Protests in Saint Paul lead to tear gas and arrests

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

The Uptake is streaming some amazing video of protests and arrests in Saint Paul. This is nothing like what happened in Denver.

Police arrested at least 13 people in St. Paul and charged them with damaging property Monday afternoon, after renegade protesters roamed downtown, smashed store windows and blocked traffic.

The splinter groups occupied police, who responded with rubber bullets, chemical spray and a show of force; bus service was temporarily suspended in downtown St. Paul.- MPR

As many as 56 people have been arrested now including Amy Goodman from Democracy Now (see video of her arrest here.)

There's a great list of people Twittering the convention here

http://twitter.com/rnc08_police

http://twitter.com/theuptake

http://twitter.com/JasonBarnett

http://twitter.com/coldsnaplegal

http://twitter.com/rnc08announce

http://twitter.com/MnIndyLIVE

http://twitter.com/N614EF

http://twitter.com/minnpostnow

http://twitter.com/PiPress

http://twitter.com/tcimc

http://twitter.com/chuckumentary

http://twitter.com/noahkunin

rnc08announce seems to be the most active and appears to be orchestrating the protests

Some wild stuff on these video streams. And to think I would probably be there if I still lived in Mpls!

The First Protest

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Yesterday afternoon:

More than a thousand protesters marched to the gates of the Pepsi Center today, temporarily closing down access to the site of the Democratic National Convention. Protesters from the Recreate 68 anti-war rally and march briefly sat down, but dispersed peacefully when police asked them to disband. There were no arrests.

Police officers, some on mountain bikes, some on horses, escorted the marchers from the steps of the Capitol down Colfax Avenue and Speer Boulevard to the Pepsi Center.

Warehouse holding cells ready for convention protests

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Denver is preparing for convention protests by constructing holding cells in warehouses north of the city.

The newly created lockup is on the northeast side of Denver. Protesters have already given this place a name: "Gitmo on the Platte."

Inside are dozens are metal cages. They are made out of chain link fence material and topped by rolls of barbed wire.

"This is a secured environment," Capt. Frank Gale of the Denver Sheriff's Department told CBS4. "We're concerned about how that's going to be utilized by people who will be potentially disruptive." - CBS 4 Denver

The Rocky Mountain News is reporting today that the cells will only be used for holding people temporarily.

It won't be used for any long- term detention, and prisoners won't be kept for more than a few hours, authorities said.

Officials said they decided to build the facility because of the huge number of visitors expected and the intentions of some protesters to be arrested.

The sheriff's department has written letters to residents and businesses in the neighborhood explaining that no detainees will be released into the neighborhood even if they are able to post bail at the temporary center. - RMN

(Picture from Westword. Click here to see more including the photographer's harrowing escape from a "sketchy black truck".)

Pepsi Center Parking Lot Quickly Taking Shape

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

After the media walk through at Invesco yesterday I took a short drive over to the Pepsi Center to see how things were shaping up. It's amazing how much activity is going on in the parking lot.

Just a few short months ago the Pepsi Center parking lot was a vast open space.
(Click picture for full size)

Now it is filled with tents and construction workers.

And probably the most interesting pictures are of the protest fences that went up in a couple hours. The blue area below is where the following pictures were taken.

The fence is right in front of the media tent. The media is not happy having the protest area so close to their workspace.

The interior perimeter fence may have been erected yesterday also.

Protest groups and ACLU back in court next week

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

The ongoing debate between convention protest groups and the city of Denver over protest rules continues in federal court next week:

A fenced-in area for demonstrators at the Democratic National Convention amounts to putting the proverbial "soapbox in the town square" inside a "caged pen" on the "outskirts of town."

Or so the American Civil Liberties Union and a host of protest groups plan to argue in federal court next week.

Not so, the City and County of Denver and the U.S. Secret Service plan to assert.

"To be clear, this so-called 'demonstration zone' is not an isolated area to which the city will confine demonstrators," lawyers for Denver argued in a brief filed on the eve of next Tuesday's trial to settle lingering First Amendment issues raised by protest groups and the ACLU.
...
And the recently announced plans to move the last day of the convention across Interstate 25 to Invesco Field at Mile High further complicate the question, as the ACLU and the protest groups expect to raise the same issues there that they did at the Pepsi Center. - Rocky Mountain News

National Guard Plans On Renting 500 Rooms for the Convention

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

From The Colorado Independent:

The U.S. Army and Colorado National Guard have announced intentions to reserve more than 500 hotel rooms for lodging during the Democratic National Convention, hinting at the number of military personnel that may be in Denver for the high-profile event that is expected to draw an estimated 50,000 protesters.

