No. 1053: In which we age well, plant trees and go to space – before it’s too late

 

Dry goods: Amazing job, intrepid innovators! You’ve kept your powder dry, leveraged your dry wit and completed a dry run straight through another busy workweek.

A well-earned weekend awaits. And while they’re calling for a soggy one (at least on Long Island), it’s a weekend nonetheless – so dry those eyes and let’s keep our heads above water, starting with this innovation-drenched week-in-review.

Branching out: Today is April 24, and it’s a perfect day to find a dry patch of earth (and a watering can). Yes, we’re sowing the seeds of innovation – plus actual seeds – on National Arbor Day, a fourth-Friday-of-April plant-a-thon that makes for a perfect Earth Week conclusion.

If you’re feeling less “go plant a tree” than “go climb a tree” – that is, if you’re fed up with political hypocrisy, unabashed corruption, illegal wars, spiraling expenses, the inexplicable Kash Patel and everything else Making America Great Again – then be glad it’s also National Scream Day, when we’re encouraged to depressurize by (loudly) voicing our displeasure.

Animal house: It’s also a big day for animal rights and appreciation, including the World Day for Laboratory Animals (fighting to end their suffering), National Pet Care For All Day (applauding organizations that make quality behavioral and medical care for pets more accessible) and National Hairball Awareness Day (the struggle is real, particularly for the cat-care crowd).

On the other end of this animalistic arc, April 24 is also National Pigs in a Blanket Day, and … well, those suckers are already dead, so grab the mustard.

The one that started it all: As the producers of your favorite innovation-themed newsletter, we raise our pens – our keyboards, actually – to the Boston News-Letter, the American Colonies’ first regularly published circular, which debuted on this date in 1704. (Top stories: French threats against Mother England and a review of an “excellent” sermon by the Rev. Ebenezer Pemberton of Boston’s Old South Church.)

Book smarts: Other good reads remembered on this date include the 740 books (and three maps) comprising the original Library of Congress, which was established on April 24, 1800, with a $5,000 federal appropriation approved by President John Adams.

Picture this: If you prefer picture books, you’ll be happy to know that master innovator George Eastman founded the Eastman Kodak Co. on this date in 1888, intending to bring easy and affordable photography to the masses.

Worth it: Featured in more than a few photos has been New York City’s famous Woolworth Building, which was ceremoniously opened 113 years ago today. (For the record, it stood as the world’s tallest skyscraper until April 1930, when both 40 Wall Street and, just a month after that, the Chrysler Building both climbed higher.)

Innovations in spaaaaace: And April 24 is a big date in space history, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology achieving the first satellite relay of a television signal (1962) and the People’s Republic of China becoming the fifth nation to put a satellite into orbit (1970).

And it was this date in 1990 when the Space Shuttle Discovery blasted off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-31, carrying the Hubble Space Telescope towards its destiny as a cornerstone of modern astrophysics.

Long-range forecast: American journalist, schoolteacher, bookbinder and bookseller Robert Bailey Thomas (alternately Robert Bayley Thomas, 1766-1846) – who founded the “Old Farmer’s Almanac” and conjured the secret weather-forecasting formula still used by the beloved annual – would be 260 years old today.

Also born on April 24 were American professional wrestler and wrestling coach Aloysius “Lou” Thesz (1916-2002), a true pioneer of the squared circle; American actress, dancer and author Shirley MacLean (born Shirley MacLaine Beaty, 1934), an unabashedly eccentric personality who’s racked up Oscars, Emmys and Golden Globes (and that’s just in this life); American crime novelist Sue Taylor Grafton (1940-2017), whose beloved “Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Series” stretched from “A is for Alibi” to “Y is for Yesterday”; American singer, actress, songwriter, philanthropist, producer and director Barbra Streisand (born 1942), ranked among history’s best-selling woman recording artists; and American Internet entrepreneur and tech investor Alexis Ohanian (born 1983), co-founder of social-news website Reddit, influential venture capitalist and husband of tennis star Serena Williams.

The Queen of Op Art: And take a bow, Bridget Louise Riley! The English painter – whose vibrant optical imagery helped usher in the circa-1960s Op Art Movement – turns 95 today.

Send birthday wishes for the illusory innovator – who’s still creating eye-bending artworks in her London studio, for those keeping score – to editor@innovateli.com, where our vibrant mosaic is based largely on your news tips and calendar events.

 

About our sponsor: Family & Children’s Association is here for every Long Islander – ages 2 to 102 – facing social, emotional or economic challenges. Whether it’s mental-health support, help with substance use or gambling, or programs that protect and empower our seniors, FCA offers a wide range of services designed to strengthen individuals, families and communities. Our mission is simple: to make Long Island a healthier, safer and more compassionate place to live, work and raise a family.

