My bad. The Ropers are arriving on friday evening around 9:00pm. Their itinerary is still loose, but it looks like a barbecue in the daytime at either the Banana Farm or the Death Star and then Mabel Davis on Sunday. Hopefully rain won’t interfere. They leave on Monday.

Ben Gilley grinds a handrailLooks like I’m heading up to Dallas for that meeting. If anyone else wants to ride up with me, give me a call. e-mail is borked for some reason right now.. 789-0009.

In honor of Correta Scott King’s passing, the new Thrasher has a photo spread Sandy Carson shot of Ben Gilley riding that monster handrail on Martin Luther King Blvd. in Austin. The caption says "behind Vons," but that’s just how those San Francisco kooks spell "UT Library." It’s a good time for Ben to get this coverage as he’s shopping for a new board sponsor after Black Label thinned out their roster late last year.

The replacement Ballard Bowl is finished and open for skating outside of Seattle. Here’s a cool photo of Talley ripping a frontside ollie over the hip.