KPLU-Humanosphere’s event at Seattle Town Hall — Can Seattle Save the World? – was clearly a huge hit, drawing in an estimated 700 people on Tuesday night. Yes, the title was a bit goofy. We intended it so.

Obviously, people here care a great deal. Global health, global poverty and social justice are hot topics in this community, which I dubbed off-the-top-of-my-head “do-gooder central” at the event.

If you’ve ever danced around a Maypole, you’re taking part in a ritual that goes back 1000’s of years, before the invention of the nuclear family but after the invention of alcohol and sex.

Boeing’s CEO says it was likely sloppy work, not a design flaw, that resulted in a hole in a Southwest Airlines jet. On April 1st, a Boeing 737 developed a 5-foot tear in the roof while in flight.

Seattle wants to know what teenagers have to say about city government. It’s looking for thirteen to nineteen-year-olds for the Seattle Youth Commission.

Making headlines around the Northwest this morning:

• Boeing 1st Quarter Profits Exceed Wall Street Expectation
• Wintery Weather Hangs on in Washington Mountains
• Lies Hurt, say Tacoma City Officials
• EPA Divers to Survey Sunken Vessel in Seattle

Boeing Profits Exceed Wall Street Expectations

Boeing reports a first-quarter profit of $586 million, enough to beat analyst expectations. The big airplane maker and defense contractor earned 78 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had been expecting a profit of 70 cents per share. Boeing says it still expects to deliver the new 787 during the third quarter. Revenue in the commercial airplane unit fell 5 percent.

You can hear me attempt to pronounce that headline at the end of this Food for Thought. It's the Polish for Bon Appetit, literally "eat well" and we certainly did.

Two pre-teen girls in King County have been charged with cyberstalking for allegedly posing as another girl on Facebook and posting sexually explicit pictures and messages.  If convicted of first degree computer trespass, the Middle School students face up to 30 days in juvenile detention.

One of the most difficult challenges at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is moving radioactive waste from point “A” to point “B.” The federal government is spending billions of dollars on a waste treatment plant. Piping that radioactive waste across the desert is sort of like getting ketchup out of a bottle. But it’s a whole lot more complicated and dangerous.

UPDATE: Advance ticket sales have ended. However, additional tickets are available at the door tonight for $10 - cash only, starting at 6pm.

For those who would like to use Twitter to follow and participate, or even suggest questions now, see #SEAsaves and chime in. My colleague Charla Bear has graciously agreed to live-blog the event on Humanosphere and KPLU.

Here are a few thoughts in advance of tonight's event...

[UPDATE/CORRECTION: Bumbershoot's Visual Arts Exhibits will move from the Northwest Rooms to Seattle Center Pavilion and the adjacent courtyard.]

The Space Needle’s owners get a Chihuly museum, a community radio station gets a new home and Bumbershoot’s visual art space gets, well, nobody seems to be sure.

Police in Seattle and King County will soon be trained in the importance of talking.  They’ll learn to treat people with respect as a way of diffusing tense situations.  Law enforcement officials hope the new approach helps build trust with the community.

It’s official. The University of Washington’s next president will be Michael K. Young. The Board of Regents says the current president of the University of Utah is the right person to lead UW at a time of shrinking state financial support.

Here's what's making headlines around the Northwest this morning:

• Hazmat Team Responds to Spill at Tacoma Waterfront
• FAA Fires Controller Who Fell Asleep at Boeing Field
• Tacoma Boy Charged in Pt. Defiance Arson
• Seattle OKs Taller Buildings for South Downtown

Hazardous Chemical Spills in Port of Tacoma

A Tacoma Fire Department hazmat crew is cleaning up a chemical spill that was discovered as workers were unloading a cargo container from a ship at the Port of Tacoma, according to KCPQ-TV.

What is Google's business plan? The company, fueled by its successful search engine, seems to be going off in a zillion different directions: Android, Youtube, Gmail, Voice, Maps, Blogger, Picasa, and Docs, just to name a few. Many Google products are given away for free. 

Analysts have recently noted Google's expenditures are rising faster than its revenues. This comes as no surprise to our technology commentator, Strategic News Service publisher Mark Anderson. It reinforces what he said about Google in his list of predictions for 2011.