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Senior Credit Analyst
Walnut Creek, California

Excellent opportunity to work with growing equipment leasing bank division, excellent reputation. Click here for more information.
    

First Republic Bank has offices in the San Francisco Bay Area, throughout California, and in Portland, Seattle, Las Vegas, Boston and New York.

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Headlines---

Classified Ads---Asset Management
    Pictures from the Past--1993 Mary Jane Lindholm
        William Dalton New Pres/CCO ACC Capital
Credit Today/Lease Police
    Story Credit Lessors
        Letters—We get eMail!!!
Classified Ads—Help Wanted
    Placard—No more calls for me
        Sales makes it Happen—by Linda P. Kester
        “Unique Selling Position”
Irwin Financial Firsts Quarter Net Loss
    News Briefs---
        You May have Missed---
"Gimme that Wine"
    Calendar Events
        Snapple Real Facts
Today's Top Event in History
    This Day in American History
        Basketball Poem
SuDoku
    Daily Puzzle

Exclusive interview with Eastern Association of Equipment Lessors keynote speaker, the Honorable Kenneth Bentsen, Jr., President of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association---first such talk at another association conference, plus a report on the conference itself.

By Leasing News Top Financial Reporter: Al Levine, COO of Madison Capital. This Friday.

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

 

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Classified Ads---Asset Management

Boston MA
18 years of general equipment asset management experience from commercial aircraft to furniture and fixtures. End of lease equipment disposition, mid-term residual analysis, residual forecasting
Email: sblaspina@comcast.net

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

To place a free “job wanted” ad here, please go to:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted-post.htm

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

[headlines]

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Pictures from the Past--1993 Mary Jane Lindholm

(At bat for the Minnesota Twins, who won the World Series this day in 1987, October 25)

1987 - The World Series began in a dome for the first time and the team with the best record at home happened to play in that dome. The St. Louis Cardinals were pounded in the first game, but fought back and forced the series to seven games before the Minnesota Twins could claim the championship -- their first -- on this day.. The franchise's last championship came in 1924 as the Washington Senators.
http://www.sportingnews.com/archives/worldseries/1987.html

Mary Jane Lindholm The Manifest Group Marshall, Minnesota (Leasing News asked US Bancorp/Manifest for some background on Ms. Lindholm, but were told she left four years ago and they had no information.) When I first met her she was in charge of the "broker division," attending regional meetings of the Western Association of Equipment Lessors. She rose in various positions to become not only in charge of Manifest but higher in the organization, running Lyon's Financial and then the parent itself, Schwan Food Company.

Where she is today is not known. In recent years, Don Polfiet, Troy Molitor, Chris Canavati, Brad Peterson, lead the Manifest team. Coaches change just like in baseball.

If you know where Mary Jane is today, please let us know. Editor

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William Dalton New Pres/CCO ACC Capital

ACC Capital Corporation (formerly Amembal Capital Corporation) has announced the appointment of William B. Dalton to the position of President and Chief Credit Officer.


William Dalton, new President of ACC Capital

"Mr. Dalton has been a valued member of ACC Capital since 2005 and since that time, William has been the driving force behind expanding ACC's bank lines and growing its portfolio efforts, " CEO Loni Lowder said." During his brief tenure with ACC, William has been responsible for establishing and overseeing the policy and procedures of Operations, Credit and Banking Relations. Please join me in congratulating William! "

Prior to ACC Capital, William was the Vice President and Chief Credit Officer for Pitney Bowes Bank. He played a vital role in assisting the Bank in regulatory, compliance and credit administration issues. Before joining the Bank, William served as Director of Credit for the DMT product line in Connecticut for Pitney Bowes. Upon his arrival, he was instrumental in the development of credit policies, instituting service level agreements and providing financing alternatives for distressed/storied credits.

He is also president of the Multi-Ethic Development Corporation, one of Salt Lake City's oldest nonprofit organizations involved in the development, ownership, and management of affordable housing. http://www.medc-utah.org/contact.html

Before Pitney Bowes, Mr. Dalton spent 4 years as the Senior Analyst for El Camino Resources, Ltd where he ran the Syndications Group and was the Venture Equity Analyst specializing in dot-coms. Before that he worked for Bank One, Kentucky for 8 years where he was the Assistant Vice President in Business Banking. William has a B.B.A. in Economics and Finance from Tennessee State University.

Loni Lowder founded ACC in 1978. He is a recognized authority on the use of the technical aspects of equipment leasing to increase sales for middle-market leasing companies. Mr. Lowder assisted in the creation of Zions Credit Corporation, the leasing arm of Zions Bancorp, and acted as Director of Marketing. Also, he has held management and sales positions at IBM and ADVO corporations. His leadership, insight, energy, and creativity have been instrumental in creating the successful company ACC is today. Mr. Lowder has an MBA from the University of Utah.

ACC is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah and operates in all 50 states. ACC is a premier provider of funds for equipment leasing and financing for domestic business. Typical transaction sizes range from $15,000 to in excess of $10,000,000. ACC prides itself in being a trusted advisor for its leasing clients and collaborative partners. The company's consultative and academic approach helps clients to determine the optimal methods to finance their capital equipment financing needs.

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Rob Lawson, publisher of the printed Credit Today and on line www.credittoday.com, is not only well-acquainted with the leasing industry, but was the person who set up the original Leasing Industry Loss Prevention Group about 12 - 14 years ago when he was affiliated with the National Association of Credit Managers (NACM.)

Lawson worked with Mary Jane Lindholm of Manifest, Jim Merrilees of Colonial Pacific and John Colton, AT&T/First Vest. They were among others to get it going.

"It was working pretty well until I left NACM 10 years ago and I think my successors dropped the ball, " he said.”It was a good organization (NACM Loss Prevention) some years ago."

Chief Bernie Boettigheimer of Lease Police was put in contact with Rob Lawson, who is sharing his experience regarding the program that NACM put together.

