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Friday, January 15, 2010


Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968
http://www.thekingcenter.org/PhotoVideo/Default.aspx


Headlines---

Sheldon Player: "Blood on his hands"
  Classified Ads---Controller
Brican America: “Share Some Space at Your Place”
   by Christopher Menkin
Special Report: Part I -- Could Church Kiosks,
 Royal Link Carts, NorVergence results been avoided?

  The use of “Equipment Finance Agreements”
Special Report: Part II Bank of the West
 Equipment Lease Agreement (EFA)
  Fin Pac Renews $100 MM WestLB Term Facility
   Cartoon---Dog Advice
    Classified Ads---Help Wanted
Loans remained weak/quality deteriorates
 Latest Beige Book Report
New Suite of Services for Medical Technology Lessors
Broken Embraces/Me and Orson Welles
 Bright StarChantal Akerman in 70's/Streamers

  Movie Reviews by Fernando Croce
 Pres/CEO Indiginet Pleads Guilty to Tax Charge
  Des Moines, Iowa---Adopt-a-Pet
News Briefs---
 Obama Unveils $90 Billion Bank Tax
  Former Exec. of Failed Atlanta Bank Pleads Guilty
   Intel profit climbs as PC market rebounds, upbeat
    Mortgage rates dip for 2nd week
  Collection Good Prices For Bad Debt
   Ford big hit at International Auto Show
  You May have Missed---
   California Nut Briefs
    Gimme that wine
 Today's Top Event in History
    This Day in American History
     Football Poem
      SuDoku
       Daily Puzzle
        GasBuddy
  Weather, USA or specific area
     Traffic Live----

######## surrounding the article denotes it is a “press release”



[headlines]

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

Sheldon Player: "Blood on his hands"


Timothy Nieder

A long time person friend of Timothy Nieder, TMN Financial, Park Ridge, Illinois, reported that he took his own life with sleeping pills. Nieder, who was recently divorced, leaves four children.

The close friend said it was over Sheldon Player and Equipment Acquisition Resources, being cut off by those who he had sent leases to, the PNC Financial law suit, and promises made to him by Player that were not fulfilled. The close friend of many years said Player now has "blood on his hands."

This story was substantiated with two other friends/colleagues of Mr. Nieder.

As soon as an obituary is available, Leasing News will print it.

Sheldon Player and his brokers
by Christopher Menkin
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2010/1_11.htm#player

E.A.R. – Sheldon Player Up-date
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Sheldon_Player.htm

[headlines]

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

Classified Ads -- Controller

Chicago, IL
experienced in lease accounting, operations, management, and Sarbanes-Oxley. Seeking position with equipment lessor. Would consider contract assignments or relocating.
Email: leasecontroller@comcast.net
Southeastern, MI
Controller & Management experience w/ equip lessors &broker. MBA, CPA w/ extensive accounting, management, securitization experience with public and private companies. Willing to relocate.
Email: Leasebusiness@aol.com
Acton, MA
Strong experience in lease accounting, operations, & systems.  
Implemented lease plus, great plains, networks.
Excellent financial reporting and analysis skills. Looking for new opportunity.
LinkedIn
lexanderZLenz@gmail.com | Resume

For a full listing of all “job wanted” ads, please go to:http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted.htm

Other e-Mail Posting Sites:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Posting_sites.htm

[headlines]

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

Brican America: “Share Some Space at Your Place”
by Christopher Menkin


A related articles follows this up-date regarding NCMIC Finance Corporation dba Professional Solutions Financial Services (PSFS), Clive, Iowa complaint against Brican for $38 million involving 1672 leases. Leasing News has been threatened with a law suit and has replied, continuing to seek comments and/or statements for all sides, such as the Brican America brochure, that appears in this article.

The issue with PSFS involves a specific letter, as well as the practice, of providing financial assistance in the lease transaction, that PSFS was not disclosed to them at the time they purchased the leasing transactions.

"15. In fact, there was at least one additional agreement, a "Marketing Agreement," which related to the Goods or Leases provided to the Lessees, that Brican gave to each of the Lessees, which was not included in the documents that were provided to PSFS for each of the leases."

"17. The Marketing Agreement was material to PSFS's decision to underwrite Leases as the payments under the Marketing agreement were designed to offset the cost of the Lease Payments, suggesting that the Lessees would not enter into the Leases or might cease payment under them without the income stream provided by the Marketing Agreement.

18. As a result of Brican's failure to provide the Marketing agreement to PSFS with each packet of the document related to each of the Leases, Brican has breached the agreement."

“Collateral”

It appears a recent attempt a mediation has failed and news issues brought forward such as the actual value of the collateral, but before reaching that subject, three depositions, including that of Brican America Co-Founder Jean-Francois "Jeff" Vincens as well two employees Sandry Ellzey and Paula Barkley, bring forward the "advertising" plan which was part of the sales program.

The Brican America brochure used last year also mentions this program, particularly this page: "Share Some Space:"


(click to make image larger)


"VISO LASKI MEDSPAS would like to purchase a small percentage of your on-screen message time...VISO LASKI MEDSPAS is offering to sponsor you in return for our shared use of your screen...IN association with Brica America LLC, were (sic) practically underwriting your own EXHIBEO System. Just for the use of a small 10 percent of screen time. It's like having a partner in your financing...Your Brican America LLC representative will be more than happy to explain in greater detail how our "Share Your Screen program works."

In the PSFS case a jury trial has been set for March 8, 2010 before U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida (Miami) Judge Paul C. Huck. The plaintiff attorneys have been trying to get into record Recomm, specifically the word "Ponzi Scheme." The defendants object to this stating it does not apply, or involvement by any Brican America officer. (1)

As described in previous stories:

"This case involves a scheme to use electronic billboards and kiosk (collectively “kiosks”) for advertising. The promoters of the scheme executed it in the following way. First, they organized Optical Technologies, Inc., and a group of affiliated companies, Recomm.

"International Display Corp. Recomm Operations, Inc, and Recomm Enterprises, Inc (hereafter referred to collectively with Optical Technologies, Inc., as “Recomm”). Recomm, in turn, convinced several advertising agencies of the merits of advertising via kiosks, and convinced pharmacists, veterinarians, optometrists, and others of the profits they would earn by locating the kiosks at their places of business. Having accomplished this, Recomm acquired the necessary kiosks, leased them to the pharmacists and others (the “Lessees”), assigned the leases to finance companies (the “Lessors”), and (4) entered into advertising contracts with the Lessees. These contracts provided that the Lessees would receive a stated percentage of fees Recomm received form the advertising agencies. Recomm, the Lessees, and the Lessors contemplated that the Lessees share of the advertising fees would more than cover the Lessees' lease payments.

“The scheme worked for the benefit of all parties for a few years, until mid-1995, when Recomm began to experience cash-flow problems and ceased remitting to the Lessees their portions of the advertising fees. The lessees responded in two ways. First, they quit paying the Lessors the rent due on the kiosk leases; then they sued Recomm. As the law suits multiplied, Recomm turned to the bankruptcy court for relief. In January, 1996, Recomm filed a Chapter 11 petition in the Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida.”

There are also motions in the current PSFS case against prior salesmen statements (2)

The question appears to come down to “transparency.” PSFS claims this was not the case in the leases sold to them. Is this true with other funders and sources? If anything that Leasing News has observed, time will tell. Hopefully Leasing News will be around for the next ten years to continue reporting independent, unbiased, and fair news about the Leasing Industry.

(1) Brican’s response
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/Brican_1.pdf

2) Motion regarding Salesman
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/Brican_2.pdf

Brican America full brochure (long download) :
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/Brican_Combine.pdf

Depositions:

Vincens deposition 141 page deposition (on 64 page PDF 8.9mb)
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/Vincens_deposition.pdf

Sandry Ellzey deposition 77 pages (5.6mb)
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/Sandry_Ellzey_deposition.pdf

Paula Barkley deposition 71 pages (3mb)
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/Paula_Barkley_depo.pdf

Previous Stories:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/brican_america.htm

[headlines]

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

Special Report: Part I -- Could Church Kiosks,
Royal Link Carts, NorVergence results been avoided?

The use of “Equipment Finance Agreements”

Leasing News has been following many stories for over ten years, observing a very common mistake being made in transactions: the awareness and due diligence of the parties involved. Whether the original parties were attempting to mislead both lessees and lessors, were ignorant or naive or misguided or crooks was ultimately decided in court. Everyone appeared to lose after the verdicts, including both lessees, lessors, and funders.

