Neverland Nevermore for Jackson

Jackson Closes Neverland For Good

Michael Jackson has shut down his Neverland Ranch for good. Employees were summoned to the ranch this afternoon in staggered groups, given back pay for 12 weeks through today, and were told the ranch had been shut down by the California Department of Labor.

In fact, Jackson made the decision to lay off more than 60 loyal staffers after making them wait through three months with no pay. Their health insurance ran out on February 28th. Last week, the State closed the ranch because Jackson carried no workmen's compensation.

Some of the employees of Neverland had been there with Jackson since he bought the place in the late 80s. A few actually had worked for the previous owner. They leave without pensions or the ability to apply for COBRA health insurance. All they can do now is apply for unemployment. My sources say many of them have already done that.

"It's unbelievable," says one longtime staffer. "We got nothing for the pain of what just happened, and nothing to see us through. Some of the people here are close to retirement age and they have nothing to retire on."

Sources tell me Jackson, who may be in London tonight, has been living very well in the Middle East island country of Bahrain. Prince Abdullah has supplied him with a driver, a Bentley GT and a Rolls Royce Phantom. "He is not returning to the US," says a source who spoke with Jackson last weekend. In this country, Jackson faces several lawsuits as well as the foreclosure on $270 million of loans.

Still not clear is who paid the final back pay, which could have totaled $400,000. Jackson also has to pay the state two separate fines, one for $69,000 and another, to be determined on Friday, over $100,000.

"I will miss Neverland," my source concedes. "There were a lot of good times."

But now it's all over.

(fox news)

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in dem fall wäre es gut, wenns stimmt.
NL ist ein unnötiger dollar-fresser.

<div class='quotetop'>ZITAT(Blanket @ Freitag, 17.3.06 - 8:30 Uhr) [snapback]83872[/snapback]</div>

Zitat

Aber für Michael wohl das Beste!
[/b]

DAS ist doch der punkt.
alles andere is uninteressant.

<div class='quotetop'>ZITAT(666 @ Freitag, 17.3.06 - 9:10 Uhr) [snapback]83884[/snapback]</div>

Zitat

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Raymone K. Bain

March 17, 2006
STATEMENT REGARDING NEVERLAND RANCH
Washington, D.C./1:30 AM EST…. It is public knowledge that Mr. Jackson

currently resides in the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain. He therefore

decided to close his house and reduce his workforce. This is a common

practice when a residence is vacant for an extended period of time.
Reports indicating that Neverland has been closed or “shut down†for good

are inaccurate.
There will be no further comments regarding this matter.
###
Source:
Raymone Bain
[/b]

Alles anzeigen

LOOOLLL, mrs bains "teil-bestätigung" oder "teil-dementi"
ist echt lustig.
michael wird nicht wieder dahin zurückkehren, das steht für mich schon seit einem jahr fest.

Jackson Closeshouse on Neverland Ranch

LOS OLIVOS, Calif. Mar 17, 2006 (AP)— Michael Jackson has closed the house on his Neverland Ranch and laid off some of the employees there but has not completely shuttered the sprawling estate, the pop star's spokesman said.

"It is public knowledge that Mr. Jackson currently resides in the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain," Jackson spokeswoman Raymone K. Bain said late Thursday in a statement. "He therefore decided to close his house and reduce his work force."

The action came a day after state labor officials announced that Jackson had agreed to pay his Neverland Ranch employees hundreds of thousands of dollars in back wages, avoiding a lawsuit by the California Department of Industrial Relations.

Employees who received their back pay Thursday were told they were being laid off because the state had shut down the ranch, the syndicated television news magazine "Entertainment Tonight" reported on its Web site Thursday night.

But Bain indicated the ranch was still operating, at least on a limited basis.

"Reports indicating that Neverland has been closed or 'shut down' for good are inaccurate," she said in her statement. A call to the ranch's manager, Joe Marcus, was not immediately returned.

Bain's statement, which did not indicate what plans Jackson has for the estate's future, concluded: "There will be no further comments regarding this matter."

California labor officials issued a stop-work order for the ranch last week after learning that workers compensation insurance for the 2,600 acre estate's employees had been allowed to lapse.

The order concerned animal rights activists because it included keepers of Jackson's menagerie, which at times has included elephants and a giraffe.

However, employees were permitted to keep working if they were placed on the payroll of a third party that had workers compensation coverage, officials said, adding that was the case with the animals' caretakers.

"Security is being handled by members of the Jackson family and a local veterinarian has put the animal caregivers on his payroll," the state Department of Industrial Relations said in a statement issued earlier this week.

On the back pay issue, authorities told Jackson's representatives last week they had received complaints from at least 30 workers who had not been paid since Dec. 19 and were owed $306,000 in back wages. Jackson also was told he would have to pay about $100,000 in penalties.

(AP/ABC)

noch is ja nix verkauft.
erst mal wirds quasi nur "stillgelegt".

aber er hätte es schon vor nem jahr verkaufen sollen, dann hätte er einigen ärger net an der backe gehabt.