Here comes the weekend: Welcome to Friday, dear readers, as another autumnal workweek draws to a close – to carry it home and rev you up right, please welcome the one and only Dave Edmunds!
It’s a rainy Nov. 12 on Long Island, but before we can wrap ourselves in the warm blanket of a well-earned weekend, we must wrap up this latest socioeconomic sprint – so pull on your slickers and let’s do it.
Juice press: Take a French dip today.
Gives you the chills: Here’s a cold truth – Nov. 12 is World Pneumonia Day, an annual awareness campaign focused on the world’s deadliest infectious killer.
Warms you up right: Much more pleasant are the Nov. 12 menu selections – today is National French Dip Day (with “real au jus sauce,” as Cosmo Kramer would say) and National Pizza With the Works Except Anchovies Day (hold the salty little fishes, thank you).
It’s also Chicken Soup For the Soul Day, which is more about the soul than the soup, but there’s no law against eating the soup.
Edited for content: Also good for the soul is Emily Dickinson’s pulchritudinous prose, introduced to the world in “Poems,” the first collection of her works, published posthumously on this date in 1890 (Dickinson died in 1886).
Spoiler alert: According to historians, the poems were heavily edited by an ambitious editor.
Tunnel vision: Also heavily amended was the New York/New Jersey-connecting Holland Tunnel, which opened to vehicular traffic on Nov. 12, 1927, after 11 different plan revisions and five years of sub-Hudson River construction.
Nessie business: Speaking of underwater marvels, the Loch Ness Monster became a thing on this date in 1933, when Scotsman Hugh Gray – on his way home from church, as the story goes – snapped the first-ever picture of Nessie.
Catch a Buzz: Aldrin, lightyears ahead on selfies.
Selfies in spaaaaace: Way above sea level was astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who snapped the first “space selfie” on Nov. 12, 1966, floating outside the Gemini XII spacecraft.
Like Sandford and Son, with rockets: And in other spacewalking news, NASA astronauts conducted the first salvage operation in space on this date in 1984, reeling a malfunctioning satellite into the Space Shuttle Discovery’s cargo bay.
Two days later, during the same flight, mission specialists conducted another extravehicular operation to capture a second wayward satellite. Both faulty orbiters were safely returned to Earth for repairs.
Air-to-air missiles and other playthings: American designer and inventor John W. “Jack” Ryan (1926-1991) – a guided-missile pioneer-turned-Mattel executive credited with creating the Barbie Doll, Hot Wheels cars and other all-time toys – would be 95 years old today.
Kelly: Hollywood royalty.
Also born on Nov. 12 were French-Canadian nurse Jeanne Mance (1606-1673), who co-founded Montreal and the first hospital in North America; Scottish surgeon Sir Charles Bell (1774-1842), an anatomist, physiologist, neurologist and artist whose 1811 masterwork “New Idea of Anatomy of the Brain” is considered “the Magna Carta of neurology”; French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), who thought up “The Thinker” and other famous statues; Indian ornithologist Salim Ali (1896-1987), the famed “birdman of India”; and American screen legend Grace Kelly (1929-1982), who gave up Hollywood to become princess of Monaco.
Do you believe in miracles? And take bow, Alan Richard “Al” Michaels! The iconic American sportscaster – whose Sunday Night Football gig is ending, but still has some game left – turns 77 today.
Wish the familiar voice well at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips and calendar events always make for an exciting call.
About our sponsor: Bridgeworks is Long Island’s modern coworking and office space. Headquartered in Long Beach, our workspace offers flexible month-to-month private offices, meeting rooms and innovative amenities for companies of all types. Membership includes onsite management, high-speed Internet access, mail services, full café, onsite parking and easy access to the Long Island Rail Road. Members also gain early access to the Airbnb for commercial real-estate, DropDesk.
BUT FIRST, THIS
AWSM sauce: Women scientists at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research have earned a record-breaking $541,000 in research funding through a year-long funding initiative, and that’s awesome.
