What’cha gonna do?!? Welcome to Wednesday, Mean Gene! We’ve been taking our vitamins and saying our prayers as Trumpamania comes to Long Island, running wild at the Nassau Coliseum this afternoon.
Real American: He’s a MAGA shill now, but Hulk Hogan (left) was at the height of his heroic powers when he battled “Cowboy” Bob Orton at the Nassau Coliseum in 1985.
We thought about a political commentary here, but realized it would be more fun to review other classic Nassau Coliseum moments (involving great hockey and superstar entertainers and, yes, even the Hulkster).
The watched pot: Today is Sept. 18 and, blessedly politics-free, we dive in with World Water Monitoring Day, traditional start of a month-long U.S. Geological Survey effort encouraging us to keep an eye on conditions in local rivers, streams and estuaries.
Cue Ms. Franklin: It’s also National Respect Day, when we look for things worth … oh, never mind, here she is – sing it, Aretha!
And there’s nothing we respect more than a delicious burger cooked precisely to order – thank goodness National Cheeseburger Day is grilled to perfection every Sept. 18.
Golden arch: Extremely rare and very well done is American luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co., founded on this date in 1837 by New York City entrepreneurs Charles Tiffany and John Young (as a stationery/fragrances/fine-goods shop, for those keeping score).
Still fits: Also rising in NYC was the Old Gray Lady – The New York Times (originally The New York Daily Times) published its first issue 173 years ago today.
Chief among them: Harriett Maxwell Converse earned an unprecedented Native American honor.
Gaiiwanoh (“The Watcher”): More of a middle-aged, kinda blondish lady at the time, lifelong New Yorker Harriet Maxwell Converse – a tireless advocate for the rights of the Seneca Nation – became the first White woman condoled as a Native American chief on Sept. 18, 1891.
Central time: Also sharing wisdom – with the right code-clearance – is the Central Intelligence Agency, which officially lit its hidden cameras, tuned its listening devices and otherwise commenced foreign-intelligence operations on this day in 1947.
Aim high: And not to be overlooked is the United States Air Force, which also soared into existence on Sept. 18, 1947.
Both the CIA and the USAF (as well as the U.S. National Security Council, also born on this date) stemmed from the National Security Act of 1947, which had been ratified by Congress that July as a post-war reorganization of American foreign-relations and military assets.
Swing vote: French physicist Jean Bernard Léon Foucault (1819-1868) – known best for his Earth-rotation-confirming pendulum, but also one of the 19th Century’s most versatile and accomplished experimentalists – would be 205 years old today.
Garbo talks: The face that launched the silent-film industry … and later had little to say about it.
Also born on Sept. 18 were German inventor Siegfried Marcus (1831-1898), a pioneer of gasoline-powered automobiles; Swedish American actress Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, 1905-1990), icon of Hollywood’s Silent and Golden eras; American actor and singer Frankie Avalon (born Francis Thomas Avallone, 1940), a former teen idol with a multi-platinum pedigree; American actor and producer James Gandolfini Jr. (1961-2013), who racked up awards as mob boss Tony Soprano; and American actress, singer, philanthropist, businesswoman and talk show host Jada Pinkett Smith (born 1971), still counted among the world’s most influential people.
Just “Ronaldo,” thanks: And take a bow, Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro! The Portuguese professional footballer – perennially ranked among soccer’s most beloved and talented international stars – turns 40 today.
Give the captain of the Portugal national team and the Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr your best at editor@innovateli.com, where we always get a kick out of your news tips and calendar events.
About our sponsor: Northwell Health is New York’s largest healthcare provider and private employer, with 21 hospitals, 900 outpatient facilities and 85,000 employees. We’re making research breakthroughs at the Feinstein Institutes and training the next generation of medical professionals at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. Visit Northwell.edu.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Play it again, Billy: He may be trading his $49 million Oyster Bay mansion for a waterfront estate in Boca Raton, but Long Island’s favorite son will be sticking around these parts for a while longer.
The Stony Brook-based Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame has extended the run of its popular exhibit “Billy Joel: My Life, A Piano Man’s Journey” through Spring 2025. Featuring items loaned to the museum by the superstar rocker and other intimate memorabilia, the unique showcase – which opened in November 2023 and has drawn “tens of thousands of visitors from near and far” – was originally slated to close this month but will remain open “due to overwhelming popular demand,” according to LIMEHOF.
Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame Chairman Ernie Canadeo said the extended opportunity to enjoy the exclusive collection of behind-the-scenes videos, rare audio and video recordings, vintage instruments, awards and historic photography was a big win for the 2006 LIMEHOF inductee’s many fans. “The ‘Billy Joel: My Life’ exhibit continues to attract enthusiastic audiences from throughout world,” Canadeo said this week, adding the showcase has “exceed[ed] our expectations as … legions of fans experience every facet of Billy’s incredible career.”
Constant contact: The NICVIEW 2 web camera system helps parents keep a closer eye on premature infants.
(Almost) ready for their close-ups: Parents of babies born prematurely at South Shore University Hospital can now keep a constant eye on their early arrivals, even when they’re not by their side.
The Bay Shore-based Northwell Health facility has installed a state-of-the-art NICVIEW 2 web camera system in its 6,300-square-foot Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, giving parents on-demand, round-the-clock video views of their babies via 16 password-protected cameras and mobile apps for computers and smartphones. The $142,000 project – featuring a flagship product of Wisconsin-based med-tech Natus Medical and funded entirely by “philanthropic support” – is designed to alleviate parental anxiety, promote trust between parents and staffers and alleviate guilt for working parents who simply can’t remain at their preemie’s bedside for days on end.
While the encrypted video feed is not recorded, the 24/7 livestream “has been transformative for both parents and healthcare providers,” according to Scarlett McKinsey, Northwell’s Eastern Region associate director of neonatology. “It [offers] a sense of reassurance and emotional support during a challenging time,” McKinsey added. “For the medical team, it enhances communication and collaboration with families, ensuring they are involved in every step of their baby’s care journey.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Screening it out: Excessive screen time is a serious problem for Long Island youth and adults – but even “addicted” adults don’t recognize the risks, according to the latest Mount Sinai South Nassau Truth in Medicine Poll.
Sitting up: If we could just sit and talk for 30 minutes, we’d learn so much. Well, here’s your chance to do it with the most innovative minds in regional socioeconomics. Welcome to Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast – start learning now!
VOICES
Sahn Ward Braff Coschignano Managing Member and Voices Legal Anchor Michael Sahn breaks down the U.S. Supreme Court’s critically important Loper Bright decision, which dismisses decades of legal precedence, severely limits federal-agency authority and could have serious repercussions across Long Island.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Final duty: Why wasn’t Matthew Perry included in the 2024 Emmys In Memoriam segment? The Independent remembers it differently.
Guard duty: Artificial intelligence is developing a global-pandemic early-warning system. The BBC monitors social chatter.
Cynic duty: Has cynicism become America’s default setting? Vox holds out hope.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ c/side, a California-based cybersecurity provider, raised $6 million in seed funding led by Uncork Capital.
+ Supermaven, a New York City-based, AI-powered code completion tool, raised $12 million in Series A funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners.
+ Metabase Q, a California-based IT cybersecurity management firm, raised $11 million in Series A extension funding. Backers included SYN Ventures and John Watters.
+ Nirvana, a NYC-based health-tech focused on health insurance verification, raised $24.2 million in Series A funding led by Northzone.
+ Safi Biotherapeutics, a Massachusetts-based health-tech manufacturing red blood cells as a doner-transfusion alternative, raised $5 million in seed funding led by J2 Ventures.
+ PathPresenter, a New Jersey-based image-sharing platform for pathology, closed a $7.5 million Series A funding round led by AVANT BIO.
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 Northwell Health). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Happy Belated Sept. 17 Birthday Ken Kesey Edition)
Thousand-year event: Biblical rains dumped more than 18 inches on some parts of the Tar Heel State.
One flu: When to get that flu shot, and what to expect.
Over the…: …top, with the epic 1,000-year-flood that drowned North Carolina.
Cuckoo’s nest: Class-action lawsuit alleges “dangerous” lead in your Cocoa Puffs.
(It’s Kesey’s other great novel): Please continue supporting the innovative institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including Northwell Health, where Sometimes a Great Notion produces the next major healthcare breakthrough. Check them out.
