According to the St. Cloud Times:

A budget was set Monday for the skate plaza at Heritage Park.

St. Cloud City Council set the budget at $450,000. Donations and contributions will make up $150,000 and park improvement funds will cover $300,000.

The council also approved a $43,000 contract with Bonestroo and Action Sports Design for architectural and engineering services.

Stay Gold the Emerica video is coming soon, but in the mean time take a gander at Colin’s two minute, yes two minute welcome video here: (Note: This is Colin’s Emerica Stay Gold throw away footy.)

From Kim Anderson of The St. Cloud Times and www.sctimes.com

Elation filled the St. Cloud City Council chambers Monday night as a 13-year debate over where to build a skate plaza came to a rest.

The council approved building a plaza at Heritage Park with a 5-2 vote. Council members Sonja Berg and Carolyn Garven dissented, saying the natural setting of the park was ill-suited for such a facility.

The vote was met with cheers and a standing ovation from the more than 50 supporters in the room.

Austin Lee, 17, has been instrumental in planning the plaza and getting the support it needed to get approval. He had a hard time hiding his enthusiasm Monday after the vote.

"I'm pretty excited," he said.

Monday's hearing focused on whether Heritage Park should be the site, rather than questions on money and design. Those will be discussed at future meetings. The hearing lasted an hour with about a dozen speakers.

Many of the detractors were concerned about safety at the site because traffic is heavy nearby.

Concerns also included the fact that Heritage Park is a natural setting, where people fish and walk on trails. Some felt a skate plaza wouldn't fit in with those uses.

Supporters said the park would be an even better place for families to visit. While some skateboard, others could enjoy the nature trails and Stearns History Museum that is at the park. They also said the park's location near businesses is a plus for teens looking to eat after skateboarding.

Council members acknowledge the concerns, but ultimately decided the site was the best option for the city.

Berg said she's heard more from residents on the skate plaza issue than any other and echoed concerns about nearby traffic.

Garven said Heritage Park is meant for "passive" use and a skate plaza doesn't coincide with that.

"This is a disconnect for me," she said.

Council member Dave Masters said he likes the Heritage Park site. It's an opportunity to attract younger residents to the park's natural area, he said.

"I think that's a real plus," he said.

Council president Bob Johnson bristled at suggestions that skateboarders are anti-social and the not-in-my-neighborhood mentality some have about a skate plaza.

"I just think that's wrong," he said.

It's part of the city's goal to provide a variety of recreation that serves a variety of interests, from skateboarding to tennis to swimming, he said.

After 5 years of Am skating for Habitat, Guru Khalsa is now getting paid.  Be sure to check out Habitat's video coming out this summer.

Did you see the Volcom “Eating Cherry Blossoms In Japan” article in our February issue of Transworld Skateboarding? Well, here’s the video tour video Volcom came back with. Watch as Dustin Dollin, Mark Appleyard, Caswell Berry, and David Gravette take a bite outta the finer things the Japanses life has to offer. And go to the Volcom site to see more photos from the trip.

The ripper from Fontana has been officially welcomed to Lakai. Check the requisite welcome video at the Lakai site and check back soon for its complete Spring 2010 product line.

Though no one seems to have mentioned it yet, Greg Lutzka's name is notably absent from the Almost skateboards team list. Riding for Almost since its beginnings, Lutzka's absence is significant though not completely unexpected. Lutzka's immense talents on board and his consistent presence and dominance in the contest circuit (a Gold Medal at X Games Mexico in '08 and the winner of the '06, '08 and '09 Tampa Pro) is sure to attract new board sponsors quickly. Where will the fedora-clad ripper end up next? Be sure to keep checking back and we'll bring you the latest.

Original Washington D.C. ripper and long time big ollie powerhouse, Reese Forbes has just become a free agent in the board department. Skate Daily is reporting that Forbes has parted ways with Skate Mental, a company he co-founded with Brad Staba some years back. No word on how the split went down or if Forbes already has something in the works for the future. One thing's for sure, Forbes is still riding for Nike SB and Quiksilver and he can still ollie higher than 99% of people on this planet. After standout video parts in "Easter Exposure 3," Element's "Third Eye View" and most recently, Nike's "Nothing But The Truth, Forbes has got both skills and history behind him. He shouldn't be board-less for long.