Look at just about any list of the U.S. military’s best jets or fighters, and the F-35 jointly shared by three military branches will almost surely be there. It’s an extremely lethal, do-it-all fighter.
It’s also a lighting rod for criticism and controversy.
‘The problems are real’: Crash, critical GAO analyses turn up heat on challenged F-35 program
Rarely has a military plane been so loved and reviled simultaneously.
When an F-35B was lost for days in September following a malfunction that forced the Marine Corps pilot to eject in rural South Carolina, it was a high-profile embarrassment for the U.S. Department of Defense.
But it’s far from the only negative attention the F-35 program — partially managed for the Air Force out of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base — has faced this year, a Dayton Daily News investigation found.
Why this matters: For the next six or so decades, the Pentagon plans to spend an estimated $1.7 trillion on nearly 2,500 F-35s — operating, maintaining, and repairing the planes, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has said.
“These problems ultimately are solvable,” Diana Mauer, director of defense capabilities and management for the GAO, said in an interview. “The follow-on (questions) to that obviously becomes, how long will it take and at what cost?”
JobsOhio sues Mikesell’s, former Dayton potato chip maker
Credit: Jim Witmer
Credit: Jim Witmer
When I interviewed Luke Mapp, president of Mikesell’s Snack Food Co., in December 2022, he spent more than an hour detailing the various challenges his business faced.
At the end, I asked him what kind of future Mapp saw for his company.
“I’d like nothing more than to keep it going another 110 years,” he said.
Less than two months later, the business had ceased production in Dayton.
Now, in the latest wrinkle, some 10 months after a Zanesville company bought the Mikesell’s brand rights: Ohio private jobs creation arm JobsOhio is suing Mikesell’s.
Lawsuit: “JobsOhio demands judgment against defendant in the amount of $25,000, plus interest, including prejudgment interest, reasonable attorney fees, costs, and expenses, and such other relief as the court may deem appropriate,” the lawsuit states.
McClintick to leave top Harrison Twp. post after 23 years in township government
Credit: Ken Jarosik
Credit: Ken Jarosik
Kris McClintick and his Harrison Twp. colleagues might be seen as a study in patience.
Soon-to-be-former Township Administrator Kris McClintick has announced his resignation Monday after 23 years. The resignation is effective Friday.
“It’s bittersweet,” he told me. “I’ve been there for a long time.”
Challenges: In a parting interview, McClintick said the 2019 Memorial Day tornado outbreak, a collapse of property values after the Great Recession and a steady effort to reduce the number of adult businesses along North Dixie Drive were three of the principal challenges he and his team faced over the years.
Low inventory and high rates conspire to slow housing market
Reporter Eric Schwartzberg interviewed Austin Castro, a team leader at Coldwell Banker Heritage, about the housing market for a recent story.
Higher prices are good, right? Higher home sale prices have always been something of a double-edged sword. Sellers love the higher prices — but they can often face those same prices when they need to fine a new place to live.
“With prices continuing to rise, people are having a hard time justifying the delta between what they’ve got now and what they can purchase,” Castro said.
Impacted sales: There were 11,651 sales of single-family homes and condominiums in the Dayton region in the first 10 months of 2023, a 14.2% decrease from the same span in 2022, according to Dayton Realtors Multiple Listing Service.
Quick hits
Kids Express: A new Dayton Children’s Hospital location in Centerville debuts this week.
Pain: The ironies in Ohio State’s 61st loss to Michigan were many, and they were cruel, sports writer Marcus Hartman reflects.
The best appetizer is hunger. Or you can choose from this Dayton-area list. Whichever.
Trucking company invests in Riverside terminal: To the tune of nearly $3 million.
Jay’s Seafood: Offers new Sunday hours.
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