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☕ What Crash Stats Reveal About Cleveland Drivers
Cleveland is ready to rock the WNBA again & 27 Fourth of July week events
Welcome to Fourth of July week, Buzz Nation! It’s time to bust out your American flag swimwear, stop at your favorite roadside firework stand, and load up on grandma’s famous potato salad.
But get ready—we are turning up the heat on your Westside holiday plans faster than a new bombshell arriving at the villa (Sorry, we've watched nothing but Love Island for the past few weeks.)
Today we’re buzzing on:
🚓 Cleveland is near the bottom of the list for driver safety
🦌 Rare deer spotted in North Olmsted
🍕 Jet’s finally opening in Avon
See you out there!
—The Briggses
COMMUNITY BLEND
Cleveland Drivers: Buckle Up… and Maybe Say a Prayer? 📍 Greater Cleveland
Cleveland drivers late to work
Well folks, it’s official—like me trying to learn stick shift on a big hill, Cleveland has slid back 76 spots in national driver safety rankings. According to Allstate’s 2025 rankings of average amount of time between car collisions, our beloved city landed at 146 out of 200 for safest driving in the U.S.
As someone who white-knuckles it across the 480 bridge every weekday like I’m dodging banana peels in Mario Kart, I can’t say I’m shocked. And while I know Westside Buzz readers are the exception, it’s wild out there.
One minute you're cruising, the next you're watching a 2006 Corolla attempt a lane change from three lanes over.
So much for “Midwest nice”—on Cleveland roads, it’s more like “Midwest… hold my beer.”
PARKS N REC
Spotted: Magical Baby Deer 📍 North Olmsted
Drivers near Gessner Road got a surprise treat this week when a rare piebald fawn—looking like it stepped out of Narnia—was spotted trotting alongside its mom and sibling.
Any chance to reference Lazy Sunday
Frank Giampietro, the lucky eyewitness, captured the moment on video, exclaiming, “First time I’ve ever seen a white deer!”
Piebald deer are genetic unicorns, making up just 1% of the deer population. Unlike true albinos, they’ve got a splash of brown and normal-colored eyes, giving them a unique, patchy look.
While these fawns often face health challenges, we’re crossing our fingers that this little North Olmsted cutie beats the odds and sticks around to keep turning heads.
Wildlife gardens continue to be a Westside Gem 📍 Bay Village
Sully the Barred Owl is a resident educational ambassador
Lake Erie Nature & Science Center unveiled its newly transformed $1.9 million Wildlife Gardens this past weekend, offering visitors an upgraded outdoor experience with engaging new features like an Aviary, Eagle Exhibit, and Wildlife Rehabilitation Exhibit.
The renovation, the Center’s largest capital investment in free general admission, will enhance habitats for animal ambassadors, offering new opportunities for the public to connect with native wildlife through transparent viewing areas, expanded greenspace, and educational exhibits.
Open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Wildlife Gardens reflect the Center’s continued mission to make nature accessible and educational for all ages. Funded by generous donors and a state capital grant, the project honors the legacy of founder Elberta Fleming while ensuring future generations can enjoy hands-on learning about Ohio’s natural world—free of charge.
WESTSIDE POUR OVER
What else is brewing?
👷♀️ North Ridgeville: Construction is officially underway on North Ridgeville’s new high school and a 17,700-square-foot maintenance and transportation facility. Additionally, mark your calendars to celebrate the district’s progress at Ranger Rally on August 15, featuring a time capsule opening, groundbreaking ceremony, and family-friendly fun. (More in Short Takes)
🎪 Bay Village: The 75th Annual Bay Days celebration returns July 2–5 at Cahoon Memorial Park with live music, food vendors, and carnival rides—including unlimited ride wristbands available daily from noon to 4 PM—making it one of the most festive, family-friendly events of the summer. (Full Event Schedule)
🏃♀️ Lakewood: LCS is investing $600,000 to completely replace the aging track at First Federal Lakewood Stadium this summer. The first full resurfacing in 26 years is expected to be completed by mid-August, alongside other athletic facility upgrades, including a $175,000 weight room renovation and plans to improve the girls’ softball outfield drainage next year.
NEW RESTAURANT
Detroit-style pizza joint is actually open! 📍 Avon
The original location
After what felt like a decade of speculation, Jet’s Pizza is finally open in Avon!
You’ll find it at 36785 Detroit Road, right across from Strip Steakhouse—yes, that spot everyone kept talking about in Facebook comments.
