Rest for the weary: Welcome to Friday, dear readers, as you overcome another busy winter workweek and earn yourself a restful weekend.
We know you’re tired (especially here on Long Island, where the kids have been home from school all week), but there’s one more workday to go before you can put up your feet and throttle down. Here’s an energizing innovation-week-in-review to pep your step – stay strong, intrepid innovators, you can do it!
From the heart: You kept them for a reason … and today’s a great day to give those sentimental keeper cards another read.
Care package: It’s Feb. 21 out there and we’re kicking things off with National Caregivers Day, a heartfelt third-Friday-in-February homage to the dedicated, dignified and often overlooked professionals who provide hospice and long-term elder care to the seniormost members of the human community.
Speaking of wholehearted caring, it’s also National Card Reading Day, when we’re encouraged to sift through our keepsakes and mementos and relive all those emotional greeting cards we’ve saved for sentimental reasons.
Against the grain: Watch what you eat today – it’s National Grain-Free Day, primarily a nod to people suffering from celiac disease or other autoimmune diseases that prevent them from eating grains like wheat, corn and rice (but also a champion of increasingly popular ketogenic diets, which eschew both grains and starches).
This, of course, flies in the face of National Sticky Bun Day, always sweet and fresh from the oven on Feb. 21.
Sew and sew: If that dichotomy has you in stitches, you’re going to love Washington-based inventor John Greenough, who earned the first U.S. sewing machine patent on this date in 1842.
Manifesto destiny: Also sewing up a place in history were German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, who published “The Communist Manifesto” on Feb. 21, 1848.
Tooth mark: Also sinking her teeth into immortality was American schoolteacher and self-taught dentist Lucy Hobbs Taylor, who – after years of private practice – became the first woman in the world to earn a DDS degree 159 years ago today.
On newsstands then: The first issue of The New Yorker, from 100 years ago.
Pop goes the culture: Other historic firsts associated with this date include the debut of The New Yorker magazine, which published Vol. 1, Issue 1 on Feb. 21, 1925.
Plop goes the sodium bicarbonate: And it was this date in 1931 when Alka-Seltzer first plop-plopped into American pharmacies.
The trusty remedy for heartburn, acid indigestion and other rumbly-tummy ailments enjoyed modest success – but it really took off 30 years later, when its famous “plop, plop, fizz, fizz” jingle was first imprinted on consumer’s minds.
Nice suit, Mr. Takagi: English actor and director Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (1946-2016) – the distinctive star of stage and screen who earned Top Hollywood Villain status as “Die Hard” heavy Hans Gruber and never looked back – would be 79 years old today.
Soul sister: Nina Simone lit up the stage and fired up believers in equality.
Also born on Feb. 21 were syndicated American newspaper columnist Erma Bombeck (1927-1996), ranked among the greatest American humorists; American jazz and R&B singer Nina Simone (born Eunice Kathleen Waymon, 1933-2003), a civil rights crusader remembered as the “High Priestess of Soul”; American politician and activist John Lewis (1940-2020), a longstanding U.S. Congressman, Presidential Medal of Freedom winner and one of the “Big Six” leaders of the 1960s civil rights crusade; English actor and mime artist Anthony Daniels (born 1946), known best as “Star Wars” protocol droid C-3PO (and the only performer to have worked in every theatrical film in the sprawling series, and most of its television series); and American actor, entrepreneur and fitness coach Jake Steinfeld (born 1958), namesake of the “Body By Jake” brand.
Key contributor (actually, the other one): And take a bow, Jordan Haworth Peele! The American actor, comedian and filmmaker – an Oscar- and Emmy-winner and the first Black person to win an Academy Award for best original screenplay (2017’s “Get Out”) – turns 46 today.
Wish the comedy/horror auteur well at editor@innovateli.com, where we’re horrified when you don’t send news tips (not really) and we always get a laugh out of your calendar events (also not really – we take these things very seriously).
About our sponsor: Whether it’s helping with 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
See Oak Run: The Town of Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency has extended a helping hand to a Long Island developer planning a multimillion-dollar senior rental complex in Middle Island.
The IDA has issued final approvals for a tax-cutting economic-incentives package benefiting RA Oak Run, an LLC spun out of Port Jefferson Station-based real estate management and development company The Crest Group. RA Oak Run is in contract to acquire 23.56 acres of vacant land at the intersection of Birchwood Park Drive and Middle Country Road in Middle Island, with plans for a 55-and-older community featuring 74 townhomes – 20 percent of which will be reserved as affordable and workforce housing, according to the IDA – plus an outdoor swimming pool, an indoor fitness center and other amenities.
