Getting there: Welcome to Friday, intrepid innovators – for roughly half of you, the precipice of a three-day weekend.
Yes, the third-Monday-in-January federal holiday commemorating American civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. (born Jan. 15, 1929) continues to gain traction. Schools, banks and non-essential government offices are closed, and according to the most recent numbers provided by Bloomberg, about 45 percent of all national workers enjoy a paid day off – up from about 28 percent in 2009, 30 percent in 2013 and 42 percent in 2018.
Tea it up: Steeped in healthfulness on National Hot Tea Day.
Quitters never win: Whether you’re kicking off a long weekend or a standard two-day blow, today is Jan. 12 and we’re wrapping up another busy workweek.
For the record, we’d never suggest quitting your job just because you have to work on Monday. But if you’re ready to give up on those tough 2024 resolutions, go ahead – it’s National Quitters Day, when folks are most likely to cave on their New Year’s self-improvement goals. (We’d further advise you to stick with those, too.)
Winners never quit: Which leads quite nicely into Work Harder Day, an annual pep talk encouraging us to ramp up, push limits and otherwise strive for our best personal selves.
After kicking butt, reward yourself with a terrific meal: National Curried Chicken Day, National Hot Tea Day and National Marzipan Day are all on the Jan. 12 menu.
Historical history: Working hard to preserve antiquities were the founders of South Carolina’s Charleston Museum, which opened on this date in 1773 – officially, America’s first museum.
A star (society) is born: It would be nearly two months until its members gathered for their first official meeting, but the Astronomical Society of London – the leading lynchpin of astronomy and geophysics known today as the Royal Astronomical Society – was unofficially formed 204 years ago today.
Great idea: Have a day, Tom!
Tom’s busy day: Speaking of big brains, Jan. 12 is a huge date for master innovator Thomas Edison, who racked up patents for his “Phonograph” (1887, one of several protections related to his second-most-famous creation), his “Motion Picture Cameras” (1904), his “Waterproofing Paint for Portland Cement Buildings,” “Waterproofing Paint for Portland Cement Structures” and “Waterproofing Fibers and Fabrics” (all 1909) and his “Method and Means for Improving the Rendition of Musical Composition” (1919).
’Nuff said, true believers! Decades before the genius of Stan Lee and its titanic reign as a $13 billion multimedia conglomerate, Marvel Comics – known originally as Timely Comics – was founded on this date in 1939.
Those were the days: And it was Jan. 12, 1971, when network television was changed forever by the debut of the classic sitcom “All in the Family” on the CBS Television Network.
In addition to throwing “a humorous spotlight on our frailties, prejudices and concerns,” as per a network disclaimer, the groundbreaking, mold-breaking and censor-breaking program included television’s first toilet flush.
Back-to-back, actually: German American actress Luise Rainer (1910-2014) – a Golden Age of Hollywood standout who became the first actor to win multiple Academy Awards and is, to date, the longest-lived Oscar recipient – would be 114 years old today.
Think on it: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, meditation master.
Also born on Jan. 12 were Belgian French engineer Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir (1822-1900), who invented the world’s first commercially viable internal-combustion engine; Romanian American psychologist David Wechsler (1896-1981), who developed several well-known intelligence tests for adults and children; Soviet engineer and spacecraft designer Sergei Pavlovich Korolev (1907-1966), the USSR’s leading Space Race rocket scientist; American chemist Ruth Benerito (1916-2013), a pioneer of wash-and-wear fabrics; and Indian scientist and holy man Mahesh Prasad Varma (1917-2008), known best as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the creator of transcendental meditation.
Stern talking to (you): And take a bow, Howard Allan Stern! The American broadcaster and media personality – an infamous “shock jock” and the self-anointed “king of all media” – turns 70 today.
Wish the dirty DJ well at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips reign – and we’re shocked when you don’t send calendar events.
About our sponsor: Farrell Fritz, a full-service law firm with 15 practice groups, advises startups on entity formation, founder and shareholder agreements, funding, executive compensation and benefits, licensing and technology transfer, mergers and acquisitions and other strategic transactions. The firm’s blog, New York Venture Hub, discusses legal and business issues facing entrepreneurs and investors.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Everyone’s a critic: Reactions to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 2024 State of the State address – and her ambitious, slightly-less-costly annual agenda – are predictably mixed.
