SEATTLE - While her family prepares the dough for tomorrow's pizzas, Maria Porco, tries to keep a smile and positive outlook.
"You can't stay mad forever," said Porco whose family has owned Napoli Pizza since the 1970s.
During all those years they depended on a steady stream of customers flowing over the South Park Bridge just a few blocks away.
Business immediately fell off when the county closed the aging bridge due to safety concerns and the lunch crowd continues to be a mere slice of its former masses.
Locals, who watched Tuesday's demolition activities on the closed bridge deck, told us the project has drained the city streets of commuter and business traffic. And amateur historians are out getting photos of the old bridge before it is lost forever.
But it's not all doom and gloom on this economic island. The bridge farewell ceremonies and isolation have brought community members together. They are hosting Saturday farmers markets that bring in hundreds of visitors. They are promoting outdoor cinema nights that keep the diverse locals together and socializing, and this weekend organizers are hoping a massive garage, yard and street sale will pull in thousands of bargain hunters into the streets of the little community.
"You just have to stay positive," said Porco.
She and many other community members are hoping federal funding will come through to build a replacement bridge that would take years to build, but would keep dozens of hungry workers in the neighborhood.
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