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.

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.

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.

Nike Skateboarding Nothing but the Truth Premiere The NikeSB movie has been premiering in various cities, I attended the Portland premiere last Thursday at the Crystal ballroom. Everyone there was either invited or one of Screamin’ Steve’s contest winners. I’m guessing there were 200-300 people there. I wasn’t a VIP so I didn’t get free beer but I did enjoy the outing. It was a big skateboarding related event, a scene, and I saw a bunch of people I knew there. Thanks to Kevin Imamura for getting me on the list.

I can’t stop watching this video of a Primo slide to back flip. Ok, it’s very light on the slide, in fact, I think it’s just called a rail stand? Freestylers help me out here. Freestylers? I don’t know who this shorty character is but he reminds me of the high school wrestling team. Check it out after the jump. [Source: Wiskate via the Skateboard Mag]

Everybody sing! Who can take a sunrise Sprinkle it in dew Cover it in chocolate and a miracle or two? The candyman Handstand man! The Handstand man can The Handstand man can cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good! I’m not going to begrudge anyone from trying to make an extra buck off of a web site, but the Handstand Man is really, uh, pushing it. He’s got one claim to fame, and it’s a burly one to be sure, he’s ridden a handstand down the infamous Signal Hill. That’s gnarly, but he won’t show it to you unless you pay $14 for the DVD. He has some still photos for sale, but has graciously provided a few “free” pics for downloading as well as a couple of video clips you can watch for free, as if that is some kind of rarity. Let’s see, anything else? Most of the pics don’t show his face and he performs most of his stunts in track pants, sometimes even white sweatpants! The whole site is a trip: “The ballsiest skateboarding action sequence I have ever filmed!!” As quoted by James, the video cameraman who filmed the stunt.…

Aside from the wedding ceremony of one of Portland’s most beloved skateboarders (Yes, I said “most beloved” and I meant it!) the other very interesting thing that happens this weekend is the premier of the Steve Rocco documentary The Man Who Souled the World. October 5 is the date for showings in the following cities: Angeles, Santa Monica, New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Orange County California, Santa Barbara, Portland, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Reno. Check the official site for more info. After Z-Boys, there was a glut of documentaries for while. The Man Who Souled the World is the one that really needed to be made, and if done well, should serve as the bookend to Peralta’s Dogtown flick. I’m really looking forward to this movie. So far the reviews from gay hollywood gossip sites are positive, so that’s encouraging. You’ll need to scroll down past the Spice Girls coverage if you follow that link. Let’s hope we don’t see a dramatized adaptation like the Lords of Dogtown. Although now that I think about it, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Joaquin Phoenix as a young Steve Rocco.