Rob Lawson
RobL@credittoday.net
Credit Today LLC
PO Box 720
Roanoke, VA 24004
ph: 540-343-7500
www.CreditToday.net
www.CreditJobsToday.com

Lease Police, Inc.
15950 North Dallas Parkway
Suite 400
Dallas, TX 75248
Telephone (972) 361-8111
Fax (972) 692-8091
Contact: Bernie Boettigheimer, bernieb@leasepolice.com

To view an online demo of the LeasePolice.com system, go to:

https://www.leasepolice.com/infosite/product.html

[headlines]

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Story Credit Lessors

(for Broker/Lessors List "A," please click here, for list "B," pleae click here,
for Captive Lessor list, please click here,
for Funder List "A," please click here, for Funder List "B," who do not specialize in
“Story Credits please click here,
for “Super Broker/Lessor,” who primarily place leases, click here )

These companies specialize in "C" and "D" credits, often news businesses, or businesses where the principal(s) have Beacon score around 600 or previous difficulties; meaning to become comfortable with the credit and financial situation you need to learn the "story" to make a positive decision, often requiring further security, shorter term, or additional guarantors. Many of these companies may also be a "B," but appear otherwise without the "story" to understand the full financial picture.

(To qualify for this list, the company must be a funder and not a "Broker/Lessor" or "Super Broker/Lessor", along with an acceptable Better Business Bureau Rating and no history of complaints at Leasing News. We reserve the right to not list a company who does not meet these qualifications.)

We encourage companies who are listed to contact us for any change or addition they would like to make. Adding further information as an "attachment" or clarification of what they have to offer would be helpful to readers is very much encouraged.

Business Reports: Companies listed may make any netiquette comment about their company or reports or other information in the footnote section of their listing. Leasing News recommends readers also view the footnote as well as the section itself or searching reports on the business.

It also should be noted that if a BBB report listing is found by a reader, as there may not have been one when this was last up-dated, please send the link to maria@leasingnews.org so Leasing News may up-date this section.

Leasing Associations: All non-profit leasing associations are abbreviated. To see the full name and learn more about the association, please click here.

BBB - Better Business Report | CBB - Leasing News Complaint Bulletin Board
| CNI - Current News Information

( To apply to be listed, please fill in this form and fax to 408.374.3843 or you
may e-mail to: kitmenkin@leasingnews.org )
Story Credit Form

Alphabetical list - click on company name to view more details
ABCO Leasing, Inc. Boston Financial & Equity Corp. Mesa Leasing, Inc.
Advantage Funding Calfund, LLC North South Leasing
Agility Solutions Cobra Capital LLC Pawnee Leasing Corporation
Allegiant Partners Incorporated Dakota Financial Radiance Capital, LLC
American Leasefund, Inc. Dolsen Leasing Company Sterling Financial
Bankers Capital Financial Pacific Leasing Summit Leasing, Inc.
Barrett Capital Corporation Forum Financial Services, Inc. TEAM Funding Solutions
Black Rock Capital Gonor Funding TechLease, L.L.C.
Blackstone Capital Partners, L.P. IFC Credit Corporation

[headlines]

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Letters—We get eMail!!!


Kit Menkin, editor


The Winchester Boudreaux Boys

“Thank you for doing an excellent job on announcing the winners to the NAELB conference. Cute!

“I also have a suggestion that in your two lists: conferences and events/meetings, you note that there are two lists, as many readers may not know this.”

Rosanne Wilson, CLP
1st Independent Leasing, Inc.
3800 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Suite 165
Beaverton, OR 97005
(800) 926-0851 or Fax: (503) 626-1631
"It's the Lease We Can Do"
www.1stindependentleasing.com

(Great idea, we should have done this a long time ago. Editor)

NAELB Conference Winners
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/May%202007/05-04-07.htm#naelb

Events and Meetings
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Meetings_open.htm

Leasing Association Conference 2007
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Assc_conf.htm

-----

“I just finished reading the membership report for the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers (NAELB.) I was very excited to see that as an association, we experienced a 21% increase in membership since this time in 06. With 732 broker members, 113 funder members, and 40 associate members, our grand total is 889 members. The NAELB truly is the best association that I know of for those companies looking to connect with originating brokers or the funders who are underwriting business.

“I will go ahead and go on record to state that I hope to see us break the 1000 mark as an association in 2007/08. I don’t know of any other association serving the broker industry that offers all of the benefits that we have for a scant $295.00. In fact, of that amount, each broker member received a $50.00 voucher to use toward any NAELB benefit. As far as value? It is a no brainer. As far as benefits go, it is untouched in the industry!

“We are currently preparing for a record attendance in Nashville at our upcoming Annual Conference, May 17th – 19th. Currently, we have over 500 registrations and 70 exhibitors attending the conference. At this pace, we are prepared to host over 550 participants at this years conference. It feels great to be part of an association that is on the right path to celebrate “The Sweet Sound of Success!”

“We hope to see all your readers soon in Nashville.

Brian Montgomery, NAELB President-Elect

Brian Montgomery
Express Funding Solutions
Expressfunding@bellsouth.net
678-583-4100 Phone
678-583-4200 Fax

----

"Thanks for the reprint from your archives of the May 2, 2000 article announcing my return to Kropschot Financial Services. The past 7 years have flown by quickly, and I am enjoying being of service to a wide variety of equipment leasing and specialty finance companies.

"Interestingly, I have received about 10 congratulatory e-mails and phone calls from people who thought the announcement in yesterday's Leasing News was a new one. Your publication certainly has a wide readership."

Bruce Kropschot
Kropschot Financial Services
70 Beachside Drive, #101
Vero Beach, FL 32963
(772) 228-9808
bkropschot@kropschot.com

Archives, May 2, 2000---Bruce Kropschot re-opens
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/May%202007/05-02-07.htm#arch
---

“Thank you for a fair and balanced portrayal of the facts. It was a pleasure to finally "meet" you . Let's try it in person sometime. If there is anything else I can help you with please let me know.
All the best .
Jay”

Jay Cohen, CEO
Northern

Northern Leasing Systems gets bum rap
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/April%202007/04-27-07.htm#nls

---

Congratulations on seven years of providing the best Enews to the Leasing Industry. I appreciate your high ethical standard and the publication staying true to its goals.

