See you in September: Here we go, dear readers – summer is (unofficially) over, meteorological fall has (officially) begun and we’re embracing those three syllables that send chills down every schoolkid’s spine.
Yes, it’s September – Sept. 1, to be precise – and to help us kick off the new month, please welcome to our stage … The Happenings!
Class schedule: With school buses rolling, this quick scheduling note – Innovate Long Island will be observing the (very late) Labor Day weekend ahead, so no Calendar Newsletter on Monday the 6th.
Watch for your regular Friday newsletter. We’ll be back on the beat Tuesday the 7th.
Here’s a tip: Burnt ends are just the beginning of a great BBQ.
No rhyme: What do “purple,” “wolf,” “silver” and “dangerous” have in common? That’s right … they have no rhyme, at least in the English language.
There are dozens more rhymeless words – and we celebrate them all on National No Rhyme or Reason Day.
No reason: September 1 is actually replete with reasonless observances – it’s also National Acne Positivity Day (when spotted teens can fearlessly face the world), National Chicken Boy Day (celebrating a 22-foot fried chicken statue in California) and National Burnt Ends Day (honoring the smoky edges of your barbecued beef).
Bleak Carrington: Speaking of charred ends, the Carrington Event – among the first solar flares ever recorded, sparking the largest geomagnetic storm known to strike the Earth – occurred on this date in 1859.
Blazing with the energy of 10 billion atomic bombs, the flare coated Earth with electrified gas and subatomic particles that blew up telegraph machines and filled global skies with colorful auroras.
From the weather desk: Weather forecasting became a thing on Sept. 1, 1869, when Cincinnati-based meteorologist Cleveland Abbe issued his first 48-hour weather “probabilities” report.
Abbe, often referred to as “Old Probability,” is remembered as the Father of the National Weather Service.
Standing room only: America’s first public subway makes its rounds beneath Beantown.
Underway: America’s first public subway opened 124 years ago today, carrying passengers beneath downtown Boston.
IP without borders: Now based in Switzerland and still protecting inventors’ rights around the globe, the International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys – known first at the International Federation of Patent Agents – formed in Italy on Sept. 1, 1906.
Upton their usual tricks: And it was this date in 1997 when scientists at Upton-based Brookhaven National Laboratory announced the discovery of the “exotic meson” – an unusual subatomic particle thought to hold the universe together.
Life’s a Beach: American inventor, publisher and patent lawyer Alfred Ely Beach (1826-1896) – who designed a New York City subway predecessor, patented a typewriter for the blind and created Scientific American magazine, still chronicling science fact – would be 195 years old today.
A piece of the Rock: Marciano explains things to Jersey Joe Walcott.
Also born on Sept. 1 were American business tycoon Mark Hopkins Jr. (1814-1878), a modest New York City bookkeeper before he helped found the Central Pacific Railroad; Brazilian painter Tarsila do Amaral (1886-1973), a leading Latin American modernist; primo pugilist Rocco Francis Marchegiano (1923-1969), remembered best as the undefeated Rocky Marciano; American publisher, educator and composer Ruth White (1925-2013), a pioneer of electronic music; and controversial American psychologist, author and TV personality Phil McGraw (born 1950), known globally as “Dr. Phil.”
Funny business: And take a bow, Mary Jean “Lily” Tomlin! The Emmy-, Grammy- and Tony award-winning American actress, comedian, writer, singer and producer – who broke out on “Laugh-In” and never looked back – turns 82 today.
Give the multitalented performer your best at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips and calendar events always bring a smile – and help keep our audience endlessly entertained.
About our sponsor: Presberg Law P.C. is Long Island’s premier “IDA” and business-law firm for businesses locating, relocating and expanding on Long Island. Founded in 1984, this multigenerational practice focuses on the purchase, sale, leasing and financing of commercial and industrial real estate, SBA and other loan transactions, construction projects and business sales and acquisitions.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Train of thought: A powerful consortium of Long Island business-networking groups is urging the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to prioritize the proposed relocation of the Long Island Rail Road’s Yaphank station.
In an Aug. 30 letter to MTA Acting Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber, the leaders of the Long Island Association, the HIA-LI, the Long Island Builders Institute, the Association for a Better Long Island and the Long Island Contractors’ Association stress that relocating the existing Yaphank station east of its current location – and either electrifying the line or juicing it with “new battery power technology” – would help the MTA better serve East End communities, better support regional businesses and boost nearby Brookhaven National Laboratory, “a critical economic-development asset for our region,” according to the letter.
The note – cc’d to Gov. Kathy Hochul, Long Island Rail Road President Philip Eng and other regional rainmakers – references an already-completed feasibility study on the potential relocation and a healthy $20 million state stipend already earmarked for the work. “We recommend that the project commences immediately,” write signatories Terri Alessi-Miceli (HIA-LI), Matt Cohen (LIA), Marc Herbst (LICA), Mitch Pally (LIBI) and Kyle Strober (ABLI), who trumpet such advantages as increased LIRR ridership, improved access to BNL and stimulated economic development along the William Floyd Corridor.
