Sunny disposition: Well played, dear readers – another busy workweek sets and another bright weekend rises. Don’t forget your sunblock, please.
Winging it: As you should, on National Chicken Dance Day.
No excuses: It’s May 14 out there, and we’re wrapping up this latest socioeconomic sprint on National Dance Like a Chicken Day (as if you need the excuse) and National Buttermilk Biscuit Day (as if you need the excuse).
We’re also digging deep on National Underground America Day, unearthed every May 14 to salute subterranean structures (and those who inhabit them).
Shot heard ’round the world: As COVID vaccinations proliferate, today we celebrate the anniversary of humanity’s first vaccine against a contagious disease – administered 225 years ago today as a risky, but ultimately successful, inoculation against smallpox.
You’re so dense: On May 14, 1853, land surveyor, newspaperman and inventor Gail Borden applied for a patent covering his process for condensing milk (he’d get it).
Patents actually issued on this date include one in 1963 for Ohio inventor Elmer Johnson, who protected a flying “Solar Powered Vehicle.”
Petro protection: The petroleum jelly product invented a decade earlier by English chemist Robert Chesebrough was officially trademarked as “Vaseline” on May 14, 1878.
In the Army now: Beginning May 14, 1942, women could volunteer for a number of non-combat U.S. Army positions.
Corps value: The Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps – clearing the way for up to 150,000 women to serve as Army healthcare providers, clerks, cooks, telegraph operators and more – was signed into law on this date in 1942.
Lab work: And it was May 14, 1973, when NASA launched Skylab, America’s first “permanent” space station, from the Kennedy Space Center, aboard a modified Saturn V rocket.
The orbiting workshop would host humans for only 171 total days (spread over nine months and three missions) and spend just six years in space, before crashing back to Earth in 1979.
Playing the Fields: Canadian mathematician John Charles Fields (1863-1932) – who worked tirelessly to raise the status of mathematics in academic and public circles, including creation of the Fields Medal, now considered the Nobel Prize of math – would be 158 years old today.
Jill Stein: Green machine.
Also born on May 14 were Russian-Italian botanist Mikhail Tsvet (1872-1919), the “father of chromatography”; Hungarian-British physicist Nicholas Kurti (1908-1998), who experimented within a millionth of a degree of absolute zero; U.S. surgeon James Hardy (1918-2003), who performed the world’s first lung transplant operation; American physician, activist and two-time U.S. Presidential candidate Jill Stein (born 1950); and social networker Mark Zuckerberg (born 1984), the controversial Facebook co-founder now estimated to be worth upwards of $111 billion.
The Force will be with him, always: And take a big bow, George Lucas! The love-him-or-hate-him American filmmaker – who created Jar-Jar Binks, sure, but invented all the rest of it, too – turns 77 today.
Wish the master of all Jedi well at editor@innovateli.com, where story tips and calendar events always give us A New Hope.
About our sponsor: Sahn Ward is one of the region’s most highly regarded and recognized law firms. Our attorneys are thought leaders, dedicated to achieving success through excellence. With our broad experience in land use, development, litigation, real estate, corporate and environmental law, we have the vision and knowledge to serve our clients and our communities. Please visit sahnward.com.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Private lesson: Long Island’s private, not-for-profit colleges boast a whopping $3.5 billion annual economic impact, according to research by the Commission on Independent Colleges & Universities in New York.
The commission counts 12 independent-college campuses on Long Island – including three Long Island University campuses, Touro College facilities in Bay Shore and Central Islip and the Webb Institute, a private engineering college in Glen Cove – and estimates they spent a combined $71 million on construction alone during the 2018-19 academic year. The CICU also calculated more than 19,200 jobs spread across the 12 campuses during that academic year, generating a combined payroll exceeding $1.1 billion.
