Second — An Irish Blessing

A Long Island Four-Leaf Clover. Photo by Katheryn Laible

While the Irish shutting down their pubs on the Eve of St. Paddy’s day is a sure sign that this stuff is serious, locally we’ve seen more than a few Suffolk folks find a silver lining in that they can now get cocktails to go.

For our part, we are choosing to celebrate that The Dropkick Murphys have decided, since they can’t play to a crowd in Boston tonight, they’re going to live stream it the world instead, 7PM EST.

It’s a lovely addition to these amazing videos of balcony performances in Italy.

Play on…

Help Our Emergency Service Providers Help YOU!

Source unknown…but we thank whomever created it and figure they want it shared.

We are beyond grateful for our Emergency Service Providers – always, but especially now. While most of us are taking the moment to prepare ourselves, all over Long Island VOLUNTEERS are preparing themselves to put themselves at risk to help us all see this through.

In order to keep doing this, they NEED TO KNOW when they are going into a situation that might expose them to the virus. This way, they can take the special precautions necessary to keep EVERYONE down the line safe and still in service. So…tell the 911 operator, put a sign in your window, do whatever you can to make sure they can stay in service. THANK YOU!!!

The Huntington Community First Aid Squad has some good stuff on their page that you can share.

 

 

 

And…..while our hearts and gratitude are with all these folks, and Jon in particular is generally the first to point fingers in a million directions regarding whom else we should be appreciating, we want take a moment to personally thank Jon Siebert of the Mastic Beach Ambulance Company for his service here and so many times before. He’s a real friend, a true public servant and a most excellent human.

Best to you and your whole crew!!!!!

 

First — Puppies!!!

Image provided by the Guide Dog Foundation

If there’s one silver lining, it’s that the dogs of the world have not only been cleared of their own virus scare, they also suddenly have their people home a lot more!

Of course, some very special canines get to stay with their people wherever they go. We were going to share our adventures learning about the incredible service dogs at the Guide Dog Foundation, and Americas Vet Dogs, but realize they are probably occupied with more important things this month than helping us edit a long-form article.

So…soon…

Meanwhile, we invite you to please support the valuable work of the Guide Dog Foundation, and Americas Vet Dogs and to check out their newsletter and testimonials. The stories are incredibly uplifting and heartwarming. Check ’em out here and here

NOTE! There may be special ways folks can help them navigate the current situation soon. Watch their websites and social media as well as our Facebook Page for details!!!

Even More Grateful for YOU. Thank You.

“I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.”

                                                                ~ Billy Joel

We may tend to be a little over the top in appreciating folks on this mail list. Truth is, though, every day we are reminded to be thankful for smart, caring people who step up to serve our communities, and for those who do all they can to bring them together across interests and perspective to get to know each other and endeavor together to make the best of things.

It’s a joy, privilege and humbling honor to know you.

What’s more, over the course of writing this newsletter we have become evermore aware that, despite years spent learning about and connecting the helpers of Long Island, we only know a tiny fraction of the good folks all around us who go out of their way, every day, to make this world a better place.

This is good news.

Over the past few weeks, our gratitude has surged as we see you folks give it your best to provide good information, to urge folks to calmly and collectively take this situation seriously from a multitude of angles, to help each other navigate a million tough decisions, and to keep in mind the myriad ways people and organizations will be physically, economically and emotionally impacted by the current situation.

You are advocates, artists and spiritual leaders. Small business owners, leaders within larger enterprises, influencers and decision makers. Teachers, scientists, caregivers, and a full range of service providers.

While we know this is a time when some of the most intelligent, caring stewards of our communities feel the most powerless please know:

YOU ARE A GIFT. LONG ISLAND IS BLESSED TO HAVE YOU. EVERY THOUGHTFUL, LOVING ENDEAVOR YOU ARE UNDERTAKING MATTERS. THANK YOU.

