On track: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as we speed along the back stretch and into the big turn, racing toward the final furlongs of this latest busy workweek.
Bet you could use a hot tip – well, we can help you beat the odds with the inside skinny on innovation. Trust us … it’s a mortal lock!
Tractor beam: Smile, farmers … today’s your day.
Make some hay: If you’re gonna bet, bet the farm – might as well go all in on agronomy-admiring National Farmer’s Day.
Ragin’ Cajuns, flying pigs: Whether you salute livestock farmers or agricultural produce farmers, there’s tastiness to spare today – it’s both National Gumbo Day (celebrating the spicy Cajun stew of meat, fish and veggies) and National Pulled Pork Day (also shredding it every Oct. 12).
Farmer’s daughters: Filled with students who left the farm behind, the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania – the first U.S. medical school for women, known first as the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania – opened on this date in 1850.
Deep commitment: Few farmers (or doctors) were involved on Oct. 12, 1920, when ground was broken on the Holland Tunnel construction project, an ambitious effort to connect New York and New Jersey under the Hudson River.
I am iron lung: Look how happy everyone is … looks fun!
Breathe easier: There were more doctors in the room when the “iron lung” was first pressed into service 94 years ago today at Children’s Hospital in Boston.
Comrades in spaaaaace: There was even a doctor aboard on Oct. 12, 1964, when the USSR launched Viskhod I, the first non-solo manned spacecraft, which carried a crew of three (the physician, a pilot and an engineer).
From downtown: And there was a doctor in the house on this date in 1979 – at least, a “Doc,” the nickname of Celtic guard Chris Ford, who buried the National Basketball Association’s first-ever three-point shot.
The three-point line was already in play in other leagues, but the NBA had dragged its heals – finally introducing the long-distance reward in Magic and Bird’s rookie season.
Lend me a tenor: Italian opera star Luciano Pavarotti Cavaliere di Gran Croce (1935-2007) – who crescendoed in popular music, too, en route to becoming one of history’s most acclaimed tenors – would be 87 years old today.
Alice’s wonderlands: Childress was a cornerstone of Harlem theater.
Also born on Oct. 12 were Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero (1812-1888), who (regrettably) invented nitroglycerine; American engineer Elmer Sperry (1860-1930), who invented the gyrocompass and amassed 400-plus patents; American novelist, playwright and actress Alice Childress (1912-1994), the only African American woman to publish and produce plays in four different decades; American entrepreneur Jean Nidetch (1923-2015), the overweight homemaker who founded Weight Watchers; and Australian actor, singer and producer Hugh Jackman (born 1968), who broke the Internet last month by announcing his return as super-mutant Wolverine.
The wind that blows free: And take a bow, Hirokazu Yasuhara! The Japanese videogame designer, best known for unleashing “Sonic the Hedgehog”, turns 57 today.
Send your best to the iconic gamemaster – who also worked on “Donkey Kong,” “Uncharted” and several other popular series – at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips create sonic booms and your calendar events chart new paths.
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BUT FIRST, THIS
Help yourself: SelfHelp Realty Group “Active Services” are in effect in Albanese Development Corp.’s new senior-living apartment building.
Senior moment: An affordable-housing complex with built-in wellness and social programs for seniors has opened in Wyandanch.
A joint venture of the Albanese Development Corp. and Selfhelp Realty Group, 11 Park Drive Apartments is a new five-story construction with 94 apartments for residents ages 62-plus, earning at or below 70 percent of the Area Median Income. It checks off several apartment-living boxes: laundry facility, fitness room, community room – but the fourth residential building completed by Albanese as part of the slowly gestating Wyandanch Rising revitalization effort is built to accommodate the mobility-challenged, including seven apartments for tenants with physical disabilities and three for the vision or hearing impaired.
The $40.4 million building – offset by a $14.9 million Homes and Community Renewal subsidy, millions in tax-exempt bonds and other state assistance – also incorporates Selfhelp “Active Services” models, combining intake assessments, wellness checks, benefits assistance, volunteer opportunities and other services. “[The new building] contributes to and builds upon the public-private collaboration known as Wyandanch Rising,” said Albanese Organization President Christopher Albanese, adding the comprehensive revitalization plan is “an effort to bring new, safe and affordable housing … as well as new opportunities for economic growth.”
