No. 1075: It’s raining, it’s pouring … but innovation is soaring, with smooth roads and small-biz champions

 

Rain check: Batten down the hatches, dear readers, as the latest extreme weather event – this time, a rare summer nor’easter – drenches Long Island and much of the Northeast.

Even the rainiest of rainy days can’t stop innovation, however, so over the hump we go – soggy, perhaps, but undaunted in our relentless pursuit of socioeconomic greatness.

Rain dance: It’s Wednesday out there (July 29, to be precise) and, fittingly, we’re kicking off today’s midweek innovation review with a nod to National Rain Day, when we’re meant to celebrate the blessing that is lifegiving water falling from the sky – less enthusiastic about Biblical buckets and flash floods, of course, but you get the gist.

Hang on, intrepid innovators – the sun will shine again. And your lips will shine, in your hue of choice, on National Lipstick Day, applying a little love to the cosmetic cornerstone.

Rainy day delights: Workdays not withstanding, it’s a great day to stay inside and cook up a storm – how fortunate that National Lasagna Day (layering wide, flat pasta with cheese, meat sauce and other tasty ingredients) and National Chicken Wing Day (mild, atomic and everything in between) are both served hot on July 29.

Gauge against the machine: Also coming in hot was Massachusetts-based inventor Laroy Starrett, who received a U.S. patent on this date in 1890 for his micrometer screw gauge – to this day, an indispensable tool for machinists and laboratory physicists.

Twist and Scout: British Army officer and writer Robert Baden-Powell carried several indispensable tools on July 29, 1907, when he took 20 boys to Brownsea Island – off the coastal town of Poole, England – for a camping expedition regarded as the official start of the global Boy Scout movement.

Three if by air: Also packing essential equipment was the U.S. Post Office Department, which launched a historic pathfinding flight 106 years ago today involving a trio of Junkers-Larsen airplanes, on a mission to map out a transcontinental airmail route.

Middle ground: Back on Earth – at least, Middle Earth – we find Frodo Baggins, Aragorn, Gandalf and the other heroes of “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” the J.R.R. Tolkien masterwork that was originally published on July 29, 1954, by esteemed English publishing houser Allen & Unwin (as a sequel to Tolkien’s 1937 children’s book “The Hobbit,” for those keeping score).

To boldly go: And it was July 29, 1958, when President Dwight Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act into law.

The legislation – drafted in direct response to the Soviet Union’s successful Sputnik launch and the need for a long-term U.S. space-exploration plan – created NASA, which opened for business 10 weeks later.

Integrity incarnate: Canadian American broadcast journalist Peter Jennings (1938-2005) – the longtime anchor of ABC News’ “World News Tonight” whose integrity, easygoing delivery and adherence to facts earned the public’s respect and trust – would be 88 years old today.

Also born on July 29 were American mechanical engineer Walter Hunt (1796-1859), an often-overlooked master innovator who came up with the safety pin, the repeating rifle, a practical sewing machine, an advanced fountain and more; Russian American inventor and engineer Vladimir Zworykin (1888-1982), known best for creating the iconoscope and kinescope television-transmission systems; American lawyer, writer and actor Melvin Belli (1907-1996), the undisputed “King of Torts” (and a “Star Trek” guest star!); British chemist Dorothy Hodgkin (1910-1994), who earned a Nobel Prize for advancing X-ray crystallography; and Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing (born 1928), an entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist revered as one of Asia’s most influential business magnates.

Talk to Chuck: And take a bow, Charles Robert Schwab Sr.! The American investor, financial executive, author and philanthropist – who pioneered discount sales of equity securities and changed how people trade stocks – turns89 today.

Send birthday greetings for Bloomberg’s 157th richest person in the world to editor@innovateli.com, where our wealth is based largely on your news tips – and your stock always rises when you share calendar events.

 

About our sponsor: St. Joseph’s University-New York, has provided a diverse population of students in the New York metropolitan area with an affordable education rooted in the liberal arts tradition since 1916. The independent and coeducational university provides a strong academic and values-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, aiming to prepare each student for a life characterized by integrity, intellectual rigor, social responsibility, spiritual depth and service. Through its Long Island, Brooklyn and online campuses, the university offers degrees in 100 majors, special course offerings and certificates and affiliated and pre-professional programs. Learn more here.

 

BUT FIRST, THIS

Champions league: One of Long Island’s busiest and most effective nonprofits has honored the community-engagement efforts of several small businesses.

Deer Park-based United Way of Long Island recognized four local businesses July 23 during its 2026 Small Business Award Champions ceremony, part of the Long Island chapter’s annual United Together Celebration. The awards honor businesses with fewer than 100 employees that demonstrate exceptional leadership, philanthropy and commitment to improving the lives of Long Islanders.

