Do you go to the Portland Perl Mongers meetings? They're probably one of the most active groups in the world (seriously). They also have some of the most well-known Perl hackers on the planet. That's a fantastic resource.

And of course they have a mailing list. Heck, we have quite a few hackers outside of Portland who sign up for this list just to keep their finger on the pulse (and unlike London.pm, much of the conversation's about Perl :) Of course, since I've fled the country, perhaps I'm not really a pdx.pm member any more, but it's the thought that counts.