Take your time: Welcome to Friday, dear readers, as we wrap up the week and the month – yes, by the time we see you again on Monday, it will already be April.
The year is certainly flying by! Let’s pump the breaks long enough for a big finish to this latest busy workweek, highlighted by this comprehensive – and somewhat comedic – innovation review.
No charge: You can read The Word for free … or sell your soul, if you prefer.
The holiest of high holy days: Today goes by many names – Holy Friday, Black Friday, Great Friday – but it’s known best as Good Friday, the Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary.
That makes Sunday Easter – and for the devout, it doesn’t get more solemn or splendorous than that. If you’re in need, free Holy Bibles are available from many sources, including Bibles for America, Bibles for the World and local churches and libraries … and if your beliefs lie elsewhere, pay-for-all-eternity versions are also available.
Parental guidance suggested: In addition to morality, kindness and compassion, we believe in entrepreneurism – making National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day one of our absolute favorites. Support a small business today.
And as unholy bibles and tacky gold sneakers fly off virtual shelves, we recognize World Marbles Day (dedicated to those who’ve lost theirs) and National Smoke and Mirrors Day (insert massive-grift joke here).
Knight moves: Speaking of true believers, the Knights of Columbus – the largest global fraternal service order of the Catholic faith – was incorporated on March 29, 1882.
…and a smile: Also providing a unique service was Atlanta-based pharmacist John Pemberton, who brewed up the first batch of Coca Cola – cocaine extracts and all – on this date in 1886. (For the record, Pemberton was aiming for a hangover cure, not soft-drink immortality).
Rock steady: One of the first close-up composites of the planet Mercury.
The little things: Also smiling ear-to-ear were the Soviet researchers who reported the development of a new electron microscope 68 years ago today, powerful enough to give scientists their first close look at atoms.
Fly by: Other closeups associated with this date include the first detailed images of Mercury, captured on March 29, 1974, by NASA space probe Mariner 10.
They didn’t exactly Louvre it: And it was this date in 1989 when the Louvre Pyramids – designed by renowned American architect I.M. Pei – were inaugurated at the world’s most famous museum by French President François Mitterrand.
Parisians were appalled, for those keeping score.
Big-box baron: American business magnate Samuel Moore Walton (1918-1992) – who founded U.S. retail giants Walmart and Sam’s Wholesale Club (in Arkansas and Oklahoma, respectively, before taking them international) – would be 106 years old today.
Love-13: Adolescent Capriati made headlines with her explosive talent.
Also born on March 29 were 10th U.S. President John Tyler (1790-1862), the first to succeed to the presidency without being elected President; American Major League Baseball pitcher Denton True “Cy” Young (1867-1955), still the gold standard; Czechoslovakian American anthropologist Aleš Hrdlička (1869-1943), who got to know Neanderthal man; American businessman James Casey (1888-1963), who founded United Parcel Service (known first as American Messenger Co.); and English biologist Charles Elton (1900-1991), a pioneer of modern animal ecology.
Child’s play: And take a bow, Jennifer Maria Capriati! The retired American tennis sensation – an Olympic gold medalist and International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee who debuted professionally at age 13, reached the French Open semifinals at 14 and became the youngest-ever Wimbledon seed at 15 – turns 48 today.
Wish the one-time prodigy well at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips are always a grand slam and your calendar events never get old.
About our sponsor: The Long Island Business Development Council has helped build the regional economy for 55 years by bringing together government economic-development officials, developers, financial experts and others for education, debate and networking.
BUT FIRST, THIS
On the record: Sunrise Wind has checked off another critical environmental-review box.
The proposed 924-megawatt farm 30 miles east of Montauk – which in February landed a new Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificates contract from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority – has received a positive Record of Decision from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, clearing its latest regulatory hurdle. When completed (Denmark-based Ørsted A/S and Massachusetts-based project partner Eversource Energy target 2026), Sunrise Wind is projected to be the nation’s largest offshore-wind farm to date, pumping enough electricity to power nearly 600,000 Long Island homes.
Upon finalization of NYSERDA’s 25-year contract (and remaining regulatory approvals), the partners will complete a deal making Ørsted the farm’s sole owner, with Eversource leading construction of onshore infrastructure. “With the federal Record of Decision in hand … we can continue to create hundreds of local union jobs and stand up a vibrant supply chain,” noted Ørsted Americas CEO and Group Executive Vice President David Hardy. “New York is already home to the trailblazing South Fork Wind project, and with Sunrise Wind we will build on that foundation.”
