Trial balance: Welcome to Wednesday, fellow Americans, as we tune out the Constitutional crises and turn up the things that have always put the “united” in our states – innovation, intelligence, science, compassion and old-fashioned, red-blooded capitalism.
Old (and current) glory: It’s June 14 out there, and despite yesterday’s courtroom drama (or thanks to it), the republic stands – so please rise and remove your caps for Flag Day, the annual commemoration of the Second Continental Congress’ adoption of the Flag of the United States on June 14, 1777.
Give it up: Lives are saved en masse on World Blood Donor Day.
Bloody good: Also worth saluting is the World Health Organization’s World Blood Donor Day, thanking voluntary donors around the globe for their lifesaving gifts.
After you donate, stabilize your glucose levels with some fresh-off-the-vine fruit of the genus Fragaria – juicy central ingredient on National Strawberry Shortcake Day, bursting with flavor every June 14.
You’re in the Army now: Equally patriotic to the aforementioned Flag Day – but predating even the Stars and Stripes – is the United States Army, created by that same Second Continental Congress (as the Continental Army) on this date in 1775 (with an Oath of Enlistment and everything).
Paper weight: Looks simple enough, but you’d be surprised.
Scratching the surface: Vermont inventor Isaac Fischer Jr. showed his colors on June 14, 1834, when he patented sandpaper (more complex than you think).
Come to order, eh: Also smoothing things out was Canadian Parliament, which became a thing 182 years ago today in southern Ontario.
Now hear this: Speaking of governmental groundbreakers, Warren Harding became the first U.S. president to have his voice transmitted by radio on this date in 1922, heralding a mass-communications revolution.
Finishing move: And it was June 14, 1972, when the Environmental Protection Agency – citing “unacceptable risks to the environment and potential harm to human health” – began rolling back permitted uses for the deadly pesticide DDT.
A full DDT ban took effect later that year – but don’t tell this guy.
Liberating legacy: American author and abolitionist Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) – a prolific writer who published more than 30 books, but will be known forever for her seminal slavery masterwork “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” – would be 212 years old today.
Go, speed racer: The future Dr. Heiden, in fine form in 1980.
Also born on June 14 were German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer (1864-1915), the neuropathologist credited with identifying “presenile dementia”; Austrian American physician Karl Landsteiner (1868-1943), the Nobel Prize laureate who identified the major blood groups; American journalist, author and politician Pierre Salinger (1925-2004), a World War II veteran, short-lived U.S. senator and press secretary to two presidents; American orthopedic surgeon and former speed skater Eric Heiden (born 1958), the first athlete to win five Gold Medals at a single Olympic games; and British singer, songwriter, record producer, DJ and fashion designer George Alan O’Dowd (born 1961), the unforgettable Boy George.
Movin’ on up: And take a bow, Margaret Bradley! The American actress, singer, comedian, writer and television producer – known best as quick-witted sitcom queen Marla Gibbs, whose breakout turn on “The Jeffersons” was only part of her story – turns 92 today.
Wish the sharp-tongued star well at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips keep us sharp – and your calendar events are always the star.
About our sponsor: St. Joseph’s University has provided a diverse population of students in the New York metropolitan area with an affordable education rooted in the liberal arts tradition since 1916. Independent and coeducational, the university provides a strong academic and value-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, preparing each student for a life characterized by integrity, intellectual rigor, social responsibility, spiritual depth and service. Through its Long Island, Brooklyn and online campuses, the university offers degrees in 60 majors, special course offerings and certificates and affiliated and pre-professional programs. Learn more here.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Vertebrate embryos of every stripe: We have more in common with tiny zebrafish than you might think.
Earning his stripes: A Stony Brook University biochemist with a knack for advanced stem cell biology and a thing for zebrafish has attracted the attention of the National Institutes of Health.
Associate Professor Benjamin Martin of SBU’s Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, whose cutting-edge Martin Lab tackles fundamental issues of stem cell biology, has landed a big grant ($2 million over five years, through the NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences) to fund his molecular-level studies of neuromesodermal progenitors. Using zebrafish embryos as a model system, Martin and friends will observe the progenitors – stem cells that are big contributors to musculoskeletal development – in action, with new insights into their biology and cancer-metastasis mechanics to follow.
