Occupy Philly votes to defy deadline

PHILADELPHIA - Protesters with Occupy Philadelphia have voted to stay next to City Hall despite the city's insistence that they move to another location to make way for a long-planned renovation project.

Participants at Friday night's gathering also voted to implement nonviolent resistance training in preparation for an eviction, The Philadelphia Inquirer said.

Scores of tents have sprung up at Dilworth Plaza next to City Hall since the protest began a month ago as part of a nationwide effort decrying economic inequality and what protesters call corporate greed.

City officials have asked the Philadelphia group to move to another municipal plaza across the street, citing a long-planned $50 million renovation of the City Hall area.

Managing Director Richard Negrin told the paper before the vote that he was disappointed that the protesters had framed the issue as an expansion and not as a move. He said officials will continue working with the group in hopes of avoiding confrontations, but he is concerned that members have been communicating less in recent weeks.

"We're trying to avoid showdowns," he said. "We think there is an element of Occupy that wants a showdown, and we don't want to give that to them."

Negrin said the city was willing to discuss a move to any other location suitable to both organizers and the city, but permits would not be issued for two sites.

"This has already cost us more than a half-million dollars," he said. "Multiple locations mean more police and more of a disruption to the general public."

So far, the protests have been peaceful, with relatively few arrests. Last week, nine demonstrators were arrested at the headquarters of cable TV giant Comcast Corp. after they linked arms in a glass-walled lobby and refused police warnings to leave.

The group has announced plans to march again to the Comcast building on Saturday. Last month, 15 people were arrested for blocking a road outside police headquarters.

The project, mostly paid for by federal and state grants, is expected to create about 1,000 jobs. Officials say it would replace concrete surfaces with public green space, improve handicapped access, revamp the transit system concourses and put in a cafDe that would remain lighted at night, a partially tree-covered lawn that could be used for concerts and a programmable fountain that could double as a skating rink and a pedestrian walkway.

In other "occupy" developments:

Chattanooga, Tenn.: Hamilton County commissioners held a secret meeting with their attorney to discuss Occupy Chattanooga protesters. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports the Friday meeting was not publicly announced, as required by the state's Open Meetings Act.

County Attorney Rheubin Taylor told the paper a Tennessee Supreme Court decision allows some meetings to remain private on the grounds of attorney-client privilege. He did cite the decision.

The state Supreme Court has said public bodies can meet privately with an attorney about pending litigation. Taylor said the topic discussed Friday did not involve a suit now in litigation.

Commissioner Fred Skillern, who did not attend the meeting, said later he was "almost certain" the topic was what to do about protesters assembled on the courthouse lawn.

St Louis, Mo.: The downtown park that's been the site of the Occupy St. Louis protest was quiet several hours after police arrested about two dozen people. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports a few Occupy St. Louis protesters were in Kiener Plaza by about 6 a.m. Saturday. Police also showed up two hours later and asked the protesters to take down a tent, which they did.

Earlier, police arrested about two dozen people at the Occupy encampment beginning after midnight, then began taking down the tents where the protesters have been for weeks. The arrests began after a federal judge declined a request to temporarily allow the camping to continue through the weekend.

The judge scheduled a hearing Tuesday to consider if the protesters should be allowed to relocate in the park.

Lincoln, Neb.: Opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline will march in Lincoln on Saturday and form a "human wall" around the Nebraska Capitol, beginning at 11:30 a.m. in Cooper Park.

The gathering includes farmers, ranchers, environmental groups, American Indian activists and members of the Occupy Lincoln movement.

Organizers say the human wall is an effort to persuade President Barack Obama to reject a permit application that would allow Calgary-based TransCanada to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Portland, Ore.: Portland police are preparing for a possible clash with demonstrators Saturday as a midnight deadline looms for the Occupy Portland movement to clear out of two downtown parks.

Demonstration organizers have pleaded for peace and said anyone who acts violently does not represent the movement. But police said they have information indicating an extremist element may be planning a confrontation. Officers seized pieces of cement and plywood on Friday, saying they were told some demonstrators had plans to use the cement as a weapon. A demonstrator denied the claim.

After more than a month of camping, some demonstrators began cleaning up and packing in Friday, vowing to continue their movement elsewhere.

Organizers planned marches to converge on the encampment followed by a potluck, and they hope the public will come.

Louisville, Ky.: Members of Occupy Louisville are planning what they call "7 Days of Solidarity," to help the larger community get to know what they stand for.

According to a news release from the group, on Sunday members will join a march with Louisville Peace Action Community. On Monday, they will rally with union workers.

On Tuesday, the will protest in support of campaign finance reform. On Wednesday they will discuss health care reform and protest Humana. Thursday activities are to be determined.

On Friday, they will help clean up vacant property in a neighborhood hit by foreclosures. On Saturday, they will have music, family-friendly activities and a community potluck.

Salt Lake City, Utah: Salt Lake City police are preparing to arrest protesters who say they will fight an order to vacate two downtown parks.

Police have told them to remove their tents by sundown tonight. About 150 people have been camping at Pioneer Park for weeks, while about a dozen people began camping in another part of downtown earlier this week.

City officials rescinded permits for the group to stay in the parks overnight on Friday, about 12 hours after a man was found dead of a likely drug overdose in a Pioneer Park tent.

Occupy Salt Lake organizers say many protesters are willing to be arrested to make a point. The group is standing in solidarity with protesters in New York and elsewhere who oppose what they call corporate greed.

Berlin, Germany: German police say more than ten thousand people are protesting against the banks' dominance in two of the country's major cities.

Police in Frankfurt, continental Europe's financial hub, say some 9,000 people are peacefully protesting near the European Central Bank's office tower in the city centre.

Police in Berlin say demonstrators are forming a human chain surrounding parts of the capital's government district to call for an end to excesses of financial speculation and urge the government to dismantle big banks.

Berlin police said "several thousand" people took to the streets Saturday, but organizers of the protest — which is inspired by New York's Occupy Wall Street movement — said turnout was about 8,000 in Berlin and 10,000 in Frankfurt.