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Occupy SF brings unexpected life to dormant park
John King, Chronicle Urban Design Critic
Monday, October 31, 2011
Whatever you think of the politics, and whatever happens in the days to come, give Occupy San Francisco credit for this: It has activated a park that sat dormant for 10 years.
The ragtag ensemble of tents and tables, political art and communal blankets also is living proof that in the long run, urban spaces take on a life of their own.
The encampment - sorry Mayor Lee, but that's what it is - fills a grassy rectangle south of Justin Herman Plaza along the Embarcadero. It includes a raised palm-lined walkway facing the Ferry Building and is named after union organizer Harry Bridges, who surely is smiling down on its politicized current state.
The space opened in 2000 on land vacant since the removal of the elevated Embarcadero Freeway in 1991. From then until now it has been a primly designed place apart, filling up only when a marathon or some other event needs support space.
People had ideas but the ideas did not take.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/30/BAI31LO36M.DTL#ixzz1cOt3FHR2
CITY INSIDER
Occupy SF resolution showdown
Rachel Gordon, Heather Knight
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
In setting up a possible political showdown with Mayor Ed Lee, San Francisco supervisors will consider a resolution today supporting Occupy SF demonstrators' right to set up a full-functioning encampment without the threat of a police shutdown.
The resolution was approved Monday by the Board of Supervisors' City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee.
If approved, the nonbinding resolution would put the city on record recognizing that peaceful "free speech and freedom of assembly should not be limited to daytime nor short-term activities" and that "the full exercise of such rights recognizes that participants are able to attend to the needs of every day life and have a space free from harassment," said Supervisor John Avalos, the chief sponsor.
Those everyday needs include shelter and access to first-aid supplies, food and bathrooms.
Joining Avalos as sponsors of the legislation are Supervisors David Campos, Jane Kim and Eric Mar.
Avalos is running against Lee in the Nov. 8 election for mayor. The Occupy SF movement has become a simmering issue in the race that has a field of 16 candidates.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/31/BAOO1LOMP8.DTL#ixzz1cURUgw5I
OAKLAND, California — Thousands of anti-Wall Street protesters marched in the streets of Oakland on Wednesday as they geared up with labor unions to picket banks, take over foreclosed homes and vacant buildings and disrupt operations at the nation's fifth-busiest port.
Demonstrators in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia held solidarity actions Wednesday. In Seattle, protesters planned to descend on a speech scheduled Wednesday evening by Chase Bank's chief executive officer.
In Oakland, demonstrators, elected officials and business leaders expressed optimism that the widely anticipated "general strike" would be a peaceful event for a city that last week became a rallying point after police used tear gas to clear an encampment outside City Hall and then clashed with protesters in the street. An Iraq War veteran was injured in the melee.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45134339/ns/us_news-life/
Mayor Ed Lee softens stance on Occupy SF camp in Justin Herman Plaza
A week after making it sound as if a raid on the Occupy SF encampment at Justin Herman Plaza was imminent, Mayor Ed Lee appeared to soften his stance Tuesday on dismantling the tent city.
Lee held a closed-door meeting at City Hall with representatives of Occupy SF, which is part of a nationwide protest movement against wealth inequality in America. Lee signaled that The City will work with the demonstrators to facilitate their First Amendment rights while collaborating with them to maintain sanitation and public safety.
Lee stopped short of making any specific agreement with the group, but the mayor has recently backed off statements that he would “draw the line” at overnight camping. City codes prevent camping on public sidewalks and in parks, and the gathering was raided twice by police last month. There are currently about 200 to 300 people regularly camping at the plaza site.
Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/11/mayor-ed-lee-softens-stance-occupy-sf-camp-justin-herman-plaza#ixzz1cbCw7em1
Thousands of Occupy protesters disrupt busy port
OAKLAND, Calif. — Several thousand Occupy Wall Street demonstrators gathering in Oakland forced a halt to operations at the nation's fifth busiest port Wednesday evening, escalating a movement whose tactics had largely been limited to marches, rallies and tent encampments since it began in September.
