Gossip Should Have No Friends

[August 9th, 2006] WE'VE GOT BALLS! Next week, Portland gets its first taste of futsal, the game to blame for World Cupper Ronaldinho's divine dribbling. Huge in Brazil, futsal is like soccer—but played indoors with a smaller, heavier ball. Paul Lomanto's Portland Futsal (portlandfutsal.com) is slated to open Aug. 21 in Southeast Portland. Besides three futsal courts, the facility boasts a two-story spectator lounge, soccer-tuned big screens and free video games . Lomanto's soccer credentials are legit: He played in college, worked the Nike Soccer account for Wieden & Kennedy, and helped develop the FIFA Street soccer video games for EA Sports. Plus, he's Argentine .

BOOKSENSE When Powell's Books announced in April that Emily Powell would be installed as director of Used Books, it was a sign that Emily, the 27-year-old granddaughter of the biblio-goliath's founder, was being groomed to take over Powell's leadership from her father, Michael, within a few years. But Emily's ascendancy timetable may have just been shortened: A TravelOregon.com advertising supplement in the Aug. 7 & 14 New Yorker, headlined "Wonders of Portland, Oregon," has a full-page photo of Emily (in a come-hither librarian pose) across from this text: "The Oregon 'Mayor ': By which we mean one very small person who is perched at the helm of a beloved institution called the City of Books which is the unofficial Town Hall of the City of Portland...." Makes sense: As mayors go—official or unofficial—Emily's a lot easier on the eyes than her dad or Tom Potter.

MODEL CITIZEN Cloaked in naked man-flesh , the downtown Abercrombie & Fitch clothing boutique is still under reconstruction. Does that mean all's quiet on the beefcake beat? Hell no, University of Oregon student Adam Block , on only his second modeling gig for P-town's own Q-6 agency, just finished working with the legendary shooter Bruce Weber for Abercrombie's 2006 holiday catalog. A 6-foot-2-inch, brown-eyed 19-year-old newbie, Block got shot on Bowen Island in Vancouver, B.C., and spent his downtime taking advantage of the fact that the drinking age in British Columbia is just 19.

NEWS ON OUR DOORSTEP Gays and gals lost out on the best place to view wiener-wiggling when Stark Street's Three Sisters Tavern shut its doors two years ago. But now there's a new Three Sisters, and it's right next door to WW at the corner of Northwest 22nd Avenue and Quimby Street! The vibe is a bit different: Its creator, developer Marty Kehoe, calls it a beautiful spot for people to "bring their kids and enjoy themselves." KIDS?? Yes, apparently Kehoe decided that P-town needed an urban oasis called Three Sisters Park more than a notorious strip club. Commissioner Dan Saltzman was on hand last Monday for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, applauding Kehoe's decision to build and maintain the park with his own funds. Saltzman's support for the new Three Sisters makes sense, since he not only oversees the Portland Parks and Recreation division but also publicly dated an ex-stripper.

THIS WEEK ON WW's LOCALCUT.COM Portland soul songstress Liv Warfield receives the distinctly awkward honor of opening for Dave Matthews Band >> Sub Pop announces the release of Echoes of the Past, a two-disk Dead Moon retrospective, to the relief of fans who are overwhelmed by DM's 20-year, 50-release catalogue. >> WW's very own Doppler 5000 Gaydar, Byron Beck, keeps you posted on Storm's Rock Star: Supernova progress. >> The Clorox Girls start reporting from Mexico and SoCal. >> Local Cutters sling live reviews like it's their job. Oh, it is.