Hot topics: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as we dodge thunderstorms, huddle up in shady spots and otherwise keep our cool in what has been a sticky and sweaty summer on Long Island.
Of course, some people prefer all this heat and humidity to Winter’s chill. And if you don’t, well, good news – just six weeks or so until everything turns to pumpkin spice.
Breaking out the big guns: Innovate Long Island’s impressive roster of sponsors is reinforced by the arrival of the Museum of American Armor.
Armor all: Speaking of warm welcomes, let’s have a big round of applause for the newest Innovate Long Island sponsor – the Museum of American Armor, another great Long Island tourism destination that beefs up Nassau County’s parks revenue and, as of today, joins our prestigious newsletter-sponsorship rotation.
If you haven’t visited the Old Bethpage-based museum, you’re missing out (and if you have, visit it again!). The MAA is a virtual time machine featuring 25,000 square feet of vintage tanks, period artillery and other vehicles and gear from World War II and beyond, plus tons of educational programming and a full slate of special events for history buffs – all speaking directly to American courage, sacrifice and innovation.
Check out the links above and below … and welcome to the show, MAA!
Slitherin’ house: Make a day of it, snake-lovers.
Tipping the scales: Our new allies join us just in time to bolster defenses against World Snake Day, which looks to slither out from under millennia of bad press by cuddling up to carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes. (No thanks.)
Yes, chef! If your appetite isn’t ruined, it’s National Personal Chef Day, recognizing the hard work of personal chefs – who are very different from private chefs, so please refrain from cracking wise about rich snobs.
Personal chefs, private chefs and plain old chefs have plenty of delicious dishes and intriguing ingredients to work with today – National Corn Fritters Day (celebrating a Southern specialty), National Hot Dog Day (as American as it gets, every third Wednesday of July), Fresh Spinach Day (praising the leafy, crunchy, vitamin-packed powerhouse) and National Cherry Day (always tart and sweet on July 16) all bow.
Capital gain: Known for chopping down cherry trees (and a few other accomplishments), President George Washington signed the Residence Act – which stipulated that he’d select a site to become the permanent U.S. capital (after a 10-year temporary stay in Philadelphia) – on this date in 1790. (Washington chose a spot where the Potomac and Anacostia rivers converged, with Maryland and Virginia ceding land to what would later to be named the District of Columbia.)
Rock solid: They’d use plenty of brick, wood and lime mortar when they built the City of Washington – but not metal-reinforced concrete, which didn’t become a popular building material until after July 16, 1867, when Parisian gardener Joseph Monier earned a French patent for his hard work.
The color of money: They also didn’t use a lot of paint, at least indoors – coloring interior walls was a rarity until sometime after that same date (July 16, 1867), when Ohio-based inventor D.R. Averill patented ready-mixed, metallic-based paint.
Meter maids came later: But parking meters started consuming coins on this date in 1935.
Meter reader: Soon to grace Washington, D.C., and other metropolises around the country and the world, parking meters became a thing 90 years ago today, when coin-operated pay-to-park machines – brainchild of Oklahoma-based innovator Carl Magee – were installed in Oklahoma City.
One-hit wonder: You’re sure to find a copy in the Library of Congress (located on Washington’s Independence Avenue) or at your local bookstore, even after all these years – that’s because J.D. Salinger’s masterwork “The Catcher in the Rye,” still a strong contender for the Great American Novel, was first published on this date in 1951. (It was also Salinger’s only full-length novel, for those keeping score.)
Eagle eye: And eight years after President John F. Kennedy stood in the U.S. Capitol Building (at the intersection of First Street and East Capital Street in Washington) and announced the ambitious goal of sending Americans to the Moon, the fabled Apollo 11 mission blasted off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969.
Two days later, the lunar module Eagle set down on the Sea of Tranquility, and astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin took a walk for the ages.
Clear as Ida Bell: American journalist, sociologist, suffragist, educator and civil rights icon Ida Bell Wells-Barnett (1862-1931) – an emancipated slave who launched the first Chicago kindergarten for Black students and co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People – would be 163 years old today.
Redenbacher, for real: Yep … bowtie and all.
Also born on July 16 were Italian mathematician, astronomer and Catholic priest Giuseppe Piazzi (1746-1826), who established the Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo and discovered the dwarf planet Ceres; American religious reformer Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910), who founded the Christian Science movement; Norwegian polar explorer/adventurer Roald Amundsen (1872-1928), the first to reach the South Pole; American food scientist, businessman and popcorn king Orville Redenbacher (1907-1995), as much a flesh-and-blood man as an all-time brand; and American Internet project developer Larry Sanger (born 1968), the self-styled philosopher who co-invented Wikipedia.
Have gun, will medal: And take a bow, Kimberly Susan Rhode! The American Olympian – a double-trap and skeet expert who was the first Olympian to win medals on five different continents and the first American to medal at six consecutive Olympic Games – turns 46 today.
Give the unrivaled markswoman your best at editor@innovateli.com, where we aim for greatness – and your news tips and calendar events always keep us on-target.
