Business Pressure and Rodent Rumors: The Latest Batch of Occupy Portland Emails from Mayor Sam Adams' Office

Portland Mercury:

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. And they've also shown who's been pressuring the mayor, and who hasn't been, to shut down the camps, now in their fourth week at Chapman and Lownsdale Squares. That pressure could be increasing. Police Chief Mike Reese told the O today that his bureau has spent $182,000 on overtime since the day of the first Occupy march, October 6. That's going to add up fast at a time when bureaus are being asked to cut back. This week's emails are just as juicy. City officials share their observations and critiques on Occupy—it's stinky and struggling with internal divisions—after spending time stalking around the camps. Occupiers, it turns out, had special plans for the mayor on Friday, if only he'd be avalable. And the Portland Business Alliance is all up on Adams' case, after he sidestepped their letter demanding he crack down on campers. We'll start there. Here's the PBA's Sandra McDonough demanding to know who's gonna be running the show with Adams in Asia for a long business trip. (Hint: It's Amanda Fritz; Adams gets back the end of the week.) McDonough also says businesses are too afraid to speak up, lest the nonviolent, peaceful "protesters" target them. (What? With hugs, artwork, and rational economics lessons?)

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