Short and sweet: That sure didn’t feel like a shortened workweek, dear readers, rather a full-on socioeconomic sprint – and here you are, huffing, puffing and ready for another well-earned weekend.
Catch your breath, and let’s finish with a flourish.
That’s a wrap: This is NOT cheese, especially on National Cheese Day.
Slice off the old block: It’s June 4 out there, which stinks, and well it should – it’s National Cheese Day!
And eat it, too: Not gouda enough? Too bleu? Craving something better than cheddar? Have your cake, then – the first Friday in June is also National Donut Day.
And wash down them crullers with some dandy brandy – June 4 is also National Cognac Day, celebrating the distilled wine from the famous French commune.
Louis, Louis: Pasteur, institutionalized.
Pasteurized: Speaking of French innovation, the Institut Pasteur – founder Louis Pasteur’s home base for the research of infectious diseases and still a leading international nonprofit foundation – was established by decree on this date in 1887.
Pay day: Massachusetts inked the first-ever U.S. minimum-wage law, focused mainly on women and children, on June 4, 1912.
Grand prizes: The first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded by the Columbia University School of Journalism on this date in 1917, funded by a $250,000 stipend in the will of late newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer (who also funded the launch of the journalism school itself).
Pulitzer specifically endowed four awards in journalism, four in letters and drama and one in education, along with four “traveling scholarships.”
Add to cart: Wheeled shopping carts rolled out on this date in 1937, introduced by Oklahoma’s Humpty Dumpty supermarket chain.
Child’s play: And the youngest person to ever receive a U.S. patent, 6-year-old Robert Patch, locked up his “Toy Truck” – which could be disassembled and reassembled in various configurations – 58 years ago today.
Unable to write his name yet, the tyke signed his patent application with an “X.”
Floating an idea: English engineer Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910-1999) – a radio, radar and electronics researcher who covered new ground (or water, as it were) as the “father of the hovercraft” – would be 111 years old today.
Intestinal fortitude: Gorilla Monsoon faces The Greatest in 1976.
Also born on June 4 were German chemist and economist Johann Beckmann (1739-1811), who coined the word “technology” and turned agriculture into a science; French chemist Jean Antoine Claude Chaptal (1756-1832), who authored the very first textbook of industrial chemistry; German-American seismologist Beno Gutenberg (1889-1960), who shook up the science of earthquakes; Australian writer Elizabeth Jolley (1923-2007), a literary legend who blossomed late; and pro wrestling goon-turned-good guy-turned beloved broadcaster Robert Marella (1937-1999), remembered best as Gorilla Monsoon.
The doctor is in: And take a bow, Karola Ruth Westheimer! The German-American Holocaust survivor, author, Israeli paramilitary sniper (!) and media personality – arguably the world’s most famous sex therapist – turns 93 today.
Give Dr. Ruth and all the other June 4 innovators your best at editor@innovateli.com, where news tips and calendar events always make us a little frisky.
About our sponsor: For more than 15 years, Communication Strategy Group has been helping B2B technology, manufacturing and professional-services firms build and share strong brand stories that stand up and stand out in a sea of vanilla messages. Grab a free copy of our eBook, “Brandtelling® for Business,” then expand your brand with a Brandtelling consultation.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Generating buzzer: If you thought facing down the COVID-19 pandemic was hard, try standing up to Simon Cowell.
That’s exactly what the Northwell Health Nurse Choir, featuring 18 frontline providers from across New York’s largest healthcare system, did this week, taking the stage in the season premiere of “America’s Got Talent” and performing for legendary curmudgeon Cowell and fellow judges Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandell. The choir, including 13 female nurses and five male nurses, wowed the wildly appreciative audience (and the panel) with its rendition of “Stand By Me” – even Cowell, who didn’t dare criticize this time.
The NHNC didn’t merely move on to the next round: Mandell, who praised the nurses as “the world’s heroes,” punched his once-per-season “Golden Buzzer,” giving the choir a ticket straight to the competition’s live-performance rounds, scheduled for this summer in Hollywood, where a $1 million grand prize will be on the line (worth noting: Mandell’s 2020 “Golden Buzzer” pick, poet Brandon Leake, won it all). “We know that there’s a lot of you there that are still hurting,” Winnie Mele, Plainview Hospital’s director of Perioperative Services, told the judges and the audience. “We’re hoping to shoot out some joy and some love and to let them know that we found our resilience, and we’re hoping that they do as well.”