I wish you continued good health and success.

Sincerely,

Gary A. DiLillo
President
Advanced Property Tax Compliance
5755 Granger Road, Suite 600
Independence, OH 44131
gary@avptc.com
Phone: (216) 658-5618
Fax: (216) 661-5594
Cell: (440) 724-0701

Yesterday was an anniversary
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/April%202007/04-18-07.htm#ann

Ning
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/April%202007/04-09-07.htm#ning

“Interesting article on Ning today; thanks.

“As a footnote to your comment on Internet speeds, I’m using Earthlink (at the office) and Verizon (at home) for DSL service. Both run at about 2.8 Mbps, which is nearly two T1s, and each is priced at only $39.95/month.

“For an old computer guy like me, that’s truly amazing!”

Regards,
Paul

PAUL BENT
Principal



Long Beach, California
(562) 426-1000
(562) 492-1199 Fax
pbent@thealtagroup.com
www.thealtagroup.com

Global Experience Provides Direction

“Today’s cartoon was priceless!”

Shari
SLipski@ecsfinancial.com

---

“Thank you for running the story on Advance Me. I was unable to understand why NAELB and others thought this outfit was a equipment financing concern.

“Next, do something on ‘Second Source Funding.’ My phone rings every few days from their obnoxious automated dialer and they claim that I must be handling credit card transactions. I do not nor have I ever processed any credit card transactions.”

Peter Grassl
Bowman & Marshall, Inc.
13424 West 70th Terrace
Shawnee Mission, KS 66216-2683
P: [913] 322-7190
F: [913] 322-7191
C:[913] 481-5469
www.BowmanMarshall.com

AdvanceMe not a Leasing Funder
http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/March%202007/03-28-07.htm#ami

---

“Please add my e-mail address to your mailing list. I started my own leasing company and would like to receive your news letter. I have been receiving “leasing news” for many years and have found it very informative.

“Thank you,”
Bill

William J. Henry
Lighthouse Commercial Credit LLC
75 Orchard Street
South Amboy, NJ 08879
Phone # 732-952-8757
Fax # 732-727-2780
Cell # 908-881-1952
E-mail: whenry@lighthouselease.com
Member of NAELB

(Most read us by going directly to our web site. The news edition sent by e-mail is the web site. The advantage on being on the "mailing list" is to learn when the news edition is posted, or receive an "extra" or "flash," a major story that cannot wait for the next edition. Editor)

--

(Congrats on reaching #1 (Alex Report.editor.) You continue to make an impressive effort, and often publish need to know information. Please note that as of January 1, 2007, Business Leasing News changed its name and look in January. See the link describing the change and starting the 6th year of publication at
http://www.pattonboggs.com/BLFN/Releases/BLFN_2007_01/BLFN_2007_01.htm.

Now called "Business Leasing and Finance News", BLFN has the highest new subscription rate this month that I have ever seen. Here's the new link: www.pattonboggs.com/blfn.

Keep up your good work.

David
David G. Mayer
Partner, Patton Boggs LLP
2001 Ross Avenue, Suite 3000
Dallas, Texas 75201
Tel: (214) 758-1545
Fax: (214) 758-1550
E-Mail: dmayer@pattonboggs.com
Author of "Business Leasing For Dummies"
Founder of "Business Leasing and Finance News"
(Formerly called "Business Leasing News")
http://www.pattonboggs.com/newsletters/bln

(Leasing News sent David a web search on where to get his out of print book,” Leasing for Dummies.

Used Price S&H Total Buy Now
Half info
$199.95 $3.25 $203.20 Buy Now »
Amazon Marketplace info
$199.88 $3.49 $203.37 Buy Now »

"Can you believe these guys get so much money for my book? (I saw it once at around $375). I don't see a cent of it, but it shows how demand and supply works. Thanks for sending this along and for mentioned BLFN's March issue in today's Leasing News."

David

[headlines]

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Leasing Industry Help Wanted

Regional Sales Managers


Regional Sales Managers

To establish small ticket vendor programs in major metro areas. Excellent compensation/ benefit package. View job description. Send resumes to Zully.Fernandez@IrwinCF.com

Company Description:
Irwin Commercial Finance (NYSE: IFC) is a true direct lender and in the ever changing leasing environment, we bring stability, creativity and consistent customer service levels to our business
.

www.IrwinCFequipment.com

Sales


Financial Funding Services, LLC


Sales

We are looking for highly motivated sales staff with proven lease experience. If you are currently networked and have a source of business and want to become independent working from your home
or current office, we want to talk with you about joining our team. In addition to providing you and your customer base the very best of financial programs, service and support, we offer you a generous 60% of gross commission
.

Please email Karl Probst, General Manager
kprobst@willamette-financial.com

Willamette Financial Funding Services LLC has been established since 1986. We are highly efficient, motivated and a leader in placing exceptional and challenged credits nationally. We are well connected with major funding sources capable of taking A, B and C credits. Our credit processing and clerical support to our sales staff is responsive and extremely efficient.

Sr. Credit Analyst


Senior Credit Analyst
Walnut Creek, California

Excellent opportunity to work with growing equipment leasing bank division, excellent reputation. Click here for more information.
    

First Republic Bank has offices in the San Francisco Bay Area, throughout California, and in Portland, Seattle, Las Vegas, Boston and New York.

[headlines]

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Sales Make it Happen

by Linda P. Kester

This is from her new book now available at www.leasingpress.com

234

Unique Selling Position

Every leasing company has something that makes it unique. Find your unique selling position. Examine your business and find the issues that differentiate you. Tout your company's uniqueness in your marketing efforts.

One leasing company prides itself in being "easy to do business with." They promote that in every aspect of their business.

