- TORRES ON TV: Local comic Shane Torresâwho placed second in WWâs Funniest 5 poll last Novemberâwill appear on NBCâs Last Comic Standing, which returns this week after four years off the air. The elimination-style standup comedy competition is Torresâ first television appearance. Though he says he was mostly âhell-bent on not screwing it up,â Torres noted that judge Roseanne Barr gave him particular praise. âRoseanne was really nice to me,â Torres tells Scoop. âShe was very complimentary of my set. She said she really liked my subject matter and my writing.â As for the other contestants, Torres said there mercifully arenât any freak-show acts or âweird guys in chicken suitsâ this year. âEverybody was a comic,â he says. âEverybody had some credibility.â The show premieres Thursday, May 22. Portland audiences can also catch Torres at the Hollywood Theatre on May 30. >> In other comedy-on-TV news, NBCâs Undateable, co-starring former Portland standup Ron Funches, will make its debut May 29. The show had been pulled from the spring schedule so the stars could build enthusiasm with a live comedy tour. The network will air the episodes it ordered last year back-to-back.
- TABOR BUBBLING:Vancouverâs Mt. Tabor Brewing may be returning to Portlandâthough not to Mount Tabor. Brewmaster Eric Surface started the brewery on Southeast Stark Street in the Mount Tabor neighborhood, but moved across the river to cut costs. But on May 12, Surface filed a liquor license application to open a second, 15-barrel brewery in Buckman, at 124 SE 11th Ave. Surface says he expects to open a tasting room by November and will move main production to Portland while brewing âfun stuffâ in Vancouver. >> Meanwhile, First National Taphouse in Eugene plans to open a second location near Portland State University at 1962 SW 5th Ave. Seating for 168 patrons is planned, as is live music. The location in Eugene offers growler fills from 28 taps and a stock of single-barrel whiskeys. >> Coalition Brewing is planning to give up its taproom on Southeast Ankeny Street and become a distribution-only brewery. Last call will be May 31. Youâll still be able to get a beer at the location, though, which will become a pub called Tap That.
- TWO-WAY STREET: Multiple local news organizations are trumpeting Portlandâs position as âmost courteous driving city,â as self-reported by Portlanders in a 2,500-driver survey, conducted by a roadside-assistance service and released May 12. (Houston was the worst.) However, a study released this month shows Portlandâs driving courtesy may be selective. A U.S. Department of Transportation-funded study by PSUâs Tara Goddard and Kimberly Barsamian Kahn showed that among 168 pedestrian attempts to cross a street in downtown Portland, cars approaching crosswalks were half as likely to yield to black males as white males.
WWeek 2015