The nonprofit Empire Center for Public Policy – a nonpartisan Albany-based thinktank – played it right down the middle, with CEO Tim Hoefer commending the governor for challenging state legislators who want to raise taxes on already-tax-burdened New Yorkers, but adding that most of Hochul’s “affordability” solutions “involve shifting costs rather than reducing them.” The National Federation of Independent Business was equally balanced, with New York State Director Ashley Ranslow cheering Hochul’s “commitment to spending taxpayers’ money carefully” but noting “more must be done to help Main Street.”
Upstate Republican legislators were less forgiving – “It’s hard to say the ‘state of our state is strong’ with a straight face,” State Sen. Jim Tedisco (R-Clifton Park) snarked on X – but Jessica Ottney Mahar, New York policy and strategy director for The Nature Conservancy, applauded Hochul’s environmental plans, noting “critical initiatives that will save lives.” Long Island Association President and CEO Matt Cohen, meanwhile, expressed optimism about the governor’s newest housing and public-safety policies and suggested “Long Island can play a key role” in the governor’s pitch for a statewide AI hub.
Safety first: With a little help from the Biden Administration, Adam Levine and the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council are promoting safer streets on Long Island and beyond.
Drive safely: Suffolk County and the City of Long Beach are among the statewide entities earning stipends in the latest funding round of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets For All program.
All told, 13 New York villages, towns, cities and/or government agencies received “SS4A” grants through this round of the program, which is funded by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which authorizes up to $108 billion for nationwide transportation programs. The largest New York payout was $29.75 million to help the New York City Department of Transportation implement its Vision Zero Great Streets plan along Queens Boulevard, while the New York State Thruway Authority cashed a $1.2 million check to support a comprehensive, corridor-wide safety strategy.
On Long Island, the Suffolk County Department of Public Works received a $568,000 grant to cover “supplemental planning and demonstration activities,” while Long Beach was granted $238,824 to enact a “roadway safety action plan.” Adam Levine, executive director of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council, which doled out the grants, said the awards “will go a long way in creating roadway-safety action plans, improving unsafe roadway corridors and testing critical safety features.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Thought process: Leading Long Island social-service agencies are putting mind over matter with their new innovative mental-health efforts.
You can’t miss: We love it when you visit our fantastic newsletter archive – but remember, our subscriber-only Monday Calendar Newsletters aren’t archived! Fortunately, subscriptions are always easy and always free. Don’t miss a thing.
ICYMI
With a $4 billion-plus state budget deficit looming, a more pragmatic Gov. Hochul is pitching a sprawling, but less-expensive, annual agenda.
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 New Jersey: Somerset-based software specialist Spatial Data Logic expands Google Public Sector partnership to accelerate government-agency innovation.
From Washington: The D.C.-based National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals drives strategic growth with new Strategy and Innovation Department.
From Tennessee: Nashville-based beauty brand Organic Face Food takes holistic approach with new Ayurvedic skincare products.
ON THE MOVE
Isao Kobayashi
+ Isao “Sammy” Kobayashi has been appointed president and CEO of Melville-based Canon USA. He was most recently president and CEO of Canon Canada.
+ East Meadow-based Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman has elevated two associates to partner: Penni Stathakos, practicing in the Banking and Commercial Lending Practice Group, and Darren Stakey, practicing in the Litigation, Real Estate and Condominium practice groups.
+ Ann Emrick has been promoted to deputy director of operations at Upton-based Brookhaven National Laboratory. She previously served as chief operating officer of the Environment, Biology, Nuclear Science & Nonproliferation Directorate.
+ Jason Belle has been elected chairman of the Long Island Water Conference. He is the superintendent of the West Hempstead Water District.
+ David Herold has been appointed president of Hauppauge-based Long Island Cares’ Board of Directors. He is a partner in the Banking and Commercial Lending Department at East Meadow-based Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman LLP.
+ Jeanette Permenter has been promoted to chief operating officer at RISE Life Services in Riverhead. She previously served as operations director for the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities.
+ Heidelind Semmig has been hired as counsel at Mineola-based Kelly, Rode & Kelly. She was a partner at Furey, Furey, Leverage & Darlington in Garden City.
+ Heather Johnson has been hired as executive director of Hallockville Museum Farm in Riverhead. She was executive director of Friends of the Bay in Oyster Bay.
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 Farrell Fritz). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Journey Through Time Edition)
Boom, or bust: Many Boomers can’t afford to retire, and younger generations may have to foot the bill.
Past: How entrepreneurs can learn from their mistakes – and why they must.
Present: Boomers are ready to retire, but most can’t afford to.
Future: Flamboyant futurist Faith Popcorn is at it again.
All-time great: Please continue supporting the amazing firms that support Innovate Long Island, including Farrell Fritz, Long Island’s longtime corporate-law all-star. Check them out.