While the Democratic convention is being held on Aug 25-28, officials with the Colorado National Guard are seeking to reserve 438 rooms for Aug. 22-30 and 78 rooms for Aug. 18-30 according to award announcements published Friday on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site, a page run by the federal government for business contract solicitations.

The documents show that majority of guard personnel staying from Aug. 22-30 are set to lodge at Johnson & Wales University, located on 7150 Montview Blvd in far east Denver, while 32 rooms will be rented out for an unknown Extended Stay America location in Denver.

Johnson & Wales University

View Larger Map

Drury Inn

View Larger Map

Maps are provided to show proximity to downtown Denver.

CSN sing "Denver"

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Graham Nash's famous song, "Chicago", was written about the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, as well as the trial of the Chicago Eight. The line "Won't you please come to Chicago just to sing" refers to Nash pleading with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young band mates Stephen Stills and Neil Young to come to Chicago to protest at the Chicago Eight trial, although most people just assume it was a call to people to come to Chicago to protest. That was unlikely, as the song was released two years after the '68 convention.

But the convention protest site Come Up To Denver has word of a new version:

Crosby, Stills and Nash brought the audience to their feet when they performed "Denver" at their concert on June 26 at the Wells Fargo Theatre in Denver. "Denver" is a remade version of the Come Up to Denver Campaign's remade version of Graham Nash's original song "Chicago" .

Graham Nash dedicated their performance of the song on Thursday to Coloroado Governor Bill Ritter, who was in the audience. No word on what the governor thought of CSN rallying activists to converge on the capitol of his state for the 2008 DNC.

(The live version of "Chicago" featured a dedication to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley).

Here's CSN in Denver singing "Denver":

Tools and feces throwing will not be allowed outside the convention

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

No word yet on whether either will be allowed inside the Pepsi Center.

The prospect of protesters linking themselves with devices that bolt cutters can't sever or throwing buckets of feces on police has Denver considering putting a new law on the books before the Democratic National Convention.

Demonstrators would be banned from having items such as chains, quick-setting cement, homemade locking devices that are resistant to bolt cutters and "any noxious substance," City Council members said Monday.

"Protesters are getting pretty sophisticated," said Councilman Doug Linkhart, chairman of the council's safety committee.

"In other cities, they're not just handcuffing themselves to each other," he said. "They put their handcuffs inside PVC tubes, which are inside concrete. They've figured out ways that keep the police from just using bolt cutters to cut them apart. They also use buckets of urine and feces and various noxious substances to pour on themselves or the police." - RMN

I talked to a local sheriff and he told me about the PVC pipe handcuffing. They're doing training on how to separate the protesters without taking their limbs off.

The Colorado Independent has a story today about the weapons police are purchasing for the convention.

The public may never know what weapons and other equipment Denver police are buying with taxpayer money in preparation for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) before the event happens in August, despite a lawsuit seeking to disclose the information under public records laws.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Colorado has filed a lawsuit against Denver to determine what exactly city police are buying with the $50 million in federal funds appropriated for security during the convention. But even if a district judge sympathizes with plaintiffs in a court hearing set for Aug. 8, the city could still appeal the decision and keep the information secret until after the event.

Questions

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

With the move of Obama's acceptance speech to Invesco Field, we at DemConWatch have questions:

• The networks usually setup full anchor booths inside the convention hall, setup so the podium can be seen over the anchor's shoulder. Are they going to do anchor booths in Invesco also? And in 5 days?
  
• Given the enormous publicity that's going to surround Thursday's speech, will the networks cut back on their coverage earlier in the week?
• Will the protest area and parade route need to be moved? Any protest area is supposed to be within "sight and sound" of delegates." The area in the Pepsi Center parking lot is not within sight and sound of Invesco.
• Have the Broncos been approached about moving their preseason game on Aug 22 to another site, or moving it earlier in the week, to allow more preparation time for the speech? (And we thought only the GOP would face NFL conflicts).

Update: And a first start at some answers:

The move, rumored for days and announced by the Obama campaign on Monday, set off a round of complaints from news executives, who for more than a year have been drawing up elaborate plans for a convention that was to culminate in the main hall, at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
...
The news media will also bear added costs. Executives said they would have to reconfigure plans long in the making, a particular headache for the television networks, which build elaborate sets for the conventions to showcase their stars. The acceptance speeches are traditionally when television news divisions draw their largest ratings of the conventions.