Above all, we are beyond grateful for the health care workers and emergency service providers who are not only facing this thing down from where they are now, but stepping up to get back into service where they might be needed. For teachers who up until last Friday kept going into school every day to help prepare our children, and who now are scrambling to prepare for a roll out of learning methods that make the Common Core launch look easy and well-managed; for the professors who are trying to figure out how to keep the lectures going and standing up for so many students they know are being pulled in more directions than they can fathom. For the parents and the business owners figuring out what to do with those they are responsible for.

For the cashiers, transit workers, pharmacists and millions of other service-oriented folks we take for granted every day who have spent the last few weeks being a new kind of hero.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

Like just about everything it seems, the plans we had for this edition suddenly changed. We figure the best we can do is offer a rundown of resources we’ve come across that are relevant to the current situation..

As always, this is but a sampling of people and organizations that we are blessed to have some personal familiarity with. We invite you to use it as a resource and an inspiration to seek out others.

Let us know what’s going on and of other items worth sharing. Together, we will all get through this. As we do, we will regularly update our Facebook Page

We are grateful for all the good you do.

It matters. Deeply.

Thank you.

Katie and Trudy

If you’d like to support the Synchronicity Network Newsletter, you may do so here. This publication serves and celebrates folks who care for art, science and the common good on LI and beyond, aiming to increase the quantity and quality of community engagement. As always, we love to hear from you, and welcome your submissions and feedback.

COVID-19: Sources of Good Information from Reputable Sources

 

There’s a lot of great news coverage out there…and a lot of not-so-helpful, possibly even dangerous stuff going around that’s spreading even faster than the virus.

We are thankful that, while the media industry has been challenged to figure out how to stay in business overall, LI has so far still managed to maintain a fairly robust local media landscape…While a lot of places struggle to keep one decent paper together, we don’t have room here to mention all the smart, caring and conscientious sources LI has for good information about what’s happening and what it means here. We’ll just mention a few that have stood out to us in the last 36 hours:

There are lots of important press conferences going on with local elected leadership. News 12 LI and Newsday have been great resources for that.

Long Island Business News has been doing an excellent job of covering how this impacts the economy from a local standpoint, including offering tips on what employers need to know. The LI Press has been keeping up on more everyday aspects. Meanwhile, Innovate LI has been offering their ever-witty views on the technical side of things.

We have been reminded every morning lately how much we love LI Classic Rock 102.3 WBAB’s local care and down to Earth approach to helping regular folks weather all sorts of storms (and tickled to learn they’re naming a stretch of Deer Park Ave. after JP!).

Huntington NOW has been offering excellent local reporting and resources.

And…BTW…while they remain clear eyed and flexible, the ever Intrepid Fair Media Council is keeping the faith regarding their April 23rd Folio Awards…May they get to honor Carol Silva right on schedule!!!

For the Virus Itself, Where to Go Straight to the Science…

Here are some of the best, most direct sources of reputable information on COVID-19 that we have found:

Northwell Health Coronavirus Digital Resource Center

NYS Department of Health

CDC

National Institute of Health

World Health Organization

Johns Hopkins University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Info out of SUNY Stony Brook

Warning! We have already heard of computer viruses being spread via emails that claim to contain Johns Hopkins information…we suggest it’s best to avoid clicking links and go independently to sources!

Another great local resource for all things science is Science Advocacy of Long Island…we hear they’ll be having good resources up soon, too!

And this…it’s not politics, it’s community service…

Suffolk County Legislator William “Doc” Spencer has been offering some really good “virtual house calls” in the form of public service announcements that he is particularly qualified to offer.

He’s known as “Doc”, because he also happens to be Chief of Otolaryngology at Huntington Hospital, an Associate Clinical Professor at Stony Brook University Hospital, and the Past President of the Suffolk County Medical Society. In our experience, he generally seems to be committed to public service in the best sense of the word. Exceptionally well rounded, he also happens to be a Baptist Minister.

In this video, Doc gives a good rundown of “Corona Virus: Myths and Scams” covering a range of health-related topics, including what you can do to report price gouging and bad information. He has an calm, kind, straightforward bedside manner, and is offering regular updates and thoughtful analysis.