A protester sleeps under a blanket at the Occupy Oakland encampment Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. Oakland is bracing for Wednesday's citywide general strike, a hastily planned and ambitious action called by Occupy protesters a day after police forcibly removed their City Hall encampment last week. The union representing Oakland's police officers, who had a violent clash with Occupy Wall Street protesters last week, has written an open letter to residents, pointing out that the officers are also part of "the 99 percent." The letter also questions the mayor's decision to give city workers the day off to participate in a Wednesday strike that seeks to shut down the Port of Oakland. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Traffic moves through the busy Port of Oakland area Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. The port area could be the target for protesters as Oakland braces for Wednesday's citywide general strike, a hastily planned and ambitious action called by Occupy protesters a day after police forcibly removed their City Hall encampment last week. The union representing Oakland's police officers, who had a violent clash with Occupy Wall Street protesters last week, has written an open letter to residents, pointing out that the officers are also part of "the 99 percent." The letter also questions the mayor's decision to give city workers the day off to participate in a Wednesday strike that seeks to shut down the Port of Oakland. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
A sign is seen posted between tents at the Occupy Oakland encampment Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. Oakland is bracing for Wednesday's citywide general strike, a hastily planned and ambitious action called by Occupy protesters a day after police forcibly removed their City Hall encampment last week. The union representing Oakland's police officers, who had a violent clash with Occupy Wall Street protesters last week, has written an open letter to residents, pointing out that the officers are also part of "the 99 percent." The letter also questions the mayor's decision to give city workers the day off to participate in a Wednesday strike that seeks to shut down the Port of Oakland. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Protester Alexis Marvel, of Boston, front, holds an American flag and shouts slogans while joining with members of the Occupy Boston movement, students from area colleges, and union workers as they march through downtown Boston, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011. The march was held to protest the nations growing student debt burden.
Police estimated that a crowd of about 3,000 had gathered at the Port of Oakland by about 5 p.m. PDT. Some had marched from the city's downtown, while others had been bused to the port.
Port spokesman Isaac Kos-Read said maritime operations had effectively been shut down, and interim Oakland police chief Howard Jordan warned that protesters who went inside the port's gates would be committing a federal offense.
In Philadelphia, protesters were arrested earlier Wednesday as they held a sit-in at the headquarters of cable giant Comcast. Military veterans marched in uniform in New York, angry at their dim job prospects. And parents and their kids, some in strollers, formed a "children's brigade" to join the Oakland, Calif., rallies.
"There's absolutely something wrong with the system," said Jessica Medina, a single mother who attends school part time and works at an Oakland café. "We need to change that."
In Los Angeles, New York and other cities, demonstrators held their own rallies in solidarity with the Oakland protesters, who called for Wednesday's "general strike" after the city became a rallying point last week when an Iraq War veteran was injured in clashes with police.
Protesters, city officials and business leaders were optimistic the strike would be peaceful, and there was little to no visible police presence all day.
Although windows at two bank branches and a Whole Foods store were broken and graffiti was painted inside one of the banks, officials described the protests as peaceful and orderly and said no arrests had been made.
"It is important to acknowledge the word is watching Oakland tonight," city administrator Deanna Santana said as demonstrators began to gather at the port. "And we need to ensure it remains a safe place for everyone."
Potentially minimizing any significant disruptions at the port, leaders of the longshoremen's union said they could not call for members to join the protests under their contract with the port.
Organizers say they want to stop the "flow of capital." The port sends goods primarily to Asia, including wine as well as rice, fruits and nuts, and handles imported electronics, apparel and manufacturing equipment, mostly from Asia, as well as cars and parts from Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai.
Craig Merrilees, spokesman for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, said its members were not being called to strike, but that they supported the protesters.
The members "are supporting the concerns raised by Occupy Oakland and the Occupy movement to speak up for the 99 percent and against the corporate greed that is wrecking America," Merrilees said.
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/thousands-of-occupy-protesters-1215225.html
OAKLAND, Calif. — A peaceful protest that shut down the
Port of Oakland to show the broadening reach of the Occupy Wall
Street movement ended in violence when police in riot gear arrested
dozens of protesters overnight who broke into a vacant building,
shattered downtown windows, sprayed graffiti and set blazes along the way.
At least four protesters were hospitalized Thursday with various
injuries, including one needing stitches after fighting with an
officer, police said. Several officers were also injured but didn't
need hospitalization.
"We go from having a peaceful movement to now just chaos,"
protester Monique Agnew, 40, said early Thursday.
Protesters also threw concrete chunks, metal pipes, lit roman
candles and molotov cocktails, police said. At least 100 people have been arrested.
