And I thought Seattle was the only city that liked to tear down perfectly good skateparks without making er, concrete plans to replace them. You can add Huntington Beach California to that short list of cities. The OC Register reports that the plans for a new stadium will definitely eliminate the existing park without including a replacement. Ironically, California has just started running a second tourism commercial that features skateboarding as a draw. What are you going to do about that Governor Schwarzenegger? Your state’s skateparks are being terminated! [Photo Right: Mark Martinez, The Register]

Concrete Wave has released their third volume of the Evolutions DVD that they give out free to subscribers. If you’re not a subscriber, they’d like to entice you by letting you watch the whole thing online via Google video. They also have an arrangement with Silverfish Longboarding to make the whole thing avialable for download in compressed AVI files. Concrete Wave is famous for their extensive, some might say over-extensive coverage of longboarding, downhill and slalom. There’s plenty of that kind of footage to be sure, but there are other styles to balance it out. You can watch the videos and get my 2 cents after the jump.

The folks over at Old School Skateboarding are having their second annual private skate bash at Windells on October 14th. They’ve rented the whole place out for five hours. You can check out the facilities, but make sure you contact OSS for details. Kids get in at a discount, and it’s a better alternative to this.

So this summer Geth came to town to cruise with people to get their feedback on Gabriel park the next city sponsored skatepark. What you are about to witness is some of the cruising/skating/feedback. If you did not show up I suggest you shut up and ride what you get or wait for the other 15 parks to be built and ride one of them. Remember to celebrate Diversity. See you at the park. Peace Off Grover.

The Daily Herald from Arlington Heights, Illinois has a thoughtful piece titled Once a skater, always a skater and closer to (our) home, The Columbian has another not so thoughtful article titled Just About Everybody Can Go Extreme. These articles are a dime a dozen lately, but there are a couple of items of interest here.

From the Express-Times in Hellertown, New Jersey:
Top cop wants fines reduced

Maximum of $600 too high for skateboarding in restricted areas, Hellertown chief tells council. The police chief on Monday night told council the $600 maximum fine for skateboarding or biking in areas where it’s not allowed is too steep. Chief Robert Balum said he wants his officers to use more discretion when ticketing for such offenses. The remarks came in response to an ongoing debate targeting skateboarders.

Proving once again that you don’t have to be a dick to enforce the law, Joey Williams.

Somehow or other I got included on an email trail with Bruce Adams, whom I don’t know, but he replied this sequence of Terrell Schmidt going over the death hole at a spot I just saw in a magazine somewhere, but can’t remember where it is. These are just a few frames from the middle. You can see the whole thing after the jump.

Google maps has a new feature called Streetview. Dave Tobin tipped me that it was live today. Coverage is pretty good in Portland. Go to google maps, pick streetview and drag the little man to the spot you want to look at. Holly Farm is right by the road so you can see a couple of folks hanging out and one guy skating.

I can’t wait for Google flyover.

As you can see, this is a double-monther. I was on vacation visiting my family in England in September, so I got totally behind on my August report. Consequently I decided to combine the best of August and September so you at least get to see the August stuff.

I’m also introducing a new feature this month: it’s the “Board of the Month”, where I pick my favorite board from the months selection. Look for the bold type.

Check out: eBay Watch: August/September 2007

Imagine yourself hurtling down a hill sitting on a skateboard just inches off the ground. Sounds crazy… but it’s true. THIS is Skate Karts.

Lightwater Valley is one of those amusement parks geared more towards little kids. It’s in the U.K. somewhere, and they charge a general admission by the height of the kid. One of the attractions is the Skate Karts. It actually looks really dangerous for little kids. I foresee lots of bloody knuckles unless the hill is really, really mellow. I’m guessing it’s less than extreme since they don’t show a comprehensive view of the “track.” Of course they could just skip the imagination part and actually, you know, skateboard. More thrilling pictures after the jump.