Dig it: It’s a bona fide winter Friday out there, intrepid innovators, and you’re this close to completing the first workweek of 2022.
Well done! Here’s a shovel.
Mad as hell? If the first significant Long Island snow of Winter 2022 made you grumpy, you’ll be happy to know it’s I’m Not Going To Take It Anymore Day, encouraging us to let out our inner anger each Jan. 7.
Fry day: Tempura will flare tonight.
Temper, tempura: Or, you can stay calm and eat batter-fried fish and veggies – fair game on National Tempura Day, also celebrated every Jan. 7.
Off menu, today is also Distaff Day, an unofficial Catholic holiday representing the return to work after the 12 days of Christmas, and Harlem Globetrotters Day, recalling the hijinks hoopsters’ 1927 founding by showman Abe Saperstein.
Man on the moons: On this 13th day of Christmas in 1610, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei first noted three points of light in Jupiter’s vicinity – mistaken at first for distant stars, later confirmed as the first Jovian moons ever discovered. (Bonus points: How many moons does Jupiter actually have? Answer below, no Googling.)
There were no free toasters: But the Bank of North America, officially recognized as America’s very first commercial bank, opened in Philadelphia on this date in 1782.
The bank later became America’s first public company – complete with the nation’s first-ever IPO.
Channel changer: Blanchard, Jeffries and their magnificent flying machine.
Hope floats: French aviator Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American co-pilot John Jeffries completed the first successful English Channel crossing by hot air balloon 237 years ago today.
You know the type: American inventor Henry Mill patented his Machine for Transcribing Letters on Jan. 7, 1914 – unofficially, the first modern typewriter.
For those keeping score, Mill never actually built the thing: The first working typewriter was concocted by Italian inventor Pellegrino Turri in 1808 and the first commercial typewriter was built in 1867 by American Christopher Sholes.
Ape Man in the 25th Century: And two cornerstone newspaper comic strips made their simultaneous debuts on this date in 1929 – “Tarzan,” by writer Edgar Rice Burroughs and artist Hal Foster, and “Buck Rogers, 2429 A.D.,” by writer Phillip Francis Nowlan and artist Dick Calkins.
Before Bell: German physicist Johann Philipp Reis (1834-1874) – who beat Alexander Graham Bell to the telephone punch by a year (or maybe much longer) – would be 188 years old today.
Cage, the beast: Nicolas, in action mode.
Also born on Jan. 7 were 13th U.S. President Millard Fillmore (1800-1874); Scottish Canadian railway engineer and inventor Sir Sandford Fleming (1827-1915), who divided the world into time zones; English actor Alan Napier (1903-1988), forever Alfred the butler to Adam West’s 1960s “Batman”; macabre American cartoonist Charles Addams (1912-1988), who darkened The New Yorker with the “Addams Family” and other creepy creations; and full Nicolas Cage American actor Nicolas Cage (born 1964).
She caught the Katie: And take a bow, Katherine Anne “Katie” Couric! The American broadcast journalist, television presenter and author – a longtime “Today” show host, the first woman to solo anchor a major network evening-news program and the ambitious co-founder of Katie Couric Media – turns 65 today.
Wish the famous newswoman well at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips and calendar events always rank among our top stories.
Moons in your eyes: Including the first three discovered by Galileo, Jupiter has 79 moons, according to science’s best current guess, with 26 still awaiting official names.
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 and corporate and environmental law, we have the vision and knowledge to serve our clients and our communities. Please visit sahnward.com.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Musical chancellors: With SUNY Oswego President Deborah Stanley filling in as interim chancellor, the State University of New York Board of Trustees has commenced a “global search” for a permanent SUNY boss.
Stanley steps in for Jim Malatras, who served just 16 months as the 14th chancellor of the State University of New York before resigning in December (effective this month). Malatras succumbed to political pressure after May 2019 text messages resurfaced, showing he belittled a state economic-development official who later accused former Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment – not the first time the former president of the Rockefeller Institute of Government was caught berating a fellow professional.
With the trustees engaging an executive search firm to identify, recruit and vet potential candidates, Stanley will do a fine job in the chancellor’s office, according to SUNY Board Chairwoman Merryl Tisch. “President Stanley is the right educator at the right time to lead this prestigious university system,” Tisch said in a statement. “She is well-positioned to serve our 64 campuses with a proven record of accomplishments, integrity and intellect.”
