Snow thanks: Welcome to the first Friday of March, dear readers, as we wrap up another busy workweek and tee up the third-to-last weekend of the Winter That Winter Forgot.
It’s been a rough season for much of the Lower 48 – blizzards in the Midwest, even snow at Disneyland – but this will go down as one of Long Island’s warmest and least-snowy winters. If you ignore all that climate change stuff, gotta say, it’s been rather pleasant.
Earful: Listen up on World Hearing Day, all about auditory health.
Hear’s to you: It’s March 3 out there, and wherever you are and however your winter’s going, it’s World Hearing Day, the World Health Organization’s annual homage to ear care and hearing-loss prevention.
Bad day to go meatless: Still basking in the afterglow of Wednesday’s National Pig Day lovefest, our hearts swell today for National Canadian Bacon Day, which loves pigs for completely different reasons.
Lent-free shoppers will also find pork aplenty in their supermarket deli section, along with a fine selection of other sliced meats and cheeses – everything they’ll need for a successful National Cold Cuts Day, always stacked high on March 3.
Man of cloth: Speaking of successful endeavors, New York tailor and inventor Thomas Jennings became the first African American to earn a U.S. patent on this date in 1821, locking up his “dry scouring” process – granddaddy of modern dry cleaning.
War and peace: Inventors, researchers and technologists rejoiced on March 3, 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln – knee-deep in the U.S. Civil War – founded the National Academy of Sciences.
Coin operated: The 20-cent piece came and went.
Double dimes: Less successful federal innovations include the short-lived U.S. 20-cent piece, which was authorized by Congress on this date in 1875 (and worth a pretty penny, if you can find one today).
Successful subsidiary: Uber-triumphant March 3 innovations include the American Telephone and Telegraph Corp. – a.k.a. AT&T, the world’s largest telecommunications company – which was spun off in 1885 by Alexander Graham Bell (from American Bell, the master innovator’s main company).
About TIME: And the first issue of TIME magazine – fairly recognizable, though it lacked the current cover’s distinctive red border – debuted 100 years ago today.
Issue No. 1 featured a cover story on U.S. Rep. Joseph Cannon, an Illinois Republican counted among history’s strongest House speakers (and namesake of Washington’s Cannon House Office Building).
All aboard: American engineer and industrialist George Mortimer Pullman (1831-1897) – a train titan who not only designed the famous Pullman sleeping car but built an entire town for his manufacturing workforce – would be 192 years old today.
Bombshell: Harlow fell ill at 26 and never recovered.
Also born on March 3 were aforementioned telecommunications pioneer Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922); American biochemist Elmer McCollum (1879-1967), who took his vitamins seriously; English psychologist and geneticist Sir Cyril Lodowic Burt (1883-1971), remembered best for bringing statistics to psychology; American actress Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter, 1911-1937), the original “Blonde Bombshell” who died at the height of her stardom; and American Olympian Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee (born 1962), a world-class all-timer who collected six medals over four Olympic Games.
Switching keyboards: And take a bow, Briand Edward Cox! The English physicist, musician and frequent television presenter – a Royal Society particle physicist and heir apparent of the BBC’s scientific programming, according to legend David Attenborough – turns 55 today.
Give the former British pop keyboardist your best at editor@innovateli.com, where we unlock the secrets of the universe (and otherwise jam) with your news tips and calendar events.
About our sponsor: Sahn Ward Braff Koblenz PLLC is one of the region’s most highly regarded and recognized law firms. Our attorneys are thought leaders, dedicated to achieving success through excellence. With our broad experience in land use, development, litigation, real estate, corporate and environmental law, we have the vision and knowledge to serve our clients and our communities. Please visit sahnward.com.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Actually, it is brain surgery: There are big brains, and there are brains big enough to actually diagnose and treat other brains.
On Saturday, more than 70 top Long Island high schoolers will attempt to prove they’re the latter, putting their noggins to the test at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell in the annual Long Island Brain Bee Competition – a day-long quiz-a-thon designed to expose young scholars to university-level brain studies and to spark interests in neurosurgery, psychology and other cutting-edge neurosciences. Participants will also enjoy hands-on demonstrations of the Zucker School’s Structure Lab, interact with current Zucker School learners and participate in an actual neuroradiology session, including MRI and CT scans of brains affected by tumors and other traumas.
Representing dozens of regional schools, the students will be quizzed throughout the day, with one grand-prize-winning future neuroscientist ticketed for a summer research project at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research – and this April’s USA Brain Bee Championship at the University of California.
