Long version: Welcome to Friday, intrepid innovators, as another busy workweek runs its course.
Make a day of it: Whatever you think of Christopher Columbus, Monday is a federal holiday.
Bonus: It’ll be a long weekend for some of you! Columbus Day is a B-grade federal holiday for sure, but schools and banks are closed and New York State is one of only 13 States in the nation to designate it a paid holiday (nine other states offer paid holidays for different second-Monday-in-October observances, such as Indigenous Peoples Day and Yorktown Victory Day, while 10 others cite an “unpaid legal holiday” or “day of recognition”).
Whatever you call it, there’s a better-than-average chance you’re off on Monday – and a 100 percent chance that your favorite innovation newsletter is taking the day, too. No Calendar Newsletter next week; back at you Tuesday.
Keeps on giving: Before we enjoy our long weekend, we’re thrilled to introduce Innovate Long Island’s newest sponsor – LocaLI Bred, a brilliant startup that curates gift boxes with products from Long Island’s best small businesses and local makers.
Their mission: bolster the regional economy by supporting Mom and Pop. Their hook: unique gifts, specialized pricing and personalized service, all helping companies gift their clients, staffers and partners with style (and individuals, too!). Learn all about them below (including details on a limited-time Innovate Long Island discount)!
Earth takes a Mental Health Day: We begin today’s weekly innovation review with a nod to World Mental Health Day, the World Health Organization’s annual push for awareness and support – and pushback against social stigmatizing.
Tied intrinsically to mental health is homelessness, making today a natural fit for World Homeless Day, all about generosity and compassion and forward thinking – everything these people are not.
Food group: Hope you’re hungry! World Egg Day (celebrating the incredible, edible ovum), World Porridge Day (juuuuust right), World Plant-Based Burger Day (to each his/her own), National Angel Food Cake Day (heavenly) and National Cake Decorating Day (works great with angel food cake) all make the menu on Oct. 10.
Sailors: They began serving cadets three squares a day on this date in 1845, when the U.S. Naval Academy – known first as the United States Naval School – commenced its first term in Annapolis.
Mailers: The first shipment of mail delivered by the Butterfield Overland Mail Route – one of a series of U.S. government-contracted stagecoach services enlisted to make the treacherous trip between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Coast – arrived in San Francisco on Oct. 10, 1858.
Nobody wore it better: But if not for a dinner party on this date in 1886, would Bond be as suave?
Tailors: From Maryland to San Francisco to Tuxedo Park, the Upstate New York village where the eponymous dinner jacket that would come to be known as a “tuxedo” first made the scene on this date in 1886.
Trailer: Twice the action! Double the stakes! The second big-screen James Bond adventure – “From Russia With Love,” featuring Sean Connery as 007 and Robert Shaw as one of Bond’s best-ever adversaries – premiered in London 62 years ago today.
Failure(s): And it was Oct. 10, 1973, when U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned in disgrace after pleading no contest to tax-fraud charges.
Facing overwhelming evidence that he accepted bribes and kickbacks from contractors throughout his political career, including his time as Vice President, Spiro stepped down less than a year before his boss similarly called it quits.
Plan 9: American filmmaker, actor and pulp novelist Edward Davis “Ed” Wood Jr. (1924-1978) – an unrivaled hack of a moviemaker who was so bad it earned him immortal cult status – would be 101 years old today.
Jazz hands: No musician ever influenced his or her genre more than Thelonious Monk.
Also born on Oct. 10 were English experimental and theoretical chemist and physicist Henry Cavendish (1731-1810), who discovered “inflammable air” (a.k.a. hydrogen); Italian composer Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (1813-1901), known best for “La Traviata,” “Rigoletto” and other seminal operas; American inventor Earle Dickson (1892-1961), a Johnson & Johnson cotton buyer who showed real sticktoitiveness by inventing adhesive bandages; American jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk (1917-1982), whose unique improvisational style redefined standard jazz repertoires; and American musician David Lee Roth (born 1954), an audaciously rowdy rocker (with a rare four-octave range).
Mr. Islander: And take a bow, Robert Thore “Bobby” Nystrom! The Swedish American professional hockey great – an original New York Islander, bruising brawler and vital cog in the Islanders’ epic 1980-1983 dynasty, including scoring the championship-clinching overtime goal in Game 6 of the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals – turns 73 today.
Hey, more Islanders news below! Before you read it, wish Nystrom well at editor@innovateli.com – and remember to include some news tips and calendar events, which always find the back of the net.
About our sponsor: LocaLI Bred makes holiday gifting easy and meaningful. We curate gift boxes filled with products from Long Island’s best small businesses and local makers. Whether you’re thanking employees, clients or partners, our corporate gifting boxes offer special pricing and personalized service to help your business give with impact this holiday season. Use code innovateli5 for 5 percent off corporate orders.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Chest protector: This season, Vanda becomes the NHL’s first-ever pharmaceutical industry jersey-patch sponsor.
Patch work: When it comes to innovation, the New York Islanders wear it on their sleeves (almost literally).
Long Island’s own National Hockey League franchise has announced a multiyear agreement making Washington-based Vanda Pharmaceuticals, a global biopharma developing and commercializing innovative drug therapies, the team’s exclusive jersey-patch partner. The landmark deal – which will see the Vanda logo prominently featured on the chest of the Islanders’ home and away jerseys, starting with last night’s season opener in Pittsburgh – makes the D.C. drugmaker the NHL’s first-ever pharmaceutical industry jersey-patch partner.
