"A theatrical "living wage" rally on the Downtown Mall ended Friday with the arrest of four activists who, in dramatic fashion, had chained themselves to elevators in the Omni Charlottesville Hotel.

Two groups of costumed activists - representing the"motley working class" and"corporate angels" - began to march just after 6 p.m. from the east end of the pedestrian mall to the area outside the Charlottesville Lee Park, where a living wage drama performance ensued. A punk band played loudly afterward.

The seven-story Omni towered over this din of activity, with a living-wage banner, apparently draped from the roof, dangling in a gentle breeze. Inside, pairs of activists had shackled themselves in the hotel's two elevators to underscore their demand that the Omni and other local businesses pay all employees at least $8 per hour.

While hotel officials and city police frantically pondered how to detach the activists, one of whom had hitched a bike lock around his neck, guests continued to ride up and down in the elevators. A state financial association was holding a dinner party of 200 people in the lobby area.

One guest, who stood in the elevator with a police officer and the hotel general manger, scowled at protesters Spot Etal, 42, and Andrew Holden, 22.

"This ain't a good way to conduct business" he said before stepping off on the lobby level.

Holden's reply was barely audible: "We're not a business, sir."

Police had to use boat cutters to remove plaster joining Holden to Etal, and a hotel maintenance employee had to remove the handrail in the elevator to free the bike lock fastened around Etal's neck.

Minutes later, police hauled 20-yearold Nicholas Graber-Grace and 22-year, old Abi Miller, who had been attached together and to the adjoining elevator, to a police wagon behind the hotel as Graber-Grace chanted: "Living wage now. Living wage now."

Police had more difficulty getting Holden and Etal out the back door, as both lay down in defiance just outside. It took six officers to pick up Holden, and a few more to drag Etal, who wore a gray wig and who bad lost a shoe in the confusion.

Several people had surrounded the policewagon and were applauding and calling out in support of the activists, and some officers tried to shoo them away. Just before the doors to the vehicle closed, Graber-Grace raised his left arm into the air with one last cry; "Living wage now."

Just then Holden was tossed in and the doors were slammed shut.

Deana Bowers, an activist with the University of Virginia-based Labor Action Group, was furious that Graber-Grace, a UVa student who worked with her, and the others were carted off. "To see him taken away as a criminal has really hurt me a lot," she said.

All four were charged with trespassing, a misdemeanor that can carry up to a year in jail and a fine of $2,500. Protesters gathered outside the magistrate's office until the foursome was released.

While the activists managed to infiltrate the Omni, other protesters were less successful in their efforts.

The group of 10 or so representing the "motley working class" began their march heading into the crowd of partiers gathered for Fridays After Five, but they didn't get far. Karen Thorsey, event coordinator, was quick to stop them in their tracks.

"People come here to have a good time," she told the group.

"So are we," Nick Johnson, the self described leader of the workers, said evenly.

"We're trying to improve peoples' lives."

After turning away the protesters, Thorsey explained her reasoning: "We try to remain apolitical. If we let them in, then it looks like we support it."

She declined to say whether she supports the movement.

Following the "motley working class" was a flock of "corporate angels," most of whose faces were painted white. One screamed: "These are the corporations. We rule the world. We keep the rest of humanity caged."

A giant, somewhat inexplicable Grim Reaper, made of recycled cardboard and other materials, also made its way down the mall. The 15-foot-tall angel of death slowed briefly as its gruesome head snagged a tree branch.

Passersby stared in wonder, some cheering and others smiling mockingly, nudging friends and pointing or laughing outright. One heckler yelled, "Take a bath!" A woman passing by said, "You're scaring the kids."

After the protest was over, Omni general manager Paul Maher relaxed with his family over dinner in the hotel restaurant. Stepping away from his meal briefly, Maher said the Omni pays employees competitive wages and added that he does not fundamentally oppose the protesting.

"We don't mind as long as they're doing it outside" he said. "We appreciate freedom of speech. Their tactic today ... I don't think it was acceptable."

He said some guests did not appreciate the disruption and added that he worried someone on a top floor might have gotten sick, needed help and been hindered on the way to a hospital by the hubbub.

"God forbid if somebody had had a heart attack," he said " (Reed Williams, The Daily Progress, July 14, 2001).