Organizational structure: Twenty-seven statewide municipalities – including two on Long Island – have been selected to participate in Albany’s new Clean Water Infrastructure Asset program.
The Suffolk County Water Authority and the Village of Hempstead will join 25 other municipalities in a competitive-application program designed to help participants develop plans for evaluating, monitoring, protecting and responsibly upgrading wastewater infrastructure and related assets. The program – part of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s larger Publicly Owned Treatment Works asset-management program – builds off a $3 million pilot executed in 2021 by the DEC and the NYS Environmental Facilities Corp. and provides its informational and planning services at no expense to participating municipalities.
All told, Albany is pouring $10 million into the Clean Water Infrastructure Asset program – a sound investment in statewide clean- and wastewater systems, according to DEC Commissioner and EFC Board Chairman Basil Seggos. “The Asset Management Program is a proven method to help local officials identify necessary projects to improve the reliability of their sewer systems and reduce potential risks to public health and the environment,” Seggos added.
POD PEOPLE
Episode 20: David Chauvin, taking responsibility.
Follow the leaders – CEOs, university presidents, social justice champions, Albany lawmakers, champion athletes, marketing superstars and other front-line innovators all cut a path straight to Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast. Top-rated Season 3 continues next week … 30 enriching episodes are ready right now.
TOP OF THE SITE
Just like we drew it up: The first-ever BrandSlam “marketing improv” event overflowed with old friends, new alliances and enough genius innovation for 10 networking events.
Field study: Northwell Health and Nassau Community College have announced a work-study program that trains medical assistants and deploys them immediately.
Like you mean it: Thanks for sharing this engaging newsletter with your fellow innovators … now send them the always easy, always free subscription link and really help them out.
VOICES
Broad terms: Broad Hollow Bioscience Park has already made a mark on Long Island’s biotech industries – but with an old friend of regional commercialization at the wheel, the park’s greatest socioeconomic contributions may be yet to come, according to LI-Bio Executive Director and Voices historian Tom Mariner.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Innovation ignition: The four best ways to fire up innovation, starting at the top (literally and figuratively). Forbes creates a culture.
‘Tipflation’ takedown: Everyone is asking for a tip these days, but who should actually receive one? Vox guides your gratuities.
Gonna need an attorney: Northeastern University accidentally sent 4,000 acceptance emails to law school applicants. Insider lawyers up.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Alkymi, a New York City-based data/workflow automation platform, raised $21 million in Series A funding led by Intel Capital, Canaan, Work-Bench and SimCorp.
+ Genetesis, an Ohio-based biomagnetic-imaging innovator, closed a $17.5 million Series C financing round led by Mithril Capital, Cercano Management and existing investors JobsOhio Growth Capital, Ohio Innovation Fund and CincyTech.
+ Trash Warrior, a California-based, female-led B2B waste-management platform, raised $8 million in pre-Series A funding led by AltaIR Capital, with participation by Amino Capital, Vermilion Ventures, Sand Hill Angels and 500 Startups.
+ Gather AI, a Pennsylvania-based supply-chain robotics manufacturer, raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Tribeca Venture Partners, Xplorer Capital, Dundee Venture Capital, Expa, Bling Capital, XRC Labs and 99 Tartans.
+ Tidal Cyber, a Washington-based defense-tech company, raised $4 million in funding led by Ultratech Capital Partners, Dreamit, Blu Venture Investors and StoneMill Ventures, among others.
+ onX, a Montana-based digital outdoor-navigation company, raised $87.4 million in Series B funding led by Summit Partners and Madison Valley Partners.
Like this newsletter? Innovate Long Island newsletter, website and podcast sponsorships are a prime opportunity to reach the inventors, investors, entrepreneurs and executives you need to know (just ask Nixon Peabody). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD
Cross purposes: Make your own luck.
Timely: A digital coping tool when depressed teens need it most.
For the last time: November may be the final “fall back” for U.S. clocks.
Each and every time: Your nutty superstitious rituals may provide real benefits.
Always on time: And always in the right place, with the right answers – that’s Nixon Peabody, one of the amazing firms that support Innovate Long Island. Check them out.
