Episode 31 - 13 May 2022 News Roundup

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 effect, for a total of $10 million combined for all residents in savings. If you wish to participate in the program, you don’t have to do anything, but if you wish to opt-out then letters are being sent out soon. There’s good news for Ghostlight Coffee fans, which is that you can now find them on weekends at the 2nd Street Market. They’re opening a bagel bakery there called DOUGH. Ghostlight owner, Shane Anderson, told the Dayton Daily News that he always wanted to have a location in the market, but that there was already a coffee shop there. However, they learned recently that there was an opening for a sandwich shop, so they put forward the concept of a bagel soup and sandwich shop, and now they’re in the soft opening phase of its existence. They plan to release more items moving forward, but you can also find them at their original location on Wayne Ave. or over next to Old Scratch on Patterson Blvd. They’ll also soon be coming to the Dayton Arcade. In other news-related food, I’m sure many of you will be as excited as I am to learn that there’s a new Indian restaurant in downtown Dayton now. The family-owned Gulzar’s Indian Cuisine opened last Thursday at 217 N. Patterson, just across from the Dragon’s stadium and next to Winans and Flyboys. Wife and husband Deepika and Jay Singh co-manage the restaurant together, and Jay’s brother manages the family’s other restaurant in Richmond, Indiana. The restaurant features authentic Indian cuisine, including my favorite, chicken tikka masala, but if you’re looking for their most authentic dishes you can find those on the menu under Chef Specials. They also have a lunch buffet, which is $13.99. You can find their menu and learn more at gulzarsindiancuisine.com. I just had lunch there earlier this week and I definitely recommend it! There’s a new Five Rivers Health Centers campus in the Edgemont neighborhood of Dayton after they held its grand opening Wednesday of this week. The campus location will provide a number of different health services, including dental care, women’s health, sports medicine, eye care, and primary care. After being founded just over ten years ago, Five Rivers Health Centers now has 9 locations geared towards providing health services to low-income residents. The new facility is now accepting patients, and you can learn more at fiverivershealthcenters.org. Last week former Congressman and Ambassador, Tony Hall, received the Dayton Peace Prize, which is awarded jointly by the Dayton Council on World Affairs and the Dayton Peace Prize Selection Committee. Hall was a US Congressman from 1979 to 2002, after which he served as the US Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture. He also started the Hall Hunger Initiative here in Dayton. Past recipients of the award include President Bill Clinton, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Well if you’re in the Oregon District looking for Heart Mercantile then you’ll need to find them in their new location, which is on the other side of the street from their old one. They’re now at 601 E. Fifth St. across from Trolley Stop in a space that’s double the size of their old location. Also starting today, they are now open one hour later every day, with hours from 11:00am to 8:00pm now. Learn more at heartmercantile.com. If you’re in the market for sustainable, locally-grown produce, then you might want to check out Mission of Mary’s CSA, or community-supported agriculture. Their CSA program runs from this month until November of this year, with pickups every Wednesday from 2:00-6:00pm. You can sign up to get vegetables weekly from them on their website at missionofmary.org. And finally, before we get to the more fun events happening this weekend and beyond, there’s also a Rally for Abortion Rights at Courthouse Square this Saturday, May 14th from 2:00-3:00pm. You can learn more about the event on the Dayton Women’s Rights Alliance on Facebook or end40days on Instagram. All right, and now for things to do in Dayton: If you’re looking for a drive-in movie experience but don’t want to travel very far, you can go and see the Princess Bride tonight at Top of the Market Banquet Center, which is hosting a pop-up drive-in movie screening in conjunction with Liftoff Entertainment. The cost is $30-40 per vehicle and the lot opens at 7:30pm with the movie starting at 8:45pm. You can visit the show notes on my website for the link to purchase tickets, which is a long EventBrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wheels-and-reels-princess-bride-tickets-321481538937 If you’re more in the mood for music tonight, you can head over to Blind Bob’s for a show that starts at 9:00pm. Performing tonight will be Jon Snodgrass, DL Burdon, Joe Anderl, and Josh Goldman. The cover is $10. Pet lovers who enjoy walking or running with their animals are in luck this weekend as the Furry Skurry 5K event is happening Saturday, May 14th, from 8:00am-noon. General Admission is a $40 registration fee. After you’re done running (or if you don’t want to run at all) there will also be a beverage tent with bloody marys, mimosas, wine, and beer, as well as a pancake breakfast and more. This fundraising event is put on by the Humane Society of Greater Dayton, and you can find tickets at hsdayton.org/events. Also happening on Saturday is the 2022 opening day for the Shiloh Farmers Market, which takes place at 5300 Philadelphia Dr from 9:00am to 2:00pm. In addition to the veggies you can