Seattle, 21:30 Wed 1 Dec 1999

[Donald Galt]

Not particularly on topic, but perhaps of interest:

The waterfront streetcar was closed this afternoon for a planned protest 
march.

Trolleybuses ran on Third Avenue today until about 4:00 PM or so, when the 
street was cut off by protesters.

The overhead most commonly seen on TV is on Pine Street, out of service 
this week.

The curfew is on again, and ALL downtown service was cut off at 7:00, 
including the tunnel. According to the alert, through north-south routes 
tonight pass through the city without stopping; trolley routes 2, 10, 12, 43
turn back at 9th Avenue & Madison on the east, 3/4 at Aloha Street (Seattle
Center East) and 1, 2, 13 at Thomas Street (S.C. West); 3/4, 14, 36 run 
from 5th & Jackson; 7 runs straight through as if it were 9. All this assumes 
that Broadway is passable.

I've heard something secondhand about a bonfire up on Capitol Hill, but 
nothing is on the TV news for another hour (prime time, y'know!)

The biggest show at the 7 PM curfew hour was a group that had engaged in 
a sit-in at 3d and Pine (therefore stopping the trolleys - at least I THINK it
was this group, though the news was a little confused) which chanted 
mantra, then announced that it would disperse voluntarily. For a while it 
looked a little dicey as the cops appeared to be threatening as the hour 
approached, but in the end the group marched en masse north on 4th 
Avenue to Denny and out of the curfew area. Whatever you might have 
thought of them, it was a very Seattle conclusion.

There were some other late-afternoon confrontations, mostly with well-fed 
young folk who didn't appear to have any real agenda save a gripe with the 
police. Pending further evidence to the contrary, I'd venture the hope that the 
real troublemakers stayed away tonight.

Don