The county has, for the third straight year, rejected Krishna petitions for a tax exemption, questioning the group's tax exempt status and whether the building is used primarily for religious purposes.  

"The burden of proof is on the taxpayer to show they are entitled to an exemption," said Assistant County Attorney Daniel Weiss. The county has also asked why the building's title is under the name of Bhaktivedanta Title Holding Corp. of Miami Beach Inc. Hayward Bradnian, attorney for the Krishnas, said that Bhaktivedanta is a holding corporation set up to simplify church bookkeeping. 

The special master, an impartial taxing arbitrator who reports to the Property Appraisal Adjustment Board, will have to rule on the case early this year. Each of the past two years, the special master has denied the Krishnas an exemption, and the Krishnas have refused to pay and have sued the county. Those cases are pending before separate circuit court judges.  From the Miami Herald, 11/29/84. 

"Where is Joey?" Reprinted (p. 30) "Where is Joey?: Lost Among the Hare Krishnas,"  

Mr. Yanoff writes: "Books like mine have taken on new importance since Pres. Reagan signed the bill which gives access to public schools by religious groups. The destructive cults will take full advantage: young people will need to be inoculated. A gift to a high school or college student will make interesting reading; more than that, it will prepare him/her to confront any cult with informed skepticism. " Cult Observer Report

April

 City Funds Krishna Meals for Needy (p. 9) The Hare Krishnas of Cleveland have instituted what is probably the nation's first government-funded vegetarian meals-on-wheels program, called Food For Life, to feed the city's poor. The program, approved by the City Council in July after nine months of discussions, began with a budget of $20,000 from the city, and will probably have served 60,000 meals by the end of its budget year.

Food For Life director Tapahpunja Swami said that the program was developed with the help of the late Councilman Lonnie Burden, in whose ward the meals are served. Burden was a regular patron of the Krishnas' now defunct chain of vegetarian restaurants.  From the Akron (OH) Beacon Journal, Dec. 23, 1984.

George Hamilton Sells Home to Krishnas (p.  17) On March 1, movie star George Hamilton sold his stately antebellum home in Church Hill, Mississippi, to the Old South Society of Vedic Life, a branch of the Hare Krishnas. Nico Kuyt, a representative of the group, says the mansion, known as The Cedars, will be made into a museum propagating the group's philosophy. "Since people are interested in antebellum homes, we will use that as an entry point," he said. "We'll fill the house ... with exhibits... that convey a different philosophical and cultural message." From the Hutchinson News, Mar. 3, 1985, p. 26. 

Krishna Ad Fraud (p. 7) The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Canada) has been fined $1,500 for the door-to-door peddling of phony paintings.

Judge Jacques Letourneau of Sessions Court in Longueuil imposed the fine after finding the religious sect guilty of false representation following complaints from the Quebec Consumer Protection Office. 

The consumer organization said a sect member identifying himself as an art student at Montreal's School of Fine Arts sold four paintings for $140 to a South Shore housewife in October 1983 after telling her that the works were originals done by a group of fellow art students. 

The woman later realized that the pictures were in fact cheap reproductions imported from Asia. 

The Krishna Society was also convicted of failing to draw up an itinerant sales contact.  Montreal Gazette, Mar. 13, 1985. 

Krishna Defends Santa Pose (p. 6) Krishna Santa Collects in Seattle Seattle Times Photo 

In a letter to the Editor of the Miami Herald, Bhagavata Dasa of the Miami Beach Hare Krishna temple defended the Krishnas' practice of soliciting funds during the Christmas season while dressed in Santa Claus suits. Responding to a Dec. 9 letter by Rabbi Rubin Dobin, Dasa said that solicitors wear badges that identify them as members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a tax-exempt organization, no matter how they are dressed.

 "Santa Claus is a Russian and German saint who has been adopted by all people in this country, no matter what their race, color, or creed," said Dasa. He likened the Krishnas to the Salvation Army, which collects money at Christmas for its charitable programs. "We distribute literature and food, and we also have buildings, vehicles, and volunteers to maintain," he said. "To do this we also collect donations as Santa Claus. The money is used for the same good work." 

In reply to Rabbi Dobin's charge that the Krishnas engage in "deceptive and illegal fundraising, " Dasa said that such allegations probably came "from some anti-cult book that quoted a deprogrammed devotee after he was beaten into submission." From the Miami Herald, ]an. 20, 1985. 

May

Krishnas' Soliciting: Religion or Fraud Debated in Suit (p. 6) Contending that their Constitutional rights to free religious expression are being violated, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has filed suit challenging the prohibition of leafletting and solicitation at JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports. But the defendants, including the New York Port Authority and several airlines, are countering ISKCON's contention by asserting that the Krishnas' airport activities are fraudulent in nature and have nothing to do with sincere religious beliefs.