This happened with the Kiosks in churches where the collateral was worth not more than $1,000 and advertising was to pay for the lease payment, or with Golf Refreshment Carts in Royal Links where advertising was to continue make the lease payments, or in many other such cases where service was involved, whether known or unknown to the creditor, such as with NorVergence. Could all of this been avoided?

Leasing News asked well-known attorney Jim Coston if an Equipment Finance Agreement (EFA) were used instead of a "lease agreement," would it have made a difference?

Attorney Jim Coston on why EFA


In light of NorVergence and most recently, a $59 million loss by Lyon Financial Services, doing business as U.S. Bancorp Manifest Financial Services in Franklin County Illinois, in a case with Christopher Rural Health Planning (CRHPC), lenders need to be more careful than ever in how they are structuring their deals. The suit in Franklin County stemmed from CRHPC's software systems that it leased to obtain electronic medical records and patient data. The problems started when the software began having problems and then the vendor who was to be servicing it went out of business. Even though U.S. Bank tried to argue that the seller/vendor was responsible for the warranty on the software, they lost the issue and ultimately the aforementioned verdict was rendered in favor of CRHPC. Even though U.S. Bank is appealing the verdict, it is important for all leasing professions to learn from this case and while we are all aware of the advantages of true leases, it is becoming more and more apparent that equipment finance agreements (EFA) may be the more creditor/lessor friendly option.

EFA’s are not a new concept. According to ELFF, 91% of the leases last year were capital leases/finance leases. They have slowly made their way into our largest trade organizations. ELFA added finance to their name. NEFA was formed through the merger of the United Association of Equipment Leasing (UAEL) and the Eastern Association of Equipment Lessors (EAEL).

There are several types of equipment in which an EFA is inherently better for the creditor. These groups include gasoline trucks, software or computers that require service, telephone and other types of systems that may or may not rely on service, medical equipment and exercise/gym equipment. Of course the main issue with these types of equipment is the liability that may ensue if there was an accident or malfunction of some sort. However, with an EFA, the creditor has greater protection because the debtor is the actual owner of the equipment. In the case of a true lease, the lines of liability and responsibility have become a bit more blurred as NorVergence and the recent U.S. Bank case have shown us.

It is important to consider the financial impact of a EFA as well. Currently, Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Standard 13 establishes standards of financial accounting and reporting for leases by lessees and lessors. For lessees, a lease is a financing transaction called a capital lease if it meets any one of four specified criteria; if not, it is an operating lease. Capital leases are treated as the acquisition of assets and the incurrence of obligations by the lessee. Operating leases are treated as current operating expenses. For lessors, a financing transaction lease is classified as a sales-type, direct financing, or leveraged lease. To be a sales-type, direct financing, or leveraged lease, the lease must meet one of the same criteria used for lessees to classify a lease as a capital lease, in addition to two criteria dealing with future uncertainties. Leveraged leases also have to meet further criteria. These types of leases are recorded as investments under different specifications for each type of lease. Leases not meeting the criteria are considered operating leases and are accounted for like rental property. However, FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) will likely revise the current accounting rules so that companies must capitalize assets that have traditionally fallen under the "operating lease" category. If that is the case, EFA’s should be considered more often for use by creditor/lessors.

The structure of a finance agreement may also prove to be more appealing to debtor/lessees. The major benefits of financing from their prospective are as follows:

• IRS Section 179, allowed for up to $250,000 in equipment purchases in 2008 to be depreciated in the year in which they became operational. This tax treatment was more favorable than an operating lease. Also the interest is expensed over the term of the loan for an additional bonus.
• There is security in owning "long-lived" equipment because there are no surprises at the end of the lease with large balloon payments, especially with fair market value buy-out options.
• Loan agreements are typically more flexible with early buyouts and there are fewer penalties.
• A company with sound cash flow and strong financial statements that is not concerned with impacting credit availability may find the nominal bank financing interest expense to be generally cheaper than the implicit interest in lease financing.
• All soft costs (taxes, installation, shipping charges) related to the acquisition, can be expensed on the profit and loss statement in the month in which they were incurred. This avoids interest carrying cost, if cash flow allows.
• Debtors bear the risk of a depreciating asset but enjoy the upside of equipment that holds its value, which is especially the case for non-technology equipment.
• The finance option allows a company to add assets to the balance sheet and benefit from the annual depreciation and interest expense tax treatment.

Given the current state of the case law on the matter of liability under a true lease as opposed to a EFA, it may well be worth a creditor/lessors time to reconsider how its deals are structured and whether an EFA may be the right choice for them.

James E. Coston
Coston & Rademacher, PC
105 West Adams Street
Suite 1400
Chicago, IL 60603
312-205-1010
direct: 312-205-1044
fax: 312-205-1011
mobile: 312-480-2014
jc@costonlaw.com
www.costonlaw.com

In 2003-04, Coston was the first attorney to become a United Association of Equipment Leasing (now National Equipment Finance Association) President. He also is an active member of the Equipment Leasing Association of America (ELA), now known as the Equipment Leasing & Finance Association (ELFA), and has served for three years on its Legal Committee.

"Parallel to his work as a leasing attorney, Mr. Coston is a nationally recognized advocate for, and developer of, improved railroad passenger service in the United States. In 2000 Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle appointed him to the Amtrak Reform Council, where he served until the Council's statutory expiration in 2003. In 2004, Mr. Coston founded Corridor Capital LLC to provide lease-financing options to passenger-rail operating agencies seeking to acquire rolling stock fleets and maintenance facilities. A native of Chicago, Mr. Coston resides on the city's North Side with his wife, Patricia E. Rademacher, and three sons, Jay, Alex and William." http://www.costonlaw.com/aboutus.html


[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------

Special Report: Part II Bank of the West
Equipment Lease Agreement (EFA)

With the permission of Steve Crane, CLP, Vice President & Marketing Manager Bank of the West Leasing, who also is a founding member of the Leasing News Advisory Board, here is a copy of the Equipment Lease Agreement in use by Bank of the West (yes, the leasing department uses them and the same broker rates as $1.00 out leases apply; note residual or balloon payment are not uncommon in EFA transactions:)

http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/bowefa.pdf

[headlines]

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

 

Fin Pac Renews $100 MM WestLB Term Facility


Financial Pacific Leasing has completed the renewal of its $100 Million Term Credit Facility with WestLB AG. The lending relationship between the two financial institutions was originally established in 2001.

“We are pleased to continue this mutually beneficial and valuable relationship that has prospered through a complete economic cycle," said Paul Menzel, President & CEO of Financial Pacific, 2005 Leasing News Person of the Year.


"Our industry has recently experienced severe dislocation and we are grateful that WestLB continues to recognize the strengths of our business model and our management team. The renewal will allow FinPac to capture the opportunities that are presenting themselves in this market and to provide equipment acquisition financing to an essential segment of the economy.

“It is good news for our dedicated employees, business partners and small business customers who all rely on us to help contribute to their success.”

Financial Pacific Leasing is a specialty finance lender headquartered in Federal Way, Washington. They have been an important source of capital for small businesses throughout the United States for over 35 years. FinPac programs support long term, third party originators in meeting the equipment acquisition needs of their clients.

Paul J. Menzel, CLP
President & CEO
Email: pmenzel@finpac.com
Phone: 253-568-6121 or 877-222-8558 x121

Terey N. Jennings, CLP
Senior Vice President, Business Development
800-447-7107, ext. 175
Email: tereyj@finpac.com

www.finpac.com/

[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------

[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------

Classified Ads — Help Wanted

Sales



Need many more funding options?
Like selling vendor programs?
Work with large single transactions?
Get involved with start-up businesses?

CLICK HERE to find out how to have fun again!



[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------

Loans remained weak/quality deteriorates
Latest Beige Book Report


"Loan demand continued to decline or remained weak in most Districts. St. Louis, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco noted general declines or soft loan demand.

New York reported declining demand for all types of loans except residential mortgages for which demand has been steady.

  • Philadelphia reported continuing declines for all categories of credit.

  • Cleveland noted declining demand for business loans and underutilization of commercial credit lines.


  • Richmond reported that commercial and industrial loan demand was steady to slightly up since the last Beige Book but still down year-to-year.

