A couple years back I heard a rumor about a green light being given to a Burnside-style project in Chicago. Having been a long time resident of Chicago, a city famous for corruption, and the political machine, I was hesitant to believe that any alderman would risk alienating the 10 unions that would stand to lose their piece of the pie if skaters were allowed to take the DIY route. It just seemed completely un-Chicago. I don’t know if this Logan Square skatepark project is the reality of that rumor, but it blows chunks. Logan Square is my old hood, I feel for you my brothers… [Source: Time Out Chicago Photo: Scott Judd]

I went on a really fun road trip last weekend. I went down to Grants Pass for a fundraiser party/session at a private bowl. Along the way I stopped at three brand new skateparks in Oregon, including, Winston, Myrtle Creek, and Harrisburg. I even went to the old Grants Pass skatepark for the first time. I took a little over 200 pictures, and lost them all to a corrupt memory card. Unfortunately, this isn’t an April fools joke. Those three up top were the best I could salvage. I don’t want to hear any arguments about why film is better, because I’ve had catastrophic failures there too. Rich has some shots up from the bowl party, Harrisburg, Or and Winston, Or. I imagine he’ll be doling them out over the next week or so. Still, it could have been worse, I could have broke my leg like Shane Bell did.

I can’t believe anyone still wants to see this besides me and my friends. I had the day off so I decided to finish the 1st of the Spring Break (09) series. It may be the last also. There are a lot of parks and riders in here, I bet you cant name them all. Consider it a GVK challenge. That ought to boost my internet rating. Winner gets a personal dinner with the editor clothing optional! – GVK Adios.

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.

Famous words from parents, grandparents, and relations everywhere when it comes to skateboarding and/or punk rock, but this time applied to J.F.A. singer Brian Brannon in relation to the headline “JFA frontman knocked unconscious while playing a show in Arizona” – “We were playing the song “Lowrider” and when I sang “The Low-rid-er, he gets a little higher,” I jumped into the crowd and depending on who you ask, I either jumped too far or people moved out of my way,” stated Brannon. “It knocked me out cold and then paramedics arrived to make sure I was OK”. They had to cancel the show, but Brian got back on the horse the very next night. The quote is from a strange press release issued by JFA,s current label DC Jam records. The photo of Brian is from JFA’s current board manufacturer, Factory 13.

Matt Kline tipped me off that the Godoy brothers venture once known as Iron Cross Skateboards lives again. If I had to guess, it would be a safe bet to say these decks were being manufactured by Factory 13. In case you were wondering what happened to the old Iron Cross, you can read a 2001 interview we did with Art and Steve Godoy that we didn’t get around publishing until 2003. I guess I’ll have to add a postscript or two to the Story of Iron Cross Skateboards. ( Updated link ) If you’d prefer not to dwell on the past, check out their new web site.

John Aguilar sent in some pictures of a large bank he happened on while doing the tourist thing with his wife in Vancouver B.C..

I was at a benefit party/session for a private bowl this weekend and there were a couple of guys doing some doubles action, which is always a crowd pleaser. This morning I got a link to an event called the Austrian Tag Team Battle, which is packed full of doubles action ranging from the circus-type gimmicks to the high air crossovers as well as some more technical maneuvering. Check it out after the jump. [Source: Muckefuck Skateboards]

The last stop of the min tour of Chicagoland parks was the Waukegan Illinois skatepark. I believe this was the last of the Chicagoland concrete parks that I hadn’t been to. I was excited by the prospect, and it looked like it had potential (ie. height) as we drove into the parking lot.

Here’s another commercial directed by Ty Evans AKA Skate Fairy, the same guy who did the Nestle Aero commercial with Bob Burnquist. This one is for Bud Light Lime, a product that will likely be nonexistent in two years, but hey, it’s a funny commercial. [Source: Brentter]