Splashdown: Welcome to Friday, brave socioeconomic explorers, as we complete another stellar five-day socioeconomic mission.
Nobody deserves a relaxing weekend more than you (except maybe the intrepid crew of the Artemis II, scheduled to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere this evening after their 10-day trip around the Moon). Just one more busy day before we put up our feet and enjoy the splashdown – and this heat-shielded innovation-week-in-review to bring us down nice and easy. Deploy the chutes!
It’s only natural: You can hold the lab-created pharmaceuticals on World Homeopathy Day (with your doctor’s permission, of course).
Natural selection: Today is April 10 and we may be diluting ourselves (see what we did there?), but we’ve decided to begin with a small dose of World Homeopathy Day – which trades large quantities of pharmaceuticals for low amounts of diluted natural elements, ostensibly encouraging the body to heal itself. (Why is today, of all days, World Homeopathy Day? Glad you asked. Read on.)
Also throttling back is Global Work From Home Day, a pre-pandemic Digital Age development wherein we all work hard, of course, but we do it on our couches, in our pajamas, with “Virgin River” playing in the background.
Light snack: Many of you are probably sick of those Easter leftovers (which have exceeded their shelf life anyway); others may still be plotzing from yesterday’s seder of seders, the Passover-finale Meal of Moshiach (all that wine and matzoh!).
Either way, today’s indigenous menu is blessedly light – in fact, all we could find is National Cinnamon Crescent Day, served warm and sweet every April 10.
Patents pending: Also fresh from the oven was the U.S. patent system, which first gave rights to inventors when President George Washington signed it into law on this date in 1790.
Don’t be cruel: Also offering protections – of the nonhuman variety – is the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which was founded on April 10, 1866, in New York City.
Swing shift: With the 2026 Masters underway, we pause to salute the start of the PGA, launched 110 years ago today.
All’s fair(way): More interested in the rights and conduct of pro linksmen is the Professional Golfers’ Association, which also teed off in NYC, on this date in 1916.
(West) Egg on his face: Manhattan (and Long Island, of course) also looms large in “The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jazz Age masterwork – a timeless classic now, but a critical and commercial flop when it was first published 101 years ago today.
Bloody good: And it was April 10, 1995, when the world’s first National DNA Database started cracking cases.
The next-generation forensic-analysis system – which helped investigators identify unknown offenders by storing DNA profiles from crime scenes and imprisoned offenders – was created and maintained by UK neighbors England and Wales.
Homeo, homeo, wherefore art thou? German physician Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) – the “Father of Homeopathic Medicine,” who faced fierce resistance from contemporary apothecaries while founding his unconventional therapeutic system – would be 271 years old today.
Get Carter: Need authentic, standout costumes in your movie or TV show? Get Ruth Carter.
Also born on April 10 were English Methodist preacher William Booth (1829-1912), who along with his wife, Catherine, cofounded the international evangelical Christian church/charitable organization the Salvation Army; Hungarian American soldier, publisher and politician Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911), who targeted government corruption, battled “yellow journalism” and otherwise defined modern news reporting; American workers-rights advocate Frances Perkins (1880-1965), who helped craft FDR’s New Deal as the first women to serve in a U.S. Presidential cabinet; American organic chemist Robert Woodward (1917-1979), a Nobel Prize laureate considered the 20th Century’s preeminent synthetic organic chemist; and American costume designer Ruth Carter (born 1960), the first Black woman to win multiple Academy Awards.
Meanwhile, back on the farm: And take a bow, American labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Clara Fernández Huerta! The cofounder of the United Farmworkers Association – one of the 20th Century’s most influential labor activists and a leader of America’s civil rights-focused Chicano Movement – turns 96 today.
Send well-wishes to the veteran social-justice soldier – and the farmworker’s best friend – at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips and calendar events are truly the seeds of socioeconomic progress.
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BUT FIRST, THIS
Looking sharp: A leading Long Island financial institution and a busy nonprofit workforce-development program are helping prospective employees across the autism spectrum dress for the part.
