February thaw: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as we enjoy a brief respite from this brutal Winter of 2021 – yes, more snow is on the way – and plow through another busy week of socioeconomic innovation.
Sip happens: If you’re gonna do it, do it right.
Real stinker: With all due respect to next month’s corned beef-a-thon, cabbage smells weird and doesn’t taste much better. Nonetheless, Feb. 17 is National Cabbage Day.
To wash away that bitter, wet-shoelace taste, consider National Café au Lait Day, which is always on this date and really should involve dark, brewed coffee and chicory-laced steamed milk. (But we’re picky.)
Switching channels: February 17 is also Analog to Digital TV Day, marking the 2009 transition of the final U.S. full-power television stations, which actually occurred on June 12 (it’s a whole big thing with the dates).
Ship shape: Speaking of unique channels, the first ship to ever traverse Egypt’s Suez Canal set a record for quickest trip from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea on Feb. 17, 1867.
This was dubbed an “unofficial opening” – the waterway, still the world’s longest lock-less canal, didn’t officially open until 1869.
This is not your great-great grandmother’s PTA: Actually, it is – the first-ever meeting of the National Congress of Mothers, predecessor of today’s National Parent Teacher Association, was held 124 years ago today.
Week strain: Financial woes forced it to go all-digital for a short time, but New York City-based Newsweek is still plugging away – and back in print, where it debuted on Feb. 17, 1933.
The Ghost That Walks: And hits the gym pretty hard, apparently.
The Phantom entrance: The world’s very first costumed superhero – The Phantom, creation of visionary King Features cartoonist Lee Falk – sprang into action on this date in 1936.
For those keeping score, Kit Walker donned the tights of his crimefighting alter-ego about 18 months before Earth met Clark Kent and Superman.
On her majesty’s secret weapon: And British Prime Minister Winston Church announced on Feb. 17, 1952, that England would became the third nation armed with atomic weapons, following the United States and Russia.
Deep breath: Pioneering French physician René Laënnec (1781-1826) – the “father of chest medicine,” who invented the stethoscope and perfected the art of auditory chest-cavity examinations – would be 240 years old today.
The catbird seat: Barber, back in the day.
Also born on Feb. 17 were American educator, biologist and author Margaret Warner Morley (1858-1923), who wrote many children’s science books; British statistician and geneticist Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher (1890-1962), who charted the course of modern statistical practice; legendary baseball broadcaster Walter Lanier “Red” Barber (1908-1992); His Airness, basketball legend (and fairly successful empresario) Michael Jordan (born 1963); and hotel heiress, entrepreneur, model, spokeswoman, trailblazing influencer and textbook socialite Paris Whitney Hilton (born 1981).
Blowed it up real good: And take a bow, Michael Benjamin Bay – the bombastic American filmmaker, a former TV commercial director who never met a pyrotechnic effect or audacious stunt he didn’t like, turns 56 today.
Give Bay and all the other Feb. 17 transformers (wink) your best at editor@innovateli.com, where story tips and calendar events are always welcome – and the action never stops.
From 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
Water sign: An Albany-appointed special counsel will host three public forums to discuss the feasibility of a state takeover of the New York American Water Company.
Administered by the Department of Public Service’s Special Counsel for Ratepayer Protection, the forums will enter public comments into the official record – meaning the special counsel can utilize them as part of the DPS’s feasibility study of the potential municipalization of the water company, a subsidiary of New Jersey-based utility company American Water Works that provides residential and non-residential water services and public/private fire-protection services to about 124,000 Nassau County customers.
The forums are scheduled for Feb. 23, 24 and 25; residents can find locations and sign-in details by searching for case number 20-W-0102 on the DPS website. “For too long, the customers of New York American Water have been unfairly faced with the continued threat of ever-increasing rates for water,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday. “New York State has launched an all-out effort to thoroughly study every available option to reduce customer costs for this vital resource.”
Webb slinger: Real estate attorney Michael Webb will preside over Nixon Peabody’s first “What’s New” segment.
Well, this is new: A global law firm with a thriving Jericho Quadrangle office has launched a free virtual workshop series designed to keep participants in step with fast-paced, post-pandemic changes across law and industry.
Nixon Peabody’s What’s New workshop welcomes advance registration for single sessions or the entire five-part series, scheduled for alternating Wednesday afternoons beginning Feb. 24. Slated to kick off at noon, the first session will include Jericho-based real estate attorney Michael Webb discussing the latest developments in real estate transactions, including updates on leasing, borrowing and closing the deal.
Each What’s New webinar will run about 20 minutes and include an audience Q&A component. Future sessions will include Nixon Peabody experts discussing health services consolidation (March 10), the food and beverage industries (March 24), public financing (April 7) and capital-raising for early-stage companies (April 21). More information here.
TOP OF THE SITE
Clean living: Good news for the Long Island innovation economy, as NYSERDA commits to developing a wind workforce, among other alternative-energy avenues.
Better things to do: Share this engaging and informative newsletter with your entire innovation team – and tell them to get their own free subscription, because you’re not, like, the mailroom intern.
Innovation in the Age of Coronavirus: New e-tools, late-night bar menus, wool socks … who knows what will turn up next in Long Island’s one-and-only pandemic primer?
VOICES
The Internet of Things is one of technology’s brightest paths – and with brilliant universities, government laboratories and a sturdy economic-development infrastructure, Long Island is uniquely suited to follow it. Master Innovator Mitch Maiman even has a map.
STUFF WE’RE READING
When the going gets tough: Powering through 2021 will require new levels of mental toughness. Entrepreneur energizes.
The tough…: Avoiding innovation-stifling leadership mistakes ain’t easy, but it’s critical. Forbes guides.
…get going: Business-model innovation is more important than ever. The Wharton School discusses.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ HemoShear Therapeutics, a Virginia-based clinical-stage company developing treatments for rare metabolic disorders, raised $40 million in Series A financing led by Suvretta Capital, with participation from Janus Henderson Investors, Adage Capital Management LP and other private investors.
+ Maisonette, a New York City-based curated marketplace featuring children’s products from around the globe, raised $30 million in Series B funding led by G Squared, with previous investors NEA and Thrive Capital also participating.
+ Scalarr, a Maryland-based machine learning-based ad-fraud prevention company, raised $7.5 million in Series A funding led by the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, with participation from TMT Investments, OTB Ventures and Speedinvest.
+ BigHat Biosciences, a California-based novel protein therapeutics company, raised $19 million in a Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from prior investors 8VC, AME Cloud Ventures and Innovation Endeavors.
+ Labster, a Massachusetts-based producer of virtual laboratory simulations, raised $60 million in Series C funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, GGV Capital, Owl Ventures, Balderton Capital, David Helgason (the founder of Unity Technologies), Northzone, EduCapital and Swisscom Ventures.
+ RapidSOS, the NYC-based creator of an emergency response data platform that powers 4,800-plus U.S. Emergency Communications Centers, closed an $85 million Series C funding round led by Insight Partners.
BELOW THE FOLD
Nightshade: Growing in the moonlight.
In the bag: Nine compelling alternatives to the doomed single-use plastic bag.
In the dark: How stunning UV/LED light displays could help crops grow.
In your eyes: How to stop doomscrolling (and why you should).
In your corner: Please continue supporting the amazing organizations that support Innovate LI, including the Town of Islip Office of Economic Development, always on the side of small-business owners. Check them out.