In case of emergency: Narcan Rescue Stations are spreading across the East End.
To the rescue: Stony Brook Medicine has collaborated with activists and Suffolk County businesses to establish East End Narcan Rescue Stations.
In conjunction with Hauppauge-based nonprofit Community Action for Social Justice and the Greenport Village Business Improvement District, Greenport-based Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital has installed Narcan Rescue Stations at Greenport Harbor Brewing Co. breweries in Peconic and Greenport. Each station packs multiple doses of naloxone – FDA-approved medication for reversing opioid overdoses – and detailed instructions on how to use them; the breweries are also planning free training sessions for interested local businesses.
Several other Greenport businesses, including iconic waterfront eatery Claudio’s, have committed to installing Narcan Rescue Stations, which arrive following the tragic overdose deaths of six people in Eastern Suffolk County in August 2021. “The tragedy that occurred in 2021 could have been prevented,” noted Eastern Long Island Hospital Chief Administrative Officer Paul Connor. “These Narcan Rescue Stations will honor the legacies of those we’ve lost by ensuring nobody else meets the same tragic fate.”
TOP OF THE SITE
First Harvest: One of Long Island’s busiest food banks has graduated the first ready, willing and able class from its innovative Workforce Skills Development Institute.
The American way: After touring Africa and Southeast Asia, columnist Terry Lynam has a brand-new appreciation for American socioeconomics.
Hot topics: Ricocheting from the headlines to your favorite podcast platform, Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast tackles the region’s hottest socioeconomic issues with Long Island’s most inventive and influential leaders. Here’s their plan.
ICYMI
German investors see Iwao Ojima’s big picture; mid-market CEOs see the economy’s bright side.
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 Westchester County: Purchase-based sparkling water wunderkind SodaStream refreshes product lineup with two new innovative DIY models.
From Minnesota: Minneapolis-based cyber-behavior specialist Hoxhunt internalizes digital defenses with breakthrough Human Risk Management Platform.
From Florida: Clearwater-based wedding gift registry Honeyfund taps AI-powered ChatGPT to create fantasy honeymoons for historical sweethearts.
ON THE MOVE
Divendra Jaffar
+ Divendra Jaffar has joined the Child Care Council of Nassau’s Board of Directors. He is senior public relations manager with New York City-based MetroPlusHealth.
+ Marie Mulligan has been appointed chief nursing officer of Huntington Hospital. She was vice president for nursing services and chief nursing officer at Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson.
+ South Setauket-based Jefferson’s Ferry has elected four new Board of Directors members:
- Lawrence Davidow, senior managing partner at Davidow, Davidow, Siegel & Stern in Islandia
- Kenneth Roberts, retired president of Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson
- Wendy Darwell, president and CEO of the Suburban Hospital Alliance of New York State in Hauppauge
- Gloria Snyder, vice president of Snyder Capital Management in Medford
+ Lynda Nicolino has been named chairwoman of Deer Park-based United Way of Long Island. She is chief legal counsel of Bethpage Federal Credit Union.
+ Deer Park-based United Way of Long Island has named three new Board of Directors members:
- Erik Hunt, director of Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Research Partnership & Technology Transfer program
- Michelle Zettergren, president of MagnaCare in Westbury
- Ryan Stanton, executive director of the Long Island Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO
+ Joseph Greco has been promoted to marketing director at Hauppauge-based Kuttin Wealth Management. He previously served as a business development manager.
+ Irene Yim has been promoted to vice president of Hicksville-based Mark Design Studios Architecture P.C. She previously served as director of design.
+ Rockville Centre-based Molloy University has elected two new Board of Trustees members: Kristy Uvena, vice president of consumer and business growth marketing at Altice USA in Bethpage, and Lanier Mason, an audit manager at Ernst & Young in Manhattan.
+ John Spezio has been elected chairman of Garden City-based ADDAPT’s Board of Directors. He is the former vice president and COO of Hicksville Machine Works Corp.
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 Sahn Ward). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Black Hat Edition)
Woke, Bond Woke: Recent rewrites open 007’s eyes on racial sensitivity.
Supervillains: Why MAGA roots for the bad guys.
Techno-villains: Beware the dark side, warns the father of the cellphone.
Bond villains: Controversy swirls around 007’s woke rewrites, but Ian Fleming would approve.
Hero shot: Please continue supporting the dynamic good guys who support Innovate Long Island, including Sahn Ward, where big brains (in white hats) are always ready to ride on the toughest land-use and real estate issues. Check them out.
