Occupy Oakland protester Mike Clift runs from teargas early Thursday morning, Nov. 3, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. Following a mainly peaceful day-long protest by thousands of anti-Wall Street demonstrators,... (Associated Press) 
 
 A protest that shut down the Port of Oakland to show the broadening reach of the Occupy Wall Street movement ended in violence when police in riot gear arrested dozens of protesters who broke into a vacant building, shattered downtown windows and set blazes along the way. 
 
 At least four protesters were hospitalized Thursday with various injuries, including one needing stitches after fighting with an officer, police said. Several officers were also injured but didn't need hospitalization. 
 
 "We go from having a peaceful movement to now just chaos," protester Monique Agnew, 40, said early Thursday. 
 
 Protesters also threw concrete chunks, metal pipes, lit roman candles and molotov cocktails, police said. 
 
 The far-flung movement of protesters challenging the world's economic systems and distribution of wealth has gained momentum in recent weeks, capturing the world's attention by shutting down one of the nation's busiest shipping ports toward the end of a daylong "general strike" that prompted solidarity rallies across the U.S. 
 
 Several thousand people converged on the Port of Oakland, the nation's fifth-busiest harbor, in a nearly five-hour protest Wednesday, swarming the area and blocking exits and streets with illegally parked vehicles and hastily erected, chain-link fences afterward. 
 
 Port spokesman Isaac Kos-Read said evening operations had been "effectively shut down." 
 
 Port officials hoped to resume maritime operations Thursday "and that Port workers will be allowed to get to their jobs without incident. Continued missed shifts represent economic hardship for maritime workers, truckers, and their families, as well as lost jobs and lost tax revenue for our region." 
 
 Supporters in New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and elsewhere staged smaller-scale demonstrations. Each group said its protest was a show of support for the Oakland movement, which became a rallying point when an Iraq War veteran was seriously injured in a clash with police last week. 
 
 The larger Occupy movement has yet to coalesce into an organized association and until the port shut down had largely been limited scattershot marches, rallies and tent encampments since it began in September. 
 
 Organizers in Oakland viewed the strike and port shutdown as a significant victory. Police said that about 7,000 people participated in demonstrations throughout the day that were peaceful except for a few incidents of vandalism at local banks and businesses. 
 
 In Philadelphia, protesters were arrested earlier Wednesday as they held a sit-in at the headquarters of cable giant Comcast. 
 
 In New York, about 100 military veterans marched in uniform and stopped in front of the New York Stock Exchange, standing in loose formation as police officers on scooters separated them from the entrance. On the other side was a lineup of NYPD horses carrying officers with nightsticks. 
 
 "We are marching to express support for our brother, (Iraq war veteran) Scott Olsen, who was injured in Oakland," said Jerry Bordeleau, a former Army specialist who served in Iraq through 2009. 
 
 The veterans were also angry that returned from war to find few job prospects. 
 
 "Wall Street corporations have played a big role in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Bordeleau, now a college student. He said private contractors have reaped big profits in those countries. 
 
 A New York Post editorial on Thursday called on protesters camped out in Manhattan to leave or have police evict them. 
 
 "What began as a credible protest against bank bailouts, crony capitalism and the like has, in large measure, been hijacked by crazies and criminals," it said. 
 
 In Boston, college students and union workers marched on Bank of America offices, the Harvard Club and the Statehouse to protest the nation's burgeoning student debt crisis. They said total outstanding student loans exceed credit card debt, increase by $1 million every six minutes and will reach $1 trillion this year, potentially undermining the economy. 
 
 "There are so many students that are trying to get jobs and go on with their lives," said Sarvenaz Asasy, of Boston, who joined the march after recently graduating with a master's degree and $60,000 in loan debt. "They've educated themselves and there are no jobs and we're paying tons of student loans. For what?" 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers Garance Burke and Marcus Wohlsen and Beth Duff-Brown in San Francisco, Mark Pratt in Boston, JoAnn Loviglio in Philadelphia, Jon Fahey and Verena Dobnik in New York and Christina Hoag in Los Angeles contributed to this report. ||||| Occupy Wall Street protesters run from tear gas deployed by police at 14th Street and Broadway in Oakland, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Darryl Bush) (Associated Press) 
 
 Without running water or working toilets, the crowded anti-Wall Street encampments across the country are not the most pleasant-smelling places to live. Nor are they quiet, with drumming and chanting echoing through the air at all hours of the night. 
 
 That's why police and neighbors in some cities are starting to lose patience with the protesters, who are preparing to settle in for the winter months. 
 
 In Oakland, California, police in riot gear fired tear gas and bean bags before daybreak Tuesday to disperse about 170 protesters who had been camping in front of City Hall for the past two weeks, and 75 people were arrested. 
 
 The mayor of Providence, Rhodes Island, is threatening to go to court within days to evict demonstrators from a park. 
 