Hard to port: But easier for the Portledge School to expand, with the Nassau County Local Economic Assistance Corp.’s help.
Prep rally: A private Locust Valley college-preparatory school will maximize its $12 million expansion plan with the help of the Nassau County Local Economic Assistance Corp.
The LEAC has approved the issuance of tax-exempt bonds for the Portledge School, a low-cost financing option that will assist with the construction of a 20,000-square-foot athletic and wellness center, the addition of new classroom space and the completion of pedestrian-focused safety enhancements in the school’s parking area. The infrastructure effort, which will expand the K-12 school’s offerings and allow Portledge to service more students, is slated to break ground in the coming weeks and be completed in about a year.
Nassau County LEAC Chief Executive Officer Harry Coghlan said the corporation was proud to assist “an important educational institution that works to develop Nassau County’s future workforce,” while Head of School Simon Owen-Williams noted the circa-1965 prep school was grateful for the favorable financing. “With this assistance from the Nassau County Local Economic Assistance Corp., we can enhance the academic excellence we strive for each day,” Owen-Williams said Thursday.
TOP OF THE SITE
Inflation consternation: Construction and energy are booming, but rising costs worry execs across the board, according to the latest CEO survey from Marcum and Hofstra.
All aboard (almost): The $11 billion East Side Access megaproject, plugging the Long Island Rail Road into NYC’s Grand Central Terminal, is one big step closer to complete.
Expanding the ’cast: “Chief brandteller” Arthur Germain of the Communication Strategy Group has interesting stories to tell – and he does, on the latest episode of Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast.
ICYMI
Meet your new favorite functional beverage and your way-more-accurate mechanized meteorologist.
BEST OF THE WEST (AND SOMETIMES NORTH/SOUTH)
Innovate LI’s inbox overrunneth with inspirational innovations from all North American corners. This week’s brightest out-of-towners:
From Georgia: Atlanta-based high-tech construction spinoff Aptitude computes digital and physical connectivity solutions for commercial spaces.
From Florida: Miami-based parking-automation pacesetter PARKPLUS snags contract for world’s biggest and tallest robotic parking system.
From Washington State: Redmond-based business surveyor SWOOP Analytics reveals the top habits of Microsoft Teams “digital super teams.”
ON THE MOVE
Joseph Brown
+ The Hauppauge-based King Kullen Grocery Co. has announced two executive promotions:
- Joseph Brown has been named the company’s new president and chief operating officer. A former president of King Kullen subsidiary Wild by Nature, he most recently was the parent company’s executive vice president.
- Bernard Kennedy has been named executive vice president, chief administrative officer and secretary. An attorney, he most recently was King Kullen’s senior vice president for corporate and legal affairs.
+ The Old Westbury-based New York Institute of Technology has announced a number of Board of Trustees appointments:
- Peter Romano, president and founder of Bellport-based Peter J. Romano & Co., has been named chairman.
- Michael Merlo, former chief credit officer of New York City-based Signature Bank, was reelected as vice chairman.
- Dan Ferrara, Northeast regional president of Maryland-based Alteon Health, was elected to his first term as vice chairman.
- Santhosh Keshavan, executive vice president and chief information officer at New York City-based Voya Financial, has been elected as a new trustee.
- Kevin Silva, executive vice president and chief human resources officer at New York City-based Voya Financial, will become a trustee emeritus.
+ Dorothy Renz has been promoted to partner at Uniondale-based Duffy & Duffy. Renz, who previously served as an associate, practices personal injury law with a concentration in medical malpractice.
+ Marc Saracino has joined Ronkonkoma-based Campolo, Middleton & McCormick as a corporate associate. He was previously an associate at Manhattan-based Milbank LLP.
BELOW THE FOLD
Back to the future: Coming soon to a Tesla station near you?
Past: Elon Musk’s charging-station diners might take a bite out of the 1950s.
Present: Are pandemic-flavored unemployment benefits causing a labor shortage?
Future: Why going back to the pre-COVID “normal” just isn’t good enough.
Timeless: Please continue supporting the amazing agencies that support Innovate LI, including the Communication Strategy Group, where it’s always a great day for a good story. Check them out.
