And the winner is…: You, intrepid innovator, as you emerge live (and well?) from Election 2024.
Do we have a clear-cut winner? As of press deadline Tuesday, polls were still open across the nation, the Presidential race remained too close to call and expert pundits were predicting it could be days (or longer) before an official winner is announced – though of course it’s possible a winner has been declared by the time you read this (lawsuits and certification shenanigans notwithstanding). Certainly, many of our local elections have already been decided.
Either way, Election Day is over. Good for you for voting and making your voice heard. As a well-earned reward: no more campaign commercials! And if your neighbors are still exhibiting all those flags and lawn signs … well, now it’s just tacky.
You need to relax: Take a few deep breaths on National Stress Awareness Day.
Pay a-tension: Today is Wednesday, Nov. 6, and honestly, the traumatic election season couldn’t end soon enough – a great segue into National Stress Awareness Day, a first-Wednesday-of-November reminder from our friends at the International Stress Management Association that anxiety and constant worry are real killers.
Let’s tune out the political rhetoric and focus on innocent pleasures like music and sports – today is both National Saxophone Day and National Basketball Day, and if you’re wondering why these annual observations should fall on Nov. 6 of all days, keep reading.
Nacho average Wednesday: This should help remove that chip from your shoulder (and put it on your plate, where it belongs) – it’s also National Nachos Day, piling on the beans, cheese, sour cream, salsa, guac and your protein of choice (we’ll take the grilled chicken, por favor) every Nov. 6.
Star war: Tycho Brahe claims the credit, but he didn’t actually discover Tycho’s Supernova.
Before Brahe: It was not your average Thursday on Nov. 6, 1572, when German astronomer Wolfgang Schüler recorded a rapidly brightening “new star” in the constellation Cassiopeia – but he rarely gets proper credit for discovering what history dubs “Tycho’s Supernova,” even though Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe didn’t spot the thing (actually a dying star) until five days later.
Before bowl games: College football is a staple of American Saturdays now, but not on this date in 1869, when Rutgers University and Princeton University (known then as New Jersey University) squared off in the first-ever game of American football. (Rutgers won, 6-4, for those keeping score.)
Before the Model T: The single-cylinder Packard Model A – the first automobile produced by the groundbreaking Packard Motor Co. – was introduced 125 years ago today by brothers James and William Packard.
Before the Xtreme 3: American military officer and Iowa-based inventor Col. Jacob Schick patented his “Shaving Implement” – recorded as the first electric razor – on this date in 1928.
Before “Face the Nation” and all the rest: And it was Nov. 6, 1947, when “Meet the Press” – the weekly Q&A featuring international politicians, entertainers, religious leaders and other rainmakers – debuted on the NBC Television Network.
The thoughtful, respectful, sometimes tense interview show – which moved to the small screen after two years on NBC radio – reigns as the world’s longest-running TV show, now airing continuously for 77 years (and counting).
Business man: American journalist and entrepreneur Charles Henry Dow (1851-1902) – a longtime news reporter who made a lasting mark (with famous partners Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser) as co-founder of financial news service Dow Jones & Co. and business/finance newspaper The Wall Street Journal – would be 173 years old today.
Sky sister: Sally Field was a sitcom staple before she got serious.
Also born on Nov. 6 were Süleyman the Magnificent (1494-1566), the highly regarded (and longest-reigning) sultan of the Ottoman Empire; Scottish mathematician and astronomer James Gregory (1638-1675), who developed the first reflecting telescope; English actor, playwright and poet laureate Colley Cibber (1671-1757), who defined the sentimental comedy; Belgian French musical instrument designer Antoine-Joseph “Adolphe” Sax (1814-1894), who invented the saxophone; and Canadian American physical education instructor James Naismith (1861-1939), who invented basketball.
No Doubtfire: And take a bow, Sally Margaret Field! The American stage and screen actress, writer and director – who was “Gidget,” “The Flying Nun” and the Bandit-loving Frog before she started racking up Oscars, Golden Globes and Emmys – turns 78 today.
Wish “Norma Rae” well at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips always find Places in [Our] Heart and Mama always said your calendar events are like a box of chocolates.
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
Waterworks funded: The latest round of New York State Environmental Facilities Corp. clean-water funding will float more than $40 million to Long Island-based projects.
