Discover Dayton

Today’s Friday the 13th, 2022, and it’s time for your weekly News Roundup episode, where I read the news so you don’t have to. A lot happened last week and there’s a lot coming up in terms of local events and things to do that you won’t want to miss, including things going on tonight, so don’t wait to listen! As always, you can find the show notes for this episode on my website at discoverdaytonpodcast.com. Organizations mentioned in this episode include: Ohio Statehouse Central State University Sinclair Community College City of Dayton Ghostlight Coffee 2nd Street Market Gulzar’s Indian Cuisine AES Five Rivers Health Centers Dayton Peace Prize Dayton Council on World Affairs Hall Hunger Initiative Heart Mercantile Mission of Mary’s CSA Dayton Women’s Rights Alliance Top of the Market Liftoff Entertainment Humane Society of Greater Dayton Blind Bob’s Shiloh Farmer’s Market NCCJ Dayton Beer Company Liederkranz-Turner German Club Salar Wiley’s Five Rivers MetroParks The Neon Yellow Cab Tavern TheatreLab Dayton PNC Arts Annex Show Transcript: Hello and welcome to the Discover Dayton podcast, the show that’s all about the Gem City’s past, present, and future. I’m Arch Grieve and I’m your host, and today’s episode is the weekly news roundup for Friday the 13th of May 2022, so if you’re superstitious be careful today. There’s a lot that happened last week though, including an update to Ohio’s redistricting process, good news for Dayton residents on their electric bills, and the opening of some new places to eat downtown, as well as lots of stuff to do this weekend and beyond, so stay tuned! And now for last week’s news: Well, the news about the Ohio congressional district maps isn’t great, as towards the end of last week the Republican-dominated Ohio Redistricting Commission voted down a set of maps drawn up by the consultants that they hired, and then immediately voted to approve a set of maps that the Ohio Supreme Court has already declared unconstitutional. Protestors in attendance yelled “shame,” at the commission members, but their cries were ineffective in causing any type of change amongst the members because the Republican members of the commission have no shame. Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who is a commission member, explained his rationale for supporting the third set of maps by claiming that it would be the easiest set of maps for local boards of elections to use. At the end of the meeting, Democratic Minority House Leader Allison Russo read out a “minority report,” which laid the blame for the redistricting process mess at the feet of her Republican counterparts. Also happening at the state level right now is discussion around a bill that would put an end to local municipalities’ abilities to manage short-term rentals, such as Airbnbs. House Bill 563 is currently being debated at the Ohio Statehouse, with opponents of the bill saying that it would take away home rule from cities and curtail their ability to self-govern, so now is your time to contact your local representative or senator if you have an opinion about it. Central State University’s Dayton Campus is getting a cash infusion from the U.S. Department of Commerce, which is awarding the HBCU $3.6 million in ARPA funds to quote, “tackle workplace shortages,” which have been made worse by the pandemic. Much of the money will go towards funding workshops that are geared towards educating students about advanced materials, advanced manufacturing, IT, and advanced data management. Central State is also putting in an additional nearly $90K towards its Workforce Training and Business Development Center, which will specialize in employment-related training. As a result of the expansion, Central State is expecting a 50% increase in enrollment this fall and expects to go from 2,000 students to 3,000 who are physically attending campus classes, and from 4,000 to 7,000 students attending online. Just for full transparency for this next story, I need to acknowledge that I am a Sinclair employee, but Sinclair has had some good news recently in that it graduated a record number of students at last week’s graduation ceremony, with 8,919 students being awarded degrees or certificates, or a 14% increase over last year. Of those, a record number were also black men, 1,548 students to be exact, as well as a record number of minority students at just over 3,000. There’s good news for Dayton residents recently from the city, which is that they recently announced that residents will be getting 100% renewable energy starting in June of this year which will be 30% cheaper than AES Ohio’s standard service rate, which is the company that used to be DP&L. They also assured residents that Dayton will not be impacted by the recent rate hikes proposed by AES thanks to the new aggregation program. Savings are expected to average approximately $300 per Dayton customer over the 12-month period that the deal is in eff...

Today’s episode is a little different and is much more of a review and list of some great date day/night locations in and around Dayton, starting with the Teapot Cafe Lounge in Dayton, which just had its grand opening yesterday on Valentine’s Day.

The Teapot Cafe Lounge bills itself as Ohio’s first infused coffee shop lounge, and you can get infused drinks, edibles, and smokeables there. All of them were really good and I definitely recommend checking the place out! Their website (www.teapotcafelounge.com) is still under construction, but you can find them on Facebook at https://teapotcafelounge.com/.

After that we headed over to West Social Tap and Table and got some lumpia from Lumpia Queen. It’s definitely one of our favorite spots to go to get something to eat, especially if we’re both in the mood for different things. There’s a great bar in the center of it as well and you can stop in the National Aviation Historic Park across the street if you’re wanting to make it an educational date. Visit https://westsocialtapandtable.com/ to find hours and vendor information.

