Neverland Ranch

Pop star Michael Jackson sidestepped a foreclosure auction of his Neverland Ranch after an investment company bought the loan on the troubled Los Olivos property, a spokeswoman said Sunday. The loan purchase by Colony Capital LLC was the latest deal to keep the 2,500-acre ranch from being sold off. In March, Jackson, 49, reached an agreement with his creditors, Fortress Investment Group, to postpone an auction until this week.

Late one night at Neverland ranch, Michael Jackson and a 12-year-old boy hopped off his custom golf cart, named Moon Rover, and gazed into a Peter Pan display window in the breezeway behind the pop star's home. With Jackson's arms draped over the boy's shoulders, the two watched raptly as an electronic Tinkerbell darted through a scene from the classic tale, according to the testimony of a former security guard who said he had observed them.

Desiree Crossley, her two daughters and a friend left Lancaster in their PT Cruiser at 1 a.m. Wednesday to be among the first in line for what they thought would be a public memorial for Michael Jackson at his Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County. About 5 a.m., they began pitching their tent on the side of Figueroa Mountain Road, taking turns hammering in stakes and trying to keep warm. They packed a portable toilet, heater and plenty of food and water to last them. But at 2:30 p.m.

Michael Jackson was never a fixture on the county fair circuit, but his Neverland rides now are on a never-ending tour. The attractions he set up in his estate's private amusement park have been auctioned off and are being trucked from carnival to carnival, pitched as a chance to take a spin on a piece of history. At the far end of the midway at the Tulare County Fair in the Central Valley this month, signs announced: "Michael ride here! This is one of Michael Jackson's rides from Neverland Ranch!"

Does anyone know a good mover in the Santa Ynez Valley that can handle a Ferris wheel, a merry-go-round and zoo animals? Michael Jackson's attorney said Thursday the pop singer has made the Middle Eastern nation of Bahrain, not Neverland ranch, his permanent home. Attorney Thomas A. Mesereau Jr. declined to comment on local speculation that Jackson planned to sell Neverland ranch, but said the singer is very happy in his new home. "He's looking much better.

Plans begin for Jackson park Work is expected to begin this year on a 100-acre Michael Jackson entertainment complex in Gary, Ind., that would include a museum, performing arts center, hotel, golf course and theme park inspired by the pop singer's Neverland Ranch. "Everything is in the planning stages at this point, but we're moving on a fast track, and we're looking forward to actually breaking ground sometime in 2010," said Odie Anderson, president of the Jackson family project in the pop singer's hometown.

Lawyers for Michael Jackson on Monday presented a string of current and former Neverland ranch employees who said they never saw the pop star do anything illegal or inappropriate with young boys. But on cross-examination, prosecutors pointed out that none of the employees could have known what went on behind the doors of Jackson's two-story bedroom suite.

An ebullient Michael Jackson greeted some 200 children who were brought to his Neverland Ranch on Friday to play in its amusement park. "I hope you have a wonderful day. Merry Christmas. I love you," the pop singer called out to the children from the driveway of his estate. Jackson, who faces trial next year on child molestation charges, appeared happy in the few minutes he spoke to the arriving throng. One of the youngsters shouted, "We love you!"

A grand jury looking into allegations of sexual molestation by pop superstar Michael Jackson heard more testimony behind closed doors Thursday. A woman identified as Norma Staikos, Jackson's former chief of staff who ran his Neverland ranch in Santa Barbara County, testified for two hours. Sources close to the investigation said her evidence was considered crucial. The Santa Barbara County grand jury began hearing testimony Wednesday.

Bahrain Prince Abdulla ibn Hamed ibn Isa Khalifa sued Michael Jackson in London on Monday, claiming the pop star reneged on a deal to use Bahrain as a recording venue and kept a $7-million advance. The prince, second son of the king of Bahrain, and Jackson shared an interest in music and discussed the joint production of two albums, a Jackson autobiography and a stage musical, Bankim Thanki, Prince Abdulla's lawyer, told the High Court in London. Jackson moved to Bahrain as a guest of the royal family after he was acquitted of charges of child molestation in 2005.

