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Clean Energy November 13, 2018

Cold start: With $25M round set, ThermoLift ices test

By GREGORY ZELLER // A Stony Brook-based heat-pump innovator has completed a rigorous round of prototype testing – and, in the process, crushed a series of critical U.S. Department of Energy performance standards. ThermoLift, headquartered at Stony Brook University’s Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center and a member of the university’s Clean Energy Business Incubator Program, announced Tuesday that it’s wrapped up testing of its innovative, refrigerant-free natural-gas air conditioner and cold-climate heat pump technology…

Newsletters November 9, 2018

No. 356: Blacks in golf, women in Johns Hopkins and advanced aerospace manufacturing in Riverhead – thank you, veterans

Finishing strong: It’s Friday, dear readers – welcome to the end of another busy week of socioeconomic innovation and related delights. It’s Nov. 9 out there, and if you had the Jews aiding the Muslims – as charged by Egica, king of the Visigoths, at the Seventeenth Council of Toledo on this date in 694 AD – nice job. A hundred gold solidus for you. Salute: If today’s the ninth then Sunday’s Nov. 11, when…

Newsletters October 17, 2018

No. 349: Canada’s new high, Sikes’ new heights and LineaRX’s highest hopes (plus, repainting President Trump)

  Middle ground: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, and the halfway point of another exciting week of socioeconomic innovation. October 17 is in full swing, marking the 25th anniversary of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, a U.N. General Assembly effort to address shortages of basic necessities (i.e.: food, clothing, shelter) around the globe and reinforce the notion that poverty and human-rights abuses routinely coexist. Learn more here. Eye of the beholder: On…

Newsletters September 28, 2018

No. 344: Blowing in from Denmark, droning on at PSEG and star trekking in Garden City (plus, your Cocoa Puffs origin story) 

Friday morning and the mood is high: Welcome to the end of another busy workweek, dear readers. It’s Sept. 28 out there, and the first full weekend of autumn is upon us. Friday night and the lights are low: To get you in the proper mood, check out this list of the top 15 Friday songs, courtesy of our friends at MetroLyrics. Freedom rocks: It’s International Right to Know Day, the 16th anniversary of a…

Newsletters September 19, 2018

No. 341: Farming out east, divesting at Applied DNA and skipping the most important meal of the day (plus … Super Lawyers!)

Middle ground: Welcome to Wednesday, friends, and the midpoint of another busy workweek on beautiful Long Island. It’s Sept. 19 out there – Day 730 of the bitter Brangelina divorce proceedings, which kicked off when Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt two years ago today. Stay tuned. Shofar, so good: It started at sundown Tuesday and lasts through sundown today, when they’ll be blowing the ceremonial ram’s horn at synagogues around the world….

Opinion September 12, 2018

On LI, the electric-vehicle revolution is fully charged

By JOHN BILLARD // It’s National Drive Electric Week, and drivers across the country are showing off their electric vehicles. Americans are looking towards the future when it comes to their vehicles. According to a 2018 AAA survey, 20 percent of Americans want their next vehicle to be electric. Fortunately, the future of electric vehicles is only looking better and brighter than ever – particularly right here on Long Island. Last fall, Ford partnered with…

Workforce September 6, 2018

State pumps $15M into SUNY’s clean-energy programs

By GREGORY ZELLER // The state university system’s clean-energy workforce-development efforts have received an eight-digit shot in the arm. A $15 million state investment will bolster SUNY’s clean-energy workforce and training programs, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office, with $6 million heading to specific campus-based efforts – including several on Long Island – and an additional $9 million earmarked for colleges and universities planning apprenticeships and internships with industry partners. The funding is part of…

Newsletters August 24, 2018

No. 334: On waffles, NATO, Estée Lauder and ocean acidity – plus feeding healthier pets, one ingredient at a time

