To the ax: Welcome to Friday, dear readers, as another busy workweek nears its climax and another lazy weekend prepares to chillax.
It’s March 4 out there, and before we march forth to buff the car wax, tackle our taxes, practice the sax or simply relax, we’ve got one more day to innovate … to the max.
Sauced: Get your tartar on.
Pound it out: Today is both World Obesity Day, which takes one approach to poundage, and National Pound Cake Day, which takes another.
It’s also National Tartar Sauce Day, which always surfaces the Friday after Ash Wednesday and promotes the consumption of nutrient-rich seafood – which can help fight obesity, though tartar sauce kinda defeats that purpose.
Well said: March 4 is also National Grammar Day, when we’re encouraged to embrace English-language idiosyncrasies and polish our prose.
All downhill from there: Strong grammatical discourse is dead and buried in the U.S. House of Representatives, a dysfunctional disgrace of partisanship and rude behavior that scheduled its first full meeting for March 4, 1789.
Things got off to a rough start, of course – House delegates arrived late and an official quorum wasn’t reached until April 1.
Stella quarta decima fulgeat: “May the 14th star shine bright.”
Freedom and Unity: Speaking of political maneuvering, happy anniversary, Vermont! You became the 14th U.S. State 231 years ago today.
Geographic anniversaries are also celebrated every March 4 in Idaho (created as a territory by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863) and Chicago (incorporated as a city in 1837).
Picture this: Back in NYC, America’s first commercial photography studio opened on March 4, 1840.
On their toes: Meanwhile, in Moscow, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s timeless ballet “Swan Lake” – about a princess most fowl – premiered on this date in 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre.
Superbad: And exactly 100 years later – on March 4, 1977 – the world’s first supercomputer was shipped to New Mexico’s Los Alamos National Laboratory, where it would be used to design sophisticated nuclear weapons.
Chemical change: Margaret Foster, mixing things up.
Survey says: American chemist Margaret Foster (1895-1970) – the first woman accepted into the U.S. Geological Survey and a key contributor to the Manhattan Project – would be 127 years old today.
Also born on March 4 were Italian virtuoso violinist, Baroque composer, teacher and Roman Catholic priest (it’s true) Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741); American marine engineer David Watson Taylor (1864-1940), who liked modeling; Norwegian-American football player and coach Knute Rockne (1888-1931), a University of Notre Dame legend; Russian physicist Vladimir Veksler (1907-1966), who advanced the science of X-rays, high-energy accelerators and much more; and English computer scientist Geoff Tootill (1922-2017), who helped deliver the “Manchester Baby.”
So good, it’s criminal: And take a bow, James Ellroy! The American author – whose bestselling crime and detective novels include “The Black Dalia” and “L.A. Confidential,” among others – turns 74 today.
Give the mystery master your best at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips and calendar events always clue us in.
About our sponsor: Presberg Law P.C. is Long Island’s premier “IDA” and business-law firm for businesses locating, relocating and expanding on Long Island. Founded in 1984, this multigenerational practice focuses on the purchase, sale, leasing and financing of commercial and industrial real estate, SBA and other loan transactions, construction projects and business sales and acquisitions.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Jeremy Koppel: New thinking on Alzheimer’s.
The tau of Alzheimer’s: Two new papers out of the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research connect head trauma to a type of psychosis found in Alzheimer’s disease patients.
Both the first paper (published Feb.1 by the open-access journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions) and the second (published Feb. 26 by the open-access journal Translational Psychiatry) support the connection of tau – brain-based protein tangles linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy caused by head trauma – to psychosis in people with Alzheimer’s disease. The twin reports, authored by Associate Professor Jeremy Koppel of Feinstein’s Institute of Molecular Medicine, suggest new clinical-research avenues to clarify tau’s role in psychosis, with new pharmaceutical interventions possibly in play.
That’s good news for nearly 6 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease, half of whom will likely develop some form of psychosis – “a terrifying experience” and “amongst the most difficult for caretakers,” according to Koppel. “By studying potential medications in mice and observing brain scans of human participants, we hope to progress this research to the point where new treatment options are available.”
Get a shovel: Its acronyms may be torturous, but Albany’s intentions are clear, at least in its efforts to attract fast-growing industries to New York State.
To that end, meet FAST-NY – the Focused Attraction of Shovel-ready Tracts New York grant program, designed to expand key growth industries across the state. Speaking at this week’s New York State Economic Development Council Conference, Gov. Kathy Hochul called the Empire State Development program – which offers up to $200 million to develop sites for high-tech manufacturers, warehousing operations, distribution/logistics enterprises and other in-demand industries – a step toward becoming “the most business-friendly and worker-friendly state in the nation.”
New York State Sen. Anna Kaplan (D-Carle Place), who chairs the Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business, agreed the FAST-NY program was critical to the state’s post-COVID economic recovery. “It’s vital that we invest big into the high-tech manufacturing sector,” Kaplan said in a statement. “Taking steps now to attract these growing industries to New York will position our state for long-term economic success and strong job creation well into the future.”
TOP OF THE SITE
In discovery: With its first-ever western marketing push, tourism-focused Discover Long Island is trying to attract visitors from Arizona and California.
Network news: Connectivity is the lifeblood of early-stage enterprise, according to entrepreneur Paul Schwartz, who shows how effective networking gave ThermoLift its big break.
Half full: Our shiny podcast series goes one-on-one with Long Island’s socioeconomic superstars – front-line experience, unique perspective, good humor and stone-cold innovative genius, a half-hour at a time.
ICYMI
Intelligent Product Solutions is taking no chances. Adelphi University is taking it online.
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: Pleasanton-based autonomy advancer Neural Propulsion Systems envisions a world without fatal automobile crashes.
From California: San Jose-based connectivity connoisseur THIRDREALITY raises the curtain on smartphone-enabled Smart Blinds.
From California: Los Angeles-based software spearhead ServiceTitan flips the switch on cloud-based platform for construction trades.
ON THE MOVE
Nina McCann
+ Nina McCann has been hired as director of business development for Garden City-based Jaspan Schlesinger. She was previously director of marketing for National Arbitration and Mediation in Manhattan.
+ William Cairney has been hired as senior vice president and chief compliance officer at Holbrook-based American Portfolios. He was previously senior compliance director/chief compliance officer for TIAA-CREF in Manhattan.
+ Steve Carmichael has been hired as assistant principal at Half Hollow Hills High School West in Dix Hills. He previously served as a school counselor at Smithtown West High School.
+ Laura Brancato has been hired as a partner in the newly formed Elder Law Litigation Practice Group at Mineola-based Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein and Breitstone. She was previously a senior attorney at Littman Krooks in Manhattan.
+ Ron Fried has been promoted to national sales manager at Farmingdale-based Connoisseur Media Long Island. He previously served as senior account manager.
+ Jeanine Marino and Scott Norris have been promoted to partners in the Audit and Assurance Practice at Melville-based UHY LLP. Both were previously principals in the firm.
Like this newsletter? Innovate Long Island newsletter, website and podcast sponsorships are a prime opportunity to reach the inventors, investors, entrepreneurs and executives you need to know (just ask Presberg Law). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Take Our Advice Edition)
Confrontational style: Poor communication kills productivity.
A penny saved…: Nearly half of Americans earning $100,000-plus are barely getting by.
Watch what you say: How poor communication skills make you less likeable.
Fake it till you make it: Sure, but … is that a viable long-term career plan?
Always go with the best: And if your business is coming to or expanding on Long Island, you can’t do better than Presberg Law, one of the amazing firms that support Innovate Long Island. Check them out.
