A church group is recruiting members in a downtown park, but some are concerned about the religious tent being set up on city property. The Church of Scientology has placed a large, yellow tent at Beaver Hills Park, blocking most of the Jasper Street entrance. There are no signs alerting people to what the tent is for until they get inside. "Everybody has their own opinon about religion. I won't push mine in your face, you don't push yours in mind," ...

TAMPA — How many roving Scientologists are too many? The church, which has been criticized for aggressive canvassing in Ybor City, met with its neighbors this week and discussed that very question. After the meeting, Ybor civic leader Vince Pardo was pleased. The Scientologists, he said, had agreed to dispatch no more than two people at a time to recruit new members from the streets of Ybor. But church spokeswoman Ana Tirabassi didn't remember it that way. She said the church ...

Narconon, a drug treatment program with Scientology backing, now wants taxpayer assistance. CLEARWATER – At Tampa Bay's newest alternative to mainstream drug treatment, the license issued by the state hangs next to commendations from the Church of Scientology. Narconon, a controversial drug treatment program based on techniques developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, has opened its first Florida facility in Clearwater in a commercial park off U.S. 19. Past the meticulously clean lobby are classrooms where recovering addicts take a ...

LOS ANGELES — Its detractors have compared the Church of Scientology to a cult, but the controversy that often surrounds it did not deter Horizon Media from taking on the business. "It's freedom of speech," said Zach Rosenberg, evp and general manager for Horizon in Los Angeles. "Everyone has a right to market a belief, and we want to help them." The independent agency won media responsibilities for the church's account following a review that included incumbent URI, Beverly Hills, Calif.; ...

Harlingen — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit on behalf of former employees of Harlingen Family Dentistry who refused to attend training courses reportedly containing scientology doctrine. The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Brownsville, alleges religious discrimination and retaliation against the workers. According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, scientology is "a religious movement begun in 1952 by L. Ron Hubbard which teaches immortality and reincarnation and claims a sure psychotherapeutic method for freeing the individual ...

Billboards are going up in major U.S. cities claiming to have an answer for those in distress. Some mental health experts question the church's motive. For Americans troubled by economic uncertainty, fear and grief, 1,100 Church of Scientology billboards going up in major U.S. cities claim to have an answer. "No matter how bad it is ... SOMETHING CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT." The billboards are part of an unprecedented national media campaign by Scientology to reach what it calls "a ...

Alexandria, VA – The National Mental Health Association (NMHA) today is warning the public and media to beware of representatives of the Church of Scientology who are claiming to be mental health professionals assisting individuals in New York City. "This is a very important and sensitive time," said Michael M. Faenza, President and CEO of NMHA. "I urge the Church of Scientology to stay out of mental health. The public needs to understand that the Scientologists are using this tragedy to ...

Scientology Inc. Publishing executives in Folsom are spreading the word on technology in government. Some employees say it’s actually the words of L. Ron Hubbard that are being spread. By Jim Evans On your very first day as a new hire at e.Republic, you’re given a copy of Speaking From Experience, a management training book written by the late L. Ron Hubbard, who, during his busy lifetime, was a science fiction writer, philosopher, management guru, expert on education, and drug rehabilitation ...

FactNet, a group battling Scientology, warned Thursday that "lawsuits may soon be flying" over MGM's upcoming release of Battlefield Earth, based on a sci-fi novel by Scientology's late founder L. Ron Hubbard and starring the group's most outspoken celebrity, John Travolta. In a statement, FactNet charged that Scientology "has placed subliminal messages in the BattleField Earth film master to surreptitiously recruit new members from the movie audience," that it secretly financed the film, that it will use the film to recruit ...

GARDEN CITY - Former employees of the Internet startup iShopNoMarkup.com have filed a formal complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that company execs are bilking investors by charging the firm consulting fees through separate companies they own. Further, the former employees say the company is illegally targeting non-accredited investors - those who do not make $200,000 a year and have a $1 million net worth. The company has also spent at least $17,000 in the past six months on ...

[...] ELSEWHERE IN THE COURTS... [...] * Discrimination. Owners of a veterinary clinic in Texas have agreed to pay $150,000 to six employees who claimed they were unlawfully pressured to follow the tenets of the Church of Scientology. The employees charged that they were subjected to discrimination because of their refusal to join the church, act in accordance with its philosophy, or participate in religious activities at work. The case, which was brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, was settled ...