If nothing pops out as your unique marketing feature, then take some time to examine what it is you offer. Revisit what made you want to get into leasing to begin with. Ask key vendors or trusted lessees what they see as your distinctive characteristics. In addition, read about future trends and look ahead to discover what you can offer first and better than anyone else.

Exercise

Here's an exercise right now for you. Brainstorm and simply fill in the blanks.

What sets us apart is:___________________________________________________

What makes us different is: _____________________________________________

Something that you'll get with us , that no one else offers is : _________________

_____________________________________________________________________

Find your unique selling position---you'll see more volume!

Linda Kester helps leasing companies increase volume. For more information, visit: www.lindakester.com. Questions, contact: Linda@lindakester.com.

 

 

 

Here is a "Selected Biblography" from Linda P. Kester's new book," 366 Marketing Tips for Equipment Leasing."

Carnegie , Dale. How to Win Friends & Influense People. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1936
Convey, Stephen. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New Yor: Fireside, 1990
Dyer, Wayne. The Power of Intention. New York: William Morrow, 1994
Gitomer, Jeffrey. The Sales Bible. Ney York: Entrepreneur
Meisenheimer, Jim. 47 Ways to Sell Smarter. Libartyville Illinois:Helbern, 1994
Middleton, Robert. InfoGuru Marketing. Boulder Creek, California: Action Plan, 2003
Miner, Nanette. 101 Media & Marketing Tips for the Sole Prietor. Bristol, Connecticut: BVC       Publishing, 1998
Miltz, Barry. You Need to be a Little Crazy. Chicago: Dearborn, 2003
Page, Rick. Hope is Not A Strategy. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002
Richardson, Linda. Stop Telling Start Selling. New York: Summit, 1991
Schiffman, Stephan. The 25 Sales Strategies. Holbrook, MA: Adams Media, 1999
Seligman, Martin. Learned Optimism. New York: Pocket Books, 1990
Sobczak, Art. Telephone Tips that Sell! Omaha, NE: Business By Phone, 1996
Stevens, Mark. Your Marketing Sucks. New York: Creown Business
Ziglar, Zig. Top Performance. New Your: Berkley Books, 1986

 

[headlines]

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

Irwin Financial Corporation Announces First Quarter 2007 Results

Loss of $6.1 Million From Continuing Operations Weak Home Equity and Commercial Banking Results Arising From Conditions in Secondary Market, Increased Competition for Loans and Deposits, and Higher Credit Costs Core Home Equity Portfolio Credit Quality Stable Capital Remains Strong with 13.5 Percent Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets

COLUMBUS, Indiana -- -- Irwin Financial Corporation (NYSE: IFC), a bank holding company focusing on small business and consumer mortgage lending, today announced a net loss from continuing operations for the first quarter of 2007 of $6.1 million or $0.22 per diluted share. This compares with diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.35 per share and $0.30 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2006 and the first quarter of 2006, respectively.

When the first quarter 2007 results of the Discontinued Operations are combined with Continuing Operations, the Corporation had a consolidated net loss of $10.1 million or $0.36 per share in the quarter.

"This was clearly a very disappointing quarter after we took meaningful actions last year to improve our results. We have been negatively affected by three factors: the loss at home equity, an impaired commercial credit involving what we believe was misrepresentation of collateral, and slow loan and deposit growth in commercial banking" said Will Miller, Chairman and CEO of Irwin Financial.


Will Miller, Chairman and CEO of Irwin Financial.

"We believe we have action plans to address each issue. The disruption in the consumer mortgage market has been dramatic and protracted. In response, we have made significant product modifications to reduce our exposure to changing secondary market requirements. As a result of the market disruption, there are fewer active buyers in the secondary market, and those that are active are offering prices that are not reflective of the underlying economics of our loans. Given the uncertainty about how long these conditions will exist, our capital strength allowed us to transfer loans we had originated for sale into our portfolio. The mark-to-market and additional reserve requirements for our portfolio, combined with the fact that a relatively small portion of the loans were delinquent, caused us to book a significant expense associated with this transfer. It is important to note, however, that the loans we targeted for our portfolio in prior quarter originations have been performing in line with expectations.

"While we cannot predict how long the disruption in the secondary markets will continue, we believe the consumer mortgage markets will be much more rational in the future when conditions normalize as a result of reduced competition. We continue to believe that we can achieve targeted profitability in this line of business in the long run due to the product changes we have been making over the past couple months. While disruptive to our turnaround in the short term, this swing in the real estate and mortgage cycle affords us competitive opportunities and plays well to our long-term strategy in the mortgage market.

"Our impaired commercial loan in Michigan appears to have been an isolated event connected with what we believe to be a borrower's misrepresentation of collateral. Nonetheless, we have taken steps to retrain on best practices in collateral review procedures and have embarked on an extensive review of all material commercial credits in Michigan.

"Finally," Miller continued, "we believe the slowing of growth in the commercial banking segment is attributable to a combination of decreased demand and some turnover in our local market leadership of established branches. While portfolios have been flat to negative in our Midwestern markets, we have continued to experience good growth in our newer markets in the West. We have put in place new processes designed to enhance growth in coming quarters. I expect loan and deposit growth to pick up as the year goes on."

Full press release here:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Pages/Irwin_First_Qrt-07.htm

[headlines]

### Press Release ###########################
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News Briefs----

Wildfire Rages in Los Angeles
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-SoCal-Fire.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

ABN Amro Rejects Royal Bank-Led Offer for LaSalle
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/
4A8AC8A02C5E3AE2862572D50008482B?OpenDocument

War Hampers Kansas Cleanup; National Guard Equipment in Iraq...
http://www.local10.com/weather/13267015/detail.html?rss=mia&psp=news

Home sales could take a bigger hit
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/
2007-05-08-nar-hosuing-forecast_N.htm

Bank of America offers no-fee mortgages
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/05/08/
bank_of_america_offers_no_fee_mortgages/

New ‘Law & Order’ Episodes May Move to TNT From NBC
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/arts/television/09nbc.html?ref=business

Grateful fans bid on road manager's memorabilia to tune of $1.1 million
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/09/DEAD.TMP

Paris Hilton appeals sentence, rehires publicist--
http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-05-08-hilton-appeal_N.htm

'Dancing With the Stars' loses one achy breaky more
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2007-05-08-cyrus-dancing_N.htm

Nielsens: Real Bad Week for Katie Couric
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8P0E8S00&show_article=1

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You May have Missed---

Paris Hilton “Myspace” site appeal
http://www.myspace.com/parishilton

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“Gimme that Wine”

Windsor Vineyards lays off 11
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070507/NEWS
/70507014/1033/NEWS01

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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Calendar Events This Day

Donate A Day’s Wages To Charity Day
All working people are asked to donate the money they make on May 9, 2007, to charity. If unable to afford the donation, they then asked to take the day off work and donate they time to charity. 4th annual event.

