Third place: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, and not just any Wednesday but the first Wednesday after Labor Day – meaning we’ve officially embarked on the third and final leg of 2026.
Sure, it’s still technically Summer in our lovely Northern Hemisphere, but come on – vacations are kaput, schools are open and pumpkin spice is spreading across the countryside like a swarm of spicy locusts. Stores have filled with Halloween swag, and after that come the most powder-keggy midterm election in American history, followed by the Two Months of Christmas.
In the red: Fill in the blanks on International Sudoku Day.
Numbers game: Yes, tumultuous 2026 has entered its home stretch – and the busiest of seasons for the innovation economy – which starts with this bustling workweek, which is split nicely by this snappy midweek innovation review, which kicks off with a numerical nod to International Sudoku Day, honoring the king of precision puzzling.
Also fun: National Teddy Bear Day, holding tight to childhood.
Adult content: The Sept. 9 holiday menu, on the contrary, is all grown up, including International Box Wine Day (bringing convenience and sustainability), National Steak au Poivre Day (bringing the pepper) and National Wiener Schnitzel Day (bringing us back to the old country – Austria, in this case, where fried, breaded veal is a way of life).
United we stand stood: Those midterms will certainly put the American identity to the test – but it was quite a different story on this date in 1776, when an act of the Second Continental Congress officially renamed the “United Colonies” as the “United States of America.”
Golly geo: Speaking of American history, Sept. 9 is a great day for a U.S. geography refresher, considering the nation’s “federal city” (first known only as the “District of Columbia”) was officially renamed “Washington” in 1791; California became the 31st U.S. State in 1850; and both Utah and New Mexico became incorporated U.S. territories, also in 1850.
“Nature”-ally: Massachusetts was already a state on this date in 1836, when favorite son Ralph Waldo Emerson published his groundbreaking essay “Nature,” which drew a clear line between the inner self and everything else, including God. (For the record, the book-length composition was originally published anonymously.)
What’s my line?: Apparently, stars Hank McCune (right) and Larry Keating needed all the help they could get on “The Hank McCune Show.”
Laugh in: There weren’t a lot of laughs in Emerson’s foundational work of American transcendentalism – or in “The Hank McCune Show,” a short-lived NBC Television Network sitcom that became the first to add a canned laugh track 76 years ago today.
Entrepreneurs in spaaaaace: And it was Sept. 9, 1982, when private commercial spaceflight became a thing with the launch of the Conestoga 1 rocket.
Constructed from spare parts by Space Services Inc. of America, the unmanned rocket – which blasted off from a Texas cattle ranch – was named for the 19th Century covered wagons that carried settlers to the American frontier and reached a suborbital altitude of roughly 195 miles. (The rocket, not the wagons – and in case you’re wondering, 195 miles is well above the Kármán Line, the imaginary boundary denoting the start of “space,” which circles the globe 62 miles above sea level.)
Chicken big: American businessman Harland David Sanders (1890-1980) – founder of the finger-lickin’ good Kentucky Fried Chicken chain and, yes, an actual Kentucky colonel (a civilian designation, for those keeping score) – would be 136 years old today.
Burns half as long: But twice as bright, as proved by the incredible Otis Redding Jr.
Also born on Sept. 9 were British Naval Commander William Bligh (1754-1817), victim of the infamous mutiny aboard the HMS Bounty; Russian literary giant Count Lev Nikolayevich “Leo” Tolstoy (1828-1910), a master of realistic fiction rightfully counted among history’s most influential authors; Swedish sportsman Bjorn Kjellstrom (1910-1995), who invented the modern compass; American singer and songwriter Otis Redding Jr. (1941-1967), the short-lived but eternal master of soul, rhythm and blues; and American computer scientist Dennis Ritchie (1941-2011), the A.M. Turing Award-winner who co-created the C and B programming languages and the UNIX operating system.
This is Not a Small Voice: And take a bow, Sonia Sanchez! The award-winning American poet, writer and professor – a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement who’s written more than a dozen books of poetry, on top of numerous short stories, critical essays, plays and children’s books – turns 92 today.
Send best wishes for the celebrated scribe to editor@innovateli.com, where our art is always moved by 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. Learn more here.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Lane assist: Two ambitious Long Island highway-renewal projects designed primarily to enhance vehicular safety have been completed.
The long-term projects – representing a combined $31.5 investment in the Island’s transportation network, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office – resurfaced nearly 100 “lane miles,” upgraded curb ramps and made several other safety improvements across multiple roadways in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Key portions of State Route 25 and Sunrise Highway service roads throughout Suffolk, as well as portions of State Route 24 (Hempstead Turnpike) and State Route 102 (Front Street) in the Village of Hempstead, were among the upgraded thoroughfares.
