I found out about this from a non skater, you know, a civilian. Turns out the new indoor park is next door to one of those warehouses full of inflatable bounce houses for kids. My informant was there for a kid’s birthday party. I went to go check it out on a Saturday but nobody was there. The place looks like it’s still under construction. From what I can see, it’s standard indoor street course type fare. Basically a one hit back and forth affair. From my vantage point ( standing on the roof of the SUV backed up against the roll up door) it also looks like really close quarters. There’s also what appears to be long miniramp with one end bowled in. Before actually seeing this place I thought it might ease the pain of The Department shutting down, but I’m fairly certain it’s not going to fill that gap. Ripzu is admittedly run by parents of skateboarding children looking for a sterile environment for kids to skate. Not that the Department is especially gritty. The rates seem high but this place might actually survive based on the fact that a lot of parents are already going next…

The Second Annual Skate The Lake Summer Contest Series kicks off this weekend on Saturday at the Lake Cunningham Regional Skatepark in San Jose. Registration begins at 2:30 p.m.; contest begins at 3:30 p.m. Entry fee is $10. Events for this year include Street, Best Trick, Mini Bowl, and Main Bowl (Travelodge for June). For more information, call LCRSP at (408) 794-SKATe (7528) or check the flyer after the jump. – Thanks to event sponsor Weirdo Skateboards for the tip.

P-town Throwdown this Saturday at Pendleton Skatepark Appearances by Bacon dudes. Benji, Johnny, Oudalay, and Jeff Ferris who will be traveling here in a time machine from the eighties to emcee. I swear, the kid could be an illegitimate son of Steve Schneer. Flyer after the turn.

I’ve heard from a couple of different sources (some of them reliable even!) that The Department of Skateboarding, or D.O.S., will be shutting down at some point mid-summer. The rumor is that the building was sold, and the bowl is scheduled to be closed down as early as June, with the rest of it to follow possibly in August. This seems at odds with their posted summer camp schedule. Colin has an associate of D.O.S. scheduled to appear on his radio show on June 16th. Maybe we’ll get an answer then. It will be a blow to Portland’s skate scene if D.O.S. does shut down. It’s the only indoor street course of any mentionable square footage accessible to the public in the greater Portland area. No word on what this might mean for the attached Cals Pharmacy skate shop, a long time fixture in Portland. [Image: SkateAllCities]

Today is day zero for the Maloof Money Cup in New York City. The contest doesn’t start till tomorrow, but today there is a ribbon cutting ceremony, jam session, and two skateboard related art show openings in the city. Believe it or not, SnA was considered a legit blog by the media credentials people so I have all access passes to everything. Check out the recap of last night’s pre-Maloof party hosted by DC Shoes and, starting around 2 PM, a live blog of the days events.

…in Echo, Oregon. Thanks to Sam from Skate Oregon for this report: Eastern Oregon continues blowing up with the little town of Echo (population 700) opening a nice little “Community Skatepark” this afternoon. Grindline made them a great 4000 square foot (?) concrete shape not dissimilar to Portland’s Gabriel Park: shallow top to hip hip deeper bowl. It is open to skateboards, inline skates, and bikes. While not yet on the official city web page, they do have a Facebook page for the skatepark. And of course, Sam has some shots up at the granddaddy skatepark sites, SkateOregon. Now I have to go look up Echo, Oregon on Google Maps.

The Oregonian had a story about the Lincoln City skatepark today. In case you haven’t been paying attention, Lincoln City is up to phase V with the new skate track. Not a bad story although they seemed to be confused about a few things like calling the pool replica is one of the park’s easiest features when I think they meant the new reservoir bowl. [Photo: Thomas Boyd /The Oregonian] – Thanks to GVK and my mom for the tip.

Homeless folks inhabiting Miyashita Park in Tokyo are understandably upset about the fact that their local government has sold the park out from under them. Apparently there were no public hearings or notices before the sale to NIke became final. NIke has plans to turn it into a well-landscaped skate plaza. The park has a sizable indigenous homeless population that will likely be displaced, and they’ve gained some support worldwide, but it seems to me that everyone is pissed off at the wrong people. Don’t get pissed at the people who bought your home for a bargain, get pissed at the bank that foreclosed on you. According to a short video about the situation, Nike refuses to respond publicly to anyone concerning the park. Not the greatest public relations plan, but maybe it’s geared towards some sort of Japanese culture hook that I’m not hip to. Watch the vid after the jump. – Thanks to 100% Talkboarder for the tip. [Source: The Smoking Section]

And it stands for “Who Would Jesus Scam?” I was trying to track down rumor that American Ramp Company (AKA ARC) registered the names of famous skatepark building companies with alternate domains and had them forwarded to americanrampcompany.com. Think grindline.net, dreamlandskateparks.net, newlineskateparks.net, spohnranch.net, californiaskateparks.net and sitedesigngroup.info. I tried these myself and they ended up parked at Goddady.com and their anonymous registration service, save for Californiaskateparks.net that forwards to something called Hardcore Skateparks, which turns out to be wholly owned by… ARC. I had a post planned on ARC a while back. The used to have an unintentionally funny video introducing their staff and making them look like… a playground equipment company. Why did I bring up Jesus? Well because ARC did. They gave him his own area on the ARC site. I’ve heard rumors that ARC has taken to lawsuits and litigious threats of over lost bids. Maybe it should be Who Would Jesus Sue? Hey, has anyone tried skating in the rain on one of their metal ramps? ARC says it’s a go.

If they’re going to make all our skateboards, they might as well learn how to ride them. There’s a new Camp Woodward opening up in Beijing China. Woodward Beijing celebrates a grand opening on May 15th. Among other facilities, they’ve got a street plaza built by California Skateparks.