Great Northern Beans Day
http://www.foodreference.com/html/fgreatnorthernb.html
http://southernfood.about.com/od/beansandblackeyedpeas/r/bl30429i.htm

National Butterscotch Day
http://homeschooling.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=homeschooling&
cdn=education&tm=11&gps=160_1323_1020_1025&f=00&su=p554.2.150.ip_&tt=2&bt=
1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//dinnercoop.cs.cmu.edu/dinnercoop/Recipes/bruce/
ButterscotchBrownies.html

National Nightshift Workers Day
To honor those workers who reverse they natural circadian rhythm to keep business running 24 hours a day. Annually the second Wednesday of May.

National School Nurse Day
Established to foster a better understanding of the role of school nurses in the education setting. Annually, the Wednesday of National Nurse Week (May 6-12).
http://holidayinsights.com/other/nursesday.htm

Receptionists Day
http://www.nationalreceptionists.com/

Root Canal Appreciation Day
A special day whose goal is to reverse common negative misconceptions of a routine dental procedure. The root canal, which has evolved into a simple, painless procedure, should be held in high esteem for the millions of teeth it saves – 42 millions American teeth this year alone. This day will provide dentist around the country with an opportunities to plan concurrent public educational events. Ceremonies can include performing a root canal filling at various locations around the country. Madison, WI will serve as the national headquarters for Root Canal Appreciation Day. Annually, the second Wednesday in May.

Russia: Victory Day
National holiday observed annually to commemorate the 1945 Allied forces defeat of Nazi Germany in WWII and honor the 20 millions Soviet people who died in that war. Hostilities ceased and the German surrender became effective at one minute after midnight on May 9, 1945.

Tear Tags off Mattresses Day
http://nl.ct002.com/events/tear_tags_mattress_day/

Uzbekistan: Day of Memory and Honor
Honors Uzbek citizens killed in WWII. Formerly Victory Day when Uzbekistan was part of Soviet Union.

Saint Feast Days

http://www.catholic.org/saints/f_day/may.php

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Before 1687 clocks were made with only an hour hand.

(Number 20 not correct:)
http://www.arcytech.org/java/clock/clock_history.html
http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa072801a.htm

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Today's Top Event in History

1914-President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation asking Americans to give a public expression of reverence to mothers through the celebration of Mother's Day. Carnations have come to represent the day following President William McKinley’s habit of always wearing a white carnation, his mother's favorite flower. This year, families in the United States and Canada will celebrate Mother's Day on Sunday, May 14, 2000.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may09.html
(The first Mother’s Day was observed in 1907 at the request of Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia, PA, who asked her church to hold service in memory of all mothers on the anniversary of her mother’s death. The newspapers of the day reported this event and it continued the next year at other churches, now annually, the second Sunday in May.

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This Day in American History

