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🗞️ Akron is Going Downhill

🗞️ Akron is Going Downhill

July 18, 2025

Good Morning, Akron!

The World Championship Soap Box Derby rolled into Akron this week, featuring kids and young adults who build cars that race straight and true. Meanwhile, my IKEA bookshelf still wobbles—despite following the instructions seventeen times.

Let’s dive into this week’s issue.

The Digest

Gas Station Musical Chairs Gets Real 🏪

More than a dozen Greater Akron Circle K locations are converting to MAPCO after an FTC ruling on Circle K's parent company acquiring GetGo. The federal trade watchdogs basically said "hold up there, partner" when Circle K tried to gobble up GetGo, forcing them to sell off 35 locations to keep competition alive. MAPCO plans to retain existing employees and upgrade the facilities. The good news? Your morning caffeine routine survives with a different logo. The bad news? Locals are freaking out about what happens to Lawson's chip dip at these locations – Circle K is the only store around here that sells the famous Akron-area chip dip that's been a local obsession for decades.

Trash Trucks Are Now Tech Heroes 🚛

Here's something you probably didn't see coming: The University of Akron teamed up with Columbus-based company Exacter to develop microchips that can sense and report electrical grid problems. Akron's garbage trucks have been secretly moonlighting as electrical grid detectives for the past few years, with these sensors mounted on top as they follow their daily routes through the city's neighborhoods. Each week, the trucks bring the microchips in contact with more than 5,000 miles of electrical grid. What started as a $4,000 computer system got shrunk down to a $4 microchip that can spot failing transformers before they blow. It's like having a neighborhood watch, but for power lines, and run by the same trucks that pick up your recycling.

E-Check Might Finally Check Out 🚗

If your least favorite birthday tradition is rushing to get an E-check before your license plate tag expires, good news may be coming. Ohio's new state budget includes language to eliminate the mandatory E-Check program, but only if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gives the green light. The state's basically arguing that modern cars are so much cleaner than they used to be, and we've got electric vehicles now, so maybe we don't need this expensive hassle anymore. According to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission, ending E-Check could save the state around $13 million annually. The final decision rests with the federal EPA, but lawmakers are optimistic since the new EPA administrator has already axed similar programs in 31 other areas.

What’s Happening

Here is our list of hand-picked events around the area:

World Championship Soap Box Derby Speeds In 🏁

The 87th FirstEnergy Soap Box Derby World Championship Race Week culminates this Saturday at Derby Downs with the ultimate gravity-powered showdown. More than 300 kids and young adults, ages 7 to 20, along with their families from across the country, Canada and Japan are in Akron all week for this iconic racing tradition. The first heat of the day starts at 8:30 a.m. This isn't just any race – it's where young drivers from around the globe compete in hand-built cars powered by nothing but gravity and guts. For nearly nine decades, this event has been synonymous with Akron itself, drawing thousands of visitors annually and serving as one of the city's most cherished traditions. Derby Downs becomes the center of the universe for gravity racing, representing a piece of Americana that’s remained a huge part of Akron’s identity. Info Here

More Pasta, Please: Italian Fest Part Deux 🍝

f you missed the Italian fest in Akron last weekend, here is your second chance. The annual FESTA ITALIANA will be held all weekend and it's bringing all the Italian-American goodness to downtown Cuyahoga Falls. Venture downtown and celebrate with food, fun, and entertainment for the entire family. Activities include bocce, morra, pignatta, grape stomping, and more! This free festival transforms the riverfront into a little slice of Italy with authentic entertainment, traditional games, and enough pasta to feed an army. The event features two stages with live music, from traditional Italian bands to Journey tribute acts, plus all the classic Italian festival foods you'd expect. Info Here

Saturday is for Car Lovers 🚗

Gearheads, listen up - Saturday is your day. We've got two events for you on totally opposite ends of the spectrum.

