Welcome to Friday: And the precipice of another well-earned summer weekend.
It’s July 27 out there, dear readers, and if you had Macbeth, King of Scotland, getting whupped by Siward, Earl of Northumbria, near Firth of Forth on this date in 1054, you win.
Two sides, same coin: Today is National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day here in the United States, commemorating the signing of the Korean War Armistice on July 27, 1953.
In North Korea, it’s Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War.
Smelt melt: The first U.S. “branch mint” – the U.S. Mint at Charlotte, N.C., where gold nuggets were pressed into coins – opened for business on July 27, 1837.
It burned to the ground on July 27, 1844.
On the line: The first permanent transatlantic telegraph cable, connecting Ireland and Newfoundland, was completed on July 27, 1866.
Power wheels: The world’s first electric automobile – a self-generating, electricity-powered tricycle – made its public debut in Boston on this date in 1888.
Its inventor, tireless tinkerer Phillip Pratt, is also credited with the invention of the automatic fire sprinkler (1872) and the tiny cloth pads under the feet of chair legs (1878), among other innovations.
What’s up, doc? He’d star in more than 175 Warner Brothers animated shorts and a zillion other cartoons, commercials and motion pictures, but the carrot-munching wascally wabbit Bugs Bunny first appeared in “A Wild Hare” – opposite beleaguered hunter Elmer Fudd, of course – on July 27, 1940.
Meet the Mets: And it was July 27, 1959, when New York attorney William Shea announced plans for a third professional U.S. baseball league – a nonstarter that did spur expansion of the American and National leagues, however, and ultimately resulted in the 1962 debut of the laughable, loveable New York Metropolitans.
Leo the Lip: Speaking of New York baseball legends, Leo Durocher (1905-1991) – who managed both the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers, as well as the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs – was born on July 27.
So were Australian comedian Yahoo Serious (born Greg Pead in 1953) and Queen Mother Moore (1898-1997), a fixture of the American Civil Rights Movement and contemporary of Nelson Mandela, Jesse Jackson and others.
One day at a time: And take a bow, Norman Lear – the prolific American TV writer and producer (creator of “All in the Family,” “Sanford and Son,” “The Jeffersons” and a bunch of other shows you know and love) turns 96 today.
Thank Norman for all the laughs at editor@innovateli.com, and crack us up with a story tip or calendar suggestion, please and thank you.
A few words from our sponsor: Northwell Health is NY’s largest healthcare provider and private employer, with 22 hospitals, more than 550 outpatient facilities and 62,000-plus employees. We’re making research breakthroughs at the Feinstein Institute and training the next generation of medical professionals at the Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine and the School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. VisitNorthwell.edu.
BUT FIRST, THIS
A bellyful of optimism: Continuing recent trends, most food and beverage companies anticipate significant sales increases this year, according to the 2018 Mazars USA Food & Beverage Industry Study, released Thursday by the global accounting and consulting group.
The study – based on an online survey of 200-plus manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, restaurateurs, retailers and supermarkets, primarily in the Northeast, conducted between March and May – serves up several tasty findings: More than 90 percent of respondents predict sales increases this year, better than 80 percent anticipate increased profits and a full 69 percent plan to expand their workforces.
Increased demands for private-label and organic foods are expected to be top sales drivers, according to respondents, who also chime in on challenges ranging from rising commodity costs to increased competition to supply-chain authentication. “The dynamic nature of the food and beverage industry continues to challenge organizations,” notes Howard Dorman, the partner in charge of Mazars USA’s Food & Beverage Practice, who adds the annual survey “provide(s) executives with comprehensive insight into potential industry drivers and best practices to stay ahead of the competition.”
Angela’s new house? The Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency is considering an economic-incentives package for what Chairman Frederick Braun III dubbed a “unique” proposal, involving a landlord who intends to provide warehouse space for a nonprofit organization.
Hauppauge-based Independent Group Home Living and Lucky Daughters Realty Inc. have applied for a tax-abatement deal to facilitate their purchase of a 25,000-square-foot former furniture store on Route 112 in Medford. Their plan is to lease the space to Angela’s House, an IGHL subsidiary that assists families with medically frail children.
Currently servicing more than 600 families per year, Angela’s House would use the space to receive donations of medical and building supplies and resell them to the public, an operation projected to ultimately create two full-time and 10 part-time jobs. The IGHL’s economic-incentives application is subject to a review by the IDA and a public hearing before it can be approved.
TOP OF THE SITE
Chew on this: Even the best medical science fails if patients don’t eat nutritiously, so Northwell Health, Island Harvest and friends are getting proactive about food insecurity.
Ready to fight: A first-ever grant from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is arming Stony Brook researchers to do battle with the most-deadly disease.
In the bank: Modest quarter-over-quarter gains were enough to keep Westbury-based New York Community Bancorp locked on course for a successful fiscal year.
ICYMI
Check out Applied DNA’s pot of gold, Long Island colleges’ big state stipends, Ray Ann Havasy’s personal STEM mission and Farmingdale State’s really successful grads.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Public display: Newsday breaks down the 2017 fiscal performances of Long Island’s top 50 public companies.
Facebook hits a firewall: Twenty-four hours after the social media giant announced it had secured licenses for “innovation hubs” throughout China, the grand plan hit a snag.
Overnight sensation: NatGeo takes an amazing journey through the stages of sleep – and explains why an (increasingly rare) good night’s rest is critical to our health.
Like this newsletter? We do, too. And we want to keep sending these fun and informative roundups your way – so please help us help you by encouraging your fellow innovators to check it out and subscribe for free.
ON THE MOVE
+ Bonnie Porzio has been elected to the board of directors of Westbury-based Pet Peeves. Porzio is general counsel at Triumph Construction Corporation in the Bronx.
+ Irwin Klein, a Melville endocrinologist affiliated with Manhasset-based North Shore University Hospital, has been elected as an at-large member of the North Shore University Hospital Medical Board.
+ Jenifer Oviedo has been hired as marketing coordinator at Melville-based Tenenbaum Law. She previously served as a public relations intern at the Huntington Arts Council.
+ Todd Bass has been hired as counsel and leader in residential real estate at Lake Success-based Vishnick McGovern Milizio. He was a sole practitioner in Garden City.
+ Bryan Griffiths has been promoted to business operations analyst at Melville-based Korg USA. Griffiths was previously the company’s dealer-support representative.
+ Charles Roberson has been promoted to chief operating officer at Ronkonkoma-based Lakeland Industries Inc. Roberson was previously the company’s senior vice president of international sales.
+ Bhupesh Parashar has been appointed vice-chairman of radiation-medicine research at the Northwell Health Cancer Institute and director of the institute’s Head and Neck Cancer Center. The radiation oncologist previously spent 13 years in leadership positions at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City.
BELOW THE FOLD
See SpotMini run: Meet your new best friend – Boston Dynamics’ latest robotic creation, which doesn’t need to be fed or walked in the rain (and won’t shed).
LaGuardia lands a Shake Shack: The burgeoning burger bistro is one of several eateries arriving at the Queens airport’s shiny new terminal.
Mind over menu: Or forget the burgers and study up on the best foods for your brain, from almonds and avocados to pomegranate and that daily glass of red wine (or two).
The search continues: Still no sign of “free news,” so we’d be much obliged if you’d continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate LI, including Northwell Health.