    1607- The first Episcopal Church service in an English colony took place at Cape Henry, near Jamestown, Virginia, when the Reverend Robert Hunt celebrated the Eucharist. The event was reported as follows: “ We did hang an awning ( whish is an old saile) to three or four trees, to shadow us form the sunne, our walles were railes of wood, our seats unhewed trees till we cut plankes; our Pulpit a bar of wood nailed to two neighboring trees.”
    1773-An American creation, the first newspaper cartoon was “Join or Die,” designed by Benjamin Franklin and published in Philadelphia, PA, in his newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette. It was printed in the first column of the second page. It depicted a snake cut into segments representing South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and New England. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may09.html
    1783-The Purple Heart, the first honor badge for enlisted men and noncommissioned officers, was awarded to Sergeants Daniel Bissell, William Brown, and Elijah Churchill of Connecticut regiments, for meritorious action in the Revolutionary War. They were entitled “to wear on facings over the left breast, the figure of a heart in purple cloth or silk, with narrow lace or binding.”
http://www.americal.org/awards/ph.htm
http://www.purpleheart.org/
    1796-William Blount and William Cocke of Tennessee, elected by the Tennessee legislature, present their credentials to the US Senate. They were refused seats because Tennessee was not admitted until June 1, 1796. They were elected again on August 2, 1796, and took their seats on December 6, 1796. Blount was impeached for concocting a plain to aid the British, but the procedure did not pass the US Senate; however during the trial he was elected to the Tennessee Senate, and eventually and became Speaker of the Senate. http://www.lexrex.com/bios/wblount.htm
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000570
Cocke assumed the role of US Senate in the next term until the legislature elected another person (in these days the state legislature elected US Senate representatives). He later moved to Mississippi, served under General Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812, and afterwards was appointed Indian Agent for the US.
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000572
1800-birthday of John Brown, Abolitionist leader born at Torrington, CT, and hanged December 2, 1859, at Charles Town, WV. Leader of attack on Harpers Ferry, October 16, 1859, which was intended to give impetus to movement for escape and freedom for slaves. His aim was frustrated and in fact resulted in increased polarization and sectional animosity. The first civilian killed by John Brown's raiders at Harpers Ferry was a free Black man. History has made him the legendary martyr of the abolitionist movement; even Walt Whitman wrote a poem about Harpers Ferry. Unfortunately, the real facts are “He was a complete failure in business. He welched on his debts. He almost certainly was insane. And in 1856 he nearly plunged Kansas into civil war by ruthlessly murdering five helpless members of a mildly proslavery family, in the process “splitting open heads and chopping off arms and fingers.” Dixon Wecter, The Hero in American (1941)
http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/jbrown/master.html
http://www.johnbrown.org/
    1813-General William Henry Harrison turned back a siege of Fort Meigs by Shawnee military leader Tecumseh and British general Henry A. Proctor. Harrison was to become the ninth president of the United States, but for only a month, as he contacted pneumonia from a cold and died in office (the first president to die in office ).
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may09.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/wh9.html
    1830- Birthday of Lane Harriet, who acted as official hostess in the White House for her uncle-bachelor James Buchanan, 15th president of the United States, and became known as America’s first lady. It is rumored that Buchanan was the first “gay” president .She is known as the first modern first lady (using her position to advocate causes) including the arts and American Indian causes.
http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/buchanan_j.html
    1844(3)--Birthday of Belle Boyd at 18 became a famed spy for the Confederacy during the Civil War, stealing weapons, secrets, and helping prisoners to escape. She was arrested several times, once deported to Canada. She authored a book about her exploits. Following the war she became an actor and lecturer, continuing in that profession until her death in 1900. She married three times, her last marriage to a man 15 years her junior. he once shot at a man who was calling on her daughter and refused to marry her.
http://www.civilwarhome.com/boydbio.htm
http://www.civilwarhome.com/belleboyd.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/ga3/southernrebels/belle.html
    1846-- Word reaches Washington that an American patrol had been ambushed by Mexican forces north of the Rio Grande. This leads four days later to the US Congress granting President James K. Polk’s request for a declaration of war. The Mexican-American War began with a dispute over the US government’s 1845 annexation of Texas, which had won independence from Mexico in 1836. In January of 1846, President James K. Polk, a strong advocate of westward expansion, ordered General Zachary Taylor to occupy disputed territory between the Nueces and Rio Grande rivers. On 12 May 1846, Mexican troops attacked the forces of General Taylor, who went on to win the Battle of Palo Alto On 13 May 1846, Congress, yet unaware of that battle, approved a declaration of war, appropriating ten million dollars for the war effort and authorizing the president to call for 50'000 volunteers. On 02 February 1848, representatives from the US and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, formally ending the Mexican War, recognizing Texas as part of the United States, and extending the boundaries of the United States west to the Pacific Ocean.
    1843-birthday of Belle Boyd, notorious Confederate spy who later became an actress and lecturer was born at Martinsburg, VA. Belle Boyd at 18 became a famed spy for the Confederacy during the Civil War, stealing weapons, secrets, and helping prisoners to escape. She was arrested several times, once deported to Canada. She authored a book about her exploits. Following the war she became an actor and lecturer, continuing in that profession until her death in 1900. She married three times, her last marriage to a man 15 years her junior. She once shot at a man who was calling on her daughter and refused to marry her. Author of the book, “ Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison,” she died June 11,1900 at Kilbourne ,WI.
http://www.civilwarhome.com/boydbio.htm
http://www.travelwv.com/bell.htm
    1862-Confederate forces at Norfolk, VA, evacuated the city in costly move, leaving valuable material for the Union army. Norfolk and Portsmouth were occupied on May 10, and the naval yard at Gosport, VA, was burned, in reality ended the Confederates ability to build metal ships and make major repairs to their navy.
http://www.civilwarhome.com/merrimacbirth.htm
http://www.civilwarhistory.com/navy/CSSNavy.htm
    1862-At Hilton Head, SC, General David Hunter, commander of the Department of the South, issued orders freeing slaves in South Carolina, Florida and Georgia. Not having congressional or presidential approval, the orders were countermanded by President Lincoln on May 19th, ordering Hunter to retract his proclamation as he
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USACWhunter.htm
still feared that this action would force slave-owners in Border States to join the Confederates. President Jefferson Davis and the he leaders of the Confederate Army were furious when they heard of Hunter's actions and orders were given that he was a "felon to be executed if captured” President Lincoln explained to the New York Tribune, “My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it."
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USACWhunter.htm
    1864 -- Union General John Sedgwick is shot and killed by a Confederate sharpshooter during fighting at Spotsylvania. His last words are: "They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist--"
http://civilwar.bluegrass.net/OfficersAndEnlistedMen/johnsedgwick.html
http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:General%20John%20Sedgwick:3003730638:isbn
=0891410309:page=compare?used=1

