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 ...

By JULIA GLICK The Press-Enterprise Riverside County supervisors will reconsider today residential picketing restrictions that they suspended and sent back for revisions last month. The amended picketing ordinance set to be introduced today differs from the earlier one in that it would limit protests targeting residences in unincorporated Riverside County to 30 feet from the property line instead of 50 feet from the property line. Supervisor Jeff Stone has pushed for the ordinance, supported by the Church of Scientology. The church ...

Program to discuss teen abuse of Rx drugs By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com Today's teens are not as threatened by the drug dealers on every corner as they are by their parent's medicine cabinets, according to a representative of Narconon, the nonprofit drug rehabilitation and education program. Tony Bylsma, a certified chemical dependency counselor and director of the Narconon Drug Prevention and Education Program of Southern California, will kick off a 2009 RAP (Resolve and Problem Solve) educational series on Wed., Feb. ...

Newport Beach city officials have cited the rehab home Narconon for allegedly transporting outside clients to receive treatments at the program’s West Oceanfront triplex. Code enforcement officers say Narconon let non-residents use its steam baths at the 1810 W. Oceanfront site, said Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff. The Narconon program, which is supported in part by the Church of Scientology, uses the baths to treat addiction, Kiff said. The city also logged a complaint against the home with the California Department ...

Police records show fewer complaints made on rehab homes, which range from illegal parking to a suicide attempt. By Brianna Bailey Updated: Saturday, January 31, 2009 8:07 PM PST There are No comments posted. View Comments Longtime Newport Beach resident Barbara Roy has an ocean view from her living room, which sits only a few feet from Narconon. For years, Roy worried about Narconon clients who she said would loiter and chain smoke in the area. A steady barrage of delivery ...

Riverside County supervisors on Tuesday suspended enforcement of a newly approved picketing ordinance, backed by the Church of Scientology, and instructed county staff to return in one month with clearer rules. "I want to make things easier and simpler for everyone involved, particularly for the sheriff which has to enforce it," Supervisor Bob Buster said of the picketing ordinance. "We don't want to pass ordinances that are used in an incorrect way to ... intimidate people from exercising their rights." Last ...

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 ...

Riverside County supervisors Tuesday fast-tracked and unanimously approved an ordinance that restricts picketing outside homes and a Church of Scientology base near Hemet. Supervisors deemed the restrictions urgent and voted to forgo regular statutory proceedings, which include a second hearing. The ordinance went into effect after its introduction Tuesday despite unresolved questions about exactly how rules will apply to the Scientology base. The new ordinance, backed by the church and Supervisor Jeff Stone, stipulates that pickets must remain at least 50 ...

Riverside County supervisors are set to vote Tuesday on a revised ordinance to limit picketing at residences and outside the Church of Scientology's base in Gilman Hot Springs. The proposed ordinance, supported by the church and Supervisor Jeff Stone, would restrict picketing to 50 feet beyond the property line of a targeted residence or to an across-the-street sidewalk. Stone is also urging supervisors to approve an urgency ordinance Tuesday. If at least four supervisors approve that urgency measure, the limits on ...

Tuition and fees for religious day schools are not deductible for federal income tax purposes, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday. The court, for the second time, rejected claims by local residents Michael and Marla Sklar that they received only intangible religious benefits as result of their five children’s attendance in Orthodox Jewish schools, so their school payments should be deductible, at least in part, as charitable donations. The Sklars have been seeking to deduct their payments, going ...

RIVERSIDE – Concerned that a proposed anti-picketing ordinance might be too restrictive – and that it did not address the issue that inspired it – the Board of Supervisors Tuesday backed away from the measure, but indicated it may be brought back in different form. “I don't agree we should abandon this completely, but I want us as united on this as possible,” said Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone, who sponsored the measure. “It's not an attempt to limit the right ...

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, ...

A security guard who shot and killed a man wielding samurai swords on the grounds of a Scientology facility in Hollywood will not face criminal charges, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said Wednesday. The decision by prosecutors was in line with the conclusion of Los Angeles police detectives, who determined that the guard, a 64-year-old retired Seal Beach police officer, acted in defense of himself and other guards at the church's Celebrity Centre. A former Scientologist, Mario Majorski, 48, ...

When he was a UCLA student 15 years ago, Mario Majorski was a committed enough Scientologist that he helped file a federal lawsuit against a professor who called the church a cult. On Sunday, Majorski stormed the church's Celebrity Centre in Hollywood with a sword in each hand. He was shot dead by a security guard who police say had every reason to fear for his life and the lives of hundreds of others gathered on the property. The reasons for ...