The Blimps Are Coming to Akron: Prepare for Liftoff!

Dave Jackson
00:00:02.000 - 00:11:56.890
It's the akron podcast for May 31, 2025. We got blimps. We got news from the Akron Canton Airport. We're going to talk about how to handle hazardous waste. A really cool item at the Rock Hall.

What Columbus is voting on for women. That's ridiculous. And you won't believe who's coming to the MGM. Let's hit the show. The website akron podcast.com the blimps are. Yep. Check this out.

Three different blimps are coming to Akron to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first blimp flight. So Wingfoot 1, which is based in Sunfield, Wingfoot 2, which is out of Pompeo beach in Florida, and Wingfoot 3, which is from Carson, California.

They're all coming here. Now, when the pilgrim took a test flight, that was in June 3rd of 1925, Akron was preparing to celebrate its centennial.

Now the city's bicentennial festivities are in full swing and Wingfoot one will fly with a throwback color scheme to match the silver and black of the original blimp. It's kind of cool. They can just put a skin on the top of these things. Now, of course, where can you see these?

Well, it's going to be dependent on the weather, but they're scheduled to fly over downtown Akron for two big events. One is the mayor's going to deliver the state of the city. That's on June 3rd. That's hosted by the Akron Roundtable.

And this year's address will take place outdoors at Lock 3, which is, you know, downtown, 200 S. Main St. That's going to start at 4. And so that's one place where they're going to be, you know, flying over.

The other one is the Akron Rubber Ducks will play host to the Chesapeake bay Sox at 6:35 on June 3rd. That's at Canal Park. If you haven't been to Canal park yet, it's a fun time. It's a heck of a lot cheaper than going to a guardians game.

It's a great time. And the first 1000 fans that night will receive a T shirt featuring the blimp. Tickets range from $7 to 39.

You know, you're lucky if you can park for $39 in Cleveland. For more information, you can go to milb.com akron or you can call. Well, you know what, I'm just going to put a link to this in the show notes.

The Akron Press club is offering $55 tickets that include a behind the scenes stadium tour, A speech by Rubber Duck's President and General Manager Jim Fander and an all you can eat duck club buffet. And that's pretty cool for 55 bucks. Can't beat that.

Again, links in the show notes the three airships are expected to fly again on June 4, so keep your eyes on the skies and have your camera ready. The last time they had three airships in Northeast Ohio was way back in 2018.

In 2002, the company bought the three airships for the christening of the fourth. That marked the first time since the 1960s that four Goodyear Blimps had flown together. So get ready and watch the skies.

The Akron Canton Airport is looking to expand things by 2027.

If you've never flown out of Akron Canton, it's the best because a there's always parking and I'm telling you from your car to the gate is like a ridiculously short amount of time because it just is. And you know you don't have to drive to Cleveland that whole nine yards. But here are some of the things that are planned.

They plan to add more direct flights, aiming for a total of 40 destinations by 2027.

Four airlines will operate 24 direct flights starting this fall, with additional destinations to be announced soon and then the key target destinations for business travelers.

If you're like well where are we going To Atlanta, Denver, Houston, New York, Dallas, Fort Worth and Dulles and is working to restore Delta service and add more leisure destinations including Pensacola, Florida.

They have a strategic plan presented by CEO Ren Camacho which includes expanding services and ensuring succession planning due to upcoming retirements among staff. The current gate capacity is 9 and they have plans to expand to 11 and maybe even 15 gates as demand increases.

The airport will reopen a long time parking lot due to some rising demand and is considered a preferred airport in Northeast Ohio. I agree with that. I love if I can fly out of Akron Canton any day over.

Nothing against Cleveland, it's just it's longer, you know, it's parking sometimes. I remember once I took me like an hour to find a parking spot in Cleveland.

There are plans for a new air traffic control tower which is outdated right now and requires ADA compliance. Now that estimated cost is 55 million. The airport seeks to diversify revenue sources through parking, rental cars and concessions.

And there are concerns including potential airline mergers that would reduce competition and the need to maintain a balance between small airport feel and large airport amenities. Do you have hazardous waste? And if you're like me like well what is hazardous waste?

