Dayton : Featured Stories

In June and July, middle students will descend on Dayton for Air Camp, an effort to spark the interest of Ohio's young people in aerospace and aviation. Sponsored by numerous colleges and universities, foundations and businesses, organizers say kids "will experience the rich and exciting aviation and educational resources in the Dayton region." Take a look.

When Joe Pantuso was a boy, he learned all the usual things in school -- spelling, math, history. His lessons, however, did not include the word that would come to define him most: entrepreneur.

A camera that can read your fingerprints from six feet away. A system that can catch criminals in a 16-square-mile area. Tiny planes that can soar over an urban battlefield and tell friend from foe. All are signs that Ohio is emerging as a major force in 21st century sensor technology.

Thanks to work done by folks like Richard Florida and Rebecca Ryan, cities are more aware than ever that the key to economic prosperity lies in attracting and retaining young professionals. Not only that, by reading their books � The Rise of the Creative Class and Live First, Work Second, respectively � we can pinpoint the factors that go into a young person's choice of city. All across Ohio, highly motivated organizations are relying on that data in an attempt to meet the needs of those coveted YPs, or young professionals.

The risk of starting a new business is great, the rewards uncertain. But some people enjoy the process. These "serial entrepreneurs" do it over and over again. Lather, rinse and repeat.

In January, Gov. Ted Strickland announced that Ohio had received $400 million in federal stimulus money to develop a "3C Corridor" passenger rail system linking Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati. Immediately, questions flew: Will the trains go fast enough? How many stops? Who will ride it? Will the benefits be worth the money?  hiVelocity caught up with James E. Seney, who served as executive director of the Ohio Rail Development Commission under former Gov. Bob Taft. Seney, who oversaw the Taft Administration's original Ohio Hub rail plan to link Ohio to midwestern and east coast lines, says all questions are valid -- but that Ohio has an opportunity that's too good to pass up. 

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base may be the jewel in Ohio's aerospace crown, but without the Wright Brothers to pave the way, who knows what Ohio's aviation history would look like? Take a ride with Orville and Wilber in this segment from "On Great White Wings," a documentary that re-creates the key events of the Wright Brothers development of the airplane. It is installed at the National Park Service's Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park visitor center in Dayton.