Following a $300 million funding round announced by the EFC in June – featuring millions for three separate Nassau County water-treatment efforts – the corporation has announced a new round distributing $435 million to 102 statewide projects, including $37 million for a Village of Hempstead water-treatment project and $4.9 million for a similar Suffolk County Water Authority effort, both targeting the nefarious organic compound 1,4-dioxane in local drinking-water sources. The EFC coordinates with the New York State Department of Health to prioritize clean-water efforts funded through Albany’s Water Infrastructure Improvement Act and Intermunicipal Water Infrastructure grant programs.
Trumpeting a “hallmark of New York State’s robust, nation-leading investment in the environment,” Environmental Facilities Corp. President and CEO Maureen Coleman applauded the latest funding round – particularly the $126.7 million earmarked for rural and disadvantaged communities. “These grants will help get shovels in the ground for 102 water-quality projects across New York State,” Coleman said. “EFC is committed to awarding grant funding to the communities that need it most.”
By land and sea: It will take a mighty land-based supply chain to build out the regional offshore-wind industry.
Supply demanded: From our Innovate New Jersey bureau comes a regional supply-chain conference of particular interest to Long Island socioeconomics.
Welcome to Atlantic City, “America’s playground” and the site of the New York & New Jersey Offshore Wind Supplier Forum, co-hosted Oct. 29 by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. The forum attracted more than 350 attendees (mostly New Jersey-based businesses) for high-level, industry-specific networking and breakaway information sessions focused on regional supply-chain expansion – critical to the numerous offshore-wind developments rising fast off the Garden State and Long Island coastlines, and those yet to come.
New Jersey Economic Development Authority CEO Tim Sullivan said the forum achieved its goal of providing potential suppliers with a Grade A opportunity to “directly connect with new opportunities in the growing sector,” while NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen Harris cheered “New York and New Jersey’s shared vision” for a regional offshore-wind supply chain. “Together, we can leverage the lessons learned from overcoming obstacles and keep driving progress for this powerhouse industry,” Harris added.
TOP OF THE SITE
Ready for some closeups: High-profile collaborations with a cancer-focused investor group and Hofstra University’s Zarb School of Business will shine bright spotlights on Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s next-level scientific prowess.
That’s saying something: Did you hear what the high-powered attorney said? The NBA power forward? The mayor? The “Father of Bioelectronic Medicine?” The trendsetting DJ? The university president? The regional energy guru? The successful entrepreneur? These and other innovation leaders tell all – starting with how they did it – on Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast. Listen closely.
VOICES
Voter confidence is at an all-time low and violence threatens the once-sacrosanct American electoral process – but U.S. election integrity is not dead and buried, according to Sahn Ward Braff Coschignano Managing Member and Voices Law Anchor Michael Sahn, who reviews the many steps federal, state and local officials took this year to keep Election 2024 above-board.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Continental drift: Scientists have rediscovered Zealandia, Earth’s long-missing eighth continent. The Week maps it out.
AI, incrementally: Slowly but surely, artificial intelligence is reshaping energy-sector innovation. Forbes has the power.
Sweepstakes scam: When is a lottery not a lottery? Ask Elon Musk. Axios PACs it in.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ BETA Technologies, a Vermont-based aerospace manufacturer focused on electric aviation, raised more than $300 million in Equity funding led by QIA.
+ Trinity Guardion, an Indiana-based med-tech focused on hospital bed hygiene, raised $6 million in funding led by Queen City Angels.
+ Redoxblox, a California-based energy-storage system providing low-cost thermochemical solutions, raised $40.7 million in Series A funding led by Prelude Ventures.
+ Ataraxis AI, a New York City-based med-tech focused on precision medicine, raised $4 million in Seed funding led by Giant Ventures and Obvious Ventures.
+ Lingo, a Missouri-based edu-tech company producing hands-on, project-based coding kits, raised $2.25 million in Seed funding led by Pinnacle Private Ventures.
+ Databento, a Utah-based financial data platform providing no-code, real-time market information, raised $10 million in funding. Backers included Belvedere Trading, Clear Street and Lightscape Partners.
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 (Cheese And Crackers Edition)
Aged cheddar: Goldfish crackers are adopting a more mature name to appeal to adult audiences.
Grate news: Camembert lives … for now.
Cheese it, it’s the fuzz! Cracking London’s $540,000 cheese heist.
Gold(fish) standard: Why the beloved cracker is changing its name.
Whetting your innovation appetite: Please continue supporting the outstanding organizations that support Innovate Long Island, including Northwell Health, where brilliant scientific research is just the first course of the socioeconomic smorgasbord. Check them out.
