Give us a break: Welcome to Friday, dear readers, as we emerge – sticky, but otherwise unscathed – from a swampy summer workweek, with another well-earned weekend at the ready.
Before we get there, one more workday – and another reminder from Innovation Command that Innovate Long Island is taking a short summer break starting next week. Please enjoy your regularly scheduled newsletters on Monday and Wednesday; we’ll return Aug. 12 with your Monday Calendar Newsletter and fresh website content. More reminders next week.
Hold your tongue: Should be a little easier on Stick Out Your Tongue Day.
Say “aaaaah”: Here on July 19, we stick it to ’em with Stick Out Your Tongue Day, which is rude in most cultures, essential in many healthcare scenarios and full of interesting factoids. (For instance: The tongue intertwines eight different muscles in a “muscular hydrostat” matrix, the average tongue boasts as many as 8,000 taste buds and the longest human tongue on record measured nearly 4 inches from tip to teeth. Amuse your friends!)
Are you ready for some … football? And are you as confused as we are? Today is indeed National Football Day, and madness abounds. It’s summer, it’s not American Football Day (observed on Nov. 5) and it’s not World Football Day (observed on May 25 and focused on a completely different sport) … and then there’s this page, reminding us that we’re “in the middle of the season” and encouraging us to “check in on our fantasy teams.”
Ummm … ok. We’ll be at the bar. Fortunately, it’s also National Daquiri Day, both boozy and refreshing every July 19.
He’ll have a cosmo: Perhaps getting a little tipsy on the night of July 19, 1595, was German astronomer Johannes Kepler, celebrating that day’s epiphany that the universe must have some kind of geometric constant – basis of his famous Mysterium Cosmographicum.
Ship to shore: The S.S. Great Britain lives on as a waterborne museum.
They’ll have champagne: After all, it’s the traditional bottle to smash when christening new ships – and both the transatlantic steamship S.S. Great Western (the world’s first ocean liner) and the enormous S.S. Great Britain (the world’s first iron-hulled steamship) put to sea on this date, in 1837 and 1843, respectively.
They’ll have whatever they want: Raising a glass to equality were the attendees of the Seneca Falls Convention, which kicked off 176 years ago today in Upstate New York and is remembered as the unofficial start of the U.S. suffrage movement.
They’ll have a Pimm’s Cup: The low-alcohol refresher – a combination of gin-based liqueur Pimm’s No. 1, lemonade and fruit – is the drink of choice at the Wimbledon Championships, the Grand Slam tennis tournament that hosted its first-ever Men’s Singles final on this date in 1877. (For those keeping score, W. Spencer Gore defeated William Marshall 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.)
They’ll have another round: And it was July 19, 2007 when critically acclaimed drama “Mad Men” – which would rack up 16 Emmys, five Golden Globes and a massive bar bill, with its ensemble of often-imbibing main characters – debuted on AMC, the flagship cable-television property of AMC Networks.
Among the monumental show’s most common cocktails: Don Draper’s old fashioneds, Roger Sterling’s martinis and Betty Draper’s vodka gimlets.
Tiny dancers: French painter, sculptor and printmaker Edgar Degas (1834-1917) – a prominent Impressionist known best for his pastel drawings and oil paintings of female dancers – would be 190 years old today.
Have gun – will travel: Colt’s patented revolver mechanism fired up the American gun culture.
Also born on July 19 were American inventor and industrialist Samuel Colt (1814-1862), who charged into history with guns blazing; American cultural icon Lizzie Andrew Borden (1860-1927), among history’s most infamous acquitted murder suspects; American physiologist and geologist Curtis Marbut (1863-1935), a pioneer of modern soil science; Polish American animator and inventor Max Fleischer (1883-1972), who created the rotoscope and counted Betty Boop and Popeye the Sailor among his greatest triumphs; and American biophysicist Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (1921-2011), the second woman to win the Nobel Prize in Medicine, for her groundbreaking work with radioimmunoassay techniques.
Coffee talk: And take a bow, Howard Schultz! The American businessman, author and multibillionaire – a three-time Starbucks CEO (once as “interim CEO”), former Seattle Supersonics owner and renowned philanthropist – turns 71 today.
Give the coffee king (who’s credited with turning Starbucks into a global phenomenon) your best at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips and calendar events are like a grande half-caf cinnamon dolce latte with an espresso shot, soy milk, cocoa powder, hazelnut syrup and extra foam. (Or, as they used to say, a good cup of joe.)
About our sponsor: Whether it’s helping in site selection, cutting through red tape or finding innovative ways to meet specific needs, businesses that settle in the Town of Islip soon learn that we take a proactive approach to seeing them succeed. If your business wants to locate or expand in a stable community with great quality of life, then it’s time you took a closer look at Islip.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Neuro and improved: Six years after being licensed to a California biotech, a Stony Brook University technology that leverages the body’s endocannabinoid system against various ailments is approaching its first human trials.
