer, he fought until he was 45, dabbled in show business and established the Sugar Ray Robinson Youth Foundation to counter juvenile delinquency. To this day, his name connotes class, style and dignity. My father took me to his fight in Yankee Stadium when we lived in New York. My father was a great fight fan and took my brother and I to many bouts.
http://www.ibhof.com/robinson.htm
    1928 - James Brown (d. 2006) birthday, born in Barnwell, SC.
The creator of funk music and a major figure of 20th century popular music and dance, he is often referred to as the "Godfather of Soul." In a career that spanned six decades, he influenced the development of several music genres. He sold millions of records in the US from the mid-1950's to the mid-1960s yet remained virtually unknown to most white Americans. But by the late '60s, the breakthroughs scored by black artists on the Motown and Stax-Volt labels helped bring Brown to the attention of the mass audience as well. James Brown's first hit, with his group the Famous Flames, was "Please, Please, Please" in 1956. It sold more than a million copies - the first of his dozens of million-sellers. Thirty years later, in 1986, he was at the top of the charts with "Living in America" from the soundtrack of "Rocky Four." In 1996, James Brown celebrated his 63rd birthday with a concert in his hometown of Augusta, Georgia. Musical guests included rock guitarist Slash, country group Sawyer Brown and soul star Isaac Hayes.
http://www.funky-stuff.com/jamesbrown/
    1936 - Joe DiMaggio made his Major League debut for the New York Yankees and collected three hits in their 14-5 victory over the St. Louis Browns. For the year, DiMaggio hit .323 with 29 home runs and 125 runs batted in. Those 29 HRs stood as the Yankee record for HRs by a rookie until Aaron Judge hit 52 in 2017. He used to visit friends in Los Gatos, California often. I saw him eating lunch and dinner out several times. He was well respected and never bothered in the restaurants here. There were places here where Marilyn Monroe stayed, sometimes with him and they had great privacy, I am told. He was a very private man.
http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/
hofers_and_honorees/hofer_bios/dimaggio_joe.htm
http://www.joedimaggioestate.com/
    1937 - Frankie Valli, lead singer of the Four Seasons, was born Francesco Stephen Castelluccio in Newark, New Jersey. They were one of the most popular groups of the 1960's, with more than 30 singles on the best-seller charts from 1962 to 1976. Frankie Valli's falsetto singing was the group's trademark on such hits as "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "Walk Like a Man." Valli began a successful solo career in 1974 and had such hits as "My Eyes Adored You" and "Grease." He has also put together Four Seasons groups for rock 'n' roll revival shows.
http://www.srv.net/~roxtar/valli_frankie.html
http://www.hwcn.org/~ad828/frankie.htm
    1937 - Margaret Mitchell won a Pulitzer Prize for her novel "Gone with the Wind." First published in 1936, the story is set in Clayton County and Atlanta, both in Georgia, during the Civil War and Reconstruction. It depicts the struggles of young Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner, who must use every means at her disposal to claw her way out of poverty following the destructive Sherman’s March to the Sea. As of 2014, a Harris Poll found it to be the second favorite book of American readers, just behind the Bible. More than 30 million copies have been printed worldwide.
    1943 - Robert Frost won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, his fourth time. He won it for “A Witness Tree.” His other awards were in 1924 for “New Hampshire: A Poem with Notes and Grace Notes.” in 1931 for “Collected Poems,” and in 1937, for A Further Range.”
http://www.ketzle.com/frost/
http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/poetry/frost/frostint.htm
http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?prmID=196&
CFID=8427572&CFTOKEN=3561476
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/
ASIN/B00000J87V/qid%3D1020016743/
ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F0%5F1/104-4525358-7043961
    1948 - CBS Evening News began as a 15-minute telecast with Douglas Edwards as anchor. On November 30, 1956, the program became the first to use the new technology of videotape to time delay the broadcast (which originated in New York City) for the western US. Walter Cronkite succeeded him in 1962 and, on September 2, 1963, the program became the first half-hour weeknight news broadcast of network television and was moved to 6:30 p.m. Eastern time. Eric Sevareid served as commentator. Dan Rather anchored the news casts upon Cronkite's retirement in 1981. At one point, to boost sagging ratings, Connie Chung was added to the newscast as Rather's co-anchor, but she left in 1995 in a well-publicized dispute. Rather remained solo, and as Walter Cronkite would say "...that's the way it is." Several successors have anchored the “News” since, none with the gravitas of Cronkite.
