Tagged: Occupy Wall Street

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington lawmakers are introducing several proposals that echo the demands of the Occupy protesters. In fact, the formal title of one proposal introduced Thursday says it is aimed at “Guaranteeing that the top one percent pay too.”

The chief sponsor, Democratic Representative Marko Liias, says the Occupy movement wasn’t the only thing that prompted this idea.

SPOKANE, Wash. – Occupy Wall Street has officially endorsed "Move to Amend the Constitution" as a primary mission.

Spokane groups will mobilize tomorrow as part of a nationwide effort called Occupy the Courts. It’s a move to urge lawmakers to rethink the Citizens United decision, passed two years ago tomorrow. Concluding that “corporations are people," the Citizens United decision overruled precedents that blocked corporate spending on political campaigns. Now, corporations can support or oppose candidates and contribute freely.

"We've been doing nothing but investing in this town."

On Nov. 2, JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon came to Seattle to address business leaders at an event put on by the University of Washington’s business school. The event attracted a great deal of heat from the Occupy Seattle protesters, which we wrote about: “Anatomy of a protest: Occupy Seattle vs. Jamie Dimon of Chase.”

Reporters were not allowed into the event to hear what Dimon had to say, though some were allowed to interview him before hand. KPLU was not among them.

We got a copy of a video of the event through the Freedom of Information Act. Inside, you can watch several snippets of his responses to questions as well as the full video of his speech at the Business Leadership Celebration event.

What happens when the captain of the financial industry is brought to Seattle to celebrate business leadership in the middle of a populist revolt aimed directly at the wealthy and financial companies?

Pepper spray. Arrests. Speeches. And a very nervous Seattle business school, caught in the crossfire, whose gala event of the year could be wrecked. What follows is a close look at the events and decisions leading up to the Nov. 2 clash in downtown Seattle gleaned from emails and documents obtained by KPLU. 

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Several dozen Washington state troopers in riot gear cleared the Occupy Olympia encampment early Friday. The troopers moved in after several verbal warnings to clear Heritage Park on the Capitol Campus.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Several campers did fold their tents, but Occupy Olympia activists largely ignored a midnight deadline lastnight to vacate Heritage Park on Washington’s Capitol campus. Instead, they held a rally and then took over an abandoned building across the street.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Occupy Olympia has until midnight Thursday night to clear out of Heritage Park on Washington's Capitol Campus. Governor Chris Gregoire Thursday issued a cease-and-desist notice. Her move comes more than a month after the state asked for the voluntary removal of tents and two months to the day after the camp was established.

"We have allowed people to express their First Amendment rights unfettered," Gregoire says. "We have been as patient as we could. And now it's time for them to go home."

Police say "multiple" people have been arrested after dozens of protesters blocked an entrance to a Port of Seattle facility.

Police cleared a road near the entrance to Terminal 18 after about 100 Occupy Seattle protesters stopped traffic for about 20 minutes Monday afternoon. But a smaller group remained in front of the terminal, effectively keeping traffic from entering or leaving.

Anyone still camped out at the community college in Seattle this afternoon can be cited for trespassing and forcibly removed from the campus said Jill Wakefield, Chancellor of Seattle Community Colleges.

But she says she hopes it won’t have to come to that kind of confrontation with Occupy Seattle protesters at Seattle Central Community College. And, according to one Occupy resident, the protesters have been tearing down and cleaning up. They've even brought in a dumpster for the effort.