We are grateful.

The Philosophy That Guides Us

We’ve been reflecting quite a bit as we endeavor to develop this communications platform centered on our Synchronicity Network Newsletter. Our mission, as currently understood, is this:

“The mission of Synchronicity Planning & Communications is to serve and celebrate folks who care for art, science and the common good, improving the quantity and quality of community engagement on Long Island via a networking and communications platform centered on the Synchronicity Network and its Flagship Newsletter.”

Digging deeper, we ask ourselves WHY? For her part, Katie has offered the following:

Continue reading

A Tribute to John Kominicki

We were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of one of our local heroes: Journalist, publisher, wellspring of ideas and ever entertaining and insightful master of many ceremonies, among other things: John Kominicki.

As publisher of the Long Island Business News – the position that first brought him to grace our Island — John not only practiced excellent business journalism but served as a great force for the dissemination of broader ideas and the advancement of the common good. Highly intelligent, exceptionally well rounded, and deeply influential, he had a knack for recognizing and convening great people. His sense of humor made everything he did fun…and real.

Our personal experience of John relates to our involvement with Vision Long Island. As a founding board member in the early 2000s John offered full page ads in LIBN to help our motley little crew of community oriented folks advance Smart Growth; a complicated, interest-bridging idea that few understood, much less supported. That was huge, but really the least of what he did for us. When we think about all those who helped build the momentum that effected the amazing Smart Growth Summit we got to marvel at a few weeks ago, John figures prominently. Really, though, that was among the least of his contributions to this funny Island he chose to make his home.

In addition to his major contributions to journalism on Long Island, we believe John’s various efforts to advance the innovation economy and broader economic development were deeply significant. We were very excited to see how his qualities would manifest as the new head of the LI Press. Now, we are hopeful that he is on to some greater assignment.

Here are a few of the many tributes, each worth reading in their own right:

Remembering John Kominicki, by Jaci Clement in the Garden City Patch

John Kominicki, LI journalism icon, dies, by David Winzelberg in the Long Island Business News:

Remembering Publisher, Editor, Writer John Kominicki of Stony Brook, by Warren Strugatch in TBR Newsmedia

Icon, Journalist, Husband, Father, Friend, by Gregory Zeller in InnovateLI: Inside the New Economy

John Kominicki: Advancing Unconventional Wisdom on LI, by Nancy Douzinas Rauch in the Long Island Index

Remembering John Kominicki, written by LISTNET’s Peter Goldsmith for the Long Island Press

John, In his own words, and here accepting an award for being an Outstanding LI Journalist.

Said Vision Long Island in their Smart Talk Newsletter, “There are very few people as unique and dynamic as Mr. Kominicki. Certainly someone who made his mark in almost any area and group of people he put his focus into. We were honored to have worked with him and prayers go out to his family, colleagues and loved ones.”

Said Jed Morey of Morey Creative Studios, “John was a journalistic giant on Long Island without exaggeration. Yet LI was only one part of his long, glorious career and we were lucky to have him for as long as we did. He balanced journalistic integrity with keen business sense better than anyone in the game. Period. He was sharp. Clever. Funny as hell. Going toe-to-toe with him on a panel was an exercise in futility because he simply had more literary, cultural and political references immediately available in his back pocket. When he took the helm of the Long Island Press it was a triumphant moment of validation for our work all those years. A seal of approval from the best of us. There are so many people that will be hurting from this news. Prayers and love to his family. John, you could have taken your talent anywhere but you chose Long Island and for that we are forever grateful.”

In honor of John and his endeavors to help us recognize so many notable Long Islanders, we will be making space here to remember people whose lifetime contributions to the Long Island community continue to inspire us. As we formalize plans for precisely how to do this, we invite you to submit nominations of folks you find worthy of enduring remembrance..

Wherever you are now, John, please accept our great thanks. Our hearts are with all who love you.