    1948 - The Supreme Court ruled that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to blacks and other minorities were legally unenforceable.
    1952 - Eddie Arcaro became the first and only jockey to win the Kentucky Derby five times: 1938, Lawrin; 1941, Whirlaway; 1945, Hoop Jr; 1948, Citation: 1952, Hill Gail.
    1952 - Historians give credit to Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Otis Fletcher as the first man to set foot on the North Pole as he landed the first airplane flight there, a ski-wheeled Air Force C-47. It took off from Fletcher's Ice Island, about 115 miles from the Pole, carrying 10 Air Force officials and scientists. It was piloted by Lieutenant Colonel William Pershing Benedict of San Rafael, CA, and copilot Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Otis Fletcher of Shawnee, OK. In 1997, historian Robert M. Bryce published the results of research indicating that no previous explorer succeeded in reaching the Pole, despite two long standing claims, and that Fletcher was the first human known to set foot on it. In addition, Dr. Albert Paddock Crary, who was in this party, on February 12, 1961, reached the South Pole by tracked vehicle as part of a scientific expedition. He became then the only explorer to set foot on both the North and South Pole.
    1952 - CBS became the first network to televise the Kentucky Derby. Eddie Arcaro rode Hill Gail to a two-length victory over Sub Fleet. Blue Man was third. For Arcaro, it was a record fifth Derby win. Trainer Ben A. Jones won for the sixth time, also a record.
    1955 - Top Hits
Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White - Perez Prado
The Ballad of Davy Crockett - Tennessee Ernie Ford
Dance with Me Henry (Wallflower) - Georgia Gibbs
In the Jailhouse Now - Webb Pierce
    1956 - "Most Happy Fella," a musical by Frank Loesser, opened at the Imperial Theatre in New York City. The show, an adaptation of "They Knew What They Wanted" by Sidney Howard, ran for 676 performances on Broadway. The original production was partially bankrolled by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Critics called the show a masterpiece, thanks to the outstanding performances by Robert Weede and Jo Sullivan. Many of the songs made the “Hit Parade.” Frank Loesser's hits included "Standing on the Corner," "I Like Everybody," "Joey, Joey, Joey," "Big Acquaintance" and "Don't Cry."
http://www.frankloesser.com/home.htm
    1960 - The play, "The Fantasticks," opened at the Sullivan Playhouse in New York City. It would later become the longest-running off-Broadway play. "Soon It's Gonna Rain" was one of the big hit tunes from the production. Many high schools make this their musical performance for students to present to their community.
    1963 - Top Hits
“I Will Follow Him” - Little Peggy March
“Can't Get Used to Losing You” - Andy Williams
“Puff the Magic Dragon” - Peter, Paul & Mary
“Lonesome 7-7203” - Hawkshaw Hawkins
    1963 - In Birmingham, Alabama, Police Chief "Bull" Connor orders fire houses and dogs turned on children marching out of the 16th St Baptist Church to keep them from marching out of the "Negro section." This after jailing 900+ yesterday. There was no national radio or television coverage, let alone the internet or cellular telephone pictures or reporting. Imagine if this were to occur today.
    1964 - Gerry & the Pacemakers make their United States TV debut on the "Ed Sullivan Show" and perform "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying."
    1968 - New owners Tom Cousins and Carl Sanders announced that the St. Louis Hawks of the NBA would move to Atlanta for the 1968-69 season. The team began as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (1949-51), moved to Milwaukee and then to St. Louis in 1956.
    1968 - The Beach Boys open a 17-date tour of the U.S. with a show in New York. The second half of the concert is given over to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who lectures on "spiritual regeneration." The audience’s reaction is so negative, more than half of the tour dates are cancelled.