  • Chicago noted low utilization of commercial credit lines but an uptick in financing of mergers and acquisitions. Other recent increases were reported for mortgage refinancing in the Atlanta District and auto loans in the Chicago District.

  • San Francisco noted a small improvement in venture capital financing and initial public offerings.

"A number of Districts reported that credit quality continued to deteriorate.

“Financial institutions in the New York District reported ongoing increases in delinquencies for all types of loans.

“Banks in the Philadelphia District reported that delinquencies and defaults continued to rise for all types of loans, although less sharply than at the time of the previous Beige Book. Cleveland received reports of steady consumer credit quality but high and rising commercial loan delinquencies.

“Kansas City noted year-over-year declines in credit quality among financial institutions in the District, and Dallas and San Francisco reported continued deterioration at financial institutions in their Districts."

Individual District Reports:

Boston
www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/BeigeBook/2010/20100113/1.htm

New York
www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/BeigeBook/2010/20100113/2.htm

Philadelphia
www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/BeigeBook/2010/20100113/3.htm

Cleveland
www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/BeigeBook/2010/20100113/4.htm

Richmond
www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/BeigeBook/2010/20100113/5.htm

Atlanta
www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/BeigeBook/2010/20100113/6.htm

Chicago
www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/BeigeBook/2010/20100113/7.htm

St. Louis
www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/BeigeBook/2010/20100113/8.htm

Minneapolis
www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/BeigeBook/2010/20100113/9.htm

Kansas City
www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/BeigeBook/2010/20100113/10.htm

Dallas
www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/BeigeBook/2010/20100113/11.htm

San Francisco
www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/BeigeBook/2010/20100113/12.htm

Full report
http://www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/BeigeBook/2010/20100113/FullReport.htm

[headlines]

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

New Suite of Services for Medical Technology Lessors


David J Waldron, formerly with LaSalle National Leasing, DVI, and Continental Bank is expanding his company specializing in imaging and medical technology financing. In addition to his technology leasing experience, Waldron brings executive leadership experiences gained with medical technology companies Picker International, GE Healthcare and Coulter.

The company has been in existence for six years, operated by his wife Mary Ann, and he is adding his leasing and healthcare financing expertise.

Tracbiz offers a broad range of options – from a basic due diligence performance audit of the lessees’ financial condition and performance through to developing turnaround plans for under-performing centers and managing full operational restructuring. Tracbiz also offers hands-on turnaround management support for watch-list and delinquent lessees and can provide full on-site interim and transitional management services when required. "We are truly uniquely qualified to provide these needed services to lessors and banks," Waldron says." With so many imaging centers suffering the consequences of ongoing reimbursement cuts, we expect a growing demand from their finance partners for these new services".

Tracbiz, under its name Traction Business Development, LCC will be providing:

- accurate and quick 'due diligence' performance reviews on watch-list and delinquent diagnostic imaging operators

- hands-on assessment of under-performing operators' turn-around business plans

- hands-on development of turn-around business plans and restructuring programs for failing center operators

- interim management options during leadership or ownership transition, typically in a workout scenario all designed to improve portfolio performance and asset quality for healthcare technology lessors and asset finance specialists.

Waldron commented "Alongside of these new services, Tracbiz will continue to offer its proven imaging center revenue growth and performance improvement modules."

For more information, contact:
David Waldron
djwaldron@tracbiz.com
1-410 375 4160
www.tracbiz.com

[headlines]

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

Fernando's View
By Fernando F. Croce

“Broken Embraces” and “Me and Orson Welles” offer the chance to catch up with some of 2009’s most interesting movies, while DVD releases (“Eclipse Series 19: Chantal Akerman in the Seventies,” “Streamers”) provide glimpses of unfairly forgotten works by fascinating artists.


Broken Embraces (Sony Pictures Classics): Twists and turns abound in this smart and resonant whodunit set in Madrid. Harry Caine (Lluis Homar) is a blind writer who lives peacefully with the aid of his former PR agent. However, news of the death of an elderly millionaire dig up old memories and reveal secret identities as we learn that, years before, Harry was a film director named Mateo Blanco. Did his involvement with the producer’s gorgeous mistress (Penelope Cruz) lead to his double life? Another voluptuous, emotionally rich gift from Spanish director Pedro Almodovar (“All About My Mother”), this stylish thriller will keep you at the edge of your seat until the last frame with its mix of suspense and poignancy. With subtitles.


Me and Orson Welles (Freestyle Releasing): An endlessly fascinating figure, Orson Welles looms over this affectionate coming-of-age comedy-drama. Taking place in 1937, when the future director of “Citizen Kane” was a daring theater director about to debut with a controversial version of “Julius Caesar,” the movie compares the overbearing brilliance of Welles (uncannily played by Christian McKay) with the more modest ambition of Richard (Zac Efron). A young student aspiring to be an actor, Richard is awed by Welles, but will their bond survive when both men vie for the affections of Sonja (Claire Danes)? Best known for his loose-limbed portraits of modern youth, director Richard Linklater handles the period setting with grace and humor, always attuned to the emotional shifts of his characters.

Netflix tip: The death of French master Eric Rohmer (1920-2010) has been a great loss to movies. If you’re unfamiliar with his witty and graceful comedy-dramas (“My Night at Maud’s,” “Claire’s Knee”), by all means check them out on Netflix. You’ll be glad you did.

New on DVD:

Bright Star (Sony): Director Jane Campion ("The Piano," "Portrait of a Lady") has always been interested in strong-willed women trying to express themselves in rigid societies, and she's in good form in this lovingly crafted, delicately sensitive romance. Set in 1818, it charts the relationship between the young, great British poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and his next-door neighbor, Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). Though she has considers herself too practical for his poetry, Fanny gradually warms up to the sickly Keats, whose letters to his beloved soon grow as passionate as the best of his poems. You don't have to be a fan of period dramas to be moved by Campion's tastefully modulated film, and keep an eye on Oscar time for Cornish's graceful performance.

Eclipse Series 19: Chantal Akerman in the Seventies (Criterion): Due to her movies’ lack of availability on DVD, Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman remains one of the least known great directors among modern audiences. That’s a situation that should be hopefully remedied by this exceptional five-disc package from Criterion’s Eclipse series, which highlights the director’s triumphs during the Seventies. Included is her astringent debut “Je Tu Il Elle,” which details a young woman’s (played by Akerman herself) path of self-discovery, and the marvelously poetic “News from Home,” which turns a travelogue of New York City into a heartfelt portrait of loneliness. Akerman’s strong sense of style and themes may not make her immediately appealing to some viewers, but this DVD set is a great place to start learning about her. With subtitles.

Streamers (Shout! Factory): One of modern cinema’s true mavericks, the late Robert Altman had glorious runs throughout the 1970s (“McCabe and Mrs. Miller,” “Nashville”) and the 1990s (“The Player,” “Shortcuts”), but mostly stumbled into obscurity during the 1980s. This powerful 1983 drama reminds us that even that period deserves close study. Adapted from David Rabe’s acclaimed play, it follows the tensions among soldiers as they wait in their barracks to be shipped to the Vietnam War. Employing a fluid camera and a strong cast (including Matthew Modine, David Alan Grier and Michael Wright), Altman weaves an intense study of the anxieties hidden behind military uniform that would make a surprising double-bill with his 1970 comedy “M*A*S*H*.”

[headlines]
-----------------------------------------

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

President and CEO of Indiginet, Inc.
Pleads Guilty to Tax Charge

Admits to owing over $725,000 to the Internal Revenue Service


Los Angeles – The president and chief executive officer of Indiginet, Inc., of Irvine, pleaded guilty to a tax charge yesterday in United States District Court in Los Angeles, California.

Mark Thomas Ellis, of Long Beach, entered his guilty plea after previously being summonsed to appear to answer charges that he subscribed to a false personal income tax return for the 2004 tax year. The allegations are contained in a criminal information filed by prosecutors last year.

According to his plea agreement, Ellis admitted that, in 2004, he received over $748,000 from Indiginet for his own personal use, providing himself with compensation in addition to his salary that he used to pay for personal expenses and to invest in an unrelated business. Further, Ellis admitted that he did not disclose to his accountant who prepared his tax return that he had received the additional income and compensation from Indiginet.

In his plea, Ellis admitted that he knew that his 2004 tax return was false and that it was illegal to file a false tax return with the Internal Revenue Service. Specifically, Ellis stated that he knew that he had received the aforementioned income and that he failed to report it on his 2004 tax return.

