4:30PM—This post has been updated substantially, so I bumped it to the top of the blog!

These old school 99 percenters have been occupying Waterfront Park for years, enduring Segway tourists and routine sweeps.

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Meanwhile, preparations for the new occupation of Waterfront Park this Thursday continue!

The Portland Police sent out another press release today noting that they have the right to arrest anyone in Waterfront Park during the hours the park is closed (midnight to 5am). The police say they received this fax from the Occupy organizers:

"Currently there is no plan to obtain a permit since this movement has no leadership and further legal advice from the National Lawyers Guild advises against obtaining a permit. For best impact we will march in the streets and disrupt the city."

We're going to be liveblogging 24 hours with the protest starting at noon on Thursday, running through noon Friday. Check here on the blog to see what happens!

UPDATE 4:15PM—Mayor Adams held a super quick press conference about the protest this afternoon. He noted that the city has sent cops and other staffers to Occupy planning sessions: "We're doing every thing we can to make sure we facilitate a peaceful event... We'll deal with issues as they arise. I've told the police bureau not to deal with what-ifs."

Adams also told everyone to go to publicalerts.org, the city clearing house for news alerts, for info on traffic and TriMet delays.

UPDATE 6:24PM—The Occupy folks are saying that the fax the Portland Police received about the protest was not from them at all! Their response is here. Also, the Occupy logo now has a dove on it. Peace dove!

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Seven other quick news updates about the protest below the cut!

1. One legal way in which the protesters could set up camp in the park without being arrested is if the parks department director decided to extend the park hours during the protest. However, we emailed with Parks today and the current official stance is that the hours will not be extended.

2. Portlanders made this website where Occupy activists from around the country can vote on demands for the movement. So far, "Occupiers get a clue!" is faring well, while, "First jobs, then blowjobs" is doing rather poorly.

3. While police say they do not know the route for the protest march, it's posted here on Occupy Portland's website:

We have a set route that we will march, which departs at 2:30. From the meeting place we will head to W Burnside, and walk until SW Broadway. From there we will continue south until reaching Pioneer Courthouse Square. Due to the property within the Square being privately owned, we may be asked to protest on the sidewalks surrounding the block.
I'm not sure whether they'll actually stick to that route, but there you go.

4. Mayor Sam Adams sent out a positive tweet about the protest:

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5. There's a protest benefit at Red and Black Cafe this Friday. They'll be auctioning off some artwork, including a piece by Blogtown's own Carolyn Main.

6. Occupy Portland organizer Viani Rivers sent us this reply to the police's press releases:

While it's understandable our police department has concerns regarding maintaining a sense of safety or control of our city parks, we can assure everyone the primary basis of the march is to broaden people's perspective of what it means to live in a democracy. We espouse that without a critical and thoughtful engagement with our fellow community members what began as a notion of a democracy necessarily diminishes into the system we presently allow.

Although there were a few members of OccupyPortland who were wary of the presence of Lt. Scott Johnson, Sgt. Craig Dobson and Lt. Robert King, indeed simply of Police presence, the fact remains that overall we welcome the PPD as needed and viable for the purpose of maintaining order during the march. We can accept as general knowledge that there are a few members of society who will insinuate themselves into certain marches in an effort to cause undue and unneeded disruption.

7. From the suits' side, the Portland Business Alliance is forwarding around an email alerting its members to the protest. Excerpt:

Banks and similar institutions may be targets, and there may be traffic issues/congestion any time after noon on Thursday. The Portland Police Bureau and its partners — including Clean & Safe — are monitoring the situation and continue to receive updates. There are clear indications that the protest is highly organized and is receiving lots of web traffic.