Gossip Should Have No Friends

[November 1st, 2006] PIX-UP Those wanting another fix of Cheryl Wakerhauser 's pint-sized sweet treats, available at her ever-expanding dessert emporium Pix PÂtisserie , will soon have a new, third location to load up on her delectable wonders. Wakerhauser told Scoop that her crew served their last bite-sized batch of bacon-wrapped dates and papas bravas at Bar Pastiche , the tapas joint she shared with Navarre's John Taboada, on Sunday night. The savory spot will close to make way for another of Wakerhauser's Pix outlets . The new Pix, located at 3731 SE Hawthorne Blvd., could open as early as next week.

BIG CAT NAP The Hungry Tiger will be taking a long hiatus starting Dec. 31. The venerable dive bar at 2800 E Burnside St. will be demolished to make way for a new four-story, 32-unit, mixed-use condominium project led by developer Randy Rapaport and designed by Holst Architecture, the team responsible for the Belmont Street Lofts. The new building will share the aesthetic of the Belmont with a wood-and-stucco facade, and tinged with modern Chinese design elements. The project will probably break ground next spring, and construction should take a year. The new building is being constructed by Hungry Tiger owners the Cohen family . The new development will take up two-thirds of the block that the Tiger has called home since the '70s, but it won't displace the bar permanently. The Cohens plan to reopen the Tiger in the same location once the building is complete. For those worried that the block will lose its funky character, Rapaport says the new building is "gonna be sick ."

FAT LADY AIN'T SINGIN' YET Portland Opera got a big (and much-needed) hand last week when the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation awarded the opera a $2.1 million grant —the largest in the company's history. The opera's tune turned a little dissonant last year when it posted its first deficit in nearly nine years, landing $1 million in the red. So does this new influx of funds mean we'll be seeing megaproductions with major stars (À la BeyoncÉ Knowles in "Carmen the Hip-Hopera")? Not likely, according to general director Christopher Mattaliano . "Our season repertoire is pretty well set through 2010," he told Scoop. "But the Miller award allows me to solidify those plans. You cannot have artistic health without financial health."

BARK ART "My dog could have painted that." Everyone's thought it at an art gallery from time to time—but could your dog paint it, sell it for up to four figures, publish a book and make dozens of national TV appearances? Local culture vultures get a chance to meet just such a pup at NoPo's Guestroom Gallery this Friday, Nov. 3. Tillamook Cheddar, a.k.a. Tilly, a Jack Russell terrier who has taken the Über-hip Brooklyn art scene by storm will demonstrate her frenetic working style, including unconventional painting methods like clawing, biting and growling, from 6 to 9 pm in a show to benefit DoveLewis Animal Hospital. Does Rama, Oregon Zoo's painting elephant, feel threatened by another four-legged artist in town? His publicists couldn't be reached for comment.

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WHAT YOU MISSED THIS WEEK ON WW'S LOCALCUT.COM Jason Simms asks Jello Biafra questions he's collected from only the most popular local punk bands, much to the dismay of certain unpopular punks. Read what the former Dead Kennedys frontman has to say about President Bush's illiteracy, legalizing torture, bicycles and being in a band with you—then read the backlash...Cool Nutz runs for office! Watch Mr. Nutz's campaign video...Simms gets mesmerized by Ghosting at the Haunted House while wearing twigs and a Hitler mustache...More on Mark Baumgarten's breakup with WW, and the naming of his successor (who just so happens to be our first female music editor), the lovely Amy McCullough...Plus, MP3s from Stovokor and Smegma.