Winter wonder: Welcome to Friday, dear readers, and a wintry Friday at that, as Long Island braces for more sub-freezing temperatures and another round of light snow.
It’s kind of amazing that 20-something degrees and a quick dusting – in January, in the Northeast – are noteworthy, but that’s where we’ve steered the planet. On the flip side, it has now snowed in all 50 states this winter, so go figure.
Kernels of truth: Popcorn lovers, today’s your day.
Ain’t that America: Speaking of head-spinning realities, it’s Jan. 19 out there and therefore the 11th annual National Gun Appreciation Day, an Obama-era retaliatory strike encouraging Second Amendment enthusiasts to pry common sense from your cold, dead fingers and push back against national gun-control laws.
Quark quirk: Also slightly confusing is World Quark Day, which does not celebrate the fundamental particle of all known matter but focuses instead on the creamy European cheese curd – sometimes known as “quarg” – made from fermented sour milk (much tastier than it sounds).
On the lighter side, pick a flick and grab your Orville Redenbacher – today is also National Popcorn Day, buttered up every Jan. 19.
Go with the glow: More lighting (than lightening) the mood was the first electric-streetlight system powered by overhead wires, which lit up Roselle, NJ, on this date in 1883.
From Ted, to Ed: Eschewing wires was the first transatlantic radio transmission, sent wirelessly on Jan. 19, 1903, from Cape Cod, Mass., to Cornwall, England. (President Theodore Roosevelt DMed King Edward VII, for those keeping score.)
Sign of the times: Other technological leaps associated with this date including the neon-lighting tube – the lifeblood of neon signs – patented in 1915 by French inventor Georges Claude.
Under cover: Barely … but Kramer can pull it off.
News briefs: Much less flashy are whitey tighties, which became a thing 89 years ago today, when Jockey shorts first graced a display window at the Marshall Field’s department store in Chicago.
News at 11: And it was Jan. 19, 1955, when President Dwight Eisenhower presided over the first televised presidential press conference.
Questions during the recorded-for-future-broadcast session covered the potential use of nuclear weapons against Communist China, the national budget (too confusing for Congress, according to one reporter) and Ike’s personal assessment of his first two years in office.
Something’s fishy: American ichthyologist, peace activist and academician David Starr Jordan (1851-1931) – a leading fish expert who actively protested against involvement in World War I, founded Stanford University and was a vocal proponent of eugenics (including the forced sterilization of “unfit” parents) – would be 173 years old today.
Evolution revolution: Coyne was a man of God, and science.
Also born on Jan. 19 were Scottish engineer James Watt (1736-1819), whose game-changing steam engine powered the Industrial Revolution; English inventor and industrialist Sir Henry Bessemer (1813-1898), a pioneer of steel manufacturing; American physician William Keen (1837-1932), America’s first brain surgeon; American Jesuit priest George Coyne (1933-2020), an astronomer who staunchly defended Galileo and Darwin; and American singer/songwriter Janis Joplin (1943-1970), a powerful mezzo-soprano whose electrifying stage presence set her apart in an era of standout rock stars.
Here she comes again: And take a bow, Dolly Rebecca Parton! The American singer, songwriter and actress – a 10-time Grammy Award-winner and 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee – turns 78 today.
Wish the Wildflower well at editor@innovateli.com, where we work 9 to 5 to turn your news tips into exciting stories and You’re the Only One who can send us calendar events (well, you and Jolene).
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BUT FIRST, THIS
An investment investment: A $750,000 gift from its most generous alumnus will help establish Farmingdale State College’s first-ever student investment fund.
Class of 1960 graduate Murray Pasternack and life partner Judy Berkowitz have thrown their support behind the Murray Pasternack ’60 Student-Managed Investment Fund, which will support multiple FSC School of Business initiatives – including a new Finance and Trading Room, complete with stock-market tickers, a dozen-plus Bloomberg terminals (frontline software systems providing reams of real-time financial data) and multiple subscriptions to Barron’s educational programming. Under the guidance of faculty advisers and an alumni advisory council, students will operate a boutique trading firm with a starting portfolio budget of $500,000, with additional investors welcomed at $10,000 per member.
Pasternack’s latest donation to his alma mater – last year, it was $1.4 million to power the Lab for Radio Frequency and Microwave Technology – continues his “profound impact on our long-established tradition as an engine of opportunity,” according to Farmingdale State College President John Nader. “We are deeply grateful to Murray for this student-focused funding,” added FSC Vice President for Development and Alumni Engagement Matthew Colson, who trumpeted “unprecedented learning experiences” for students eyeing security-analysis and portfolio-management careers.
