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 ...

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 ...

PORTLAND, Ore. – Jeff Hawkins is on a mission to expose what he says is a cult. "It's become too abusive," he said. Hawkins is referring to the fast growing, famous and mysterious religion known as the Church of Scientology. He says Scientolgy's California headquarters and other large facilities have turned into work camps for staff members. "They work underground, and sometimes they stay there sometimes for years," Hawkins said. "They're not allowed contact with anybody outside." Protestors demonstrate regularly oustide ...

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 ...

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 ...

By Nathan Baca News Channel 3 PART FOUR In the shadow of the conflict between Scientology and "Anonymous," we go inside Scientology's Hollywood complex for the first part of an exclusive one-on-one interview with one of the church's top leaders, Tommy Davis. Davis serves as the Church's spokesman. During the visit, we showed him video shot by members of "Anonymous" as they were being accosted and arrested by guards hired by the Church at the Scientology grounds in Hemet. Davis contends ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

RIVERSIDE — The Riverside County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday suspended a new ordinance that restricts residential picketing to 50 feet or more away from a subject's property in light of evidence that the measure was already proving difficult to interpret. The board voted unanimously to refer the anti-picketing ordinance to the county counsel's office and Riverside County Sheriff's Department to determine what amendments might be necessary to make it easier to enforce. Last week, the board approved the measure as ...

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors today temporarily suspended an ordinance it passed last week to limit protests outside a large Church of Scientology compound near Hemet. Protesters show up about once a month outside Golden Era Productions, home to 500 Scientologists, on Gilman Springs Road. In an incident last week, protesters were swarmed by sheriff's deputies trying to enforce the ordinance. After a vigorous debate among supervisors, the ordinance was suspended today. The measure, which was requested by the church ...