Curt Stevenson tipped me off that construction on the new 16,000 square foot Venice skatepark has broken ground. It’s a Wormhoudt design, but I don’t know who is building it. according to Yo Venice, the construction is supposed to take an inhumane TEN MONTHS! Really? That seems absurd, but then again, those California construction companies seem to work at a glacial pace. We’re still waiting for Ed Benedict to open here in Portland, and coincidentally, California Skateparks is the contractor on that long overdue opening. We never seem to have that problem when the jobs go to local contractors, I’m just saying… A web site called Venice Skatepark would seem to be the place to go for info, but so far it looks like the site is only aggregating feeds from elsewhere. A skateshop called, wait for it… Venice Skates has more of an inside line, including shots of Christian Hosoi, Pat Ngoho and Jesse Martinez taking a break from a session to revise some of the bowl plans. Considering the long and colorful history of street skating at Venice Beach, I’m surprised there is as much tranny in the design. It’s about half and half. I guess a street…

The last ever issue of Concussion should be hitting the skateshops as you read this. Publisher Davoud Kermaninejad sent the news out to supporters via email last Friday night. He’s been half-seriously threatening to do it for years, but the harsh transitions of our shitty economy finally sealed the deal. Sorry Davoud, couldn’t resist. He’s throwing in the towel as far as print issues go. He decided to go out with a bang rather than see future issues strangled by the ever-shrinking list of advertisers and the production budget that comes with them. You’ve got to respect his style. Concussion may or may not continue to live online, that decision won’t be made until the coping dust has settled. Until then, get your Concussion back issues and schwag direct from the source before Amy Winehouse shows up wearing a Concussion shirt in People, and you have to pay twice the price on eBay. You can read Davoud’s email (with permission, of course) after the jump.

Those of you left still holding your breath can take a giant inhale. Sam from SkateOregon just got off the phone with a real life Portland Parks & Recreation representative who confirmed the fences are coming down, and Ed Benedict is officially open tomorrow, Saturday, February 7th. An formal ceremony may or may not come at a later date. It’s Portland’s first street plaza, so you have to believe there will be some sort of recognition. I wonder if our beleaguered Mayor will attend? Free Cold War 7.75″ Strike deck to the first person to send me photo or video proof of any kickflip variation over the snake river gap! No joke. It has to be new proof, not something poached from when the fences were up. I’ll judge “first” by the order it reaches my inbox. May the best man (probably not old) win! UPDATE: We have a winner. Clip coming soon. – Thanks to Sam for the tip!

Mumble Online Magazine (Note: Link removed, original site is gone and appears to be malware now.) launched a program to give three people who were/are influential in skateboarding (long terrm) an honorary certificate designating them as “Pro Skateboarders.” The best part is that the certificate comes with a limited edition, wait for it, pro model skateboard, and I mean limited. The first awardee is legendary photographer and photo king of the The Skateboard Mag, you know him as J. Grant Brittain. I don’t know Grant personally, but he was gracious enough to let us use one of his famous photos as a Shot of the Week here on SnA. Grant Brittain is an excellent choice for the first honorary pro skater. Grant’s pro model was made at Powell, and it’s a riff on one of their most famous graphics. It’s kind of funny that Powell is parodying their own graphics after it’s been done by other companies multiple times. It should come as no surprise that it’s already sold out considering that they limited the run to only 99 pieces. Powell wanted to keep things realistic for the time period, so Grant didn’t have a say in what his graphics…

Check out Thrasher’s Rumble in Ramona recap for a liberal dose of scantily clad gals reliving the golden age of pinups and vert skating. That looks like Mark Scott getting in on the “photography club” action.

We’re off to see the wizard… That’s the creek jump in Hood River. Hard to tell how big the gap is, but I’m sure it’s going to be a hit, and a bummer for everyone that doesn’t clear it! Super cool feature, nonetheless. Thanks again to the lens of Hood River’s resident skateographer Carl Warren, we’ve got some more images of the work in progress. Looks like it’s getting pretty close to being done if they are pouring flat. Can’t wait to check it out. Can’t wait.

I did end up finding an advert for one of those old ice boards in a Skateboarder magazine, but I’ve got a few more vintage skateboards on snow contraptions to scan as well. What about snowboards on skate ramps? This is a flyer for Windells upcoming President’s Day weekend camp session with a snowboard on a good sized concrete quarterpipe. They also have skate-only prices for their indoor facilities this camp session. GVK always has fun there, how’s that for a celebrity endorsement? I promise this is the last of the barely-skate related posts for the day. Full flyer and a Grind TV video from a summer skate session after the jump.

There’s another downhill night race put on by the Zoobomb folks in Portland. More info at PDXdownhill as well. Well, not really guys, you’re slacking. It’s February 15th at 9pm in Portland, rain or shine. One of these days (nights, actually) I’m going to check this out. Not this time, as I’ll be in Florida. Full flyer after the jump. – Thanks to Billy the Kid for the tip.

Aside from electronics, these guys made some bitchin’ 10 speed bikes in the 70’s. It was always a little trippy to see a bike with the Panasonic logo, kind of like seeing a Harley Davidson with an AMF logo, (Bowl and destroy!) or I guess more like when the tire company Bridgestone made bikes. What’s the point? Ryan Sheckler has a signature headphone model with Panasonic. There’s a commercial on the web. I don’t know if it’s being shown on TV or not.

What good is having friends if you can’t post embarrassing photos of them? Check out the full size Shot of the Week. You know who you are man, and more importantly, what you are… Radical!