Time for the annual SOLV Pier Park Pickup. 9:00 AM-1:00 PM, This Saturday, April 18, 2009 North Lombard St. and Bruce Ave. (From Lombard turn down Bruce Street and go to where it ends at the corner of Bruce and North James St.) SOLV Meeting Location: Meet by the turn-around at the beginning of the disc golf course. You can also meet us at the skatepark.

Found on The Tactics Grind: City Council Meeting Monday April 13, 2009 at 7:00 p.m As you might know, the City of Eugene has committed $292,000 for the W-J Skatepark, but we still need to raise $250,000 in matching funds to make this vision a reality. HOWEVER, the City Council needs to hear from the Eugene Skate Community that we need their continuing endorsement of this project. Please bring your skateboard and your friends and show up to this VERY IMPORTANT City Council meeting, located at 777 Pearl Street, so they can see how much this skatepark means to us. Our goal is to have at least 200 skateboarders, friends, and family in attendance. This meeting is very important. We need you to be there. More details at skateeugene.org

Just a reminder to go to the Benton County Skateboard Alliance benefit if you are near the area in Oregon. The Corvallis Gazette Times wants you to go too. Another flier after the jump.

The Benton County Skateboard Alliance is holding their second annual music and art benefit for the skatepark they are trying to get built. These guys are making it happen, and if you are near that part of Oregon this Saturday you should make a point of helping them out. Last year’s event looked like it was well attended and fun to boot. Live music and an art show/sale to benefit the concrete. Details at the BCSA site, or you can check out a flyer for the event by Diego Banuelos after the jump.

Lenox Industrial tools is running a contest of sorts similar to the Women of Worth award that Skate like a Girl co-director Nancy Chang was up for. It’s called the Lenox Extra Mile Hero. The winner gets 30k donated to the charity of his choice. Jim Murphy’s charity is the non-profit foundation Nibwaakaawin, whose goal is to bring the healthy and positive life lessons inherent in skateboarding to the entire Native American community. I can’t find a web link for that foundation, but it’s Jim freakin’ Murphy, you know? I actually just read a really good interview of Jef Hartsel that Murphy did. I know who Jef was, but I never really knew anything about him. He seemed like one of those guys in the 80’s whose name you read, but he didn’t really get a lot of coverage outside an occasional Alva ad, possibly. My memory is fuzzy about that, actually. In any case, it was a good interview. Pick up Juice Magazine #65 if you want to read it. Which brings me to the point of this post. Go to the Lenox Extra Mile Hero web site and vote for Jim Murphy. – Thanks to Burke for the…

The Benton County Skateboarding Alliance, Inc (BCSA) is putting on the 2nd annual Art & Music Benefit 2009 in March at the Odd Fellows Hall. The BCSA needs art for the show (sale/silent auction). This event is a fundraiser for the new skate bowl addition to the Eric Scott McKinley skatepark in Corvallis. Artists must donate at least 51% of art sales to the skatepark fund. For further information, email the BCSA at bcskateboardingalliance@gmail.com or call 541-829-9005. That bowl in the upper right hand corner is a new one that Dreamland is going to add to the existing Corvallis skatepark, that is as soon as they raise the money. We’re also adding BCSA to our rotating Public Service ad spots in the side bar.

And good luck on your new job. I’m sure some hysterical nut is already falsely reporting that our new President is flashing gang signs, but he’s just showing some love to his Alma Mater’s high school marching band from Hawaii during the inauguration parade, just minutes ago. UPDATE: I’m a self confessed kook. Should have labeled the post Shaka.

We don’t have an ASR correspondent this year. Bummer. The skateboard-centric cancer fighting, Grind For Life organization has two events at the ASR show, another installment of the winner take all high ollie contest and the potentially more interesting new event, the Hosoi Jump Ramp Jam. Surprisingly, the GFL-ASR web site has nothing on it but the date and time of the events. I’d like to see a good jump ramp jam for old times’ sake. I sure broke enough boards flailing around on them.

Sure, we may rib him a little on some of his endorsement choices, but Tony Hawk’s record on advancing the sport and and promoting concrete skateparks is unimpeachable. The Tony Hawk Foundation has just funded the printing of a revised edition of the very valuable Public Skatepark Development Guide which can be yours for the price of shipping. Check out the press release after the jump.

Indianapolis skateboarders are bout to get the shaft. Marian College wants to buy manage and use the Major Taylor athletic complex, land that contains a skatepark that is in the middle of a velodrome. Originally they had intended to demolish the skatepark, but thankfully, the city nixed that idea as a condition of the sale. The velodrome is what the college really wants for their bicycle racing team… Hold on, bicycle racing in Indiana… it’s Breaking Away! Sorry. Next they came up with a scheme to convince the city to let them demo the park after all. It involved reducing the hours the park was open and charging admission, with none of the money going towards park upgrades. I can just hear it now… “Oh, nobody is using the skatepark and it’s expensive to operate. We need to tear it down…” There’s a petition up to keep the skatepark free and open 24-7, just as it always has been. Physically, the park is not otherwise noteworthy except for the fact that it’s the only skatepark the city of 810,000 people has. The Major Taylor skatepark has a Myspace page put up by an ex-employee of the park, but so far…