    1868-First known as Fullers Crossing, then Lakes Crossing, the name was officially changed to Reno (Nevada). It was named after General Jesse Reno, a Union officer of the Civil War. When the Comstock load was discovered in Virginia City, the nearest large city was Reno, thus it became popular and is still known today as “The Biggest Little City in the World.” Its six-week residency requirement for divorce became law on May 1, 1931, making it a popular city. At the time, it was the major “gambling city” in the United States, and prostitution was legal in several surrounding counties. It was the Las Vegas of its day, today primarily visited by people living in Northern California, although visited by tourists from around the world for not only gambling activity, but the surrounding “ghost towns” and surrounding old West towns such as Carson City, its capital, Virginia City, and other cities in the California gold country.’
http://www.cityofreno.com/.
    1894 - Portland, Oregon had its latest freeze when the temperature fell to 32 degrees. This is the only may freeze in Portland's history.
    1899-African American John A. Burr patents the rotary-blade lawn mower.
    1909- Alice Koller Leopold birthday. She wrote Connecticut's equal pay and minimum wage bills in 1949, her freshman year in the Connecticut Assembly.
The next year she was elected the Connecticut's secretary of state. She then served as Director of the Women's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor from 1953- 61, and was the Assistant to the Secretary of Labor to aid and develop programs for women. She was a strong advocate of the Equal Rights Amendment.
The mother of two, she had created her own toy company before entering public life.
    1910-pianist Bob Zurke born Detroit, MI, died February 16, 1944
http://www.parabrisas.com/d_zurkeb.html
    1914-President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation asking Americans to give a public expression of reverence to mothers through the celebration of Mother's Day. Carnations have come to represent the day following President William McKinley’s habit of always wearing a white carnation, his mother's favorite flower. This year, families in the United States and Canada will celebrate Mother's Day on Sunday, May 14, 2000.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may09.html
(The first Mother’s Day was observed in 1907 at the request of Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia, PA, who asked her church to hold service in memory of all mothers on the anniversary of her mother’s death. The newspapers of the day reported this event and it continued the next year at other churches, now annually, the second Sunday in May.
    1914- Hank Snow, one of the fathers of country music in Canada, was born in Liverpool, Nova Scotia. He was heavily influenced by singer and yodeler Jimmie Rodgers, and began to perform in his style in the early 1930's. Snow made his radio debut about 1933 on CHNS in Halifax, and three years later made his first recording for Victor, the company with which he remained for four decades. He settled permanently in Nashville, Tennessee about 1950, and became a US citizen in 1958.Snow became a regular on the Grand Ole Opry in 1950, the same year he recorded "I'm Movin' On," which became one of the most successful singles of the first 50 years of recorded country music. His other hits include "Golden Rocket" and "I've Been Everywhere." Hank Snow was indicted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1976 and into the Juno Awards Hall of Fame in 1979.
On this date in 1994, on his 80th birthday, Hank Snow received an honorary degree from St. Mary's University in Halifax. The presentation was made in Nashville, and he spoke to the graduates via videotape.
http://www.hanksnow.com/
    1918---TV Journalist Mike Wallace born Brookline, MA.
    1927 - A major tornado outbreak occurred from Texas to Michigan. There were 28 tornadoes rated f2 or greater. 9 separate tornadoes killed 5 or more people making this day one of the worst tornado days in U.S. History. Popular Bluff, Missouri was devastated by a tornado rated f4 on the fujita scale. 98 people were killed and 300 were injured. 31 business and residential blocks were destroyed in the city. Strong, Arkansas was leveled by another f4 tornado with 24 people killed.
    1928-birthday of Pancho Gonzales. Richard Alonzo “Pancho” Gonzales, tennis player born at Los Angeles, CA. A self-taught player, Gonzales won the 1948 US National Singles Championship and repeate4d in 1949. He turned pro and won the world’s championship from 1954 through 1962. Gonzales was an aggressive, temperamental player who rarely trained. Died at Las Vegas, NV, July 3, 1995.
    1933 - A tornado, rated F4 on the Fujita Scale, moved through Monroe, Cumberland, and Russell Counties in Kentucky. 36 people were killed.
    1939 –birthday of Ralph Boston (National Track & Field Hall of Famer, Olympic Hall of Famer: gold medalist: long jump [1960], silver [1964], bronze [1968]; broke world long jump record 5 times, the last at 27 feet, 5 inches [1965]) http://www.hickoksports.com/biograph/bostonra.shtml
    1939 – Glenn Miller records "Stairway to the Stars" with Ray Eberle, one
of the most popular singers in the 1940’s..
    1941-Billie Holiday records “ God Bless the Child” (Okey 6270)
http://www.cmgww.com/music/holiday/bio.html
    1942—Attorney General John Ashcroft born Chicago, Illinois.
    1944- Jimmie Davis, who was a successful country singer as early as the 1930's, became governor of Louisiana. Davis, the composer of the country standard "You Are My Sunshine," later resumed his music career.
http://www.nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com/fame/davis.html
http://www.pbs.org/riverofsong/artists/e4-jimmie.html
http://www.etrecordshop.com/jdtribut.htm
    1945- Steve Katz birthday: vocalist, guitarist and harmonica player with such bands as the Blues Project, Blood, Sweat and Tears and American Flyer.
http://www.altx.com/katz/katzbio.html
http://www.rdrop.com/users/rickert/steve-solo.html
    1946---Birthday of Candice Bergen - U.S. actor and photographer.A whole generation, however, knows her as Murphy Brown. She was the daughter of famous actor and ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, who also was very popular on the radio as well as in movies. At 34 she married French filmmaker Louis Malle who died in 1995. They had one daughter Chloe (b. 1985). In 2000 she remarried.
    1949-Singer/pianist/composer Billy Joel was born in Long Island, New York. His hit single "Just the Way You Are," won two Grammy Awards in 1979, and has since become a standard. The album from which the song was taken, "The Stranger," is reported to have sold more than five-million copies. Joel's other hit singles include "My Life," "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me", “ We Didn’t Start the Fire,” “Piano Man,” and "Uptown Girl."
http://www.billyjoel.com/intro.html
http://www.billyjoel.com/
http://www.billyjoelmusic.com/
http://billyjoel.8k.com/
http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/2256/billyjoel.html
    1953—Top Hits
Pretend - Nat King Cole
Song from Moulin Rouge - The Percy Faith Orchestra
I Believe - Frankie Laine
Mexican Joe - Jim Reeves
    1954-Chet Baker Quartet first concert, Ann Arbor, MI.
(Saw him play many times. He always sounded “flat,” but then I dated a girl he used to date, and enough said.)
http://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/shop/shopmain.cfm?CatalogName=bakerchet
http://www.chetbaker.net/
    1959- 16-year-old Wayne Newton made his Las Vegas debut at the Freemont Hotel. That first booking, scheduled to last two weeks, stretched into three years. Newton went on to become king of the Vegas showrooms, earning close to $20- million a year. He has been seen live by over 12 million people, more than have seen either Frank Sinatra or Elvis Presley in concert.
    1960-The U.S. Food and Drug Control approved the “birth control pill.” It was developed over a five year period by Gregory Pincus, a biochemist at Worchester Foundation for Experimental Biology, Shrewsbury, MA, and John Rock, a gynecologist at Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA> It used synthetic progesterone and estrogen to repress ovulation in women. The first clinical tests were performed in 1954. The project was initially commissioned and funded by birth-control pioneer Margaret Sanger and heiress Katherine Dexter McCormick.
    1961—Top Hits
Runaway - Del Shannon
Mother-In-Law - Ernie K-Doe
A Hundred Pounds of Clay - Gene McDaniels
Hello Walls - Faron Young
    1961-Perhaps still germane today, Speaking before the bigwigs of network TV at the annual convention of the National Association of Broadcasters, Newton Minow, the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, exhorted those executives to sit through an entire day of their own programming. He suggested that they “will observe a vast wasteland.” Further, he urged them to try for “imagination in programming, not sterility; creativity, not imitation; experimentation, not conformity; excellence, not mediocrity.”
    1961-First baseman Jim Gentile of the Baltimore Orioles became the fourth player to hit grand slams in consecutive innings. Genitle hit his homers in the first and second innings of a game against the Minnesota Twins and added a sacrifice fly as the Orioles won, 13-5.
    1964 – Great jazz trumpet player, and now singer, found his recording of "Hello Dolly!" on the "Billboard" music chart in the top spot for the first time in his 41-year music career. Later, ‘Satchmo’ was cast in the movie version of "Hello Dolly!”. When the song hit Number One, it pushed out the Beatles “She Loves You.” He had another top pop tune also sung by Bobby Darin, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, but he is best remembered for “ Mack the Knife.” http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/riff/11/frame/h2.html
In the many old recordings, when Louis Armstrong played, you could
always pick him out. He was the most influential jazz man of the
20th Century.
http://www.redhotjazz.com/louie.html
http://www.louis-armstrong.com/
http://www.satchmo.com/louisarmstrong/props4pops.html
    1968-- In front of only 6,298 Oakland fans, Jim Catfish Hunter hurls the first American League perfect game in forty-six years as the A's defeat the usually heavy hitting Twins, 4-0.
    1969—Top Hits
Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In - The 5th Dimension
Hair - The Cowsills
Hawaii Five-O - The Ventures
Hungry Eyes - Merle Haggard
    1965 - Vladimir Horowitz played his first public concert in 12 years at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The audience applauded the piano virtuoso with a standing ovation that lasted for 30 minutes.
    1970-Blues Images "Ride Captain Ride" is released.
    1974--Congress begins impeachment hearings of President Richard M. Nixon.
    1977—Top Hits
Hotel California - Eagles
When I Need You - Leo Sayer
Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
Play, Guitar Play - Conway Twitty
    1977---- Patty Hearst let out of jail.
http://www.crimelibrary.com/classics4/hearst/
    1984-The Chicago White Sox defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-6, on a Harold Baines home run in the 25th inning. The game, the first 17 innings of which were played the day before, was the longest extra-inning game by time, 8 hours, 6 minutes. The teams then played their regularly scheduled game of nine innings, making a total of 34 innings in two days.
    1985—Top Hits
We are the World - USA for Africa
Crazy for You - Madonna
Don’t You Forget About Me - Simple Minds
There’s No Way – Alabama
    1987-Switch-hitter Eddie Murray of the Baltimore Orioles became the first play in major league history to hit home runs from both sides of the plate in consecutive games
http://users.aol.com/barbramusc/hello.html
http://www.omega23.com/books/s5/satchmoarmstrong.html
    1992--- Final episode of "Golden Girls" airs on NBC-TV.
http://lifetimetv.com/shows/golden/
http://epguides.com/GoldenGirls/
http://www.beatricearthur.com/
    1994--Netscape changes the World Wide Web, opens it open for everyone to use easily. James Clark, founder of Silicon Graphics, Inc., announces he will start a new company called Mosaic Communications Corporation. (The company would later change its name to Netscape Communications.) Clark teamed up with Marc Andreessen and six other programmers to create Mosaic, one of the earliest Web browsers, at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois. When Netscape went public in December 1995, it broke records for the most successful opening day of stock trading in history. Unfortunately, the company later found itself in a fierce and expensive battle with Microsoft, which ultimately led to its sale to AOL in late 1998.
    1997-Peter Peterson presented his portfolio in Hanoi, becoming the first Ambassador to Vietnam after the end of the Vietnam War. Peterson, a former Air Force captain, had been held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam for 6.5 years after his bomber was shot down near Hanoi in 1966. He was released in March, 1973. The United States had not maintained formal diplomatic relations with Vietnam since its previous ambassador, Graham Martin, left Saigon by helicopter in 1975 as the city fell to t North Vietnamese forces.
    1998 ----Cardinal Mark McGwire reaches the 400th career home run mark. Big Red's historic milestone comes in 4,727 at-bats (127 less at-bats than Babe Ruth) which is the least plate appearances ever needed to reach the mark.

