Some snowstorm: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as we shake off Tuesday’s “significant” snowfall (about four quick-melting inches across Long Island, for those keeping score) and plow through another warmish winter workweek.
Welcome also to March, as the calendar slowly gains on the weather (spring is less than three weeks away) and we charge into another month of exciting socioeconomic innovation.
Mud bath: Yes, we said “clean” … despite pigs’ penchant for wallowing in slop.
Some pig: It is indeed March 1, and we’re kicking off the new month with National Pig Day, not a salute to your disgusting roommate but a hug for domesticated swine – affectionate, very clever and surprisingly clean.
And some horse, too: Today is also World Horse Day, a.k.a. National Horse Protection Day, saddling up against abusers of our time-tested, hardworking companions.
Some menu: There’s plenty to eat … March 1 spreads the love with National Peanut Butter Lovers Day and sweetens the pot with National Fruit Compote Day, all part of National Dadgum That’s Good Day, all about good food with good people.
Some Sum total: Also spending time with folks was the first U.S. Census, which became a thing on this date in 1790, when the U.S. Congress authorized the country’s inaugural population count (ultimately conducted that August).
Some controversy: Adding to the U.S. population was Ohio, broadly welcomed as the 17th state 220 years ago today, and Nebraska, which barely became the 37th state 156 years ago today – the only state admitted to the Union in defiance of a presidential veto.
Some like it hot: More accidental than controversial was French physicist Henri Becquerel’s unintentional discovery of radiation, which lit up science on March 1, 1896.
Smash Hit(ler): “Cap” was a big hit right from the start.
Some assembly required: Years before “Avengers, Assemble!” became his catchphrase, Captain America debuted on this date in 1941, delivering a famous right cross to Hitler’s cartoon jaw.
Some kind of wonderful: And it was March 1, 1961, when President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps by executive order.
With Sargent Shriver, the president’s brother-in-law, in command, the corps deployed rapidly – volunteers served in five different countries within the first year and in 55 countries by 1967.
Some chops: Polish composer and piano virtuoso Frédéric François Chopin (1810-1849) – renowned for his imagination and technique and remembered as the leading musician of the Romantic period – would be 213 years old today.
Shore thing: Dinah ruled the 40s pop charts.
Also born on March 1 were American law enforcement agent Alaska Packard Davidson (1868-1934), the first woman to serve as an FBI special agent; American bandleader, composer, conductor and trombonist Alton Glen “Glenn” Miller (1904-1944), mainstay of World War II-era ballrooms and radios; American artist and naturalist Fred Scherer (1915-2013), most famous for his amazing dioramas in the American Museum of Natural History; American singer, actress and TV personality Frances Rose “Dinah” Shore (1916-1994), a consistent 1940s chart-topper; and American director, producer, screenwriter and actor Ron Howard (born 1954), who specializes in retelling stories you know.
Somebody to love: And take a bow, Justin Drew Bieber! The Canadian singer and influencer – as revered among “Beliebers” for his high-profile girlfriends as his middling musicianship – turns 29 today.
Wish the pop tart well at editor@innovateli.com, where we’re pretty sure we’ve never heard anything about Glenn Miller’s love life, and we know we prefer it that way (though we can’t get enough of your news tips and calendar events).
About our sponsor: Farmingdale State College delivers exceptional academic and applied-learning outcomes through scholarship, research and student engagement. Our commitment to student-centered learning and inclusiveness prepares exemplary citizens equipped to excel in a competitive, diverse and technically dynamic society. Long Island’s first public institution of higher education, Farmingdale State is a regional economic cornerstone, with 96 percent of graduates working in New York State and 75 percent working on Long Island. We prepare emerging leaders in the growing technology, engineering, business and healthcare fields. Learn more here.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Waste opportunity: Long Island’s leading waste-solution provider has issued its first-ever “State of Waste” report, and things don’t look so good.
Leveraging information from local, state and federal governments and a variety of industrial sources, West Babylon-based Winters Bros. Waste Systems details the fate of the 14 million tons of municipal solid waste and 29.1 million pounds-plus of construction and demolition waste generated daily on Long Island. The report outlines “very real and very serious environmental, public health and economic issues … confronting municipalities and businesses across Long Island,” exacerbated by the planned 2024 closure of the Brookhaven Landfill.
