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Seattle Community Network |
Tuesday
September 26, 2000 |
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September 26
"... Guidebooks have hit the streets! They can be picked up at any of the following locations:
Pratt Fine Arts Center
"... To hear the old-timers tell... Seattle of the 60's and 70's was a wilderness of semi-abandoned Victorian warehouses where any artist could squat on an entire floor, chase out the rats, install a kitchen, and make art for $100 a month. "But with the coming of Microsoft and the new Information Economy Seattle is 'arguably the wealthiest city on the planet' according to Mayor Paul Schell, and he is probably right. "Gentrification is inevitable and inescapable: Belltown, once another district of cheap warehouses... is today an antiseptic canyonland of 'luxury' condos made of styrene sheets and spray concrete, and faux-Asian restaurants... "Those loft buildings in Pioneer Square once filled with cheap live-work space... The new tenants are young software industry technocrats, cyber-libertarians... with little interest in supporting the artistic life of the community ... "Seattle's stock of undesirable neighborhoods is virtually zero. We are ringed with suburban sprawl of California proportions. The last affordable neighborhoods... are now bagain-hunting grounds for thirty-something white couples in SUV's, prowling the streets looking for realtor's signs. "The few remaining industrial areas of the city are hostile to artists, because they know that when artists move in, gentrification, tax increases, and zoning restrictions are not far behind. ... "So where does this leave artists? Seattle has one of the highest per-capita populations of artists in the nation. There is a tremendous amount of good art being made here, in basements in the Central District, in garages on Beacon Hill, in derelict office blocks in Ballard, in the few remaining artist buildings downtown. "There is, however, a shortage of places where an interested person can see any of it. ... A few alternative galleries cling to spaces they can afford; people show works in their studios, in their living rooms. "Hundreds of overpriced restaurants. Thousands of shops full of useless tchochkes. Dozens of hidden security cameras. An army of rent-a-cops to keep the homeless away. And no more pesky artists. Welcome to our brave new Seattle."
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September 24 - 30
Seattle Site of the Week: 
Community Coalition for Environmental Justice
Volunteering with CCEJ
"Toxic waste is heavily concentrated in South Seattle neighborhoods. ... We are identifying pollution sources, providing this information to the community and developing an action plan for creating solutions to environmental problems. "... South Park. Contaminated sites are heavily concentrated in this area. We have been successful in calling attention to resident complaints about pollution and the non responsiveness of regulatory agencies to their concerns. "We have initiated a health risk investigation near major sources of pollution in the neighborhood and inter-agency communication on major sources of pollution in the area. ... "CCEJ has an environmental justice library with videos, books, newspaper articles, reports, and newsletters. Feel free to stop by when we are available to browse, borrow or copy information. ... "If you would like a speaker or more information about environmental justice issues, please give us a call. "CCEJ is working in partnership with the American Lung Association's Master Home Environmentalist Program and the Seattle Public Utilities to raise awareness about household hazardous waste, environmental justice, and air pollution. "We provide 4-week trainings to residents of South Seattle neighborhoods. Trainees then conduct outreach in their communities to 'pass on' the information we've provided. "If you would like to volunteer, please give us a call at (206) 720-0285. "CCEJ is recruiting energetic individuals to join our board of directors. Youth, seniors, women, indigenous people, and people of color, are strongly encouraged to apply. We are especially seeking individuals who are active in communities of color on social justice issues and seek individuals with connections to funders." |