Capitol Hill Gentrification

Gentrification proceeds apace on Capitol Hill. Usually I stick to 12th Avenue exclusively on my to and fro work. In the last year it has become a hub of construction. Between East Denny and East Pine there are three good-size sites that look to be residential and mixed-used development; sidewalks are blocked for lengthy stretches.

But tonight, walking back from Pioneer Square where I picked up my race packet for Sunday's St. Paddy's Dash, I decided to treat myself to Taqueria Guaymas on Broadway. It recently moved from it's location on Broadway and East Union to one block north between Pike and Pine. Working the register tonight was a guy who I recognize from many years of patronizing his establishment; he said that the landlord raised the rent $1,300 a month at the old spot, which had a lot of seating and big windows. There's a Chipotle there now. When I walked by it was chock full of young women students.

The guy said while his new location is much smaller (it's tiny), there's a constant stream of foot traffic; he said even though there's just one block difference between the old and new location, you would never know based on the number of passersby. I said it must be due to the closeness of Seattle Central Community College and being smack dab between Pike and Pine.

Walking home on Broadway past Seattle Central and the post office I realized that nearly all the old Hippie places have been demolished. The big wipe-out occurred on the east side of Broadway between Howell and John when the Capitol Hill light rail station began development several years ago; that side of Broadway had lots of "Head" vibe; all gone now. There's still some independent, non-corporate commerce to be found on the blocks of Broadway around Thomas Street near my apartment building, but they're disappearing fast and will probably be completely gone in a few years.

The Government Crackdown on Occupy

There is a good post today on naked capitalism; it provides a rundown on the story from last week that the FBI, in coordination with the banking sector and the Department of Homeland Security, surveilled Occupy Wall Street and turned a blind eye to an assassination plot targetting OWS participants (which David Lindorff writes about this weekend on the Counterpunch web site).

No surprise here. For a few months at the end of 2011 things looked hopeful, like the people were going to rise up and push back against the plutocracy. This of course got the domestic security apparatus scrambling.

I supported the Occupy movement in Seattle by participating in rallies at the original Westlake Park encampment. I also gave a modest amount of money every month to Occupy Seattle. My local union donated food and supplies. When the camp relocated to Seattle Central Community College I stopped by and visited Fridays after work. Originally it was a clean, well-run tent city; then, after the rains came in November, an appearance of squalor took hold. The arrival of inclement weather and Bloomberg's razing of the Zuccotti Park encampment proved to be hurdles too high for the movement to clear.