by The Editors on January 18, 2023
Mark “Gator” Rogowski, the pro skateboarder who has spent the last 30 years in prison for the 1991 rape and murder of Jessica Bergsten will not be paroled. The parole board voted to approve his release on June 14, 2022, however, California Governor Gavin Newsom has reversed Rogowski’s parole for the second time, according to a story on CBS8.com.
On November 4, 2022, Governor Newsom once again rescinded Rogowski’s parole. . . While citing Rogowski’s work to reform himself, Newsom wrote that Rogowski has “made efforts at self-improvement,” having participated in “significant self-help programming, including substance abuse prevention, anger management, and sex offense desistence courses,” [however] “Despite the constructive steps,” Newsom said a recent verbal disagreement with another prisoner and Rogowski’s inability to understand what caused him to act in such a violent way are reasons for his decision to repeal the parole board’s decision.”
Gator, who is currently serving a 31-years-to-life sentence, comes up for parole again in December 2023.
by The Editors on June 15, 2022
by The Editors on November 15, 2013
Kirk Passmore, 32, a big wave surfer from Carlsbad, California who has lived on the North Shore of Oahu for the past two years, died surfing Wednesday, November 13, 2013 after getting held down while surfing Haliewa’s Alligator Rock, according to a story on CNN.
Jamie Sterling, a surfer who saw Passmore wipe out, told KHNL, “He was seen swimming down with his feet up above the surface, and we think he broke his eardrum because what happens when you break your eardrum is you have complete loss of balance and you have vertigo.”
SurferMag.com has a Daniel Russo photo sequence of Passmore’s last wave along with a statement from his family in which they said:
He was not new to big wave surfing, having surfed most of the well-known big wave locations, including Waimea Bay, Sunset Beach, Pipeline, and outer reefs on the north shores of Hawaii. He was a familiar face at Todos Santos off Baja California. He also surfed Maverick’s in Northern California and Puerto Escondido in Mainland Mexico. He spent 3 years in the southern coast of France. He moved to the north shore of Hawaii full-time in the spring of 2012.
Our thoughts are with Passmore’s family and friends.
[Link: CNN & Surfer]
by The Editors on February 9, 2011
Looks like Mark “Gator” Rogowski will be spending another seven years in California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo before he gets a second chance at parole, according to a story in the San Diego Union Tribune.
Deputy District Attorney Richard Sachs argued that Rogowski remained an “unreasonable risk to society” and should remain imprisoned, according to a news release provided Tuesday by the District Attorney’s Office. . . . One of the victim’s family members appeared at the hearing and made a statement urging the parole board to keep Rogowski incarcerated. . . .Convicted killers in California are rarely granted parole at a first hearing.
Gator is currently serving 31 years to life in the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo for the first-degree murder and rape of Jessica Bergsten in Carlsbad, California in March of 1991.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune via Skatedaily]
by The Editors on July 14, 2010
We’re not sure surfing on the USA’s East Coast is even worth it. It’s cold and where it’s warm it’s sharky or in Hilton Head, South Carolina’s case gatory, according to a story on MyFox8.com:
The Island Packet of Hilton Head Island reports the alligator was spotted in the surf Tuesday and hundreds of beachgoers watched as the creature was captured by gator wranglers. . . Two workers for Critter Management Inc. caught the alligator after crews on jet skis forced the creature closer to shore so it could be snared and removed from the beach.
But not to worry, local officials say, a gator only shows up “about once a month during the summer.” Nice.
[Link: MyFox8 and The Island Packet]
by The Editors on April 26, 2010
A press release issued by the Carlsbad, California based Simo Holdings, Inc. seems to suggest that Gatorz (the eyewear company) and No Fear (the brand) are somehow getting together in what the release terms a “reverse take-over of Gatorz by No Fear.” Here are a few of the details:
Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, among other things: (i) Simo Holdings will sell to Gatorz all of the shares of common stock it owns in No Fear Retail Stores, Inc. (“No Fear”), a subsidiary of Simo Holdings, in exchange for 99,075,001 common shares of Gatorz and 52,441,932 restricted common shares of Gatorz; and (ii) NF Acquisition Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gatorz, will merge with and into No Fear.
As we have no idea what any of this means, we’ll skip the speculation and just direct everyone to the entire press release which appears after the jump.
[click to continue…]
by The Editors on June 26, 2009
Florida surfers have to put up with a lot. No waves, hurricanes, and sharks, but this week they had even more weirdness lurking in the lineup.
A rare American crocodile was captured at the Cocoa Beach Pier last Friday and there have been at least two separate alligator sightings in the ocean this week. One of the reptiles left its tracks in the sands of Satellite Beach. . . On Saturday, Jeff Scabarozi, the Brevard lifeguard chief, went to the Third Street North beach in Cocoa Beach. Aboard a personal watercraft, he rode within two feet of a swimming gator.
What next? Cougars in the parking lot?
[Link: Orlando Sentinel]
by The Editors on January 5, 2009
The entire energy drink market has blown up right under Gatorade’s oblivious nose and the only time they ever seemed to take notice was when Salman Agah attempted to launch and market Skaterade.
Now it appears that someone has kicked the sports drink company in the nuts because they’re diving in on action sports like bums on a bottle, according to a story in Sports Business Journal.
The brand signed a multiyear deal with [Chaz] Ortiz that sources valued in the low to mid-six figures annually. He will be the cornerstone of Gatorade’s action sports campaign and will be featured alongside its marquee athletes, including Derek Jeter, Dwyane Wade and Peyton Manning. . . . The brand also signed smaller deals with snowboarder Ellery Hollingsworth, a 17-year-old from Darien, Conn., and BMX star Nigel Sylvester, an 18-year-old from Queens, N.Y. The athletes will be featured in Gatorade’s action sports campaigns, which are being planned. Terms of those deals were not available.
That fact that Gatorade never had any bull balls or caffeine in it always made it a favorite around here anyway. And for Chaz, the “mid-six figures” shouldn’t be so bad.
[Link: Sports Business Journal via Skatedaily.net]
by The Editors on August 1, 2023
The most expensive house in Whistler just sold for $32 million, according to a story in Pique Newsmagazine. What more is there to say? Not a bad looking place, but what a hassle to keep clean.
The [8,700-square-foot “architectural masterpiece”] residence features a curved, floating staircase suspended by cables that doubles as an art installation, a 25-metre pool cantilevered over the cliff edge it’s built into, in addition to three fireplaces, a wine cellar, grotto spa, floor-to-ceiling windows and an elevator.
Remind us to be a little more motivated (and evil) next time around.
[Link: Pique Magazine]
by The Editors on May 16, 2022
By clicking the “continue” link at the bottom of this blurb, you will encounter a list of headlines that refer to our topics, namely, skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, fashion, and finally, business. Many of these stories have been read by “The Editors,” and many have not.
The list of headlines style is evidence of the slow evolution of this site and The Editors themselves. Snark has been annoying for nearly a decade (deja vu from last month), and The Editors realized there is no longer any reason to restate what other people have written to make it funnier. Few have time for witty nor funny when it slows the speed of information consumption.
Nothing is getting in the way here. Follow the jump and read the list. If there are brands, people, or topics that interest you, please use the search function in your browser and jump to it straight away. Enjoy.
[click to continue…]
Former pro skateboarder 
