Please … no nor! Welcome to Friday, dear readers, and not just any Friday but the last Friday of super-snowy January 2026 – yes, the New Year’s blustery first month is already a wrap.
Just one more workday to work through before our well-earned weekend carries us into February, and one more wintry nor’easter to dodge along the way (looks like this bomb cyclone will skip Long Island, snow-wise, though coastal flooding remains a concern). Whatever comes our way, stay warm, stay dry – and stay informed with this snappy week-in-innovation recap!
Flaking out: And that’s perfectly OK on National Croissant Day.
You earned it: Today is Jan. 30 and we’re wrapping the workweek (and the month, and Tax Year 2025) with National Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day, a tax-season staple that both celebrates the historical importance of paying (reasonable) government levies and helps low-income households pay a little less.
It’s also National Fun at Work Day, a last-Friday-of-January opportunity to blow off some steam – in a safe-for-the-workplace manner, of course. (Doesn’t this look fun?)
Vienna waits for you: Hope you’re hungry, because Jan. 30 is also National Croissant Day, an American observation of the flaky French Viennoiserie – which translates literally to “things in the style of Vienna,” and in this case references the crescent-shaped delight that layers laminated yeast dough between crispy, buttery puff pastry.
We’ll take two (each).
Book(s) of love: From bake sales to book sales, as the Library of Congress – after being burned to ash by British invaders in 1814 – “recommenced” on this date in 1815, kickstarted by Thomas Jefferson’s personal collection of 6,487 books (which Congress purchased from the former president for $23,950).
Iron will: Lincoln ordered it, and 100 days later, the ironclad USS Monitor put to sea.
Iron maiden (voyage): President James Madison approved that hefty book investment – but it was President Abraham Lincoln who approved the $275,000 contract that led to the USS Monitor, the U.S. Navy’s first ironclad warship, which launched in the East River on Jan. 30, 1862.
Hammer time: It took engineers at the Brooklyn Navy Yard just 100 days to construct the Monitor, and it might have gone even faster if they’d had pneumatic hammers – but the air-compressor-driven tools weren’t patented by Michigan machinist Charles King until this date in 1894.
Beat it: Also beating rhythmically is the external artificial pacemaker (with internal heart electrodes), which became a thing 69 years ago today at the University of Minnesota.
Electric avenue: And it was Jan. 30, 1958, when the first moving sidewalk ever installed at an airport went into service at Love Field Air Terminal in Dallas.
The 1,400-foot mechanized sidewalk moved at a painstakingly slow 1.5 mph – but was still blamed for myriad accidents, including a ripped-off skirt, an injured dog and even a tragic death.
The other artist known as Prince: American theater director and producer Harold Smith Prince (1928-2029) – the driving force behind “West Side Story,” “Cabaret,” “Phantom of the Opera” and numerous other Broadway standouts, and winner of more Tony Awards than any other individual – would be 98 years old today.
Little things: His star turn as ruthless Sheriff Little Bill Daggett in 1992’s “Unforgiven” earned Hackman his second Oscar.
Also born on Jan. 30 were British physician and anatomist Sir William Jenner (1815-1898), who knew the difference between typhus and typhoid; 32nd U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), a legit contender for greatest American chief executive; Italian American nuclear physicist and radiochemist Emilio Segrè (1905-1989), the Nobel Prize laureate who identified the antiproton and discovered multiple elements; American computer scientist and inventor Douglas Engelbart (1925-2013), the Turing Award-winner and Internet pioneer who patented the computer mouse; and American actor Gene Hackman (born Eugene Allen Hackman, 1930-2025), whose tragic end could not tarnish his brilliant Academy Award-winning career.
In the Air Tonight: And take a bow, Philip David Charles Collins! The English singer, drummer, songwriter, record producer and actor – who rose to fame as the drummer for rock band Genesis, took over as lead singer when Peter Gabriel split and later soared as a Grammy-winning solo artist – turns 75 today.
Wish the Son of Man well at editor@innovateli.com, where You’ll Be In My Our Heart when you share news tips – and your event listings always add One More Night to our online calendar. (Please share … without your stuff, this is a Land of Confusion.)
About our sponsor: Whether it’s helping in site selection, cutting through red tape or finding innovative ways to meet specific needs, businesses that settle in the Town of Islip soon learn that we take a proactive approach to seeing them succeed. If your business wants to locate or expand in a stable community with great quality of life, then it’s time you took a closer look at Islip.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Love the Drake: “Live It Up!” will embrace its Philadelphia freedom.
Philadelphia roll: From the We Knew Her When file comes old friend Donna Drake, whose syndicated talk show has marked a major milestone.
