Dayton Daily News The Path Forward

We’re connecting local educators and parents as we approach the new school year. From concerns about academic performance, and the loss of learning over the summer, to hiring and retaining educators and support staff, and fears about school safety and mental health, we are listening to local experts to build local solutions.

Gas prices hit record levels. Monthly electric bills are soaring. The cost of essentials like food and housing keeps going up as the local economy gets squeezed. Find out what historic inflation means for your family in a Community Conversation on Wednesday, June 29.

Eric Spina is the 19th president of the University of Dayton and a member of the Dayton Daily News Community Advisory Board. For the Path Forward Dayton podcast, we're interviewing members of our Community Advisory Board, a group of leaders from around our region who help inform our coverage.

Billions of federal dollars and hundreds of local decisions are transforming our communities and fueling recovery from the COVID downturn. In addition to asking local governments to show how they’re spending taxpayer money and keeping an eye out for waste, fraud, abuse or mismanagement, we’re asking our readers to see how you want to see this money spent in your communities. That’s why we hosted a Community Conversation at noon on Wednesday, May 18 to discuss plans from around our region. The discussion was co-hosted by Dayton Daily News Community Impact Editor Nick Hrkman and investigative journalist Josh Sweigart. The panel included experts and decision-makers from around the area.

Maha Kashani is a senior account manager at IGS Energy, 2022 Dayton Daily News Community Advisory Board member and past president of the Dayton Arab American Forum. For the Path Forward Dayton podcast, we're interviewing members of our Community Advisory Board, a group of leaders from around our region who help inform our coverage.

In 2017, Dayton was the first city in the United States to earn the status of Certified Welcoming in recognition of inclusiveness and integration of immigrants through programs such as Welcome Dayton. What are the social and economic effects of immigration? What does the future hold for immigrants and refugees in Dayton and Montgomery County? The discussion included experts from around the area.

While the health risks of COVID to children are lower than those of older adults, the reduced social interaction, missed time in school and other consequences of the pandemic has affected children of all ages in ways we are just now beginning to understand. In the latest episode of The Path Forward Dayton, a Dayton Daily News podcast, we’re sharing the discussion we held on Wednesday, March 16 with a panel of local experts.

Kamran Afzal was sworn in as Dayton’s new police chief on Dec. 20, replacing former chief Richard Biehl after 13 years of service. He now leads a department of 368 sworn officers, 39 civilian employees and manages an annual budget of $57 million. We recently spoke with the new police chief in his office about his background and plans for the department.

Wide gulfs exist in COVID-19 vaccination rates across southwest Ohio — the rates in some communities are more than three times higher than others, a Dayton Daily News investigation found — exposing many long-term disparities and undermining efforts to end the pandemic. Dayton Daily News reporters Jordan Laird and Josh Sweigart visited the least vaccinated communities in Montgomery County to find out how residents view the shot.

While people under the age of 50 still make up a minority of serious illnesses and deaths from COVID-19, more died in this wave driven by delta than at any other time since the pandemic began. In this episode, reporter Jordan Laird spoke with area hospital workers caring for these patients and a family who lost their 37-year-old patriarch to COVID-19 in August.

Housing advocates in the Dayton region explain that the legacies of redlining persist today as the region's Black and minority residents continue to face disparities in housing. This episode explores the legacies of past polices and modern discrimination with two local stories. Dayton-area residents of color, particularly in minority neighborhoods, are denied home loans at higher rates than their white counterparts over half a century after the Fair Housing Act of 1968 was intended to level the playing field. Norman and Zaria Scearce, an African American couple living in Trotwood recently attempted to buy a bigger home in Trotwood but the loan did not go through. Norman Scearce tell his story in this latest episode. Also in this episode, host Jordan Laird spoke to Carolyn and Larry Williams. The African American couple have poured thousands of dollars into upkeeping and renovating their Westwood home over the decades but their house has not appreciated in value when adjusting for inflation.

As the debate over how to discuss race and racism in schools plays out nationally and locally, the Dayton Daily News investigated how our local schools teach about race. In this episode, host Jordan Laird interviews Rochonda and Mawuena Nenonene. A mother and daughter from Beavercreek, they're both African American. Rochonda Nenonene is co-program director of the Urban Teacher Academy at the University of Dayton. Mawuena is a 17-year-old rising senior at Beavercreek High School. They say schools need to be having more honest discussions about race, not fewer.

Local Ohio lawmakers are sponsoring a bill that would prevent businesses and schools from requiring or promoting the COVID-19 vaccine or any other vaccine. Dayton Daily News reporter Jordan Laird spoke with Dayton Daily News business reporter Lynn Hulsey about whether area businesses are mandating or incentivizing the COVID-19 vaccine. Hulsey and Laird also chatted about what going back to the office will be like in a post-pandemic world.

Six people who participated in Dayton area protests last summer after the death of George Floyd reflect a year later. Some are encouraged by the ongoing conversations happening locally while others are discouraged by the limited scope of reforms thus far. All of them say there is still a long way to go for our community or our country to achieve racial equity.

Over the last year, many local governments and institutions declared — or considered declaring — racism a public health crisis. For this episode, Jordan Laird dug into what that means. She spoke with a local Black mother who lost an infant; Dayton pediatrician Dr. Alonzo Patterson; Reem Aly, vice president of the Health Policy Institute of Ohio; and others.

The Dayton Daily News Path Forward project investigates the most pressing issues facing our community— including jobs and the economy, drinking water, and race and equity — and seeks solutions. In the first episode of the Dayton Daily News the Path Forward podcast, Dayton Daily News Publisher Jana Collier discusses the Path Forward project with host Jordan Laird. We also introduce you to our team, what we do and the issues we're tackling.