These are just really cool t-shirts

​If you are bitter about Valentine's Day, who better to take it out on than Wells Fargo and other big banks? After all, they are the ones who broke your heart, right?

We know they've hurt a lot of hearts in Bernal Heights, which is why Occupy Bernal has big plans for this day of love. Neighbors are using Valentine's Day to heal that pain with a new campaign, initiated by Causa Justa::Just Cause, dubbed "Dump the Banks."

And yes, couples are welcome, too.
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Occupying Oakland is kinda like a full-time job

​Occupy Oakland protesters are gathering in downtown today with plans for yet another momentous day of action. But don't everyone get too excited -- occupiers are striving to make this event completely tame.

The day of action was scheduled to start with a noon rally in downtown Oakland at Frank Ogawa Plaza near City Hall, featuring recently jailed protesters who will speak out against the Oakland Police Department's "illegal tactics." The rally will turn into a march outside the courthouse in downtown Oakland, according to Occupy Oakland.

Other protesters are planning to pack courtrooms throughout they day, where fellow occupiers will be answering to charges related to last weekend's melee in which more than 400 were arrested as Occupy Oakland tried to take over a vacant building.

While last weekend turned chaotic, splintering occupiers, today the group is calling for a G-rated rally -- the kind that even Bernal Height's Wild Old Women could safely attend and enjoy.

"The media is really excited about Occupy Oakland right now because they hope to see vandalism, tear gas, and blood, but that is unlikely to happen anytime soon," Scott Johnson, editor of The Occupy Oakland Tribune told us. "We have never sought a confrontation and we are not seeking one now, but we do hope to expose the inappropriate tactics of the OPD and City Hall against our freedom to assembly and freedom of speech."

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Occupy is asking protesters to do something a little more creative than just occupy vacant buildings.

The Occupy movement has launched a contest, calling on designers to create a new logo that would best symbolize the international movement and its basic tenet -- protesting financial inequality.

The contest, which is, appropriately enough, being hosted at 99designs.com, started this week and will end on Feb. 8 when Occupy will select its favorite design. Aside from designing a ubiquitous emblem that will identify the movement,  the winner will get also get $1,000 -- that's a nice chunk of change for a 99 percenter.

Here's what Occupy is looking for in its new logo:
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Kate Conger

Who's fault is that?

​Occupy Oakland and Oakland police have been playing the blame game with who's responsible for the chaos and violence that erupted in downtown Saturday night. And while it continues to be a chicken-or-the-egg debate, police can say with some certainty that occupiers are responsible for the break-in at City Hall Saturday night. 

Oakland police released some surveillance that they say refutes claims by protesters that the doors to City Hall were left open, meaning there was no illegal break-in. In this footage, it appears as though someone pried the doors open with a tool, allowing a group of protesters to rush the building.

Watch this video, and tell us what you think:

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Kate Conger

​Oakland officials truly upped the ante in their battle with Occupy Oakland when they secured a stay-away order for 12 protesters who were charged in connection with the weekend chaos in downtown Oakland.

The demonstrators were ordered to stay 300 feet away from Frank Ogawa Plaza, home of City Hall and once the camp grounds for Occupy Oakland until police raided the encampment. If they violate this order, they could face up to six months in jail, according to the Chron. Those charged with felonies are also ordered to stay away from the vacant Kaiser Convention Center, which protesters attempted to overtake this past weekend.

More than 400 people were arrested on Saturday after a planned Occupy rally turned violent. Protesters were hauled off to jail for a plethora of reasons, including drug offenses, breaking into City Hall, and assaulting police officers.

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Kate Conger

What's not to like?

​The Occupy Movement is still making headlines, four months after it took root in New York City. But it's only front-page news because of the damage it's been causing, not because of its success. Perhaps that explains the latest sentiment among San Francisco residents who were once on board with Occupy, but are now opposed the anti-big bank movement.

According to a SurveyUSA poll -- which sampled 500 residents in San Francisco -- 32 percent of those who initially supported the Occupy Movement have decided that they don't like what Occupy is doing. What's more, 71 percent say they do not support the movement taking over vacant buildings, like protesters tried to do in Oakland over the weekend, which ended in a violent scene and more than 400 arrests.

Protesters won't be happy to read this: About 33 percent of those surveyed said they didn't think police were being harsh enough, while 28 percent said they were too harsh. About 35 percent said police were handling the protesters just about right.

"People are getting tired of it. It's gone from bad to worse," said David Latterman, a local political consultant. "By and large San Francisco's Occupy went pretty well, meaning it was nonviolent and it wasn't ugly, but when people look across the Bay, they see it's a mess over there."
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Reporters are there to observe the story, not be the story

​Plenty of people are unhappy all around about what happened in downtown Oakland Saturday evening -- journalists included. Hundreds of police in riot gear descended on a planned Occupy Oakland rally over the weekend, which escalated into another violent scene where more than 400 people were arrested.

Despite having press credentials, at least five of those who were hauled off to jail were local reporters covering the event, including journalists from the San Francisco Chronicle, Mother Jones, the East Bay Express, and the San Francisco Bay Guardian.

Incidentally, local reporters have now become part of the very story they were covering, prompting the local Newspaper Guild to craft this very blunt message to the Oakland Police Department: Back off.

The guild has written a letter to Mayor Jean Quan and Police Chief Howard Jordan, requesting a meeting with the two leaders to discuss the problem of Oakland hindering reporters from doing their job.

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Kate Conger

Perhaps a conference call is in order?

​After a weekend of epic chaos that led to more than 400 arrests in downtown Oakland, Mayor Jean Quan says she is going to place a call to New York City -- home of the Occupy Wall Street movement --  to let protesters there know she is really, really sick and tired of Occupy consuming her hometown.

Assuming she can get someone on the other end of the line, Quan says she will plead and beg Occupy Wall Street to "disown" Occupy Oakland, as the local movement has done nothing but disgrace her city, Quan told KCBS earlier today. "I plan to call some of the national leadership of Occupy this week to say that the Oakland group is not nonviolent and has not agreed to be nonviolent. The national Occupy movement has said they are nonviolent."

But considering the bad rap Quan has gotten over her initial handling of the Occupy Oakland encampment back in October, we're guessing OWS leaders will send her call straight to voice mail.

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Occupy Oakland

​Occupy Oakland's plans to peacefully occupy a vacant building once again turned into a  mini war zone when hundreds of police in riot gear descended on the group Saturday afternoon.

The only thing protesters are occupying now are jail cells.

More than 400 protesters were arrested Saturday in what became an epic stand-off between occupiers that -- once again -- accomplished nothing in downtown Oakland. 

Never mind the amount of money blown on police overtime and crews to clean up the aftermath of this chaos; occupiers are now asking you to donate money to help bail their fellow protesters out of jail.
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Erin Sherbert

This has Occupy Oakland written all over it

​Occupy Oakland is still at it, with plans this weekend to move into a vacant building that protesters can call home.

According to Occupy Oakland:

"Like millions of people in this country, Occupy Oakland has no home. On January 28, Move-in Day, we're going to change that. We're going to occupy a large, vacant building and convert it into a social center. Come join us for the initial occupation. There will be a festival all that weekend to celebrate our new home."

The location has not yet been disclosed, but protesters have given a stern warning to police: If the cops try to stop them, Occupy Oakland will block the airport or the city's port indefinitely.

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