The goal is to keep you up-to-date on what’s going on with small businesses and the region’s largest employers. Let me know if you see something you want more information on.
Readers, you can reach me at tom.gnau@coxinc.com and (937) 681-5610. Find me on Twitter and Facebook. Thanks for reading.
This is one of my favorite times of the year.
Summer in Dayton is beautiful. And it’s air show time. The CenterPoint Energy Dayton Air Show Presented by Kroger is a major economic driver for the region and takes flight July 22-23 at Dayton International Airport. (Stay tuned for more on that.)
This year, the Air Force Thunderbirds flight demonstration team will perform over Dayton. Next year, it will be the Navy Blue Angels.
Recently, the Blue Angels picked seven new officers to join the team for the 2024 air show season. One of them was Mara Mason, a lieutenant junior grade (equivalent to an Air Force first lieutenant).
Mason is from Tipp City and was selected as the team’s supply officer.
Cleveland developer eyes new jobs in Kettering-Beavercreek business park
The city of Kettering Tuesday approved a contract to sell a little over 48 acres to Solon, Ohio-based Industrial Commercial Properties in Miami Valley Research Business Park.
New jobs: The city will sell the land for $1.7 million to ICP, which would build a facility of at least 150,000 square feet and create at least 100 jobs at an expected annual payroll of $9 million.
The area is already home to General Electric, Reynolds and Reynolds, a growing number of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base employees and Woolpert, among others.
Want to make a busy interstate interchange better?
Several state and local entities are evaluating alternatives for improvements to the busy Interstate 675 and Wilmington Pike interchange.
Your ideas are welcome: A public information meeting is scheduled at noon July 18 via a virtual public meeting here.
Is an AFRL study shaping the future of military fitness?
A new Air Force Research Laboratory study has drawn two-thirds of US Space Force Guardians as participants, including 150 serving at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Why? An exemption from regular annual Air Force physical fitness tests may be one reason for the enthusiasm. Another may be a chance at reshaping how the Air Force gauges the fitness of its members. (Space Force is part of the Department of the Air Force.)
Wanted: Diverse, veteran entrepreneurs ready to grow
The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce and JP Morgan Chase are looking for diverse business owners who are veterans or who have military connections.
Opportunity is knocking: If you have a solid business plan, revenue of $1.5 million to $5 million and you’re ready for the next step, visit daytonchamber.org/projectaccelerate/ to learn more.
Brown and Turner to Park Service: Buy these (fire-damaged) buildings
Sen. Sherrod Brown and U.S. Rep. Mike Turner are reminding the National Park Service that it has been under a statutory obligation to buy former Wright Co. airplane factory buildings for some 14 years.
“Unacceptable:” A March fire that significantly damaged the buildings doesn’t change that obligation, the politicians said. In fact, in a July 6 joint letter to the head of the park service, the two said that had the service purchased the buildings earlier, the March fire might not have happened.
Looking ahead
The new National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 — the defense budget — may pass out of the House of Representatives Friday, when this newsletter is scheduled to be published. The House Rules Committee approved it late Tuesday.
New investment in Wright-Patterson: Part of that bill includes $10 million for design of new offices for acquisition workers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, setting the state for a large construction project down the road.
Staying safe
The University of Dayton Greg and Annie Stevens Intelligent Infrastructure Engineering Lab recently secured a $850,000 National Science Foundation grant to create worksite safety training for workers in high-risk industries, UD said.
The money will be used to create training environments where trainees experience potential accidents, according to UD. Researchers will assess trainees’ abilities to recognize hazards and monitor workers’ physical behaviors near workplace hazards.
“The virtual and augmented reality capabilities of the lab will allow us to perform pilot tests before the developed training environment is deployed in real world workplaces,” said Namgyun Kim, a UD assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering.
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