In addition to the patches, Vanda branding will be integrated across UBS Arena signage and on the Islanders’ social media accounts, with fan-centric initiatives – including a season-long sweepstakes and an annual “ceremonial puck drop” – also in the mix. “Vanda is a company dedicated to innovation and community, values that resonate deeply with the Islanders and our fan base,” noted Dan Griffis, president of global partnerships at Colorado-based Oak View Group, which oversees the Islanders’ corporate partnerships. “We believe this unique collaboration will not only provide significant visibility for Vanda, but will also create new, meaningful experiences for our fans both on Long Island and globally.”
Smoothing things out: A multiyear road-reconstruction project along a busy stretch of the Long Island Expressway has been completed.
The $17.7 million project – which restored a six-mile stretch of the LIE between Exit 67 (Yaphank Avenue) and Exit 69 (Wading River Road) in the Town of Brookhaven – began in 2023 and wrapped up last month. New York State Department of Transportation crews replaced deteriorated concrete (which in some cases dated back to original 1960s-era construction) with high-strength modern pavement, designed to better withstand heavy traffic and seasonal temperature fluctuations; they also sealed cracks and joints, restored highway shoulders where needed and installed new reflective road markers to improve durability and “ensure a more comfortable driving experience,” according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office.
While pleased that the Brookhaven Town project is complete, Suffolk County Executive Edward Romaine noted the need for additional highway-improvement efforts throughout the region. “Our roads are in desperate need of attention,” the supervisor said. “This project is an important example of the improvements that need to be made across Suffolk County … we look forward to many more improvements to our roads, highways and bridges.”
TOP OF THE SITE
As soon as possible, ASAP expands: State University of New York Chancellor John King Jr. visited Farmingdale State College this week to highlight the success of SUNY’S ASAP|ACE student-retention and support programs — and announce a significant system-wide expansion.
Thinking ahead: Thank you for forwarding this informative newsletter to your entire innovation team. But you’re not the mailroom intern, so looking ahead, it’d be easier if you just signed them up for their own subscriptions. Always easy, always free.
ICYMI
The Debrief, Innovate Long Island’s knowledge-packed Q&A, picks the brain of SWFTLabs CEO David Clausen, whose Stony Brook-based startup is leveraging a SUNY-licensed technology on a global quest to transform organic waste into sustainable and useful products.
LIVIN’ ON THE EDGE
The Entrepreneur’s Edge, Innovate Long Island’s new promoted-content section, is piling up new knowledge, best practices and business-development opportunities. The stories so far:
- Tom Stebbins of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York tackles Albany’s broken civil liability system.
- Kendra McQuilton of Energia explores the acceptable parameters of professional success.
- Prince Jindal and Jung Won Kim of Lantern Finance redefine small-business access to capital.
Something you’d like to add? The Entrepreneur’s Edge is open for business! Innovate Long Island’s exciting promoted-content platform provides a direct link from startups, established corporations and nonprofits to our forward-thinking audience – your future clients. Progressive product to promote? Singular service to sell? Sociopolitical position to push? Here’s your chance to shine a bright light on the big picture, the little details and everything in between, from the perspective of your innovation-focused enterprise. Learn more here!
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 Illinois: Chicago-based dog-feeding favorite Houndsy modernizes mealtime with Essential Series Kibble Dispensers.
From Iowa: Maquoketa-based pet-behavior groundbreaker Blue-9 Pet Products unleashes a smaller, more versatile household pet training platform.
From Illinois: Chicago-based genetics jump-starter Phenome educates the pet-reptile industry with state-of-the-art genetic-testing solutions.
ON THE MOVE
Renu Balyan
+ Renu Balyan has been named as an inaugural member of the State University of New York AI for the Public Good Fellows. She is an assistant professor of computer and information sciences at SUNY Old Westbury.
+ Salvatore Monello has been hired as an associate attorney at Woodbury-based Salenger, Sack, Kimmel & Bavaro. He was an associate attorney at Cotter Law Group in Manhasset.
+ Port Jefferson-based Back & Neck Specialists of New York has announced two new hires:
- Courtney Pendleton has been hired as an associate neurosurgeon. She was director of the Peripheral Nerve Surgery Center at Stony Brook University Hospital.
- Jordan Iordanou has been hired as an associate neurosurgeon. He was a stereotactic and functional neurosurgery fellow at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
+ James Celentano has been named vice president and banker at J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Garden City. He was vice president at Wilmington Trust in New York City.
+ Mary Brite has been promoted to chief operating officer at Brentwood-based Outreach Development Corp. She was chief compliance officer.
+ David Rosario has been hired as a tax associate at Ronkonkoma-based Sasserath & Co. He was a tax intern at Frankel Loughran Starr Vallone in Garden City.
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 – on Long Island, and soon, across New York State (just ask LocaLI Bred). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Cognitive Decline Edition)
Solving puzzles: When it comes to declining cognition, there are can’t-miss signs.
Sensing a change: How to recognize cognitive decline in real time.
Makes sense: Swedish scientists say a common urinalysis could help predict dementia risks.
Makes censorship: Google AI blocks search results for “Trump cognitive decline” (but not “Biden cognitive decline”).
Sense (and generosity): Please continue supporting the creative companies that support Innovate Long Island, including new sponsor LocaLI Bred, which is on a mission to simplify (and supersize) your corporate and individual holiday gift-giving. Check them out (and don’t forget code “innovateli5” for corporate discounts!).
