On today’s program, WYSO’s occasional Arts Series – Culture Couch. Today we’ll hear about a unique art studio in Springfield and the work they’re doing. We’ll also hear the first story in season two of Dayton Youth Radio. Also on today’s program, poet, educator, and activist, Sonia Sanchez. Finally, WYSO Music Director, Niki Dakota, is back with a few guests from Excursions this week to tell us about an upcoming charity event where participants duke it out for a good cause. See full details below.
- Details of a plan to merge the governments of the City of Dayton and Montgomery County were revealed this week by members of the non-profit group Dayton Together. They’re goal is to create what’s called a metro-style government. And to find out exactly what that means, WYSO’s April Laislee spoke to former Ohio Lieutenant Governor and committee co-chairman of Dayton Together Paul Leonard. *Opponents of the merger say the economic benefits would be minimal, and consolidation may negatively affect minority populations in Dayton by diluting their voting power. On the next WYSO Weekend we'll speak with Dayton City Commissioner Jeffery Mims Jr. about those issues.
- Husband and wife team Tom Heaphey and Vicki Rulli own Itinerant Studio. A production art company based out of a former dry goods warehouse in downtown Springfield Ohio just down the road from the Clark County Public Library on West Jefferson Street. Itinerant Studio occupies a unique niche in the art world creating large print photography on materials like wood, metal and Plexiglas and selling to clients all around the world. Community Voices producer Dan Gummel stopped by to hear their story.
- Wilberforce University celebrated its 160th anniversary this week. Poet, educator and activist Sonia Sanchez visited the Miami Valley to speak at Wilberforce's festivities. Antioch College college professor Gabrielle Civil interview Sanchez for WYSO. They began by talking about Sanchez' instrumental role in developing Black studies courses in the 1960s.
- This week we begin our second season of Dayton Youth Radio with a story from Darnell Terry, a senior at David H. Ponitz Career Technical Center in Dayton. Darnell believes in budgeting his money and talks to his friends about their financials habits and offers a bit of dating advice.
- Dayton Fight Night is an annual charity event benefiting the non-profit Dayton History. The organization is dedicated to keeping the city’s past alive through preservation and promotion. To get the low down what Fight Night is we tapped into another edition of Excursions this week where host and WYSO Music Director, Niki Dakota spoke to organizers of the event.