Actually, it’s AWSM: The Advancing Women in Science and Medicine initiative has now raised more than $2.5 million since its 2010 inception, with philanthropists pledging donations between $2,000 and $150,000 to female scientists doing their thing across Northwell Health’s research-and-development division. In this year’s 11th annual round, 41 women – heading up programs tackling cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, COVID-19 and other frontline health threats – combined to take in the single-year record-setting haul, including three $50,000 Emerging Scientist Awards and two $150,000 Career Enhancement Awards.
The AWSM initiative – founded by Institute of Molecular Medicine Director Betty Diamond – levels the field for women scientists who have been “ignored and underfunded … for too long,” according to Feinstein Institutes President and CEO Kevin Tracey. “This year’s deserving award recipients will benefit the world of medical research and the patients we seek to cure for years to come,” Tracey added.
Julie Tighe: New York voters have spoken on conservation.
League leaders: The New York League of Conservation Voters is taking a victory lap after what it considers a super-successful Election 2021.
More than 80 percent of NYLCV-endorsed candidates won their races in the Nov. 2 election, including Republican Elaine Phillips, the former New York State senator who won her race for Nassau County comptroller, and Democrat Peter Van Scoyoc, who was re-elected Town of East Hampton supervisor. New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams and re-elected Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, both Democrats, also won their races, as did 83 other candidates endorsed by the league, which only backed runners who are “committed to significant climate action,” according to a statement.
Some 270 candidates in New York elections, from both sides of the aisle, sought the NYLCV endorsement; only 105 earned the nod. “The New York League of Conservation Voters is thrilled to see that New Yorkers voted for the environment … supporting 87 [league]-endorsed candidates who are committed to our shared priorities and emboldened to take action as leaders in their communities,” NYLCV President Julie Tighe said Wednesday. “We look forward to continued wins for the environment.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Seeing is believing: Hauppauge-based product-development ace Intelligent Product Solutions has seen the future – and it is Vision Beyond, AR glasses set to change healthcare’s entire perspective.
Trial de novo: Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital has earned National Cancer Institute approvals for frontline participation in cutting-edge clinical trials.
Forward march: Change is in the air at Hofstra University, where freshly minted President Susan Poser is knee-deep in innovative ideas. Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast’s spectacular Season 2 hits the campus with Hofstra’s progressive prez.
ICYMI
A national healthcare database monitors current conditions; an Adelphi residency program prepares future teachers.
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 Utah: Lindon-based sleep solutions specialist Pillow Cube reinvents bedding for “side sleepers.”
From Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh-based polymer prince Covestro introduces new line of durable polycarbonate materials for medical devices.
From Colorado: Denver-based residential brokerage Atlas Real Estate puts renters on the pathway to homeownership with unique savings program.
ON THE MOVE
Jake Schuster
+ Jake Schuster has been hired as a law clerk for Melville-based Tenenbaum Law. He previously served as a legal intern for Bellmore-based Gold Benes LLP.
+ Kathryn Cole has been elected secretary of the Minnesota-based Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists, New York/Metro Chapter. She is a partner in Farrell Fritz’s Commercial Litigation Practice Group.
+ Kalpana Bhandarkar has been elected to Syosset-based ERACE Racism’s Board of Directors. She previously served as the Social Determinants Team leader within the Office of Population Health for Manhattan-based NYC Health + Hospitals.
+ Garden City-based Moritt Hock & Hamroff has announced the addition of three associates: Michael Borger and Johanna David have joined the Trusts & Estates Practice Group in Garden City, and Grace Lee has joined the Secured Lending Practice Group in New York City.
+ Amber Sims has joined Melville-based Zuma Payroll & Processing as director of tax and compliance. She was previously a tax manager for Florida-based Newtek Payroll Services.
BELOW THE FOLD (Go Big or Go Home Edition)
Dirty Tommy: Hanks, tough guy.
Big Lie: How defamation lawsuits became the most powerful way to champion the truth.
Big con: Yes, everyone is trying to scam you right now.
“Big” finished: Why Tom Hanks demanded manlier roles.
Big idea: Please continue supporting the amazing organizations that support Innovate Long Island, including Bridgeworks, where big thinkers have figured out the future of co-working environments. Check them out.
