About 100 "Occupy Walnut Creek" protesters converged at the corner of North Main Street and Mt. Diablo Boulevard on Wednesday afternoon to protest what they called corporate greed.
Demonstrators stood on all four corners of the intersection, holding signs criticizing Wall Street and the banks as well as demanding the government tax the richest 1 percent in the country. Several had "road signs" questioning where the jobs are.
A number of motorists driving by honked in support of the rally. The protest was peaceful, with demonstrators even obeying the pedestrian signals at the stoplights.
At 4:45 p.m., demonstrators circled the block, chanting "Hey, hey, ho, ho, corporate greed has got to go."
Shortly after 5 p.m., two dozen demonstrators gathered in front of the nearby Bank of America branch. Bank officials quickly closed the front entrance. Customers could still get inside through the garage.
At 5:45 p.m., the protest started to wind down. By 6 p.m., it was pretty much over.
During the height of the demonstration, Marvin Cohen, a Rossmoor resident, stood on one corner holding a sign against what he called the "war economy."
"I'm here to call attention to justice, truth and equality," said Cohen.
Cohen was at an earlier protest in Oakland Wednesday. He said the Walnut Creek crowd was smaller than previous weeks' demonstrations because most activists were in Oakland.
The crowd was mostly older protesters. Cohen said many of the younger demonstrators were in Oakland.
Tricia Hamlin drove from Brentwood to be at the protest. Hamlin, an employee of John Muir Health, said her pension is underfunded because of Wall Street behavior. She also has witnessed a lot of home foreclosures in Brentwood, including those involving young families.
"I'm as mad as I can possibly be at Wall Street," Hamlin said.
Bill Ruano of Concord sat at another corner with a sign criticizing big banks.
He said he was protesting the behavior of the banks after they received government bailouts and then tightened credit on homeowners.
"The country is going in the wrong direction," said Ruano. "It seems we live by the golden rule. Those who have the gold make the rules."
Nearby, a Pleasanton resident who identified himself as "Mike" questioned some of the demonstrators.
He wanted to know if any of the protesters were being paid to be there. He also told them that the richest 1 percent do pay taxes while 50 percent of the country doesn't.
Mike said he was shopping downtown with his wife when he came upon the demonstration.
This was the latest in a series of Wednesday evening protests in downtown Walnut Creek. This corner was chosen because of the Bank of America building here. Last week, the demonstrators gathered on Ygnacio Valley Road.
There were also protests in downtown Oakland all day Wednesday, with a march to the Port of Oakland by several thousand people in the late afternoon.
More demonstrations are planned for Saturday in downtown Walnut Creek and in a shopping center off Crow Canyon Road in San Ramon.
Click on the accompanying map to see where Occupy events have taken place statewide. Each symbol represents a protest ongoing or planned in California. Legend: Tent = Encampment; Police = Protest Only; Red Triangle = New Protests Planned. If you know of an event not on the map, email it to John Osborn at josborn25@gmail.com.