The far-flung movement of protesters challenging the world's
economic systems and distribution of wealth has gained momentum...
http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/occupy-protesters-shut-down-port-oakland/nFTLQ/
OAKLAND -- After a night of confrontations with police and 80 arrests in downtown Oakland, people on both sides of the fence were in damage-control mode, with Occupy Oakland organizers and city officials trying to figure out what to do next.
In the late morning Occupy campers met for three hours and reached an anti-vandalism consensus that will be presented at Thursday night's general assembly for a vote.
They were also discussing whether to apologize for the destruction. The group decided that instead of formal apology, they would tell the busineses that they regret what happened and offer to help.
"It's not about anarchists versus liberals, it's about (expletive) versus occupy Oakland," said the meeting facilitator.
Milani, a camper who did not want to give a last name, spoke against apologizing to businesses. She said it wasn't just outsiders committing vandalism.
"The person I saw putting toilet paper up, they're a facilitator at the general assembly. The person spray painting, they're on the events committee," she said.
Another camper disagreed, and proposed starting a "good neighbor" committee.
None who attended the meeting appeared to be the so-called black block anarchists that clashed with police and destroyed property.
After a largely peaceful, jubilant and arrest-free demonstration, teach-in and march by many as 5,000 people who descended on Frank Ogawa Plaza for Wednesday's general strike, and thousands more who marched to the Port of Oakland, by late evening a different tone had taken over and police moved in.
Protesters temporarily took over a vacant building on 16th Street, started fires and used homemade bomb launchers to fire M80s at police. Some protesters tried to calm the situation and discourage protesters from throwing rocks and bottles at police by chanting "Don't throw (crap)" and "The world is watching," but others continued to stand off with police and refused to leave despite police calling an "unlawful assembly" at midnight.
By 1 a.m. police had responded with tear gas and bean bag rounds. The action continued until 3 a.m. as police and protesters played cat-and-mouse. Both sides settled into an uneasy truce by 3:30 a.m., with a line of police facing off against a line of protesters near Frank G. Ogawa Plaza in front of City Hall, until protesters began to file away in clumps. Although at one point it appeared that police were ready to move in on the encampment, where about 100 tents have sprung up since the Oct. 25 police raid, that did not happen.
"We are aware of people bent on causing problems, and we're taking steps to address those problems," Jordan said early Thursday.
Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/occupy-oakland/ci_19255290
Occupy Oakland protesters pitch in for cleanup
Dozens of people who participated in a massive anti-Wall Street demonstration returned Thursday to help clean up after a night of violence by what they characterized as a rogue band of troublemakers. Oakland officials were still assessing damage to properties surrounding the City Hall plaza, where an estimated 7,000 ...
http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/occupy-oakland-protesters-pitch-cleanup/nFT4s/
4:34 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011
Nurses march in downtown SF to call for financial transaction tax
SAN FRANCISCO —
A large group of nurses and other demonstrators is marching through downtown San Francisco Thursday morning to call for a federal transaction tax they say would bring in billions of dollars in revenue.
About 150 people gathered in front of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco at 101 Market St. at 11 a.m. for a march to Wells Farg headquarters organized in part by the California Nurses Association.
The nurses' association has been campaigning since early spring for the tax, which would be imposed on bond, stock, derivative trades and other financial transactions.
The march is timed to coincide with the G20 summit in France and is in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement.
The Columbia Journalism Review has published a post recognizing Oakland Local‘s all-out coverage of Occupy Oakland protests.
After an Oakland Local story about the injury of an Iraq War veteran by police was widely circulated on social media and other platforms, co-founder Susan Mernit said the site decided to increase its coverage.
CJR said when Mernit “saw that her story was being referenced, tweeted, linked to, and discussed by people in the community, she realized their strength as a local news source. “I saw that our brand meant something to people,” says Mernit, “We decided at that point to go all out to cover it.”
Oakland Local coverage includes live blogging, analysis and photos. Check it out at http://oaklandlocal.com/occupy
Meanwhile, at The Batavian, Howard Owens got the scoop about a possible new business park that would bring hundreds of jobs to his community. Local television cited The Batavian in reporting the story.
http://www.blockbyblock.us/2011/11/03/oakland-local-cited-for-occupy-oakland-coverage/