The anticipation was real—Reddit threads, sideline chats, and local gossip groups all wondered the same thing… is Jet’s ever gonna open?
Well, it has, and Avon residents have wasted no time flocking in and firing up the Google reviews. Let’s see what the locals are saying:
Avon is finally open! Ordered the Detroit style pizza and Jets bread. Didn't disappoint. The pizza was delicious and had the Detroit style crunch. The ranch dressing is amazing!
Not sure what the hold up is, they have set several opening dates now and ITS STILL NOT OPEN! Jets Avon was supposed to be open over 2 years ago now. The excuses went from waiting for pizza ovens to get delivered to them “waiting for march madness to start”. Here we are start of April with march madness almost over with still no Jets. lol.
Picked up two 8-corner pizzas today and they were fantastic!! Detroit style is amazing! Jets is a family favorite and this location is as good as the rest!
Reviews seem mostly good and mostly from real people.
How do you feel about Jet's Pizza opening in Avon? |
CEDAR POINT
Siren’s Call opens, riders left hanging 📍 Sandusky
Worker fixing Siren’s Call | From TikTok user: FYEcoasters
It was opening weekend for Cedar Point’s newest coaster, Siren’s Call, and it wouldn’t be a proper ribbon cutting if it didn’t involve a few hiccups.
Thanks to a surprise power outage, thrill-seekers found themselves frozen in midair, stuck on a vertical incline for about 10 minutes.
Park spokesman Tony Clark reassured everyone that this was exactly what’s supposed to happen when the power goes out—because nothing says “fun” like being stuck hundreds of feet in the air staring at the ground.
From the videos we saw, riders seemed to take it in stride. There was no panic, just lots of waving to the crowd below and, we assume, a collective mental countdown to the nearest restroom.
SPORTS
Cleveland gets the next WNBA expansion team 📍 Downtown
These gals are good
Cleveland has officially been awarded the 16th WNBA franchise! Dan Gilbert’s Rock Entertainment group submitted a bid that was more than twice as big ($250 million) as the next largest offer to bring Women’s basketball to Cleveland once again.
There is no word on what the team is going to be named, but if it isn’t the Rockers, it would be a huge miss.
The Rockers disbanded in 2003, but like all things in this world, timing is everything. The popularity of women’s basketball has exploded recently, and these unbelievably talented ladies are finally getting the shine they deserve.
Furthermore, when some sports franchises are abandoning downtown, Dan Gilbert is doubling down. The Cavs’ Peak Performance Center on the banks of the Cuyahoga will be the practice home for both the Cavs and the women’s NBA teams! What a time to be alive in the greatest city on Earth.
The new Cleveland WNBA franchise will be ready to rock for the 2028 season!
WHAT’S HAPPENING, WESTSIDERS?
👨👩👧👦=Family Friendly
Thursday, July 3rd |
|---|
👨👩👧👦 Avon Lake Fireworks Celebration |
Blossom Music Festival: A Salute to America |
👨👩👧👦 Freedom Festival at Victory Park |
Yoga in the Park with YogaSix |
E. 4th Live Music Series: Cassidy Harris |
Rooftop Sound Bites Series |
Friday, July 4th |
|---|
👨👩👧👦 Grindstone Festival |
👨👩👧👦 4th of July Light up the Lake |
4th of July Fireworks & Dancing on Goodtime III |
Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Guardians |
Cleveland July 4th Rooftop Party |
Official Cleveland July 4th Bar Crawl |
Saturday, July 5th |
|---|
Neon Moon - 90’s Country Dance Party |
Sip, Shop, & Save Pets |
Ariel Rooftop Jazz at Sunset |
All-Levels Rooftop Yoga at Canopy |
Brewdog Cornhole Tournament |
Sunday, July 6th |
|---|
The After Brunch Soirée |
Cleveland Bazaar in Market Square |
Make & Take Crochet Class |
Yoga & Beer |
👨👩👧👦 July Family Day |
Weather
Tuesday
82 🌡️ 69 | ⛈🌤 | 30% | 💨 W 8-10 mph 🌊 2 to 3 feet
Wednesday
83 🌡️ 69 | 🌤 | 0% | 💨 NW 5-8 mph 🌊 2 feet or less
Thursday
82 🌡️ 67 | 🌤 | 0% | 💨 NW 5-9 mph 🌊 1 to 2 feet
💧🌡️ Water temperature = 65ºF
That’s it for today, Westsiders. If you saw something you liked in today’s newsletter, please send it to someone who cuts the crispiest lines with their lawnmower.
Until Friday,
—The Briggses