Searching for evidence to back up their charge, the defendants served ISKCON with "a vast body of interrogatories," or legal questions, requesting detailed information about ISKCON's membership, property, and finances, in some instances for the past eighteen years. The Krishnas filed suit for a protective order relieving them of the obligation to respond to the interrogatories. The court held that the defendants had not shown sufficient need for the information sought, and the motion in ISKCON's favor was granted on Feb. 27. 

ISKCON objected to the interrogatories on the grounds that they were unusually burdensome and oppressive, that the information sought was irrelevant to the case, and that compliance with the requests would infringe upon its constitutionally protected religious liberty and associational privacy rights. The defendants argued that the information sought is needed to show the true nature of the activities in which ISKCON wishes to engage at the airports. The court, however, held that the extensive inquiry into membership and finances might have a "chilling" effect on ISKCON's practice of its First Amendment activities, and that protection is particularly needed because the group's beliefs are so unpopular. 

In addition, ISKCON asserted, and the court concurred, that the issues in the case are (1) whether the airlines' policy constitutes state action, (2) whether the terminals are public spaces suitable for First Amendment activities, and, if so, (3) whether defendants' prohibition of all soliciting and leafletting is an overbroad limitation on First Amendment activities. The court found the interrogatories irrelevant to these issues.  From the Religious Freedom Reporter, Feb. 1985, pp. 32-33. 

September

Krishna Woman Sues Over Deprogramming (p. 9) A Hare Krishna member has filed a federal civil rights suit for damages and an injunction against her parents and the deprogrammers they allegedly hired to abduct her. She claims that she was held against her will and abused physically, mentally, and emotionally, for a month before she escaped.

The complaint also names as defendants members of the Baltimore Police Department and the FBI, charging that they refused to pursue the case after it was learned that it involved a religious deprogramming, and refused to pursue the charges she made against those involved following her escape. A declaration is sought to the effect that any FBI policy of nonpursuance of kidnapping cases involving religious deprogramming "is outside the statutory and constitutional limits of prosecutorial discretion" and that such a policy is contrary to international law, convention, and treaties to which the U.S. is a party, and is therefore void. From the Religious Freedom Reporter, May 1985, p. 98. 

October

Court Rules Hare Krishnas May Solicit at Stadium (p. 14) Hare Krishna members do have the right to solicit donations around Anaheim Stadium, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on August 13. The court's decision overturned a ban on Krishna solicitations, and declared unconstitutional a city law requiring a permit for such actions on which the ban had been based.

The court based its decision on free speech protections in the California Constitution that are broader than similar provisions in the U.S. Constitution. U.S. Circuit Judge William Norris ruled that under the California Liberty of Speech Clause, the parking facilities and walkways of the city-owned stadium are  “public forums" in the same sense as streets, sidewalks and parks, and "must be open to expressive activity." From the Los Angeles Times, Aug. 14, 1985.

Deprogramming "'Must Be Stopped, " Says Lawyer for Watchdog Group (pp.14, 23)  "Deprogramming is the most direct assault on religious liberty in this country today. It must be stopped," says Lee Boothby, a lawyer with Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The religious watchdog group has filed suit in federal district court in Baltimore on behalf of 24-year-old Kimberly Gough, whose parents hired professional deprogrammers to try to force her to leave the Hare Krishnas. From the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph, Jul. 20, 1985. 

November

Mayor Lauds Krishna Food Program (p. 8) Mayor Wilson Goode of Philadelphia was guest of honor at a May 29 ribbon-cutting ceremony which marked the opening of a Hare Krishna "Food for Life" center in that city.  

The Food for Life program, begun 18 years ago, now has centers in 12 major U.S. cities. The Philadelphia facility is paid for by private donations and funds from the Federal Emergency Management Administration, administered by the Philadelphia Committee for the Homeless. Charlotte McLaughlin, whose Krishna name is Chandrika Devi Dasi, a member of the prominent Philadelphia Lippincott publishing family, is director of the shelter, which serves free vegetarian lunches and provides shelter for 18 homeless men. 

Mayor Goode, described as looking uncomfortable in a pink carnation lei placed around his neck by a devotee, praised the efforts of the Krishnas on behalf of the "homeless and the hungry."  From the Philadelphia Daily News, May 30, 1985.  

The county has, for the third straight year, rejected Krishna petitions for a tax exemption, questioning the group's tax exempt status and whether the building is used primarily for religious purposes.  

"The burden of proof is on the taxpayer to show they are entitled to an exemption," said Assistant County Attorney Daniel Weiss. The county has also asked why the building's title is under the name of Bhaktivedanta Title Holding Corp. of Miami Beach Inc. Hayward Bradnian, attorney for the Krishnas, said that Bhaktivedanta is a holding corporation set up to simplify church bookkeeping. 

The special master, an impartial taxing arbitrator who reports to the Property Appraisal Adjustment Board, will have to rule on the case early this year. Each of the past two years, the special master has denied the Krishnas an exemption, and the Krishnas have refused to pay and have sued the county. Those cases are pending before separate circuit court judges.  From the Miami Herald, 11/29/84. 

