Green Skate Lab rockin it

[Danny Crawford]

abec 3 pleasure tools are $4.50...

[John Dillon]

at GSL...help make this happen....put in your 2 cents if you haven't already.....add more if you've already contributed.....all and any help is welcome, starting Friday, ending Sunday...bring work gloves,boots,clothes you don't mind getting dirty,shovel,blood,sweat,and tears of joy!

[Jack Quarantillo]

Rene,
Send an e-mail to Khiro Bob (Bob@khiroskateboardproducts.com). I'd bet you he'll hook you right up on the bushings, if you explain to him what they are for.
Q

[Rene Hayden]

Hey, I know you all have a lot of STUFF. And it takes up room from all the other new STUFF you could be buying.

GSL is going to be putting together some thirty-odd boards for common use at the GSL bowl. But they are lacking in bushings and bearings. Anyone have any old bushings/bearings they want to get rid of?

Cheers.

[Rene Hayden]

Here's the latest:

Hello,
We are getting closer and closer to the finished skatepark. More
concrete was poured this week and we have another pour this Saturday at 7am.
We will be onsite at 6am, so if you would like to help we will definitely
need it and a lot of it. Our volunteer pro concrete finishing crew had to go
home to take care of their lives that they put on hold for the last two
weeks to help us get er done, but there is still lots more to do. We pour at
7AM, please come out and help if you can. The park looks great, we should
all be very proud.
As always, thank you for all your support,
Chris Nostrand

[John Dillon]

if anybody can make it, come on out...20th ST NE, just south of RI Ave. Hopefully, I'll be there.

[Rene Hayden]

aNYONE feel like helping out this week?

Cheers,

Rene.

"Hello all,
It’s been a hectic week full of lots of work pouring concrete.
It’s all starting to shape up and looking real sick! Look here for a
synopsis of the progress and up to date photos, almost!
http://www.eastcoastaholic.com/greenskatelab.htm We Have all worked really
hard and we need a little more help this week. We will be having concrete
trucks coming all week and need to have some people to pull the shotcrete
hose, clean tools, screed concrete and help with the installation/removal of
forms. I will not always be able to be onsite as I must watch my son, Ian.
Any help you can provide to make the park a success and fully finished this
week will be greatly appreciated. Remember, we pour all week and you can
call my cell if you have questions at 240 604 7959.
Thanks a lot for supporting your local skatepark,
Chris Nostrand"

[Rene Hayden]

Jeff.

That's rockin.

Rene.

[Jeff Boswell]

http://www.maine.gov/dep/blwq/doceducat ... pringwatch

[Rene Hayden]

Come one come all.

If you have time to give this week or can take a day off, they are pouring the crete down at GSL, every day of the week up until April 2, and maybe longer. I will be there Thursday and possibly Saturday.

Anyone with experience in concrete, of course, is most welcome.

Will the forum rats answer senor Flis? When is the next event?

I can hear the moss growing, never mind the crickets.

Cheers,

Rene.

[Rene Hayden]

Hey all, just got back from BC and Seattle--too busy w/ family and rain/snow to skate.

But, hey! The GSL tire-dirt structure is almost done! There's going to be another work session this Saturday, same time, same place, you know the drill.

Also, if anyone has any ideas or "ins" for fundraising, let me know.

Rene.

O yeah, I forgot, there may be a new skatin' pool in the works at UMD. UMD in general is a great place to skate--lots of hills, smooth parking lots and structures, and no crackdowns. Empty campus hilly side streets are perfect for slalom and just begging to be scouted. I'll keep y'all updated.

Thanks Wes for the coding tip! Much better...

[Anthony Smallwood]

Parsons, if you are planning on showing up to work the GSL and would also like to run some cones, bring your stuff. RFK is really close to the site and I know of a great slalom hill off North Capital Street that's completely empty on weekends.

[Anthony Smallwood]

Oops! Sorry Johnny D

Ahh, I guess I assumed everyone knew you were included on that list since you're involved in everything DC skate related that goes down. As a matter of fact, you're the single most involved skater in the whole area.

