On the clock: Welcome to Friday, dear readers, and not just any Friday but the last one where you’ll see much daylight past 5 p.m., at least for the next few months – Daylight Savings ends at 2 a.m. Sunday and so-called “Standard Time,” which now lasts only 18 weeks, begins.
Of course, that means we get an extra hour of weekend, and you’ve earned it. But first, we’ve got a workweek to finish – let’s clock out with style!
A little rusty: A day for carrot-tops, both figural and literal.
You know the face: It’s Nov. 5 out there, and to our many readers across the United Kingdom, we wish you a festive Guy Fawkes Day (a.k.a. Bonfire Night), the annual commemoration of the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
You know the hair: Here in the States, it’s a big day for bloodnuts and barristers – Nov. 5 is National Redhead Day, celebrating carrot-tops, and the first Friday of November is National Love Your Lawyer Day, lauding legal eagles.
Sufferin’ suffragettes! Speaking of lawyers, social reformer Susan B. Anthony illegally voted in the U.S. presidential election on this date in 1872 and was subsequently arrested.
She avoided prosecution. And for the record, Utah (in 1895) – and later Arizona, Kansas and Wisconsin (in 1912) – all voted to approve women’s suffrage on Nov. 5.
Curie-ouser and Curie-ouser: Another woman before her time (or right on time, depending on your view), Marie Salomea Skłodowska “Madame” Curie, enrolled to study at the Sorbonne University in Paris on Nov. 5, 1891.
Precisely 15 years later, on this date in 1906, Curie became the first woman to lecture at the prestigious university.
Driving force: Selden, with his hand on the wheel, cruises in 1905.
Gas guzzlers: New York patent lawyer and inventor George Selden earned a U.S. patent 126 years ago today for the first gasoline-powered automobile. (Not to be outdone, master automotive innovator Henry Ford patented his improved Motor Carriage six years later to the day, on Nov. 5, 1901.)
The scenic route: Forty-nine days (and more than 70 landings and crash-landings) after he took off from Sheepshead Bay, pioneering aviator Calbraith Rodgers landed his Wright Brothers Model EX biplane in Pasadena, Calif., on this date in 1911, completing the first transcontinental airplane flight.
Third time’s the charm: And Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first (and only) U.S. President elected to a third term on Nov. 5, 1940, defeating Republican candidate Wendell Willkie.
Raising the Fixins Bar: American singer, actor and television host Roy Rogers (1911-1998) – the “King of the Cowboys” and namesake of the Roy Rogers restaurant chain (he received a licensing fee and even made personal appearances) – would be 110 years old today.
Jackie Go: Aerial ace Auriol.
Also born on Nov. 5 were American manufacturer James Packard (1863-1928), who founded the Packard Automobile Co. and the Packard Electric Co.; American writer, historian and philosopher Will Durant (1885-1981), a Pulitzer Prize and Medal of Freedom winner who told “The Story of Civilization”; American astronomer Fred Whipple (1906-2004), who correctly recognized comets as “dirty snowballs”; British silver screen icon Vivien Leigh (1913-1967), who breathed life into Blanche DuBois and Scarlett O’Hara; and legendary French aviator Jacqueline Auriol (1917-2000), a fearless test pilot and longtime “fastest woman in the world.”
Folk hero: And take a bow, Arthur Ira “Art” Garfunkel! The American singer, poet and actor – known best for his game-changing 1960s folk-rock collaboration with Paul Simon – turns 80 today.
You, Mrs. Robinson and the rest of America can wish the legendary performer well at editor@innovateli.com, where your story tips and calendar events are like a Bridge Over Troubled Water (and way better than The Sound of Silence).
About our sponsor: For more than 15 years, Brandtelling 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 copy of their eBook Brandtelling® for Business, then expand your brand with an Open Book Session.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Art center: Colorful conception of Ronkonkoma Hub’s coming-soon Phase Two.
There’s the Hub: The ballyhooed Ronkonkoma Hub project is picking up speed, with state officials on Wednesday announcing the groundbreaking for pivotal Phase Two.
