Fresh start: Hello again, dear readers, as we finally catch up with you – gratefully, eagerly and not a moment too soon, after a long stretch of unanticipated retinal madness and well-earned holiday downtime.
We rejoin you at the start of what’s shaping up as a landmark 2026 for regional, national and international socioeconomics – not to mention your favorite innovation news network, starting with this new-and-improved Innovate Long Island newsletter.
Brought to you by: Helping us kick off the exciting New Year is our newest Innovate Long Island sponsor – the Family & Children’s Association, the Garden City-based not-for-profit organization that provides help and hope to Long Island’s most vulnerable residents and communities.
Many readers will recognize Family & Children’s Association President and CEO Jeffrey Reynolds as a longtime (and invaluable) contributor to Innovate Long Island’s amazing Voices column. Today, we’re honored to expand our collaboration by welcoming the FCA into our sponsorship fold.
Read more about their social-, economic- and emotional-support mission below (and hear all about it during upcoming episodes of “Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast”)!
Do as I say, not as I do: He lost his job, nearly killed Luke’s father, was a squatter for 20 years and basically killed himself after dragging the boy into a galactic war, but as mentors go, Obi-Wan Kenobi was not half-bad.
Good advice: Our new sponsor arrives just in time for I Am A Mentor Day, a Jan. 7 ovation for the tried-and-true trainers and compassionate coaches who inspire us toward better personal and professional destinies.
We’re also getting jiggly with National Bobblehead Day, an annual homage to the bouncy cultural phenomena (and official function of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum).
Good for the heart: Today is also the flatulence-flattering National Pass Gas Day, recognizing the healthy (and universal) biological function known colloquially as farting. (Scheduled, not coincidentally, a day after National Bean Day.)
You’ll definitely want to make room for National Tempura Day, deep-frying fish and veggies in a delicious Japanese batter (with Portuguese roots, true story) every Jan. 7.
Red, white and blue (and greenbacks): It was a gas, gas, gas in Philadelphia on this date in 1782, when America’s very first commercial bank – the Bank of North America, created specifically to fund the Revolutionary War – opened for business.
Banner headline: Despite inauspicious beginnings, the Italian flag still waves proudly, more than 200 years later.
Green, white and red: Speaking of patriotic milestones, Il Tricolore – Italy’s national flag – was officially adopted on Jan. 7, 1797, by the Cispadane Republic, a brief but influential Italian state that emerged during the Napoleonic Era.
Black ink: Emerging in Philadelphia was African American inventor William Purvis, who patented his unique fountain pen 136 years ago today.
Black gold: Other African American innovators associated with this date include the Harlem Globetrotters, who donned their famous red, white and blue uniforms – and dared to spotlight Black talent at the height of segregation – when the barnstorming franchise tipped off on this date in 1927. (They were actually based in Chicago, for those keeping score.)
Black and white (but color on Sundays): And it’s a red-letter date for the funny pages, with two classic comic strips – “Tarzan,” masterwork of writer Edgar Rice Burroughs and artist Hal Foster, and “Buck Rogers, 2429 A.D.,” by writer Phillip Francis Nowlan and artist Dick Calkins – both debuting on Jan. 7, 1929.
And for the record, it was this day in 1934 when “Flash Gordon” – creator Alex Raymond’s seminal comic-strip hero – joined the fun.
In the zone(s): Scottish Canadian civil engineer and inventor Sir Sanford Fleming (1827-1915) – an accomplished railway engineer and mapmaker who spearheaded the creation of the prime meridian and global time zones – would be 199 years old today.
Cage match: From action hero to concerned parent to decaying alcoholic, Nicolas Cage always looks the part.
Also born on Jan. 7 were Italian Bishop Ugo Boncompagniope (1502-1585), who as Pope Gregory XIII commissioned the Gregorian Calendar we live by today; 13th U.S. President Millard Fillmore (1800-1874), the last President to be neither a Democrat nor a Republican (what was he? Answer below, no Googling); German physicist Johann Philipp Reis (1834-1874), who dialed up the telephone long before Alexander Graham Bell; American cartoonist Charles Addams (1912-1988), the creepy, kooky creator who darkened The New Yorker with the macabre “Addams Family”; and American broadcast journalist, publisher, media entrepreneur, philanthropist and author Katie Couric (born 1957), who co-founded both Katie Couric Media and the nonprofit Stand Up to Cancer and was the first woman to solo anchor a network evening news program.
The Rock: And take a bow, Nicolas Cage! The American actor and producer (born Nicolas Kim Coppola) – whose bloodline includes such talents as Francis Ford Coppola and Talia Shire, as evidenced by his Academy Award and Golden Globe victories – turns 62 today.
Give the National Treasure your best at editor@innovateli.com, where our Massive Talent loves to Face/Off with your news tips – and we’re always Moonstruck by your calendar events.
Whig out: Fillmore was a member of the Whig Party.
