Gossip should have no friends

[March 26th, 2008]

BUZZED FOR BARACK: Sunnyside coffeeshop Mojo’s Coffee Den (2816 SE Stark St., 231-3936) threw its hat in the ring March 23 with its first Obama Sunday : Owner Ray Horn is donating 10 percent of the shop’s gross receipts to the Obama campaign “for as long as it takes.” This isn’t Horn’s first venture into political fundraising. Horn, the former owner of the Clackamas County News, collected $1,700 for the Kerry campaign through “Anybody But Bush Sundays” in 2004 (see WW, “Double Espresso, Hold the ‘W,’” Jan. 7, 2004).

LANE TO LANG: When Pennie Trumbull , the managing director for Oregon150—a celebration of this state’s sesquicentennial in 2009—spotted K.D. Lang across Bluehour ’s crowded dining room Friday night, she knew exactly what to say. “Welcome to the Beaver State!” Pennie politely told the Canadian crooner. Professing a love for all things Oregon (in fact, Scoop knew one of her ex-girlfriends), Lang, who did the music for Gus Van Sant’s Oregon-filmed Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, told Lane that “Portland was the best city in America.”

BITE ME: Speaking of rating U.S. cities, PDX usually ranks pretty high in the areas of strip clubs and bikes and food. But all that good eatin’ has led Men’s Health magazine to rank us as one of the cities with the worst teeth in America. Squeezed in between El Paso and Tulsa, Portland ranks a gutter-smacking No. 94 out of the 100 U.S. cities listed in the “best and worst teeth” list. Men’s Health ratings were based on stats from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and included the number of folks who make (and miss) their annual checkups and the number of households with fluoride on tap. Fluoridation backers have tried—and failed—many times to mandate fluoridation in Oregon. “It doesn’t surprise me that Oregon has a higher rate of patients that have limited access to oral health care,” says Portland dentist Todd L. Beck. “But my experience is that my patients are more preventively minded.” Just like the folks in Madison, Wis., and Nashville (Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, on the happy teeth list).

CORRECTIONS: In last week’s Visual Arts review we botched the name of photographer Corey Arnold (we named him Casey). Also, in Dish’s Table Scraps column we wrote that Janice Martin’s new sake spot Tanuki was at 413 NW 23rd Ave. It’s actually located at 413 NW 21st Ave. WW regrets the errors.

AND WE’RE SPENT: WW is proud to debut Pocket Shop, a pint-sized guide to 259 awesome places to shop in Portland, from sweet shoe stores and boutiques to competent computer repair and perfect pet shops. And, since we want you to save your pennies to spend on stuff for yourself, it’s free. The limited-edition guide is only available—where else?—at an array of shops around town. The list of locations is too long to print, but you can stop by Powell’s Books, Jackpot Records, Stumptown Coffee, New Seasons, Crystal Ballroom, Ace Hotel, Everyday Music and the Pioneer Courthouse Square Visitor Center to find your guide.

Visit wweek.com/pocketshop for a full list of places where you can nab a copy of Pocket Shop.