Saddle up: Howdy, cowgirls and cowboys! Grab them reins, ’cause we’re galloping straight through another busy workweek.
To spur you along, here’s a high-in-the-saddle innovation review – the least we could do for you hardworkin’ cowpokes on the National Day of the Horse. Yippee-ki-yay!
Rosin up your bow: It’s National Violin Day.
Strings attached: Today is Wednesday, Dec. 13, and if Westerns aren’t your thing, maybe you’d enjoy some other classics – easier done than said on National Violin Day, when the circa-16th Century hollow wooden chordophones fiddle around.
It’s also a big day for sweet tooths! Warm up with National Cocoa Day – less about the cacao tree (and its many uses) than a steaming mug of happiness – and then top it all off with National Cream Cheese Frosting Day, always whipping up something delicious on Dec. 13.
On Guard: Whipping the defense of the Massachusetts Bay Colony into shape was the National Guard, which formed on this date in 1636, making it America’s oldest military organization.
Paul Revere’s midday ride: Whipping his horse – four months before his famous “midnight ride” – was Boston silversmith Paul Revere, who got an earlier start on Dec. 13, 1774, riding all the way to Portsmouth, NH, to warn folks the redcoats were coming.
Conehead: More about molding than whipping was New Jersey gelato vendor Italo Marcioni, who patented the ice cream cone 120 years ago today. (Reshaped waffles, basically.)
Big star: The famous Betelguese will go supernova relatively soon, astronomically speaking (sometime in the next 100,000 years).
Full measure: From the Garden State to deep space, where the red supergiant Betelgeuse became the first star (besides our sun) to be measured for size on this date in 1920. (Angular size = .044 arcseconds, for those keeping score.)
Gotta love it: And it was one year ago today when President Joe Biden – trumpeting “a vital step toward equality” – signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law, mandating federal recognition of same-sex marriages.
The new law reflects evolving national opinions: While dozens of Republican lawmakers lined up to oppose it, 2022 polls showed that 68 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage, up from 42 percent in 2004.
Mary, quite contrary: Revered American First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-1882) – who lost three children to terminal illnesses, witnessed her husband’s assassination, staved off abject poverty on a widow’s pension and was committed to a mental asylum against her will by her only surviving son – would be 205 years old today.
Thump: While popular with fans, Ritter and his “JYD” persona faced intense racism throughout his professional wrestling career.
Also born on Dec. 13 were German electrical engineer and industrialist Werner von Siemens (born Ernst Werner Siemens, 1816-1892), who powered up the modern telegraph and electricity industries; American manufacturer John Henry Patterson (1844-1922), who mainstreamed the modern cash register; American actor, comedian, writer, singer and dancer Richard Wayne “Dick” Van Dyke (born 1925), still Chitty Chitty Bang-Banging; American professional wrestler Sylvester Ritter (1952-1998), who performed as beloved good guy the Junkyard Dog; and American country/pop singer/songwriter Taylor Swift (born 1989), a true cultural force.
Economy model: And take a bow, Ben Shalom Bernanke! The American economist – a distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution known best as the 14th chairman of the Federal Reserve System, the central U.S. banking system – turns 70 today.
Wish the numbers-cruncher well at editor@innovateli.com, where we bank on your news tips and your calendar events always add up.
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BUT FIRST, THIS
Good (water) sign: The governor is making good on promises to clean up New York’s water supply.
Flush with cash: Suffolk County will receive $20 million for crucial septic-system upgrades.
Governor Kathy Hochul visited Long Island Tuesday to personally deliver the good news: Suffolk is soaking up two-thirds of a $30 million Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act stipend targeting septic upgrades around the state, with Suffolk’s cut addressing “hundreds of thousands of substandard or failing septic systems,” according to the governor’s office.