The art of education reform: Maguire, beyond borders.
Border patrol: An Adelphi University communications professor is among the first members of an international education panel focused on art, science and the transformation of special-needs students.
In December, Department of Communications Associate Professor Cindy Maguire joined the Teachers Without Borders Global Advisory Board, one of 12 inaugural members selected through a six-month review of 400-plus international applications. Founded in 2000, Teachers Without Borders is dedicated to sharing information and resources that improve educational opportunities for students around the world; the Global Advisory Board focuses on “culturally responsive pedagogy, reflective practice and supporting students with special needs,” Adelphi said in a statement.
Those challenges are right in the wheelhouse for Maguire, a co-director of the community-based collective ArtsAction Group who’s facilitated educational initiatives combining science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics for kids as far afield as Kosovo, South Africa and Sri Lanka. “The communities where we work are … seeing the value of combining STEAM with empathy and healing through the arts,” the professor noted. “It’s transformative.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Rough start: Governor Kathy Hochul delivered her first State of the State address this week – and critics of the multibillion-dollar spending plan piled on fast.
Saluting the flagship: Stony Brook University has joined the University at Buffalo as New York State-designated Flagship Universities, a rare distinction with international esteem.
Intelligence personified: Master Innovator Mitch Maiman joins Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast to discuss the end of his tenure as president of Hauppauge-based Intelligent Product Solutions – and the continuation of his lifelong innovation journey.
ICYMI
Smooth sailing for new Nassau luxury hotel; clean sailing for future cargo ships.
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 New York City: Enterprise platform Touchcast unlocks new communications and collaborations with first registered URLs of “.metaverse” domain.
From Kentucky: Louisville-based finger-lickin’ kingpin Kentucky Fried Chicken teams with plant-based producer for national Beyond Fried Chicken rollout.
From Nevada: Las Vegas-based mixed-reality pilot-training pioneer Vrgineers advances avionics with world’s most innovative virtual-reality headset.
ON THE MOVE
Michelle Espey
+ Michelle Espey has been named a fellow of The New York Bar Foundation. She’s a partner and head of the Tax Practice Group at Uniondale-based Farrell Fritz.
+ Manhasset-based North Shore University Hospital has appointed infectious disease specialist David Hirschwerk as medical director. He was most recently executive vice chairman of the Department of Medicine at North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park.
+ Uniondale-based Farrell Fritz has promoted two to counsel: Philip Butler, land use and municipal attorney in the firm’s Hauppauge office, and Peter Sluka, commercial litigation attorney in the firm’s New York City office.
+ Uniondale-based Forchelli Deegan Terrana has made several announcements:
- Stephanie Alberts has been appointed co-chairwoman of the Tax, Trusts & Estates Practice Group.
- Danielle Tricolla is now a partner, co-chairwoman of the Cannabis Practice Group and a member of the Litigation Practice Group.
- Robert Renda is now a partner and a member of the Real Estate Tax Certiorari Practice Group.
- Cora Pappas has been promoted to a Tax, Trusts & Estates legal assistant.
+ Kenny Schultz has joined Syosset-based Homes By Mara Realty as an associate real estate broker. He previously served as an operations director at a Staten Island-based Amazon delivery station.
+ Ronkonkoma-based Campolo, Middleton & McCormick Senior Partners Scott Middleton, chairman of the firm’s Municipal Liability and Personal Injury practice groups, and Christine Malafi, chairwoman of the firm’s Corporate Department, have been named to the Suffolk County Bar Association’s Judicial Screening Committee.
BELOW THE FOLD (Help Wanted Edition)
Soft touch: Software developers are in high demand this year.
Now hiring: Factoring in the Great Resignation and new remote opportunities, behold the top jobs of 2022.
Working on it: Top economists say all jobs lost to the pandemic will be recovered by December – with national unemployment hitting a 50-year low.
Courting applicants: “King” needed for small British island, experienced bartender preferred.
On the job: Please continue supporting the amazing firms that support Innovate Long Island, including Sahn Ward, where they’re always rolling up their sleeves and getting it done for their corporate clients. Check them out.
