Charlie Hales want’s to be the next mayor of Portland, but he’s getting no love from some residents of southwest Portland’s Arlington Heights hills neighborhood, who seem to be looking for a scapegoat. Why? They live on a hill that has become a popular downhill run, and Hales led the charge to make skateboarding legal on Portland streets. Trouble has been brewing for a while, and it seems unavoidable that heads would butt. On the one side you have wealthy, freaked out landowners who are are worried about hitting people and of course, property damage… On the other side you have a contingent of mostly responsible skaters as well as some others who may be not so conscious of the precariousness of the entire situation. The sheer number of people hitting the hills and the laws of probability dictate there will be incidents. The Oregonian briefly touch on both sides of the issue. The most level headed quote so far is from Hales himself actually:

“It is not OK for people to bomb down residential streets at high speeds on any conveyance — car, skateboard, whatever,” he said. “We need to address that while still making it legal for people to use skateboards.”

Billy Meiners seems to be somewhat in agreement:

“I’m trying to convince the skaters we need to be responsible,” Meiners said. “But making it illegal isn’t going to change anything. Skaters are used to being outlaws.”

Comments on the article on the Oregonian range from thoughtful to predicable and lame. And as the “voice of reason” on S&A, I’d like to encourage our readers to be smart about how they respond instead of taking the bait. Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.

I have to hand it to my mother in-law, she’s really gotten better with her gifts for the most part. She’s gotten past the part of just getting anything skateboard related, and she’s really thoughtful about it. Still, I totally cracked up when I go this in the mail from her for Christmas. Not only do I already have Disposable, but it happens to be the second edition which has a quote by me on the inside dust jacket! I got an extra giggle because my mother in-law is an author herself. All in all it brought me unexpected joy, which is the purpose of giving a gift in the first place. Sidenote: I just realized the type alternates colors on different editions of the book.

I was sifting through some email looking for something when I stumbled on this one from about 10 years ago. (Yes, vintage email) and I had to chuckle. It’s a snippet from the middle of the conversation thread, so it’s all over the place, but amusing.

Take ingredients (1 Christmas Sweater) and distribute evenly amongst the session.

– Via Frank Shaw

I haven’t watched a Powell video since Propaganda, so I decided to check out Josh Hawkin’s part in Fun. No trace of the old P&P vibe but the skateboarding does not disappoint. This sequence is fairly early on and sets the tone for the rest. Whenever you think the line is up, he throws something else in. Good stuff.

Hey one-percenters! If you need to donate some money before the end of the year, consider giving it to one of these fine organizations supporting skateboarders by promoting skateparks and skateboarding. Follow the links below and click on their donate button. You can give the government everything you owe, or you can direct a portion of what you owe to your favorite skate advocacy organization and reap the tax benefits. You might also check if your employer has a gift matching program.

Skaters for Portland Skateparks advocates for free public skateparks in Portland, Oregon. The folks who brought you Pier Park skatepark and Portland’s 19 skatepark plan.

Tony Hawk Foundation supports recreational programs with a focus on the creation of public skateboard parks in low-income communities through special events, grants, and technical assistance.

Burnside Skatepark is registered as a 501C3 nonprofit organization. Help out the grandaddy of DIY skateparks click the donate button.

Benton County Skateboarding Alliance partnering with all levels of the community and governmental agencies to provide safe, clean and respectful environments for skateboarding in Benton County (Corvallis), Oregon.

Grind for Life provides financial assistance to cancer patients and their families when traveling long distances to doctors and hospitals. In addition, they educate and inspire these patients and families concerning cancer survival and recovery.

Skatistan is a co-educational skateboarding school in Afghanistan engaging urban and internally-displaced youth in Afghanistan through skateboarding, and provides them with new opportunities in cross-cultural interaction, education, and personal empowerment programs.

Skaters for Public Skateparks provides a forum for sharing techniques, materials, data, and principles to advocates for public skateparks.

Marginal Way Skatepark is a skater-built skatepark project in Seattle Washington.

Above Coping is dedicated to providing support and new experiences for youth skateboarders with chronic health conditions; inspiring them to thrive, not just survive.

Board Rescue Provides skateboards and safety equipment to organizations working with underprivileged and/or at-risk youth.

Two things. Grover made a commercial for kids skate camp (in progress this week, not too late to show up!) and a press release announcing Burnside’s official 503c status as a non-profit, at long last.

This week’s Shot of the Week is from Seth Levy’s travels in Morocco:

Kid skating in front of the orphanage. He made up his own moves, including a strange pressure varial flip.

Great story, but the real story is that graphic, which looks like new wave mimes in the closeup. Don’t walk. No rules!