Gossip should have no friends

[May 14th, 2008]

DASHING FOR DOLLARS: Forget next Tuesday’s primary, the real race is already under way. Although officials at the Port of Portland (which runs Portland International Airport) would not confirm rumors, CBS-TV’s The Amazing Race 13, which pits teams against each other in a race around the world, has touched down in Portland . Who knew? Well, as first reported on wweek.com, it was none other than local men’s-panties proprietor Steven Lien, of Under U 4 Men, who was pushed out of his parking spot to make way for the camera crew on Monday morning. Later, TAR13 crew members—alas, no Phil—confirmed the show’s presence while buying undies from Lien’s shop. While fan forums were at first dismissive of the notion that TAR13 was in town, it looks, at least from the blogs, that Portland is not only on the itinerary, but it’s the show’s final destination. And, better yet, it may all be going down at O’Bryant Square, a.k.a. Paranoid Park, the inspiration for Gus Van Sant’s film about punky Portland skaters.

BIG TEASE: Ryan Teal and his wife, DeAnnalyn, are excited, and it’s not just from all the aerosol they’ve been sniffing. The Portland couple’s been nominated in two categories—Fashion Forward and Salon Team —for the 19th annual North American Hairstyling Awards (that’d be the hairdressers’ answer to the Oscars). “It is a tremendous honor to be in the running for this award,” says Ryan. The Teals, who own Capello Salon and the European Institute of Cosmetology , where Ryan teaches fledgling hair-savvy students, will attend the dead-follicle hoopla this July in Vegas. Intrigued? Catch a free public “hair color show” at 7 pm Saturday, May 17, at the EIC School (2540 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., eicschool.com).

MEXICALI DEPRESSED: What a shame. WW has confirmed the rumors flying around town that two of the city’s beloved Mexican outposts, Taqueria Nueve and its sister operation in the Pearl, D.F., have closed. A family member of one of the business’ two owners, Billy Schumaker and Stephen Speiser , told WW Tuesday afternoon that the two businesses are indeed kaput. Neither owner has been available for comment. No closing messages have been recorded on either restaurant’s answering machine yet, but John Taboada of Navarre, which is located next to Nueve, noted that the Nueve dining room looks closed for business. “If they are closing, it’s heartbreaking,” he told WW. The shuttering, which was first noted on portlandfood.org Monday, comes as somewhat of a shock. Local diners commented online that D.F. was packed just last Friday night. Goodbye excellent wild boar tacos , you will be missed.

ALSO SPRACH EVERYBODY: Two weeks and 1,000 votes into WW’s 2008 Best of Portland readers’ poll, things are getting tense: Brandon Roy and Takayuki Suzuki are in a close tie for Best Local Athlete, Rick Emerson and Cort and Fatboy are battling it out for Best Local Radio Host (Who Isn’t Batshit Crazy), and geekinthecity.com is holding a decent lead over previous Best Local Blog winners portlandfoodanddrink.com and bojack.org. Make your voice heard—head to wweek.com/bop2008 to take the poll.

FINAL EXAM: Portland’s Paul Green School of Rock can now claim at least one alum has brought her rock-’n’-roll dreams to fruition. This April, 18-year-old vocalist Maiya Shambry was recruited by 63-year-old Yes frontman Jon Anderson to perform in four SoCal gigs as a member of his solo project. Anderson spotted the Grant High School student performing in concert with School of Rock’s West Coast All-Stars. While PDX’s School of Rock grooms kids ages 7 to 18 to be rock stars of the future, Shambry and her Rock School colleagues have been adopted by rock stars of the past. Founded in 1968, Yes comprises four members of a generation well acquainted with senior discounts and hip-replacement surgery. This summer, the School of Rock band will be opening for Yes on its 26-date “Close to the Edge and Back” tour of North America.