Impression confession: Friday already! Here’s to you, intrepid innovator – another five workdays (just about) conquered, another weekend (very nearly) here. Don’t know how you do it, but we’re impressed, as usual.
It’s April 8 out there, and before we get to our well-earned respite, we need to complete this latest socioeconomic stretch. Let’s finish strong.
Captive king: While moral counterarguments are valid, zoos do provide unique face-to-face educational opportunities.
Cage-free: We prefer to see animals thriving in their natural habitats, of course – but we also admit that if it weren’t for zoos, most people would never get to personally encounter most animals.
Therefore, we begrudgingly acknowledge National Zoo Lovers Day, living free every April 8.
Spice of life: Today is also National Empanada Day, celebrating the traditional Spanish/Portuguese delicacy that stuffs fried dough with meat, cheese, vegetables, seafood, fruit or some combination thereof.
And April 8 energizes us with International Feng Shui Awareness Day, when we’re encouraged to go with the flow.
Like Buddha: Don’t know if he embraced Feng Shui, but Prince Siddhartha of the Sakya Kingdom – known best as Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism – was born on this date in 563 B.C.
That’s actually a guess, though the most widely accepted one – others say the Buddha was born in the 11th Century B.C., others pin his birthdate closer to May 8. (More reliable birthdays below.)
Rather disarming: There’s no doubt when the 2,200-year-old Venus de Milo, arguably the most famous surviving work of ancient Greek sculpture, was discovered – 202 years ago today on the Island of Milos.
Modern artists have turned to 3D printing to figure out what, exactly, lovely Venus was doing with her missing arms.
For antiquity: Speaking of museum-worthy pieces, the American Museum of Natural History can trace its beginning to this date in 1869, when Theodore Roosevelt Sr. – a philanthropical New York construction magnate and the father of the future U.S. President – hosted a meeting to draft the museum’s charter.
First-glass ticket: Milking it.
Clear advantage: Already a home-staple delivery, milk was first sold in glass bottles by a Connecticut dairy on April 8, 1879.
Coming at you: And the first 3D movie produced by a major Hollywood studio – the melodramatic “Man in the Dark,” starring Edmond O’Brien and Audrey Totter – premiered on this date in 1957. (Spoiler alert: It fell a little flat.)
Clinical case: First Lady of the United States Elizabeth Anne “Betty” Ford (1918-2011) – who set a new precedent as a politically active presidential spouse, and is remembered best for creating a leading national center for addiction treatment – would be 104 years old today.
Secretary’s day: Annan, second to none.
Also born on April 8 were German chemist, physicist and mathematician Johann Schweigger (1779-1857), who co-invented the electric current-measuring galvanometer; French physiologist Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard (1817-1894), who decoded the mysteries of the spinal cord; American neurosurgeon Harvey Cushing (1869-1939), an influential brain surgery pioneer; Canadian-American actress and producer Mary Pickford (born Gladys Louise Smith, 1892-1979), whose career spanned five decades; and Ghanian diplomat Kofi Atta Annan (1938-2018), the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Inconceivable! And take a bow, Robin Gayle Wright! The American actress and director – a daytime-soap standout, Golden Globe winner and frequent Emmy nominee who will forever be remembered as “The Princess Bride” – turns 56 today.
Wish the immortal Buttercup well at editor@innovateli.com, where we always have fun storming the castle – especially when we’re armed with your news tips and calendar events.
About our sponsor: Farrell Fritz, a full-service law firm with 15 practice groups, advises startups on entity formation, founder and shareholder agreements, funding, executive compensation and benefits, licensing and technology transfer, mergers and acquisitions and other strategic transactions. The firm’s blog, New York Venture Hub, discusses legal and business issues facing entrepreneurs and investors.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Can’t afford not to: A Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency payment-in-lieu-of-taxes package will bring a slew of affordable rentals to Freeport.
The agency has issued preliminary approval for an incentives package that will help Westchester-based Regan Development Corp. construct a 39,000-square-foot, 31-unit apartment building and 48-space parking lot on Smith Street, on a 0.75-acre site currently occupied (tax-free) by a “non-denominational organization,” according to the IDA. The $16.5 million purchase/construction project is projected to create one studio apartment, two 2-bedroom units and 28 other affordable one-bedroom units, with 10 of the rental dwellings reserved for residents requiring support services.