Next up was Nails on Brown for a pedicure, and it’s just hands down one of our favorite places to go to get one. They do a great job and you don’t feel rushed or nickel and dimed when you visit. 10/10 would recommend! Visit https://www.nailsonbrown.com/ and book your appointment ahead of time.

After that we visited Tokyo Grill Sushi Bar and Hibachi Buffet, and it was all delicious. There are a couple of locations in the area, but I would venture to guess that all are really good.

Finally, we ended the night at the Monkey Bar and Grill, and the story behind the name alone is worth the visit. Definitely check it out sometime, and I would recommend doing it in the spring or summer when you can sit outside and admire the view of the river. Visit https://themonkeybarandgrille.com/ for more information.

To learn more about the Discover Dayton Podcast host, Arch Grieve, visit gemcitydudeistpriest.com.

Today is June 17, 2022, and that means it’s your weekly news roundup episode. There’s a lot that happened this past week and a lot on tap, as always, but I’m very excited to let you know that in this episode I let you know about our first affiliate marketer, the Daytonian Beard Company, so be sure to listen so you can find out how to get your 10% discount! Or, I’ll just tell you now - you can visit https://thedaytonianbeardco.com/ and use the code “discoverdaytonpod” to get 10% off your purchase of any online order!

Here’s your transcript for this week’s episode:

Hello and welcome to the Discover Dayton podcast, the show that’s all about the Gem City’s past, present, and future. My name is Arch Grieve and I’m your host, and today is Friday, June 17th, so it’s your weekly news roundup episode, where I read the news so you don’t have to. As always a great deal happened last week and even more is on tap for next week, so stay tuned to hear all about it in just a moment.

Also very briefly before I get to your news I wanted to let you know that it was such a nice day outside today when I recorded this on Thursday that I decided to sit out on my front porch with an ice cold old fashioned to read the news to you, and I’m also doing it on TikTok and Instagram live when I can now, so if you want to get the raw, unedited news roundup podcast on Thursdays before anyone else, join me on those platforms moving forward!

HB 583, a bill concerning multiple K-12 education laws in Ohio, has been approved by the state legislature and is set to arrive on Governor DeWine’s desk soon. The bill contains changes to laws concerning students receiving EdChoice private school scholarships and parents of dyslexic students. It also extends districts’ ability to hire substitute teachers with only a high school diploma by another two years. The bill expands EdChoice to include some families whose children previously received state funding for private education or whose siblings received such funding. HB 583 has drawn criticism from the Ohio Education Association, who are opposed to the idea of forcing taxpayers to pay to send children to mostly religious private schools which tend to under-perform compared to their public school counterparts. HB 583 also loosens requirements for charter school sponsors in Ohio, a move that has earned them some criticism from both charter school critics and advocates. Both groups raise issue with the lowered accountability this will allow school sponsors to get away with in the state. The bill also pushes back the start of dyslexia screening requirements by one year.

Electric company AES Ohio, formerly Dayton Power and Light, is currently seeking approval from the state to disconnect customers remotely for non-payment. Duke Energy Ohio and AEP are already exempt from the in-person notification that AES is currently required to give before shutting off service. A spokesperson for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio said Tuesday that there is no timeline as yet for when we can expect to see a ruling on this case. The move has drawn criticism from the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Council, Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, and the Ohio Poverty Law Center. These groups raise concerns over the language AES uses regarding “vulnerable customers;” AES has proposed “limiting” the number of such customers who would be subject to remote disconnection, which the OCC argues is insufficient. All vulnerable customers, such as people with disabilities or the elderly, should be exempt from the remote disconnection process, they argued in their recent filing. PUCO staff have also recommended against the proposal, saying it does not sufficiently communicate the change in disconnection practices to customers. Currently AES gives customers two notices before disconnection in the winter months but only one notice in the summer, which may be particularly troubling.

Tuesday, June 14, was the hottest day Dayton has seen in nearly ten years. Temperatures soared to a peak of 95 degrees at the Dayton International Airport, with a heat index of 107 and humidity in the 70s. Closer to the city center, temperatures rose even one or two degrees higher due to the urban environment. This coming at the same time as power outages across Ohio has put many Daytonians in a precarious position, with National Weather Service meteorologist John franks calling the heat “oppressive.” Nighttime lows stayed above 70 degrees, depriving residents of what would typically be a welcome respite from the daytime heat. Cooling centers have opened across the Dayton metro area for those affected. There are locations in Dayton, Oakwood, Riverside, Moraine, West Carrolton, Washington Twp., and Warren County. As Dayton and Montgomery County Public Health tells us, the three most important things are to stay cool, stay hydrated, and stay informed. Visit