Almost there: You’ve done it again, dear reader! Another workweek conquered and another weekend queued up – the first weekend of autumn to boot.
Well done! But before you get to pumpkin-picking and all that good stuff, we’ve got a Friday to navigate. Let’s finish strong.
Punc rock: More than just dots and dashes.
Strong language: It’s Sept. 24 out there, when the typographical tools separating the great writers from the also-wrotes shine brightest – yes, it’s National Punctuation Day.
For those keeping score, there are 14 accepted punctuation marks in the standard English language – without Googling, can you name them? (The cast of “The West Wing” can).
With a cherry on top: When you figure it out, reward yourself with a sweet classic – today is also National Cherries Jubilee Day, celebrating the boozy English dessert that didn’t always include ice cream (though now we know better).
See you in court: We don’t know if he checked the punctuation, but 232 years ago today, President George Washington signed the Judiciary Act of 1789, establishing the U.S. Supreme Court, the attorney general’s office and the federal court system.
For the record, the U.S. Marshals Service – the oldest federal law-enforcement agency in the land – was also created by the Judiciary Act.
Flight leader: Jules Henri Gifford’s powered dirigible soared five decades before Kittyhawk.
Full steam: Fifty-one years before the Wright Brothers flew, French engineer and inventor Jules Henri Gifford’s cigar-shaped, steam-driven dirigible traveled almost 17 miles through the skies of France – a Sept. 24, 1852, journey officially remembered as humanity’s first powered flight.
Civic lesson: Now ranked the fourth-most-popular car brand in America (trailing domestic makers Ford and Chevrolet and Japanese rival Toyota), the Honda Motor Co. was founded this date in 1948 in Japan.
Bucket list: American fast-food stalwart Kentucky Fried Chicken, finger-lickin’ brainchild of entrepreneur (and honorary colonel) Harland Sanders, opened its first franchise – gracing Salt Lake City, Utah – on Sept. 24, 1952.
These are the voyages: And Earth’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise, launched 61 years ago today.
In addition to seeing action in the Vietnam War and the War on Terror – and inspiring the designation of the galaxy’s most famous starship – the eighth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name Enterprise amassed an impressive film career, appearing in both “Top Gun” and “The Hunt For Red October” (but not “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.” Most illogical).
All that jazz: American novelist, essayist and screenwriter F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) – who defined the Jazz Age with a turbulent personal life even more tempestuous than the fictitious escapades of “The Great Gatsby” – would be 125 years old today.
Muppet man: Henson, and friends.
Also born on Sept. 24 were French engineer Georges Claude (1870-1960), “the French Edison” and inventor of neon light; American astrophysicist Charlotte Moore Sitterly (1898-1990), who wrote the book on starlight; Spanish-American biochemist and molecular biologist Severo Ochoa (1905-1993), a Nobel laureate who helped determine how DNA is formed; American astronaut John Young (1930-2018), who flew two Apollo missions and commanded the first space shuttle mission; and American puppeteer, animator, actor, inventor, composer, filmmaker and screenwriter Jim Henson (1936-1990), beloved Muppet master.
It all adds up: And take a bow, Ian Stewart! The award-winning English mathematician – who’s authored more than 120 scientific books, including academic texts and numerous pop-science publications explaining advanced mathematical concepts to laypeople – turns 76 today.
Wish the accessible academician well at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips and calendar events always multiply our success rate.
About 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 take a closer look at Islip.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Drive time: Albany is taking action on the statewide school bus driver shortage.
Hail to the bus driver: Albany is gathering the New York State Thruway Authority, the New York Racing Association, the State University system and other organizations in response to a statewide school bus driver shortage.
Governor Kathy Hochul this week announced a multiagency, two-part plan in response to the shortage, which according to some counts has left struggling districts – including certain Long Island school zones – with driver shortages as high as 20 percent, leading to hours-long delays and other chaos. Part one of the governor’s plan is a short-term strategy to remove Commercial Driver’s License barriers and recruit both traditional and nontraditional CDL license holders; part two involves long-term changes to bus-driver training and licensing protocols, plus an even broader recruitment effort.
