Here we go again: Here we are, intrepid innovators, right where you left us – chronicling the inventors, investors, entrepreneurs and executives who make Long Island a thriving socioeconomic center and bona fide innovation mecca.
Innovate Long Island is absolutely thrilled to be back from our long holiday break and raring to go for another year of inspirational storytelling – our ninth year on the beat, if you can believe it. (Sure you can believe it … you love us as much as we love the creators we cover, the sponsors who support us and, of course, as much as we love you, dear readers!)
Capitol letters: Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Bob Menendez and other upstanding lawmakers are waiting to hear from you.
By the people, for the people: And so, we crank up the old Evinrude and kick off what is sure to be another eventful year for Long Island, the United States and the world – socially, politically, morally, environmentally and technologically.
It’s Wednesday, Jan. 3, and speaking of society, politics, morals, the environment and the advent of new technologies, there’s no better time to let your elected officials know what you’re thinking – today is National Write to Congress Day, when we’re encouraged to share our thoughts with the lawmakers who “represent” us. (We use the term loosely.)
Fruity as a nutcake: On the subject of nuts (and throwing them out), today is also National Fruitcake Toss Day, when uneaten holiday confections get the heave-ho.
And while we’re discussing confections and fruits, let’s take a moment to enjoy National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day, a dipped delight sweetening the pot every Jan. 3.
Grounded: Somewhere short of delighted was Leonardo Da Vinci, who unsuccessfully tested his flying machine on this date in 1496. (While Da Vinci was one of history’s greatest polymaths, the “ornithopter” would never take flight.)
Groundbreaking: Somewhat more successful was the Brooklyn Bridge, upon which construction began 154 years ago today.
Still can’t believe it: But it’s true … margarine is not butter.
Fat chance: Also hanging in there is margarine, which was originally made from animal fats (mostly vegetable oil now) and was patented on Jan. 3, 1871, by New York City-based inventor Henry Bradley (who may have been a pawn of an evil secret society bent on global domination … accounts vary).
Well, that sucks: Also patented on this date were hand-rolled paper drinking straws, locked up in 1888 by Washington-based inventor Marvin Stone.
Seed fund: And it was Jan. 3, 1977, when 20-year-old college dropout Steve Jobs and buddies Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne founded Apple Computer Inc.
The saga of Jobs and Wozniak and the world’s largest publicly traded company is well-known; for the record, Wayne got bored a few weeks after the launch and sold his shares to his buddies for $800.
Great Dane: Danish American comedian and pianist Børge Rosenbaum (1909-2000) – the “clown prince of Denmark” known best as Victor Borge, a mainstay of early American radio and television – would be 115 years old today.
Little brother, Big Blue: New York Giants great Eli Manning was born 43 years ago today.
Also born on Jan. 3 were Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), remembered as a master of rhetoric and the greatest Roman orator; American Quaker, abolitionist and suffragist Lucretia Mott (1793-1880), a social reformer who battled racial and gender inequities; English author, academic and philologist John Ronald Reuel “J.R.R.” Tolkien (1892-1973), who propelled epic fantasy to unparalleled heights; English musician, composer, conductor and record producer Sir George Henry Martin (1926-2016), the legendary “fifth Beatle”; and Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg (born 2003), who credits her global renown to an early autism diagnosis.
He’s the a Manning: And take a bow, Elisha Nelson “Eli” Manning! The youngest son of NFL Pro Bowl quarterback Archie Manning and younger brother of legendary all-timer Peyton Manning – if not the greatest to bear his name, arguably the greatest New York Giant – turns 43 today.
Wish the two-time Super Bowl MVP well at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips always move the ball and we champion your calendar events.
About our sponsor: The Long Island Business Development Council has helped build the regional economy for 55 years by bringing together government economic-development officials, developers, financial experts and others for education, debate and networking.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Big finish: Two of Long Island’s busiest industrial development agencies closed out 2023 in style, kickstarting an ambitious Inwood warehouse project and finalizing a benefits package for an East Patchogue affordable-housing development.
On Dec. 19, the Town of Hempstead IDA preliminarily approved tax breaks for AIREF JFK IC LCC, which is pitching a $48 million warehouse on 3.68 acres in Hempstead’s Inwood Hamlet, located about five miles from John F. Kennedy International Airport. The benefits must still undergo a full agency review, public hearing and final vote, with construction on the 68,000-square-foot facility scheduled to begin in March.
