Occupy Santa Rosa Photos, Posters and Stories

[Barry]

Occupy Santa Rosa is huge! We got there around 2pm and it was already at least 1,000 person strong! (And that's the number the PD is reporting too!) The march was packed for blocks!
Please post the best of your photos and your stories from this amazing day/movement!

[Radine Aijala]

By Crowd Consensus Occupy Santa Rosa will remain at City Hall

for video or stream if they get 'recharged' ... https://www.ustream.tv/channel/occupysr

["Mad" Miles]

The "official" informally consensed attendance count is 4,400. This was based on counting marchers as they passed a single point. I missed the march, so did others who also came around 3:30 p.m. or later. So my count is at least 4,401!

After going off to dinner with a friend, I went back a few hours later (The Gong Show at Toad In The Hole was a hoot! And I only had vague foreknowledge that it was going to take place!? Much silly fun.) and some 30-40 people are occupying the steps and pavement in front of City Hall and are planning to stay the night. I left around 12:30.

The only constraints imposed by the SRPD are "no tents" and they asked people not to stand on the corner late at night holding signs because the support honking from passing cars disturbs local residents. Several OSR core organizers commented on how friendly and cooperative the police had been all afternoon, especially during the march, when large numbers took the street, the cops directed traffic for them.

Had some great conversations about economics, politics, hopes and fears for the future. Especially enjoyed talking to a couple of guys, one Pomo the other part Choctaw, about environmental issues in San Francisco Bay and the legacy of industrial poisoning of the watershed. The topic wasn't pleasant but the exchange of ideas and knowledge was.

[Shepherd]

Following is this morning's PD report on yesterday's Occupy Santa Rosa gathering. My friends and I were there for a few hours and plan to return this morning with food. We have not yet heard if the police routed those who stayed overnight at city hall.

I want to respond to the following. Rather than merely be a protest, this is surely the early stages of what appears to be a genuine movement without a script. Organizers estimated that there were 2700 people there, which is the largest number that I can remember for such a gathering in Sonoma County in my 20 years here. It was also larger than most of the gatherings in larger cities around the world, where there were apparently something like occupations in some 1500 places.

As usual, the media focused on comments by know leaders. Most of the speakers I heard were young people, not the people mentioned below. The creativity of the signs was incredible. It was not "a mostly middle-age crowd." There were many young people and elders, as well as a more multi-cultural mix than I have seen in Santa Rosa before. The music was great, including that by the HubBub Club. The scene was not angry but that of the joy of being together. The idea seemed to be to attract people, which seemed to work as cars honked in appreciation.

If you hear what happened after the following report was filed at 6 p.m. yesterday, please let us know. And please consider going today to experience what might still be happening, and bring some food.

Shepherd

Related Links

'Occupy Santa Rosa' demonstrators can't camp at City Hall
Occupy Santa Rosa draws big turnout

By PAUL PAYNE, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Last Modified: Saturday, October 15, 2011 at 5:55 p.m.

More than 2,500 people marched through downtown Santa Rosa Saturday, protesting the concentration of wealth in America.

The Occupy Santa Rosa event, modeled on Wall Street protests that began last month, was twice as large as organizers expected, suggesting it is gaining mainstream momentum.

From the steps of City Hall, labor activist Ben Boyce fired up a mostly middle-age crowd, urging a moratorium on foreclosures, an end to Bush-era tax cuts and a national jobs program.

“Today is the tipping point,” Boyce said to a sea of signs and people shouting their support. “It's now time to re-take our democracy.”

Sounding a central theme to the national movement, other speakers railed against financial institutions as the cause of the recession that has led to high unemployment and economic ruin for millions.

“We're all clear who tanked our economy,” said Lisa Maldonado, executive director of the North Bay Labor Council. “It wasn't the public worker. It wasn't the public safety worker. It was Wall Street.”

An enthusiastic crowd yelled back, “That's right!”

Demonstrators then marched through downtown, filing past the transit mall, businesses and banks, chanting slogans and banging drums. Passing cars honked in support.

Wells Fargo employees watched the noisy procession from behind locked doors at the B Street branch.

“I'm pretty moved by what's happening here,” said Healdsburg retiree Richard Burg as a band played “When the Saints Go Marching In” outside Citibank.

