Part ONE of THREE The leader of the Church of Scientology strode into the room with a boom box and an announcement: Time for a game of musical chairs. David Miscavige had kept more than 30 members of his church's executive staff cooped up for weeks in a small office building outside Los Angeles, not letting them leave except to grab a shower. They slept on the floor, their food carted in. Their assignment was to develop strategic plans for the ...

Ron Hardin plunked down $20 to play in a Hemet Elks Lodge golf tournament at Golden Era Golf Course in San Jacinto on Friday. "Five dollars goes for prize money. The rest goes to charity," said Hardin, 71, of Hemet. None of the money goes to the golf course. The course, owned by the Church of Scientology, is available free of charge for nonprofit groups to use for fundraising events. "We don't charge them. That's our way of contributing to the ...

A multimillion-dollar historic La Quinta property with ties to the Church of Scientology is returning to the fold. Hacienda Serena, a nearly 2-acre property on Avenida Obregon, was purchased Dec. 31 for its appraisal price by the Church of Spiritual Technology, an affiliate of the Church of Scientology. Though church officials have not disclosed the exact amount, they confirm the sale was in the millions. Plans are to restore the 3,450-square-foot adobe home, which was owned by Scientology founder L. Ron ...

In Santa Barbara’s Church of Scientology, as in each such outpost worldwide, an innocuous office sits equipped but vacant. This office is located beyond shelves of shrink-wrapped books, beyond training rooms, the “comm” rooms, and a room occupied by enigmatic bowls of stones and other obscure objects. The office, with white walls and plush blue-and-gray carpeting, waits, should he somehow return, for the man once known as L. Ron Hubbard. His full name was Lafayette Ronald Hubbard. His followers—in keeping with ...

May 14, 2009 (La Mesa)—La Mesa’s City Council voted unanimously to table a “Hate Free” resolution proposed by a coalition of 52 community groups countywide at a meeting Tuesday following heated and divisive public testimony. (For text of the resolution and details, see our previous article at http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/?q=node/1105.)Supporters said the measure was needed to reduce hate crimes by addressing “hate-motivated behavior” and promoting tolerance in the community. Opponents argued that it could restrict free speech and religious expression. Supporters of the ...

[Pictures] EAST HOLLYWOOD: For the longest time, reps from the church have said that repairs to their Fountain Avenue building, which was damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, have been going on, but here's the first time that we've seen any actual progress on that tower. Immediately after taking these photos, the black-clad Scientology guards on bikes started circling, asking why we were taking photos. [Curbed Staff]

The Riverside County district attorney's office will not pursue criminal charges against two protesters cited for trespassing at the Church of Scientology compound outside San Jacinto. Prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to file charges after Mark Bunker and Douglas Owens were arrested and released Feb. 24 for blocking the driveway of Golden Era Studios on Gilman Springs Road. The two men were part of a small protest that formed after the Riverside County Board of Supervisors proposed a no-picketing ordinance ...

Published Tuesday, April 7, 2009 Issue 99 / Volume 89 “JMike” is not your average Santa Barbara mayoral candidate. Justin “JMike!” Michael is a 29-year-old musician with no prior political experience and a criminal record. He’s not affiliated with any political party and is the son of infamous Scientology minister and Ponzi schemer Reed Slatkin. He was recently a guest on Oprah. And this November, he wants your vote. Michael is not running a traditional campaign, but he says he takes ...

Two former employees who worked more than a decade at the Church of Scientology's Golden Era Productions enclave near Hemet have filed lawsuits alleging the church violated federal and state labor laws and engaged in human trafficking. Church of Scientology spokesman Tommy Davis called the lawsuits "utterly meritless," noting that hundreds of staff would boast about working conditions at the nearly 700-acre compound in Gilman Hot Springs. "Working conditions at Gold Base are nothing short of spectacular," Davis said. In separate ...

Authorities today announced a $10,000 reward for help in identifying those responsible for two apparently connected vandalism incidents at churches in South Los Angeles. The first incident was at the St. Mark United Methodist Church at 8305 South Gramercy Place, where police said someone "severely vandalized" and burglarized the church on Feb. 8. Police said one of the church's stained-glass windows was shattered, a drum set was stolen, fire extinguishers were sprayed inside the church and obscenities were spray-painted across several ...

Parents oppose Narconon connection By Stephanie Bertholdo Bertholdo@theacorn.com Parents of Calabasas High School students complained to the school when they learned that the drug counselor scheduled to speak at a parent education night in midFebruary was a representative of Narconon, a drug rehabilitation program based on the teachings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. The Narconon approach to drug education purportedly is based on Church of Scientology doctrine rather than proven medical interventions. An objection from parents, as well as an ...

Lawsuit from Florida resident seeks $29,000 refund from company. By JEFF OVERLEY THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER NEWPORT BEACH A Florida man is suing Narconon Southern California, saying a brief stint in its Newport Beach drug rehab house subjected him to sexual assault, unwanted medication and demeaning work.. Pablo Mendoza checked into the company’s Balboa Peninsula triplex in September seeking help for cocaine addiction and found the oceanfront house to be “filthy” and filled with an “unbearable odor,” according to the lawsuit ...