State of Waste also includes 14 recommendations for addressing regional waste woes, including waste-reduction programs and enhanced rail-transportation options for transporting trash off-Island. “The waste crisis Long Island is facing cannot be understated,” noted Winters Brothers Waste Systems Executive Vice President Jimmy Winters. “We in the solid waste industry – along with public officials, municipal officials, regulators and community members – must work together to develop solutions.”
Plan on it: Ten teams representing seven Long Island high schools are finalists in a prestigious faux-business contest.
When Virtual Enterprises International hosts the final rounds of its National Business Plan Competition next month, student entrepreneurs from Connetquot High School, Jericho Senior High School, Herricks High School, Lynbrook High School and Merrick’s Calhoun High School will compete against two industrious teams from Westhampton Beach High School and three from Syosset High School – plus 30 other student businesses from across the country, all selected to advance in the well-regarded annual competition.
The 10 Long Island teams – emerging from a busy regional round that featured 2,400 Long Island high school students showcasing nearly 100 simulated businesses – will strut their virtual stuff during VE’s annual Youth Business Summit, scheduled for April 17-19 at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The regional competitors will look to build on the strong Long Island performance in the 2022 VE competition, in which teams from Westhampton Beach, Southold, Huntington, Syosset, West Hempstead and East Meadow made their mark.
POD PEOPLE
Episode 1: Starting strong, finishing stronger with Michael Dowling.
Hard to believe, but it’s been almost two years since Northwell Health President and CEO Michael Dowling helped us inaugurate Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast. With Season 4 of our educational, enlightening and entertaining interview show now in the works, catch up on everything that’s happened since Episode 1 – three dozen amazing one-on-ones with brilliant leaders from across the regional innovation economy. Let’s meet our guests!
TOP OF THE SITE
International investment: Anticancer weapons developed by a spinoff of a Stony Brook University spinoff have been re-armed by German investors.
On the bright side: Mid-market CEOs express actual optimism in the first Marcum-Hofstra CEO Survey of 2023 (though they’re wonky on succession planning).
Second chance: This is already your second Innovate Long Island Newsletter this week – but only if you get our invigorating, subscriber-only Monday Calendar Newsletter. (You don’t? Well, no excuse for that!).
VOICES
Innovate Long Island proudly introduces the latest major-league contributor to our loaded Voices lineup: Commercial Industrial Brokers Society of Long Island Co-president David Pennetta, our new commercial real estate anchor, who jumps right in with a comprehensive analysis of the Melville business district – and some best-laid plans to restore past glories.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Growth chart: Startups are dramatically improving regional economics. Inc. lauds the local leaders.
Inflation prestidigitation: America can still avoid a recession, but it’s tricky. Vox sticks the soft landing.
Northern light flight: Yes, an airline pilot did fly circles around the aurora borealis. The BBC loops the loop.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Transcend Therapeutics, a New York City-based mental health-focused biotech, raised $40 million in Series A funding led by Alpha Wave Global and Integrated Investment Partners, with participation from Global Founders Capital and Emerald Investment Managers.
+ Aeroseal, an Ohio-based climate-tech innovator, raised $30 million in Series B funding led by OGCI Climate Investments.
+ Comun, a NYC-based neobank focused on Latinos, raised $4.5 million in seed funding led by Costanoa Ventures, South Park Commons and FJ Labs.
+ Spreetail, a Nebraska-based e-commerce accelerator for manufacturers, raised $208 million in funding led by McCarthy Capital.
+ BioSqueeze, a Montana-based commercial biomineralization manufacturer, raised $7.4 million in Series A funding led by Valo Ventures, Zero Infinity Partners, Riverstone LLC and Next Frontier Capital.
+ Current Surgical, a Washington-based med-tech developing microinvasive therapies, raised $3.2 million in seed funding led by True Ventures, 1517 Fund and SciFounders.
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 Farmingdale State). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Eat Your Veggies Edition)
Veg out: A variety of factors have caused a UK agriculture crisis.
Fungus among us: Meet the mushroom that might replace plastic.
Crop shoot: Brexit blasted as produce shortage empties UK shelves.
Yield signs: The high risks (and rewards) of agricultural gene-editing technologies.
Main courses: Please continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including Farmingdale State College, which always puts the meat before the salad when it comes to academic and personal development. Check them out.