Additionally, Ellis acknowledged that he received additional payments totaling $1,497,537 from Indiginet and / or Universal Broadband Communications, Inc. in 2003, 2005, and 2006. Ellis admitted that he deliberately failed to report these payments on his personal tax returns for the years indicated.

In total, Ellis received $2,246,271 that he did not report to the IRS for the years 2003 through 2006. He agreed that the resulting tax loss to the government, due to his underreporting, amounts to over $725,000. Ellis also agreed as a part of his plea that he is liable for the fraud penalty imposed by the IRS, which amounts to 75% of the tax due, on the amount of tax he owes to the government.

United States District Judge Terry J. Hatter ordered Ellis to appear for sentencing on April 19, 2010. When sentenced, Ellis faces a statutory maximum 3 years in federal prison and fines totaling $100,000.

The investigation and prosecution of Ellis was conducted by IRS – Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Los Angeles in conjunction with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

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

[headlines]
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Des Moines, Iowa---Adopt-a-Pet

Location: ARL Main
Name: Dante
Ticket Number: 4914481
Reference ID: 13167
Pet Type: Dog
Date Available: 11/29/2009
Age: 1 Year 7 Months
Gender: Male (Neutered)
Breed: Retriever, Labrador
Housetrained: Yes
Good with Younger Kids: No
Previously Good with Dogs: Unknown
Previously Good with Cats: Unknown
Declawed: N/A
Special Needs: Training classes recommended. Kids should be old enough to handle an active dog.
Reason for Arrival: Not enough time
How Animal Arrived: Return

Dante is a very fun, active dog. We recommend taking him to training classes. If there are children in his new home, they must be big enough to handle his activity level. He loves toys and will retrieve. His previous owners said he is house and crate trained. He knows the commands sit, lay and shake.”

Upon adoption, this dog will automatically be enrolled in our Black Dog Club! Membership is a perk for people who adopt dogs with 50 percent or more black fur. Adopters will receive a T-shirt, biannual newsletter and invitations to our annual club reunions. Black dogs are the most commonly overlooked type of dog in shelters, even though color has no bearing on a dog's personality. As an adopter, you have the power to make a real difference in the life of a black shelter dog. For more information about the Black Dog Club, go to the Events section of this website and click on Black Dog Club.

Adoption Procedure:
http://www.arl-iowa.org/aspx/generalcontent.aspx?pid=1&cid=33

You can also sponsor a pet:https://secure3.websiteencryption.com/ARL/aspx/generalcontent.aspx?pid=2&cid=47&ptid=13167
http://www.arl-iowa.org/aspx/generalcontent.aspx?pid=1&cid=34

Adopt-a-Pet by Leasing Co. State/City
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Adopt_Pet.htm

Adopt a Pet
http://www.adoptapet.com/

Southern California

  

Meet and learn from Mr. Terry Winders, CLP

Leasing #102 columnist for Leasing News,
long time educator and trainer

Sales and Operations
click here for course information and to register

February 1, 2010 until Noon on the 3rd,
San Diego, California
Hosted by Five Point Capital 

$395.00 Paid in Advance for first person from company
$345 with each additional attendee 

"Certified Leasing Professionals attending this seminar will earn CPEs (Continuing Professional Education)
Credits toward their recertification"

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News Briefs----

Obama Unveils $90 Billion Bank Tax http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704281204575002502656839716.html? mod=WSJ_business_LeadStoryRotator

Former Exec. of Failed Atlanta Bank Pleads Guilty
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=9565644

Intel profit climbs as PC market rebounds, issues upbeat outlook
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/earnings/2010-01-14-intel_N.htm

Mortgage rates dip for 2nd week
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/mortgage-rates-dip-for-2nd-week.aspx

Collection Good Prices For Bad Debt
http://www.collectionscreditrisk.com/news/special-report-good-prices-for-bad-debt-3000355-1.html

Ford big hit at International Auto Show
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/imagination-creates-fords-most-engaging-experiential-environment-to-date-at-the-2010-north-american-international-auto-show-81534632.html

LeasePolice.com - "Your One Stop Vendor Check" 
(Leasing News provides this ad “gratis” as a means
to help support the growth of Lease Police)

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You May have Missed---

Top 25: What corporate America is reading
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-biz-top-business-books-jan14,0,518936.story

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California Nut Briefs

If California Owes You, It Would Like to Pay You

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/us/15calif.html?hp

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“Gimme that Wine”


Napa May Ring Wedding Bells
http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/41533

State threatens to close Colorado's largest liquor store
http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-liquor-store-011210,0,2269444.story

Merlot for the masses
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2010/01/13/ blackstone_winerys_brands_appeal_to_the_masses_and_represent_artful_winemaking/

Is Maine Screwing Up its Wine Industry?
http://www.downeast.com/node/13588

Wine Wholesalers Hire Sarah Palin as Guest Speaker
http://wswa.org/content.cfm?sectionID=20&detail=100

Wine Prices by vintage
http://www.winezap.com
http://www.wine-searcher.com/

US/International Wine Events
http://www.localwineevents.com/

Winery Atlas
http://www.carterhouse.com/atlas/\

Leasing News Wine & Spirits Page
http://two.leasingnews.org/Recommendations/wnensprts.htm

The London International Vintners Exchange (Liv-ex) is an electronic exchange for fine wine.
http://www.liv-ex.com/

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Today's Top Event in History

1992- Tim Berners Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, released a simple line-mode Web browser on the Internet. Berners Lee had first proposed the Web in 1990 and had presented early versions of Web clients, servers, and browsers to his colleagues throughout 1991. http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/berners-lee.htm
Until then you needed the actual address or had to rely on Archer or Gopher to search for a website which basically was cumbersome and very slow.
http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/
http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/ShortHistory.html

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This Day in American History

 

