The SF Occupiers have been on the edge of their sleeping bags the past few days waiting for the next raid, but Matier & Ross have a bead on the behind-the-scenes negotiations happening right now between Mayor Ed Lee's office and the leaderless encampment. They say the Mayor's Office is trying to get the campers to agree to move to that weird semi-empty lot on Mission Street between 15th and 16th -- the one with the trailers ringing it, which is the site of the old Phoenix Continuation High School, owned by the Board of Ed.
That's nice, right? Take a movement that had at its core the idea of making a visible public nuisance of itself by camping out at the doorstep of the country's financial and banking world, and move them to one of the crappiest blocks in town across from the shittiest Walgreen's west of the Mississippi!
The Occupiers are onto the city of course, and many of them feel that Lee is just "looking for a place that will be out of sight, out of mind." They've apparently got their sights set on the plaza in front of the Bank of America building, which is clearly a preferable choice. Let's see how this one plays out. [Chron]
Over in Oakland, that camp that Occupy Oakland said they had permission to build in West Oakland on a private lot was quickly dismantled last night after the owner of the lot changed her mind and complained to police. All 25 tents were dismantled, but an hour later 50 protesters returned with one tent and chanted "We will not be defeated!" [Examiner]
Meanwhile, according to a nationwide survey of municipalities with Occupy encampments, the movement has so far cost local governments about $13 million in police overtime and other costs. Way to go, guys. But, as the AP further points out, "Broken down city by city, the numbers are more or less in line with the cost of policing major public events and emergencies."