Cold truths: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as we hurdle the hump of another busy workweek – and leap from what has been a delightful stretch of Summer-like weather on Long Island into a more typical Autumnal pattern.
If that’s not chilling enough, a quick reminder that your favorite innovation newsletter will be taking a long weekend to salute indigenous populations and Italian explorers, so no Calendar Newsletter this Monday. We’ll remind you Friday, then back at you Tuesday.
Fluff the magic sandwich: Nobody disputes the majesty of the PB&J … but the Fluffernutter has carved its own historic niche.
Hero worship: Here on Oct. 8, we open things up with National Heroes Day, an annual reminder – especially important in an age of false idols and personality cults – that true champions are all around us: veterans, teachers, police officers, everyday citizens and many others who strive to do the right thing, and not just for themselves.
Also delivering praise where praise is do is National Curves Day, a second-Wednesday-of-October homage to body positivity among plus-size people.
All things in moderation: Speaking of plus sizes, you’ll get there soon enough if you regularly consume the offerings on today’s menu, which are Sometimes Foods for sure – but that said, this is a great opportunity to enjoy National Pierogi Day (filling fried dumplings with meats, potatoes and cheeses) and National Fluffernutter Day (a sticky celebration of peanut butter-and-marshmallow sandwiches), both served Oct. 8.
Starting line: Pierogi are (arguably) Polish and the Fluffernutter may or may not have originated in Massachusetts, but there’s no doubt were the first major U.S. automobile race was held – on a triangular course of local streets crisscrossing the Nassau-Queens border, site of the inaugural Vanderbilt Cup Race on this date in 1904.
Start laughing: Also revving up are the comedy teams of Laurel and Hardy and Abbott and Costello, and you wouldn’t be the first person under 60 to confuse them – but true fans know that Stan Laurel and Oliver Harvey made their “duo” debut in “The Second Hundred Years,” a silent film released on Oct. 8, 1927, while Bud Abbott and Lou Costello premiered their classic weekly radio show on this date in 1942.
Ding: Like most kitchen appliances, the microwave oven has come a long way over the last 80 years.
Press start: Fearsome defense contractor Raytheon Co. took a more peaceful path on Oct. 8, 1945, when it filed to patent the microwave oven. (The patent was finally granted in January 1950.)
Re-start: Implanted cardiac pacemakers became a thing 67 years ago today, when Swedish engineer Arne Larsson became the world’s first human to be so augmented. (He became the second just eight hours later, after the first implant failed, and hung in there through 20 additional upgrades over the next 43 years.)
Bad start: And it was Oct. 8, 2006, when North Korea conducted its first hydrogen bomb test, an underground detonation that officially announced the rogue state as the world’s eighth nuclear power.
Everyone from President George W. Bush to the United Nations Security Council to Vladimir Putin’s Russia condemned North Korea and its actions.
Start your engines: American engineer and inventor James Frank Duryea (1869-1967) – a master innovator who, along with his brother, Charles, built the first gasoline-powered car before igniting U.S. auto manufacturing with the Duryea Motor Wagon Co. – would be 156 years old today.
King’s man: Jackson (right) learned from the best, including mentor Martin Luther King Jr.
Also born on Oct. 8 were Norwegian zoologist and geneticist Kristine Bonnevie (1872-1948), the first woman admitted to the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (and the first to graduate with a science doctorate); Indian biophysicist Gopalasamudram Narayanan “G.N.” Ramachandran (1923-2001), who modeled collagen and mastered structural biology; American novelist, screenwriter and television producer Robert Lawrence “R.L.” Stine (born 1943), who gives us “Goosebumps”; American actress Sigourney Weaver (born 1949), the ghost-busting, alien-slaying prototype for sci-fi heroines; and Japanese businessman and puzzle-maker Maki Kaji (1951-2021), the “Godfather of Sudoku.”
Everyone wins: And take a bow, Jesse Louis Jackson! The American civil rights activist, politician, pundit and ordained Baptist minister – a Martin Luther King Jr. protégé, U.S. shadow senator and two-time candidate for U.S. President ranked among the most influential African American activists of the current and previous centuries – turns 84 today.
Give the reverend your best at editor@innovateli.com, where your forward-looking news tips help form our own rainbow coalition – and your calendar events help keep hope alive.
About our sponsor: Presberg Law P.C. is Long Island’s premier “IDA” and business law firm for businesses locating, relocating to and expanding on Long Island. Founded in 1984, this multigenerational practice focuses on the purchase, sale, leasing and financing of commercial and industrial real estate, SBA and other loan transactions, construction projects and business sales and acquisitions.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Irish infusion: A progressive international equipment manufacturer on a global sustainability mission has re-upped its commitment to a Long Island-based HVAC-training program.
Johnson Controls – a multinational conglomerate based in Cork, Ireland, with U.S. operations centered in Wisconsin – has pledged $100,000 in annual funding to Suffolk County Community College’s Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration program. The three-year commitment follows an initial four-year deal struck in 2021, with Johnson Controls continuing to fund the JCI Fellows Program (offering “student aides” their first professional work opportunities), the yearly JCI Career Fair (bringing dozens of recruiters to SCCC’s Selden campus) and various scholarships, research efforts and professional awards.