    1697- The citizens of Massachusetts spent a day of fasting and repentance for their roles in the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. Judge Samuel Sewall, who had presided over many of those 20 capital judgments, published a written confession acknowledging his own "blame and shame."
    1716- Birthday of Phillip Livingston, merchant and signer of the Declaration of Independence, born at Albany, NY. Died at York, PA, June 12, 1778.
http://www.philiplivingston.com/
    1762- Fraunces Tavern opens in New York City NY, owned by “Black Sam,” one of the most prominent Blacks involved in the American Revolution ( thought to be born in the West Indies). The tavern was a prominent place with George Washington, and main meeting place for the Sons of Liberty.
http://www.nyfreedom.com/Frauncestavern.htm
http://www.fieldtrip.com/ny/24251778.htm
http://www.frauncestavernmuseum.org/
    1777 - Vermont declared its independence from Britain and established a republic, which lasted until the state joined the Union in 1791.
    1781 - A British naval expedition led by Benedict Arnold burned Richmond, Virginia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_Arnold
    1825- the first tax enacted by a state to support public schools was “ an act providing for the establishment of free schools” by Illinois. It provided for a common school in each county, open to every class of white citizens between the ages of 5 and 21 years and supported by a tax of $2 of every $100 and five-sixth of the interest from the school fund.
    1844- The University of Notre Dame was chartered under Roman Catholic auspices in Indiana.
http://www.nd.edu/
    1845--Birthday of Ella Flagg Young, educator, first woman president of the National Education Association and superintendent of the Chicago school system (1909), the first woman to supervise a school system in a major U.S. city. When an anti-woman faction tried to unseat her in 1913, she drew on all her political experience and rallied public pressure that forced four of her opponents to resign. 
    1852 -Mt. Sinai Hospital was incorporated by Sampson Simson and eight associates in NY City. It was the first Jewish hospital in the U.S.
http://www.mountsinaihospital.org/msh/msh-home.jsp
    1852 - Between January 15th and February 24th a total of 1378 railroad cars were drawn by horses across the frozen Susquehanna River to engines waiting at Havre De Grace, MD.    
    1862- the first ironclad naval vessels were the Benton and the Essex, 1,000 tons each, and seven others of 512 ton s each, delivered at St. Louis, MO, where they were accepted fro the government by Captain Andrew Hull Foote and made part of the Western Flotilla, also known as the Gunboat Flotilla on Eastern Waters, or the Mississippi Squadron.
    1863 - In the United States, "The Boston Morning Journal" became the first paper in the country published on wood pulp paper.
    1865- Fort Fisher in North Carolina falls to Union forces, and Wilmington, the Confederacy's most important blockade-running port, is closed. When President Lincoln declared a blockade of southern ports in 1861, Rebel engineers began construction on a fortress at the mouth of New Inlet, which provided access to Wilmington. Fort Fisher was constructed of timber and sand, and it posed a formidable challenge for the Yankees. The walls were more than 20 feet high and they bristled with large cannon. Land mines and palisades made from sharpened logs created even more obstacles for potential attackers. Union leadership did not make Fort Fisher a high priority until the last year of the war. After the Federals closed Mobile Bay in August 1864, attention turned to shutting down Wilmington. Union ships moved into place in December and began a massive bombardment on Christmas Eve. The next day, a small force failed to capture the fort but the attempt was renewed in January. On January 13, a massive three-day bombardment began. On the third day, 9,000 Yankee infantry commanded by General Alfred Terry hit the beach and attacked Fort Fisher. The Confederates could not repulse the attack. The damage was heavy on both sides: the Union suffered more than 900 Army casualties and 380 Navy casualties, and the Confederates suffered 500 killed or wounded and over 1,000 captured. After the loss of this last major Confederate port, it was only three months before the war concluded.
    1870 - A Thomas Nast cartoon titled, "A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion", was printed in "Harper's Weekly". The cartoon symbolized the Democratic Party with a donkey, a concept still in use today.
    1885- tenor Henry Burr, the most prolific recording artist of his day, was born in St. Stephen, New Brunswick. He began his recording career for Columbia in 1902, and is estimated to have recorded an astounding 12,000 titles for dozens of companies. From 1910 to 1928, Burr also managed a vocal group which recorded for Columbia as the Columbia Male Quartet and for Victor as the Peerless Quartet. After his recording career waned, he was a great favorite singing old-time ballads on the "National Barn Dance" from radio station WLS in Chicago. Henry Burr died in New York City in 1941.
    1888- birthday of folksinger Huddie William Ludbetter (Lead Belly ),Shiloh, LA Died Dec. 6, 1949.
http://leadbelly.lanl.gov/leadbelly.html
http://www.wchandyfest.com/delta/people/ledbettern.htm
http://www.malaspina.com/site/person_748.asp
http://www.geocities.com/joseph_1949/Leadbelly.html
    1899-Birthday of Goodman Ace, radio and TV writer, actor, columnist and humorist. With his wife, Jane, created and acted in the popular series of radio programs (1928-45) “Easy Aces, “ Called “America’s greatest wit” by Fred Allen, Born at Kansas City, MO, died at New York, NY. March 25, 1982, soon after asking that his tombstone be inscribed, “ No flowers, please, I’m allergic.”
    1907- William H. Taggart, a Chicago dentist, invented dental inlay made of gold, and presented the technique to the New York Odontological Society; a method of casting gold inlays by the inverted pattern procedure, using the ancient principle of “disappearing core.”
    1907-Dr. Lee De Forest, widely regarded as the "father of radio and the grandfather of television," patented the Audion radio tube, which turned radio into a practical transmission device for voice and music. Previously, wireless technology was primarily used for telegraph signals. Unfortunately, De Forest's business partners were prone to fraud: The De Forest Radio Telephone Company began to collapse in 1909, leading to De Forest's indictment for promoting a "worthless device"--the Audion tube. De Forest was later acquitted. Several years later, De Forest devised a way to connect a series of Audion tubes in order to amplify radio signals far beyond what a single tube could do. This process was essential in the development of radio and long-distance telephone. De Forest, despairing of business success, sold his patents at bargain-basement prices to several companies, including American Telephone and Telegraph, which used the repeating Audion tube as a key component in long-distance telephone technology.
    1908- the first sorority for African-American students was Alpha Kappa Alpha, founded at Howard University, Washington, DC by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle. The first president was Lucy Slowe.
http://www.aka1908.com/aka/index.htm
    1909-- Gene Krupa birthday, the premier drummer of the big band era, was born in Chicago. Besides leading his own band, he is best known for his work with Benny Goodman. After most of the big bands disbanded, Krupa led small jazz groups through most of the 1950's and '60s. A film loosely based on his life, "The Gene Krupa Story," starring Sal Mineo, was released in 1959. Gene Krupa died of leukemia in 1973.
http://www.redhotjazz.com/krupa.html
http://www.gkrp.net/genebio.html
http://www.harlem.org/people/krupa.html
http://www.provide.net/~jdmig/
    1915-Brithday of folk music collector Alan Lomax.
http://www.memphisguide.com/guide/guide0942.htm
http://www.alan-lomax.com/home.html
    1920 -- The Dry Law goes into effect in the United States. Selling liquor and beer becomes illegal.
    1927 --- The Dumbarton Bridge opens in San Francisco carrying the first auto traffic across the bay.
    1929- birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Black civil rights leader, minister, advocate of nonviolence and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (1964). Born at Atlanta, GA, he was assassinated at Memphis, TN, Apr 4, 1968. After his death many states and territories observed his birthday as a holiday. I remember interviewing Dr. King in the early 1960's at KFRC radio when a group Harold Light introduced me to who had brought Dr. King to the Bay Area, which I assumed was more public relations than a fund raiser. He was a shy man, the first time I met him. The second time, he was more vocal, and after the Selma march, there were press conferences, not single radio interviews. He was a excellent dresser, very articulate, very attractive, very handsome in person, and grew into a statesman for freedom for all and equal opportunity for all. In 1983 the Congress approved HR 3706, "A bill to amend Title 5, United States Code, to make the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a legal public holiday." Signed by the president on Nov 2, 1983, it became Public Law 98-144. The law sets the third Monday in January for observance of King's birthday. First observance was Jan 20, 1986
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jan15.html
http://www.thekingcenter.com/
http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/mlk/
    1932 - Up to two inches of snow whitened the Los Angeles basin of California. The Los Angeles Civic Center reported an inch of snow, and even the beaches of Santa Monica were whitened with snow, in what proved to be a record snowstorm for Los Angeles.    
    1933- After nearly a century of cooperative living, the utopian Amana colonists of Iowa begin using U.S. currency for the first time. The wide-open spaces of the West have always appealed to visionary reformers attempting to start new societies. Among others, the Mormons in Utah, the Hutterites in South Dakota and Montana, and the Swedenborgians in California all moved West for the same reason: cheap land and freedom from interference. Most reformers moved west after the Civil War, when travel became easier and the threat of Indian resistance was declining. As with the Mormons, the Amana colonial movement began in New York. Christian Metz, taking his cue from the writings of 18th century German mystics, established the group in 1842 on 5,000 acres near Buffalo, New York. Metz and his followers were similar to the Mormons in their rejection of the selfish individualism and dog-eat-dog competition of capitalism in favor of a more cooperative economic system. They isolated themselves from national and global markets and built a largely self-sufficient means of meeting their agricultural and material needs. Barter within the community helped them avoid using American currency. The community's agricultural and craft operations grew so quickly that the members soon found they needed more land than was cheaply available in New York. Like many of other land-hungry Americans, they looked westward. In 1855, the first members began setting up a new colony in Iowa called Amana, purchasing 30,000 acres of contiguous land as a base for their agricultural and craft operations. Amana (located near modern-day Iowa City) flourished in the decades to come. By the turn of the century, the colonists had built seven largely self-sufficient villages with farms, stores, bakeries, woolen mills, wineries, furniture shops, and the other necessities of independent living. The Amana community thrived for nearly 80 years, but its isolation from the rest of the world inevitably began to wane during the 20th century. In the early 1930s, the colony experienced severe economic problems, in part due to the Great Depression. The people voted to abandon their communal life in 1932, and they reorganized the colony on a capitalist basis with each member receiving stock in a new community corporation. The people of Amana began using American currency in January 1933. Although it violated the original precepts of their founders, the decision to bring Amana into the national marketplace actually saved the community. Today, the Amana colony is the center of a thriving business empire of woolen mills, meat shops, bakeries, and wineries. Though its original vision is no longer the same, visitors to the colony will still find a communal society dedicated to preserving many elements of Old World life and craftsmanship.
