Friggin’…: No, no, no – that’s a good thing, dear readers, as we reach Friday (or Frīġedæġ, Old English for “day of Frigg,” the Norse goddess of love and fertility) and the end of another !^#(&!^% workweek.
We swear, this damn snappy innovation review will reverse the curse of your busy week with some strong language on the innovation economy. Feast your eyes – and hey, watch your mouth.
Straight out of shell: Love a sea turtle today.
Fudgin’: So, it’s June 16 out there, and you hear “Bloomsday” and “National Fudge Day,” and it’s phonetically understandable if you pivot straight to literary giant Judy Blume and her classic teen-lit character Fudge. But you’d be wrong.
It is, in fact, Bloomsday (celebrating Irish writer James Joyce and his 1922 novel “Ulysses,” a beloved homage to Dublin) and National Fudge Day (digging into the circa-19th Century, born-in-the-USA cocoa confection).
Bitchin’: June 16 is also World Sea Turtle Day, when the magnificent ocean-dwellers (you know the type) come out of their shells.
Crunchin’: After washing your mouth out with soap, recalibrate with Cracker Jack, the molasses-peanut-popcorn revelation introduced on this date in 1893 at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Rollin’: Other uber-successful brands associated with June 16 include the Ford Motor Co., which was signed into existence 120 years ago today (though technically incorporated on June 17).
Brand-building 101: Choice of an earlier generation.
Guzzlin’: Here’s another – “Pepsi-Cola” was officially trademarked on this date in 1903.
Computin’: And another – multinational tech titan IBM was founded on June 16, 1911, as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. of upstate Binghamton.
Goin’ down: And way at the other end of the corporate spectrum, the owner of Trump Steaks, Trump Airlines, Trump Vodka, Trump University, Trump: The Game and Trump Magazine (among other failed businesses) officially launched his campaign for president eight years ago today.
As predicted by “The Simpsons,” it began with the surreal “golden escalator ride.”
Extinction level: American paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson (1902-1984) – considered the 20th Century’s most influential paleontologist and history’s greatest expert on the intercontinental migration of long-dead species – would be 120 years old today.
Durán Durán: Roberto (left, hammering welterweight Carlos Palomino) possessed a rare combination of punching power and technical acumen.
Also born on June 16 were Russian physicist and mathematician Alexander Friedmann (1888-1925), who pioneered the idea of an expanding universe; English comic actor Stan Laurel (1890-1965), who made 100-plus on-screen appearances with partner Oliver Hardy; American geneticist Barbara McClintock (1902-1992), a Nobel Prize-winning cornerstone of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; American herpetologist, ecologist and conservationist Archie Carr Jr. (1909-1987), a true man among turtles; and American newspaper publisher Katharine Meyer Graham (1917-2001), who presided over The Washington Post as it broke the Watergate scandal.
Manos de Piedra: And take a bow, Roberto Durán Samaniego! The retired Panamanian boxer – who competed professionally in five different decades and was a world champion in four different weight classes – turns 72 today.
Give your best to the legendary pugilist (unfairly remembered for his “no más” loss to Sugar Ray Leonard) at editor@innovateli.com, where it’s only fair that we punch up your news tips – and your calendar events always help us remember the good stuff.
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BUT FIRST, THIS
North by Northern Boulevard: The Kathy Hochul Road Tour returned to Long Island this week, with the governor highlighting new resurfacing efforts covering Northern Boulevard and the Northern State Parkway.
Combined, the two projects will smooth out roughly 80 miles on the heavily traveled roads – $25.8 million worth of work resurfacing nearly 40 lanes of the Northern State (from Wolf Hill Road in Huntington to the parkway’s terminus at Routes 347/454 in Smithtown) and three sections of Northern Boulevard (from the Queens border to Roslyn Estates, from East Hills to North Hempstead, and portions stretching from Oyster Bay to Huntington). Construction is slated to begin next week.
