Cinerama lives!!! Last night, at its opening night gala, the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) announced its acquisition of Seattle Cinerama. Seattle's most epic movie-going experience has been gathering dust since the month before the pandemic—enough time for the chocolate popcorn scent to finally fade. SIFF purchased the theater from Vulcan, the company owned by the late Paul Allen. The film org plans to reopen the place around fall, and it will keep most of its programming. 

Enough good news, back to our regularly scheduled programming: As Hannah mentioned yesterday morning, King County Metro is giving 4% of its routes the chop starting in September. Here are the unlucky routes that will not live to see another spring: 15, 16, 18, 29, 55, 64, 114, 121, 167, 190, 214, 216, 217, 232, 237, 268, 301, 304, 320 and 342. Maybe SIFF will buy these routes and give them a second life. 

CNN's defense of the Trump town hall: CNN is receiving a lot of flack for platforming and legitimizing impeached president/sexual abuser/on-trial-for-a-variety-of-alleged-crimes Donald Trump and his 2024 presidential campaign. It's like, did we learn nothing from 2016, CNN? Anyway, Anderson Cooper went to bat for the decision: 

Subway choker faces charges: Daniel Penny, the 24-year-old U.S. Marine veteran who killed a homeless man in a chokehold on a New York subway train earlier this month, faces second-degree manslaughter charges. He will appear at an arraignment today. 

Swatting schools: Some low-life called in fake 911 calls about mass shooters at schools across Western Washington on Thursday, sending schools into lockdowns. School districts in Shelton, Port Angeles, and Port Townsend confirmed the threats, according to KIRO 7. Four different law enforcement agencies arrived at Shelton High School after reports of a student with an AR-15. They determined the call was fake after sweeping the school, and likely terrifying students, staff, and parents. 

Calling all Kyles: Kyle, Texas wants everyone named Kyle to flock to the first-ever Kyle Fair, which will run from May 19 to May 21. The town wants to beat the world record for the largest meeting of people with the same first name. The current record was set in 2017 by 2,325 men named Ivan who gathered in Bosnia. “We need tall Kyles, short Kyles, young Kyles and old Kyles,” the city announced in April, writes the New York Times.

The Seattle Kraken did not win the hockey game against the Texas Stars last night. The Stars lead the playoff series 3-2.

Headline of the week: "Loch Ness Monster hunter: I thought this job would be easier"

Downtown Seattle stutters back to life: According to cell phone data, Seattle’s downtown only saw 48% of pre-pandemic activity this winter. That places Seattle's downtown at 53rd on a list of 63 cities tracking post-COVID recoveries. Still, those numbers were up from 44% last winter. And, why are we gathering this data in winter? Do these pollsters know nothing about the Big Dark and how it whittles away at our desire to leave our little hovels? Anyway, throw these polls away. Once the Cinerama is back, my ass will be in downtown way more. Though, my dentist is down there, so my cellphone data was already factored in, I bet. 

ICYMI: Deportation flights return to Boeing Field: Back in 2019, King County Executive Dow Constantine put a stop to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) using the King County International Airport, or Boeing Field, to deport immigrants. ICE then had to transport migrants via bus to Yakima's airport and deport out of there. ICE sued King County over the ban. They won and now deportation flights have resumed. 

Good luck withstanding the elements: The sun will be bright this weekend. Please don't wilt. 

National Weather Service issues "excessive heat watch": The watch starts Saturday and ends Monday. If it gets to hot for you or someone you're looking at, here's a link to a cooling center near you. The NWS recommends staying hydrated, easing into temperature changes (the lakes and rivers are cold, so wade into them), and trying to find some AC. 

YouTuber intentionally crashed plane for views, faces prison time: In December 2019, YouTuber Trevor Jacob, 29, flew his plane from the Santa Barbara airport. Thirty-five minutes after take-off, he parachuted out of the plane and let it crash into the Los Padres National Forest. Jacob filmed his descent and, after hiking up to the crash site, recovered footage from the cameras he mounted on the plane. The video of his crash has 2.9 million views. Jacob later removed the wreckage and destroyed it. He faces up to 20 years in prison for obstructing a federal investigation. 

Cheating fisherman sentenced: Last fall, two fisherman tried to win the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament by stuffing weights inside their fish. The tournament awards the fisherman who caught the five heaviest fish with a $28,760 prize. Found out for their fraudulent fish, the men were disqualified. Now, they must serve 10 days in jail, and each must pay a $3,500 fine. Additionally, their fishing licenses were revoked for three years, the maximum amount of time allowed by law. 

ICYMI: Here's the incredibly dramatic video of the weighted fish fiasco: