Hot enough for ya? Insert your summer-swelter cliché here, dear readers, as we sweat out another hot and humid workweek here on Long Island.
It’s Wednesday out there, and the good news is relief from this extended heat wave is on the way – after some gusty storms blow through the region later today. Hang in there.
Pause button: The bad news, for fans of this engaging thrice-weekly newsletter, is that Innovate Long Island is preparing for a short summer hiatus. Please expect your regularly scheduled editions through July 24, then wait patiently for our triumphant return on Aug.12, with a fresh Monday Calendar Newsletter and new website content. We’ll remind you again before we go.
Good luck: For those keeping score, the odds of winning any New York Lotto prize (from the minimum $1 award to the rollover jackpot, which starts at $2 million) is 92.05-1.
Almost nobody: Here on July 17, we open with unwavering support for the World Day for International Criminal Justice, celebrating global efforts toward the enforcement of federal laws and across-the-board accountability for illegal actions, with a stern reminder that nobody is above the law … except for, well, you know.
Justice for all? Apparently, you’ve got a better chance of winning the lottery – so thank goodness today is also National Lottery Day, embracing the get-rich-quick million-to-one longshot.
Dog has its day: Winning the lottery? When pigs fly – although they’re more likely to roast on National Hot Dog Day, providing fun on a bun every July 17. (And bringing to mind this classic: What did the Buddhist say to the hot dog vendor? “One with everything.”)
(Or this classic, which conveniently combines lotteries and hot dogs.)
Stitch fix: Speaking of classics, the modern sewing machine – adding an overhanging arm, automatic feeders and more – was patented on this date in 1790 by English inventor Thomas Saint.
Punch list: Elsewhere in Britain, witty weekly magazine Punch – which combined humor, illustration and political debate during its 161-year run, and is credited with coining the word “cartoon” – published its first issue on July 17, 1841.
Bite mark: Also sinking its teeth into history is the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, which was established 157 years ago today as the first U.S. dental school affiliated with a university medical school.
Cool dude: All hail mechanical engineer Willis Carrier, who completed his designs for the world’s first air-conditioning system on this date in 1902.
Disney-ing heights: Theme parks were redefined forever when Disneyland opened in 1955.
Kingdom come: And it was July 17, 1955, when Disneyland first opened (invited guests only) in Anaheim, Calif.
The original Magic Kingdom – which preceded Florida’s Disney World resort by 16 years – debuted after a frenetic year-long construction project and a then-hefty $17 million investment.
Laser guns: American physicist, entrepreneur and National Inventors Hall of Fame inductee Gordon Gould (1920-2005) – a one-time Communist and longtime professor who fought (and eventually won) a lifelong battle to be declared the true inventor of the laser – would be 104 years old today.
Consistent winner: Trottier has raised the Cup seven times, including four with the Islanders (and one as a coach).
Also born on July 17 were American fur magnate, real estate tycoon and philanthropist John Jacob Astor (1763-1848), America’s first multimillionaire; American author and lawyer Erle Stanley Gardner (1889-1970), who created sleuthing attorney Perry Mason en route to becoming the bestselling American writer of the 20th Century (at the time of his death); Swedish mechanical engineer Nils Bohlin (1920-2002), who invented the three-point automobile seatbelt; American actor, singer and television personality David Hasselhoff (born 1952), the Guiness Book of World Records’ Most-Watched Man on Television; and German scientist and politician Angela Merkel (born 1954), a doctor of quantum chemistry and the first woman to serve as German chancellor.
Trots: And take a bow, Bryan John Trottier! The Canadian ice hockey coach, television analyst and retired player – the lynchpin center of the New York Islanders’ dynastic 1980-1983 Stanley Cup run – turns 68 today.
Give the hockey legend your best at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips fill our cup – and your calendar events always find the back of the net.
About our sponsor: Northwell Health is New York’s largest healthcare provider and private employer, with 21 hospitals, 900 outpatient facilities and 85,000 employees. We’re making research breakthroughs at the Feinstein Institutes and training the next generation of medical professionals at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. Visit Northwell.edu.
BUT FIRST, THIS
GUIDE-ing hand: Northwell Health has been selected to participate in a long-term federal study focused on people living with dementia and their caregivers.