http://www.amanasociety.com/
http://www.iowa-city.com/amanas/historical/index.html
http://www.jeonet.com/amanas/welcome/index.html
    1936- Owens Illinois Glass of Toledo, HO completed the first all-glass windowless structure, using eight thousand translucent water-clear hollow glass blocks wearing about 150 ton for a two-story building, which had 39 rooms and an aggregate floor area of 20,000 square feet. Do not know if the building is still standing.
    1937 - 1.77 inches of rain fell at Washington, DC, making it the wettest inaugural day of record. Temperatures were only in the 30s as Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in for his second term.
    1937 -the record low temperature for the state of California was set at Boca when the thermometer dropped to 45 degrees below zero.
    1942- Benny Goodman Band records “Jersey Bounce.”
    1942--The Glen Gray Orchestra records their hit "It’s the Talk of the Town"
    1943- Pentagon completed: the world's largest office building with 6.5 million square feet of usable space, the Pentagon is located in Virginia across the Potomac River from Washington, DC, and serves as headquarters for the Department of Defense.
    1943 - Famous temperature antics occurred in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The temperature was 52 degrees above zero at Lead and 16 degrees below zero degrees at Deadwood simultaneously. The places are only 1.5 miles apart, but there is an elevation difference of 600 feet.
    1945--BEYER, ARTHUR O.  Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company C, 603d Tank Destroyer Battalion. Place and date: Near Arloncourt, Belgium, 15 January 1945. Entered service at: St. Ansgar, lowa. Born: 20 May 1909, Rock Township, Mitchell County, lowa. G.O. No.: 73, 30 August 1945. Citation: He displayed conspicuous gallantry in action. His platoon, in which he was a tank-destroyer gunner, was held up by antitank, machinegun, and rifle fire from enemy troops dug in along a ridge about 200 yards to the front. Noting a machinegun position in this defense line, he fired upon it with his 76-mm. gun killing 1 man and silencing the weapon. He dismounted from his vehicle and, under direct enemy observation, crossed open ground to capture the 2 remaining members of the crew. Another machinegun, about 250 yards to the left, continued to fire on him. Through withering fire, he advanced on the position. Throwing a grenade into the emplacement, he killed 1 crewmember and again captured the 2 survivors. He was subjected to concentrated small-arms fire but, with great bravery, he worked his way a quarter mile along the ridge, attacking hostile soldiers in their foxholes with his carbine and grenades. When he had completed his self-imposed mission against powerful German forces, he had destroyed 2 machinegun positions, killed 8 of the enemy and captured 18 prisoners, including 2 bazooka teams. Cpl. Beyer's intrepid action and unflinching determination to close with and destroy the enemy eliminated the German defense line and enabled his task force to gain its objective.
    1947-Birthday of trumpet player/composer Baikida Carroll, St. Louis. MO
http://www.baikida.com/bio.html
http://www.omnitone.com/marionettes/carroll-bio.htm
http://artists.spun.com/baikida_carroll
    1949—Birthday of Ronnie Van Zandt, lead singer of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, born in Jacksonville, Florida. The band built a loyal following, beginning in the American South in 1973. Their best known songs were "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird," a tribute to Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band. Lynyrd Skynyrd seemed on the verge of superstardom in 1977 when a plane crash in Mississippi killed Ronnie Van Zandt and five others, including Skynyrd guitarist Steve Gaines.
    1951---Top Hits
Tennessee Waltz - Patti Page
The Thing - Phil Harris
My Heart Cries for You - Guy Mitchell
The Golden Rocket - Hank Snow
    1952 - A six day snowstorm was in progress in the western U.S. The storm produced 44 inches of snow at Marlette Lake NV, 52 inches at Sun Valley ID, and 149 inches at Tahoe CA, establishing single storm records for each of those three states. In addition, 24 hour snowfall totals of 22 inches at the University of Nevada, and 26 inches at Arco ID, established records for those two states. The streamliner, 'City of San Francisco' was snowbound in the Sierra Nevada Range, near Donner Summit.
    1954-the coldest temperature ever recorded in the 48 contiguous states was recorded at Rogers Pass, MT. The temperature dropped to 69.7 degrees below zero.
    1954--Joe DiMaggio marries Marilyn Monroe in San Francisco at City Hall.
    1955---A young singer named Elvis Presley performs at the Louisiana Hayride, Municipal Auditorium, Shreveport, LA, performing "Hearts Of Stone," "That's All Right, Mama" and "Tweedle Dee." In the audience is "Colonel" Tom Parker, who was witnessing Elvis for the first time.
    1958--Elvis Presley records "Hard Headed Woman," "Trouble," "New Orleans," "King Creole," "Crawfish"
    1959—Top
The Chipmunk Song - The Chipmunks
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - The Platters
My Happiness - Connie Francis
City Lights - Ray Price
    1961 - the "Kennedy Inaugural snowstorm" belted the mid Atlantic area and New England. Up to 29 inches of snow fell in northern New Jersey and southeastern New York. Areas north and west of Boston, MA received over two feet. This was the second of three major snowstorms during the 1960-61 winter season in the northeastern U.S.
    1964-- Giant outfielder Willie Mays, the highest paid player in baseball, signs for $105,000.
    1965- The NFL teams pledged not to sign college seniors until completion of all their games, including bowl games.
    1966--The Beach Boys enter Billboard's Hot 100 for the 23rd time with their version of "Barbara Ann", previously a #13 hit for the Regents in 1961. The song was recorded live at a party and actually features the voice of Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean on lead vocal. The record will peak at number 2 in the US.
    1966--Petula Clark's "My Love" entered the Billboard chart, where it would become her second #1 hit
    1966-- The Supremes' "My World is Empty Without You" enters the pop charts.
    1966-The Rolling Stones receive their third gold record for the album "December's Children." It features the tunes "Get Off My Cloud," "Route 66," "As Tears Go By" and "I'm Free."
    1967--The film The Fastest Guitar Alive, starring Roy Orbison and Sheb Wooley,
premieres in New York City.
    1967--Ed Sullivan refuses to let the Rolling Stones sing their big hit "Let’s Spend the Night Together" on his CBS show of the same name unless they change the title and lyrics to "Let's Spend Some Time Together." The band does as it's told, but lead singer Mick Jagger mocks the censorship by making faces at the camera while he sings the cleaned-up line.
    1967-considered the “First Super Bowl:”*** the Green Bay Packers won the first NFL-AFL World Championship Game, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Packers quarterback Bart Starr completed 16 out of 25 passes and was named the game's Most Valuable Player. Pro football's title game later became known as the Super Bowl and is now played on the last Sunday in January.
    1967---Top Hits
I’m a Believer - The Monkees
Tell It Like It Is - Aaron Neville
Good Thing - Paul Revere & The Raiders
There Goes My Everything - Jack Greene
    1967 - Ed Sullivan told the Rolling Stones to either alter the lyrics and the title of the song, "Let's Spend the Night Together", or not perform on his show. The Stones actually agreed, and changed the tune to "Let's Spend Some Time Together".
    1968- Elvis Presley records "Too Much Monkey Business"
    1968--JOHNSON, DWIGHT H.  Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Specialist Fifth Class, U.S. Army, Company B, 1st Battalion, 69th Armor, 4th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Dak To, Kontum Province, Republic of Vietnam, 15 January 1968. Entered service at: Detroit, Mich. Born: 7 May 1947, Detroit, Mich. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sp5c. Johnson, a tank driver with Company B, was a member of a reaction force moving to aid other elements of his platoon, which was in heavy contact with a battalion size North Vietnamese force. Sp5c. Johnson's tank, upon reaching the point of contact, threw a track and became immobilized. Realizing that he could do no more as a driver, he climbed out of the vehicle, armed only with a .45 caliber pistol. Despite intense hostile fire, Sp5c. Johnson killed several enemy soldiers before he had expended his ammunition. Returning to his tank through a heavy volume of antitank rocket, small arms and automatic weapons fire, he obtained a sub-machine gun with which to continue his fight against the advancing enemy. Armed with this weapon, Sp5c. Johnson again braved deadly enemy fire to return to the center of the ambush site where he courageously eliminated more of the determined foe. Engaged in extremely close combat when the last of his ammunition was expended, he killed an enemy soldier with the stock end of his submachine gun. Now weaponless, Sp5c. Johnson ignored the enemy fire around him, climbed into his platoon sergeant's tank, extricated a wounded crewmember and carried him to an armored personnel carrier. He then returned to the same tank and assisted in firing the main gun until it jammed. In a magnificent display of courage, Sp5c. Johnson exited the tank and again armed only with a .45 caliber pistol, engaged several North Vietnamese troops in close proximity to the vehicle. Fighting his way through devastating fire and remounting his own immobilized tank, he remained fully exposed to the enemy as he bravely and skillfully engaged them with the tank's externally-mounted .50 caliber machine gun; where he remained until the situation was brought under control. Sp5c. Johnson's profound concern for his fellow soldiers, at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army.
    1969-- In South Florida Barbara Jo Rubin, 19, was to ride as the first woman jockey at a major race track - and then was taken off her mount by track officials. Reportedly it was money, not chivalry that was at the heart of the matter. A winning jockey gets ten percent of the purse and the jockeys, always a very touchy group because of their smallness and their constant dieting, didn't want to share the pots of gold (and ego) with a GIRL!  Finally, on February 22, 1969, Jo was able to ride at Charles Town, West Virginia without the world stopping - and she won her first race. She crossed the finish line first in 11 of her first 22 starts. Unfortunately Jo at 5'5" was tall by jockey standards and was still growing. Her height combined with an old knee injury ended her racing career in less than a year.
    1969- Elvis Presley records--"A Little Bit of Green," "Gentle on My Mind"
    1971-George Harrison releases "My Sweet Lord".
    1972 - Elvis Presley, was censored from the waist down by Ed Sullivan, but still reportedly brought in largest audience for a single television show, to that time, in a live worldwide concert from
Honolulu, Hawaii.
    1972 - Don McLean's classic single, American Pie, jumped to Number 1 on Billboard's popular record charts, and stayed there for 4 weeks.
    1973-Citing "progress" in the Paris peace negotiations between National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho of North Vietnam, President Richard Nixon halts the most concentrated bombing of the war, as well as mining, shelling, and all other offensive action against North Vietnam. The cessation of direct attacks against North Vietnam did not extend to South Vietnam, where the fighting continued as both sides jockeyed for control of territory before the anticipated cease-fire.
