Every week or so, we’ve been requesting emails from Mayor Sam Adams’ office on the city’s plans for, and response to, Occupy Portland. It’s been imperfect—most of the high-level discussions, especially after our request, aren’t happening over email—but also important. The emails, at the least, offer an interesting window onto the mood of city hall. […]
Occupy
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UPDATED: Taking a Breath Over Occupy Portland’s Finance Brouhaha
Update 5:35 pm—There’s been some more clarification of all that’s happened today, courtesy of occupier Carrie Medina, a volunteer on the social media team, and some other sources. Turns out nobody really had it all the way right today. It’s also true, as one of our commenters quickly pointed out, that hacker collective Anonymous got […]
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It’s Almost as Though They Had an Agenda
BoingBoing reports that the front page of the Washington Post this morning featured a nice big photo of an Oakland police officer bending down to pet a cute little kitty, just above a story about last night’s tear gassing headlined “Protesters wearing out their welcome nationwide.” The thing that really bugs the hell out of […]
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Big Union/Occupy Portland March Today!
Suji Allen The traffic alerts are streaming in because the AFL-CIO is planning a major march this afternoon in support of Occupy Portland. The march route loops around downtown during rush hour, starting at 5PM in Director Park. Big labor groups on the East Coast have thrown their support behind the protest, even though union’s […]
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Occupy Portland: NOW What are the Commenters Saying?
After the police bureau issued their Occupy Portland “public safety update” yesterday (peppered with unverified reports of violence, poop buckets, and raw sewage flowing down the street), local news outlets naturally swarmed all over it. Local FOX affiliate KPTV regurgitated the police bureau’s claims, but actually included a lot of quotes from the occupiers. KATU […]
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Tear Gas, Take Me Away!
Watching cable news. Cable news hair just said this: “Occupy Wall Street demonstrators are making headlines. In Oakland police fired tear gas to calm down the crowd.” Apparently they’re using chamomile tear gas in Oakland. Not Fox. MSNBC!
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“The Scenarios We See Are the Canaries in the Coal Mine”
Remember when the Mercury first reported yesterday about a proposal from Occupy Portland‘s internal peacekeeping team that would see the camps pull up stakes from Chapman and Lownsdale squares by November, after something like four weeks of occupation? The idea was formally introduced during last night’s chilly general assembly meeting in Terry Schrunk Plaza, and […]
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The Whole World Is Watching
Last night in downtown Oakland, occupiers regrouped after their morning eviction. And they were promptly teargassed by police. In Portland, officers are still showing up for, and welcomed at, general assemblies. That’s not the case in a growing number of cities.
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BREAKING: Occupy Portland Might Set Its Own Deadline for Departure
Earlier we posted that Occupy Portland might be looking to expand to Jamison Square. Now, the Mercury has learned, occupiers will be voting soon on another proposal: To vacate Chapman and Lownsdale squares altogether, as soon as November 5. A larger version is here. The Mercury obtained a copy of the flier, purportedly put forth […]
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Occupy Portland to the (TV) Media: Stop Obsessing Over Every Little “Incident” at the Camp
As Alex Z. mentioned briefly in her post debunking reports that poop was overflowing unchecked from Occupy Portland’s portable toilets, the Portland Police Bureau today for the first time decided not to selectively filter which reported incidents it will share with reporters. They’re called “public safety updates”—but that might be stretching the idea. It’s essentially […]
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Occupy the Pearl? As in, Jamison Square?
A proposal to expand Occupy Portland from Chapman and Lownsdale squares and set up a branch in the gentrified Pearl District—in Jamison Square—is apparently in the works, the Mercury has learned, after the group’s consensus-driven general assembly approved the proposal during a meeting last night. Jordan LeDoux, a media representative for the occupiers, confirmed the […]
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Occupy Portland Sewage Scene
We received a in-depth email from the Portland Police Bureau today, including every disruptive incident that took place at Occupy Portland over a 24-hour period, starting Monday morning. One of the tidbits that stood out from the rest (which is saying a lot) follows: 10:30 a.m. During the same incident, officers found that the porta-potties […]