 And businesses and residents near New York's Zuccotti Park, the unofficial headquarters of the movement that began in mid-September, are demanding something be done to discourage the hundreds of protesters from urinating in the street and making noise at all hours. 
 
 "A lot of tourists coming down from hotels are so disgusted and disappointed when they see this," said Stacey Tzortzatos, manager of a sandwich shop near Zuccotti Park. "I hope for the sake of the city the mayor does close this down." 
 
 She complained that the protesters who come in by the dozen to use her bathroom dislodged a sink and caused a flood, and that police barricades are preventing her normal lunch crowd from stopping by. 
 
 In Philadelphia, city officials have been waiting almost two weeks for Occupy Philly to respond to a letter containing a list of health and safety concerns. City Managing Director Richard Negrin said officials can't wait much longer to address hazards such as smoking in tightly packed tents, camp layouts that hinder emergency access, and exposure to human waste. 
 
 "They just can't ignore us indefinitely," Negrin said Tuesday. "Every day that they haven't addressed these public safety concerns simply increases the risk." 
 
 Stephen Campbell, a protester in Boston, said the troublemakers are the minority. 
 
 "We have a policy here: no drugs, no alcohol," he said. "Us occupiers really try to stick true to that. Other people who move in, who maybe have an alcohol problem or a drug problem, you know, we're not fully equipped to handle things like that." 
 
 City officials in Oakland had initially been supportive of the protesters, with Mayor Jean Quan saying that sometimes "democracy is messy." But tensions reached a boiling point after a sexual assault, a severe beating and a fire were reported and paramedics were denied access to the camp, according to city officials. They also cited complaints about threatening behavior and concerns about rats, fire hazards and public urination. 
 
 When police moved in, they were pelted with rocks, bottles and utensils from people in the camp's kitchen area, but no injuries were reported. Protesters were taken away in plastic handcuffs, most of them arrested on suspicion of illegal lodging. 
 
 Protesters disputed the city's claims about conditions at the camp. Lauren Richardson, a college student from Oakland, said that volunteers collected garbage and recycling every six hours, that water was boiled before being used to wash dishes, and that rats had infested the park long before the camp went up. 
 
 "It was very neat. It was very organized," Richardson said. 
 
 In New York, the neighborhood board voted Tuesday night to pass a resolution that proposed off-site portable bathrooms funded by local donors, said Julie Menin, head of the board. The resolution also requested that loud noises, like the blast of air horns and group chanting, be limited to two hours during the day. 
 
 "Drumming has been going on late at night," she said. 
 
 The park's owner, Brookfield Office Properties, tried to push the protesters out two weeks ago to clean it but backed off at the last minute after a public outcry. 
 
 Menin said the neighborhood does not believe the protesters should be kicked out. "We do not want the city to use force in any way," she said. "And we think it's possible to address quality-of-life issues." 
 
 In Minneapolis, Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson said some constituents who work downtown are getting a little tired of the piles of belongings cluttering the plaza, while others are worried about escalating costs. The sheriff's department has already spent more than $200,000, most of that in overtime. About 100 to 150 demonstrators crowd the plaza during the day. 
 
 "I think most people I talk to are either supportive or understanding of people's right to say what they want and hold a protest or a rally, but when you start looking at the costs and how this is stringing out, it is wearing on some people's patience," Johnson said. "At first it looked like they were having a rally or trying to make a statement, but now it just looks like a game to them. Most people don't support that." 
 
 Fariyal Lakhani, owner of a kiosk next to an Atlanta park where a few dozen protesters have camped out, said people aren't buying candy bars and sodas, or they want things for free or at a steep discount. 
 
 "We're very upset," Lakhani said. "There's no business. Too much argument." 
 
 A 7-Eleven one block from the protests in Portland, Oregon, reported a higher-than-normal $6,000 in shoplifting since the protest began Oct. 6. The store has added a security guard. 
 
 In Providence, Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare initially said he would give the activists two or three days to remain in Burnside Park without a permit. But Monday night marked the 10th night of the encampment, now consisting of more than 100 tents. City officials said the grass is getting damaged, and they want to close the restrooms and prepare the park for winter. 
 
 In Washington, protesters in McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza appear to be getting along with the police and the neighbors. 
 
 One activist, Wes Kirkpatrick, said he believes the demonstration in McPherson Square is benefiting from its location just blocks from the White House, and he does not expect the federal government to crack down. "It would be hypocritical for Obama to do anything because he legitimized our grievances publicly," he said. 
 
 McPherson Square is surrounded by banks, restaurants, law firms and other businesses. Ayanna Brown, general manager of the popular restaurant Georgia Brown's, said the protesters don't even come in and ask to use the restroom. And Patrick Segui, who owns a hair salon at McPherson Square, said his business hasn't suffered. 
 
 "As far as protesting, that's the way to do it. They're very clean," Segui said. "Politically, it's a different story, but we don't need to go there." 
 