Florida man claimed his brother was molested, discriminated against at the rehab home. By Brianna Bailey Updated: Friday, March 13, 2009 10:19 PM PDT There are No comments posted. View Comments The Newport Beach-based drug and alcohol rehabilitation home Narconon agreed to refund a Florida man’s money on Friday after he sued, claiming his brother was sexually molested, forced to scrub pots and pans and take unspecified pills that made him ill at the treatment center. “The parties are settling for ...

Picketing law revised PROTESTING: The ongoing demonstrations by anti-Scientology protestors at Golden Era Productions on Gilman Springs Road on Saturday spread to downtown Hemet, where this protester held up a sign at Florida Avenue and State Street. Photo Courtesy of Jim Alvarez HOLDOUT: Supervisor Bob Buster lone dissenter on controversial rule. By CHARLES HAND/The Valley Chronicle Riverside County supervisors Tuesday approved its newest revision of a controversial law limiting picketing around homes over the objections of Bob Buster, the sole dissenting ...

[Picture / Caption "What exactly is Educating Children International?"] There's a mystery brewing regarding tonight's Beck show at the Echo, which is being billed as a benefit for something called "Educating Children International." The flyer, posted above, lists the organization's website as www.educatingchildreninternational.org, but there's nothing at that URL. We took the process one step further and did a domain search, and, lo, the address is listed as available for purchase. So the question becomes, what lies at the other end ...

There's been a touch of Internet controversy today about Beck's somewhat-impromptu show at the Echo tonight, first started by blogger Sketchytown, then picked up by the LA Weekly's West Coast Sound blog. Both blogs raised a flag about a charity cited on the show's promotional material, Educating Children International, which, according to the promo poster, will get the "net proceeds" of the show priced at a cool $35. Nothing was mentioned about any connections with Scientology, and the website for the ...

By Nathan Baca News Channel 3 PART THREE Protests in front of the Church of Scientology's headquarters near Hemet may soon be illegal. Sheriff's deputies keep reminding protestors with the group known as "Anonymous" to stay within 50 feet from the center of the road going through the Scientology compound. Video shown in our first segment shows just how forceful Scientology guards are willing to confront those who get a dozen feet past the line. Last fall, Riverside County Supervisor Jeff ...

By Nathan Baca News Channel 3 PART ONE It's a full blown war you've likely never heard of. There is a battle between leaders of the Church of Scientology and a group of activists with both sides sworn to fight to the end. This is war; in the shadow of a cross, and behind the gaze of a mask. Like any war, there is violence; there is rage. There are politicians in the middle of it, and there are partisans fighting ...

RIVERSIDE — Despite a lashing from critics, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved an ordinance to restrict residential picketing to 30 feet or more from a person's property. In a 4-1 vote — with Supervisor Bob Buster dissenting — the board formally adopted the measure, which went through at least three revisions and repeated debate after board chairman Jeff Stone first introduced it in November. “This ordinance has been vetted many times,” Stone said just prior to the ...

By JULIA GLICK The Press-Enterprise Riverside County supervisors Tuesday adopted restrictions on residential picketing despite opponents and Supervisor Bob Buster saying the ordinance could lead to costly litigation. The ordinance, supported by Supervisor Jeff Stone and representatives of the Church of Scientology, prohibits protesters within 30 feet of the property line of a residence they are targeting in unincorporated Riverside County. The rules are scheduled to go into effect in 30 days. "I can't support this ordinance," said Buster, the only ...

The measure requires anyone protesting near private residences to remain at least 30 feet from the property line. Critics contend it violates free speech. By David Kelly 10:10 PM PST, March 3, 2009 Reporting from Riverside – Protesters targeting a Church of Scientology compound near Hemet now face stricter limits on how they can conduct demonstrations, according to a new ordinance adopted Tuesday by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. The measure, which critics say violates the 1st Amendment and gives ...

Protester cited at Golden Era studios Riverside County sheriff's deputies cited a protestor on suspicion of vandalism after he was placed under citizen's arrest Saturday when flowers were trampled at the Church's of Scientology's Golden Era Productions compound outside San Jacinto. Police cited and released Donald Myers, of West Hollywood, on misdemeanor vandalism for destroying about 100 plants, sheriff's Sgt. Lee Coffey said. Myers was part of a protest that came four days after the Riverside County Board of Supervisors passed ...

10:00 PM PST on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 By JULIA GLICK The Press-Enterprise Opponents of proposed picketing restrictions supported by the Church of Scientology raised questions Tuesday about Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone's relationship with the church's lawyer, Samuel Alhadeff. Stone has pushed supervisors for months to approve an ordinance that would limit protests targeting residences in unincorporated Riverside County, including dormitories at the church's compound near Hemet. Alhadeff has championed the ordinance on behalf of the church at several meetings. ...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Riverside County Board of Supervisors tentatively approved an ordinance Tuesday to restrict residential picketing to 30 feet or more from a person's property. In a 4-1 vote – with Supervisor Bob Buster dissenting – the board accepted the final draft of the proposed measure, which is expected to be formally adopted next Tuesday. "This ordinance reduces the risk of a violent confrontation and the likelihood of residents becoming captives in their own homes, where they should enjoy ...