Slipped your mind? Welcome to Friday, dear readers, and not just any Friday but the Friday before Mother’s Day … “Oh, $#|+!,” says you. “You’re welcome,” says us.
Don’t despair! There’s still plenty of time to buy cards and flowers and maybe even make a dinner reservation. Remember, you only get one mother, so treat her right.
Total immunity: Mother’s Day is indeed May 12 this year, making today May 10, known best as World Lupus Day, when the World Lupus Federation spreads the word on the dreaded immune-system disease, which causes the body to attack its otherwise healthy tissues and organs.
Fin land: Elasmobranchii! Elasmobranchii in the pond!
Water, water everywhere: We also wrap up the workweek with a trio of seaborne observations, including Mother Ocean Day, when we celebrate the birthplace of all organic life on Earth (and primary supplier of oxygen, salt and other niceties), and Fintastic Friday, when we dive deep into Elasmobranchii (a subclass of cartilaginous fish – including sharks and rays – identified by physical traits including rigid dorsal fins).
Also thrown on the barbie today is National Shrimp Day, a fried, broiled, boiled and/or sauteed salute to everyone’s favorite crustacean de-shelled every May 10.
Ain’t that Amerigo: Speaking of the oceans blue, Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci – who would later lend his name to nations and entire continents – embarked on his first-ever sea voyage on this date in 1497, inspired in part by his relationship with business associate Christopher Columbus.
Burn, baby, burn: Other names you know associated with this date include Robert Bunsen, the German chemist who would later invent the eponymous Bunsen burner – but first announced his discovery of the element cesium on May 10, 1860, along with fellow scientist Gustav Kirchoff.
Spike Leland: Also nailing it was then-California Gov. Leland Stanford, who hammered the ceremonious Golden Spike (in Utah) 155 years ago today, connecting the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific railroads and completing the first U.S. transcontinental railway.
Equal time: She didn’t win the presidency, but leading suffragist Victoria Woodhull still broke barriers.
Ahead of her time: A century-and-a-half before the likes of Geraldine Ferraro, Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, Victoria Woodhull became the first woman nominated for United States President, selected to run – with African American abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass as her mate – by the Equal Rights Party on this date in 1872.
Tape delay: And it was May 10, 1975, when Sony changed television viewing forever with the release of its first home videocassette recorder, the Betamax.
Featuring one-hour recording capabilities, the Betamax – bundled at first with a 19-inch Trinitron color television in a handsome wooden cabinet – debuted a full year before rival electronics manufacturer JVC introduced the Video Home System, which boasted two-hour “VHS” tapes.
Swing man: Astaire’s career in stage, film and television stretched nearly 80 years.
On his toes: American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer and presenter Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, 1899-1987) – recognized as the greatest popular-music dancer of all time, with a trophy case of Emmy, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Grammy awards (plus an honorary Academy Award) to prove it – would be 125 years old today.
Also born on May 10 were Scottish stateman and statistician Sir John Sinclair (1754-1835), who introduced the word “statistics” to the English language; Scottish merchant, philanthropist and yachtsman Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton (1848-1931), who put the “tea” in “entrepreneur”; English American astronomer Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (1900-1979), who discovered that hydrogen and helium are the universe’s two most-common elements; American sociologist, writer and editor Daniel Bell (1919-2011), a Harvard University professor known best for his studies of post-industrialism; and Irish singer, songwriter and activist Paul David Hewson (born 1960), known best as U2 frontman (and human rights champion) Bono.
Ring smarts: And take a bow, Tito Santana! The Mexican American professional wrestler (born Merced Solis) – a fiery athlete, popular performer and career-long “face” who won multiple championship belts and became a middle school Spanish teacher upon his squared-circle retirement – turns 71 today.
Wish “El Matador” well at editor@innovateli.com, where we pin down your news tips – and your calendar events always top our card.
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 multigenerational 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
Kicking AAAS: A Washington-based nonprofit dedicated to scientific innovation has bestowed high honors upon two Brookhaven National Laboratory researchers.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science has made fellows of 502 select members whose research efforts are “scientifically or socially distinguished.” Among the honorees is Anatoly Frenkel, a senior chemist in BNL’s Structure and Dynamics of Applied Nanomaterials Group and professor in Stony Brook University’s Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering who’s “work to probe how catalysts convert waste products … into useful products is important to our efforts in clean-energy research,” according to BNL Chemistry Division Chairman John Gordon.
