Check out construction pics from the Vancouver Washington skatepark. I was origianlly just going to link to Dan Hughes’ shots but then I figured it was worth the trek since I only live 12 miles from the spot. This park has been in the works so long without progress, it was starting to seem like Bigfoot – Have you heard about the mythical skatepark that Vancouver is building? No, it really exists! I think those Washington locals were trying to keep it a secret. (Curse you, Thor!) The skatepark is part of the Pacific Community Park Extreme Sports Complex. The larger park is not set to open until 2008 (!!) but I got the word from a Parks and Rec representative (Thanks Jilayne!) that they are investigating the possibility of opening the skatepark in July or August of this year. The skatepark looks like it could be done sooner. Perhaps they need the trespassing citation fines to fund the rest of the park. The plans look kind of generic, but the tour I received made it obvious that there were lines everywhere. I think it will be a very fun park, and yes, the street area hasn’t been started yet.…

When I got a copy of Skate and Mate, I was dumfounded. It seemed so obviously perfect because it combined everything I was interested in as a young male of college age. The photos (mostly pros) were good, there was punk rock, and of course the whole sex with girls thing. They even had an amateur topless pic that someone had donated, which seemed incredible at the time. This was before the days of the internet and Girls Gone Wild, and that kind of exhibitionism wasn’t as culturally pervasive. The humor in Skate and Mate was adolescent and sexist, to be sure, but so was I at the time. Ahh, the folly of youth. Now that I am older and more mature… I still wish I had put that zine out! Ha! The Skate and Mate crew talked a lot of shit, but if anyone could self-proclaim themselves “The King of Zines,” they could pull it off. Pokezine… Brilliant.

Not every zine was a winner. Then again, not every zine was as bad as it seemed on first impression. This is Concrete Crusaders #2, an eight page affair with no date and no mention of who put it together with the exception of someone who did some transcribing. Despite the raised expectations that the Electric Ocean logo provides, on the surface this zine is sucky, However, it was probably the work of one guy, a lone outpost in his community. That’s right, whoever made this was the Dances with Wolves of Ohio skate zines. He went to Ann Arbor Michigan and got some decent pics of Brian Mank, a Midwest staple of the time. Whoever made this zine may not have had a lot of artistic talent, but he was probably stoked by Thrasher to do his own thing, and he did it. This is issue number two, and the editor seems despondent by lack of reader feedback. Of course with a title like “Boring Summer Issue,” what can you expect? Summer should be the best part of the year for skate coverage!

Tom Miller over the capsule doorway at Irrigon skatepark photo by Steve Gump. Steve Gump has posted a photo set from a session last weekend at Irrigon with Tom Miller, Dan Hughes and Tom Kilroy. Looks like the crowd has thinned out somewhat.

Chi-Town Shred was the king of all Chicago skate zines in the late 80’s. I don’t know how long they published, but I’ve got 7 issues, the latest being #9. Their wacky web site (yes, they are online!) shows a cover for “the Last Issue” which looks like #11 from 1990. These guys had a short but prolific output. I think the key was photo-heavy issues without much blabbering on. That’s a good way to go. Our problem at Skate and Annoy which we still have, was we wanted to pretend we were a real skate mag with stories and coverage of events, interviews, etc… As a result we would unbearably delay getting things out, which explains our 12 year gap in printing. We got distracted, but we always intended on putting out another issue. I was still printing photos from negatives for the next issue in the late 90’s.

Closure from Dan Wolfe, circa 2003. Go check out Dan’s Homepage and purchase a DVD or VHS tape from him. Chances are, if you like watching skate videos, you’ve seen a part that Dan Wolfe has filmed.

The Tony Hawk Foundation just announced it’s Spring 2007 Grant Awards. Find out if your town is one of the 23 listed that will be dipping into the pool of $200,000. The foundation has given out over $1.7-million since it was established in 2002. In 2005 they had an operating budget of 6% and actually spent 80% of their revenue on program services, which should earn them a high rating according to organizations that rate charities. The other 14% of their budget went to fundraising events like the Stand Up For Skateparks benefit. (Hey Andy MacDonald, keep your eyes up!) Find out if your town is on the list after the jump.