Among the higher-performing Long Island institutions, from an economic-driver standpoint, was Garden City’s Adelphi University, which contributed more than $549 million in economic activity to the $88.8 billion generated statewide by private colleges and universities in 2018-19, according to the CICU. “In addition to our very real and substantial contribution to the economy, Adelphi adds immeasurable value to the quality of life on Long Island and in New York,” noted Adelphi University President Christine Riordan. “Our nearly 7,600 students and close to 2,000 employees are a vibrant part of the region’s workforce, culture and community.”
Kelly Murphy: Continuing benefits.
IDA in action: The busy Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency is keeping the economic-development wheels turning, issuing preliminary approval this week for two incentives packages promising short-term construction activity and long-term jobs.
A new tax-abatement deal will help major-league store-display manufacturer D3 LLC improve three Melville facilities, including an 18,000-square-foot expansion of D3’s existing 36,534-square-foot Maxess Road production facility. The manufacturer – whose customers include Kohl’s, Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s department stores, along with numerous travel industry clients – will also spruce up its Melville Park Road headquarters and a Marcus Drive production facility, an overall $3 million investment that will retain 191 jobs and create 65 new ones, according to the IDA.
A similar tax break (which must similarly undergo a full IDA review and final vote) will help longtime Suffolk County-based commercial printer Sterling North America invest $3.75 million in a relocation from two smaller buildings to one 75,000-square-foot space on Corporate Drive in Hauppauge, retaining 127 local jobs and tacking on 12 more. The deal “ensures that this company continues to pay a significant amount in taxes over time, while keeping the benefits of their continued employment opportunities,” Suffolk County IDA Deputy Director Kelly Murphy said Wednesday.
TOP OF THE SITE
Going to town: The longtime producer of the Long Island Index has issued a new report on Island downtowns and their best post-pandemic prospects.
No s***: Already making a splash in the bidet business, an ambitious startup is deploying “Poop Coaches” to ease the “toilet-anxious” back into office bathrooms.
And … cut! That’s a wrap for the first act of Debra Markowitz’s moviemaking career – in Act 2, the former Nassau County film commissioner jumps into the director’s chair. Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast, now playing!
ICYMI
A computational alliance for Farmingdale State and New York Tech; a compassionate intervention by the YMCA of Long Island.
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 California: Los Angeles-based augmented-reality auteur ReplayAR triggers trippy time tunnel with AR-enhanced tour of historical LA landmarks.
From Washington: District of Columbia-based market analyst Demex Group energizes risk-mitigation platform monitoring global climate trends.
From Washington State: Seattle-based wireless wunderkind Jeeva squares up world’s lowest-power computer chip, revolutionizing just about everything.
ON THE MOVE
Felipe Henao
+ Felipe Henao has joined the Old Westbury-based New York Institute of Technology as dean of students. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Innovation at New York University.
+ Patricia Napolitano has joined the Old Westbury-based New York Institute of Technology as associate dean of students. She previously held the same position at Alfred University.
+ John Vullo has been named chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at West Islip-based Good Samaritan Hospital. He previously served as associate chairman of obstetrics and gynecology and associate director for the ob/gyn residency training program.
+ Leigh Schuckman has joined Melville-based Zuma Payroll & Processing as chief growth officer. She previously served as director of business development for Hauppauge-based Sandler Training.
+ Anthony Saoulidis has been promoted to vice president/general manager at Garden City-based Michael Anthony Contracting Corp. He previously served as executive project manager.
+ Cona Elder Law has announced two promotions: Marcus O’Toole-Gelo is now a partner in the Estate Planning and Estate Administration Department and heads the Estate Administration Department, and Diana Choy-Shan is now a partner concentrating her practice in government benefits eligibility and complex Medicaid cases.
Short story: The Speedo has swum a few laps.
BELOW THE FOLD
Think fast: In a rapidly changing world, innovative “design thinking” rules.
Speedo: The scandalous history of swimwear’s tightest fit.
Quick fix: Five minutes (or less) to a happier you.
Slow hand: In matters of land-use and environmental law, nobody has more experience – or patience – than the thought leaders at Sahn Ward, one of the amazing firms that support Innovate Long Island. Check them out.
