Gossip Should Have No Friends

By WW Editorial Staff
  1. MATT GROENING GOES POSTAL: Portland’s most successful doodler has won 11 primetime Emmy awards, but that’s nothing compared to the latest recognition of his work: The U.S. Postal Service announced last Friday that it will release a series of stamps honoring the Simpson family May 7. Fans and philatelists can pre-order stamps at usps.com/promotions/simpsons.htm, where you can also vote for your favorite family member, though we do not know to what end. This is great, and will make our holiday cards all the stranger, but when do we get a stamp for Cletus Spuckler?
  2. FOODAPOCALYPSE: As WW broke the news April 9 that the Mark Woolley Gallery will shutter May 30 (see page 52), locals also found out that Marco Shaw’s Beaumont neighborhood restaurant, Fife, would close May 3 after more than six years of business. The explanation? “We just needed a change,” Shaw told WW, after sending out a farewell email to customers noting that he’s moving out of state. The final dinner service will be May 2. Other closures in the last week include Iyara Thai at the Civic and Leonardo’s and District in the Pearl.
  3. RETURN OF THE ESKIMOS: Shimmering local pop outfit Eskimo Sons bowed out of the Portland music scene last September, going on indefinite hiatus after playing MusicfestNW last summer. But we’re happy to report that the reformed Eskimo Sons, now called Congratulations, will play its official Portland debut at WW’s Portland Makes Music concert series Sunday, May 3, at the Someday Lounge (for free!). Fittingly, the band will be accompanied by BFFs the Old Believers. Congratulations, indeed!
  1. SHOOT THIS: The New York Times recently asked readers to capture recession images that tell stories beyond numbers like the unemployment rate. WW was so taken with the project that we’re launching our own new photo contest called Shuttered Portland. Go to wweek.com/shuttered to learn how to submit a photoor record a message on how the recession is affecting you. All submissions will appear online at wweek.com, with the best entries printed in the newspaper and winning prizes! The deadline? Wednesday, April 22.

WWeek 2015

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.