Joining Frenkel as a freshly minted AAAS fellow is BNL Deputy Associate Laboratory Director Dmitri Denisov, a particle physicist who runs the Upton-based facility’s world-renowned high-energy physics program and leads BNL’s contributions to the upcoming Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois and the Sanford Underground Research Laboratory in South Dakota. “We are thrilled by Dmitri’s distinct recognition by the AAAS Fellowship,” noted Haiyan Gao, BNL’s associate laboratory director for nuclear and particle physics. “[We] look forward to his continuing leadership of Brookhaven’s high-energy physics program in the coming years.”
Those who can do: Albany is investing big-time in future teachers.
Teaching moment: Adelphi University is one of 11 New York colleges and universities earning state Workforce Development Awards aimed at expanding learning opportunities for future teachers.
A total of 12 State University of New York, City University of New York and private schools will share a $13.7 million boost through the latest funding round of Albany’s Education Workforce Investment, with the money benefitting Alternative Teacher Certification Programs and Upskilling Paraprofessionals Programs. Adelphi will receive one of eight 4-year grants – totaling $9.5 million – for its ATCP, which is designed to reduce time and cost barriers for students interested in entering teaching professions.
Another four grants, totaling $4.2 million, were awarded to support UPPs – aimed at accelerating teacher certifications for existing teaching assistants and paraprofessionals – at SUNY and CUNY schools. “We have a responsibility to ensure our future teachers and paraprofessionals are ready to educate and support the next generation of New Yorkers,” noted Gov. Kathy Hochul. “Through this funding for workforce-development programs, we are investing in our educators and creating pathways for our students to pursue a career in the education field.”
TOP OF THE SITE
The price is blight: Albany’s ambitious plan to offer tax breaks to developers for new housing construction on state-owned land has identified its first target – a longtime East Farmingdale eyesore.
Calendar application: Innovate Long Island’s impressive Newsletter Archive boasts nearly 900 entries, overflowing with wit and wisdom – and that’s without archiving our Monday Calendar Newsletters! (They’re for subscribers only … making our always easy, always free subscriptions always awesome).
ICYMI
The Islip Arts Council and Babylon-based American Pet Professionals are raising awareness for regional animal shelters with one of the largest art exhibitions in IAC history, featuring furry friends from across Long Island.
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 California: San Diego-based enterprise marketing platform Cordial accelerates marketing integration and improves AI-driven customer experiences with new platform enhancements.
From Florida: Lake Mary-based financial-software maker Finastra creates new digital-banking experiences with Next Gen Mobile Banking.
From Illinois: Chicago-based ghostwriting and publishing service The Skinny Platform speeds entrepreneurs from ideas to publishing-ready books in record time.
ON THE MOVE
Jackie Savage
+ Jackie Savage has been promoted to vice president at Huntington-based Epoch 5 Public Relations. She was an account manager.
+ Kevin Gardner has been appointed Stony Brook University’s vice president for research and operations manager of the Research Foundation for the State University of New York. He was executive vice president for research and innovation at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.
+ L. Carlos Zapata has been elected vice speaker of the Westbury-based Medical Society of the State of New York. He’s an attending physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Northwell Health, LIJ Forest Hills, LIJ Medical Center and LIJ Valley Stream.
+ Nyrekia White has been hired as director of development at the Garden City-based Long Island Children’s Museum. She was director of advancement and strategic partnerships at the Girl Scouts of Suffolk County in Commack.
+ Carol Carter has been elected as a member to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. She is a SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Stony Brook University’s Renaissance School of Medicine.
+ The Long Island Association has elected six new members to its Board of Directors:
- Andrea Bonilla, external affairs manager, Vineyard Offshore
- Anthony Esernio, commercial market president, TD Bank
- Brad Griggs, senior manager of economic development, Amazon
- Regina Jankowski, editor, Long Island Business News
- John Kiernan, chief financial officer, Veeco
- Angela Pinsky, senior government affairs manager, Google
+ Kimberly Barnaby and her practice have joined the Stony Brook Medicine Community Medical Group. The practice specializes in family medicine.
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 (Celebrity Roast Edition)
Nobody was safe: Not even GOATs like Frank Sinatra (right), not when Don Rickles was roasting.
Insulting: How Dean Martin and friends popularized the comedic roast.
Mr. Warmth: Many have tried, but nobody ever burned ’em like Don Rickles.
Sexism sells: Netflix edits the Kim K. boos at the Tom Brady Roast – but not the misogynistic jokes at her expense.
Smile when you say that: Please continue supporting the first-rate firms that support Innovate Long Island, including Presberg Law, where kindness prevails – and clients only have nice things to say. Check them out.