Developed by SBU scientists to identify Fatty Acid Binding Proteins as potential targets for pharmaceuticals that can weaponize the body’s endocannabinoid system against inflammation, pain and even some forms of cancer, the compound ART26.12 – one of several FABP endocannabinoid system-modulating inhibitors licensed to Solana Beach-based Artelo Biosciences by the Research Foundation for the State University of New York – has received initial FDA approval, enabling researchers to initiate phase one human trials. Testing is slated to begin in the first half of 2025.
Artelo is predicting significant advantages for cancer patients, specifically regarding the treatment of chemotherapy-related peripheral neuropathy. Noting “few, if any” safe and effective pharmaceutical treatments for chemotherapy-induced neuropathies, Artelo Biosciences President and CEO Gregory Gorgas anticipated positive ART26.12 news late next year, noting “we are committed to building on the unique, lipid-modulating mechanism of our FABP inhibitor platform to address life-altering pathologies.”
Greg Demetriou: Western union.
Raising Arizona: One of Long Island’s leading marketing agencies has expanded its nationwide footprint with a smart interstate acquisition.
Edgewood-based Lorraine Gregory Communications has announced a friendly takeover of Axle Eight, a digital-focused marketing firm based in Scottsdale, Ariz. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the takeover is effective immediately, with the two companies already “integrating their operations to ensure a seamless transition for clients and employees,” according to an LGC statement.
The circa-2018 Arizona agency accommodates a diverse portfolio of clients across various sectors – financial services, real estate and hospitality are key industries – with traditional advertising, public relations, SEO optimization, email marketing, B2B programs and customer-facing strategies all in play. The merger adds new digital expertise to LGC’s arsenal and gives current and future clients of the Long Island mothership “access to premiere online services that enhance our capacity and offerings,” according to Lorraine Gregory Communications CEO Greg Demetriou. “As LGC continues its efforts on behalf of our clients, we are dedicated to providing exceptional services,” Demetriou added.
TOP OF THE SITE
Thar she blows! A ceremonial groundbreaking marks the beginning of construction on the nation’s largest offshore-wind farm, rising 30 miles east of Montauk Point.
Always easy, always free, always in the know: What do thousands of Innovate Long Island Newsletter subscribers know that you don’t? Well, for starters, everything in our subscriber-only Monday Calendar Newsletters. Catch up quick.
ICYMI
Stony Brook University Economic Development partners with major utility, government and business partners to introduce underserved Long Island high schoolers to clean-energy careers – and maybe save the regional economy, too.
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 California: Burlingame-based cognition champion Apollo Health introduces first consumer-level Alzheimer’s disease blood test.
From Georgia: Atlanta-based connectivity creator Vantiva monitors motion, humidity and temperature in self-storage rental units with patent-pending smart camera.
From Wisconsin: Madison-based cannabidiol-product pioneer Wild Theory gets a little misty with wellness-promoting, THC-free CBD nasal spray.
ON THE MOVE
Jaishankar Ganesh
+ Jaishankar Ganesh has been named dean of the New York Institute of Technology’s School of Management. He is a former dean of the Rutgers University School of Business, where he most recently served as a professor of marketing.
+ Drina Scheiber has been hired as executive director of Port Washington-based Youth Activities Inc. She was co-founder and treasurer at the Port Washington-based WithinReach Foundation.
+ Christine Doucet has been named president-elect of the Albany-based New York State Academy of Family Physicians. She is the physician/owner of Patchogue-based Family Medical PC.
+ Christine Herman has been hired as director of special services in Valley Stream School District 30. She was assistant director of special education and pupil personnel services in the Hicksville School District.
+ Stephen Cluff has been hired as director of wastewater engineering at Ronkonkoma-based Hayduk Engineering. He is a self-employed flight instructor and owner of Hawk Applied Science Services in Manorville.
+ Deana Rinaldi has been appointed director of curriculum and instruction for the Three Village Central School District. She is the principal of Setauket Elementary School in East Setauket.
+ Michael Stewart has been hired as CFO of Amityville-based LEB Electric. He was the controller at Ronkonkoma-based CM Richey Electrical Contractors.
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 Town of Islip). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Passing The Torch Edition)
Age-old issue: It’s never easy, knowing when to stop.
Tough call: Top sources predict President Biden’s campaign exit is imminent.
Tougher call: Replacing a presidential candidate is no mean feat.
Toughest call: How to know when it’s time to retire.
Tough love: Please continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including the Town of Islip Office of Economic Development, where dedicated professionals pour their heart into the success of their partner businesses. Check them out.