    1968 - Thelonious Monk and Dr. John the Night Tripper at the San Francisco Carousel Ballroom.
    1970 - Ohio Gov. Rhodes vows to "use every weapon" against antiwar protesters at Kent State University. Tomorrow he does.
    1971 - Anti-Vietnam War protesters began four days of demonstrations in Washington, D.C.
    1971 - Top Hits
“Joy to the World” - Three Dog Night
“Put Your Hand in the Hand” - Ocean
“Never Can Say Goodbye” - The Jackson 5
“Empty Arms” - Sonny James
    1975 - Tony Orlando and Dawn's "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)" hits #1
    1978 - Persistent thunderstorms caused widespread flooding in southeastern Louisiana and extreme southeastern Mississippi. Rainfall totals of ten to thirteen and a half inches were reported around New Orleans causing the worst flooding in thirty years. The water depth reached three to four feet in several hundred homes, and total property damage was estimated at one hundred million dollars
    1979 - Top Hits
“Heart of Glass” - Blondie
“Reunited” - Peaches & Herb
“Stumblin' In” - Suzi Quatro & Chris Norman
“Where Do I Put Her Memory” - Charley Pride
    1980 - Genuine Risk, ridden by Jacinto Vasquez, became just the second filly to win the Kentucky Derby. She posted a one-length victory over Rumbo.
    1987 - Top Hits
“(I Just) Died in Your Arms” - Cutting Crew
“Looking for a New Love” - Jody Watley
“La Isla Bonita” - Madonna
“Don't Go to Strangers” - T. Graham Brown
    1988 - The White House acknowledged that First Lady Nancy Reagan had used astrological advice to help schedule President Ronald Reagan's activities.
    1991 - Andy Williams, 60, marries former hotel concierge Debbie Haas, 36, in New York City.
    1993 - Strong winds buffeted the Owens Valley area and the Eastern Sierra of Southern California. A USGS anemometer on Crowley Lake recorded a wind gust to 140 mph before blowing away. Bishop Airport had a wind gust to 65 mph. One person was killed when he was hit by a flying projectile. Many trees were downed and power outages were widespread.
    1995 - The Neville Brothers, the Dixie Cups, Allen Toussaint and Professor Longhair are inducted into the New Orleans Musical Walk of Fame.
    1995 – David Bell made his Major League debut for the Cleveland Indians, following dad, Buddy, and grandfather Gus.
    1998 - Mariner Dan Wilson hits the first inside-the-park grand slam in the franchise's history.
    1999 - The Dow-Jones Index of 30 major industrial stocks topped the 11,000 mark for the first time.
    2000 - Metallica delivers over 60,000 pages of information to Napster's San Mateo, Calif., offices, listing more than 1.4 million copyright violations of 95 Metallica songs and recordings by 335,435 distinct users.
    2001 - The United States lost its seat on the U.N. Human Rights Commission for the first time since the commission was formed in 1947.
    2010 - United and Continental Airlines announced that the two American companies will merge, creating the world's largest airline.
    2010 - Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad was apprehended aboard a flight preparing to depart New York for Dubai.
    2014 - Donald Sterling, L.A. Clippers owner, was banned for life and fined $2.5 million after reports of his racist comments. A new CEO was appointed and other team owners pressured Sterling into selling, which he did… Sterling's wife, Shelly, reached an agreement to sell the Clippers for $2 billion to Steve Ballmer, which Sterling has contested in court. The NBA Board of Governors approved the sale of the Clippers to Ballmer on August 12, 2014. As of April 2015, half of the $2 billion paid by Ballmer was held in an escrow account controlled by the NBA pending the conclusion of Sterling's lawsuit over the sale of the team. On April 29, 2014, UCLA had announced that it was rejecting a $3 million gift from Sterling. Sterling has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
    2018 – Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences members voted to expel Bill Cosby and Roman Polanski.
    2020 – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said China is responsible for the spread and severity of COVID-19 and should be held accountable.

The object is to insert the numbers in the boxes to satisfy only one condition: each row, column and 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once. What could be simpler?

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