That was close: Henri changed course just in time – and thank goodness for that, dear readers, because these busy workweeks are trying enough.
Instead of cursing doom-and-gloom forecasters or embracing nonsensical conspiracy theories about retailers, let’s try to remember that predicting storm impacts is not an exact science – and we were, in fact, very lucky. This time.
Lickety split: If you’re not licking the bottom of the bowl, you’re doing something wrong.
Split decision: However you see it, we’re undeniably at the midpoint of this latest week of socioeconomic innovation – today is Wednesday, Aug. 25, when our readers in Uruguay celebrate their Independence Day, our followers in France mark Liberation Day and our Brazilian brethren mark Soldier’s Day.
Here in the States, nothing quite so noble – though it is National Whiskey Sour Day and National Banana Split Day, an intriguing combination for sure.
Closer look: The Council of Venice might have thought Galileo was bananas – until Aug. 25, 1609, when he made a public demonstration of his fantastic telescope.
For those keeping score, Galileo greatly advanced telescopic science – but the spyglass was actually invented by Dutch eyeglass maker Hans Lippershey.
Fake news: No telescopes were involved in The Great Moon Hoax, which began 186 years ago today with the first of six articles published by the New York Sun newspaper (picture the modern New York Post, without the elegance and intellect) claiming astronomers had discovered life on the moon – including unicorns and winged humanoids.
Seed fund: The money would come later – but it was this date in 1840 when Michigan inventor Joseph Gibbons earned a U.S. patent for the first field-seeding machine.
Yellow fever: Some ideas stand the test of time.
Taxi! Marking a trend that would last more than a century, the Yellow Cab Company – known first as the Shaw Livery Company – was founded on Aug. 25, 1910, in Chicago.
CAT fancy: And it was this date in 1973 when the first Computer Assisted Tomography scan was performed, using a series of X-rays to create sequential images of body tissue.
Today, more than 80 million CAT scans are performed annually in the United States.
He had your number: American inventor and businessman Arnold Neustadter (1910-1996) – who made his bones inventing office equipment, including the ubiquitous Rolodex rotating card file – would be 111 years old today.
The spy we loved: The first (and for many, best ) 007 of them all.
Also born on Aug. 25 were German physiologist and pathologist Martin Heinrich Rathke (1793-1860), a founder of modern embryology; American businessman and philanthropist James Lick (1796-1876), a real estate investor and land baron who gave his name – and a small fortune – to California’s famous Lick Observatory; American inventor Joshua Lionel Cowen (1880-1965), who invented electric model trains and founded the Lionel Corp.; American tennis player Althea Gibson (1927-2003), the first African American to win a Grand Slam title; and Scottish actor Sir Sean Connery (1930-2020), who defined Bond – and that was just for starters.
Dough Ray: And take a bow, Rachael Domenica Ray! The Emmy Award-winning, best-selling, uber-successful American TV personality, businesswoman, celebrity cook and author – whose net worth now eclipses $100 million – turns 53 today.
Give the well-seasoned entertainer your best at editor@innovateli.com, where our recipe for success begins with your news tips and calendar events.
About our sponsor: Farrell Fritz, a full-service law firm with 15 practice groups, advises startups on entity formation, founder and shareholder agreements, funding, executive compensation and benefits, licensing and technology transfer, mergers and acquisitions and other strategic transactions. The firm’s blog, New York Venture Hub, discusses legal and business issues facing entrepreneurs and investors
BUT FIRST, THIS
Best shot: From the Mightier Than the Sword file comes Long Island Association President Matthew Cohen, who has once again loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift pen in support of an issue near and dear to the LIA.
Cohen, who became LIA president this spring, has already penned letters to billionaires Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Richard Branson (supporting the notion of Long Island as a space-tourism hub) and to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY 10), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee (blasting proposed federal antitrust laws). On Monday, Capt. Correspondence struck again, circulating an open letter imploring members of the Long Island business community to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and to urge their employees to do the same.
In the letter (distributed via Twitter), Cohen cites both personal and commercial concerns, invoking “our family members, friends and neighbors” and “your town’s Main Street” and noting that the pandemic “plunged our region into the worst economic downturn in modern history” in 2020. “Our economy is on the rebound and there is light at the end of the tunnel,” Cohen writes. “But there is only one way to reach it: We all need to get vaccinated.”
Back in the saddle: A frequent benefactor has stepped up for Pal-O-Mine Equestrian, once again.