About our sponsor: Family & Children’s Association is here for every Long Islander – ages 2 to 102 – facing social, emotional or economic challenges. Whether it’s mental-health support, help with substance use or gambling, or programs that protect and empower our seniors, FCA offers a wide range of services designed to strengthen individuals, families and communities. Our mission is simple: to make Long Island a healthier, safer and more compassionate place to live, work and raise a family.
BUT FIRST, THIS
High cyber diet: One of Long Island’s leading collegiate computer-science programs has earned accolades on the national cyber-stage.
Suffolk County Community College cybersecurity students performed well throughout the Fall 2025 competition season of the National Cyber League, a learning-centered competition that challenges students with real-world cybersecurity tasks known to vex even experienced professionals. Focused on system analysis, threat detection and various forms of cyber-defense, SCCC students earned a top-30 spot (No. 27, officially) in the NCL Cyber Power Rankings while competing against more than 8,500 students from 490 nationwide colleges and universities.
The achievement “reflects the strength of Suffolk’s cybersecurity curriculum and the dedication of our students,” according to Adjunct Instructor and Cybersecurity Club Advisor Jonathan Sadowski, who applauded the SCCC squad’s industry-recognized CompTIA Security+ competencies and mastery of National Institute of Standards and Technology and National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education frameworks. “Their success in a highly competitive national field demonstrates not only their technical skills,” Sadowski noted, “but also their ability to collaborate, adapt and perform under real-world conditions.”
Felicia Thomas-Williams: Teaching moment.
Regents examination: The Long Island Association’s Health, Education and Not-for-Profit Committee has completed a crash course on New York State’s new learning plan for K-12 students.
On Dec. 22, the committee welcomed New York State Regent Felicia Thomas-Williams (whose 10th Judicial District represents Nassau and Suffolk counties) and Regent-at-Large Roger Tilles for an in-depth examination of Portrait of a Graduate, Albany’s ambitious attempt at whole-child development. Approved in 2025 by the NYS Department of Education, “Portrait” resets the state’s high school graduation standards – phasing out Regents exams, among other things – while mapping a comprehensive journey of academic, social, emotional and cultural growth.
Learning about the new strategy directly from the regents was useful for LIA members, according to Long Island Association President and CEO Matt Cohen. “Long Island has among the best K-12 schools in the nation,” Cohen noted. “And our strong educational system is critical for a thriving economy, so students can get quality jobs on Long Island and stay here after they graduate.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Big win: Long Island more than doubled its annual haul in New York State’s 2025 Regional Economic Development Council competition, with $56 million-plus earmarked for projects across Nassau and Suffolk.
Catch 12: The year ahead will be the biggest yet for “Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast” – but the year gone by wasn’t too shabby, either, with a dozen interesting and informative conversations straight from the innovation economy’s front lines. Did you catch them all? Well, here’s your chance.
VOICES
ZE Creative Communications Executive Vice President David Chauvin barely escaped 2025 with his humanity intact – and our Voices media anchor has some rock-solid advice on maintaining relevance in 2026 and beyond, as artificial intelligence infiltrates professional communications.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Lax vax: Critics blast “wildly irresponsible” CDC for slashing childhood vaccine recommendations. NPR doublechecks the science.
War torn: The Venezuela intervention threatens global safety, according to a UN human rights commission. Reuters doubles down on security.
Speed need: Ingenious U.S. Air Force engineers have accelerated maintenance and repair work with an award-winning invention. Stars and Stripes double-times it.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Tesoro XP, a Texas-based retail rewards platform enabling in-game currency for gamers, raised $5.4 million in Seed funding led by Treasury and TK MediaTech Ventures.
+ GS Microelectronics U.S., a California-based semiconductor solutions provider, raised $35 million in Series B funding led by Maverick Silicon.
+ Array Labs, a California-based developer of space-based radar systems, raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Catapult Ventures, with participation from Washington Harbour Partners, Kompas VC, Y Combinator, Maiora Capital, Animal Capital, Aera VC, Cultivation Capital and Clearance Ventures.
+ Coinbax, a New York City-based stablecoin payment platform, raised $4.2 million in Seed funding led by BankTech Ventures, with participation from Connecticut Innovations, Paxos and SpringTime Ventures.
+ Moto Finance, an NYC-based fintech rolling out a blockchain-powered financial platform, raised $1.8 million in Pre-Seed funding led by Cyber Fund and Eterna Capital.
+ Lyte, a California-based integrated-perception innovator focused on robotics and physical artificial-intelligence applications, raised $107 million in funding led by Avigdor Willenz’s group, Fidelity Management & Research Co., Atreides Management, Exor Ventures, Key1 Capital and Venture Tech Alliance.
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 the FCA). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (“Stranger Things” Edition)
New “project”?: Is the first family of Hawkins relocating to the East End?
Did he say “Montauk”? Are Hopper and Joyce heading to Long Island?
Stranger danger: How the big finale missed the mark – and kept on missing.
The end(s): “M*A*S*H” says goodbye, “The Sopranos” cut to black … ranking TV’s best-ever finales.
Just getting started: Please continue supporting the outstanding organizations that support Innovate Long Island, including Family & Children’s Services – no stranger to compassion, empowerment or social justice. Check them out.
