Team Pain is cranking on the Ed Austin Skatepark in Jacksonville, Florida. There’s an article in the Florida Times-Union that talks about the situation a little. It looks like they might be getting another street plaza in Arlington as well? (“When the new site is completed it will be about 6 miles away from Ed Austin Skate Park.”) Maybe it’s a typo in the article, and “Skate Park” should read “State Park.” I’m no local… but Martin Ramos, the owner of nearby Kona displayed some astonishing character when asked about competition from a nearby and assumedly free skatepark: “What is good for skateboarding is good for Kona.”

This week’s Shot of the Week comes from Carl Warren and features Ben Krahn ollieing the gap to transition. You should check out the full frame version to get the whole picture.

I checked out the Sammamish Washington skatepark this weekend. It was my second time skatign there, but hte first time I got hailed out after about 15 minutes. This weekend it was hot as hell, which may account for why the park was sparsely populated on both days. I had some reservations about the park based on the construction pictures I shot in 2006. So what’s the verdict? Find out after the jump.

So I went to the beach on Friday. It was hot as balls there too. Canon Beach was the destination, low and behold the new park was finished the guy was putting in the rules sign as we arrived. I asked when is the park open (three times) and he finally said “When this sign is up.” What you witness is what happened after the sign was posted. Peace Off!

Steve Grover reports that the new Cannon Beach skatepark by Placed to Ride is done. If it’s done, why is no one skateboarding in these pics? I can already hear the complaints about how much better the old park was. Brad says it’s small but fun. According to the Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce Information Center, the park is open today.

And the winner for the highest glass ceiling on a skatepark builder’s concrete team has got to go to Airspeed. This is a detail of one of their pictures of recent progress at the Gabriel Park site. There’s probably a woman on another concrete crew out there somewhere else, but three? Yes, I know there are women involved with skatepark building companies in other positions, I’m talking about the work crews specifically. Airspeed is cranking on Gabriel Park. Check it out. Update: EPM has some new construction shots. – Thanks to Sonny for the tip.

What does Dreamland concrete look like in the UK? The same as it does here, except really grainy and in black and white apparently. I’ve heard about the gray weather there, but come on. Check out this clip that looks like it’s from the UK’s Sidewalk Mag: Check out this Kevin Parrott crafted clip from May Bank Holiday Weekend at Saffron Walden and Cantelowes, with Div Adam, Benson, Awadh, Aaron Sweeny, Kev the Plasterer and Mark Nicholson, with a cameo by sir Alex of Irvine. These names don’t mean anything to me, but there is some ripping in the clip. Stick around until the end for a big warm fuzzy. – Thanks to Nicky for the tip.

On top is a picture of another modern snake run. This one in Apache Junction, AZ comes from CarveStarved, a nice site that “wants to be a chronicle of the lives of everyday women who skateboard, to promote the growth of skateboarding among adult women, and to provide a place to meet other women to skate with.” So there you have it. If you are one of those women who wants to contribute or just enjoy it, check it out. Although I have to giggle (like a schoolgirl!) when I read that. I hardly think of my crew as “grown men,” although technically that’s what we are, regardless of how age-inappropriate our behavior can be when we congregate. On the bottom row we have some brand new shots of the snake run being constructed at Gabriel Park, Portland, as shot by Rich at EPM. And low and behold, there’s one of them full grown women I’ve been reading about in the concrete crew. So I’ve managed to find two items with snake runs and women, thus er… killing two birds with one post. Some days it all comes together.

OK, so the St Lucie, Florida skatepark is actually the Fort Pierce skatepark. And who needs construction photos when it’s already finished? More pictures from Team Pain. Congratulations to Tito, who is on his honeymoon. That’s Adam Calderwood from team Pain’s concrete crew in the top photo.

I made an unexpected last minute trip to Hood River on Sunday afternoon. When I go there I recognized a few people from the Portland/Vancouver area, and as I was leaving about half the locals from Pier Park showed up. Hood River is turning into a really nice little park. They keep adding onto it and have plans for more. The new small bowl setup is fun and can be linked to the rest of the park via a couple transfer spots. I hear more street features are in the works for Hood River. (While in Hood River, visit IPS for all your skateboarding needs…)