Here’s a couple photos from the camera phone of Jason Schomaker. It’s a 100% naturally occurring, totally organic skate stopper, and it’s not what you think. Find out what it is after the jump.

Halifax Canada weekly The Coast, tackled the mounting malaise caused by the Halifax Police departments increasingly draconian enforcement of helmet laws for skateboarders. Whew! That was a mouthful. Sign me up for journalism school. They’ve gone so far as to use undercover police officers in sting operations. The article is aptly titled Skate Free and/or Die. The cover features a very nice Riley Smith shot of Dale Hussey helmetless, doing a proper straight-armed layback air. Nice cover parody of Thrasher, by the way. I guess they normally don’t do the fake cover gimmick. On the right is the now out of date cover of What’s Up!, a monthly newsprint magazine dedicated to covering the music scene in Bellingham Washington. I had no idea there was that big of a music scene there. The skater illustrated is rumored to be ex Lib Tech rider Ryan Williams. Catch the covers after the jump. – Thanks to Greg Baller and John Aguilar for the tips.

Nope. Keep of the grass! I think someone was “on the grass” in Houston when they decided to order this sign. Thanks to Dan from Northwest Skater for this one.

A man in Miami took a clue from the Daggers in Thrashin’ and burned down some ramps another man built for the neighborhood kids to skate. Yes, it’s a weak news item titled Man arrested after argument over skateboard ramps ends in flames from the Orlando Sentinel, but a good excuse to post a shot of the Ramp Locals, as found at A Sad Day For Birds.

It’s hard to associate the word “epic” with a wooden skatepark, but I think Team Pain may have in fact pulled it off. Epic I was skeptical when I heard some of the gushing about it in the intro to the Transworld video, but as the frames kept coming, it started to become more and more clear. Not only is this thing huge… HUGE, but it’s also go some very interesting obstacles in the form of wooden bases or tranny topped off with concrete skating surfaces. Epic Indoor Skatepark in Rocklin, CA (near Sacramento) is set to have it’s grand opening March 14th and 15th. Check out some pictures, as well as the Transworld viddy after the jump. – Thanks to Tito for the tip and pics.

A Milton Florida park monitor called the police because a guy dropped in on one of the park obstacles. It was essentially a quarterpipe with some vert. The monitor took issue because the guy climbed up and dropped in. It’s ok to ride it, but not to climb up on it in order to do so. Samuel Atchison was suspended for 30 days for skating in a skatepark. It sounds ridiculous, but he did absolutely nothing wrong. You have to see it to believe it. – Thanks to Concretins for the tip.

Officer Salvatore Rivieri, one of Baltimore’s finest, is in the news again. The results of Baltimore’s internal investigation have yet to be released. The family of the scrawny teenage skateboarder he abused sued Officer Salvatore Rivieri for assault, battery and violation of rights. There was a legal question about the statute of limitations, a paltry 180 days. The family sued after 10 months, but a judge ruled that statute didn’t apply to minors for some reason, and now the $6 million suit can proceed. I’m all for sticking it to this guy, especially since he has a history of being a dick, but $6 million is an absurd amount. Flame on! – Thanks to Stephanie Murdoch and Derek Krasauskas for the tip. [Source: Baltimore Sun]

Seattle keeps tearing them down! Alternatively famous sex advice columnist Dan Savage is covering the death of the “Wall of Death” skate spot online for The Stranger. He’s documenting his correspondence with the city and the bureaucratic responses. Check out the hatefully crude skate stoppers! – Thanks to Adam Shahan for the tip.

“Health board blinks, suspends ban on backyard skate ramps.” That’s the title of the article in the Salt Lake Tribune. SLC ramp owners and would-be builders have a six month reprieve while county officials “…study the noise issue, hold more public hearings, then present a new recommendation.” Skaters converged on the Health Board hearing to protest the ban. I especially like one skater’s shirt that read “Skate Utah (just not in your own backyard).” Officials back peddled a bit in public statements, reminding me of a certain situation in Tigard, Or. Things are looking up SLC ramp builders. We’ll check back in six months. Until then, check Skate Utah for any updates. – Thanks to Tito for the tip. [Photo: Adam Barker via Visit Salt Lake]

I missed this on Skate Daily, but it looks like John McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin is a fervent skateboard harasser. She supported penalties for using skateboards on public or private property as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. “ — after the expected opening of the $233,000 Wasilla Skate Park — skaters will be breaking the law if they use their skateboards, in-line skates, bicycles, scooters (or any other recreational, non-motorized wheeled device) on public or private property where signs are posted forbidding their use.” OK, fines for skating on public property where a sign is posted seems like something that falls within the realm of the law, whether you agree with the inherent justness of the law or not. Penalties start with a written warning and escalate to fines and eventual permanent confiscation. However, skateboard specific fines and the permanent forfeiture of your property for skateboarding on private property where a sign forbids it seems like an entirely different matter. I wonder if she’d support forfeiture of personal firearms in cases of trespassing that didn’t involve assault or some other violent crime. It’s doubtful. In any case, it’s a great excuse to post the SNL video with Tina Fey as…