| Representatives of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Parliamentary Assembly are making their way to Dayton —and some may already be here — as you read this. With them come diplomats, staff, supporters, scholars and, perhaps, protestors. This is the alliance that helped win the Cold War and whose current structure is increasingly debated. Whatever history has in store for NATO, what happens in Dayton may help tell that tale. In this newsletter: Trotwood rejects mental health facility.New Wawa station in Moraine? How some small Dayton businesses are finding their way. Why the NATO assembly matters A group takes a photo at the newly unveiled Dayton Peace Sign on Thursday, May 15, 2025, at RiverScape MetroPark Festival Plaza. JOSEPH COOKE/STAFF Dayton will host the NATO Spring-session Parliamentary Assembly this week at a time when debate rages about the U.S. commitment to the alliance — and the alliance’s commitment to itself. Gem City welcome: Dayton will be the first U.S. city to host the five-day event in more than 20 years. Much of downtown Dayton will be restricted over the next week, with next to no vehicle traffic and limited pedestrian access. Here’s what to know. Patience: It’s a virtue. The fences are going up downtown. Trotwood goes public with opposition to state mental facility at former Hara site Trotwood and Harrison Twp. have teamed up to redevelop the former Hara Arena site. Step one was completing a market study to brainstorm potential uses for the property and surrounding area. CONTRIBUTED What happened: Nearly a year ago, Gov. Mike DeWine told the Dayton Daily News that he expects a behavioral health services hospital to be built in the Dayton area in coming years. No proposed location for the site has been publicly announced so far. However: Late last week, the city of Trotwood made public on its Facebook page a letter opposing any notion of locating the facility in Trotwood or on the former Hara Arena site. Trotwood City Manager Quincy Pope told me he understands from the property’s current owner that state leaders are considering the property as the site of the new hospital. Read the story. What the site’s owner told us. Planning documents point to new Moraine Wawa station The Frischs Big Boy restaurant located at 4830 S. Dixie Drive in Moraine is permanently closed, according to a sign posted at the restaurant. NATALIE JONES/STAFF Credit: Natalie Jones The plan? Materials for a Moraine Planning Commission session point to consideration of a new Wawa gas station and convenience store on the site of a vacant Frisch’s restaurant. Where?: Applicants Highdale LLC and developer Jeffrey R. Anderson Real Estate request a zoning change at 2705 Lehigh Place from multifamily apartment use to “convenience store that specializes in prepared food and beverage sales, that also sells gas.” The two-story brick apartment building at 2705 Lehigh and the Frisch’s property take up the block at the southeast corner of Springboro Pike (Ohio 741) and South Dixie Avenue. Read the story. Adaptability: How some Dayton businesses blaze their own trail Lauren Gay is the owner of Joui Wine, located at 117 E. Third St. in Dayton's Fire Blocks District. NATALIE JONES/STAFF Credit: Natalie Jones Reporter Natalie Jones spoke with entrepreneurs who are making their way in an increasingly uncertain economy. Embracing change: Lisa Crum, a Dayton native and certified business advisor at the Miami Valley Small Business Development Center, said she has noticed the businesses who are doing well after the pandemic are able to change, adapt or create anew. What they said: Helping to open Sueño and Tender “gave me the confidence and the life lesson. You need that real world experience of actually doing it,” said Joui Wine owner Lauren Gay. Read the story. Why Turner balked at one version of the budget bill Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) questions Kimberly Cheatle, the Secret Service director, in a House Oversight Committee hearing. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times) Credit: NYT U.S. Rep. Mike Turner doesn’t find the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill” quite so comely, he said last week. As Republicans in the U.S. House worked to finalize a giant tax and budget measure, Turner, R-Dayton, was still threatening to vote against his party’s plan — opposed to cuts in pensions for current federal workers. What he said: “It’s a very basic American principle that if you go to work every day and earn benefits that those earned benefits should not be changed mid-game,” Turner said last week. “I believe it has to change.” Read the story. Contact me: As always, my thanks to you for being here. Tell me about your business at tom.gnau@coxinc.com or at X and Bluesky. I’m also on LinkedIn and on our Dayton Business page, with my colleagues. Find me as well on my Facebook page here. Quick hits: ‘This is the moment to save this building.’ A Centre City revival. Arch: On a football team I had never heard of. Reds: How Nick got his groove back. Property tax petition: Approved for ballots. Charter and Cox: Pursue merger. | 