“It’s a bit of a monkey wrench in the plans, but nothing we can’t handle,” said Marty Ryan, the executive producer in charge of political programming at Fox News Channel.

David Bohrman, the Washington bureau chief of CNN, said his network was moving ahead with plans to build a platform on the floor of the Pepsi Center, but executives at several other networks said planning would require further review. - NY Times

However, cable and broadcast news organizations can’t begin drawing up concrete plans for the Aug. 28 event at the open-air Invesco Field at the 76,000-seat Mile High Stadium until the Democratic National Committee and the Obama campaign make some basic decisions about things like where the stage will be.
...
After a Monday afternoon conference call with representatives of the five major news organizations, the DNC and the Obama campaign, CNN was feeling good about its plans to have its CNN Election Express bus on the scene in Denver.

“It’s an instant four-camera, high-definition remote [facility],” David Bohrman, the Washington bureau chief who is the chief producer of CNN’s political coverage, said after the call. “Thank goodness we built the bus.”

MSNBC is glad it had decided to construct a base for its anchors at a location outside the Pepsi Center. - TV Week

The budget-conscious broadcast networks will also consider scaling back the size of studios they traditionally build at the convention center, knowing they will also have to prepare perches for their anchors at the stadium, said executives at three networks who spoke on condition of anonymity because no decisions had been made. - AP

ACLU and protest groups still not happy

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

The ACLU was in court again over conditions for protesters at the 2008 Democratic Convention:

The American Civil Liberties Union and several advocacy groups have filed an amended complaint to their lawsuit against the U.S. Secret Service and the city and county of Denver that says protesters and demonstrators may have their First Amendment rights violated by security restrictions.

The ACLU has said it wants to avoid the conditions that existed during the 2004 convention in Boston, where protesters were caged, infuriating First Amendment advocates

And how will the protest area be enclosed?

The fence around the public demonstration zone outside the Democratic National Convention will be chicken wire or chain link, authorities revealed in U.S. District Court today. - Denver Post

The comparison to Boston?

Cement barriers, 8-foot-tall chain-link fencing, and heavy black netting have been installed around the protest zone outside the FleetCenter. - Boston Globe

Media representatives not happy with protester proximity

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

National media representatives are upset that an area designated for protesters during the Democratic National Convention is right next to press tents on the Pepsi Center's grounds.

They fear too much noise and commotion and the threat of tear gas if demonstrations get out of hand.

"Imagine trying to do your job with hundreds of people screaming, blowing whistles, beating drums and trying to get the attention of the media," said Associated Press reporter Andrew Taylor, chairman of the Standing Committee of Correspondents, which represents congressional reporters on Capitol Hill.

"This is basically insulting," he said.

City and federal authorities are under a court order that mandates protesters be within "sight and sound" of delegates. On Monday, they announced plans to place the 50,000-square-foot public demonstration zone in Pepsi Center Parking Lot A.- Denver Post

This picture was taken from where the protest area will be in the Pepsi Center parking lot.

As you can see this will definitely be within "sight and sound" of the delegates.









Here's an aerial view from the Pepsi Center which gives you a better idea on how close the protesters will be to the arena.

From Google Maps it looks like it's around 500 feet from the protest are to the front door of the Pepsi Center

To get a more detailed view click here

Denver Agrees to Disclose Jail Policies and Procedures Manual

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Just announced by the ACLU...

ACLU Announces Settlement of Recently Filed Lawsuit; Denver Agrees to Disclose Jail Policies and Procedures Manual

The ACLU of Colorado announced today that it has settled a lawsuit against Denver that sought the policy and procedure manual that governs the processing and treatment of detainees at Denver’s downtown city jail, known as the Pre-Arraignment Detention Facility, or PADF. As part of the settlement, Denver agreed to disclose all portions of the manual designated by the ACLU, and to pay $5,000 of the ACLU of Colorado’s attorney fees and costs. The PADF is Denver’s intake center, where arrestees are first taken to be booked, fingerprinted, given the opportunity to post bond, and housed until they are released or eventually transferred to Denver’s larger county jail.