“The Donna Drake Show: Live It Up!” is now on the air at Philadelphia-based WPSG-TV Channel 57, an independent station owned by Paramount Skydance Corp. subsidiary CBS News and Stations, which operates CBS News and various independent stations. The new outlet not only introduces “Live It Up” to a jam-packed corridor between Philly and Southern New Jersey, it gives the weekly television series a foothold in 10 of the 20 biggest U.S. media markets – with 90 million television households, covering a quarter of the American population, now in reach.
Produced by Melville-based Drake Media Studios, the “feel-good” multimedia show has conducted more than 18,000 interviews since launching in 2009, sharing motivational stories from everyday heroes and celebrities ranging from Mel Brooks and Tony Bennett to Mike Tyson and Gloria Estefan – and it fits right into its new market, according to its creator and host. “I’m so excited because Philadelphia is the City of Brotherly Love, and that’s what this show is all about,” Drake told Innovate Long Island. “And Philly is filled with great characters and stories … I can’t wait to share them.”
Academy award: A Stony Brook University professor known globally as a pioneering HIV scientist has earned another rare distinction.
Carol Carter, a SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Renaissance School of Medicine’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology, is among 169 freshly minted fellows of the National Academy of Inventors, denoting the highest professional distinction among academic inventors. The innovative scholar was honored for her groundbreaking research early in the HIV pandemic, including her detection of interactions between HIV-1 and a critical host protein – a groundbreaking discovery that opened new fields of research in virology and cell biology.
Carter’s legacy work – which has already earned her a 2024 election to the National Academy of Sciences, among other honors – secured her place in a 2025 NAI class that collectively boasts Nobel Prizes, National Medals for science and technology and other major awards. “Dr. Carter is not only an inventor of great vision but also an exceptional educator, entrepreneur and mentor,” noted SUNY Distinguished Professor of Chemistry Iwao Ojima, president of the NAI’s Stony Brook University Chapter. “[Her] work radiates outward into society in profoundly meaningful ways.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Budget Battle lines: With another shutdown looming, Democrats refusing to fund ICE and critical healthcare initiatives hanging in the balance, Voices Healthcare Anchor Terry Lynam dives into the proposed $1.2 trillion federal budget.
Never miss a thing: Don’t miss our subscriber-only Monday Calendar Newsletters – all the innovation, all the fun, plus tons of workshops, networkers and other opportunities for personal and professional growth, across Long Island and beyond. Always easy, always free.
ICYMI
Northwell Health cardiologists are the first in the world to deploy Irish med-tech giant Medtronic’s new implanted defibrillator lead – the smallest ever created.
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 Hawaii: Kailua-Kona-based reforestation champion Terraformation leads habitat-stabilizing, biodiversity-boosting climate-rescue missions around the globe.
From Massachusetts: Lowell-based wireless wonder BlueParrott rolls out artificial intelligence-enhanced noise-reduction Bluetooth headset for busy field professionals.
From California: San Francisco-based workplace-operations platform Kadence promotes visibility (and reduces front-desk friction) with AI-assisted self-service kiosks.
ON THE MOVE
Aaron Frenchman
+ Aaron Frenchman has been promoted to vice president of recruiting at the Executive Alliance in Commack. He was the director of recruiting.
+ Uniondale-based Rivkin Radler has announced four new hires:
- Danielle Drasser has joined the Insurance Fraud & Recovery Practice Group as counsel. She was an assistant district attorney in the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York.
- Conor Byrnes has joined the Insurance Fraud & Recovery Practice Group as an associate. He was an assistant district attorney at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
- Hilary Drabkinhas joined the Insurance Fraud & Recovery Practice Group as an associate. She previously clerked for New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron.
- Kennedy Jones has joined the General Liability Practice Group as an associate.She was a law clerk at THE702FIRM in Nevada.
+ Victoria Aievoli has been promoted to chief financial officer at Nassau Financial Credit Union in East Meadow. She was executive vice president of finance.
+ Uniondale-based Farrell Fritz has promoted several associates to partner:
- Edward Bakerwas an associate in the Estate Litigation Practice Group.
- Viktoriya Liberchuk was an associate in the Commercial Litigation Practice Group.
- Allison Gatoff was an associate in the Trusts and Estates Practice Group.
- Colleen Spain was an associate in the Tax Practice Group.
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 Town of Islip). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Melania: The Movie Edition)
White out: Moviegoers appear to be sitting out “Melania.”
It’s $75 million, actually (with marketing): Even in red states, Amazon’s $40 million biopic projects as a first-lady flop.
Blacklisted: After President Trump’s “White genocide” BS, South African theaters won’t screen “Melania.”
See you in court: Why “Melania 2” could be a legal thriller.
Action! Please continue supporting the outstanding organizations that support Innovate Long Island, including the Town of Islip Office of Economic Development, where your business is the star – and the focus is always your big picture. Check them out.
