Free Republic

As the sun began its afternoon fade, Willie Lyons stepped inside his new Conestoga-style hut, pounded a nail into a beam and hung a coat inside the tiny shelter made by volunteers that will protect him from the elements this winter. Lyons, who is deaf, spent much of Saturday methodically moving his belongings from boxes and bags to become the first homeless person to move into a community of what will be 28 tiny huts that nonprofit Occupy Madison is building and placing at the former Wiggie’s Bar property at 1901 Aberg Ave. on the East Side. As Lyons continued...

MADISON, Wisconsin (Reuters) - After surviving two long, cold Wisconsin winters on the streets, Betty Ybarra traded freezing park benches and tents for a tiny house made of recycled wood she helped build herself. Her 99-square-foot home, which boasts flower window boxes, was built by volunteers of the Occupy Madison group, as part of about a half dozen similar projects around the United States, including in New York and Texas, to shelter the homeless. "We can check on our flowers and we can now try to live a normal life," said Ybarra, 49, who shares her new home with her...

Snip- "City officials temporarily denied Occupy Madison a new street use permit Wednesday after protesters violated public health and safety conditions and failed to follow the correct processes to renew or amend a permit..." "A neighboring hotel's staff alleged voiced concerns about having to recently escort hotel employees to and from bus stops late at night due to inappropriate behavior, such as public masturbation, from street protesters."

Occupy Madison has temporarily been denied an extension in their protesting permit because members of the movement violated "public health and safety conditions." The group also did not properly fill out the form. City officials cited several specific reasons for their decision. The most notable was repeated complains from a nearby hotel, which stated that protesters were "publicly masturbating" in full view of passersby. The city also cited health violations because the group had "no restrooms," implying that the protesters may have been defecating in public as well. Paul Streeter, an OWS spokesman, responded to the situation: "[The protest] is...

Madison - So far this year, the handful of protesters getting multiple citations or arrests at the state Capitol have had 20 cases dismissed by prosecutors. Online court records show nearly 40 cases filed against a half-dozen frequent demonstrators on allegations of disrupting lawmakers' work, with 20 dismissed so far by the Dane County district attorney's office. Of the remaining cases listed in the online courts system, five have resulted in fines or convictions, and 13 are still pending. The demonstrators themselves said some additional citations were also dismissed before they could be entered into the state courts database. The...

As more than 200 people gathered Friday evening at Reynolds Park for the first in a series of “general assemblies” — inspired by a similar movement in New York that has generated protests on Wall Street — the primary plan was to come up with one.Calling itself “Occupy Madison,” the loosely organized group vowed to maintain a presence at the park until 7 p.m. Sunday, allowing for committees to form and to decide whether to join protests across the U.S. planned for Oct. 15. Participants got city permission to camp in the park on the Near East Side, but tents,...