🚗 If you like a laid-back, coffee-sipping gathering, check out Cars & Coffee Saturday at 9:00 AM at Valley Motor City in Cuyahoga Falls. All years, makes, and models of cars are welcome, with awards given out for Best in Show and Judges Choice. It's the perfect morning vibe for checking out everything from vintage classics to modern supercars. Info

🚗 Saturday evening at 5:30 PM, the energy shifts completely for Superfly at the University of Akron's Polsky deck parking lot. This legendary tuner meet is where the import and modified car scene comes alive with slammed Hondas, boosted Subarus, and that unmistakable sound of turbocharged engines echoing off concrete walls. More than two decades later, this event continues to draw hundreds of enthusiasts and their custom builds to share creativity and passion for automotive modification. Also on site: a DJ, games, and a food truck to keep the energy going all evening. Show vehicles must register. Info and Registration

Sip & Roam at Brew at the Zoo 🍺

Celebrate the summertime heat while enjoying music, entertainers like fire spinners and sampling cold beer and refreshing wine from local breweries and wineries. The Akron Zoo's Brew at the Zoo event is heating things up this Saturday from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM with an adults-only after-hours party that combines wildlife viewing with craft beverage sampling. Tickets include 8 sample tastings and admission to the zoo after hours. Snacks from local food trucks will be available for additional purchase. Picture this: wandering past tiger enclosures with a local craft beer in hand while fire spinners perform nearby. It's the kind of sophisticated fun that makes you feel like a grown-up, complete with food trucks and live entertainment. Just remember to bring your ID – this is a 21+ event with zero tolerance for exceptions. Info Here

Christmas in July Gets the Summer Santa Treatment 🎄

If you’re already dreaming of a white Christmas, you’re in luck. The Halfway to Christmas Celebration is bringing holiday shopping fever to the John S. Knight Center on Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Over 80 amazing vendors will be set up with music, shopping, and food. Because apparently waiting until December for holiday cheer is for amateurs. The event features raffles and 50/50 drawings, plus a special appearance by Summer Santa himself – because even jolly old St. Nick needs a vacation from the North Pole. All this for just a $1 donation at the door. Whether you're one of those super-organized people who shops for Christmas gifts in July or you just love a good bargain hunt with a side of holiday magic, this indoor market promises something for everyone. Info Here

Local (International) History

From Cuyahoga Falls to Japan: The Unlikely Journey of Lawson's

Hidden in the bustling convenience stores of Japan lies a surprising piece of Northeast Ohio history. One of Japan's biggest convenience chains—with over 11,000 stores across the country—began right here in Cuyahoga Falls in 1939.

James "J.J." Lawson started a simple store at his Broad Boulevard dairy plant in Cuyahoga Falls to sell his milk. That humble beginning grew into a regional chain familiar to Ohioans through the 1980s, selling everything from milk and bread to their famous chip dip.

But while Lawson's stores in the United States were sold to Dairy Mart in 1985 and eventually disappeared from our landscape, the name lived on across the Pacific. In 1974, Consolidated Foods signed an agreement with Japanese retailer Daiei to open the first Lawson stores in Japan. The first Japanese location opened in 1975.

Today, that Ohio dairy experiment has become a retail empire. Lawson is now one of the biggest convenience store chains in Japan, following only 7-Eleven and FamilyMart, with locations throughout Asia. The company is headquartered in Tokyo and owned by Mitsubishi Corporation.

So the next time you pass through our area, remember: the corner store concept that helped define modern Japanese convenience culture was born right here in Cuyahoga Falls—a testament to how local innovation can shape the world in unexpected ways.

A Lawson store in Japan. Source: Wikipedia

Akron Weekend Movie Action 🎬️ 🎥

Nightlight Theatre

Evil Puddle
“When evil, deadly water starts pooling around their feet, the citizens of Medialight must figure out a way stay alive until it evaporates.”
Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
Showtimes
Eddington
“In May of 2020, a standoff between a small-town sheriff and mayor sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico.”
Rotten Tomatoes: 68%
Showtimes
My Neighbor Totoro
“Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.”
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Showtimes

Highland Theatre

Superman
“Superman must reconcile his alien Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as reporter Clark Kent. As the embodiment of truth, justice and the human way he soon finds himself in a world that views these as old-fashioned.” (IMDB)
Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
Showtimes

Live Music Breakdown

Here is a summary of live music happening all around Akron this weekend:

Friday

Saturday

BLU Jazz+ | Andy Bianco Trio | 8:00
Mustard Seed Highland Square | Rich Hawkins | 8:30

Weather

Today

78 🌡️ 62 | ⛅️ | 25% 🌧️

Saturday

84 🌡️ 68 | ⛈️ | 88% 🌧️

Sunday

79 🌡️ 59 | ⛈️ | 80% 🌧️

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Talk to you next Friday!