According to the lawsuit, despite repeated requests from the ACLU, Denver refused to disclose sections of the manual claiming that disclosure would be “contrary to the public interest.” After a final request for voluntary disclosure was again refused by Denver, the ACLU filed suit on May 19, 2008, seeking disclosure of the manual under the Colorado open records laws. Just prior to the first court hearing in the case that was scheduled for June 19, 2008, Denver agreed to turn over all manual sections designated by the ACLU on or before June 25, 2008, subject to redaction. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, the ACLU can challenge in court any redactions it believes are unjustified.

“We are certainly pleased that the City has agreed to release the records,” said John Culver, an ACLU Cooperating Attorney who is lead counsel in the case. “Disclosure of the manual is firmly within the public interest, and the City’s policies at the jail should be transparent and open to any member of the public who wants to view them.”

Disclosure of the manual was necessary in part, the ACLU argued in the lawsuit, because of the possibility of mass arrests in connection with protests at the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Denver. According to papers filed in court, last summer the ACLU asked Denver police to handle minor violations with a summons or a notice to appear in court, a practice known as “cite and release.” Denver Police Department Deputy Chief Battista reportedly responded that under Denver’s current policy, police must make full custodial arrests—requiring detention in the PADF—for even minor violations connected with protests. The ACLU argued in the lawsuit that the public had a right to know whether Denver’s policies and procedures at the PADF were adequate to handle the mass influx of arrestees that could result as a consequence of such a policy during the DNC, especially after the events surrounding the Columbus Day protests in October of 2007 when just eighty arrests overwhelmed the PADF and resulted in delays of up to 12 hours before arrestees who had already posted bond were released. At the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City, police made over 1800 arrests causing serious problems with access to medical care, food, attorneys, and sanitary facilities.
“Denver has certainly done the right thing by finally releasing these policies,” stated ACLU of Colorado Staff Attorney Taylor Pendergrass, “We are disappointed that it took a lawsuit and Denver’s expenditure of $5,000 of Denver taxpayers’ money, however, to convince Denver to release documents that we believe clearly should have been disclosed in the first place.”
Under the terms of the settlement, Denver does not admit any liability or fault for refusing to disclose the portions of the manual sought by the ACLU.

The settlement of this case is unconnected to a separate lawsuit between the ACLU and Denver where the ACLU is seeking disclosure, under the Colorado open records laws, of records regarding how Denver is spending public moneys on less-lethal weaponry and other equipment prior to the DNC. A hearing in that case has been scheduled for June 24, 2008 at 8:30 a.m. in Denver District Court.

A message from Mayor Hickenlooper

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

As we turn the page....

A message from Mayor John W. Hickenlooper and the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee:

Number of Visitors: While as many as 50,000 visitors are anticipated between Saturday, August 23 and Thursday, August 28 - including delegates, assorted guests and 15,000 members of the media - it is important to remember that this is less than the number of people that come downtown for Rockies' Opening Day or for a Broncos game. Denver has hosted games in all three downtown stadiums at the same time, involving close to 150,000 people. The Convention visitors - who won't all be downtown at the same time - will spend significant amounts of time inside the Colorado Convention Center, Pepsi Center and other event venues. Downtown restaurants will be open for business - and should be able to easily accommodate local diners as activity on the Convention floor takes place between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Street, Residential and Commercial Access: We are working very hard to ensure that downtown residents and workers can get around and access their buildings with ease during the Democratic National Convention. Because of the Pepsi Center's location in the Platte Valley, transportation- and security-related impacts on downtown will be minimized.

• When people talk about a "security perimeter," what they are really talking about are areas around the Pepsi Center that may require additional screening or security measures. Those areas will be finalized and announced closer to the Convention, but please know that our intention is to minimize any impacts on roadways, businesses and residences. More updates will be provided to businesses and residents near the Pepsi Center - and the general public - over the coming weeks.

• While there will be some modest traffic impacts in the downtown area during the Convention, it will not tie up the downtown. Downtown workers should not have difficulties getting to or leaving work, particularly since the main hours of Pepsi Center activity (4 p.m. to 9 p.m.) do not correspond with standard morning or evening commute times. The bottom line is: Downtown will be accessible
  ...
  

Free Speech: We support the rights of people to express their views safely and in a manner that respects the rights of others along with local, state and federal laws. The 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston attracted 10,000 demonstrators. Some peaceful demonstrations are anticipated in Civic Center, Skyline Park and other downtown parks during the week of the Convention.

• As a point of reference, approximately 75,000 to 100,000 people gathered in Civic Center Park for a May 2006 rally, and it did not inconvenience downtown businesses, residents or City services. The annual set-up for the Downtown Denver Partnership's Taste of Colorado will also begin in Civic Center on the Wednesday of the Convention week.

