Ten-four, drivers: Breaker, breaker, dear readers – it’s Friday on the information superhighway and your good buddy Innovate Long Island is here to keep the go-go juice pumping before you 10-7 for the weekend.
You put the hammer down and keep that left door closed – we’re gonna back it down just long enough to wrap up your workweek with another wall-to-wall and treetop tall newsletter. You got your ears on? Copy that!
Pass the honey (hold the ham): With the 2024 Israel-Hamas War raging, Jewish populations around the world are greeting an anxious new year.
Peace, in their time: Before we dive in, shana tovah to everyone observing Rosh Hashanah, which began at sundown Wednesday and wraps up tonight – a solemn two-day stretch that ushers in the Jewish New Year with intense moral introspection.
The humanitarian crisis in the Middle East has no easy solution and absolutely threatens to spread around the globe, without exaggeration. Against that fraught and fragile backdrop, we wish our Jewish friends a peaceful and happy new year (anno mundi 5785, for those keeping score) – and pray that somehow, after lifetimes of conflict, cooler heads will somehow prevail.
On the radio: So, what’s with all the CB lingo back there? Well, it’s Oct. 4 out there – 10/4 if you prefer, or perhaps Ten-Four Day, an annual homage to radio operators (particularly those who communicate via citizens band radio).
Not entirely coincidentally, today is also National Truckers Day, saluting the long-haulers at the wheel of our national economy.
The whole world smiles with you: That’s because the first Friday of October is World Smile Day, invented by none other than Harvey Ball, the Massachusetts-based commercial artist who drew up the original smiley face icon in 1963.
And sure to put a smile on your face are National Taco Day, National Vodka Day and National Cinnamon Roll Day, combining to create an eclectic holiday menu every Oct. 4. (National Taco Day is also celebrated on Oct. 1, for whatever reason.)
Face the nation: Speaking of faces, sculptor Gutzon Borglum began work on South Dakota’s Mount Rushmore National Memorial – depicting the unmistakable mugs of U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt – on this date in 1927.
Disgrace the nation: Slightly less patriotic, at least in America, was the Soviet Union’s early lead in the Space Race, grabbed when it launched the famous Sputnik satellite on Oct. 4, 1957.
Ace the nation: Slightly lower in the atmosphere, transatlantic passenger jets became a thing 66 years ago today, when the British Overseas Aircraft Corp. flew a packed de Havilland Comet 4 from London to New York. (For the record, the BOAC aced out American transatlantic-travel rival Pan Am by three weeks.)
The Pope of Greenwich Village: Pope Paul VI made history when he arrived in New York 59 years ago today.
Grace the nation: Making full use of transatlantic jet travel was Pope Paul VI, who became the first Bishop of Rome to visit the United States when he landed in New York on this date in 1965.
Abase the nation: And it was Oct. 4, 2006, when award-winning Australian editor, publisher and activist Julian Assange launched the whistle-blowing WikiLeaks website – starting with classified documents leaked by a United States Army specialist (who was subsequently convicted of espionage and served seven years in prison).
Assange, who was freed in June from HM Prison Belmarsh in London (where he served 50 weeks for breaching the United Kingdom Bail Act), outlasted U.S. attempts to extradite him on espionage charges and is now a free man living in his native Australia.
Bust a move: American actor, comedian and filmmaker Joseph Frank “Buster” Keaton (1895-1966) – the “Great Stone Face” who kept a cool demeanor while performing some of the silent-film era’s most inventive comedy, amazing pratfalls and dangerous stunts – would be 129 years old today.
Eyes up here: Dakota Johnson was worth a look … the rest of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” not so much.
Also born on Oct. 4 were American physicist John Atanasoff, credited with inventing the first electronic digital computer; 19th U.S. President Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822-1893), an unwavering abolitionist; American physicist and meteorologist Thomas Corwin Mendenhall (1841-1924), who was absolutely into gravity; American actor Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter, 1923-2008), an iconic Hollywood A-lister; and American author Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O’Brien, 1941-2021), best-selling mistress of gothic fiction, erotic literature and Biblical fiction.
Throwing a little shade: And take a bow, Dakota Johnson! Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith’s kid – who left little to the imagination in the dreadful “Fifty Shades” movies and managed to keep a straight face through this year’s unwatchable “Madame Web” flop – turns 35 today.
Wish Antonio Banderas’ stepdaughter well at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips and calendar events help us write much better screenplays.
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BUT FIRST, THIS
Copy rights: One of Long Island’s leading innovators – and largest employers – has filed a United States District Court lawsuit alleging a major copyright infringement.
Along with Japanese parent Canon Inc. and Washington State-based Amazon.com Inc., Melville-based Canon USA is targeting 18 “selling accounts” it accuses of illegally hawking counterfeit toner cartridges in the United States via the Amazon store. More than just a simple IP violation, the fraudulent products represent a danger to both the company and innocent consumers, according to Canon, which noted it “aggressively pursues counterfeiters … to protect its customers from fake and potentially unsafe products which unlawfully use the Canon name, as well as to protect the value, trusted reputation and loyalty [of] the Canon brand.”
