For new or “pre-revenue” companies, cash rules the roost. (Older companies may appreciate cash, too. I’m rather fond of it myself.) Leaders of Joby Aviation Inc. say their company has the best balance sheet in the eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft) industry. But some shareholders lately don’t seem impressed. Shares of Joby (NYSE: JOBY) closed down Thursday at $4.80, down 19 cents or 3.8%. Year to date, shares are down about 28%. Joby builds cash foundation as it seeks to certify aircraft Joby Aviation, which has Dayton manufacturing plans, is a building a cash reserve, securing the aforementioned Toyota investment and launching a secondary sale of public stock worth more than $200 million. Cash is king: All that funding builds on Joby’s cash balance, which stood at $825 million at the end of the second quarter, the company reported in August. At least some shareholders may be prepared for uncertainty as Joby tries to take flight with a new kind of aircraft in a market that doesn’t exist yet. “There are investors out there who are happy to play the long game with a highly risky investment,” Elizabeth Williams, a lecturer in finance at the University of Dayton, told me this week. “It could be the next Nvidia, the next Amazon, the next thing that is transformational.” OnMain: Dayton plans to provide $4M for redevelopment of former fairgrounds into innovation hub What happened: Dayton has approved issuing more than $4 million in bonds for infrastructure improvements to the onMain project site, the former fairgrounds property on track to become an Ohio innovation hub. The hope is to support a new building and activity that some believe will create some 2,000 jobs, generating $500 million in research revenue by 2031, advocates of the project have said. What they’re saying: “We knew that there would be an ask because there is no infrastructure in the site,” said Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein. “The fairgrounds didn’t really require that and that’s a big expense for the redevelopment.” The VA, here and nationally, served a record number of veterans in FY ‘24 Veterans Affairs medical centers and clinics, in the Dayton area and across the nation, are busier than ever. Here: In terms of veterans served, fiscal year 2024 was a record-breaking year for the VA, both locally and nationally. In fiscal year (FY) 2024, the Dayton VA served just shy of 46,000 veterans, up 3.1% from the previous fiscal year. And there: VA delivered more than 127.5 million health care appointments nationwide, a 6% increase over last year’s record. What they’re saying: “We are ready to meet this moment for our veterans,” Dayton VA Director Jennifer DeFrancesco told me. Why the ‘big boy’ shrunk: What went wrong at Frisch’s? You might have noticed: the Frisch’s Big Boy restaurant chain has been closing locations across the region. For the second time in six months, the restaurant chain is in the middle of a major downsizing, with eviction filings that could force the closure of a dozen Southwest Ohio locations. The company has blamed “unforeseen circumstances and various other factors.” Yes, but: Some say these problems were the predictable result of a sale-leaseback transaction that followed the company’s 2015 purchase by an Atlanta-based private equity firm. State rep questions financial records, asks for special Ohio audit on Warren ag board after horse eviction vote The Warren County Agricultural Society voted Oct. 21 to end harness racing at the county’s fairgrounds in Lebanon. Now, a state forensic audit is being sought in the matter. What happened: State Rep. Scott Lipps said he wants Ohio Auditor Keith Faber to examine the ag society’s finances after the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association disputed data presented to the board before its vote evicting horse boarders from the fairgrounds by Dec. 1. Community Gems: Fifty-two people or organizations were named Dayton Daily News Community Gems this year: See who they are and what they are doing for their community HERE. Contact Me: Thank you as always for reading this newsletter. You can reach me anytime at tom.gnau@coxinc.com ‘Never the star, but always shining:’ Farewell to Teri Garr. | 