• A designated parade route - the details of which will be announced by June 12 - will provide organizations that want to march toward the Pepsi Center a safe means to do so in a manner and timeframe that minimizes mobility impacts on downtown businesses, residents and visitors.

Convention protest update

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

It seems like we've come a long way since 1968: Local law groups recently sponsored "a four-day series of workshops and discussions that offer training and tips for activists and protesters planning to demonstrate in and around convention week." And at these meetings we learned a little more about plans for dealing with the protests:

Protesters will not be confined to "cages" during the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and the city wants to get away from the long lines of shoulder-to-shoulder, riot-gear-clad police that typified security at the national conventions in Boston and New York, Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown said today.
...
Brown participated in a noontime panel discussion with Glenn Spagnuolo, a representative for Re-create 68, the Denver-based umbrella group for war protesters and other activists that has said it will occupy Civic Center day and night throughout the convention.

Spagnuolo had charged that Denver planned to keep protesters as much as a mile away from the Pepsi Center, where the convention is to be held, saying he had it "on good authority" that the security perimeter would extend in a mile radius around the arena. ...

Details of the perimeter have not been released, but Mike Dino, who leads the Denver committee responsible for hosting the convention, told a group of business executives at the Pepsi Center this morning that the one-mile radius was a rumor and not true. Brown said he expected details of the perimeter to be released in six to eight weeks.

This one-mile radius is a story that just won't die.

50,000 expected in Denver

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

It's going to be crowded in August:

Democratic National Convention organizers have bumped up their estimate on how many people will flock to Denver during the presidential-nominating bash. The new estimate is now 50,000 people - a 43 percent increase from initial estimates, Leah Daughtry, chief executive officer of the Democratic National Convention Committee, told City Council members Monday.

From heads of state to people who just want to be in Denver on the night the first black man or the first woman becomes a major party's nominee for president, interest around the historic event is growing, she said. "I think it's going to be exciting for Denver," Daughtry said.

The estimate doesn't include the tens of thousands of protesters who are expected to show up.

The DNCC's working estimate had always been 35,000 attendees, including delegates, media and elected officials, spokeswoman Jenni Engebretsen said. "Just looking at the overwhelming interest that we're having in this convention . . . we're likely to see a higher than anticipated turnout here in Denver come August," she said.

Tens of thousands of protesters? Sounds like at least 70,000.

Park Permit Lottery a success - Unless you're Recreate 68

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

The on-going saga of Denver's park permit plan for the convention took a big step yesterday when the permits were decided on by a lottery. A previous attempt at the lottery on Tuesday was halted after a Recreate 68 member realized they weren't on the list even though they had applied multiple times. Problem solved? Hardly! Recreate 68 didn't get the permit they wanted for Civic Center Park.

"We're having our protest at Civic Center," said a livid Glenn Spagnuolo, a lead organizer for the group Re-create 68. "We're not going to give up Civic Center park to the Democrats. . . . They are creating a very dangerous situation."

Re-create 68 and its affiliates packed the random lottery with applications to better its chances, but the single entry by Jenny Anderson for the host committee won for Sunday, Aug. 24. The convention will be held Aug. 25-28 at the Pepsi Center.

Spagnuolo has been meeting monthly with city officials for a year, hoping to win the right to use Civic Center throughout the convention. He says 50,000 war protesters are coming for a march from Civic Center to the Pepsi Center on Aug. 24.

He said Thursday that he would not respect the host committee's permit and would occupy the park, even if it forced police to intervene. - Denver Post

Yesterday we received the following statement from Mayor Hickenlooper's office regarding the lottery

We worked to hard to develop a process that is fair, equitable, open and transparent – with built-in safeguards (including the public’s participation) to catch any errors. That system worked on Tuesday – enabling discrepancies to be detected and addressed without impacting the integrity of this process.

In our analysis on Wednesday, we identified the source of the problem. The data itself was accurate, but had been incorrectly sorted by the spreadsheet, creating errors in the lottery cards. Because of that, the lottery process started over from the beginning on Thursday.

City staff went through an exhaustive process on Wednesday to identify the source of the problem, create a new database, and cross-check all of the data, lists and lottery cards multiple times – with observers present. An hour before today’s lottery started, individuals and organizations requesting permits had the opportunity to review all of the lists and cards themselves, ensuring everything was correct. The process – involving more than 200 requests for more than 200 available slots in 12 venues – went smoothly.