Jovia Financial Credit Union and RewearAble, a self-described “business initiative” of Bethpage-based 501(c)3 organization Adults and Children with Learning Disabilities, have joined forces on a three-week clothing drive targeting job candidates with autism and other learning and developmental disabilities. Jovia employees and customers – and the regional community at large – are encouraged to donate gently used clothing via a collection bin inside Jovia’s corporate HQ at 1000 Corporate Drive in Westbury, now through April 22.
The initiative – also a textile-waste reduction homage to the April 22 Earth Day observation – repeats the formula of the partners’ successful 2025 clothing drive, which collected about a half-ton of clothing, according to Jovia Financial Credit Union Vice President of Marketing Trish Graffigino. “We’re excited to build on that momentum,” Graffigino noted. “We’re hopeful that, with the support of our members and the community, we will surpass that total this year and make an even greater impact.”
In the bag: PopUp Bagels is coming to Westbury, thanks to a Town of Hempstead-approved lease deal.
Hole-hearted: The Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency is on a bagel kick.
The IDA announced March 30 that it had approved a lease transaction (necessitated by a preexisting PILOT deal with the property owner) bringing a Connecticut-based boutique-bagel franchise to Old Country Road. PopUp Bagels – which limits its menu to a handful of classic bagel flavors and “handcrafted schmears” – is aiming for 100 national locations by 2027, according to the IDA, with the 1,564-square-foot Westbury store becoming its second on Long Island (following a Roslyn store that opened in 2024).
Then, on March 31, the IDA announced preliminary approvals for an economic-incentives package benefitting Uniondale-based 2150 Grand LLC, a development company owned by the co-founders of the Long Island Bagel Café chain, who are pitching a $20.8 million renovation project that would bring 58 market-rate apartments and 609 square feet of retail space to Grand Avenue – just steps from the Long Island Rail Road’s Baldwin station. The tax breaks still require final IDA approvals but will ultimately “bring much-needed quality rental housing to the town and contribute to the revitalization of Downtown Baldwin,” according to Hempstead IDA Chief Executive Officer Fred Parola.
TOP OF THE SITE
Gotta start somewhere: Voices History Anchor Tom Mariner explores the humble beginnings of Henry Schein (the company, not the man) to learn how Henry (the man, not the company) grew a neighborhood pharmacy into a global medtech distributor.
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ICYMI
Opinionated, slanted and ultimately irresponsible national news media are hurting American democracy more than helping it, according to a damning Fair Media Council survey.
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 North Carolina: Charlotte-based media-platform prince Kaoz TV energizes the short-form video market with a free app for viewers, creators and business marketers.
From Alabama: Huntsville-based sports-tech challenger Ember Sports packs advanced video capture and real-time analytics into a VR-based mobile training system.
From Canada, eh: Ontario-based outerwear outlier Baffin heals heels, treats tender toes and addresses aching arches with the post-hike Recovery Clog.
ON THE MOVE
Nikant Ohri
+ Nikant Ohri has been hired as chief financial officer at Wading River-based Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York. He was chief financial officer at Gaudenzia in Pennsylvania.
+ David Barhome has been appointed to the Board of Directors at the Ronkonkoma-based Association for Mental Health and Wellness. He is director of rehabilitation services at Pilgrim Psychiatric Center in Brentwood.
+ Stuart Gordon has been appointed board secretary at the Smithtown-based Developmental Disabilities Institute. He is a partner in the Bankruptcy Practice Group at Rivkin Radler in Uniondale.
+ John Schaeffer has been hired as first vice president of commercial banking at Valley National Bank in Jericho. He was vice president of commercial banking at JPMorganChase in Melville.
+ Eric Oterson has been promoted to chief member experience officer at Westbury-based Jovia Financial Credit Union. He was senior vice president of sales and service management.
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BELOW THE FOLD (Hot Dog! Edition)
Every dog has its day: But only one can be the best.
Dog eats dog: Nathan’s? Oscar Mayer? Hebrew National? The winner of this hot dog taste test may surprise you.
Loonie tune: How the Toronto Blue Jays sold more than 100,000 hot dogs during a single game.
Herbs, you say?: As BBQ season beckons, remember these can’t miss-tips for grilling the perfect dog.
Let’s be frank: Please continue supporting the impressive innovators that support Innovate Long Island, including Drake Media Studios, where they relish the opportunity to put your business on a roll – and force your competitors to ketchup! Check them out.
