Wise Beard Man tipped us recently that KESQ, a local television station in Palm Springs, California, has put together a pretty terrific 5-part investigation of Scientology. Why Palm Springs? Well, one of Scientology's stranger facilities is located in the California desert, well away from the prying eyes of big-town journalists. For years, the Hubbard cabal in Hemet, California has been able to push around local politicians and law enforcement, convincing them, for example, that protesters at the desert site should be ...

PART FIVE Our second half of our one-on-one interview with one of Scientology's leaders continues in Hollywood. We confront spokesman Tommy Davis with the confidential works of L. Ron Hubbard and ask why there are threats of death by pneumonia for those who read it. Nathan Baca: Somebody from the Village Voice apparently said the Church of Scientology is about "ridding the body of space alien parasites." And your reaction then and now is what exactly to that claim? Tommy Davis: ...

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 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 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 TWO An video from "Anonymous" posted on YouTube last year states, "Hello. Leaders of Scientology. We are Anonymous. Over the years, we have been watching you. The extent of your malign influence over those who have come to trust you has been made clear to us. Anonymous has therefore decided your organization should be destroyed." It's a declaration of war over the internet. A loose coalition of leaderless web activists calling their group "Anonymous" ...

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 ...

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 on our streets. Both the Church ...

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 ...

OCALA - The Church of Scientology will soon call Marion County home following the controversial group's announcement that it plans to open a church and education center downtown. The church, which can claim such notables as actors John Travolta and Tom Cruise among its ranks, bought property at 50 S.E. 1st Ave., formerly home to the Weiner and Argo law firm. A spokeswoman for the church said there is no definite date set as to when the church would open, saying ...

Scientology mission coming to downtown Ocala By Fred Hiers Staff Writer Published: Friday, February 27, 2009 at 9:29 a.m. Last Modified: Friday, February 27, 2009 at 9:56 a.m. OCALA - The Church of Scientology plans to open a church and educational center in Ocala. The church bought property in downtown Ocala at 50 S.E. 1st Ave., formerly the Weiner and Argo law firm, but a spokeswoman for the church said there was no definite date for the facility to open. The ...

The Church of Scientology cleared a hurdle in their effort to develop a religious center in Printers Row when the Committee on Zoning approved a new zoning designation for a church-owned building in the neighborhood on Tuesday. Second Ward Alderman Robert Fioretti voiced his support for the decision at the committee meeting in city council chambers. "There are First Amendment and freedom of religion issues that have been raised," he said, "but I don't think the propriety of those issues should ...

A zoning change that would allow the Church of Scientology to build a new church inside the vacant 650 S. Clark St. building in Printers Row is expected to be considered at tomorrow's Zoning Committee hearing. Nicole Wellhausen, a staff member for 36th Ward Ald. William Banks, who chairs the Zoning Committee, said attorneys for the Church of Scientology asked that the proposed change be placed on tomorrow's agenda. A call to Donna Pugh, the church's attorney, was not returned. Andy ...

CLEARWATER — Taking on the Church of Scientology in court is like picking a fight with the Russian army. When attacked, the church defends itself aggressively, wearing down opponents with a barrage of litigation while peering into their personal lives. Ken Dandar knows this better than anyone. In the 7-year-long Lisa McPherson case, the Tampa lawyer and the church waged one of the most grueling, fiercely contested legal battles in Tampa Bay history. The wrongful death lawsuit became intensely acrimonious, with ...

By: FREDA R. SAVANA Bucks County Courier Times A. Rhodes Wilson said he isn't sure what he'll do now that Plumstead has denied his application to convert an Easton Road home he owns into the Church of Scientology Mission of Bucks County. "I haven't formalized my plans," said Wilson, a day after supervisors unanimously rejected his bid to turn the five-bedroom, ranch-style house into a mission center. He had no comment about the board's denial, which is expected to be formally ...

CLEARWATER — Police investigated the role Scientology played in the suicide of a troubled young man two years ago, but did not conclude church members forced him off his antidepressant medication or contributed to his death. Last week, the mother of Kyle Brennan filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Scientology's Clearwater-based Flag Service Organization and three Scientologists, claiming they took away Brennan's medication. The suit names the boy's father, Thomas Brennan, as a defendant; along with Denise Gentile, who is the ...

CLEARWATER — A mother has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Church of Scientology, its Flag Service Organization and three parishioners, claiming they brought about her son's death by denying him access to his antidepression medication. Among the three parishioners named as defendants: Denise Gentile, the twin sister of the church's current worldwide leader, David Miscavige, as well as her husband, Gerald Gentile. The lawsuit stems from the death of Kyle T. Brennan, 20, who shot himself in the head ...

TAMPA - A mother is blaming Scientologists for her disabled son's death, which police ruled a suicide. Victoria L. Britton has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Scientologists, including her son's father, of taking his antidepressant prescription from him and giving him access to a loaded gun. A police investigation, however, concluded that Kyle Brennan, exhibiting symptoms of schizophrenia, willingly stopped taking medication before he visited his father and that there was "no evidence they were purposely kept from" him. Brennan, 20, ...

16 February 2009, 17:22 Kazakh court bans scientology organization in Karaganda region Karaganda, February 16, Interfax - The Economic Inter-District Court of Karaganda, the administrative center of the Karaganda region in Kazakhstan, has banned the Church of Scientology in the Karaganda region. "The court ordered the liquidation of the Church of Scientology organization due to illegal entrepreneurship and profit-making. The court ruled to create a special commission to deal with the liquidation procedure," says the verdict read by Judge Zhaksylyk Baymoldin, ...

CLEARWATER — The largest building downtown and its little sister are hard to miss. The Mediterranean-revival Flag Building occupies an entire city block. It is connected via an overhead walkway to the landmark Fort Harrison Hotel across the street to the west. The Church of Scientology owns both, and each is in a phase of multimillion-dollar construction. The hotel is shrouded in scaffolding as it gets gussied up in a $30 million renovation project started in April. Looking from outside, the ...