Looks like it may be an interesting start to the convention.

Denver to try Park Permit Lottery again today

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

If you saw our story yesterday about the Park Permit Lottery Mess you may be interested to know they're going to try again today

A lottery to determine which groups will receive permits to use Denver parks around the time of the Democratic National Convention in August is scheduled to take place Thursday.

The process was halted Tuesday as city officials responded to complaints that members of a protest group were left out of the process.

A member of Denver-based Recreate 68 says her name was left off applications for four of the five days she sought a permit for Civic Center Park in downtown Denver. City officials then suspended the lottery while they verified their lists.

The dispute added another hitch to the contentious race for access to public areas near the convention, which will be held at the Pepsi Center west of downtown August 25 through 28. - KKTV

One thing that hasn't been brought up is that the same protest group complaining of being left off the list admitted last week to applying multiple times for permits which is against the rules. Is that why they were originally left off the list?

A group that has promised a lively street scene of "old hippies," anarchists and others during the Democratic National Convention may have doubled its chances of getting a permit to protest in city parks.

Mark Cohen and his wife, Barbara, organizers for the Recreate 68 Alliance, have filed separate applications under different organizational names.

"I don't see anything unfair about it," Mark Cohen said Tuesday. "If (other organizations applying for permits) wanted to submit more than one application, they could, since the form allows people to submit as individuals."

But Erin Trapp, director of the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs, which is accepting the applications, said the city has told organizations to submit one request per event. - RMN

Convention Park Permit Mess

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Seems that several groups that applied for park permits weren't on the board for the lotteries

Denver's new system for issuing permits to occupy parks during the 2008 Democratic National Convention ran aground as it began Tuesday, delaying the process for two more days.

Several applicants for the coveted Civic Center park discovered that their names had been omitted from a pile of cards that were to be drawn from a clear, plastic lottery box. Another applicant for another park was awarded a permit for a day he hadn't requested.

Protest groups critical of the new system seized on the blunder, accusing the city of unfairness and incompetence.

"I think it's a disgrace," said Glenn Spagnuolo, an organizer with the protest group Re-create 68. "They had all this time to figure it out, and they still couldn't get it right." - Denver Post

The lottery was immediately halted. Had they continued we may have seen convention rioting before the convention even started.

Protests to have daily '"themes"

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Those outside the Pepsi Center are preparing for the convention also:

Activists targeting August's Democratic National Convention are developing a sophisticated protest plan - one including a different demonstration "theme" each day. In addition, organizers intend to help individual groups aim their protests to specific state convention delegations, and hope to throw a five-day festival in Civic Center with music, a health clinic, and even meals for the homeless.

"We know that people are going to be coming to Denver from around the country for this event, and it seems silly not to take advantage of it," said Mark Cohen, one of those involved in the planning. "It's an opportunity for those people to make connections with each other and share their concerns. Cohen's group is one of more than two-dozen involved in protest planning, which is being overseen by an organization calling itself Recreate 68.
...
But a number of the details are not settled. For example, the city and the Secret Service have not yet decided on the "security zone" around the Pepsi Center. The drawing of that line will help define where protesters can and cannot gather. And the Denver City Council is expected to take up legislation on Jan. 22 that would refine the process used to issue permits for special events and parades.

We'll be following the protest preparations and responses closely. After all, it wouldn't be a Democratic National Convention without protests.

Denver City Council trying to change park and parade permit rules

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

The Denver City Council is trying to make it more difficult for protest groups to get permits to gather in city parks or hold parades during the convention. Their plan is to give the city first priority in getting a permit. So if a group like Recreate 68 requests a permit for a park, the City of Denver will be able to jump in front and get the permit instead.

Currently, applicants for parades or marches and for use of city parks for the kinds of free-speech events popular at political conventions follow a first-come, first-served application process.

The new permitting process would establish a lottery to award permits in cases where more than one group applied for the same parade route or park at the same time — with two exceptions.

If a group had been accustomed to using the route or park for five consecutive years, such as A Taste of Colorado event or Columbus Day parade, it would get priority. That's not likely to pose a serious issue during the convention, Aug. 25-28.

But events "planned, organized or presented by state, federal, or city governmental entities or their agents" would get top priority over any competing claims. - Denver Post

The ACLU and several protest groups are expected to raise questions about the plan at a January 2nd hearing.

Update: Read the letter the ACLU sent to the Office of the Mayor and the Office of the City Attorney here

The ACLU also issued a press release on Friday that you can read here