Whoa there: Welcome to a fast-moving Wednesday, dear readers – a penultimate bow for April, which ends tomorrow, and a busy hump day for everyone on the road to socioeconomic innovation.
Despite blizzards, wars, a slow-motion economic collapse and the steady deconstruction of American exceptionalism – or maybe because of them – the first third of 2026 certainly did whip by. As we move into the year’s four-month middle stanza (and the latter half of this latest busy workweek), let’s take a breath and catch up.
Let me be your guide: Show some love today for companions who show the way.
Your wish…: If April ends tomorrow, then today must be April 29 – making this World Wish Day, when we’re meant to spark joy and hope in critically ill children. (Why today, of all dates? Read on.)
Also emotionally (and practically) fulfilling are National Supply Chain Day – celebrating the makers, logisticians, deliverers and other professionals who connect the world – and International Guide Dog Day, a last-Wednesday-of-April pause (paws?) to salute the well-trained companions who keep the sight-impaired moving forward (or not, as circumstances require).
Waste not: Today’s holiday menu is a little light, so we’ll take a moment to shout out Stop Food Waste Day, the 10th annual international day of action against a serious (and growing) problem, with upwards of one-third of the global food supply lost or wasted annually.
Fortunately, there won’t be a lot of leftovers to waste on National Shrimp Scampi Day, always sautéed in garlic, butter, olive oil, white wine and lemon juice – and devoured with lick-the-plate finality – on April 29.
Synonym roll: Also leaving nothing behind are the roughly 15,000 entries in the original Roget’s Thesaurus, which was first published on this date in 1852 (50 years after it was written by wordy British physician/theologian Peter Mark Roget, for those keeping score).
Shining example: Lighting? Illumination? Radiance? Whatever word you choose to describe them, arc streetlamps shed new light on things on April 29, 1879, when they were publicly demonstrated for the first time in Cleveland.
It’s what’s inside that counts: Also shining bright was Johns Hopkins Medical School Professor of Physiology Florence Rena Sabin, an expert anatomist who became the first woman elected to the U.S. Academy of Science on this date in 1925.
Stone’s throw: The magnificent Whitestone Bridge has been spanning the East River’s northernmost fringes for the better part of nine decades.
No, the Throgs Neck is the other one: Two miles west (and two decades earlier, exactly 87 years ago today), the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge opened to vehicular traffic, connecting the Bronx and Queens over the northernmost East River.
…is our command: And it was April 29, 1980, when caring community members came together to fulfill the dying wish of Christopher Greicius, a 7-year-old Phoenix, Ariz., boy who was battling leukemia and always wanted to be a police officer.
Two days before his tragic death, Chris was sworn in as an honorary officer, rode in a police helicopter and received a customized uniform – a dream-come-true remembered as the unofficial formation of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which has since granted more than 500,000 wishes to brave young patients around the globe.
Paper boy: American businessman, newspaper publisher and politician William Randolph Hearst Sr. (1863-1951) – a ne’er-do-well who took over his father’s San Francisco Examiner and became the greatest influencer of modern American journalism, championing a progressive blend of investigative reporting and lurid sensationalism – would be 163 years old today.
Duke energy: Few performers have influenced their genre more than Jazz great Ellington.
Also born on April 29 were French dancer and ballet master Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810), the creator of ballet d’action (the form and function of the 19th Century narrative ballet); French mathematician, physicist, engineer and philosopher Henri Poincaré (1854-1912), a bona fide 19th Century Renaissance man; American Jazz pianist, composer and bandleader Edward “Duke” Ellington (1899-1974), an unbreakable cornerstone of Jazz history; American plasma physicist, engineer and feminist icon Betsy Ancker-Johnson (1927-2020), the first woman appointed to the U.S. Department of Commerce and a posthumous Automotive Hall of Fame inductee; and American professional stock car driver and racing team owner Ralph Dale Earnhardt (1951-2001), the intimidating “Man in Black” who died on his sport’s biggest stage.
Don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys: And take a bow, Willie Hugh Nelson! The American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist – an outspoken Outlaw Country legend who successfully rebelled against Nashville’s conservative restrictions – turns 93 today.
You’re Always on My Our Mind (especially when we’re On The Road Again), so reach out and say hi at editor@innovateli.com – news tips, calendar events and birthday wishes for The Highwayman gratefully accepted.
About our sponsor: New York & Atlantic Railway is the primary freight railroad for New York City and Long Island and has operated the Long Island Rail Road’s freight lease since 1997 on tracks shared with the nation’s busiest commuter rail system. Through its service connections, NYA links Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk to every major North American freight railroad – moving goods efficiently and affordably while reducing congestion and emissions across the region. Learn more here.
BUT FIRST, THIS
See you in September: The first tranche of statewide Community College Honors Transfer Pathway students will arrive at SUNY Geneseo this Fall.
On the Pathway: Suffolk County Community College is once again merging into SUNY’s fast lane.
The Selden-based community college announced this week that it’s participating in the statewide Community College Honors Transfer Pathway program launched this month by SUNY Chancellor John King Jr., who aims to speed SUNY-wide community college honors students straight to SUNY Geneseo upon completion of their associates degree programs. Participating students (who meet GPA requirements) are guaranteed admission to SUNY Geneseo as juniors – a “clear, supported route” to a college with a “strong liberal arts tradition and vibrant campus community,” according to an SCCC statement.