The $20 million grant is part of the first $200 million funding tranche through the $4.2 billion Environmental Bond Act, which was overwhelmingly approved by state voters in 2022. “The Nature Conservancy applauds Gov. Hochul, the New York State Environmental Facilities Corp. and the [state departments] of Health and Environmental Conservation,” Nature Conservancy New York Director of Policy and Strategy Jessica Ottney Mahar said in a statement. “Along with other critical funding for septic-system upgrades in Suffolk County announced today, this funding will protect clean drinking water, improve public health and enhance quality of life while restoring water quality in our bays, harbors, lakes and rivers.”
Batteries included: A Long Island-based portable-power pioneer will charge up a new generation of military-grade powerpacks.
Commack-based Bren-Tronics has received an undisclosed award from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit to design, test and manufacture cutting-edge battery packs capable of energizing the American military’s latest mobile and portable digital technologies. The DIU is the only Defense Department branch focused on fielding and scaling private-industry technologies for military use, with a long history of leveraging private investments and next-generation commercial innovations into new defense applications.
The unit also has a successful history with Bren-Tronics, which launched in 1973 and has amassed an impressive stockpile of commercially viable, military-ready batteries and charging systems. “Bren-Tronics is able to leverage over 50 years of design and manufacturing experience in delivering millions of batteries to the military,” noted Bren-Tronics Senior Vice President Doug Petito. “Bren-Tronics stands ready to meet the U.S. DoD’s power requirements today and in the future.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Mystical pizza: It’s not supernatural – but hundreds of Long Island pizzerias (and thousands around the country) do have a trick up their sleeve, in the form of Long Island’s largest-ever food-distribution center.
Playing catch-up: “Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast” returns in January with a new slate of enlightening guests and engaging conversations. Seasons 1-4 are streaming now … pick an innovation-economy leader and get smarter, thirtysomething minutes at a time.
VOICES
Clean-energy technologies are evolving fast, but land-use moratoriums are slowing down implementation, warns Cushman & Wakefield Executive Managing Director and Commercial Industrial Brokers Society co-President David Pennetta. Fortunately, the Voices commercial real estate anchor has some excellent ideas on how to protect community interests while still embracing a green future.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Ready to rock: An indie supergroup is redefining music’s most popular genre. Billboard changes its tune.
Ready for anything: You can’t overestimate the importance of resilience. Vox adapts to change.
Ready to … actually, no. Not ready at all: America isn’t prepared for cyberattacks on critical infrastructure. The Hill sounds the alarm.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Helicity Space, a California-based commercial space-exploration company, raised $5 million in seed funding. Backers included Airbus Ventures, TRE Ventures, Voyager Space Holdings, E2MC Space, Urania Ventures and Gaingels.
+ Qortex, a New York City-based intelligent video analytics innovator, raised $10 million in funding led by GFT Ventures and Silicon Road Ventures.
+ Ladder, a Texas-based strength-training app, raised $12 million in Series A funding led by Tapestry VC and LivWell Ventures.
+ Clever Carnivore, an Illinois-based biotech producing and distributing cultivated meat products, raised $7 million in seed funding led by Lever VC, McWin Capital Partners, Thia Ventures, Valo Ventures, Newfund Capital and Stray Dog Capital.
+ Bureo, a California-based B Corp. focused on end-of-life solutions for discarded fishing nets, closed its Series B funding led by Toyota Tsusho Corp., Mirova, Ocean 14 Capital, Conservation International Ventures and the Susquehanna Foundation.
+ AM Batteries, a Massachusetts-based lithium-ion dry-electrode pioneer, raised $30 million in Series B funding led by Toyota Ventures, RA Capital Management-Planetary Health, Porsche Ventures and Wilson Sonsini.
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 Brandtelling). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (A Little Fuzzy Edition)
Feeling better already: Pantone’s choice of “peach fuzz” is meant to set a relaxing tone.
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a hero: How Native Papuans turned the tide in World War II.
Peachy keen: Pantone’s fuzzy 2024 Color of the Year cranks up the comfort.
Superfuzz: Why are cops known as “the fuzz,” anyway?
Clear advantage: Please continue supporting the amazing agencies that support Innovate Long Island, including Brandtelling, where “The Art of Brandtelling: Brand Storytelling for Business Success” is a super-sharp must-read for up-and-coming brands. Check them out.
