Calm prevails as Occupy deadlines pass in 2 cities

Wall Street protesters dance to music as they remain at the camp in front of Los Angeles City Hall in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stated Friday that the protestors's campsite will be dismantled, beginning at 12:01 a.m. Monday. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)

Wall Street protesters dance to music as they remain at the camp in front of Los Angeles City Hall in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stated Friday that the protestors's campsite will be dismantled, beginning at 12:01 a.m. Monday. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)

Steven Venus fortifies his space at Occupy Philly with wood pallets, Sunday Nov. 27, 2011, in Philadelphia, in defiance of the city?s 5 p.m. Dilworth Plaza eviction order. (AP Photo/ Joseph Kaczmarek)

A member of Occupy Philly who identified herself as Laura watches the demonstration at Dilworth Plaza, in Philadelphia, Sunday Nov. 27, 2011, held in defiance of the city?s 5 p.m. eviction order. (AP Photo/ Joseph Kaczmarek)

Police officers watch as members of Occupy Philly demonstrate at Dilworth Plaza, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011, in Philadelphia, in defiance of the city?s 5 p.m. eviction order. (AP Photo/Joseph Kaczmarek)

Members of Occupy Philly, from right to left, Shawn Grant, Brianne Murphy, and Diane Isser, demonstrate at Dilworth Plaza, in Philadelphia, on Sunday Nov. 27, 2011, in defiance of the city?s 5 p.m. eviction order. (AP Photo/ Joseph Kaczmarek)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Deadlines for Wall Street protesters to leave their encampments came and went in two cities with no arrests in Philadelphia and a festive, party-like atmosphere as protesters in Los Angeles defied the order clear out early Monday.

Protesters defied the mayor's deadline to vacate their encampment near City Hall in Los Angeles, with about 1,000 flooding into the area as hundreds of tents remained standing as they have for nearly two months.

A celebratory atmosphere filled the night with protesters milling about the park and streets by City Hall in seeming good spirits. A group on bicycles circled the block, one of them in a cow suit. Organizers led chants with a bull horn.

"The best way to keep a non-violent movement non-violent is to throw a party, and keep it festive and atmospheric," said Brian Masterson.

Police presence was slight right after the 12:01 a.m. PST Monday deadline, but it began increasing as the morning wore on. At the same time, the number of protesters dwindled.

"People have been pretty cooperative tonight. We want to keep it peaceful," police Cmdr. Andrew Smith told The Associated Press.

He refused to discuss how or when police will move to clear the park, but he said: "We're going to do this as gently as we possibly can. Our goal is not to have anybody arrested. Our goal is not to have to use force."

A deadline set by the city for Occupy Philadelphia to leave the site where it has camped for nearly two months passed Sunday without any arrests.

The reactions to the expired deadlines in Los Angeles and Philadelphia were far different from those in other cities in recent weeks, where pepper spray, tear gas and police action have been used in the removal of long-situated demonstrators since the movement against economic disparity and perceived corporate greed began with Occupy Wall Street in Manhattan two months ago.

Dozens of tents remained at the encampment outside Philadelphia's City Hall Monday morning, twelve hours after a city-imposed deadline passed for the protesters to move to make way for a construction project.

No arrests were immediately reported Monday. The camp appeared mostly quiet amid a heavy police presence, but around 5 a.m. EST a handful of people were marching one of the city's main business corridors banging drums.

The scene outside City Hall was quiet most of the day Sunday. But the sound of protesters' drumming did bring complaints from several people living in nearby high-rise apartment buildings.

In Los Angeles, by 2:30 a.m., most protesters had moved from the camp site in the park to the streets. That put them technically in compliance with the mayor's eviction order, but could lead to confrontation with police if they try to clear the streets.

There have so far been no arrests or reports of violence.

"We're still here, it's after 12, ain't nobody throwing anything at the cops, they haven't come in and broken anyone's noses yet, so it's a beautiful thing," said Adam Rice, a protester standing across the street from police in riot gear.

In Philadelphia, along the steps leading into a plaza, about 50 people sat in lines Sunday with the promise that they would not leave unless they were carried out by authorities. For a time, they linked arms. But as it seemed that a forceful ouster was not imminent, they relaxed a bit. A police presence was heavier than usual but no orders to leave had been issued.

A few dozen tents remained scattered on the plaza, along with trash, piles of dirty blankets and numerous signs reading, "You can't evict an idea."

Several hundred supporters surrounded those who were prepared to face arrest for one of the Occupy movement meetings known as a general assembly.

The meeting started out with logistics ? making sure those sitting in had quarters to make calls from jail and that someone was gathering important medical information ? but it soon turned to big ideas.

The protesters described their many hopes for a better world. Among them: reparations for slavery and Native American lands, better and more inspiring schools, recognizing gay marriage, and end to homelessness, fewer TVs and better pay for artists. Some of those who spoke with hope and joined in rendition of "Lean on Me," had goggles with them, just in case pepper spray is used.

There was a sense that the occupation in front of Philadelphia's Gothic-style City Hall would soon be over, but hope that the movement would last.

"This is just baby steps," said R.W. Dennen, who said he felt a bit guilty that he wasn't preparing to be arrested.

Elsewhere on the East Coast, eight people were arrested in Maine after protesters in the Occupy Augusta encampment in Capitol Park took down their tents and packed their camping gear after being told to get a permit or move their shelters.

Protesters pitched tents Oct. 15 as part of the national movement but said Sunday they shouldn't have to get a permit to exercise their right to assemble. Occupy leaders said a large teepee loaned by the Penobscot Indians and a big all-weather tent would stay up.

In Philadelphia, Steve Venus was fortifying the area around his tent with abandoned wood pallets left over from those who had already packed up. He said the $50 million construction project, including a planned ice skating rink, was not a good enough reason for Occupy Philadelphia to leave the plaza.