As of late afternoon, there were no arrests, police said.

One police officer put the turnout at between 2,500 and 3,000. A event volunteer said it was 2,700.

Marchers returned to City Hall where people sprawled on the lawn, danced or played with children. Two young men climbed on the City Hall roof and unfurled banners.

One protestor, Paula Wright of Sebastopol, said it was time for the wealthiest 1 percent of the country to give something back to the rest.

Her daughter, 7-year-old daughter Temple, carried a sign that said: “Share a Piece” with a peace sign on it.

“I don't want my kids to grow up and not be able to go to college,” she said.

A Santa Rosa woman who identified herself only as Darcy stood on the corner of First Street to protest the pending foreclosure of her house of 20 years. She and her husband both lost jobs and have been unable to negotiate lower payments, she said.

“I'm fed up. I'm totally fed up,” said the woman, who described herself as an independent voter. “It's time to stand our ground.”

A retired Santa Rosa teacher, Mauri Wilber, criticized the government for spending money on wars and Wall Street bailouts while ignoring schools.

It got so bad last year at Rincon Valley Middle School that they ran out of toilet paper and had to solicit donations from parents.

“Education is being ignored while dollars are being pumped into wars and large corporations,” she said as she marched with other teachers.

City Councilman Gary Wysocky was among a handful of elected officials on hand, including Councilwoman Susan Gorin and Assemblyman Michael Allen, D-Santa Rosa. Wysocky said he supported the message of the day.

“There are a lot of people hurting out there,” he said.

[Larry Robinson]

This was, by far, the largest gathering I have seen in Sonoma County. Pundits who say we should be protesting against government failures are clearly missing the point: Washington's failures are a direct result of policies directed by Wall Street and for the sole benefit of Wall Street. Most Americans know this in their guts.

Winston Churchill famously said that you can always count on America to do the right thing - after they have tried everything else. We may have finally reached the tipping point!

[tomcat]

Occupy Santa Rosa is huge! We got there around 2pm and it was already 1,000! (And that's the number the PD is reporting too!) The march was packed for blocks!
Please post the best of your photos and your stories from this amazing day/
movement!

Here's a few photos. Great turnout!

[ubaru]

Notes From alpha lo of Occupy SF to implement at Occupy Santa Rosa

alpha is an incredible social design systems change agent. He has better words than I to describe himself and his work. But I want to spread his ideas from Fairfax to Sonoma. His blog is https://opencollaboration.wordpress.com/

Liz

alpha writes:
Topic: healers at occupy sf
Oct 15

I think it would be really helpful to people at occupy sf, if a bunch
of healers went down, set up their massage chairs and tables and
provided relief and healings for people...

Topic: Designing gift currency for the Occupy movement
alpha lo Oct 15

There is now being developed a complementary currency that will be
used at Occupy nodes. Here's the link to the competition for the design
of the notes
https://p2pfoundation.ning.com/profi...py-wall-street

This got me thinking that we should have a competition to have a
design of gift economy/currency structures that can be used at the
Occupy nodes.
There is already a lot of gifting that goes on, people are buying
pizzas to donate food to people at the Occupy, sleeping and cleaning
supplies, and computers flow into the movement, and people are helping
each other with many things without money.

Gift circles would help greatly.

And also we need something that can work on a larger scale than the gift circle.

A whilst back Joe Benham and I were writing about this gift currency
idea, where you put what your needs or gifts are on a note card along
with your contact info, and people pass it around until someone can
help you with that need or wants what your gift is. (There's an analogy
to the people's mic process at Occupy where people shout what speakers
are saying since there are no electronic mics allowed. In this case
with the gift currency passing the notes around is the mic that allows
more people to know about your needs or gifts.)


I am thinking that would be a cool idea to try out at Occupy nodes....

[sambacat]

Yes, the police presence was quite minimal and supportive. Hurray for the SRPD!!!

[zenekar]

This was, by far, the largest gathering I have seen in Sonoma County. Pundits who say we should be protesting against government failures are clearly missing the point: Washington's failures are a direct result of policies directed by Wall Street and for the sole benefit of Wall Street. Most Americans know this in their guts.

