The Clearwater City Council took mere seconds Tuesday to deliver a powerful message: that people have the right to peacefully assemble and speak their minds, and the city won't even consider trying to tread on that right. Thirty-four downtown merchants and two residents signed a petition calling for the city government to take action against Anonymous, a loosely organized, Internet-based group that has been conducting worldwide protests against the Church of Scientology for months. Since the first of the year, the ...

CLEARWATER — About three dozen downtown business owners are upset with a group of anti-Scientology protesters and want the City Council to do something about them. But city leaders Tuesday said there's little they can do. "Suspending the First Amendment is something we shouldn't spend a whole lot of time on," Councilman Paul Gibson said. The loosely organized group Anonymous has held several recent demonstrations against the Church of Scientology. Many Cleveland Street businesses say the masked protesters and the constant ...

CLEARWATER — Marble floors with patterned inlay. Plush carpeting. Mahogany paneling. Decorated crown moldings. Marble sinks. Hi-def TVs. A 32-station fitness center. An elegant restaurant. Luxury touches abound inside downtown Clearwater's newest waterfront hotel, the gleaming 240-room Oak Cove. But don't rush to pack your bags. Oak Cove is just for Scientologists. Recently opened after a $26-million renovation, the hotel is Scientology's newest lodging option in Clearwater, the church's international spiritual headquarters. Oak Cove also is the first in a series ...

Cult Friction After an embarrassing string of high-profile defection and leaked videos, Scientology is under attack from a faceless cabal of online activists. Has America's most controversial religion finally met its match? By John Cook [Picture] Masked hackers have declared war on Scientology. Could the celebrity-friendly religion be in its final days? (Photo: Sam Comen) This article is from the April issue of Radar Magazine. For a risk-free issue, click here Clearwater is prepared for its enemies. It's a warm, if ...

CLEARWATER — While thousands of college kids on spring break enjoyed a gorgeous Saturday on Clearwater Beach, another group of young people descended on the otherwise-deserted downtown wearing surgical masks, fake beards and bandannas. A group of about 150 people, mostly college-age, spent the sun-splashed day protesting the Church of Scientology outside its spiritual headquarters. Timed to coincide with Scientology's celebration of founder L. Ron Hubbard's birthday, it was the second major protest in Clearwater by a loose-knit Internet activist group ...

[Picture / Caption: "A bomb squad robot heads into the alley behind the Dianetics and Scientology Life Improvement Center at 336 First Ave. N in St. Petersburg on Thursday after the Scientology headquarters in Clearwater received a bomb threat. A large suitcase found in the alley behind the St. Petersburg office did not contain a bomb."] CLEARWATER — The Church of Scientology was told again Thursday it could not have a court order restraining Anonymous protesters this weekend, largely because the ...

The church filed a suit for an "injunction for protection" from a group called Anonymous. [Picture / Caption: "Anonymous protesters walk south on Fort Harrison Avenue in front of the Church of Scientology's new Super Power Building on Feb. 10 in downtown Clearwater."] CLEARWATER - After weeks of enduring Internet video taunts from a group called Anonymous, the Church of Scientology posted a YouTube video of its own Wednesday. It includes what Scientology claims are video snippets from Anonymous, threatening phone ...

CLEARWATER - The Church of Scientology tried to stop protesters from returning to the sidewalks outside its headquarters this week by filing a type of petition in court usually used by women in fear for their safety. And in large part because of that approach, a Pinellas-Pasco circuit judge denied it late Wednesday afternoon. In a petition filed Tuesday, the church claimed the Internet-based group Anonymous wants to harm the church and its leaders, in particular the Rev. Heber Jentzsch, the ...

CLEARWATER – Circuit Judge Douglas Baird today denied a motion for a temporary injunction sought by the Church of Scientology to prevent protesters from getting within 500 feet of Scientology buildings. A group of protesters calling itself Anonymous plans demonstrations against Scientology Friday and Saturday, coinciding with the church's birthday celebration of its founder, L.Ron Hubbard. This is the second of two similar suits filed by the Church of Scientology this week. The first was rejected by Circuit Judge Linda Allan ...

The church is seeking a restraining order to stop a new round of protests. CLEARWATER - With the Internet activist group Anonymous threatening a second round of protests against Scientology this weekend, the Clearwater-based church went to court late Tuesday, filing a petition for a temporary restraining order. The petition was filed just before the close of court Tuesday afternoon, and the St. Petersburg Times could not obtain a copy of the petition. Pat Harney, a spokeswoman for the Church of ...

Goodwill wants to house a work-release program in a former motel that backs up to a mobile home park. [Picture] "It's a bad element, and it's right next to us," said Daniel O'Connor, who lives in the Embassy Mobile home park in Largo. About 200 park residents lined up along the U.S. 19 frontage road north of East Bay Road Wednesday, in protest of a work-release facility Goodwill administrators want to put nearby. An estimated 200 residents of three mobile home ...