The 30-year PILOT deal – which must still undergo a public hearing and final IDA vote – would also help create 60 temporary construction jobs and one full-time permanent job, while still generating more than $56,000 in average annual property taxes. Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency CEO Fred Parola applauded the project, which according to the IDA is also set to receive $5 million in New York State financial aid. “There’s a tremendous need for affordable housing in both Freeport and the Town of Hempstead,” Parola said Thursday.
Towering achievements: Stony Brook scientists want to clean up nuclear reactors.
Waste not: A Stony Brook University-based effort to reduce nuclear reactor waste is one of 11 nuclear energy-focused nationwide projects earning the support of a new federal funding program.
The SBU project, led by Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering Associate Professor Jason Trelewicz, snagged a $3.4 million stipend, part of $36 million in U.S. Department of Energy funding for 11 projects aiming to reduce reactor waste – thereby bolstering nuclear energy as a safe and reliable clean-energy source. Team Trelewicz is looking to significantly reduce the “waste burden” in Advanced Nuclear Reactors by improving fuel utilization and reducing uranium loading.
The Optimizing Nuclear Waste and Advanced Reactor Disposal Systems program – supported by ARPA-E, the DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy – “addresses one of the Achilles’ heels of advanced nuclear fission as a baseload energy source,” according to Trelewicz. “Under the ONWARDS program, our team’s research combines novel fuel and waste forms with a comprehensive-systems approach … to enable economically attractive fission power with minimal compact reactor waste burden.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Twitter jitters: Elon Musk’s Twitter play is alarming pundits – and reinforcing the need for social media users to think for themselves, according this public radio veteran.
Awakening giants: Invoking Admiral Yamamoto, LIMBA Chairman Ernie Fazio says an all-in federal focus is needed to defeat climate change – and America’s most heinous enemies.
In earbuds near you: Hear directly from academic executives, master networkers, captains of industry and cutting-edge inventors – basically, the best of LI’s best – on Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast. Now playing.
ICYMI
Innovations through time with the video arcade of yesterday and the airport motor-vehicle hub of tomorrow.
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 Florida: Miami-based stress reliever OpenSeed teams with big names to promote unique meditation pods for workplace decompression.
From California: Irvine-based Quantum Fuel Systems partners with Utah-based Renewable Innovations to pump up hydrogen distribution.
From Florida: Fort Lauderdale-based digital-tip titan Tippy teams with Minnesota-based payment platform Branch to streamline cashless gratuities in salons and spas.
ON THE MOVE
Laura Curran
+ Laura Curran has been appointed to the Board of Directors at Oceanside-based Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital. She is a former Nassau County legislator and the first woman to serve as Nassau County executive.
+ Regina Agrusa has been promoted to deputy superintendent for the Sewanhaka Central High School District in Floral Park. She previously served as assistant superintendent for pupil personnel services.
+ Annette Esposito has been hired as vice president-director of marketing at Hanover Community Bank in Mineola. She was previously director of marketing at Hauppauge-based PKF O’Connor Davies.
+ Lina Fernandes has been promoted to vice president at Woodbury-based HUB International Northeast. She previously served as a senior marketing associate.
+ Orthopedic surgeon Adam Bitterman has been promoted to chairman of orthopedics at Huntington Hospital.
+ Robert Dructor has been named a principal at Mineola-based Lizardos Engineering Associates. He previously served as a project manager.
+ Mary Margiotta has been appointed treasurer of the Roslyn Heights-based North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center’s Board of Directors. She is a principal at Ernst & Young in Manhattan.
+ Dean Baram has been hired as a videographer by The EGC Group in Melville. He was most recently a freelance digital content creator for the Blue Point Brewing Co. and other clients.
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 Farrell Fritz). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Sweet Or Salty Edition)
Snap, crackle, woke: New message, same caramel crunch.
Munch match: Trumpeting women in sports, Frito Lay pairs Cracker Jack with Cracker Jill.
Snack attack: How Russia’s Ukraine invasion is blowing up global junk food prices.
Bar none: Unwrapping America’s favorite chocolate candies.
Sweet spot: Please continue supporting the amazing firms that support Innovate Long Island, including statewide powerhouse Farrell Fritz, a corporate candyland of legal resources. Check them out.
