Gossip should have no friends

MONICA MONTHLY? Who says a girl can't get ahead in this town? While most city mags in the U.S. are downsizing, Portland Monthly Publisher Nicole Vogel is ramping up her efforts. On top of her current stable of glossies (including Portland Monthly Bride & Groom and two city mags in Seattle), Scoop's heard whispers that Vogel is about to launch her own local version of House & Garden. And who will helm this new rag? Well, the buzz is that it will be none other than Oregonian art/architecture critic Randy Gragg (his last day at that paper was May 11). Makes sense. His girlfriend, Camela Raymond, is already on the masthead as PM's Arts and Home editor. >> What doesn't make as much sense, but could be a huge PR coup for Vogel and her crew, is that she's this close to hiring the most famous intern of all time, Monica Lewinsky, for a marketing position. More than one source told us Lewinsky and Vogel were spotted having lunch last week (although Scoop could not get ahold of Vogel to confirm by press time). Can you imagine what that meeting went like? Vogel all, "How ya doing, honey?" and Lewinsky, demurely, "All right...[airy sigh]...I guess." Scoop can't wait until Vogel gives Tonya Harding her own sports magazine.

WHEELER DEALER World traveler and all-around wacky gal Patty Merrill has just returned from Indonesia with a container of imported goods for Cargo, her massive experiment in retail therapy on Northwest 13th Avenue. Not content to just grab any old thing off the streets of Jakarta, Merrill purchased an entire business right out from under a street vendor for $40. OK, so it was a bike covered in toys and other gewgaws (like the ones that pedal up and down the Rose Fest parade route), but it was the grateful street vendor's best day of business ever. Go capitalism! Merrill says she doesn't want to sell it, but rather add it to the collection of alternative vehicles she's collected from across the globe.

STANLEY WATERS RUN DEEP Ever wonder what happened to WW cover subject Stanley Waters ("Untapped Waters," WW, Sept. 7, 2005)? Hear for yourself, when the amazing self-taught pianist plays 7-9 pm Thursday, May 24, at Joseph L. Meek Technical School (4039 NE Alberta St.). Waters and other teenagers from Portland Night High School and the Old Library Studio will perform to celebrate the release of their first CD. The new compilation features songs created by at-risk teens from both Night High and Joe Meek recorded at the Old Library Studio.

WEB-ONLY SCOOP:

BLIND ITEM What becomes a restaurant most? Good food. And celeb-spotting (not counting budding alt-rockers and movie directors—though the latter are rare in li'l ol' P-town). That's why Scoop got so hyped up when it heard that one of the Northwest's most buzzed-about and bustling numerical haute spots is about to host a music maker who is anything but ordinary for a bit of noshing and hob-Nobbing. Can't tell you where, when or who (Scoop would like to eat at this place again) but, suffice to say, it won't be the first time the nimble-fingered mystery gent has had a chance to dine on the cuisine of these masterful chefs.