Denis C. Theriault Okay, so the official arrest total is 27—25, as previously reported, in the circle of volunteer “arrestables,” and two other men arrested, for reasons unclear, during the tense rally before the police finally and fully moved in and cleared things about. Now, three trains of thought appear to be emerging on the […]
Occupy
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Is the Pearl Worth Fighting For? A Dozen Occupiers, So Far, Say Yes
Denis C. Theriault Update 4:20 AM—Turned out to be much closer to the upper range of estimates for arrests—25, Chief Mike Reese said in a brief press conference at Central Precinct with Mayor Sam Adams. Charges include disorderly conduct and interfering with a police officer. The blow by blow—filled with photos and video—is over on […]
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Occupy Portland Marches Against Bank of America
This afternoon around 2:30 pm an estimated 300 Occupy Portland demonstrators met up on the waterfront and marched to the Oregon Convention Center to protest a Bank of America “homeowner outreach” event. Here’s how BoA describes their event. If you are experiencing financial hardship, please register to attend a Bank of America customer outreach event […]
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Occupier Explains Pearl Demonstration: It’s the “Epicenter of Wealth and Disparity in Portland”
After posting an official response yesterday to city warnings that camping in Jamison Square will not be tolerated—“The demonstration at Jamison Square in the Pearl District will not be canceled”—an Occupy Portland volunteer today sent out an email reaffirming the group’s commitment to exploring a Pearl District expansion. The missive from Cameron Whitten is billed […]
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Occupy Wall Street’s Mailrooms
Tired of junk-mail credit card offers from presumably rapacious financial institutions choking your mailboxes and, eventually, trash bins? Send ’em back. For free! Watch and learn:
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This Weekend on Blogtown: The Jamison Square Occupation
Just as a reminder, there are a couple of big deal Occupy Portland events popping tomorrow, with the Bank of America protest march at 1 pm, followed by the Occupy Portland occupation of Jamison Square in the Pearl District late tomorrow afternoon. Read more about tomorrow’s events here, and rest assured we’ll have Merc peeps […]
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Video: Pink Martini and Occupy Portland “This Land is Our Land” Rally
Pink Martini and Storm Large organized a lunchtime sing-a-long of classic American tunes today, mixing the music with speeches by political and religious leaders. I made this video of the This Land is Our Land song, including photos of a bunch of people at the rally (and some video of that guy who’s always dancing […]
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Why Does Portland Have a Parks Curfew? Why, to Keep Out “Hippies,” Silly!
So… Blogtown bestie Graham did a wee bit of unbidden archival research on the origins of Portland’s parks curfew and shared the results with us. According to an Associated Press report in the August 23, 1968, edition of the Tri-City Herald: Graham tells us: “YOU’RE WELCOME!!”
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BREAKING: Randy Leonard Warns City Support “Unreasonably Tested” by Plan to Occupy Jamison Square
Commissioner Randy Leonard, perhaps the Portland City Council’s most passionate defender of Occupy Portland, has issued a stern warning to the movement over its plans to spread out into the Pearl District’s Jamison Square, in an email obtained by the Mercury this morning. I have been clear to the media and anyone that asks that […]
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Coming Up at Occupy Portland!
Another weekend, another passel of Occupy Portland events worth checking out. Here’s the roundup from the official occupation web site! (And, remember, general assembly meetings are always open to the public, every day at 7 pm.) Today, noon—This Land is Our Land Rally First Pink Martini and Storm Large will perform at a noontime rally […]
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The Cost for Three Weeks of Policing Occupy Portland: About $100,000
Earlier, we noted that the Portland Police Bureau had reported its overtime costsso far (linking to an Oregonian report that’s since been updated with the correct amount) related to Occupy Portland: $186,400. Curious if there was more detail, I asked police spokesman Lieutenant Robert King if there was some kind of breakdown for how much […]