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Basketball Poem

    Ex-Basketball Player

John Up-Dike
Pearl Avenue runs past the high-school lot,
Bends with the trolley tracks, and stops, cut off
Before it has a chance to go two blocks,
At Colonel McComsky Plaza.  Berth's Garage
Is on the corner facing west, and there,
Most days, you'll find Flick Webb, who helps Berth out.

Flick stands tall among the idiot pumps--
Five on the side, the old bubble-head style,
Their rubber elbows hanging loose and low.
One's nostrils are two S's, and his eyes
An E and O.  And one is squat, without
A head at all--more of a football type.

Once Flick played for the high-school team, the Wizards.
He was good:  in fact, the best.  In '46
He bucketed three hundred ninety points,
A county record still.  The ball loved Flick.
I saw him rack up thirty-eight or forty
In one home game.  His hands were like wild birds.

He never learned a trade, he just sells gas,
Checks oil, and changes flats.  Once in a while,
As a gag, he dribbles an innertube,
But most of us remember anyway.
His hands are fine and nervous on the lug wrench.
It makes no difference to the lug wrench, though.

Off work, he hangs around Mae's Lunchonette.
Grease-gray and kind of coiled, he plays pinball,
Smokes those thin cigars, nurses lemon phosphates.
Flick seldom says a word to Mae, just nods
Beyond her face toward bright applauding tiers
Of Necco Wafers, Nibs, and Juju Beads.

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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

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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

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