As part of the effort, the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles is opening new CDL driver-testing sites at facilities owned by SUNY, the NYRA and other organizations with large lots suitable for bus-driver training. “Our schools and public-health officials have moved mountains to ensure our children receive an in-person education this year,” the governor noted. “We are leaving no stone unturned to make sure schools have adequate bus service.”
Causes in the house: A new $30 million Bay Shore residential development checks off several societal boxes, providing affordable housing opportunities for senior citizens and LGBT communities.
Constructed by Levittown-based builder D&F Development Group using state and federal low-income housing tax credits (which generated a combined $19 million in equity) and a $3.2 million subsidy from New York State Homes and Community Renewal (the state’s affordable-housing agency), the Bayshore Senior Residence provides 75 affordable homes for households with at least one resident age 55 or older. “Affordable,” in this case, translates to total household income between 30 and 80 percent of the Area Median Income.
The development also includes 12 apartments reserved for households in need of support services provided by the LGBT Network, which is managing an 8,000-square-foot senior center on the building’s ground floor. “We are proud and honored to open the nation’s first suburban LGBT/LGBT-friendly affordable housing and our third LGBT Community Center on Long Island,” noted LGBT Network President David Kilmnick. “The support we have received from the groundbreaking several years ago to this moment is a testament to how far our community has come.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Hunter gatherer: Three sustainable “tiny houses” rising next week on Shinnecock land in Southampton could mark a key step toward a new national construction industry.
New beginning: Two longtime Long Island institutions – the circa-19th Century Southold Methodist Church and the circa-1965 nonprofit Community Action Southold Town – have joined destinies.
Quick thinking: Catch up with the complete Season 1 of Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast, and make it fast – a new season of intelligent conversations is coming soon!
ICYMI
Stony Brook University gives artificial intelligence the power it needs; the Feinstein Institutes give COVID researchers the knowledge they need.
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: Palo Alto-based tennis booster Universal Tennis serves up free app designed to help players locate local leagues, regional tourneys and casual opponents.
From New York: Rochester-based human-capital resource Paychex enhances software solutions for talent recruitment, retention and management.
From California: San Jose-based advanced-materials ace Lyten rolls out next-generation lithium-sulfur battery for electric vehicles.
ON THE MOVE
Nicole Milone
+ Nicole Milone has been named to the Young Professionals Advisory Board of MENTOR New York in Manhattan. She’s an associate in the Litigation Practice Group of East Meadow-based Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman.
+ James McCabe has been named assistant superintendent for student services for the Copiague School District. He previously served as director of guidance.
+ James DeTomasso has been appointed assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for the East Rockaway School District. He previously served as an assistant principal.
+ Robert Hauser has been appointed assistant superintendent for business and operations for the Connetquot Central School District. He previously served as superintendent of schools for the Bridgehampton School District.
+ Jake Schuster has joined Melville-based Tenenbaum Law as a law clerk. He was previously a legal intern at Gold, Benes LLP in Bellmore.
+ Hematologist/oncologist Sadia Riaz has joined New York Cancer and Blood Specialists and will practice in Riverhead.
BELOW THE FOLD (That’s How We Roll Edition)
Lane change: Bicycle-focused infrastructure promotes public health, sustainability and wise economic development.
Cycle of life: Why creating bike infrastructure makes good economic-development sense.
Wheely bad news: The global semiconductor chip shortage is crashing the automotive industry.
Satisfaction: The Rolling Stones on life after Charlie Watts, and why they ride on, baby.
On a roll: Please continue supporting the amazing organizations that support Innovate Long Island, including the Town of Islip Office of Economic Development, where they work hard to keep small businesses moving forward. Check them out.