Plenty of good seats available: Comfy confines (and social distancing) abound inside the new Stony Brook University Student Union.
A more perfect union: After a year-plus of pandemic-flavored remote learning, Stony Brook University has highlighted the start of the Fall 2021 semester – and a return to campus life – with the opening of its newly renovated Student Union.
Following a three-year, $63.4 million refurbishment, the 177,000-square-foot union features comfortable spaces dedicated to student services and activities, including a spacious main lobby, an IT help desk and more than 3,500 square feet of tutoring space. The university’s new Office of Student Life – combining the divisions of Student Community Development, Commuter Student Services, Fraternity & Sorority Life and Student Engagement & Activities – is headquartered in the union, as are resources ranging from an E-Sports Club to the Stony Brook Food Pantry to SBU’s new Science Fiction Forum.
Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis said it was “so satisfying … to be honoring a space entirely dedicated to our community” after 18 months-plus of COVID disruptions, while SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras – who attended the Student Union’s Aug. 25 ribbon-cutting ceremony – noted “renewed energy and optimism” surrounding the state-of-the-art facility. “Our students deserve this,” Malatras noted. “It matches the outstanding education they receive from this university, one of the best in the world.”
POD PEOPLE
Episode 7: Mitch Pally, bridge builder.
Eighty years later, the Long Island Builders Institute is still advocating for responsible construction practices and environmental balance, and after a decade-plus, Mitch Pally is still at the wheel. Learn the secrets of LIBI’s success straight from one of the Island’s great innovators – just one of the amazing conversations highlighting Season 1 of Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast.
TOP OF THE SITE
Mars attracts: A St. Joseph’s College biology professor is jetting to Moscow on a long and difficult mission to help future NASA astronauts trek to Mars.
The tough get going: New York’s new governor won’t shrink from a fight – as shown by her admittedly “controversial” decisions regarding COVID in schools.
Click thinking: Three entertaining, uber-informative innovation newsletters every week? Straight to your inbox? Just by clicking here? Brilliant!
VOICES
From the Mix and Match Department comes the latest insightful entry from Voices marketing master David Chauvin, executive vice president of ZE Creative Communications. who says COVID-19 all but ended the traditional 9-5 office environment – and post-pandemic business managers need to get on board with hybrid models combining in-office and remote work.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Public: The head of the world’s coolest innovation lab is focused on … public policy?!? Fast Co. explains.
Private: China’s draconian videogame limits are a blow to “capitalist excesses” in a communist regime. The Wall Street Journal examines.
Public-private: It will take public-private partnerships to achieve global vaccination goals. The Brookings Institution explores.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ DealerPolicy, a Vermont-based insurance marketplace for automotive retailers, raised $110 million in Series C funding led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Growth Equity business, with participation from existing investors 3L Capital and Hudson Structured Capital Management.
+ Misha’s Kind Foods, a California-based dairy-alternative manufacturer, raised $3 million in seed funding led by Marcy Ventures Partners Fund II, with participation from L.P., Chris Paul and Lisa Shamus & Partners.
+ Known Medicine, a Utah-based biotech focused on 3D cell-culture datasets, raised $7.2 million in seed funding led by Caffeinated Capital, Khosla Ventures, Cota Capital, Kickstart, Forward VC, OATV, Y Combinator, Chris Gibson and Nish Bhat.
+ Felux, an Ohio-based B2B marketplace and supply-chain platform for the steel industry and other industrial complexes, raised $5.1 million in seed funding led by Expa, with participation from 8VC and Lightbank.
+ Antidote Health, a New York City-based B2C telehealth provider focused on uninsured and underinsured Americans, raised $12 million in seed funding led by iAngels, Well-Tech Ventures and Flint Capital, with participation from other angel investors.
+ Icon, a Texas-based manufacturer of robotics and related software for advanced construction, raised $207 million in series B financing led by Norwest Venture Partners, with participation from 8VC, BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, BOND, Citi, Crosstimbers, Ensemble, Fifth Wall, LENx, Moderne Ventures and Oakhouse Partners.
BELOW THE FOLD
Flow chart: The Mississippi River temporarily reversed its course Sunday, when powerful Hurricane Ida made landfall.
Reverse course: How Hurricane Ida reversed the flow of the Mighty Mississippi.
Reverse engineering: How to copy other people’s success stories.
Reverse thinking: Why coffee makes some people sleepy.
Full ahead: Please continue supporting the amazing firms that support Innovate Long Island, including Presberg Law, where relentless progress on real-estate law keeps things moving forward. Check them out.