purchase, the Smokin’ Barrels Food Truck will be there as well. Another thing you can do Saturday is participate in the Pride Rocks! suicide prevention program, where you can join in rock painting, enjoy a free meal, participate in educational programming about mental health, and listen to LGBTQ+ musicians. The event is free to attend, and goes from 11:00am to 2:00pm at the Levitt Pavilion. The event is put on by the NCCJ, or the National Conference for Community and Justice of Greater Dayton. And there’s more happening tomorrow, including the Dayton Beer Company’s 10th anniversary celebration, which goes from noon to 11:00pm Saturday, May 14th. The event promises to have fun for the whole family, including the little ones, with live entertainment, games, and more. So cheers to 10 years to the Dayton Beer Company! And if that wasn’t enough, you can also visit the Liederkranz-Turner’s Biergarten on Saturday from 5:00-10:00pm. Trivia is back, and there are now over 70 German beers you can try. Food is available, and there are games and activities for people of all ages. If you’d like to see the Dayton Playhouse’s production of “Hello Dolly,” the only remaining tickets the last I checked were for Saturday night at 8:00pm, so visit daytonplayhouse.com soon for info on how to get tickets. And finally moving on to Sunday, May 15th, you can stop at the 2nd Street Market if you’ve been collecting pop tabs, which of course were invented here in Dayton, and participate in Tab-a-PULL-Ooza, which is a family-friendly event that benefits the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Dayton. There’s a competition to see who has the most tabs, although to be honest I couldn’t find what you’ll win, but it all goes towards a good cause. Also happening Sunday is a SUNDAYton Tea dance, where you can go to the Bar and Bistro and participate in a tea dance hosted by Dayton drag queens. This Sunday’s show will feature Jessica Marie Jones, Jackie O, MAGESTIK, and Dana Sintell. The event takes place from 4:00-7:00pm and the cost ranges from free to $10 to attend. Also happening Sunday evening at Salar is the Rosé All Day wine dinner, where for $89 you can get a choice of 5 wines to go with Chef Margot Blondet’s patio favorites. Visit salarrestaurant.com for ticket information. If you’re in the mood for some comedy after that, you can head over to Wiley’s for their Sunday Comics series, going from 7:15-9:00pm. The Sunday Comics are a mixture of local amateurs and nationally-touring acts who are working on material and perform short comedy sets. The cost is $15 and tickets can be purchased at wileyscomedy.com. And if you need some exercise after a weekend full of food and drinks, on Monday you can head down to RiverScape MetroPark from 6:00-7:30pm and do the Boot Camp with The Unit-Community Fitness activity. On Mondays and Wednesdays, The Unit will be meeting for group fitness activities from now until October, and all fitness levels are welcomed and encouraged. On Tuesday of course at The Neon is $6 Movie Day, and playing will be Inland Empire, Petite Maman, and The Duke. Visit neonmovies.com for showtime and ticket info. Also on Tuesday from 6:00-7:00pm at RiverScape you can do Tai Chi and Qigong next to the river. The guided meditations, stretching, and exercises do not require any special skills or equipment in order to participate. On Wednesday and Thursday of next week there will be performances by The Nerve, which is presenting its show “Friend Art,” by Sofia Alvarez at the PNC Annex. The Nerve is an ensemble-driven theatre company working to build a safe and encouraging artistic community in Dayton where local artists can discover their voice and explore their craft. Thursday’s performance starts at 7:00pm and costs $22, although Wednesday’s performance is “pay what you want” pricing. Visit daytonlive.org for more ticket information. Friday May 20th is National Bike to Work Day, and the Fiver River MetroParks Bike to Work Day celebration is happening that morning. The first 500 riders to register and check in at the event receive a gift, and you can pre-register now online at MetroParks.org. The event takes place from 7:00-9:00am at the RiverScape Metro Park on Monument Ave. and features a free pancake breakfast, live music, a bike expo, and more, so hopefully I’ll see you there! Also starting Friday, Sideshow, one of the Dayton Yellow Cab’s annual shows, is coming back this month on May 20th and 21st, after taking several years off due to Covid-19. This year performers will include Far From Eden, Tino, Nautical Theme, Snake Oil Revival, and more. Ticket information is available at yellowcabtavern.com. TheatreLab Dayton will be ending its first season since rebranding from Dare 2 Defy Productions with the show “Something Rotten!” The show takes place at the Victoria Theatre on May 21st and 22nd and the cost to attend ranges from $18 to $63. You can purchase tickets at theatrelabdayton.org or daytonlive.org. That’s it for this week’s news roundup episode, and if you enjoyed this episode please be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a friend. As a reminder, there is now merch on the podcast’s website, and I recently started offering a new service for local organizations where I will come and do Dayton-themed trivia for your employees or members, so if you’re interested reach out at [e-mail]. You can also find the transcripts for this news roundup episode in the show notes on my website, discoverdaytonpodcast.com. Thanks as always for listening, and stay funky, Dayton.