Winston Churchill famously said that you can always count on America to do the right thing - after they have tried everything else. We may have finally reached the tipping point!

On May 1st, 2006, the official count was 10,000 -- marched from Roseland to Juilliard Park. But this was definitely an impressive turnout. I wish I were as optimistic as Winston Churchill. The US government has always been corrupt and ruthless, internally and with its foreign policy.

[Sabrina]

Yes, the police presence was quite minimal and supportive. Hurray for the SRPD!!!

- tonight I went back down to give them one more body present. Two police cars went by that the officer "waved" at us! Hey, they too are part of the 99%. I asked some of the occupiers what kind of support is needed now and they said "get people down here!" especially at night time. They are concerned that if their numbers go too far down police may actually move in to try to remove people - so far they've had no problems - and they don't like to say that people are "camping", they are occupying - as long as you are not asleep for more than two hours you are not camping - and people are taking shifts and what not. Come on down!

[Sabrina]

#OccupySantaRosa

This (Facebook link above) page is dedicated to showing our local support and solidarity with the other Occupy movements. This originated with the Occupy Wall St. protests in New York, wherein thousands took to the streets of lower Manhattan to speak out against the 1% who have taken control ofl this country through their greed and corruption, and the undue influence this plays in our political and social system. Many continue to occupy the financial district and will do so until their demands are met! This is a movement that is sweeping across the country, with new occupiers showing up in major and small cities alike, and all over the world. Together we are letting our voices be heard that we no longer will accept that one percent of this country has taken control from the 99 percent who just want a "chance to work, a future for our youth, and a security for our old age." "What we are witnessing can also be seen as a demand to finally have a conversation we were all supposed to have back in 2008. There was a moment, after the near-collapse of the world's financial architecture, when anything seemed possible. Everything we'd been told for the last decade turned out to be a lie. Markets did not run themselves; creators of financial instruments were not infallible geniuses; and debts did not really need to be repaid – in fact, money itself was revealed to be a political instrument, trillions of dollars of which could be whisked in or out of existence overnight if governments or central banks required it. Even the Economist was running headlines like "Capitalism: Was it a Good Idea?" With so much going wrong, high unemployment, with a government standstill to address these issues and an inability to lead, the over educated and underemployed facing a mountain of debt, corporate influence encroaching into every part of our lives, don't you want to add your support and take your place as one the 99 percent who are fed up with the 1 percent who have stolen this country from us?

[Shepherd]

I like the tone of the following PD article from this morning's paper better than the one reporting on the large Sat. Occupy gathering. It more accurately reflects my own experience of visiting the occupation yesterday afternoon. I was also struck by the two young girls in pink walking around, the older one with a t-shirt saying "Big Sister." Other families had spent the night. It was a calm place to be with plenty of food, without any angry or threatening behavior. Many cars passing by honked in support.

Whereas the first reports by the NY Times, which owns the PD, about Occupy NY during Sept. were dismissive, at this point the columnists and op/eds tend to support the occupiers and criticize Wall Street and their responses. If the movement remains nonviolent, its power is likely to grow.
Shepherd

Related Links

Occupy Santa Rosa draws big turnout
'Occupy Santa Rosa' demonstrators can't camp at City Hall
Former El Molino student helps edit Occupy Wall Street newspaper Organizers gear up for 'Occupy Santa Rosa' rally
'Occupy Santa Rosa' protesters vow to stay at City Hall

By JULIE JOHNSON, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Last Modified: Sunday, October 16, 2011 at 9:46 p.m.

The “Occupy Santa Rosa” protest moved into its second day Sunday as demonstrators spent the night outside City Hall and vowed to stay there indefinitely.

Photo Galleries
Occupy Santa Rosa
About 50 protesters remained clustered outside City Hall on Sunday morning, discussing economics in circles on the lawn and waving signs on the corner that decried corporate greed.

No one was arrested for spending the night on city property, Santa Rosa police said.

“The cops were very friendly,” said Frank Anderson, 19, a Santa Rosa Junior College business student. “We had a plan and are acting on it.”

The uneventful night came after the city manager’s office declined a request by the group for a permit to camp at City Hall. Police Chief Tom Schwedhelm said Friday that violators could be cited and arrested if they set up camps on city property.