Such joint-admissions efforts are not new to the Suffolk school, which has crafted several similar arrangements with Stony Brook University over the past two years. But this one offers a “highly attractive opportunity [for students] to continue their academic journey at one of SUNY’s most sought-after destinations,” the community college noted, with the first 100 community college graduates from around the state slated to continue their studies at Geneseo beginning with the Fall 2026 semester.
Lab work: Internship opportunities and the importance of continuing education shared the spotlight during a recent confab between Brookhaven National Laboratory and SUNY Old Westbury.
Representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Upton-based laboratory visited SOW’s School of Business to discuss career readiness and other important topics with students and to pitch internship opportunities with BNL’s Budget Office, Procurement and Property Management operations and Internal Audit Office, among other non-science divisions. Current and former BNL interns – including SOW Class of 2027 candidate Maham Mubashar, a former intern in BNL’s Business Services Directorate program who stuck with the laboratory as a part-time fiscal assistant – also shared their experiences.
Chief Financial Officer Susan McKeon, Business Operations Manager Heather Turbush and Senior Budget Analyst Charles Baldassarre were among the BNL leaders in attendance – a high-level delegation worthy of SOW’s elite School of Business, according to Dean Shalei Simms. “Part of providing our students with high-quality education is ensuring they have access to networking opportunities and events that inform them of the next steps they can take to pursue their careers,” Simms noted.
POD PEOPLE
Episode 62: James Chitty, flying high.
Private-jet travel is an important corporate cog on Long Island and beyond, according to James Chitty, CEO of Talon Air, a full-service operator specializing in aircraft charter, maintenance and management operations out of Farmingdale’s Republic Airport (Long Island’s Executive Airport, for the record).
“Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast” lands another winner, as James reveals his personal flight path and his company’s ambitious course – and details why flying by private jet is not an exclusive lifestyle of the rich and famous.
TOP OF THE SITE
U betcha: Hardworking inventor Brian Fried has flipped the switch on an AI-powered innovation coach that can tinkerers and big thinkers if their idea has legs – and walk them step-by-step through the commercialization process.
Pick up: The leaders of the Long Island innovation economy didn’t get there by accident – there’s always a backstory filled with challenge and innovation. And they’ll tell you all about in our revealing Q&A series, the Innovate Long Island Debrief. Pick some brains … then pick their brains.
VOICES
Family & Children’s Association President and CEO Jeffrey Reynolds examines a youth triathlon at Eisenhower Power through the lens of a tragic shooting at the park just days earlier – the kind of social tragedy that might be avoided through the physical and emotional power of youth athletics, according to the Voices social services anchor.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Space Race 2-The Wrath of Chang’e: The United States is locked in another race to put humans on the Moon – and this time, China has the inside track. The Guardian handicaps the marathon.
Light touch: A 20-year trip to the nearest star? It’s possible, with laser-propelled “metajets.” Gizmodo pours it on.
Tick, tick, tick…: The universe might end trillions of years sooner than expected. Live Science resets the clock.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Trifetch, a California-based AI-automation platform for independent healthcare clinics and specialty groups, raised $1.9 million in funding led by Nexus Venture Partners, with participation from angel investors representing Google, Hipprocratic, Mercor and MIT.
+ Betterness, a Florida-based augmented wellness platform, raised $2.5 million in Seed funding led by Martin Varsavsky, Justin Stone, Mark Rosenbloom, Rabin Rahmani, Lloyd Camper, Carlos Domingo, David Garcia, Eduardo della Maggior, Apolo Ohno, Jose Molla and Vivie-Ann Bakos.
+ Magicare, a New Jersey-based agentic operating system for post-acute healthcare, raised $3.6 million in Pre-Seed funding led by Mana Ventures.
+ Fathom Therapeutics, a New York City-based biotech creating novel drug molecules via quantum chemistry and AI protocols, raised $47 million in Series A funding led by Sutter Hill Ventures, with participation from Chemistry, Alexandria Venture Investments and Empire State Development’s NY Ventures.
+ Nervonik, a California-based medical-device pioneer developing clinical-stage neuromodulation technologies, raised $52.5 million in Series B funding led by Amzak Health, with participation from Elevage Medical Technologies, U.S. Venture Partners, Lumira Ventures, Foothill Ventures and Shangbay Capital.
+ Kashable, a New York City-based fintech platform, raised $60 million in Series C funding led by Sustainable Investing at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, with participation from Revolution Ventures and EJF 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 – on Long Island, and soon, across New York State (just ask New York & Atlantic). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Bloody Good Edition)
“Shining” example: Hollywood has never been squeamish about blood.
Plasma phantasma: Only three people have this super-rare blood type – and science is hunting for more.
Prediction friction: The brewing battle over Alzheimer’s disease blood tests.
More gore: Ranking cinema history’s bloodiest horror movies.
Innovation in their blood: Progressive solutions for regional traffic and pollution? That tracks at New York & Atlantic Railway, one of the creative companies that support Innovate Long Island. Check them out.
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