Occupy Oakland Tussles Over Vacant Lot

Occupy Oakland protesters are having trouble staying in one place. Kicked out of their original encampment, they moved to a vacant lot that's in foreclosure this week. Now police have driven most of the Occupiers off that space, too, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Some 200 protesters took over the lot over the course of the day yesterday; several said that the owner had given them permission to do so, but she says that wasn’t the case.

“We thought the owner wanted us here, but I think maybe she didn't know what she was getting into and changed her mind,” noted one protester. But even after most protesters left, about 50 returned. Some said they aimed to hold their ground. The owner, Gloria Cobb—whose brother is an activist who publishes the Oakland Post—received a default notice this summer. The property will revert to Wells Fargo if she doesn’t cover her loan by mid-December. As for the protesters, "They're just moving from spot to spot, and they're not accomplishing much," said a bus driver. (More Occupy Oakland stories.)