Horse sense: An Islandia-based nonprofit that incorporates horses in comprehensive therapeutic programs for children and adults with disabilities has received a saddlebag’s worth of gold from a generous – and frequent – supporter.
Pal-O-Mine Equestrian, a circa-1995 organization that maintains a herd of therapy horses and other livestock, has announced a $100,000 donation from the Ike, Molly & Steven Elias Foundation, part of the New York City-based Jewish Communal Fund. The Elias Foundation has galloped to the nonprofit’s rescue on several previous occasions, including a $115,142 grant issued in 2019 (for a state-of-the-art horse-watering system) and a $35,000 grant issued in 2017 (in support of various educational and training programs).
The new grant, announced last week, will support ongoing equine-therapy programs for children, military veterans and other Pal-O-Mine clients. “Even during this unprecedented pandemic … we have benefitted from the loyal support of organizations like the Ike, Molly & Steven Elias Foundation,” said Pal-O-Mine founder Lisa Gatti. “Not only are the funds vital to our programs and ability to help many more individuals, but their continuous support lets us know that they place a high value on our therapeutic equine programs.”
POD PEOPLE
Episode 5: Debra Markowitz, screen gem.
The now-playing, ninth-annual Chain NYC Film Festival features three films by writer/director Debra Markowitz. How did the emerging Merrick-based moviemaker transition so smoothly from her longtime role as Nassau County film commissioner? Find out on Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast – and that’s just one of our amazing Season 1 conversations. Grab your popcorn and listen in!
TOP OF THE SITE
Emissions mission: Powered by a $2.2 million federal grant, Stony Brook University will join Brookhaven National Laboratory on a quest for better electric-vehicle batteries.
International support: With skilled-workforce demands rising, Irish conglomerate Johnson Controls is bolstering Suffolk County Community College’s HVAC program.
Team effort: Help us help you by sharing this awesome newsletter with your entire innovation team – then tell them to get their own free-and-easy subscription, for criminy’s sake.
VOICES
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the American workforce’s viewpoint and priorities, forcing employers to change their perspectives, too. Fortunately, Voices nonprofits anchor Jeffrey Reynolds, president and CEO of the Garden City-based Family and Children’s Association, has some constructive suggestions on where to start.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Real monopoly: How Big Tech crushes online competition and stifles innovation. Newsweek rocks the boat.
Real rollercoaster: How the story of amusement parks is analogous to the story of America. Vox takes a ride.
Real dangerous: Meet 13 inventors drowned, poisoned or otherwise killed by their own inventions. Gizmodo risks it all.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Koop Technologies, a Pennsylvania-based insurance-tech startup specializing in autonomous vehicle and robotics risks, raised $2.5 million in seed funding led by Ubiquity Ventures, Bee Partners, Sure Ventures, WestWave Capital and numerous strategic angel investors.
+ Gross-Wen Technologies, an Iowa-based wastewater-treatment biotech, raised $6.5 million in Series A funding led by ISA Ventures and the Iowa Farm Bureau’s Rural Vitality Fund, with participation from Next Level Ventures, Mid-American Angels, Ankeny Angels, Ag Startup Engine, Oman Ventures and 1330 Investments.
+ RepairSmith, a California-based tech startup offering mobile solutions for automotive repair and maintenance, raised $42 million in Series B funding. Backers included TI Capital, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche Ventures and Spring Mountain Capital.
+ Jnana Therapeutics, a Massachusetts-based biotech targeting a chemoproteomic platform on SLC transporters, closed a $50 million Series B financing led by RA Capital Management, with participation from Polaris Partners, Versant Ventures, Avalon Ventures, AbbVie Ventures and Pfizer Ventures.
+ Rapid Robotics, a California-based manufacturer of robotic machine operators, raised $36.7 million in Series B funding led by Kleiner Perkins and Tiger Global, with participation from existing investors NEA, Greycroft, Bee Partners and 468 Capital.
+ Covera Health, a New York City-based healthcare-analytics company, raised $25 million in Series C funding led by Insight Partners, with participation from Equity Group Investment.
BELOW THE FOLD (Quick Getaway Edition)
The End: The famous Montauk Point Lighthouse, a top Long Island daytrip destination.
Book it: Eight bookstores and libraries where you can spend the night.
Make it quick: Long Island’s best daytrip destinations.
Make it count: Avoid these mistakes during your hometown staycation.
Start it up: Please continue supporting the amazing firms that support Innovate Long Island, including Farrell Fritz, where startup formation is just the beginning of an exceptional business-building experience. Check them out.
