COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT ISSUES REPORT ON HIV OUTBREAK
FLOS ANGELES, CA -- The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, joined by the Department of Industrial Relations (Cal OSHA) and the CDC, has issued a detailed, formal report on the April 2004 HIV outbreak in the adult video/DVD industry. Industry observers initially have read the report as a validation of the effectiveness of the Adult Industry Medical Health Care program (AIM) screening protocols. However, an editorial note at the end of the report makes the case that screening alone is not adequate to protect industry workers from HIV infection. The report did not include proposals for enforcement by Cal OSHA or other government agencies.
From Mark Kernes, Adult Video News, 9/22/05.
http://www.avn.com/articles/240972.html
See also Mark’s analysis, Adult Video News, 9/22/05
http://www.avn.com/articles/240971.html
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KANSAS SIN TAX UPDATE
       TOPEKA, KS -- The Special Committee on Assessment and Taxation has begun a review of the “sin tax” proposal on adult entertainment. The proposal is modeled after a Utah law currently being challenged in the courts.
       Expect lawsuits if the Kansas version passes, the committee was told by Gordon Self, a lawyer with the state Revisor of Statutes Office. To withstand a legal challenge, Self said, lawmakers must show a “compelling state interest” in taxing adult businesses differently than others. Otherwise, he said, the law could violate the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. For example, the compelling interest might be evidence of a connection between the products or services sold and those who commit sex offenses.
       “A court is probably not going to accept the argument that the state just needs the money,” he explained.
From The Kansas City Star, 9/18/05
http://myac.yellowbrix.com/pages/myac/Story.nsp?story_
id=81738458&ID=myac&scategory=Retail&
See also: Matt O’Conner, Xbiz.com, 9/20/05
http://www.xbiz.com/news_piece.php?id=10392