About our sponsor: Located in Old Bethpage, the Museum of American Armor chronicles our shared heritage of America’s defense of freedom and the nation’s legacy of military technology. Start your adventure through history right here.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Packing it in: A second-generation Long Island manufacturer will have a puncher’s chance in the competitive global packaging industry, thanks to the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency.
The IDA has approved a tax-incentives package for Hauppauge-based Josh Packaging, a family-owned printer/packer executing a $9.2 million expansion of its operations and facilities. The circa-1993 manufacturer – which creates flexible retail packaging for food, paper goods, pet food, pharmaceuticals and other consumer products – is renovating its existing property at 245 Marcus Boulevard and has purchased a 32,340-square-foot facility on Ricefield Lane, increasing its total Hauppauge footprint to 69,840 square feet.
The expansion will retain 68 full-time employees and create 10 new full-time positions (with an average annual salary of $52,500), with construction work – scheduled to be completed by the end of 2027 – creating another 11 temporary jobs, according to the IDA. “Josh Packaging’s acquisition and renovation of 135 Ricefield and the renovation of its existing facility … will bring significant investment with the company’s longstanding local contractors and vendors,” noted Suffolk County IDA Executive Director Kelly Murphy. “This project reflects Suffolk County’s commitment to creating and retaining high-quality manufacturing jobs in our region.”
Crowning achievement: The highest point of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s under-construction Artificial Intelligence and Quantitative Biology building has been erected.
To top it off: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has “topped off” its future Artificial Intelligence and Quantitative Biology Building.
Laboratory leaders marked the symbolic moment July 10 with representatives of global development firm Skanska, which is leading construction of the $248 million, 379,500-square-foot AIQB building. The facility is slated to feature state-of-the-art neuroscience and cancer-biology labs, an AI research building and a parking garage; an 81,000-square-foot research/conference center and a 56,000-square-foot housing and collaborative-research center for visiting scientists is expected to follow in Phase II of the $500 million CSHL campus expansion, with costs offset by the Empire State Development Corp. and the laboratory’s Foundations for the Future campaign.
“Topping off” refers to the completion of a construction project’s structural phase, typically involving the installation of a building’s final structural beam or highest point – a noteworthy moment in CSHL’s massive expansion plan, according to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory President and CEO Bruce Stillman. “We cannot predict the future, but we can prepare for it, and that is what Foundations for the Future does,” Stillman noted. “The ongoing expansion will help ensure that CSHL remains at the global epicenter of biology research and education for generations.”
TOP OF THE SITE
The future begins: Long Island University has broken ground on the future home of its cutting-edge College of Science, with amenities focused on life sciences, artificial intelligence and other red-hot 21st Century frontiers.
Standing invitation: A new episode of “Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast” drops next week – this week, catch up on all the amazing episodes you’ve missed. Fifty-three enlightening and entertaining conversations with innovation-economy leaders are standing by right now.
VOICES
Voices Social Services Anchor Jeffrey Reynolds, president and CEO of the Garden City-based Family and Children’s Association, finds more questions than answers in his no-holds-barred review of expensive, personal data-sharing Apple watches, Garmin fitness devices and other wearable health monitors.
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.
STUFF WE’RE READING
All this talk: The truth about tariffs, how they work and why they matter. Quartz pays dues.
All in the family: Financial disclosure forms detail how the Trump family has cashed in on the presidency. Reuters adds up.
All my children: Science has filled in some gaps regarding brain development in “middle childhood.” The BBC ages out.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Dextall, a New York City-based construction design automation innovator, raised $15 million in Series A funding led by L+M Development Partners, Essence Development and Simpson Strong-Tie.
+ Virtru, a Washington-based data-centric security platform, raised $50 million in funding led by ICONIQ.
+ RealSense, a California-based developer of AI-powered computer-vision devices, raised $50 million in Series A funding. Backers included Intel Capital and the MediaTek Innovation Fund.
+ Chariot Claims, a NYC-based legal-tech startup, raised $3.6 million in Seed funding led by Indicator Ventures.
+ Neuros Medical, a California-based biotech focused on non-opioid treatments for chronic post-amputation pain, raised $56 million in Series D financing led by EQT Life Sciences.
+ Blues, a Massachusetts-based wireless-communications solutions provider focused on Internet of Things connectivity, raised $8 million in funding led by XYZ Venture Capital.
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 Museum of American Armor). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Summer Barbecue Edition)
If it ain’t broke…: It’s better than cheddar, Swiss is a miss and gouda’s not as good … nothing beats American cheese on your burger.
Don’t overthink it: Why the best burgers are always topped with American cheese.
Don’t overcook (or undercook!) it: Here’s what your meat is missing.
Don’t forget: Food is just one ingredient in the perfect summer barbecue.
Don’t miss it: Please continue supporting the outstanding organizations that support Innovate Long Island, including the Museum of American Armor, an historically awesome destination for any Long Island vacation (or staycation!). Check them out.