Venus, 22, said that by enforcing the deadline, the city was essentially telling Occupy supporters "your issues are not important. The only issue that's important is the ice skating rink."

On Friday, Mayor Michael Nutter expressed support for the movement's ideals but said protesters must make room for the long-planned project, which they were told of when they set up camp Oct. 6.

Nutter was out of town Sunday, but his spokesman reiterated that "people are under orders to move."

The mayor himself had an exchange on Twitter with hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons, who asked Nutter "to remember this is a non-violent movement ? please show restraint tonight."

Nutter's response: "I agree."

Graffiti, lack of sanitation and fire hazards, including smoking in tents, were among the city's chief concerns at Dilworth, which had about 350 tents at the height of the movement.

___

Mulvihill reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press Writers Kathy Matheson in Philadelphia, Glenn Adams in Augusta, Maine, contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-11-28-Occupy-Protests/id-af04cea1e2ed496591232614f16652ed

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Clean air, water rules spark different responses (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Large and small companies have told Republican-led congressional committees what the party wants to hear: dire predictions of plant closings and layoffs if the Obama administration succeeds with plans to further curb air and water pollution.

But their message to financial regulators and investors conveys less gloom and certainty.

The administration itself has clouded the picture by withdrawing or postponing some of the environmental initiatives that industry labeled as being among the most onerous.

Still, Republicans plan to make what they say is regulatory overreach a 2012 campaign issue, taking aim at President Barack Obama, congressional Democrats and an aggressive Environmental Protection Agency.

"Republicans will be talking to voters this campaign season about how to keep Washington out of the way, so that job creators can feel confident again to create jobs for Americans," said Joanna Burgos, a spokeswoman for the House Republican campaign organization.

The Associated Press compared the companies' congressional testimony to company reports submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The reports to the SEC consistently said the impact of environmental proposals is unknown or would not cause serious financial harm to a firm's finances.

Companies can legitimately argue that their less gloomy SEC filings are correct, since most of the tougher anti-pollution proposals have not been finalized. And their officials' testimony before congressional committees was sometimes on behalf of ? and written by ? trade associations, a perspective that can differ from an individual company's view.

But the disparity in the messages shows that in a political environment, business has no misgivings about describing potential economic horror stories to lawmakers.

"As an industry, we have said this before, we face a potential regulatory train wreck," Anthony Earley Jr., then the executive chairman of DTE Energy in Michigan, told a House committee on April 15. "Without the right policy, we could be headed for disaster."

The severe economic consequences, he said, would be devastating to the electric utility's customers, especially Detroit residents who "simply cannot afford" higher rates.

Earley, who is now chairman and CEO of Pacific Gas & Electric Corp., said if the EPA had its way, coal-fired plants would be replaced with natural gas ? leading to a spike in gas prices. He said he was testifying for the electric industry, not just his company.

But in its quarterly report to the SEC, Detroit-based DTE, which serves 3 million utility customers in Michigan, said that it was "reviewing potential impacts of the proposed and recently finalized rules, but is not able to quantify the financial impact ... at this time."

Skiles Boyd, a DTE vice president for environmental issues, said in an interview that the testimony was meant to convey the potential economic hardship on ratepayers ? while the SEC report focused on the company's financial condition.

"It's two different subjects," he said.

Another congressional witness, Jim Pearce of chemical company FMC Corp., told a House hearing last Feb. 9: "The current U.S. approach to regulating greenhouse gases ... will lead U.S. natural soda ash producers to lose significant business to our offshore rivals...." Soda ash is used to produce glass, and is a major component of the company's business..

But in its annual report covering 2010 and submitted to the SEC 13 days after the testimony, the company said it was "premature to make any estimate of the costs of complying with un-enacted federal climate change legislation, or as yet un-implemented federal regulations in the United States." The Philadelphia-based company did not respond to a request for comment..

California Rep. Henry Waxman, the senior Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the SEC filings "show that the anti-regulation rhetoric in Washington is political hot air with little or no connection to reality."

House Republicans have conducted dozens of hearings, and passed more than a dozen bills to stop proposed environmental rules. So far, all the GOP bills have gone nowhere in the Democratic-run Senate.

"I will see to it, to the best of my ability, to try to stop everything," California Sen . Barbara Boxer, the Democratic chairman of the Senate's environment committee, vowed in reference to GOP legislation aimed at reining in the EPA. She predicted Republicans "will lose seats over this."

The Obama administration has reconsidered some of the environmental proposals in response to the drumbeat from business groups. In September, the president scrubbed a clean-air regulation that aimed to reduce health-threatening smog. Last May, EPA delayed indefinitely regulations to reduce toxic pollution from boilers and incinerators.

James Rubright, CEO of Rock-Tenn Co., a Norcross, Ga.-based producer of corrugated-and-consumer packaging, told a House panel in September that a variety of EPA, job safety and chemical security regulations would require "significant capital investment" ? money that "otherwise go to growth in manufacturing capacity and the attendant production of jobs."

Rubright conveyed a consulting firm's conclusion that EPA's original boiler proposal before the Obama administration withdrew it in May would have cost the forest products industry about $7 billion, and the packaging industry $6.8 billion.

Another industry study, he said, warned that original boiler rule would have placed 36 mills at risk and would have jeopardized more than 20,000 jobs in the pulp and paper industries ? about 18 percent of the work force.

But a month before his testimony_ and three months after EPA withdrew its boiler proposal ? Rock-Tenn told the SEC that "future compliance with these environmental laws and regulations will not have a material adverse effect on our results or operations, financial condition or cash flows." The company did not respond to a request for comment.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111126/ap_on_go_co/us_clean_air_politics

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