Quarter speed: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as we salute spring break (for some) and the relentless pursuit of socioeconomic innovation (for all), not to mention the end of the first fourth of 2021.
Twice as nice: Duplicate as necessary on World Backup Day.
Copy that: For a year that’s zipping by nicely, it’s somehow still March out there – March 31, actually, known internationally as World Backup Day, when duplicate data files (a critical data-age protection) show their byte.
It’s also the 10th annual International Hug a Medievalist Day, which should be fairly self-explanatory.
What a vue: It’s not quite medieval, but Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital – America’s first public hospital – was founded in this date in 1736.
High, mighty: The iconic Parisian landmark stands tall.
Towering achievement: Speaking of nifty views, the Eiffel Tower opened 122 years ago today, centerpiece of the 1899 Paris World’s Fair.
Destination Moon: The Soviet Union launched the unmanned Luna 10, the first Earth spacecraft to orbit the moon, on March 31, 1966.
Soviet scientists timed the launch so the probe would emerge from its first lunar orbit just as the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was convening its April 4 morning session.
Origin of a species: After lengthy legal battles with immense ramifications for modern biotechnology, Indian American microbiologist Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty earned a U.S. patent on this date in 1981 for the single-celled Pseudomonas bacterium – a human-made microorganism that does what no naturally occurring bacteria can do.
Jurassic egg: And it was this date in 1989 when the journal Science detailed the discovery of a fossilized dinosaur egg in Utah, dating back to the Upper Jurassic period – a missing link, of sorts, filling the 100-million-year gap between the Lower Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous periods.
True story: A CAT scan of the ancient egg discovered a fossilized dinosaur embryo inside.
Burn, baby, burn: German chemist Robert Wilhelm Bunsen (1811-1899) – a pioneer of spectrum analysis who did a lot more than invent his eponymous burner – would be 210 years old today.
Claiborne: Fashionable trailblazer.
Also born on March 31 were French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes (1596-1650), the father of modern philosophy; baroque-era German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), counted among the greats; Scottish engineer Dugald Clerk (1854-1932), who created the influential Clerk cycle internal-combustion engine; Australian-English physicist Lawrence Bragg (1890-1971), an X-ray crystallographer who shared a Noble Prize (with his dad) for Bragg’s Law of X-Ray Diffraction; and American designer/entrepreneur Anne Elisabeth Jane “Liz” Claiborne (1929-2007), the first woman to run a Fortune 500 company.
More powerful than you can possibly imagine: And take a bow, Ewan Gordon McGregor! The versatile Scottish actor – who’s starred in numerous dramas and musicals, but is known best as “Star Wars” Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi – turns 50 today.
Wish the space knight, the pioneering perfumer and all the other March 31 innovators well at editor@innovateli.com, where the Force will be with your story tips and calendar events, always.
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BUT FIRST, THIS
Bond, tax-free bond: The Town of Hempstead Local Development Corp. is going back to school, again, with another multibillion-dollar bond deal for the Academy Charter School.
The LDC has announced preliminary approval of a $38 million tax-exempt bond sale by the Hempstead-based charter school, which will use the proceeds to construct and equip a four-story, 92,000-square-foot addition – including classrooms, an auditorium and a full gymnasium with locker rooms – at its multi-grade Uniondale campus. Construction could begin this year, with a Fall 2023 finish in sight.
The tax-exempt bond sale – which includes no taxpayer liability – is still subject to LDC staff review and a public hearing; it would be the eighth arranged by LDC for the Academy Charter School since 2011, including a $58 million bond sale approved in 2020. “We thoroughly believe in competition in education,” noted Town of Hempstead Local Development Corp. CEO Frederick Parola. “It breeds excellence.”
Center piece: Hofstra University is set to add a new Science and Innovation Center, with the Hempstead Local Development Corp.’s help.
Refinance Another Day: Also getting in on the Hempstead Local Development Corp. bond action is Hofstra University, which will raise the stakes – literally – in a tax-exempt bond sale supporting a long-anticipated Science and Innovation Center.