Martin’s Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award recognizes basic laboratory research and fundamental studies shedding new light on cell biology. For the record, neuromesodermal progenitors exist in all vertebrate embryos – including zebrafish, a “common model” in laboratory studies of this nature, according to SBU.
Stamp of approval: Long Island residents – and their civil-servant letter carriers – delivered the goods during the 31st annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive.
Long Islanders joined their national neighbors during the drive by leaving more than 360,000 pounds of nonperishable food items near their residential mailboxes for collection, according to Island Harvest Food Bank, the Melville-based nonprofit benefitting from all that regional generosity. Along with $122,000 in financial gifts, Islanders contributed the equivalent of 544,000 meals during the May 13 effort of the National Association of Letter Carriers and the United States Postal Service, an impressive one-day haul.
It’s also a critical one, according to Island Harvest CEO Randi Shubin Dresner, who counts an estimated 300,000 Long Islanders regularly confronting food insecurity. “We are grateful to our neighbors who participated in Stamp Out Hunger,” the CEO said. “We are also thankful to the men and women who deliver our mail for their hard work and dedication to helping us ensure that no one goes hungry on Long Island.”
POD PEOPLE
Episode 38: Johnny “Juice” Rosado, hip-hopping to it.
Season 4 of Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast hits new high notes with hip-hop icon Johnny “Juice” Rosado, the Bronx-born legend of Long Island breakdancing-turned-master DJ who helped give Public Enemy its trademark sound – and now helps future stars master both their music and their morals.
The key player in this week’s star-studded Hip Hop 50th Anniversary Celebration at the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame joins Spark to drop a few major names and discuss the history of his musical genre – and how its social message has been refined through the years.
TOP OF THE SITE
Heated pools: Powerful partners have launched a specialized task force to maintain current and future talent pools for the vast Long Island Innovation Park at Hauppauge.
Air time: Suffolk County Fire, Rescue & Emergency Services’ unique Drone Rodeo showcased the aerial abilities of several regional agencies.
Whose fault is that? Did you catch that thing in Monday’s Calendar Newsletter about that amazing … what? You didn’t get Monday’s Calendar Newsletter? Well, it is subscriber-only – but we can’t make that any easier.
VOICES
With accidents (and fatalities) piling up, Sahn Ward Managing Member Michael Sahn has had his fill of drinking and driving on Long Island – and the Voices legal anchor is calling on state lawmakers to stem the tide with lower thresholds for higher DWI crimes.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Fun while it lasted: Has innovation peaked? ReadWrite senses stagnation.
Surprising Moog: A long-independent synthesizer pioneer has joined a global music-tech enterprise. Gearbeat rocks the industry.
Not grrreeeaaat: Kellogg’s is facing a Bud Light-ish boycott after Tony the Tiger poses with a transgender TikTok star. Newsweek covers the flakes.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Blackpoint Cyber, a Maryland-based cybersecurity pioneer, raised $190 million in growth funding led by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities, Accel, Adelphi Capital Partners, Telecom Ventures, Pelican Ventures and WP Global Partners.
+ Kate Therapeutics, a California-based gene-therapy company, raised $51 million in Series A funding led by Westlake Village BioPartners, Versant Ventures, Osage University Partners and UF Innovate | Ventures.
+ Karoo Health, a New Mexico-based, value-focused cardiac-care provider, closed a $3.4 million seed funding round led by First Trust Capital Partners, GoGlobal and Inflect Health.
+ Blumira, a Michigan-based detection and response technology platform, raised $15 million in Series B funding led by Ten Eleven Ventures, RPS Ventures, Mercury Fund, HPA and Jon Oberheide.
+ Nori, a Washington State-based carbon-removal marketplace, raised $6.25 million in funding led by M13, Toyota Ventures, Placeholder and Cargill.
+ Forge Nano, a Colorado-based nanocoating-technology pioneer, raised $50 million in funding led by Hanwha Corporate Venture Capital, OIC, Catalus Capital, Ascent Funds and existing investors.
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 St. Joseph’s University). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Walk The Line Edition)
Plenty of seats available: A night at the movies? Easy, big spender.
Lifelines: How much social interaction do you really need?
One-liners: Why small talk may be the only talk worth talking.
Bottom line: From vacation to date night, the good stuff has gotten too expensive.
Straight line: Please continue supporting the cornerstone institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including St. Joseph’s University, which has kept students on the straight and narrow – pointed directly toward success – for more than a century. Check them out.
