Park Service defends handling of Occupy D.C. protest

An ongoing clash over the National Park Service's handling of the hundreds of Occupy D.C. protestors living in tents on McPherson Square has accelerated. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee, on Tuesday threatened Interior Secretary Ken Salazar with "compulsory processes," which could mean subpoenas, if the Interior Department fails to produce by Jan. 24 some 18 specific documents or explanations that Issa originally requested in a Dec. 12 letter.  Responding to the persistence of a McPherson Square tent city erected this fall as part the worldwide Occupy Wall Street protests, Issa has expressed concern about damage to recently refurbished federal property and accuses the Park Service of failing to enforce the section of the legal code prohibiting camping in nondesignated areas of national parks. As part of the 2009 Recovery Act, "Interior awarded more than $400,000 to . . . rehabilitate McPherson Square in Northwest Washington," Issa wrote, "that included new grass, concrete curbs, refurbished benches, new light poles, water fountains, new paint, new chain fencing, 12 new trash cans and new light meters"...more