The LDC has preliminarily approved a $120 million tax-exempt bond sale by the Hempstead-based university, which aims to refinance existing high-interest bonds, pay off outstanding campus-maintenance bills and finally construct a 75,000-square-foot Science and Innovation Center, destined to house Hofstra’s thriving engineering and nursing programs. The long-simmering center – further boosted by a $25 million state construction grant first issued in 2016 – has moved to the front burner, since Hofstra’s new undergraduate nursing program needs it to earn accreditation.
The tax-exempt, no-taxpayer-liability bond sale must still undergo full LDC review and public vetting. But noting the job-creation promise of Hofstra’s plan – the university says it will add 45 full-time jobs when the new center is complete, possibly by Fall 2023 – that’s a good bet, according to CEO Fred Parola. “We’re delighted with the LDC’s long association with Hofstra,” Parola said. “We applaud the university’s efforts to educate the professional people in our community.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Place your bets: With the Biden Administration going all-in on offshore wind, Long Island leaders are predicting a regional jackpot.
We’d do it for you: Subscriptions to our engaging, entertaining, thrice-weekly newsletters are always easy and always free. Tell your friends.
Innovation in the Age of Coronavirus: The floodgates are open at vaccine sites, nursing homes and Krispy Kreme shops – ride the rapids in LI’s one-and-only pandemic primer, still doing the job.
VOICES
Recruiting top tech talent has never been more important, or more challenging, and nobody knows it better than Master Innovator Mitch Maiman – who also knows how to grab the inside track.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Dial mRNA for messenger: The “overnight” laboratory breakthrough behind the top COVID vaccines promises a better life beyond the pandemic. The Atlantic injects.
Rethunk: Expanded demographics, new definitions of “success” and a shot of compassion can supercharge innovation and equity. Forbes reconsiders.
It’s a Stretch: Boston Dynamics’ new warehouse robot can move as many boxes as a human, though practical workspace challenges remain. Vox automates.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Cityblock Health, a New York City-based healthcare provider for Medicaid and lower-income Medicare beneficiaries, completed a $192 million Series C extension funding round led by Tiger Global, with participation from Kinnevik AB, Maverick Ventures, General Catalyst, Wellington Management, Thrive Capital, Redpoint Ventures, Echo Health Ventures, 8VC and AIMS Imprint of Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
+ Airly Inc., a California-based cleantech company focused on predictive air-quality data, raised $3.3 million in funding led by firstminute capital, with participation from Uber founder Garrett Camp (via Expa), Bolt CEO Markus Villig, WIRED Founding Editor David Rowan, Pipedrive founder Ragnar Sass, Leaders for Climate Action co-founder Ferry Heilemann, the Sir Richard Branson Family Office and Konstantin von Unger.
+ Greenwood, a Georgia-based digital banking platform for minority individuals and business owners, closed a $40 million Series A funding round led by Truist Ventures, with participation from Bank of America, PNC, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Mastercard, Visa, FIS, Popular, TTV Capital, SB Opportunity Fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Quality Ventures and Alvin Kamara.
+ Amplicore, an Ohio-based early-stage biopharma, closed its $4 million seed round of funding led by Photon Fund, with participation from Industrial Technology Investment Corp., Berkeley Catalyst Fund and SVE Capital.
+ Pandemic Insights, a Texas-based preventive-health software company, raised $5 million in Series A tranche-based financing. Convergence Ventures made the investment.
+ Neighbor, a Utah-based self-storage marketplace connecting renters and owners of unused garages, attics, basements and driveways, closed a $53 million Series B funding round led by Fifth Wall, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu and StockX CEO Scott Cutler.
BELOW THE FOLD
Boatloads of fun: The Internet had a blast with the whole Suez Canal thing.
Rookie mistake: A year later, you’re still doing remote work all wrong.
Sophomoric humor: The Ever Given is free, the Suez Canal reopened … but, the memes, though.
Veteran play: The Veterans Benefits Administration has sped up its computerized benefits processing.
HOF career: Please continue supporting the amazing firms that support Innovate LI, including Sahn Ward, where an all-star legal roster always makes the best land-use play. Check them out.