The latest resurfacing projects complement several state-funded Long Island road-repair projects already underway, including previous efforts along the Northern State. “With the start of the summer construction season, we are continuing our record-setting investments to modernize New York’s transportation network,” Hochul said Thursday. “These paving projects will provide motorists in Nassau and Suffolk counties with a smoother ride that will help strengthen the bonds that tie our Long Island communities together.”
Ain’t seen nothing yet: The best is yet to come for the Hofstra/Northwell nursing school, according to Dean Renee McLeod-Sordjan.
Extra accreditation: From the Rich Get Richer File comes the Hofstra/Northwell nursing school, which has achieved another major milestone – and is anticipating some significant upgrades this fall.
The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education – an independent, nonprofit educational accrediting agency that rates national nursing programs on several key standards – has sanctioned the undergraduate nursing program (for the first time) and re-upped approvals for post-graduate programs at the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. The school, which opened in 2021, becomes the first U.S. nursing school accredited using the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s new competency-based standards.
Already earning top marks, the Hofstra/Northwell school should soar even higher in September, when it moves into Hofstra University’s new, resource-rich Center for Science and Innovation. “This accreditation validates our innovative, integrated course design and delivery system, supported by our interprofessional faculty,” noted School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies Dean Renee McLeod-Sordjan. “We have a brand-new 75,000-square-foot facility with a state-of-the-art simulation center opening this fall, where we will welcome our … largest class of graduate students.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Mayo on top: Northwell Health and Aegis Ventures have tapped the famous Mayo Clinic’s president emeritus for a “key leadership role” at their ambitious new health-tech.
Distinguishing feature: A geopolitical ace and longtime Farmingdale State faculty member has become the college’s first-ever SUNY Distinguished Professor.
Juice mixer: Hip-hop icon DJ Johnny “Juice” Rosado joins Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast to drop names, drop beats and drop a few pearls about the 50-year history of his socially edgy genre (classic rap battles and all).
ICYMI
Filling the pools at the Northeast’s largest industrial park, filling the skies at the region’s inaugural Drone Rodeo.
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 Colorado: Fort Collins-based device enforcer OtterBox beefs up worksite iPads with tough-as-nails Hardline Series protection.
From Michigan: Grand Rapids-based charter school teacher Beth Miller encourages analytic thinking with innovative social media lessons.
From Florida: Fort Lauderdale becomes the first U.S. distribution site for Indian energy brand Alt Health and its “fun, fascinating and delectable” chickpea coffee.
ON THE MOVE
Justice Achonu
+ Justice Achonu has been elected to the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery’s Resident Advisory Panel. He is an orthopaedic surgery resident at Stony Brook Medicine.
+ Jared Kasschau has been elected to the Nassau County Bar Association’s Board of Directors. He is a partner, co-leader of the Political Law team and member of the Business and Commercial Litigation Practice Group at Uniondale-based Harris Beach.
+ Adam Novak has been hired as managing partner and funeral director of Jerusalem Memorial Chapels in Levittown. He was funeral director of Gutterman’s Funeral Home in Woodbury.
+ Susan Schenck has been hired as a senior associate at The Odierno Law Firm in Melville. She held the same position at Mallilo & Grossman in Queens.
+ Robin Babu has been hired as an engineer in the Wastewater Division at Woodbury-based D&B Engineers and Architects. He was a project manager/project engineer at New Jersey-based Tomar Construction.
+ Jennifer Schenker has been hired as a partner at Garden City-based Tarter Krinsky & Drogin. She was of counsel at Glen Cove-based Mejias Milgrim Alvarado & Lindo.
+ Kenneth Ruland has been promoted to senior vice president and middle market team leader at First National Bank LI in Melville. He previously served as a middle market relationship manager.
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 ZE Creative Communications). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Father’s Day Edition)
Day off: Give the grillmaster a break this Sunday (if he’ll surrender the spatula).
Paternity puzzle: Employers’ attempts to equally split parental leave have gone awry.
By the numbers: The Pew Research Center does the dad math.
Fit for a king: Properly preparing a Father’s Day feast.
Parental guidance: Please continue supporting the amazing firms that support Innovate Long Island, including ZE Creative Communications, which applies long experience and seasoned wisdom to every communications challenge. Check them out.