Plans begin for Jackson park Work is expected to begin this year on a 100-acre Michael Jackson entertainment complex in Gary, Ind., that would include a museum, performing arts center, hotel, golf course and theme park inspired by the pop singer's Neverland Ranch. "Everything is in the planning stages at this point, but we're moving on a fast track, and we're looking forward to actually breaking ground sometime in 2010," said Odie Anderson, president of the Jackson family project in the pop singer's hometown.

The black-and-white photos of Michael Jackson are remarkable not only as previously unreleased images of one the last half-century's most photographed men. They also reveal much about the pop superstar's abiding impulses: his impish sense of humor, his fealty to yesteryear's master showmen and his concern about his own place in the pop culture firmament. FOR THE RECORD: Michael Jackson: An article about a new Michael Jackson coffee table book in Wednesday's Calendar section stated that the performer won five American Music Awards last month, including artist of the year.

Michael Jackson was never a fixture on the county fair circuit, but his Neverland rides now are on a never-ending tour. The attractions he set up in his estate's private amusement park have been auctioned off and are being trucked from carnival to carnival, pitched as a chance to take a spin on a piece of history. At the far end of the midway at the Tulare County Fair in the Central Valley this month, signs announced: "Michael ride here! This is one of Michael Jackson's rides from Neverland Ranch!"

Nearly two months have passed since Michael Jackson's death on June 25. But now, after weeks of wild rumors about the state of his remains and Jackson family in-fighting about where to bury the body, the singer is finally going to be laid to rest, his father said. In interviews with the New York Daily News and People magazine published Monday, Jackson's father, Joe Jackson, said the singer would be buried in a private ceremony at Los Angeles' Forest Lawn Cemetery. He said the burial date was set for Aug. 29 -- what would have been the superstar's 51st birthday.

Michael Jackson was fascinated by celebrity tragedy. He had a statue of Marilyn Monroe in his home and studied the sad Hollywood exile of Charlie Chaplin. He married the daughter of Elvis Presley and told her that he expected to die just like her father, lost and alone behind mansion gates. When Jackson did meet his own untimely death on June 25 at age 50, he left a legacy more complicated than any of those past icons. As a child star, he was so talented he seemed lit from within; as a middle-aged man, he was viewed as something akin to a visiting alien who, like Tinkerbell, would cease to exist if the applause ever stopped.

Desiree Crossley, her two daughters and a friend left Lancaster in their PT Cruiser at 1 a.m. Wednesday to be among the first in line for what they thought would be a public memorial for Michael Jackson at his Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County. About 5 a.m., they began pitching their tent on the side of Figueroa Mountain Road, taking turns hammering in stakes and trying to keep warm. They packed a portable toilet, heater and plenty of food and water to last them. But at 2:30 p.m.

Michael Jackson's glittery glove is going on the auction block. The glove, which inspired countless copycats, quips and Halloween costumes after it was unveiled in the 1983 video for Jackson's hit "Billie Jean," will be part of a five-day auction next April, Julien's Auctions said Wednesday. Jackson is also unloading the grandiose gates that once led to his Neverland Ranch, along with more than 2,000 other personal items.

Bahrain Prince Abdulla ibn Hamed ibn Isa Khalifa sued Michael Jackson in London on Monday, claiming the pop star reneged on a deal to use Bahrain as a recording venue and kept a $7-million advance. The prince, second son of the king of Bahrain, and Jackson shared an interest in music and discussed the joint production of two albums, a Jackson autobiography and a stage musical, Bankim Thanki, Prince Abdulla's lawyer, told the High Court in London. Jackson moved to Bahrain as a guest of the royal family after he was acquitted of charges of child molestation in 2005.

Michael Jackson has given up title to his Neverland ranch, transferring the deed to a company he partly controls. The singer filed a grant deed on the ranch Monday that makes the new owner an entity called the Sycamore Valley Ranch Co. LLC, Tom Pearson of the Santa Barbara County clerk-recorder's office said Wednesday. Sycamore Valley Ranch Co.

Pop star Michael Jackson sidestepped a foreclosure auction of his Neverland Ranch after an investment company bought the loan on the troubled Los Olivos property, a spokeswoman said Sunday. The loan purchase by Colony Capital LLC was the latest deal to keep the 2,500-acre ranch from being sold off. In March, Jackson, 49, reached an agreement with his creditors, Fortress Investment Group, to postpone an auction until this week.