Sign him up: Christopher Woodfill will lead a state agency focused on deaf and blind communities.
Makes senses: A veteran Long Island leader with a lengthy record of providing services for the differently abled will head a state agency focused on the deaf and blind.
After a decade leading the Port Washington-based Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults, Christopher Woodfill has been tapped as executive director of the Interagency Coordinating Council on Services to Persons Who are Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing. The council – part of New York State’s Office of the Chief Disability Officer – will coordinate services with advocacy networks and stakeholders within the deaf, deafblind and hard-of-hearing communities, recommend systematic changes to benefit those populations and create a Sign Language Interpreter Council to improve interpreter-license screening processes.
The council will also review funding protocols for statewide 4201 schools – which service deaf, blind and physically disabled students – and explore paths to making hearing aids and cochlear implants more widely available. “Experts with deep professional and lived experience must inform and lead our agenda,” noted Gov. Kathy Hochul. “I am proud to re-establish the Interagency Coordinating Council, and welcome Mr. Woodfill’s … leadership on key issues.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Pulling her punches: Two days after introducing a $233 billion annual state budget, Gov. Hochul visited King’s Park to highlight several Long Island spending initiatives and take some political pot shots (or not).
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ICYMI
With the addition of two new electric vehicles to its campus fleet, Farmingdale State College is racing toward the fossil-fuel-free finish line.
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 Texas: The Woodlands-based oil/gas explorer Arena Energy preserves endangered Gulf of Mexico ecosystems with a new artificial reef.
From Florida: West Palm Beach-based personnel pioneer Onwardmax Services minimizes outplacement obstacles with empowering digital solutions.
From New York City: Inclusive-beauty brand NuNorm formulates new makeup line specifically for men.
ON THE MOVE
Ryan Attard
+ Ryan Attard has joined the Garden City-based Family & Children’s Association as vice president and chief operating officer. She previously served as deputy Suffolk County executive.
+ Kristin Myers has joined the New Hyde Park-based Northwell Health System as executive vice president and chief digital officer. She previously served as executive vice president, chief digital and information officer and dean for digital and information technology for the New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System.
+ Daniel Deegan has been elected to the Islandia-based Long Island Builders Institute’s Board of Directors. He is a partner at Uniondale-based Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP and chairman of the firm’s IDA Benefits and Government Incentives Practice Group.
+ The Melville-based EGC Group has announced four promotions:
- Lara Bass is now chief operating officer; she served previously as vice president of client services.
- Steve Castro is now vice president of development; he served previously as director of digital development.
- Jamie Erhardt is now director of client services; she served previously as group account director.
- Hailey Metro is now an account executive; she served previously as marketing coordinator.
+ Feza Remzi has been appointed vice president of New Hyde Park-based Northwell Health’s Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease. He was previously director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at New York City-based NYU Langone Health.
+ Garden City-based Moritt Hock & Hamroff has elevated four associates to partner:
- Sofia Fayer, real estate law
- Ilona Posner, real estate law
- Caitlyn Ryan, corporate and healthcare law
- Michael Schwab, intellectual property
+ Jennifer Solomon has been appointed to the American Red Cross’ Board of Directors in Mineola. She is CEO of JSolo Inc. in Merrick.
+ Kevin Reilly has been elected 2024 Board of Directors secretary for the Melville-based Long Island Water Conference. He is the superintendent of the Massapequa Water District.
+ Garden City-based Moritt Hock & Hamroff has elevated five attorneys to counsel:
- Karen Davakis, trust and estates litigation
- Marshall Dworkin, litigation
- Grace Lee, commercial lending and real estate
- Dan Lust, sports law
- Michael Wickersham, real estate
+ Bohemia-based Cerini & Associates has announced three promotions:
- Albert Borghese is now director of the Consulting and Accounting Assistance Practice; he served previously as manager.
- Mahnaz Cavalluzzi is now director of the Audit and Consulting Practice; he served previously as manager.
- Jaclyn Hahn is now an audit supervisor; she served previously as a senior auditor.
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BELOW THE FOLD (On The Road Again Edition)
Name game: Keep ’em separated.
Middle of the road: New York is the 27th best state (or 23rd worst) for driving.
By any other name: Exactly how do streets and roads get their names?
Emission mission: How Google is using AI to reduce traffic jams.
Road warriors: Please continue supporting the amazing firms that support Innovate Long Island, including Nixon Peabody, where the road to victory is paved with long experience and total commitment. Check them out.