Mission accomplished: You set out on Monday to complete another summer workweek, dear readers, and here you are – it’s Friday, Aug. 24, and another well-earned weekend dawns. Listen to this: It’s also International Strange Music Day, an annual event designed to broaden musical tastes by getting people to listen to music they’ve never heard before. To that end, put your hands together for Swedish folktronica band Wintergatan, and the amazing marble music machine! Somehow,…

Clean Energy July 9, 2018

In Holtsville, a crowning clean-gen achievement

By GREGORY ZELLER // Long Island’s food-and-beverage king has completed an ambitious solar installation promising royal benefits – for itself, and for the regional power grid. Along with its partners at New York City-based EnterSolar, major league distributor J. Kings Food Service is celebrating its new 771-kilowatt rooftop solar installation, permanently affixed atop the 44-year-old titan’s Holstville headquarters. The distributor and the circa-2005 energy company were set to commemorate the solar system’s completion with a…

Newsletters June 20, 2018

No. 316: The winds of change blow at SBU, the BeerBox keeps tabs and Keith Hernandez steps up

Wednesday welcome: And a happy midweek to you, dear readers, as we hurtle together through an exciting (and blessedly summerlike) week of socioeconomic innovation. It’s June 20 all over the world. Here in the United States, it’s also American Eagle Day, the 236th anniversary of the date the U.S. Congress selected the bald eagle as our national bird. Now arriving: Before we dive in, a heartfelt welcome to freshly minted newsletter subscribers Jim, Tywana, Gerry,…

Clean Energy May 23, 2018

With 20 MWs (and counting), ‘Solarize’ initiative shines

By GREGORY ZELLER // A New York State program created to fund statewide solar-power initiatives is pumping out dollars and helping to pump up the Empire State’s supply of renewable megawatts. An update issued Wednesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office shows the NY-Sun Solarize Initiative, launched in 2014 and administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, has supported 81 different statewide campaigns through its first three rounds of funding – backing…

Newsletters May 23, 2018

No. 308: Turtles and horses, Disney and The Who, collegiate innovators and Colorforms for grown-ups

Almost there: That long weekend is so close you can taste it, dear readers – but for now it’s only Wednesday, and the midpoint of another busy week in Long Island socioeconomics. It’s May 23 out there – World Tortoise Day, as a matter of fact, an absolutely real event “shellebrating” the efforts of California-based nonprofit American Tortoise Rescue. Tortoise-shell frames would take another 200 years: But it was May 23, 1784, when founding father…

Newsletters May 18, 2018

No. 307: Big Brother beached, commencements classed-up and a big first for Hofstra/Northwell nurses

Nicely done: Kudos, dear reader, on once again rising above the mayhem and reaching the end of another busy work week. It’s May 18 out there – International Museum Day, for those keeping score. War, and remembrance: The then-Kingdom of Great Britain declared war on France on this date in 1756, kicking off the Seven Years War; on the same date in 1803, the United Kingdom declared war on France again, this time ticked off…

Newsletters May 16, 2018

No. 306: On root beer, cleantech, impressive Adelphi grads and The Spur’s summer of love

Welcome to Wednesday: And a very happy May 16 to you, dear readers – together, we’ve reached the midpoint of another busy week in Long Island innovation. By the way, it’s officially the 2018 Navigation Season along the 524-mile New York State Canal System, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo firing the starter’s pistol on Tuesday, or waving the green flag, or opening the gates, or whatever you do at the start of boating season. Popular misconception:…

Newsletters May 4, 2018

No. 303: On Audrey, yummy food photos, NYIT’s Long Island ambitions and May 4 in a galaxy far, far away

That’s a wrap: Welcome to Friday, dear readers, and the end of another busy week for the Long Island innovation economy. It’s May 4 – Memorial Day in Curaçao, Greenery Day in Japan and, here in the States, the 238th anniversary of the American Academy of Arts & Science, founded in Boston on this date in 1780. Charter members included John Adams, Samuel Adams, Samuel Phillips, Phillips Payson, Samuel Williams, Abraham Williams and several men…