 

BUT FIRST, THIS

Setting the PaCE: From the Never Too Old to Learn Department comes Farmingdale State College, which has officially launched its new Office of Professional and Continuing Education.

Dubbed “PaCE,” the new initiative presents workforce-training and professional-certification programs – Certified Nursing Assistant, Green Professional Training, Adobe Design Essentials and Certified Personal Training are among the first offerings – while expanding Farmingdale State’s strong history of corporate partnerships. By rolling out a series of short-term, skills-based programs and presenting customized workforce-upskilling solutions for regional employers, PaCE is designed to build on existing campus-based efforts “while creating a more visible, coordinated and strategic presence for continuing education,” the college said in a statement.

It also reinforces Farmingdale State’s overall educational approach, which is “rooted in real-world applications,” according to Dylan Gafarian, the college’s acting dean of extended and experiential learning. “We share that mantra in PaCE, where programs are designed to directly translate into workplace skills,” Gafarian noted. “Our ultimate goal is to make it easier for students, professionals and employers to access high-quality, career-focused learning that leads to real outcomes.”

House call: Suffolk County’s first-ever Ronald McDonald House has reached back in time to identify its construction partner.

Ronald McDonald House New York has signed Ronkonkoma-based Aurora Contractors to construct a 60,000-square-foot facility at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital starting this Fall. Designed by New York City-based architectural firm BAM Creative, the new Ronald McDonald House is slated to feature 30 private family suites, communal kitchens, recreation spaces and other amenities specifically intended to promote connectivity and healing.

When it opens (likely in 2027, according to RMHNY), the facility will be the first Ronald McDonald House in Suffolk and the second on Long Island, joining a New Hyde Park facility that services families of patients undergoing treatment at Northwell Health’s Cohen Children’s Medical Center. “When we first partnered with Ronald McDonald House 40 years ago … it was a project we took great pride in,” noted Aurora Contractors founder Frank Vero Sr. “To be invited back all these years later to build their next home is truly special – it reflects not just continuity, but a shared commitment to supporting families when they need it most.”

 

TOP OF THE SITE

Ageless wonder: According to the latest Mount Sinai South Nassau Truth in Medicine Poll, Long Islanders are generally concerned about growing sick as they age – but not so worried that they do much about it along the way.

Easy (and free) does it: The more subscribers we get, the easier it is for us to continue providing all this outstanding content (including these amazing, thrice-weekly newsletters) with no subscription fees or firewalls – so please make sure your entire innovation team is in the loop!

 

ICYMI

The dramatic elimination of carbon-reduction regulations and federal clean-energy funding dampens domestic Earth Week enthusiasm – though Long Island environmentalists aren’t giving up that easy.

 

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 Louisiana: New Orleans-based fitness studio franchise HOTWORX delivers a fully integrated fitness experience with its new AI-powered personal training coach.

From Texas: Austin-based children’s bicycle brand woom reinforces its commitment to sustainability with a next-generation, tech-savvy resale marketplace.

From California: San Ramon-based save-the-bees spearhead Beewise creates new buzz with its first-ever corporate-scale beekeeping program.

 

ON THE MOVE

+ Candice Singer has been hired as fire vice president/commercial banking relationship manager at Syosset-based Valley Bank. She was vice president/relationship manager at Popular Bank in New York City.

+ The Carle Place-based Nassau Suffolk Water Commissioners’ Association has announced a new slate of officers:

• Michael Mazzola has been elected president. He is the commissioner of the Massapequa Water District.
• Joseph Perry has been elected first vice president. He is commissioner of the South Huntington Water District.
• Scott Greco has been elected second vice president. He is commissioner of the Bethpage Water District.
• Michael Kosinski has been elected treasurer. He is commissioner of the Roslyn Water District.
• Rodney Caines has been elected secretary. He is commissioner of the Westbury Water District.

+ Scott Jennings has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Deer Park-based United Way of Long Island. He his president and CEO of PSEG Long Island.

 

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 FCA). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.

 

BELOW THE FOLD (Society Is Doomed! Edition)

Big start: How the “Doomsday” vs. “Dune” tussle forced Disney to innovate beyond IMAX.

Big finish: From alien invasions to zombie apocalypses, why we love the end of the world.

Really big finish: The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday Clock has never been closer to midnight.

Society is saved! Please continue supporting the outstanding organizations that support Innovate Long Island, including the Family & Children’s Association, where they always do their best work when all seems lost. Check them out.