Protesters said they were careful to not sleep, roll out sleeping bags or otherwise appear to be camping to comply with city laws.

Protesters may remain in the area overnight as long as they comply with city ordinances that forbid them from “sleeping, cooking or setting up household items,” Schwedhelm said Sunday.

Many said they planned to stay indefinitely.

“There is no end date,” said Brice Davis, a demonstrator on the steps of City Hall.

On Sunday night, in a community discussion, protesters agreed they would be careful not to interfere Monday with city employees or anyone doing business at City Hall.

At the same time, they also discussed appearing at Tuesday’s Santa Rosa City Council meeting for the public comment portion, where anyone can address the council on matters not on the agenda.

One proposal that appeared to meet with consensus from the occupiers Sunday night was to ask the city and the County of Sonoma governments to “immediately remove all local government funds — our money — from the criminal banking cartels such as but not limited to Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citibank, Chase, JP Morgan, and deposit them in locally based Sonoma County banks and credit unions ...”

The demonstration began Saturday, when more than 2,500 people marched through downtown Santa Rosa in support of the ongoing “Occupy Wall Street” protest in New York.

Mid-morning Sunday, about 45 people ate donated oatmeal and sipped coffee outside Santa Rosa City Hall, gathering into a circle to make a plan for the day. Cardboard signs surrounded the group with handwritten slogans such as “Occupy Earth” and “Stop Corporate Welfare.”

Anderson led a meeting to plan discussion groups to educate each other about economics and come up with unified messages.

They used hand gestures to indicate whether they agreed or disagreed with the speaker, a technique often used with a consensus-based cooperative planning.

SRJC anthropology student Francisco Diaz, 25, sat under a tree to brainstorm with Eduardo Wolbert, 25, an unemployed recent graduate, about whether they should hold another march or organize another kind of activity.

At the curb, Jerzy Bomberger, 29, a software developer from Santa Rosa, stood among a row of people waving signs.

Many motorists honked and flashed peace signs as they drove by.

Banks hold too much power, said Bomberger, echoing a sentiment shared among many on the City Hall steps.

Retired physician Sage Keaten, 55, said she was frustrated with the Obama administration’s inability to curb the recession.

“The stories defy description,” she said of foreclosures and unending unemployment among people she knows. “I feel morally compelled to be here. I cannot just stand by.”

Police officers reported that 50 people were on City Hall steps at 9 p.m. Saturday. The crowd dwindled to 40 people by midnight and 20 people by 6 a.m., Schwedhelm said.

By Sunday night it had grown again to about 75 people.

Schwedhelm said he updated the city manager’s office staff Sunday on the protest, and officers would continue to make sure the demonstrators comply with the law.

However, so far officers had not observed illegal behavior, Schwedhelm said. “Arresting them for being at City Hall would mean their mere presence would be against the law, and that’s not the case.”

Protesters said police had been cordial.

“One officer who showed up, we called him ‘Officer Happy,’” said Brice. “He didn’t take any actions. I guess we’re in compliance.”

At least two overnight protesters did catch a few winks.

Jasmine Averill, 5, and her 3-year-old sister, Liliana, slept in blankets under the watchful eye of their mother, Karyl Averill, 34, of Santa Rosa.

“This protest is for their future,” said Averill, whose husband is unemployed.

Averill helped each of her daughters create signs for a cause of their choosing, she said.

Her younger daughter, in head-to-toe pink, colored in a heart with a pink crayon on green construction paper and asked her mother to tape it to a stick.

“I’m making a love heart because I love my mom,” said Liliana. “And my dad.”

Her older sister stood with a row of protesters waving signs at Santa Rosa motorists.

Her sign read simply: “Be good.”

Staff Writer Clark Mason contributed to this story

[Sabrina]

Here's a ton more pictures from Occupy Santa Rosa on Flickr (click the link)

[Barry]

There's video of all(?) the speeches from the Oct 15th rally here.

[Dixon]

Here's a ton more pictures from Occupy Santa Rosa on Flickr (click the link)

Oboy, there's a picture of me there (I'm the masked man holding the sign that says "CLASS WAR--They started it...")