This could be products such as batteries, cleaners, Oil based paints, oils, pesticides, you know, it's one of those things you kind of want to be careful with. And starting June 5 through September 25, except June 19, that's kind of a holiday from 2 to 7 at 1201 Graham Road in Stowe.

You can actually bring that kind of waste and they will help you with it. Again, I'll have links to this out in the show notes or you can go to summitreworks.com HHW I did not know this and I'm a guitar player.

Obviously the Rock and Roll hall of Fame has a lot of great things to see. There was an article in the Beacon Journal about five things you don't want to miss.

And one of them was and if you know what, you know it, but you've probably heard of the band Van Halen. And Eddie Van Halen's guitar was called a Franken, a Frankenstrat. And it's a guitar he constructed himself.

That guitar is currently on display and at the Rock and Roll hall of Fame. And I was like, you know what? I realized that the Rock hall is kind of a hard rock cafe on steroids.

It's a great time if you got the time to go and actually look at it. But I was like, I might drive to Cleveland to check out the Frankenstrat in person. And now for the bad news. A 17 year old boy was shot.

I don't believe he was killed at Lebron's. You know, I promise school was shot there. There was a 50 year old man that was attacked and dragged. He's in the hospital.

And then just this morning as I record this, a 24 year old man was shot on the around the 600 block of Darrow Road. It's sad. Quit shooting each other, would you? How about some better news? And this is kind of in the category of duh. What's going on in Columbus.

Well, the Ohio House has voted to make tampons and pads free for incarcerated incarcerated women. What a nice thing. That's ridiculous that they had to like this wasn't a thing.

But Ohio House Bill 29 will require free menstrual products and showers for incarcerated women. Yeah, you think? Supporters cite stories of incarcerated women struggling to obtain necessary hygiene products.

And the bill passed the House and now awaits Senate consideration. So if you're bored, you might want to go bug your senator that like, you know, women might need this stuff.

Can we just scream laws that were made by men that are just clueless. But the state reps lot boy Am I going to butcher her name lot Latina Humphrey. She's a Democrat out of Columbus. Marilyn. John R.

Shelby, co sponsor of the bill, said they heard stories of women begging for supplies and were going without.

The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, which incarcerates about 3,700 women offering sanitary products and showers to menstruating inmates without charge. That bill would make this policy a state law. Last fiscal year, they spent 173,500 on women's sanitary products, according to an analysis of the bill.

Ohio has 89 jails operated by county sheriffs, municipalities and regional government agencies, many of which provide free products. So a similar bill cleared the Ohio House but didn't pass the Ohio Senate. And so Bill 29 now moves to the Senate for consideration.

How ridiculous is that? I mean, that's cruel and unusual punishment in my book. And since we are, you know, we got our toe into June at this point.

Remember June 3rd, the Akron State of the city. Then you've got another thing down at lock three. Cruise into summer. That's on June 5th.

June 7th, if you're looking to laugh June, Sarah Millikan is going to be at the Playhouse Square up in Cleveland. The Almond Betts Band is going to be at MGM Northfield. That's June 14th. Ryan Adams is going to be at the Goodyear Theater. On June 25th.

Collective Soul will be at the MGM Northfield. That's on June 26th. June 27th, also at the MGM, Graham Northfield, George Thorogood and the Destroyers. The baddest show on Earth.

June 28, Rick Springfield and special guests. I want my 80s tour. That is not exactly what I would call close.

It's in the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheater, so you got to drive about 45 minutes that way to get to that one. But if you really love Rick Springfield, that's where you got to see him. Just a little more here. July 5th, Robin Trower will be at MGM.

And Bill Murray is coming to the House of Blues. But the one that really threw me for a loop, I was like, wait, what? And this is a ways off. It's in November. It's going to be at the MGM Northfield.

What is is Bill Murray and his blood brothers. This is a 21 and over event. It says basically all streets are reserved. It doesn't really say what it is.

It's assuming here that it is Bill, you know, doing the whole, like, singing thing. I don't know if it's going to be stories about Saturday Night Live or what, but it's you know, mgm. When you go there, there's no real thing.

It's just, here's where you buy the tickets. So Bill Murray, you know, the.

Also the guy from Caddyshack and all sorts of great movies and his blood brothers coming in November to the MGM Northfield park, center stage.