City to Occupy: Clean It Up

Turns out the protesters in front of City Hall have finally got the attention of officials there — but not for the issues about which they are protesting.

Cameron Whitten, the former Occupy Portland mayoral candidate on the 42nd day of a hunger strike, reports that the city has sent a letter to the protesters asking them to stop cluttering up the sidewalk with trash and their belongings. Apparently pedestrians are also have a tough time getting around some of the protestors. City officials also advise it's improper for people to be smoking pot on the sidewalk.

Says Whitten in a tweet: "Notice from City: No property obstructions, no marijuana & NO SEX ON THE SIDEWALK. No news on housing reform." He attaches a photo of the letter here.

The letter was sent to protestors one day after WW reported that there's a huge rat problem (that is, too many of them, not a huge rat) across the street at Terry Schrunk Plaza, which officials link to original Occupy camps last fall. There's concern the current protests are making things worse.

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