Storm Tharp & Jessica Jackson Hutchins
Make way for two local artists who are headed to the prestigious Whitney Biennial in New York City this month. Whether drawing or sewing, Tharp’s every artwork embodies a battle with his own virtuosity. Hutchins’s punk-infused collages are fueled by pure gut instinct. First food, now art—once again, New York ? Portland.

Denny Doyle
Put your feet up, Mayor Doyle. Your suburb, Beaverton, ranks lowest for crime in the Northwest and 47th lowest in the country, according to CQ Press’s City Crime Rankings 2009–2010. (Portland made 221st in the study.) Perhaps Mayor Doyle should consider a new town motto: Beaverton, the safest place in Oregon (unless you’re a baseball team).

Sandy Rowe
Sixteen years (and five Pulitzers) after taking the reins of the Oregonian, editor in chief Rowe is stepping down. A push from the paper’s new publisher, N. Christian Anderson? Nope. In an e-mail to staff, Rowe, 62, says she’s leaving to save jobs. Noble gesture or spin? Either way, Rowe had a storied, if occasionally bumpy, run. Let’s raise our glasses and pour her a double.

Ndamukong Suh
In December, this Grant High School grad cum gridiron hero for the Nebraska Cornhuskers became the first defensive tackle since 1994 to be a finalist for college football’s holy grail, the Heisman Trophy. As a shoo-in first-round NFL draft pick, his dance card is probably full. But what about a pre-dinner game of flag football?

Fariborz Maseeh
Portland State University’s top individual donor comes through again for his alma mater with a $3.9 million gift to the university’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics. From traffic modeling to climate change, PSU is now poised for leadership. And maybe between courses, he and Suh can crunch some numbers on recruits for the Vikings’ football squad.