The Long Island work was part of a $600 million funding tranche earmarked for statewide highway paving projects in 2026, with the New York State Department of Transportation targeting nearly 2,150 lane miles across 180 distinct projects. “New York State continues to deliver projects that are restoring our transportation infrastructure and improving public safety across Long Island,” noted Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez. “The completion of these projects reflects the governor’s commitment to delivering … high-quality infrastructure enhancements for Long Island motorists and pedestrians.”
Shirley Strum Kenny: The first and the best.
In memoriam: Stony Brook University is mourning the death of its first-ever woman president.
Shirley Strum Kenny – who occupied the president’s office from 1994 to 2009, ranking her as SBU’s longest-serving chief executive – passed away Sept. 3. Remembered as a tireless public-education advocate, Kenny oversaw numerous partnerships with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and spearheaded SBU’s 2001 admittance into the Association of American Universities, advances that transformed the university into a premier research hub and solidified Stony Brook as a State University of New York flagship institution.
The Fulbright scholar, who earned a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota and a doctorate from the University of Chicago, was a former president of the City University of New York’s Queens College (among other executive-level academic positions) and chaired the circa-1988 Boyer Commission, whose work led to the foundation of the Association for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities. “She knew the power of an excellent higher education for students,” SUNY Chancellor John King Jr. said in a statement. “SUNY and Stony Brook are grateful for Dr. Kenny’s dedication to the many students, faculty and staff who benefited from her leadership.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Gone Fishin’: A Hauppauge-based electronics-waste and data-destruction dynamo has powered past a major milestone – and is rapidly spreading its reuse/recycle/save the planet mantra across the nation.
While the getting’s good: Innovate Long Island newsletter subscriptions are always easy, always free and always a click away – so there’s no reason why your entire innovation team shouldn’t be in our educational and entertaining loop (including our subscriber-only Monday Calendar Newsletter, an indispensable resource for busy regional networkers). Get on it!
VOICES
If only there was some kind of intelligence repository where the biggest brains in healthcare, media, law, real estate, technology and other sectors critical to your personal and professional success shared their unique viewpoints and best-practice advice for navigating today’s most pressing socioeconomic issues.
There is! Welcome to Innovate Long Island’s exclusive, deep and all-around amazing Voices Library – choose a leader, select a topic and start getting smarter right now!
STUFF WE’RE READING
Bank statement: Mega-bank mergers create economies of scale – but losing your local community bank is a big price to pay. The Hill balances the books.
Dot matrix: Behold, the Innovation Team of the Year – DoorDash Labs, the “unified structure” behind Dot the delivery bot. Fast Co. makes it quick.
From the top: So far, AI innovation has lacked true leadership – but it doesn’t have to be that way. Time Magazine takes the reins.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Puntr, a Delaware-based sports technology platform, raised $500,000 in funding led by Accretion Capital.
+ ChipMango, a California-based, AI-native semiconductor manufacturer, raised $1.9 million in funding led by Atlantica Ventures, with participation from DFS, Kaleo Ventures, Madica, Trilinear Technologies and Malta Ventures.
+ Haystack Robotics, an Oregon-based, AI-powered autonomous disinfection platform, raised $3.95 million in Series A funding led by an entity associated with Agadia Systems.
+ Ollie, a California-based AI platform focused on workforce productivity, raised $7.5 million in Seed funding led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from AI House.
+ Forus, a New York City-based AI network focused on the administration of medicinal treatments, raised $150 million in Series C funding led by Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from Thrive Capital, General Catalyst, Accel, Redpoint, BoxGroup, Pear VC, Vast Ventures and SV Angel.
+ Gimlet Labs, a California-based AI infrastructure and distributed-software platform provider, raised $300 million in Series B funding led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation from Sapphire Ventures, Menlo Ventures, 645 Ventures, Arm, Eclipse, Emergence Capital, Factory, Hudson River Trading, M12, OnePrime Capital, Prosperity7, QuantumLight, Samsung Ventures, Tiger Global Management, Triatomic, Wing Venture Capital and XTX Markets.
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 Family & Children’s Association). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (It’s A Bird, It’s A Plane, It’s Super El Niño! Edition)
Cold affront: Interrupting a Winter of record warmth, the massive Blizzard of 2016 set a few records of its own.
Super-size me: So, what makes a “Super” El Niño so special?
Deep thoughts: Experts predict a snowy winter for much of the country – with New York State right on the line.
Just takes one: The last Super El Niño brought Long Island unprecedented warmth – and the most crippling blizzard in more than a century.
Snow kidding: Sleet, snow, hot, cold – nothing can stop the Family & Children’s Association, one of the outstanding organizations that support Innovate Long Island, from completing its compassionate, critical mission. Check them out.
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