Riverside County supervisors Tuesday backed off from picketing restrictions supported by the Church of Scientology that supervisors had preliminarily approved last month. Supervisors stopped final approval of the ordinance and voted unanimously to re-examine its prohibition on picketing within 300 feet of a targeted residence. They agreed to have county counsel and staff retool the ordinance in consultation with the county sheriff's office and Samuel Alhadeff, an attorney representing the Church of Scientology. "I think we may be going too far ...

RIVERSIDE – With two colleagues prepared to vote against the measure, Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone on Tuesday temporarily withdrew his proposed ban on protests that target and take place in front of homes. Stone said that, in consultation with county lawyers, he will try to tweak the ordinance so it lets protesters picket residences for what he considers legitimate purposes, such as when they are home to sex offenders, without trespassing on the constitutional right to free speech. Legal experts, ...

The Church of Scientology's concerns about protesters outside their Gilman Hot Springs base led Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone to seek and gain approval Tuesday for county restrictions on picketing in residential neighborhoods. Only Supervisor Bob Buster voted against the ordinance, which forbids demonstrators from coming within 300 feet of a home they are targeting in unincorporated Riverside County. Buster said a 300-foot buffer would effectively quash demonstrations outside residences. He said the ordinance threatens free-speech rights. Stone said that protesters ...

Arizona to extradite Scientology protester to Riverside County LAW: The fugitive will be sent to Riverside County. He fled before sentencing on a misdemeanor in '01. 10:00 PM PST on Thursday, February 8, 2007 By KENNY KLEIN The Press-Enterprise A Scientology protester who fled to Canada before he could be sentenced to 180 days in county jail in 2001 has been arrested in Arizona and will be extradited back to Riverside County, officials reported. Former Palo Alto resident Keith Henson, now ...

It was 2:15 p.m. when Keith Henson and his friend Gregg Hagglund finished picking up contact-lens solution and shaving lotion at a suburban Toronto mall and climbed into their car. Before they could fasten their seat belts, two unmarked vans squealed up, pinning their Mazda economy sedan in from the rear and the passenger side. A handful of emergency-services task-force officers – Canada‘s version of a police SWAT team – spilled out, wearing body armor and carrying submachine guns. As shoppers ...

Hemet — A man involved in a traffic collision that killed a 16 year old San Jacinto girl pleaded not guilty to a charge of vehicular manslaughter Wednesday. Thomas Nove, 35, of Moreno Valley was taken into custody on an unrelated matter following the arraignment in Hemet. He is charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in connection with the death of Ashlee Shaner last year. She was killed the night of May 17 when her car crashed into the bucket of a ...