The Japanese imaging giant also suggested this alleged peddling of fugazi toner cartridges was much more than an isolated incident. “Damages due to counterfeit goods on e-commerce websites are increasing in proportion to the growth of the e-commerce market,” the company said. “Canon and Amazon are collaborating in fighting against counterfeiters and protecting both of our customers.”
Welcome to Riverhead: Family and Children’s Association staffers and special guests ceremoniously open the slightly-more-west THRIVE East End facility.
Go west, THRIVE Center: One of Long Island’s leading human-services agencies has raised the curtain on its relocated East End drug- and alcohol-recovery center.
The Garden City-based Family and Children’s Association cut the ribbon on the THRIVE East End Recovery Center in Riverhead in a Sept. 30 ceremony attended by government officials, FCA clients and other special guests. THRIVE East End – which opened in 2021 in Westhampton as Eastern Suffolk’s first drug- and alcohol-recovery center – relocated to Riverhead “to provide a more centralized and larger space to serve the recovery community of the North and South forks,” according to the FCA.
The substance-free recreational/social hub, funded by private donations and the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports, offers a full slate of free programming in conjunction with THRIVE centers (for “Transformation, Healing, Recovery, Inspiration, Validation and Empowerment”) in Westbury and Hauppauge. “The success of the THRIVE community continues to grow through word of mouth and from the incredible support of our partners,” noted FCA President and CEO Jeffrey Reynolds. “We know the need is real, and we’re excited to launch this new, centrally located facility to better support the East End of Long Island.”
TOP OF THE SITE
True that: Citing “moral disgust,” a New York Tech marketing professor is warning brand managers to tread carefully regarding the use of AI-generated advertising content.
Leadership skill: Thanks for forwarding this engaging and educational newsletter to your entire innovation team – now get them their own always easy, always free subscriptions, because you’re not, like, the mailroom intern. Sign them up!
ICYMI
The simulated crises (and real-world knowledge) pile up as Zucker School of Medicine first-years complete their mandatory EMT training with an intense Mass Casualty Incident Training Day.
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 Arkansas: Bentonville-based venture-backed startup Venus Aerospace goes full throttle with 2,000-pound thrust Venus Detonation Ramjet Engine.
From Texas: Frisco-based pet-adoption platform Petszel partners with 100 nationwide shelters to transform the post-adoption experience for 300,000 pets and families.
From New York City: International pro circuit Major League Soccer announces second cohort of companies invited to the tech-first, fan-focused MLS Innovation Lab.
ON THE MOVE
Al Levine
+ Al Levine has joined the staff of Nassau Community College radio station WHPC 90.3 FM as an on-air personality. He was the host of “On the Scene” on WBLI 106.1 FM.
+ David Borkon has joined Garden City-based Moritt Hock & Hamroff as a partner in the Corporate, M&A and Securities Practice Group. He was a partner at Forchelli Deegan Terrana in Uniondale.
+ The Long Island Association has elected three new members to its Board of Directors:
- Phil Boyle, president and CEO of Suffolk Regional OTB and Jake’s 58 Casino Hotel
- Naadia Burrows, chief diversity officer at Broadridge Financial Solutions
- Amy Ellis, New York stakeholder relations manager at Ørsted
+ Jacqueline Fink has been hired as a first-year associate at Uniondale-based Ruskin Moscou Faltischek. She was a summer intern at the firm.
+ Kevin Holcomb has been appointed chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park and The Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell in Uniondale. The board-certified gynecologic oncologist was vice chairman of gynecology, professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology, and associate dean of admissions at Weill Cornell Medical College.
+ Jonathan Amatulli has been promoted to manager of ticket sales and service for the Uniondale-based Long Island Nets. He was a ticket sales coordinator.
+ Jessica Mattera has been hired as executive assistant to the CEO at the Oakdale-based Suffolk County Water Authority. She was executive assistant to the chairman of the Stony Brook Medicine Department of Pathology.
+ David Wilck has been elected to the 2024-25 USLAW Network Board of Directors. He is a partner in the Intellectual Property, Professional Liability and Directors & Officers Liability practice groups at Uniondale-based Rivkin Radler.
+ Sergio Argueta has been hired as assistant principal of Freeport High School. He is the founder of Destined for Greatness Consulting in Long Beach.
+ Nicole Daly has been promoted to senior manager of sales strategy and operations for the Uniondale-based Long Island Nets. She was manager of ticket sales and operations.
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 Sahn Ward). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Happy 100th Birthday Jimmy Carter Edition)
Man of the century: Middling President, exemplary human.
Term limits: From domestic victories to the Iranian hostage crisis, recalling the 39th U.S. President’s tumultuous single term.
Human right: Celebrating a life of service, during and after Carter’s presidency.
Alien nation: That time the then-gubernatorial candidate saw a UFO.
Oath of office: Please continue supporting the fantastic firms that support Innovate Long Island, including Sahn Ward Braff Coschignano, which swears to uphold the law – and do right by its clients – on every land-use issue. Check them out.
