This week’s Shot of the Week features Demarcus James photographed by Steve Potwin at the Weirdo bowl. I love boneless ones, frontside, backside, whatever. This is a great photo.

…In which Skate and Annoy takes a momentary time out from snarky comments to put on the serious hat of a legitimate editorial news outlet.

UPDATE: A Spohn spokesperson has pointed out that Spohn is not a plaintiff in any lawsuit against California Skateparks or ARC ramps:

FYI we never filed a lawsuit against ARC (we were a whistleblower in that one) and are definitely not filing one against CA Skateparks.

We simply protested their bid rigging practices with the City of LA. No one is suing anyone.

…We made a complaint under the LA Contractor Responsibility Ordinance based on allegations that CA failed to disclose Ciaglia’s interests in his various entities including Site Design Group and Street League, failure to disclose lawsuits against California (Skateparks), failure to disclose his relationship with Dyrdek as part of the multiple millions in sole sourced contracts, attempting to bid rig a previous bid, etc.

The City of LA requires disclosure of all of those things as part of its very restrictive pre-qualification process. Right now, the City is investigating. But there is no lawsuit from Spohn against CA Sk8 or Joe.

All we are trying to get is a fair shot at the projects in the City where we live and pay taxes

On behalf of Skate and Annoy, I sincerely regret misrepresenting facts. Original post below:

At first glance the headline is shocking, Rob Dyrdek and a business associate accused of fraud, collusion, bid-rigging and perjury. Then you have to consider the source, another lawsuit filed by Spohn Ranch. (Correction:Spohn has not filed suit against ARC or California Skateparks. See above. ) And it would be easy to dismiss the investigation as sour grapes, but there’s some meat to it after all. The business of so-called donations of park designs contingent on the contract being awarded to specific construction companies certainly has the appearance of impropriety. If you’re going to make a donation, make it without strings attached, for the benefit of the community and not your buddy/partner’s construction company. Especially when it’s a donation that most design/build firms are happy to make when regulations allow. If you read through all the complaints you’ll be left with the impression that their operational practices are misleading if not outright shady. According to Celebsleaze (UPDATE: Appears to be a website set up explicitly for the purpose of providing links to documentation on the investigation. The rest of the site allegedly contains wholesale plagiarism.) both Dyrdek and California Skateparks make cash contributions back to L.A. City Council members who pushed deals through with the city. Yeah, I know, there goes my credibility, but it’s documented. Still, nobody ever sued their way into a profitable business, tech industry notwithstanding. Spohn Ranch might do better to let their skateparks speak for them instead of the lawyers. But then again, it must be nice for a skatepark builder to have the wheels greased by a major celebrity skateboarder who “donates” designs.

[ Source Celeb Sleaze via Commonwealth Skateboarding on Facebook. ] – Photo: Construction Currents, a construction industry website that also has coverage.

I collect a lot of skateboards that are, quite frankly, whack. I have not been able to bring myself to purchase this one, and apparently nobody else has either. This item has been on eBay for a couple of years running. Yes, I’ve been following it that long. I actually saw a kid on one of these at a skatepark some time circa 2001. The question is, did the Gonz get his inspiration from this or did these guys copy him?

Kevin Cann sent in some pictures of his nephew Tristan Rennie who came up from California to skate with his uncle in Quebec. Check him out in some spots in and around Notre Dame de L’ile Perrot, including Kevin’s back yard.

Longboard Larry, an established and respected craftsman of custom handmade longboards in Oregon, was robbed recently. He’s offering a store credit as a reward if anyone can help with information to track down the booty or perp.

– Thanks to Matthijs for the tip. The theft happened about an hour away from my house, but I found out from a guy that lives in the Netherlands.

Grapple. Gorilla apple? No, that would be Gorapple. Grape apple? That makes no sense, but it hasn’t stopped someone from developing a grape infused apple. USA! USA! USA! USA! Now they just need to make a baby version. Nobel Peace Prize or sign of the apocalypse?

– Thanks to Justin Owen for the picture.

The BCSA is hosting “Shredageddon” a memorial skate jam at the Corvallis Skatepark on Saturday July 28th in honor of Tommy McGuigan. The event includes live music from Love Songs from the Hated, hot dogs and drinks and Skate Challenges.

The Skate Challenge includes: a timed speed track challenge, longest grind in the bowl, high ollie/hippie jump, best trick (Cash Prize!) and best trick in the bowl (Cash Prize!). All skaters under 16 must wear a helmet. All riders must sign a waiver. Parental authorization required for all risers under 18.

Sponsored by: The Uprise skate shop in Corvallis.

Workplace humor perpetrated by non-skater. Classic slippery floor sign turned into a Wilson. Skateboard placement was coincidental.

MC is on a road trip, checking out some skate spots in Idaho and Colorado. He found Tiger’s Blood Extreme Chill in a gas station in Boise. looks like the proprietor put up a poster of his kid (or someone) at a local spot. Locals only slushies! I’ll take a large cup of Igloo Caps please.