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KANSAS GRAND JURY UPDATE
SEDGWICK COUNTY, KS -- A grand jury has been convened and proceedings are under way here to investigate if seven named adult businesses in Wichita are promoting obscenity. The grand jury is the result of the activism of Operation Southwind, an anti-adult entertainment group from Wichita. The group gathered over 6,000 signatures, relying on a Kansas law which mandates a grand jury investigation if enough names can be gathered on petitions (2 percent of the total votes cast locally in the last governor’s election). County Judge Richard Ballinger ruled that the group had collected enough signatures to force the investigation.
      Defense Attorney Warner Eisenbise says the Wichita obscenity standard will ultimately be defined by the grand jury.
      “These 12 to 15 jurors will sit through about a week’s worth of prosecution evidence and secret testimony, where the defense cannot ask questions or even play a role,” said Eisenbise.
      This tactic -- grand jury by petition to fight adult entertainment -- has been tried in Kansas previously. Earlier this year a Salina grand jury was mandated as the result of petitions circulated by a group organized by anti-adult activist Phillip Cosby. The Salina grand jury refused to issue indictments.
From KAKE Channel 10 News, 9/21/05
http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/1724056.html
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ADULT STORE FACES NEW REGULATIONS
       TUCSON, AZ -- The owners of the 11-store Fascinations chain of “Romance Superstores” may have a higher hurdle to overcome in their efforts to open a store on Oracle Road. In order to try to stop the store plans, Pima County supervisors recently redefined the definition of an adult store. The new regulations say that a business with more than 10 percent adult merchandise is considered an adult store. The change comes after months of efforts by Fascinations to prove it could meet Pima County requirement that no more than 25 percent of its offerings will be adult-oriented at its proposed new site.
        In addition, supervisors tagged on a new regulation stipulating that dance, fine arts, and charter schools are added to the list of schools from which adult businesses must keep a distance of 500 feet. The Oracle Road site is near a dance studio that offers classes for children.
       Fascinations already has a lawsuit against the county charging that regulations are unfairly burdensome. Now it will be up to Judge Charles V. Harrington to decide if the new regulations can apply after the Fascinations store applications were already in effect.
From KVOA Channel 4 News, 9/21/05
http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=3877669
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DEPENDS ON HOW YOU DEFINE “CHURCH”
       KOKOMO, IN -- The Daughters of Charity, a Roman Catholic order which owns St. Joseph Hospital’s MedOne Clinic, has asked the city to stop the topless dancing going on at the Ultimate Place 2 B exotic dance club, which is near the clinic. They justify their request by saying that the order’s clinics are considered ministries, and therefore the dance club is in violation of a city ordinance that bans adult businesses from locating within 500 feet of a place of worship.
       “MedOne is part of the Roman Catholic identity of St. Joseph Hospital, so when you speak about a church, you can define it in many ways,” said Sister Catherine Kelly, Vice President of Mission Integration at the hospital. “A church can be a building, and it can also be an organization of ministries that provide for the spiritual well-being of people… for me the whole sense of ‘church’ is much broader than the four walls in which you go to worship.”
       The Sister’s strategy may not work. Kokomo Plan Commission Director Glen Boise said a judge might not consider the clinic a church despite the order’s involvement or the presence of a small chapel.
From The Associated Press, 9/21/05
http://cbs2chicago.com/indianawire/IN­Kokomo-StripClub-ln/resources_news_html
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FBI AGENTS RESIST ANTI-OBSCENITY SQUAD
       WASHINGTON, DC -- The FBI’s Washington Field Office has the unenviable responsibility of recruiting agents for their new anti-obscenity squad. Congress has mandated that at least 10 agents devote their efforts to eradicating the menace of adult entertainment and Attorney General Gonzales has given the ludicrous objective a high priority. As a result, recruitment announcements have gone out to all 56 FBI field offices. However, the effort to staff the program is not getting rave reviews.
       “It’s a running joke for us,” said an experienced national security analyst.
       “I guess this means we’ve won the war on terror,” said one exasperated agent. “We must not need any more resources for espionage.”
       Washington Post reporter Barton Gellman describes “mischievous commentary” around the water coolers in FBI offices. Sample comments from Gellman’s insider research:
       “Things I Don’t Want On My Resume, Volume Four.”
       “I already gave at home."
       “Honestly, most of the guys would have to recuse themselves.”
        Officially unamused, FBI spokesperson Debra Weierman expressed disappointment that some of her colleagues find grist for humor in the new campaign.
       “The personnel assigned to this initiative take the responsibility of this assignment very seriously and are dedicated to the success of this program,” she insisted.
From Barton Gellman, The Washington Post, 9/20/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/19/AR2005091901570.html?referrer=email&
referrer=email
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COPS PAY A FRIENDLY LITTLE VISIT TO STORE
       ORLANDO, FL -- The Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation morality police recently made a visit to The Original Bookstore -- and presumably to other adult shops in the area -- armed with a list of DVDs that the bureau had decided were obscene. Among the DVDs so designated were selected titles in the “American Bukkake” series and “Tampa Tushy Fest Part 2.”
       At The Original Bookstore, the MBI cop who dropped off the list pointed out that the store was not required to remove the DVDs -- that would be prior restraint, which is unconstitutional -- but urged the store to have their lawyer contact the MBI to “settle” the matter. The Original Bookstore pulled the titles from their shelves, according to their attorney, Steve Mason. A word to the wise is sufficient.
       Who knows, perhaps other lists will be forthcoming as the bureau investigators make progress in their DVD previewing duties. Decisions must be made on each DVD. Is it obscene or not? And the bureau manuals offer so little help. It’s not easy being a cop these days.
From Jeffrey Billman, Steve Schneider, Orlando Weekly, 9/22/05
http://www.orlandoweekly.com/columns/story.asp?id=8318
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DANCING ON BOURBON STREET
       NEW ORLEANS, LA -- Rescue workers were treated to a welcome diversion as the French Quarter’s exotic dance club Deja Vu opened for business in record time after hurricane Katrina. As soon as the doors opened, dozens of men started streaming in, including officers from New Orleans PD, National Guard troupers, engineering contractors, New York cops and others.
       The rapid response exotic dance team was headed up by club owner Jason Mohney and general manager Jon Olmstead. The pair returned to NO as soon as possible after Katrina, surveyed the damage -- the lower two floors were in good shape­borrowed a carpet shampooer from a hotel and ice for the beer from the National Guard -- and it was back in business.
       The first dancer to make it back was Britni Carrubba, whose home was destroyed. She fled Katrina with nothing but the clothes on her back and had been moving from shelter to shelter and sleeping in her car since Katrina.
       It is unknown at this time how the French Quarter will fare with the rain and potential flooding from hurricane Rita, but we suspect when the skies clear we will see, in the words of Yogi Berra, “Deja Vu all over again.”
From Scott Gold, L.A. Times, 9/21/05
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/12702395.htm
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UpComing Events

SEPT 26, – Sin City Golf Classic Tournament, Tuscany Country Club, Las Vegas, NV http://www.sincitychamberofcommerce.com/sin_city_chamber_golf_classic.htm

SEPT 29, – FSC Membership Meeting, Warner Center Marriott, Woodland Hills, CA, 818-348-9373

OCT 8-9, – Adult Con 9, Convention Center, L.A., CA, http://www.adultcon.com/

OCT 9, – Tampa Show 2005 Caravan Of Stars http://www.tampashow.com/

OCT 9-10, – Gay Erotic Expo, Webster Hall, New York City, http://www.gayeroticexpo.com/

OCT 10, – 13th Annual NightMoves Adult Entertainment Awards, Tampa, FL http://www.tampashow.com/

OCT 21-23, – The Everything to do With Sex Show, Automotive Building, Toronto, Canada -- http://www.everythingtodowithsex.com/

OCT 22, – Exotic Erotic Ball, Cow Palace, San Francisco, CA http://www.exoticeroticball.com/

NOV 2-3 , – Adultcon Las Vegas 2005, Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas, http://www.adultcon.com/

JAN 5-7, – Internext, The Venetian, Las Vegas, NV http://www.internext-expo.com/index.shtml

JAN 5-8, – AVN Adult Entertainment Expo, Sands Expo Center, Las Vegas, NV, http://show.adultentertainmentexpo.com/adult-expo/v42/index.cvn

JAN 7, – 23rd Annual AVN Awards Celebration, Sands Expo Center, Las Vegas, NV, http://show.adultentertainmentexpo.com/adult-expo/v42/index.cvn