Now go heal

[John Dillon]

Hey, remember I've been involved in GSL too...recruiting, dropping off tires, working at the 1st work day(then I was in a car wreck a couple days later, then a collision w/ Seth just when the doc said it was OK to skate again)and I couldn't work.Anyways, I am supposed to be picking up and delivering donated wire mesh for the crete today if I get the address soon. I know we all have diff schedules and we all aren't onsite at the same time....just didn't want you to forget me. And, I agree that Rene has been busting butt & same w/ you, Anthony, and all the other folks too....sad about the corruption at DC Public Schools....off w/their heads!

[Dave Gale]

Hats off to all you guys putting in the effort!! It will be feather in your hat when all's done!
Politics are corrupt in the small burgs and (villes) as well as the netions capitol tho. MSSS was dealt a backstab the morning of the race, due to a blue haired buisiness owner (I assure you won't happen in 2005) And Tony Hawk may not "miss the $" But If the problems and actions go unpunished and alerted to. The ball only gets bigger and has more and more impact! Vans is a perfect example of the greed that grows like a cancer!!
Merry XMAS all!

Enjoy,
Dave G

[Anthony Smallwood]

Hey, I was against the whole baseball team idea. I had the,"that money could go toward schools" attitude. Ha ha ha, now it's understood it would never reach them.

I've always said, as the Nations Capital, we should be the shining star of the US. Best schools, hospitals, infrastructure.....then again, we probably wouldn't have been able to convince them to shut down streets for us to race on. It's a wild west mentallity and everyone is in on the game. You don't even know how much corruption I've seen on the streets the last 20 years.

The GSL, thankfully, is full of folks who are unshaken by the theft and are undaunted in their quest to build a bowl for everyone to enjoy. We're just going to have to raise the money thru parties, concerts, contests etc. Tony Hawk, on the other hand, should be really pissed! It was his money, not that he'll miss it.

Rene is to be commended on his work ethic and for his financial contribution. He's been a huge help. He along with Seth, are the only one's from the slalom/downhill scene that's made an appearence. Since I work most Saturdays I haven't been to the site much, but I did put GSL in touch with the writer from the City Paper and I've convinced Rebecca Cooper from Channel 7 to do a report and her producer is into it. Proud to stir the sh!t. So, if you can't be there to help on Saturdays, FIND ANOTHER WAY TO HELP OUT!! EVERYTHING COUNTS!!!
So, who's having the first party??

Brian, are you and GBJ doing the Gathering this year?? If so, when??

[Brian Parsons]

I can't believe how corrupt DC is. To be the most important city in the world it is a real shame that the city can not manage its public infrastructure and responsibilities.

Unfortunately to resolve this it would require pro bono work, and finding any law office that would take on a case against any public institution in the district is a long shot at best.

I don’t live in the district and really should not be commenting on their politics. But there is no way I would want the district to have a voice in congress. The district has always had a reputation of being very bureaucratic and corrupt. Allowing this type of politics to stink up the legitimate state congress is a huge step backwards.

Sorry to rant, but this type of thing is an embarrassment to the people who have worked to end corruption in our local governments. You expect to hear about these things in less developed countries. Not the capital of the US.

I will go as far to say that the district should not have locally elected officials, the government of the district should be appointed by a consortium made up of representative from the other 50 states.

It is apparent that the current system does not work.

To keep this skating related. I am happy to announce that on many occasions I have broken the no skating law in the district.

I also plan on attending the next work day at GSL.

[Wes Eastridge]

René, you can fix the problem by using the “BBCode” that these forums use. Login, then click the “Edit” function on your post. When the edit page comes up, move your pointer onto the "URL" button that is just below the end of the Subject line. Notice the syntax format that appears. Use this to figure out how to format the link so that all the veiwer sees is your short message saying "click here" (or whatever you want it to say) that they can then click on to bring up the CityPaper page. I would have put the code down right here for you but could not figure out how to do it without it showing up as a link (Jani, please reactivate that function).

[Rene Hayden]

Well, Wes,

Yeah, it's outrageous, and now the only resources left pretty much are the goodwill of area skaters. I can guarantee if any one of us wants to donate any amount of money, no matter how small--break the piggybank and roll the change--it will be properly accounted for and put to good use for concrete and rebar, the only two items not donated/recycled. Oh, and the bobcat seized up last weekend so maybe repairs on that too. We had a whole battalion of Americorps volunteers as well as Anthony S. and Doug D. show up, and got shiteloads of work done.

I personally am chipping in $100 of my hard-earned cashola (no, I don't make a lot of dough).