    1974 -- During the Watergate affair, an expert testifies before the House Judiciary Committee that an 18-1/2-minute gap discovered during a critical subpoenaed recording of a White House conversation between President Richard M. Nixon & White House staff member H. R. Haldemen caused by “deliberate & repeated erasures. The White House fails to satisfactorily explain the long silence during the key conversation between Nixon & Haldeman.
    1974- “Happy Days” premiered on TV. This nostalgic comedy set in Milwaukee in the 1950s starred Ron Howard as teenager Richie Cunningham with Anson Williams as his best friend "Potsie" Weber and Don Most as his best friend Ralph Malph. Tom Bosley and Marion Ross played Richie's parents and his sister, Joanie, was played by Erin Moran. The most memorable character was The Fonz--Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli--played by Henry Winkler. In 1977, it remained number 1 in the Neilsen ratings for the season. "Happy Days" remained on the air until July 12, 1984, and has been in syndication ever since. The comedy launched two spin-offs: Laverne and Shirley and Joanie Loves Chachi. Happy Days originated as a 1972 skit on Love, American Style.
    1974-Expert testifies on gap in Watergate tape.
During the Watergate affair, an expert testifies before the House Judiciary Committee that an 18½-minute gap discovered during a critical subpoenaed recording of a White House conversation between President Richard M. Nixon and White House staff member H. R. Haldeman was caused by 5 deliberate separate erasures. The Watergate affair began after a break-in to the Watergate Hotel by White House officials was uncovered by journalists and the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, and then escalated when President Nixon attempted to use executive privilege and national security as reasons to suppress the subsequent investigation. On July 16, 1973, former White House aide Alexander P. Butterfield brought the existence of official recordings of Nixon's White House conversations to the attention of the Senate committee investigating Watergate, and on July 26, the Senate subpoenaed the nine Watergate tapes. Nixon failed to comply with the subpoena, and on August 9, the Senate committee filed suit against the president. Finally, on October 23, Nixon agreed to turn over the tapes, but when the tapes finally arrive at the Capitol, two of the nine are missing, and an eighteen-and-a-half-minute gap on one of the tapes is discovered. The White House fails to satisfactorily explain the long silence during the key conversation between Nixon and Haldeman, although an expert determined that the gap had been deliberately erased. Nixon's failure to comply in a timely fashion to the subpoena for the Watergate tapes contributed to the articles of impeachment voted against him on July 30, 1974, and helped force his resignation one week later
    1975---Top Hits
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - Elton John
You’re the First, the Last, My Everything - Barry White
Junior’s Farm/Sally G - Paul McCartney & Wings
Ruby, Baby - Billy "Crash" Craddock
    1975- "I've got bad news and I don't expect any applause," President Gerald Ford warned Congress before launching into his very first state of the union address. During the ensuing speech, Ford painted a grim portrait of America's economic woes. The state of the union, he confessed, was "not good. Millions of Americans are out of work. Recession and inflation are eroding the money of millions more. Prices are too high and sales are too low." Along with these problems, Ford offered an ominous budget estimate that showed the government running increasingly in the red over the next few fiscal years. However, Ford, who had recently been installed as the President after Richard Nixon's scandal-ridden resignation, attempted to balance the bad news by offering a remedy for the America's fiscal ailments. He unveiled a relief package that featured a few rounds of tax cuts for individuals and corporations, as well as an energy program that promised to raise money, albeit through raising costs and taxes on oil for consumers and businesses. James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, Jr was elected president of the United States in 1976 with 297 electoral votes to outgoing president Ford 240.
    1977-- Leo Sayer's "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" hits #1
    1977-- The Eagles' Hotel California album hits #1
    1978 - Super Bowl XII (at New Orleans): Dallas Cowboys 27, Denver Broncos 10. The first Super Bowl played without a sky. This one opened the Louisiana Superdome. Tom Landry was the Cowboys’ coach, Roger Staubach was their quarterback. Co-MVPs: DT Randy White and DE Harvey Martin (only co-MVPs in Super Bowl history). Tickets: $30.00.
    1978 - snowblitz! -- a paralyzing nor'easter blasted New England and the mid Atlantic states. Boston, MA recorded 21 inches in 24 hours to set a new record 24 hour snowfall amount -- only to have it broken 2 weeks later. Snowfall was under forecast since a predicted changeover from snow to rain did not occur.
    1981--Minutes after the presidential inauguration of Ronald Reagan, Iran releases 52 Americans held 444 days in exchange for the release of $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets seized by the U.S. Later, it's revealed that the release was delayed until the first hours of the administration by Reagan's transition team, in order to make him look good.
    1981- “Hill Street Blues” premiered on TV. This Immensely popular NBC police series created by Stephen Bochco and Michael Kozoll that focused more on police officers than on crime. The show was very realistic and highly praised by real policemen. Hill Street Blues was set in an anonymous northern city (the exteriors were actually filmed in Chicago) and was the first real attempt by television to portray police officers as fallible human beings. Each episode began with the 7 a.m. roll call led by Sergeant Ezterhaus. He closed the roll call with his trademark refrain, "Let's be careful out there." Hill Street Blues not only changed the way that Americans viewed police officers, it also revolutionized the television drama itself. The show resisted formula and introduced the ensemble cast. Whereas early cop shows like Dragnet and Adam-12 were centered around a couple of officers who always got their man by the end of the hour, the full squad house of regulars on Hill Street Blues rarely resolved cases in one episode.
It won a slew of Emmys and ran for seven seasons. Cast: Daniel J. Travanti as Captain Frank Furillo, Veronica Hamel as public defender Joyce Davenport, Michael Conrad as Sergeant Phil "Let's be careful out there" Esterhaus, Barbara Bosson as Fay Furillo, and as the wonderfully drawn cops, Bruce Weitz (Mick Belker), Taurean Blacque (Neal Washington), Kiel Martin (Johnny LaRue), Joe Spano (Henry Goldblume), James B. Sikking (Howard Hunter), René Enríquez (Ray Calletano), Michael Warren (Bobby Hill), Betty Thomas (Lucy Bates), Ed Marinaro (Joe Coffey) and Charles Haid (Andy Renko).
The last telecast was on May 19, 1987.
http://www.tripletsandus.com/80s/shows/hill.htm
    1983---Top Hits
Down Under - Men at Work
The Girl is Mine - Michael Jackson /Paul McCartney
Dirty Laundry - Don Henley
I Can’t Even Get the Blues - Reba McEntire
    1985 - At Carnegie Hall, in New York, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored 79 year old actress, Myrna Loy, who never received an Academy nomination although she appeared in 120 films.
    1987 - Paramount Home Video said, for the first time, it would put a commercial at the start of one of its video releases. The movie "Top Gun" had a 30-second Diet Pepsi ad tacked on to its beginning. The idea behind adding something else to be fast forwarded through was to reduce the price of the video by $3. The difference to Paramount would be made up by Pepsi money. It was also thought more consumers would buy the Tom Cruise picture rather than paying more for videos without the commercial.
    1987 - A powerful storm over the Southern Plateau and the Southern Rockies produced 24 inches of snow at Colorado Springs CO, including 22 inches in 24 hours, a January record. High winds in the southwestern U.S. gusted to 65 mph in the Yosemite Valley of California.       
    1988 - A small storm over the Atlantic Ocean produced heavy snow along the coast of North Carolina. The five inch total at Wilmington NC was their third highest for any storm in January in 117 years of records.
    1988 -Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder makes racist remarks about black athletes
http://www.goodbyemag.com/apr/snyder.htm
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment050200d.html
    1990 - ‘Big’ George Foreman, on the comeback-trail at 42 years of age, knocked out Gerry Cooney in the second round at Atlantic City, NJ. (Foreman became the oldest [age 45] ever to win the heavyweight title when he knocked out Michael Moorer on Nov 5, 1994.)
    1990 - While one Pacific storm crossed the Central Rockies, another approached the west coast. The northern mountains of Utah were buried under 17 to 35 inches of snow while the mountains of southern Utah received another 12 to 16 inches. Eighteen cities in the central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date as readings warmed into the 50s and 60s. Wichita KS reported a record high of 68 degrees.
    1991---Top Hits
Justify My Love - Madonna
High Enough - Damn Yankees
Love Will Never Do (Without You) - Janet Jackson
Unanswered Prayers - Garth Brooks
    1992-- The Seventh Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are held in New York City. Inductees include Bobby "Blue" Bland, Booker T. and the MGs, Johnny Cash, The Isley Brothers, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Sam and Dave, and The Yardbirds.
    1992- Tim Berners Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, released a simple line-mode Web browser on the Internet. Berners Lee had first proposed the Web in 1990 and had presented early versions of Web clients, servers, and browsers to his colleagues throughout 1991. http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/berners-lee.htm
Until then you needed the actual address or had to rely on Archer or Gopher to search for a website which basically was cumbersome and very slow.
http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/
http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/ShortHistory.html
    1993 - In the southern U.S., train echo thunderstorms drenched Lafayette and Baton Rouge, LA with 10.83 and 9.02 inches of rain in 24 hours, respectively.
    1994 - Frigid conditions persisted over the northeastern U.S. Rangeley, ME reported 45 degrees below zero for a morning low for the cold spot in the nation. First Connecticut Lake, NH dropped to a frigid 44 degrees below zero. Both Pittsburgh, PA and Cleveland, OH completed their longest stretch of subzero readings on record, with 52 and 56 consecutive hours, respectively.
    1994- "Dazzey Duks" by Duice was on the Billboard Hot 100 for the 54th consecutive week, the longest run ever on any of the magazine's charts. Also on the Hot 100 that week, Tag Team's "Whoomp! (There It Is)" was in the top-ten for the 24th week - another record.
    1995 - The San Francisco 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys 38-28 in the NFC championship game and the San Diego Chargers edged the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-13 in the AFC title game. (The 49ers beat the Chargers 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX.)
    1995 - The Golf Channel began on some U.S. cable systems. Four years later, the world’s first 24-hour golf network was seen in over 30,000,000 homes.
    1997 - During a heated Chicago vs. Minneapolis basketball game, Chicago Bulls star Dennis Rodman brazenly kicked a courtside cameraman in the groin. Rodman later claimed it was an accident, but the incident was captured from several angles by other cameramen, and was seen by millions of people across the country. Eugene Amos, the cameraman, was treated at a hospital and then released - the extent of his injuries were not released. Prosecutors told the press later that they were considering assault charges against Rodman. If suspended, it would be the second of the season for the temperamental, flamboyant athlete. Rodman was later suspended from 23 games and heavily fined; the suspension was the second-longest in NBA history. A few days later, a financial settlement between Amos and Rodman was reached; Amos received $200,000 from Rodman.

