About halfway through I started to wonder if any public tax dollars could have possibly been used to pay for the production this nonsense.

Clearly a representative of the "creative class" and part of Portland's economic engine.

Stop at stop signs? Blasphemy!

Gibby: not at all. However, I suspect that his parents back in Ohio are rapidly depleting their retirement funds to keep him in Portland. Oh, it's going to be a really rude awakening when he attends the reading of the will and he discovers that he's already burned through his inheritance.

Yeah, because a guy with long hair and a beard who skateboards is...(your crotchety old man stereotyping, paranoid fantasy here).

A guy who makes a thoughtful, articulate video encouraging skaters to be safe and follow the law is obviously an unemployed slacker, or at best a parasite getting fat on the public dime. Just well, because. Look at him!

Love the video. Epic

Has anyone noticed that there seems to be a large number of people in their 20's and 30's who skateboard? In my youth, once you got to about 17 or so you looked foolish on a skateboard. I guess today is different with the abundance of man/children around these parts.

Zippy, my thoughts exactly.

He's wearing a black hoodie. The paramilitary JTTF branch of the Cop Shop will seize that and his anarchist comic book collection in a couple of days. Then we'll all be safe. Oh, and that skateboard is a weapon, so they can report having found and seized a weapon, too.

Vote?? Heck with the quality of that clever video, he probably teaches editing at PCC.

(sigh) Grown ass men on skateboards. Pathetic. Bunch of Peter Pans. What next, pogo sticks? As a woman, I can't see any attraction to these child-men. Hopefully other women are repelled as well and this end of gene pool will dry up.

Hmmmm...strange to read all of the hate on this one. It's a free country, and he's encouraging responsible skate boarding. Also weird that people feel threatened by a non-teenager on a skate board. There are plenty of things to be snarky about in Portlandia, but this isn't one of them.

We are at the nexus of cargo bikes, social justice (whatever that means), and the proud, non-ironic wearing of Che Guevara t-shirts:

http://bikeportland.org/2012/07/25/researcher-considers-cargo-bikes-as-tools-for-social-justice-75139

dm-It might surprise you to know that Tony Hawk, for one, was a major force in competitive skateboarding into his mid 30's, and is still considered an attractive fellow by the ladies, but he already has a nice family. Like any other sport that requires a high degree of skill, many people like to do it on a competitive, professional level, or just for fun as a lifelong sport despite what disapproval from more uptight elements of society.

In most other cities, this kind of video would clearly fall into the realm of fiction. But it's perfect Portlandia.

Safety Huey, nice run-though of the videotape. Now have a Mindsweeper coffee drink, pick up the pace, and try it again. Oh, and more action shots. Try Mt. Tabor.

You know I actually interviewed the man behind the skateboard ordinance - Charlie Hales - for Neighborhood Notes.

First, a lot of people seem to think I've been unfair to Jefferson Smith when all I did was use my judgement as a professional comedy writer to assess what a shaky dude he is. And he really is shaky. Earthquakes are a little shaky. Jefferson is really shaky.

I've been analyzing politicians for a national audience since 1993. That's actually downplaying it as many of these jokes bounce around the world on radio, television and the Internet. At least one even landed in Time Magazine.

I couldn't have lasted this long if I wasn't good at it - if my opinions didn't "resignate" (name that President and where he was when he said it: George W. Bush, Memorial Coliseum...Portland, Oregon.)

So I think this exchange with Charlie Hales proves I wasn't favoring him or trying to go easy on him:

BMCD: It's funny how some politicians are identified with one sort of wacky idea or another that follows them around. With you, it’d probably be the skateboard ordinance that basically said skateboarders have the same access to Portland’s streets as cars. It’s been quite a few years, so we can talk about it now. Was that one of those ideas you came up with at the office Christmas party, or did you lose a bet?

HALES: No, and I still think, as wacky as it was, it was a good idea, because the streets ought to be available to everybody who’s willing to use them safely.

BMCD: Wait, you’re sticking with that? You’re doubling down on the idea of skateboards mixing it up with cars?

HALES: As long as they’re wearing a helmet and a light at night, you bet.

There you have it. An idea so dumb that - other than a few hills - you don't even see skateboarders taking advantage of it. Go to Powell in rush hour and count the skateboarders heading home. They're not that dumb.

Tony Hawk made millions out of a professional skateboarding career.

He's got private health insurance, a great retirement fund, and can pay his own way if he becomes a quadripalegic.

Others engaged in high risk sports (sans insurance, or helmets) expect society pick up the tab if they ever get hurt.

These are the future 68 year olds who will whine that they can't live off their SSI checks, yet never bothered to save for their retirement.

Ironic Beard is no Tony Hawk.

If this guy is "Safety Huey" why does the t-shirt say 'Lou' in the upper RH corner?
And why is it OK to do a fancy slide to stop at an intersection? What if you miss calculate and slide right off the skate board and under the on coming vehicle? Seems pretty dumb to me.
So...I guess I am, just another grumpy old person....

Any form of transportation that uses the same technique as the cars in the Flintstones, shouldn't be out in modern traffic.

He is encouraging people to obey the laws and be considerate, and he probably didn't vote for Bush twice, so that's a good neighbor in my book.

I don't venture into traffic, but as a long time skateboarder, have from the time I started been subjected to the scorn and ridicule of various non-skaters. There's something about it that is just too free, fun, and 'risky' for the timid, and they resent it.

PN: What if someone slips off of their board and under a car? Very sad. Similar to multiple bad consequences when someone's foot slips off of a brake pedal, or stomps the accelerator thinking it's the brake, or hits a tree trying to catch a spilled coffee. Life can be scary.

Mr. T: What's your point? Only people who can get rich and buy great health insurance and a fat retirement plan should do action sports? There's not much worth doing that doesn't entail some risks, in my opinion. You have to manage them. And no, there aren't too many Tony Hawks in the world, but millions of skaters who enjoy their sport, and do so safely. They're stupid if they do it without insurance or helmets, but Safety Huey looks like the opposite of that, s?o why are you all wound up about him

What Standard said.

Yeah I'm with Standard as well. Seems like your standard eccentric Portland guy giving much needed safety tips to the kids.

Safety Huey for Mayor!

You should be happy that 16 year old boys have a way to meet and be coached by a responsible guy like Huey. Ongoing contact with people like Huey can only be a positive influence.