The major-league manufacturer of fire, HVAC and security equipment is always interested in bolstering its future workforce, according to Suffolk County Community College President Edward Bonahue – good news for SCCC learners and Long Island as a whole. “This renewed grant ensures that Suffolk can provide the opportunities that prepare our graduates to thrive in the skilled trades while also strengthening the local workforce and supporting sustainable technologies,” Bonahue noted. “We are incredibly grateful for Johnson Controls’ continued investment in our students and programs.”
Tough act to follow: Michael Dowling was a phenomenal leader — but his successor, new Northwell Health President and CEO John D’Angelo, is no slouch.
D’An the man: A cornerstone of Long Island socioeconomics has a new head honcho.
Northwell Health is now in the capable hands of new President and CEO John D’Angelo, who officially succeeded Michael Dowling on Oct. 1. Dowling, who ran the health system for 23 years, is now CEO emeritus and will continue serving Northwell as an advisor and ambassador for key health initiatives; D’Angelo, the former executive vice president of the health system’s Central Region, takes the reins of Long Island’s largest employer and the largest nonprofit health system in the entire Northeast.
While Dowling was orchestrating his two-decade-plus tenure – marked by progress for the former North Shore-LIJ Health System – D’Angelo was building a 25-year career on emergency medicine expertise, unwavering operational leadership through the COVID pandemic and the oversight of six Northwell hospitals (and more than 270 ambulatory locations) serving Queens and western Nassau County. “I’m honored to lead Northwell into an era of innovating for better health for all, where exceptional care, empowered employees and thriving communities are the standard,” D’Angelo noted. “Building on Michael Dowling’s remarkable legacy, our 104,000-person team is committed to raising health for the communities we serve.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Circle of life: The Debrief sits down with SWFTLabs CEO David Clausen as the Stony Brook-based startup begins a global quest to transform environmentally harmful organic waste into a variety of sustainable products.
Objection: Albany’s civil liability laws are antiquated and economically disastrous, according to the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York, which is on a mission to straighten them out. The Entrepreneur’s Edge goes to court.
VOICES
Innovate Long Island’s powerful Voices lineup is proud to welcome its latest MVP slugger: Burman Real Estate founder and President Scott Burman, who joins our Murderers’ Row of innovation economy experts – and covers all the bases in his first at-bat, an inside-baseball review of critically important transit-oriented development.
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!
STUFF WE’RE READING
Nanoo no-no: Robin Williams’ daughter Zelda wades into the Hollywood fight over artificial intelligence-generated likenesses. Variety corks fake Morks.
Self-inflicted: As its tariffs and trade wars crush U.S. farmers, the White House plans a $15 billion bailout. Farm Policy News balances the books.
Mind over matter: Behold, the “psychological safety” that unlocks breakthrough innovation. Entrepreneur champions openness and collaboration.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Attuned Intelligence, a Florida-based health-tech using artificial intelligence to automate patient calls, raised $13 million in Seed funding led by Radical Ventures and Threshold Ventures.
+ Kadence, a California-based workplace operations platform, raised $20 million in Series A funding led by High Alpha, with participation from Kickstart, Midwich Ignite, Okta co-founder Frederic Kerrest, Slack co-founder Cal Henderson and Pluralsight founder Aaron Skonnard.
+ HyperSpectral, a Virginia-based intelligence aggregator combining physics-based spectral data and advanced AI, raised $7 million in Series A-2 funding led by RRE Ventures and Kibo Ventures.
+ Tycho AI, a Massachusetts-based aerial-technology manufacturer building resilient navigation and AI systems for unmanned vehicles, raised $10M in Series A funding led by FirstMark, with participation from Pillar VC.
+ Peer AI, a California-based agentic AI platform focused on life sciences regulatory documentation, raised $12.1 million in funding led by Flare Capital Partners and SignalFire, with participation from Greycroft, Atria, Alumni Ventures, Gaingels and Mana Ventures.
+ SafeHill, an Illinois-based cybersecurity startup, raised $2.6 million in pre-Seed funding led by Mucker Capital and Chingona Ventures, with participation from Techstars, Chicago Early Growth Ventures, The Source Groups, Virginia Union University and angel investor Eddie Lou.
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 Presberg Law). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Jane Goodall Edition)
Tarzan?: Actually, that’s Hugo Arndt Rodolf, Baron van Lawick, the first to capture Jane’s heart.
Alpha female: The chimp champ was also a beacon for women in science.
Farewell: Goodall brings hope – and fire – in her touching “last words.”
Ape men: She Jane – but who were Goodall’s two husbands?
Not monkeying around: Please continue supporting the fantastic firms that support Innovate Long Island, including Presberg Law, where they’re always super-serious about your commercial land-use and business-financing issues. Check them out.