Two weeks after hosting a public hearing on the proposed $35.1 million senior development, the Brookhaven IDA approved the construction project Nov. 20. “We are happy to assist this project in an area of the town in need of redevelopment,” noted Town of Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency Chairman Frederick Braun III. “It will provide much-needed additional rental housing for our residents.”
Not impressed: Gov. Kathy Hochul won’t bend the knee on congestion pricing.
Congestion contention: King President Donald Trump has spiked New York City’s hotly contested congestion-pricing program – but Albany isn’t giving up without a fight.
Congestion pricing – a sliding toll designed to reduce vehicular traffic entering lower Manhattan – has been a hot potato since Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the strategy in November, with some regional lawmakers decrying a “direct attack” on Long Island commuters. On Wednesday, President Trump signed an executive order withdrawing U.S. Department of Transportation support for the plan, then fired off a social media message congratulating himself for the move and declaring himself “king.”
But Gov. Hochul – citing the pro-mass transit strategy’s documented congestion-reduction and environmental benefits – issued a counterstatement noting legal actions that will quickly bring the matter before a judge. “Public transit is the lifeblood of New York City and critical to our economic future – as a New Yorker like President Trump knows very well,” the governor said. “We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king. The MTA has initiated legal proceedings in the Southern District of New York to preserve this critical program … we’ll see you in court.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Striking Gold(smith): The State University of New York Board of Trustees has selected an academic champion (and Ivy League veteran) with a long list of private-sector accomplishments as Stony Brook University’s seventh president.
Picking up his “Pieces”: Legendary Long Island author and reporter Ambrose Clancy joins “Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast” to discuss old friends, new books and the critical importance of honest journalism.
ICYMI
The White House’s reckless tariff strategy has already forced a Northport-based global supplier of laboratory equipment to raise its prices – and the CEO is hoping wiser lawmakers will “prompt productive conversations around policies” before it’s too late.
Something to say? Welcome to The Entrepreneur’s Edge, Innovate Long Island’s new promoted-content news feature platform – a direct link from you to our innovation-focused audience. Progressive product to promote? Singular service to sell? Sociopolitical position to push? Shine a bright light on the big picture, the little details and everything in between with The Entrepreneur’s Edge. Living on the edge.
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: San Francisco-based artificial-intelligence security spearhead Wallarm bolsters digital security with “penetration testing” for agentic AI systems.
From California: Los Altos-based regenerative-agriculture startup CarbonZero.Eco, founded by a 16-year-old CEO, lands $3.5 million in funding and $7 million in contracts.
From California: San Francisco-based med-tech startup AESOP Technology enhances care quality with machine-learning model to reduce wrong-site surgeries.
ON THE MOVE
Erik Rappel
+ Erik Rappel has been promoted to chief operating officer at Norco Construction in Manhasset. He was vice president of operations.
+ Mary McGuire has been named vice president of human resources and culture at Little Flower Children’s Services in Wading River. She is the founder of New York City-based consulting firm MJM Talent Solutions and was chief operating officer at accounting-services provider SAPRO in New York City.
+ Katie Hess has been hired as director of development at Chaminade High School in Mineola. She was director of campaign management at the Ronald McDonald House in Manhattan.
+ Thomas Gilson has been hired as a junior engineering technician at the Suffolk County Water Authority in Oakdale. He was an intern at the Suffolk County Water Authority in Bay Shore.
+ Alexa Zambelli has been appointed to the Melville-based Friends of Karen’s Advisory Board. She is a financial analyst at Melville-based Henry Schein.
+ Maxim Wally has been hired as a staff engineer in the Transportation Department at Hayduk Engineering in Ronkonkoma. He is a recent graduate of Hofstra University.
+ Mark Donnelly has been elected president of the West Babylon-based Long Island Board of Realtors. He is a licensed associate broker/career advancement coach at Howard Hanna | Coach Realtors in West Islip.
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). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Social Media Mania Edition)
You are what you read: A shockingly high percentage of Americans get their news straight from TikTok and other social media sources.
King-sized: Political hyperbole is nothing new, but Napoleonic quotes and imaginary thrones are something else entirely.
A little of this…: How to balance your news consumption in the Social Media Age.
Buy this, not that: Why some Gen Z influencers have turned to de-influencing.
Social climber: Please continue supporting the outstanding organizations that support Innovate Long Island, including the Town of Islip Office of Economic Development, which is eager to help your enterprise reach new heights. Check them out.
