January 8, 2013

January 8, 1863 Second Battle of Springfield, MO

As the morning of January 8, 1863 dawned, two of the Confederate columns under Marmaduke approached Springfield from the south. Since Porter's and McDonald's columns had yet to arrive, Marmaduke occupied the early morning with foraging and capturing some of the Enrolled Missouri Militia about five miles (8 km) from Springfield. With McDonald finally present by 10:00 a.m., the Confederates dismounted three regiments about three miles (5 km) from Springfield and advanced to feel out the Union lines and develop their strength. After the Confederates had pushed two Union Missouri State Militia Cavalry Regiments two miles (3 km) north, the smoking ruins of burning homes on the outskirts of Springfield came into view. To provide an unobstructed view for his artillery in Fort No. 4 (located on the east side of South Avenue between Elm and Cherry Streets), Brown at the last minute ordered a number of homes burned along South Avenue.

Colonel Joseph Orville Shelby took command of the tactical operations, launching piecemeal assaults upon the Union center and west flank. The Confederates advanced over open ground against Fort Number 4, seeking such shelter as they could get from tree stumps, piles of rock, and the charred remains of the homes burned by the Union forces. Despite repeated efforts, the assault on the fort failed.

Shelby then resolved to take Springfield by an oblique attack from the west. The Confederates were drawn by the cover offered by a ravine that led uphill toward town from what is now the intersection of Grand Avenue and Grant Street. At the head of this draw stood a two-story brick academy surrounded by a stockade. Used by the Federals as a prison, it stood near the northwest corner of what is now the intersection of Campbell Avenue and State Street. The Union forces failed to garrison the college stockade, so the Confederates were able to seize the building easily and use it as their own fortress to return the fire from Fort No. 4. However, heavy fighting soon erupted around the stockade as the Union forces attempted to retake the college and stockade. The Confederates found a local advantage in numbers and pressed their own attack. This phase of the assault saw the most severe casualties, hand-to-hand fighting, and the capture of a cannon by the Confederates. Union troops on the west flank also were pushed back to College Street from their original position along the Old Wire Road and State Street. But Union reinforcements halted the Confederate drive and even pushed back the Confederates to the vicinity of State Street.

With the sun sinking, Marmaduke launched a final assault against Fort No. 4. The Union forces again repelled the attack. As night fell, the Confederates withdrew to the Phelps farm (now Phelps Grove Park). The Battle of Springfield had ended, and the Union supply depot was safe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Springfield_II

January 6, 2013

Overall, Missouri's state tax collections higher than expected -- with some caveats

December 2012 was a very good month for the state of Missouri’s bottom line, signaling what state Budget Director Linda Luebbering called solid evidence that the state’s economy is coming back.

December’s general-revenue income was up 10.7 percent compared to December 2011. Even more important, said Luebbering, was that the fiscal year-to-date revenue collections have increased 7.9 percent from a year ago – about twice the initial projected increase.

General-revenue collections through December 31 for FY2013 total $3.77 billion, up from $3.49 billion for the previous fiscal year that ended June 30.

Earlier this month, the consistently stronger-than-expected tax collections prompted state budget officials to up this fiscal year’s expected increase to 4.8 percent, compared to a year ago. The initial projections had called for a general revenue increase of 3.9 percent for FY2013, compared to FY2012.

https://www.stlbeacon.org/#!/content/28738/mobud_dec2012_010413?coverpage=2479

January 3, 2013

AL JAZEERA TO START NEW U.S.-BASED NEWS CHANNEL

New York – January 2, 2013

Al Jazeera Media Network announced that it will launch a new U.S.-based news channel that will provide both domestic news and international news for American audiences.

The Network has won numerous U.S. and international awards for its journalism and with more than 70 bureaus across the globe it has one of the largest bureau footprints and newsgathering forces of any news network in the world.

Al Jazeera Media Network also announced that it has acquired Current TV in the United States and that the new U.S.-based news channel will be available on Current’s distribution network when it is launched in 2013. There will be a transition from existing programming until the new Al Jazeera channel begins to air.

The new channel will be headquartered in New York City. In addition to the existing Al Jazeera news bureaus in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago, Al Jazeera will open additional bureaus in key locations across the United States. Al Jazeera’s expansion will double the network’s U.S.-based staff to more than 300 employees.

http://www.aljazeerausannouncement.com/

January 3, 2013

January 3, 1977 – Apple Computer is incorporated

Happy Birthday Apple!

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), formerly Apple Computer, Inc., is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Cupertino, California that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. Its best-known hardware products are the Mac line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad. Its software includes the OS X and iOS operating systems, the iTunes media browser, the Safari web browser, and the iLife and iWork creativity and production suites. The company was founded on April 1, 1976, and incorporated on January 3, 1977.[5] The word "Computer" was removed from its name on January 9, 2007, reflecting its shifted focus towards consumer electronics after the introduction of the iPhone.[6][7][8]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.

January 3, 2013

January 3, 1959 Alaska admitted at 49th State

Happy Birthday Alaska!

Alaska (i/əˈlæskə/) is a state in the United States, situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with the international boundary with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait. Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area, the 4th least populous and the least densely populated of the 50 United States. Approximately half of Alaska's 731,449[4] residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area.
Alaska was purchased from Russia on March 30, 1867, for $7.2 million ($120 million adjusted for inflation) at approximately two cents per acre ($4.74/km²). The land went through several administrative changes before becoming an organized (or incorporated) territory on May 11, 1912, and the 49th state of the U.S. on January 3, 1959.[6]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska

January 2, 2013

Report: Missouri loses $468M in online sales tax

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Missouri loses about $468 million per year in uncollected sales tax on purchases made over the Internet, according to researchers at the University of Missouri Truman School of Public Affairs.

The state misses the money in part because it hasn’t signed onto a 1999 agreement to simplify and encourage voluntary collection of sales taxes by e-commerce retailers, The Kansas City Star reported. Only about half of the states have signed the agreement.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that states cannot levy sales and use taxes on businesses that don’t have a store, office or other physical location in the state. Missouri consumers are technically required to pay taxes on purchases from outside the state, but almost none comply.

To remedy that situation, the National Governors Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures created the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax, which is meant to simplify sales tax collection across jurisdictions that have varying tax rates. The governing body for the Streamlined Sales agreement says about 1,400 retailers voluntarily collect sales taxes under the agreement.

http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Report-Missouri-loses-468M-in-online-sales-tax-185457871.html

January 1, 2013

A Happy, Safe, Peace Filled and

Prosperous 2013 to all the folks who subscribe or visit the Missouri Group.

Now time for