Anybody wishing to donate time or money can contact the Nostrands directly at kazahn.03@starpower.net, or me if you're shy.

Hopefully there will also be kewl fundraisers soon so's we can pour the dam thang. The deep end is one work session away from being completely built up for rebarring and crete.

A criminal investigation has been launched by the Inspector General's office of D.C. so maybe some of the #%^&@ @#%$%%$$% will be brought up on charges and properly skewered.

Other sad things: VANS Potomac Mills prefers to run over all of it's equipment with a backhoe rather than have it hauled away for free and used by skaters, just so the company can take a tax write-off and squeeze a bit more blood out of the stone.

Hey folks: Greed Sucks.

P.S. does anyone (moderators included) know how to do text wrapping in these frames, cause the City Paper link is distorting these windows in really annoying ways.

[Jack Quarantillo]

I just read the City Paper article about the Green Lab park and the money donated by Tony Hawk, the Save the Trees outfit and America Online. There are words that accurately describe what the principal and the school administration did with those donations:

Fraud
Theft
Misappropriation
Negligence
Malicious
Contemptuous
EMBEZZLEMENT

and last but not least

ILLEGAL

The sad part is no one will be held accountable, no one will be punished, the money will not be returned and future donations by truly giving people will not be forthcoming because why bother donating money to a worthy cause if it's just going to be stolen?

You forgot two words:

Status quo

Q

[Wesley Tucker]

I just read the City Paper article about the Green Lab park and the money donated by Tony Hawk, the Save the Trees outfit and America Online. There are words that accurately describe what the principal and the school administration did with those donations:

Fraud
Theft
Misappropriation
Negligence
Malicious
Contemptuous
EMBEZZLEMENT

and last but not least

ILLEGAL

The sad part is no one will be held accountable, no one will be punished, the money will not be returned and future donations by truly giving people will not be forthcoming because why bother donating money to a worthy cause if it's just going to be stolen?

[Rene Hayden]

You can read the article here City Paper Story

or just go to washingtoncitypaper.com and go to the "this week's articles" archives and search under "green skate lab" or "cheap skates"

[Rene Hayden]

More construction excitement tomorrow morning...

and a story and good photos in the last City Paper (12/17)

See you after the holidays--I will be reporting live from the slalom/downhill/bowls scene in Vancouver, British Columbia until Jan 10, if the outdoors manages to bless us with a few days of sun--yeah RIGHT!

Happy holidays to all hope to see you all soon (even Vlad "don't be a Richard--uh, Richard d. James, that is" Popov )

[Seth Levy]

hah i know but the weather was forcasted as dry

[Rene Hayden]

Actually, rain-outs and no equipment schedule changes have not been uncommon. But tomorrow looks like its 100% going to happen.

See you there, Seth.

[Seth Levy]

and dont worry, there WONT be a schedule change!

[Rene Hayden]

Green Skate Lab will be having a build day on Sat. Many of you won't be able to attend due to the race. That's cool! There will be plenty more opportunity for you to come out and support the coolest localest bestest and onliest skate park bowls this side of the Potomac.

GSL is strapped for funds due to the DC Public School's embezzlement of $20,000 in grant money, so even if you don't come help out, any donations are very, very, needed and appreciated in order to move on to the next stage of the project: pouring concrete. It's under criminal investigation, oh yeah!

Cheers,

Rene.

[Rene Hayden]

In case you feel like gettin' your work on...

Fun stuff, good people, and it'll be too wet to slalom/park ride on Sat.

All you need are some muddable shoes/boots, pants, and shirt, a pair of gloves and a good back. Profane banter and insolent loafing optional. All shovels come with kickstand. It's so fun, it's like reverse massage!

let's work out! (if it doesn't rain too hard Friday/Sat morning). There will be plenty of shoveling, power-tool tamping, cutting tires, and inscrutable construction worker hand signals to go around. You can even pee on a bush!

Don't be slalom weenies! Invest in your skatepark future now!

oh yeah!

Rene.

--- In GreenSkateLab@yahoogroups.com, "Nostrand"
<kazahn.03@s...> wrote:
Well,
It looks as if Andy has hooked us up with a bobcat for the duration of the
project. It should be delivered this Saturday along with a half dumpster of
truck tires. Ready to work? Looks like there will be plenty to go around.
Hope to see you at 10 am at the GSL.
Thanks Everyone,
Chris