Less about medical breakthroughs than improved care coordination, the eight-year Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services effort will explore the efficacy of a new Medicare alternative-payment model, with the goal of improving access to critical services and support systems. The New Hyde Park-based health system will be one of nearly 400 nationwide providers employing CMS’ new Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience model, which tests a new payment approach for comprehensive personal assessments, care coordination, round-the-clock access to an interdisciplinary-care help line, respite services supporting caregivers and other key dementia protocols.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said CMS is “excited to partner with Northwell Health” in testing the GUIDE model. “GUIDE is a new approach to how Medicare will pay for the care of people living with dementia,” Brooks-LaSure noted. “The GUIDE participants are envisioning new ways to not only support people living with dementia, but also to reduce strain on the people who care for them.”
Brooklyn bridge (one of them, anyway): Repair of the Belt Parkway bridge over Brooklyn’s Ocean Avenue is one of several projects funded in the latest round of the BRIDGE NY initiative.
Tunnel vision: Nearly $1 million in state funds is flowing directly to a damaged Long Island culvert.
As part of Albany’s BRIDGE NY initiative, 137 local governments across New York State have been awarded a combined $484 million to enhance safety and improve resilience at dozens of bridges and culverts (tunnels carrying streams, small rivers and runoff water under roads and railroads). Among them: the Town of Brookhaven, which has received $910,000 for the replacement of a culvert carrying Swan River Stream under Barton Avenue in Patchogue.
The $910,000 check is one of the smaller cut during this round of BRIDGE NY funding, with other stipends ranging from $2.6 million for Cayuga County to repair a bridge over the Owasco River to $18.5 million for the New York City Department of Transportation to replace Belt Parkway bridges over Ocean Avenue and Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn. “The BRIDGE NY funding … will provide critically important financial support for local governments to harden their bridges and culverts against the looming threat of severe weather and help keep New Yorkers safe and on the move,” New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said in a statement.
TOP OF THE SITE
On-the-job learning: Stony Brook University Economic Development and a major-league team of government and industrial partners are giving underserved students – and Long Island’s clean-energy economy – a big boost this summer.
’Cast iron: They are the iron men and women of Long Island innovation – executives, entrepreneurs, lawyers, lawmakers, athletes, artists and more, all sharing their unique success stories on Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast. Forge ahead.
VOICES
From its earliest days as the Hauppauge Industrial Association, business-development advocate HIA-LI has had its sights set on the best destiny for the East Coast’s largest industrial park – and for regional socioeconomics as a whole. Long Island Bio Executive Director and Voices historian Tom Mariner walks us through humble beginnings and decades of growth at one of the Island’s busiest business boosters.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Riders on the storm: Exactly what do storm chasers do? The Conversation does the twister.
Light my fire: The 2024 wildfire season is off to a hot start in North America – and across Russia, too. Barron’s fans the flames.
L.A. woman: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was just about to announce a mask ban – before coming down with COVID. The New Republic revels in irony.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Neuspera Medical, a California-based neuromodulation pioneer developing a range of implantable devices, raised $23 million in Series D funding led by Vertex Ventures HC and Treo Venture.
+ Athletic Brewing Co., a Connecticut- and California-based non-alcoholic brewery, received a $50 million equity investment led by General Atlantic.
+ Standard Bots, a New York City-based robotics manufacturer focused on manufacturing automation, raised $63 million in funding led by General Catalyst, Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund and Samsung Next.
+ 3Daughters, a Massachusetts-based clinical-development platform focused on healthcare for women, raised $4.7 million in seed funding. Backers included Thairm Bio, Argosy Foundation, Wexford Science and Technology and UMass Amherst.
+ Tierra Encantada, a Minnesota-based edu-tech specializing in Spanish-immersion early education, received a $38 million investment from Susquehanna Growth Equity.
+ The Lasso, a NYC-based online car-bidding platform, raised $9.8 million in funding led by Crosslink Capital and Manresa Ventures.
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 Northwell Health). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Can-Can Edition)
Dollar’s worth: Arizona Iced Tea remains committed to its longtime 99-cent price.
Can-do: Canned foods last for longer than you think.
Can-don’t: Turns out you’re recycling your cans incorrectly.
The price is on the can: How Long Island’s favorite beverage-maker fights inflation.
You bet they can: Please continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including dynamic healthcare innovator Northwell Health, where “can’t” need not apply. Check them out.