The Town of Brookhaven IDA ended its year on Dec. 20 by finalizing an incentives package benefitting Jericho-based Georgica Green Ventures LLC, Hauppauge-based Kulka Group and Florida-based Raymond James Affordable Housing Investments, which are jointly planning a 55-apartment new construction on a blighted half-acre site in East Patchogue. The proposed $33.75 million complex, which the Brookhaven IDA first voted to support in June, is slated to include 17 apartments for domestic-violence victims, with the remainder planned as affordable workforce housing for tenants earning 50 to 90 percent of the Suffolk County median household income.
Just due it: A Northwell Health researcher is spearheading efforts to keep expectant American moms healthier before and after pregnancies.
Healthy start: A national task force spearheaded by a leading Northwell Health researcher is calling for a “moonshot”-level effort to improve America’s dreadful maternal mortality rates.
Lamenting those rates – the worst among similarly affluent nations, with particularly poor numbers among minorities – a National Institutes of Health Pathways to Prevention task force has issued several key recommendations to improve outcomes for expectant U.S. mothers. Leading the list: new “multilevel life course research” to better understand societal and personal factors negatively affecting outcomes and expanded Medicaid coverage for maternal and newborn healthcare services, and for mental-health services before and after pregnancies.
The researchers – including preeminent, multidisciplinary scientists from across the country – also called for improved data collection (with an emphasis on racial inclusivity) and more funding for further interventional studies and actions. “New approaches to tackle the root causes of maternal morbidity and mortality rates are needed urgently,” noted Karina Davidson, chairwoman of the NIH-Pathways to Prevention Panel and senior vice president of research at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. “We are confident that the panel’s recommendations will encourage researchers and change-makers nationwide to address and alleviate this crisis.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Healthy fear: The final Mount Sinai South Nassau Truth in Medicine Poll of 2023 spotlights residents’ concerns about the quality of Long Island’s air and water supplies.
A feast for the ears: With a full slate of amazing guests, high-level insights and engaging conversations, Season 5 of “Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast” is gearing up fast – better catch up quick on Seasons 1-4, now streaming on your favorite podcasting platforms. Hear here!
VOICES
All-new additions to our amazing Voices library return this Friday – while you’re waiting, catch up on everything we’ve already learned from the biggest Long Island brains in law, media, healthcare, technology, social services, commercial real estate and other sectors important to your business and personal success. All that critical knowledge, waiting for you right now!
STUFF WE’RE READING
Go for it: How to cultivate innovation – and encourage risk – across your corporate structure. Entrepreneur takes chances.
Coming soon: From geothermal advances to killer drones, expect big engineering breakthroughs in 2024. IEEE Spectrum looks ahead.
K-E-Y … Why? Because he’ll kill you: Mickey Mouse is now public domain – and the beloved icon has quickly taken a horrifying turn. Forbes sounds scared.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ rabbit, a California-based tech startup aiming to replace app-based operating systems with AI functionality, raised an additional $10 million in Series A funding led by Khosla Ventures.
+ Lyndra Therapeutics, a Massachusetts-based clinical-stage biopharma, raised $101 million in Series E funding led by Sarissa Capital, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Polaris Partners.
+ PaintJet, a Tennessee-based robotic-painting pioneer, raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Outsiders VC, Dynamo, Pathbreaker Ventures, MetaProp and VSC Ventures.
+ Skyline Robotics, a New York City-based developer of a window-cleaning robot, raised $9.8 million in pre-Series A-2 funding led by Standard Skyline and Durst Ventures.
+ Luna, Virginia-based advanced fiberoptic-tech manufacturer, received a $50 million investment from White Hat Capital Partners.
+ AmpUp, a California-based electric-vehicle-charging operating system manufacturer, received a $1.7 million grant from the State of Connecticut’s Public Utility Regulatory Authority.
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 the LIBDC). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (New Year/Old Threats Edition)
Year of the whale: Residents of certain Italian provinces believe whales are particularly lucky during leap years.
Prognosis negative: Trump wins, avian flu decimates U.S. livestock and other terrifying predictions for 2024.
Entrepreneurial ennui: Looks like another tough year for domestic startups.
Before you leap: Behold, the quirkiest of quirky leap year traditions.
Fear not: Please continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including the Long Island Business Development Council, which has helped the Island weather all kinds of socioeconomic storms for more than five decades. Check them out.
