In this edition of WYSO Weekend - the home of YSO produced news and features - WYSO Curious takes a look at the history and future of the Dayton Arcade. Community Voices producer Thomas Amrhein spotlights one Yellow Springs couple and their reaction following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan 70 years ago. Details on these stories and more, below.
- Body cameras have been back in the news following a recent police shooting in Cincinnati. Police departments across the state are either testing or wearing the devices and Dayton and Beavercreek are considering getting them. Equipping officers with cameras also is one of the recommendations from Governor John Kasich’s Task Force on Community-Police Relations. But as WYSO’s Ariel Van Cleave reports, some are wondering if the move will only serve as a band-aid on a larger issue.
- The downtown Dayton Arcade—has been unoccupied for more than twenty years now. But 52-year-old DaytonianAquetta Knight remembers a time when it was hopping. "Everybody I knew was down there! Yeah, they were the good old days," she says. Her dad was a shoe repairman there. And she wants nothing more than to see if open back up. So she asked WYSO Curious a tough question—what’s gonna happen to the Arcade? WYSO’s Lewis Wallace takes a look at this notorious building’s history and future.
- In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the federal Voting Rights Act into law. The law enforced and expanded voting rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Before that, many black Americans were prevented from voting by some state and local governments. Thursday, August 6th, marked the 50th anniversary of that law and several organizations gathered in downtown Dayton to celebrate the anniversary. For some background on the Voting Rights Law we spoke with Susan Hesselgesser, executive director of The League of Women Voters of Greater Dayton. Here’s part of that conversation.
- And if you tuned into the program last week you know that Thursday also marked the 70th anniversary of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When the bombs were dropped, the world was both awestruck and horrified by their destructive power. And while some worked to further develop them and harness their immense nuclear energy, others dedicated themselves to preventing more tragedies from happening. Earle and Barbara Reynolds were two of these people. The former Yellow Springs residents and their family protested nuclear development in a unique and dangerous way. Community Voices producer Thomas Amrhein has the story.
- Seven members of the Ohio Board of Education have sent a letter to the state’s superintendent asking for an outside investigator to find out if he was involved in hiding poor charter school assessments. WYSO's Ariel Van Cleave spoke with Dayton's representative A.J. Wagner about the move.
