Eyes up here: Welcome to Wednesday, intrepid innovators, as the day brightens, the smoke clears and our steadfast gaze remains locked on the task at hand.
It’s April 5 out there, hump day of a mixed-bag workweek customized by religious observances and choppy school schedules. Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, we’re here to keep your eyes focused on the innovation prize.
Demetriou: Mirror image.
Reflections: Before we dive in, a quick Parkinson’s Awareness Month shout-out to the 1 million-plus Americans living with the nation’s second-most common neurodegenerative disorder, and the additional 90,000 who will be diagnosed this year – just a percentage of the 10 million people living with Parkinson’s around the globe.
We could go on, but better you should look in the mirror with old friend Greg Demetriou.
Sundown at the kosher corral: Chag Pesach Sameach to everyone kicking off Passover this evening.
Back a Waze: On your way to seder (or anywhere else), turn off your GPS and unfold a classic today – it’s National Read a Road Map Day, an annual exercise in old-school automotive navigation (or a basic post-apocalyptic survival course, depending on your perspective).
Deep thoughts: From unleavened breads (and gefilte fish?) to multilayered pies (and anchovies?) – the unrepentantly non-kosher National Deep Dish Pizza Day also dawns today.
And put your religious differences aside for dessert – it’s National Caramel Day, satisfying sweet tooths of every creed each April 5.
Loaded chamber: Also putting aside differences were the founders of the New York Chamber of Commerce, a diverse group of merchants who banded together on this date in 1768 (and later helped elect Lincoln, defeat Boss Tweed and create the first NYC subway, among other ongoing achievements).
Good sign: Sullivan (right), with her prized pupil.
Miraculous: Other triumphs associated with this date include the word “water,” spelled out on deafblind student Helen Keller’s hand 136 years ago today by teacher Anne Sullivan – triggering a breakthrough that saw Keller learn 30 more words that day.
Different metrics: From language arts to mathematics, where we find the Metric System, our strangely voluntary, largely ignored and (somehow) quite official national measurement system for domestic and international trade – all thanks to the confusing Mendenhall Order, issued April 5, 1893.
Second City signal: Chicago-based independent television station WGN-TV – the Windy City’s famous Channel 9, which enjoyed national reach as one of the first U.S. “superstations” – first broadcasted on this date in 1948.
Like a Fox: And also making broadcast history was the Fox Television Network, which splashed into primetime on this date in 1987, leading with sitcom “Married With Children” and the variety-packed “Tracey Ullman Show.”
Rupert Murdoch’s burgeoning entertainment medium – which boasted roughly half the number of affiliates of rivals ABC, NBC and CBS – had actually debuted months earlier with “The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers” in a syndicated 11 p.m. slot.
Seed fund: Green-thumbed Canadian American business magnate Washington Atlee Burpee (1858-1915) – who was born in Canada, emigrated to Philadelphia at age 3 and later founded W. Atlee Burpee & Co., still bearing fruit as Burpee Seeds – would be 165 years old today.
A for “Agnetha”: ABBA’s first vowel was born 73 years ago today.
Also born on April 5 were British surgeon and experimental pathologist Lord Joseph Lister (1827-1912), a pioneer of antiseptic medicine (and Listerine’s namesake); American educator, author and U.S. Presidential advisor Booker T. Washington (1856-1915), who carved a complex legacy; American aircraft designer and industrialist Lawrence Bell (1894-1956), who designed the sound barrier-breaking X-1 rocket plane; American pediatrician and microbiologist Hattie Alexander (1901-1968), who turned the tide against influenzal meningitis; and American professional tennis and handball player Joseph Sobek (1918-1998), the father of racquetball.
Singing queen: And take a bow, Agnetha Fältskog! One of the angelic voices lifting Swedish supergroup ABBA (for “Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Fred,” and nope, we did not know that) turns 73 today.
Give Angeleyes your best at editor@innovateli.com, where we won’t send out an S.O.S., because Knowing (Us)/Knowing You, we trust you’ll include some news tips and calendar events (otherwise, we’ll meet our Waterloo).
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 multi-generational 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
Spreading it around: A Long Island Community Foundation grant will help three regional business boosters diversify critical small-business support.