Honorees included Mineola-based Dynaire Corp. (which supports autism-focused organizations and other nonprofit groups), Huntington-based Home Energy Solutions (which has delivered free energy-efficiency upgrades to 5,000 income-eligible homes), Ronkonkoma-based PointVolIP (which provides technical support to organizations throughout the nonprofit sector) and Patchogue-based Swezey Fuel (for various charitable contributions). “These organizations are investing in people, supporting vulnerable populations and demonstrating what it means to lead with purpose,” noted United Way of Long Island President and CEO Theresa Regnante. “We are proud to recognize their extraordinary commitment to making Long Island a better place to live and work.”

Smooth operator: Governor Kathy Hochul is trying to smooth things out across Long Island, literally.

The governor has officially greenlighted a $58 million investment in the Island’s regional transportation network, part of the roughly $1.2 billion Albany is pouring into the renewal of critical thoroughfares across the state through a wide-ranging construction effort Hochul announced last fall. The Long Island work includes the resurfacing of 104 lane miles along State Routes 24, 25 and 100, as well as other key roadways, and the reconfiguring of multiple intersections to reduce congestion and improve accommodations for pedestrians – including the Northern Boulevard/Community Drive crossing in the Town of North Hempstead and the Jericho Turnpike/County Route 14 intersection in the Town of Smithtown, among others.

One runway at East Farmingdale’s Republic Airport will also be resurfaced as part of the transportation initiative. “These projects will help keep people and goods moving safely and efficiently across Long Island,” noted New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez. “[This] will grow our economy and improve quality of life for residents.”

 

TOP OF THE SITE

Data debate: Is Gov. Kathy Hochul’s one-year moratorium on data-center construction environmentally motivated, politically motived … or both? The debate rages, with several prominent Long Island voices taking sides.

Content analysis: Intimate podcast conversations, thought-provoking op-ed pieces, deep-digging Q&A Debriefs, behind-the-scenes news features … there’s always plenty of amazing Innovate Long Island content ready to make you smarter, happier and more successful – in business and in life!

 

VOICES

Knowing which streaming technologies are delivering your movies and videogames, carrying your meetings and telehealth visits and otherwise facilitating the point-and-click digital world you know and love can mean the difference between smooth operations and clunky failures, according to Intelligent Product Solutions Vice President and Voices Technology Anchor Brad Carlson.

 

STUFF WE’RE READING

Shortcuts: Say what you want about AI, but it definitely reduces research and innovation cycles. Forbes watches the clock.

Viewers like you – thank you! As federal funding vanishes, “rage-giving” and cost-cutting are keeping public media afloat. NPR balances the books.

Meanwhile, back on the farm: The USDA is calling on innovators to help streamline and maximize agricultural production. Michigan Farm News works the fields.

 

RECENT FUNDINGS

+ Cast Insights, a California-based real-time spoken-intelligence platform, raised $4.5 million in Pre-Seed funding led by Abstract Ventures, with participation from HF0, Village Global, Max Ventures, Embassy Ventures and Stratus Ventures.

+ Pilot Protocol, a California-based Internet-network platform for AI agents, raised $4.5 million in Seed funding led by Version One Ventures, with participation from Precursor Ventures, Night Capital, Todd & Rahul Capital, Lenny Rachitsky and Ben Tossell.

+ Freight Hero, a North Carolina-based AI platform for freight-hauler back-office operations, raised $5 million in Seed funding led by Field Ventures, with participation from Flybridge Capital, Tip Top VC and Front Porch Venture Partners.

+ Dopl Technologies, a Washington State-based medtech focused on robotic ultrasound tech, raised $6.3 million in Seed funding led by SpringTide Ventures, with participation from WRF Capital, Tacoma Venture Fund, HeartX, Transform Health Ventures and Precursor Ventures.

+ Enigma, a California-based robotics startup creating a training platform for AI foundation models, raised $71 million in Seed funding led by Index Ventures and Ribbit Capital, with participation from Conviction Partners and leaders from OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepMind, xAI, Cognition and Wiz.

+ Antares, a California-based nuclear-fission energy pioneer developing compact microreactors for defense and space applications, raised $470 million in Series C funding led by Paradigm and Caffeinated Capital, with participation from Point72 Ventures, Shine Capital and Industrious 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 St. Joe’s). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.

 

BELOW THE FOLD (San Diego Comic-Con Edition)

All dressed up: Fandom reigns supreme as creative cosplayers bask in Comic-Con’s glow.

Toro! Toro! Toro! Speaking at Comic-Con, famed filmmaker leaves no doubts about his feelings on AI in Hollywood.

Local legends: Long Islanders don’t have to cross the continent to enjoy their own Comic-Cons, thanks to August’s Tropic Con and September’s Eternal Con.

Take the conn: Please continue supporting the innovative institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including St. Joseph’s University, where a century-plus of intellectual rigor and social responsibility help students command their own destinies. Check them out.