Morning Briefing | 🔎 What's going on with Joby Aviation?

There was a lot of excitement when Joby Aviation announced almost a year ago that it was bringing a production facility to Dayton. So what’s happening now?

In today’s Morning Briefing, we hear from Joby about what to expect next from them. We also bring you a story from reporter Meredith Moss about working with television icon Phil Donahue during his early days in Dayton.

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The newsletter should take about 3 minutes, 10 seconds to read.

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NEW DETAILS: Joby Aviation says Dayton production will launch early next year

Production of components for Joby Aviation electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles will begin in Dayton early next year.

• 11 months ago: Joby announced that it would bring scaled production of its electric flying rotor-craft to the community.

• 6 months ago: Joby selected a former U.S. Postal Service facility near the Dayton International Airport for the work.

• Production goal: Joby plans to build up to 500 aircraft a year in Dayton.

• Jobs: Joby began hiring this year and intends to increase its Ohio employee count as it begins initial operations. Last year, the company said it expects to have about 2,000 Dayton employees when peak manufacturing is achieved.

• What they are saying: “The demand around the world is tremendous,” said Greg Bowles, Joby’s head of government relations and regulatory affairs. “The U.S. is an amazing market ... We will use the existing aviation infrastructure — 5,080 U.S. airports, almost 10,000 heliports across the U.S. It’s really ripe for success.”

Column: What it was like working with talk show host Phil Donahue in Dayton

So, what was Phil Donahue REALLY like? It’s the question Dayton Daily News reporter Meredith Moss received quite a bit over the past half-century.

• Her answer: “Phil Donahue is a mensch. In Yiddish, the word means a person of integrity and honor, someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character.”

• Early career: Moss was the publicity director for Avco Broadcasting. She later became the first promotion director for “The Phil Donahue Show.”

• Lessons learned: “Watching Phil conduct interviews turned out to be a lifelong lesson for me. I channel him now when I conduct an interview for the Dayton Daily News. Phil had a knack for asking the questions we all really wanted to have answered. He asked them, not in a combative way, but in a conversational, friendly manner.”

• Personal memories? Parties at Phil’s house in Centerville. Shepherding the Donahue kids around the Ohio State Fairgrounds when the show did remote broadcasts from Columbus.

What to know today

• One big takeaway: Gov. Mike DeWine tested positive for COVID-19 Tuesday morning and has started taking Paxlovid, an anti-retroviral therapy.

• Tip of the day: The city of Piqua issued an alert about an email scam for fake permit fees.

• Person to know today: Megan McAfee. The head chef at Joui Wine in Dayton’s Fire Blocks District says her goal is to elevate a customer’s experience.

• Stat of the day: This year’s Cincinnati Open set a new attendance record as the Warren County pro tennis tournament drew 205,068 fans.

• Big move of the day: A new coffee shop is coming soon to downtown Dayton. Mug Mafia will be located at 200 E. Fifth St. in the former space of Smokin’ Bar-B-Que.

• Thing to do: ‘The Big Bounce America’ inflatables event is coming to Dayton.

• Photo of the day: The Gin Blossoms and Toad the Wet Sprocket recently brought their co-headlining tour to the Rose Music Center at The Heights. See a photo gallery by Tom Gilliam here.

Credit: Tom Gilliam