The LICF has awarded $42,500 to the Long Island Association’s Small Business Support Program, which launched in 2022 to network entrepreneurs with VCs, grant-makers and other vital resources. Together with the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce and the Long Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Support Program will develop “an action plan that will serve as blueprint for implementation,” according to the LIA, featuring quarterly joint-membership meetings, high-level roundtable discussions and consulting services for a diverse assembly of regional businesspeople.
Phil Andrews, president of the LIAACC, said his chamber is “ready to roll up our sleeves to develop an action plan based upon feedback from our members,” while LIHCC President Luis Vazquez said the Community Foundation grant was especially welcomed by a Hispanic small-business community disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. “[The funding] will help provide our underserved community with the resources they need to overcome these challenges, in addition to identifying the most effective ways to … have a positive impact on the wider community,” Vazquez added.
Danny McCabe: Leading scorer.
Directed by: Adelphi University’s athletic director is among the best ADs in college sports’ second-best level.
Adelphi Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation Danny McCabe, master of competitive programs in 21 NCAA Division II sports, has earned a 2022-23 NACDA Cushman & Wakefield Division II Athletic Director of the Year Award, one of four Division II ADs so honored. McCabe – who sits on the NCAA Division II Management Council and the Eastern College Athletic Conference Board of Directors – has shepherded 42 ECAC championships and 55 NCAA Division II Tournament appearances since taking Adelphi’s athletic reins in 2013, with four national titles (all women’s lacrosse) on the mantle.
More impressively, McCabe Era student-athletes – well known for team-based community service – graduate at a 90 percent clip, while the AD’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Council fosters campus-wide acceptance among all comers. “Danny has been an exceptional leader of Adelphi’s student-athletes,” Adelphi University President Christine Riordan said Monday. “I’m thrilled to see him recognized on a national stage for creating the welcoming culture and championship reputation that bring our university community together.”
POD PEOPLE
Episode 30: Elaine Gross, racially motivated.
Season 4 is coming up fast – get yourself up to speed by reviewing Seasons 1-3 of Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast, featuring informative and enlightening one-on-ones with insightful leaders from across the regional innovation economy. Experience greatness in 30-minute soundbites.
TOP OF THE SITE
Compassionate community: The U.S. Department of Education is helping SUNY Old Westbury shape and staff a comprehensive Community Care Center for students and families.
Take advantage: You know who just signed up to have this informative and entertaining newsletter dropped in their inbox three times a week? Everyone you’re trying to beat. (Fortunately, this amazing advantage is always easy, always free.)
VOICES
A crisis for one business could drag down an entire industry, warns Voices media master and ZE Creative Communications Executive Vice President David Chauvin, who sees the collapse of major banks – and resulting finance-industry PR challenge – as a cautionary tale for all communicators.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Off balance: Don’t worry so much about your bottom line – you’re better with money than you think. Inc. checks the boxes.
Off target: Sometimes, even the best technological innovations miss the mark. Ars Technica features the flops.
Off chance: Yes, those coherent radio signals hail from a habitable rocky planet with a magnetic field – but don’t tune into ET just yet. The Independent deciphers the science.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ DataDome, a New York City-based, AI-powered online fraud and bot-management solutions provider, raised $42 million in Series C funding led by InfraVia Growth, Elephant and ISAI.
+ Impact Observatory, a Washington-based, AI-powered global mapping and monitoring company, raised more than $5.9 million in seed funding led by global mapping leader Esri International LLC.
+ Quadra, a Utah-based e-commerce marketplace for creatives, raised $1 million in seed funding led by Fortify Capital Partners.
+ Irrigreen, a California- and Minnesota-based manufacturer of robotic irrigation systems, raised $15 million in seed funding led by Ulu Ventures, Sage Hill Investors and Catalyst Innovation Lab.
+ Right-Hand Cybersecurity, an Arizona-based provider of a cybersecurity-based human risk-management platform, raised $5 million in Series A funding led by AZ-VC.
+ Votiro, a Texas-based content-security innovator, raised $11.5 million in Series A funding led by Harvest Lane Asset Management.
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 Presberg Law). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD
Nothing fancy: A prototypical diner special, blue plate and all.
Blue light: How to limit exposure.
Blue plate: The origins of the ubiquitous diner special.
Blue Alert: Inside Suffolk’s police-protecting public alert system.
Blue collar: Please continue supporting the amazing firms that support Innovate Long Island, including Presberg Law, workaday hero for hardworking commercial real estate clients across Long Island. Check them out.
