The news spotlight has moved elsewhere, but Oakland continues to shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars a month for the Occupy protests.

Every week for the past month, more than 100 cops, or roughly one-fifth of the city’s patrol force, are called in to work the Saturday night Occupy demonstration held downtown.

Estimated cost: about $50,000 a week.

City officials now estimate their overall Occupy tab is up to $3 million and counting – this at a time when up to 400 city workers will likely be laid off Feb. 1 for lack of money.

Testing testing: Gov. Jerry Brown says California students are being over-tested.

State Board of Education Executive Director Sue Burr estimates the average public schooler takes about 15 different assessments like the STAR test each year.

Even second-graders are tested.

“He wants a review of the tests to see if they are effective,” Burr said.

The governor also wants to get results back to teachers faster.

It’s interesting to note last year Brown vetoed a similar idea by state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento.

Now it’s the governor’s idea and supported by the powerful California Teachers Association, which has also questioned the tests.

There are no details on how new tests might work or Brown’s other idea: sending monitors into classrooms to see how the teachers are performing.

Hot ticket: With no fewer than 76 playoff tickets available to City Hall staffers for Sunday’s playoff against the Giants – including 44 seats inside three city-owned suites – lots of folks tried to use their political pull to score the prized invites.

Not everyone succeeded.

From what we’ve heard, most of the 12 seats in the mayor’s box were used to reward Ed Lee‘s political supporters from November’s mayor’s race.

Meanwhile, each of San Francisco’s 11 supervisors received a pair of tickets to Sunday’s game, as they do for the regular season.

The bulk of the city’s tickets, however, are controlled by the Rec and Park Commission, which operates Candlestick Park. That includes a 12-seat box held by Rec and Park General Manager Phil Ginsburg and a 20-seater held by the commission itself.

And while we’re still waiting for a full accounting from Sunday’s game, we can tell you that last week’s ticket holders included Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White, Public Utilities Commission General Manager Ed Harrington and a long list of other city bureaucrats.

Stay away: Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, who is under court order to stay away from his family pending his domestic violence trial, has been staying with friends in recent days, including former Mayor Art Agnos.

“He is staying with friends throughout this ordeal,” Agnos confirmed Friday, “and I am one of them. Hopefully the (court) order will be modified so he can go home, but obviously he is welcome to stay here until that happens, and his friends have said the same.”

Planning pick: Christina Olague‘s move to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has opened up a key appointment on the powerful Planning Commission. And Board President David Chiu decides who gets the nomination.

It’s no small matter for Chiu, whose unsuccessful run for mayor left his future up in the air.

Plus, there are some very big and politically hot issues headed for the commission; notably, the waterfront high-rise plan for 8 Washington. The controversial issue has divided Chiu’s district, which includes North Beach, Chinatown and Telegraph Hill. His onetime mentor, former Board President Aaron Peskin, wants to kill the project while Chinatown powerhouse Rose Pak wants it to be built.

Then there are California Pacific Medical Center’s plans for a massive new hospital to replace the vacant Cathedral Hill Hotel on Van Ness Avenue.

Closer to home, for Chiu to hold onto his presidency, he will need the vote of Supervisor Olague. He’s already had a sit-down with Olague to go over her preferences for commissioner.

Say what? Oakland resident Viki Cebers did a double take when recently applying for a permit to install a burglar alarm in her hills home.

“Make checks payable to the city of Oakland,” the form said, then “return the form and permit fee to: City of Oakland, Dept. P.O. Box 39000, San Francisco, CA, 93139.” Turns out a Wells Fargo processing center across the bay handles Oakland’s account.

“I thought it was strange, but I sent in the $25 fee, and the check cleared within 24 hours,” Cebers said. “That’s a lot quicker service than I ever got at City Hall.”

EXTRA! Catch our blog at www.sfgate.com/matierandross.