The clock struck one and the 22 "Nickelsville" tent city residents who still remained at 7115 West Marginal Way SW packed up their possessions and vacated, some with the persuasion of the police. The officers did a sweep while residents and volunteers frantically packed up the city like a western movie set relocating. Those who did not cooperate were arrested and held temporarily at the Southwest Precinct. Over 130 homeless lived there since it opened Monday. The clash, while orderly, came to a head when Mayor Nickels' ordered the 1:pm eviction for what he called safety and health concerns.

"Now Nickels is creating more homeless by doing this sweep," complained Leo Rhodes, Nickelsville central committee organizer. "All these people will now be fighting for limited shelter space. They're getting false hope. Some left for jobs this morning and will come back to nothing. There have been no 911-calls since we started this and we were safe and secure here."

"There is a bed bug infestation in all the shelters," said Loretta Pirozzi, volunteer for Real Change and Downtown Emergency Service Center. "The homeless are either going to get eaten alive by the bed bugs or freeze to death outside."

"The King County 10-Year Homeless Plan isn't working," argued Sally Kinney who co-chairs the Interfaith Task Force on Homelessness. The religious community does a tremendous amount amount of work in the homeless area and the (government) entities are not doing enough to keep up with it."

Nickelsville resident David Davis said simply, "I have nowhere to stay. I guess I'll spend the night in jail.