A longtime dormitory for Church of Scientology staffers will become the site of a work-release program for more than 200 nonviolent inmates if Goodwill Industries-Suncoast buys the property near East Bay Drive and U.S. 19. But that's a big if, said Goodwill spokeswoman Michael Ann Harvey. "As the minutes tick by and days tick by, more problems are occurring with the condition of the building and what it would require financially for Goodwill to bring it up to requirements," Harvey said. ...

Construction of the Island View condominium and retail complex on the northern edge of downtown won't begin by the end of the year as initially planned because of slow sales and a slight change to the project's design. But officials with Triangle Development of Clearwater say sales have steadily picked up and construction will begin by Dec. 31, 2008 - the new deadline the City Council unanimously approved Wednesday night. Triangle executives asked the council for a one-year extension on their ...

Sure, says Mayor Frank Hibbard. It can be a little unsettling sometimes — throngs of Scientologists wandering Clearwater's streets in their blue or khaki trousers and crisp dress shirts. Sometimes, it makes the neighbors a bit uneasy. "When you come to downtown, no one likes being a minority," Mr. Hibbard said. But mostly, folks in this picturesque Gulf Coast city have come to accept that Clearwater is to Scientologists what Salt Lake City is to Mormons, what Mecca is to Muslims. ...

CLEARWATER — The Church of Scientology is in announcement mode again, this time saying it will spend $20-million on a major upgrade of its iconic Fort Harrison Hotel. But what church officials aren't saying is exactly when the work will start. So, expect some eye rolls. That's because across the street from the Fort Harrison is Scientology's seven-story Super Power building. Stuccoed, trimmed and painted on the outside, the huge building is unfinished and vacant on the inside. And, remarkably, it's ...

New housing is now available for members of the Church of Scientology's staff after $1.7 million in renovations were completed at Sherwood Gardens, a 106-unit apartment complex located three miles east of downtown Clearwater. Church executives purchased the apartment complex in 1999 for $4 million, which includes 105,800 square feet of rental unit space on 7.5 acres just off Keene Road. Renovations expanded beyond the units, including planting trees and gardens throughout the property. The re-opening of the apartment complex comes ...

Thousands of bay area homeowners are fighting foreclosure suits. Most will be swiftly expelled, their lender stuck with a house it never wanted. There are exceptions. Palm Harbor resident Sandra Mann-Stack hasn't paid her monthly mortgage since 1998, the year Homeside Lending Inc. sued her and husband Peter Stack for default. Over time, the couple has thwarted at least 10 scheduled auctions, twice by filing for bankruptcy protection the day before. They've gone through at least four judges and watched the ...

Scientology Moves On Languishing Flagship Posted Feb 1, 2007 by Vidisha Priyanka Updated Feb 1, 2007 at 03:37 PM By BAIRD HELGESON The Tampa Tribune CLEARWATER - The Church of Scientology’s mammoth new spiritual shrine has stood vacant and unfinished for years, its dusty Mediterranean-style shell surrounded by patches of scrubby grass and “no trespassing” signs. Now church officials say they are ready to resume work on the building as it has racked up more than $55,000 in fines for not ...

CLEARWATER - After years of delay, there are visible signs that the Church of Scientology's ambitious plans to expand its downtown campus are again moving forward. Several months ago, cranes began piecing together a four-story, 275-space parking garage at East Avenue and Franklin Street. It is expected to be finished by April. On Tuesday, the Church of Scientology will go before the city's Community Development Board to request a transfer of development rights from the site of its power plant on ...

Scientology is perhaps best-known for its most famous practitioner, Tom Cruise. But in this beachy Tampa suburb, Scientologists are neighbors... CLEARWATER, Fla. — Scientology is perhaps best-known for its most famous practitioner, Tom Cruise. But in this beachy Tampa suburb, Scientologists are neighbors, business owners, real-estate investors — and a growing force that makes some uncomfortable. The Church of Scientology, despite its official status as a tax-exempt religious organization, is nonetheless the largest taxpayer in downtown Clearwater, home to its worldwide ...

Some speculate a proposed PSTA / developer deal is driven by Scientology plans or politics. CLEARWATER - From one perspective, the discussions that took place in front of the camera last week seemed pretty straight-forward. The county's bus service, the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, has a bus depot in downtown Clearwater that is too small and too crowded. Some businessmen want the PSTA's land for private development, and they are in a position to acquire a nearby site on Drew Street ...

CLEARWATER — Former Clearwater Mayor Gabe Cazares, a civil rights advocate, champion of the disadvantaged and arch-enemy of the Church of Scientology, died Friday (Sept. 29, 2006). He was 86. As a politician, Mr. Cazares led the local Democratic Party and won public office at a time when few Hispanics even lived in Pinellas County. As a community activist, he worked to help the poor and build bridges in Clearwater during the early years of integration. But after the Church of ...