Lab work: H2M architects + engineers CEO Richard Humann (center, left) and New York Institute of Technology President Hank Foley (center, right) lead the celebration of ninth-floor renovations at New York Tech’s Edward Guiliano Global Center in Manhattan.
On Broadway: From our Innovate Manhattan Bureau comes a ribbon-cutting ceremony with ties to two Long Island cornerstones.
Representatives of the Old Westbury-based New York Institute of Technology and Meville-based H2M architects + engineers came together this week to celebrate renovation work at the Edward Guiliano Global Center, part of New York Tech’s New York City campus. Specifically, the gathering at 1855 Broadway welcomed renovations to the center’s ninth-floor engineering and computer-science laboratories, including the demolition of outdated spaces; the construction of state-of-the-art classrooms and cutting-edge laser, biochemistry and technology labs; and the addition of new office spaces, bathrooms and adjoining corridors.
The new energy-efficient spaces continue a longstanding partnership between the school and H2M, which currently employees 76 New York Tech graduates, including Chief Executive Officer Rich Humann. “H2M recognizes the quality of engineers that obtain their knowledge and degree from New York Tech,” noted Professional Engineer Mike Lantier, the company’s Education Market deputy director and a member of the New York Tech College of Engineering and Computing Sciences Advisory Board. “This project is a culmination of the well-established relationship between H2M and New York Tech.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Giant LEAP: The U.S. Department of Energy is funding a program that pairs SUNY Old Westbury students with Brookhaven National Laboratory scientists working on exotic physics experiments in South Dakota, Switzerland – even on the Moon.
Don’t stop there: More subscribers equals more sponsors equals more of tLEhese educational and entertaining newsletters. So please sign up your entire innovation team … and (why not?) the sales and marketing and manufacturing and accounting teams, too. Always easy, always free.
ICYMI
A lucrative sponsorship deal with Catholic Health, exciting new rides and a multiphase $10 million expansion plan will create new memories – and new jobs – at popular East Farmingdale amusement park Adventureland.
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 Indiana: West Lafayette-based agrifood studio DIAL Ventures teams with venture builder High Alpha Innovation to launch agriculture B2B marketing platform.
From Delaware: Wilmington-based crowdsourcing platform HeroX partners with the FAA to create an open competition launching AI into national airspace.
From Pennsylvania: Philadelphia-based nonprofit Philadelphia Works joins city government and local schools to reimagine the regional youth workforce.
ON THE MOVE
A. Samer Al-Homsi
+ A. Samer Al-Homsi has been appointed blood and marrow transplant and cellular therapy system chief at the Northwell Health Cancer Institute in Lake Success. Al-Homsi, who will also serve as director of medical oncology faculty and academic affairs, was executive director of transplantation and cellular therapy at New York University Langone Health’s Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center and a professor of medicine at NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine, both in New York City.
+ Ryan Chiu has been hired as director of digital experience at Hauppauge-based Austin Williams. Chiu was lead product designer at BLADE Urban Air Mobility in Manhattan.
+ Adina Storch has been elected to Port Washington-based Spectrum Designs’ Board of Directors. She is senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Port Washington-based Global Industrial Co.
+ Jonathan Liebling has been promoted to chief operating officer at New Hyde Park-based Dental365. He was executive vice president of operations.
+ Dave Spinnato has been hired as assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in the East Meadow Union Free School District. He was assistant superintendent for curriculum and technology in the Elmont Union Free School District.
+ Kathleen Mulcahy has been hired as executive director of the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center in Hampton Bays. She was previously executive director of Fighting Chance in Sag Harbor.
+ Paige Nogid has been hired as director of teen services at Sid Jacobson JCC in East Hills. She was Long Island regional director at BBYO in Plainview.
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 the LIBDC). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Welcome Back Baseball Edition)
Regular Joe: Lieberman was a rare modern moderate.
Stealing home: Why you shouldn’t wait to buy a house.
Starting pitcher: Many have thrown a ceremonial first pitch. Reasons why vary.
Centrist fielder: Remembering U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, and his passion for political unity.
Root, root, root for the home team: Please continue supporting the amazing organizations that support Innovate Long Island, including the Long Island Business Development Council, which is always playing small ball – and staging huge rallies – for regional business owners. Check them out.