Phase Two of East Setauket-based Tritec Real Estate’s $700 million mixed-use development – which is supported by $50 million in Empire State Development Corp. capital grants – will create 388 housing units, roughly 73,000 square feet of commercial space and more than 15,000 square feet of office space. All told, the 53-acre Hub project is targeting 1,450 residences (all in multifamily structures) and 615,000 square feet of office, retail and hospitality space; Phase One, the 500-unit “apartment community” Alston Station Square, was completed in March 2020, with Phase Two targeted for 2024.
The Hub – designed to reinvigorate a blighted Town of Brookhaven corridor between the Long Island Rail Road’s Ronkonkoma Station and the Town of Islip-owned Long Island MacArthur Airport – “builds on ESD’s commitment to transformational economic opportunities,” according to Empire State Development Corp. Chief Operating Officer Kevin Younis. “This project will generate new residential and commercial spaces, supporting thousands of construction and permanent jobs within the community while helping to catalyze regional economic growth,” Younis added.
Good sports: A premier sportswear manufacturer will invest $33.7 million in the purchase and renovation of a 167,729-square-foot Bay Shore building, with help from the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency.
The Suffolk IDA has announced preliminary approval for a tax-abatement package benefitting David Peyser Sportswear, a multi-brand conglomerate that manufactures, imports and distributes men’s and women’s sportswear, outerwear and related accessories. The purchase/renovation project aims to significantly increase the circa-1948 company’s regional footprint – it already owns multiple neighboring properties and employs more than 275 people across Suffolk County – with 50 new employees and $2 million tacked onto its existing $11.4 million annual payroll.
The renovation of 100 Spence St. is slated to include HVAC improvements, electrical/mechanical upgrades, new plumbing, a repaved parking lot and more – a comprehensive project that might not have happened without the IDA incentives (which must still undergo a review process and final vote), according to David Peyser Sportwear CEO Elliot Peyser. “We consider our workers a part of [our] family,” the CEO said in a statement. “IDA assistance in this project will expand our ability to provide top-quality products as well as improve the working environment and services for our hundreds of employees.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Power play: With an off-the-charts crowdfunding campaign and a new business-development ace up its sleeve, vanadium-flow battery innovator StorEn Technologies is soaring toward commercialization.
Extra credit: An insider shares everything startups – and all other businesses, in all industries – need to know about applying and qualifying for the federal R&D tax credit.
Hamilton soundtrack: Founding Father? No. But he’s like a father to the founders of dozens of regional startups – David Hamilton joins Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast to discuss sustainability, advanced energy and the perils of business formation.
ICYMI
UpSkill NY formats a future workforce; Stony Brook University fêtes a familiar face.
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 Nevada: Las Vegas-based cold-weather outfitter Ororo Heated Apparel warms outdoors enthusiasts with new line of heated hunting gear.
From California: Santa Monica-based automaton advancer Ottonomy rolls out service ’bots for contactless food delivery across Los Angeles.
From Michigan: Farmington Hills-based commercial-stage biotech Renew Bioscience earns FDA “breakthrough” status for novel Alzheimer’s treatment.
ON THE MOVE
Fidel Valea
+ Fidel Valea has been appointed system chief of gynecologic oncology at New Hyde Park-based Northwell Health and director of gynecologic oncology at the Northwell Health Cancer Institute. He previously served as chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.
+ Ellen Hanes has been promoted to sales manager in the Locust Valley office of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty. She was previously assistant sales manager.
+ Kim Perry has been appointed project administrator for the Southold-based Sea Tow Foundation. She was previously a freelance graphic designer.
+ Krista Legge has been named director of special education for the East Islip School District. She was previously the assistant director of pupil personnel services for the Rocky Point School District.
+ Brightwaters-based Sheehan & Company has announced two CPA promotions: Jonathan Beekman is now a manager and Kimberly Toole is now a supervisor.
BELOW THE FOLD (Season’s Greetings Edition)
Live with it: Don’t get SAD, get glad.
Spring fling: After a “modest winter increase,” U.S. experts now expect COVID to enter an endemic phase by April.
Fall forward: The DoE’s Fall 2021 solicitation is all about High-Performance Computing For Energy Innovation.
Winter is coming: Instead of hating the cold and the darkness, here’s how to make the best of it.
Well-seasoned: Please continue supporting the amazing agencies that support Innovate Long Island, including Brandtelling, where a decade-and-a-half of storytelling experience spices up your marketing menu, all year long. Check them out.