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 Associated Press Writers Verena Dobnik and Deepti Hajela in New York; Amy Forliti in Minneapolis; Ben Nuckols in Washington; Jay Lindsay in Boston; Marcus Wohlsen in Oakland, California; Harry R. Weber in Atlanta; Erika Niedowski in Providence, Rhodes Island.; Nigel Duara in Portland, Oregon; and Kathy Matheson in Philadelphia contributed to this report. ||||| OAKLAND -- Scott Olsen, a 24-year-old Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq, stood calmly in front of a police line as tear gas canisters that officers shot into the Occupy Oakland protest Tuesday night whizzed past his head. 
 
 "He was standing perfectly still, provoking no one," said Raleigh Latham, an Oakland filmmaker shooting footage of the confrontation between police and hundreds of protesters at 14th Street and Broadway. "If something didn't hit him directly in the face, then it went off close to his head and knocked him down." 
 
 The something was a projectile that apparently came from police lines, fractured Olsen's skull and put him in Highland General Hospital. Doctors upgraded his condition Thursday from critical to fair, and said they expect him to make a full recovery. 
 
 His parents flew in from Wisconsin and spent Thursday at his bedside. When they arrived, Olsen "just blossomed," said Highland's chief of surgery, Dr. Alden Harken. 
 
 Olsen's injury added to the national attention focused on Occupy Oakland in the aftermath of the repeated police tear-gassing of protesters Tuesday. In Las Vegas, protesters projected a photo of the Marine in uniform onto the corrugated-metal side of a building at their camp, the Associated Press reported. Vigils for Olsen were planned at Occupy sites in other cities. 
 
 Mayor's visit 
 
 Mayor Jean Quan visited Olsen in the hospital, told him she was sorry for what happened and promised an investigation, said Highland spokesman Vintage Foster. 
 
 Olsen, a Daly City resident and member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, fell to the ground after police lobbed or fired an object - possibly a tear gas canister - at a group of protesters. 
 
 While Olsen lay wounded in the street, other protesters rushed to his aid. Video footage appears to show an officer tossing another canister toward the group helping him. 
 
 One protester can be heard screaming "What the f-" at police as the device emits a loud bang, while a demonstrator angrily pounds his sign on the street. The group eventually carried Olsen away. 
 
 Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan called the incident "unfortunate." 
 
 "I wish that it didn't happen," Jordan said. "Our goal, obviously, is not to cause injury to anyone. ... We regret that this injury happened." 
 
 Officers from 18 law enforcement agencies were on the streets of Oakland Tuesday night, and authorities said they are trying to determine which officers were involved in Olsen's injury. Quan said officers from outside agencies had been told they had to abide by Oakland police procedures. 
 
 Olsen joined the Marines in 2006, served two tours in Iraq and was discharged in 2010, according to Iraq Veterans Against the War. Now a systems administrator at San Francisco software firm OPSWAT Inc., he had spent most nights during the last few weeks at the Occupy SF camp, said his roommate, Keith Shannon. 
 
 "He'd leave work, head there, sleep there and go to work the next day," Shannon said. "We were really against the fact that the banks and corporations were not held accountable for what they did." 
 
 BART to Oakland 
 
 When Olsen heard that protesters at Occupy Oakland were asking for support, he took BART to Oakland and joined in the protest, Shannon said. 
 
 Olsen knew he might be arrested, but didn't have any idea the demonstration would get as violent as it did, Shannon said. 
 
 Harken said Olsen had suffered a 2- to 3-inch fracture on the left side of his skull. He is able to write and move, but is having trouble speaking, Harken said. 
 
 Olsen has a bruise on his brain that is causing swelling, but he should recover fully without needing surgery, Harken said. 
 
 Olsen was dropped off at the hospital by people in a private car and was unconscious for 12 hours, Harken said. He is unaware of the global interest in his condition. 
 
 "He wouldn't be able to comprehend it," the doctor said. 
 
 This article appeared on page A - 15 of the San Francisco Chronicle
– A nation away from New York's Wall Street, thousands of sympathetic California protesters thronged the streets of Oakland yesterday and shut down the city's port in the most vigorous anti-corporate demonstration of the past weeks. Moms and dads, the jobless, students and union members joined together for a day-long protest and general strike that ended in a march to the port where activists blocked shipments, effectively closing operations accounting for some $8.5 million in business a day, reports the Los Angeles Times. Protesters also blocked intersections and pounded on the windows of banks, forcing some to close. "This is a warning, a test, to the 1%. We don't need them, they need us," one of the protesters told the Guardian. Police announced earlier they had made no arrests and the protest was largely peaceful, but cops were keeping careful watch as the night progressed. “The world is watching Oakland tonight. We need to make sure this remains a safe place for everyone,” said City Administrator Deanna Santana. Initially, police were notably restrained just days after a rubber bullet shot by cops fractured the skull of former Marine Scott Olsen, who is still hospitalized with serious head trauma. But the Oakland Tribune was reporting that a squad of police appeared to be moving in to shut down the Occupy Oakland encampment after midnight, and were firing tear gas cannisters.