Super bowl Champions This Day

    1967 Green Bay Packers
    1978 Dallas Cowboys

**** Super Bowl

The year was 1966, and war was raging in professional football. It was a bidding war for talent and it had been going on since the American Football League came onto the scene in 1960 to challenge the National Football League, 40 years its senior.
At first, the battles were for college players, and the AFL scored an early victory when a court ruled in favor of the Houston Oilers over the NFL's Los Angeles Rams after both clubs had signed Billy Cannon, the Heisman Trophy winning halfback at Louisiana State.
Although the leagues agreed to a "no tampering" rule on existing player contracts, the stakes became high for college talent. Bonuses went sky-high. The AFL's New York Jets signed Alabama quarterback Joe Namath in 1965 to a $400,000 contract, the largest amount ever for a collegian. In 1966, the NFL's Atlanta Falcons gave Texas linebacker Tommy Nobis a $600,000 package and the Green Bay Packers forked over $711,000 to Texas Tech running back Donny Anderson.
Meanwhile, veteran players were settling for small raises on relatively small salaries. For example, John Brodie, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback, received $35,000 in 1965 and was asking for a raise to $65,000 after leading the NFL in completions, completion percentage, yardage and touchdown passes.
Then came a back-breaker. Buffalo place-kicker Pete Gogolak, who had played out his option in 1965, signed with the NFL's New York Giants. The "no tampering" code had been broken. The conflict was in the open, and it was time for action.
On April 7, 1966, peacemaker Joe Foss resigned as AFL commissioner and the next day Al Davis, general manager of the Oakland Raiders, took over. Davis was a hawk in regard to the NFL, and he had a plan.
Davis organized an AFL war chest and urged owners to start talking to established NFL stars. The NFL had bragged of its superiority because of the caliber of its quarterbacks. Davis wanted to sign those quarterbacks for the AFL.
The Raiders quickly signed Los Angeles quarterback Roman Gabriel to a commitment starting in '67. Houston offered the 49ers' Brodie $75,000, spread over 10 years, to sign a five-year deal with the Oilers. Reportedly, eight of the NFL's starting quarterbacks were dickering with the AFL.
The NFL had no choice. On June 8, 1966, two months after Davis became the AFL commissioner, a merger agreement was announced. There would be a common draft starting in 1967, interleague preseason games starting in '67 and regular-season play combining the leagues in 1970. Territorial indemnification of $18 million was to be paid to the 49ers and Giants over a 20-year period.
Most important, from the standpoint of football fans, was the immediate establishment of a championship game between the leagues. This was the AFL-NFL World Championship Game -- which was popularized as the Super Bowl from its inception.
Gabriel never went to the Raiders and Brodie never left the 49ers, but Brodie collected a million dollars on the agreement he had made in his talks with Houston.
Davis resigned as AFL commissioner a month after the merger. He clearly had won his battle.


[headlines]

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

Football Poem

Born To Win
by R.G. Graham

When you were in your crib tiny and small,
And everyone was looking at you one and all,
They smiled with pride and said again and again,
This child is special and was born to win!

Grandma and grandpa and mom and dad too,
Brother and sister were all looking at you,
They just couldn’t help getting a grin,
And saying this child is special and was born to win!

And now you’re getting older probably past two,
And they keep saying there’s nothing you can’t do
Because you’re kind to all and obey your mom and dad,
You pick up your toys and go early to bed.

You’re kind to your neighbors and all your friends too,
You share with them things that are special to you,
And children are so happy that you are their friend,
They know in their heart you were born to win.

So when you go to school and see children that are sad.
Pat them on the back and say it’s not so bad.
Because I like you, would you please be my friend,
Because you and I are special, we were born to win!

[headlines]

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SuDoku

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?

http://leasingnews.org/Soduku/soduko-main.htm

[headlines]

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

Daily Puzzle

How to play:
http://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle_frame.htm

Refresh for current date:
http://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle_frame.htm

[headlines]

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

http://www.gasbuddy.com/
http://www.gasbuddy.com/GB_Map_Gas_Prices.aspx
http://www.gasbuddy.com/GB_Mobile_Instructions.aspx

[headlines]

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

Weather

See USA map, click to specific area, no commercials

http://www.weather.gov/

[headlines]

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

Traffic Live---

Real Time Traffic Information

You can save up to 20 different routes and check them out with one click,
or type in a new route to learn the traffic live

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

[headlines]

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[headlines]