"Where is Joey?" Reprinted (p. 30) "Where is Joey?: Lost Among the Hare Krishnas,"  

Mr. Yanoff writes: "Books like mine have taken on new importance since Pres. Reagan signed the bill which gives access to public schools by religious groups. The destructive cults will take full advantage: young people will need to be inoculated. A gift to a high school or college student will make interesting reading; more than that, it will prepare him/her to confront any cult with informed skepticism. " Cult Observer Report

April

 City Funds Krishna Meals for Needy (p. 9) The Hare Krishnas of Cleveland have instituted what is probably the nation's first government-funded vegetarian meals-on-wheels program, called Food For Life, to feed the city's poor. The program, approved by the City Council in July after nine months of discussions, began with a budget of $20,000 from the city, and will probably have served 60,000 meals by the end of its budget year.

Food For Life director Tapahpunja Swami said that the program was developed with the help of the late Councilman Lonnie Burden, in whose ward the meals are served. Burden was a regular patron of the Krishnas' now defunct chain of vegetarian restaurants.  From the Akron (OH) Beacon Journal, Dec. 23, 1984.

George Hamilton Sells Home to Krishnas (p.  17) On March 1, movie star George Hamilton sold his stately antebellum home in Church Hill, Mississippi, to the Old South Society of Vedic Life, a branch of the Hare Krishnas. Nico Kuyt, a representative of the group, says the mansion, known as The Cedars, will be made into a museum propagating the group's philosophy. "Since people are interested in antebellum homes, we will use that as an entry point," he said. "We'll fill the house ... with exhibits... that convey a different philosophical and cultural message." From the Hutchinson News, Mar. 3, 1985, p. 26. 

Krishna Ad Fraud (p. 7) The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Canada) has been fined $1,500 for the door-to-door peddling of phony paintings.

Judge Jacques Letourneau of Sessions Court in Longueuil imposed the fine after finding the religious sect guilty of false representation following complaints from the Quebec Consumer Protection Office. 

The consumer organization said a sect member identifying himself as an art student at Montreal's School of Fine Arts sold four paintings for $140 to a South Shore housewife in October 1983 after telling her that the works were originals done by a group of fellow art students. 

The woman later realized that the pictures were in fact cheap reproductions imported from Asia. 

The Krishna Society was also convicted of failing to draw up an itinerant sales contact.  Montreal Gazette, Mar. 13, 1985. 

Krishna Defends Santa Pose (p. 6) Krishna Santa Collects in Seattle Seattle Times Photo 

In a letter to the Editor of the Miami Herald, Bhagavata Dasa of the Miami Beach Hare Krishna temple defended the Krishnas' practice of soliciting funds during the Christmas season while dressed in Santa Claus suits. Responding to a Dec. 9 letter by Rabbi Rubin Dobin, Dasa said that solicitors wear badges that identify them as members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a tax-exempt organization, no matter how they are dressed.

 "Santa Claus is a Russian and German saint who has been adopted by all people in this country, no matter what their race, color, or creed," said Dasa. He likened the Krishnas to the Salvation Army, which collects money at Christmas for its charitable programs. "We distribute literature and food, and we also have buildings, vehicles, and volunteers to maintain," he said. "To do this we also collect donations as Santa Claus. The money is used for the same good work." 

In reply to Rabbi Dobin's charge that the Krishnas engage in "deceptive and illegal fundraising, " Dasa said that such allegations probably came "from some anti-cult book that quoted a deprogrammed devotee after he was beaten into submission." From the Miami Herald, ]an. 20, 1985. 

May

Krishnas' Soliciting: Religion or Fraud Debated in Suit (p. 6) Contending that their Constitutional rights to free religious expression are being violated, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has filed suit challenging the prohibition of leafletting and solicitation at JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports. But the defendants, including the New York Port Authority and several airlines, are countering ISKCON's contention by asserting that the Krishnas' airport activities are fraudulent in nature and have nothing to do with sincere religious beliefs.

Searching for evidence to back up their charge, the defendants served ISKCON with "a vast body of interrogatories," or legal questions, requesting detailed information about ISKCON's membership, property, and finances, in some instances for the past eighteen years. The Krishnas filed suit for a protective order relieving them of the obligation to respond to the interrogatories. The court held that the defendants had not shown sufficient need for the information sought, and the motion in ISKCON's favor was granted on Feb. 27. 

ISKCON objected to the interrogatories on the grounds that they were unusually burdensome and oppressive, that the information sought was irrelevant to the case, and that compliance with the requests would infringe upon its constitutionally protected religious liberty and associational privacy rights. The defendants argued that the information sought is needed to show the true nature of the activities in which ISKCON wishes to engage at the airports. The court, however, held that the extensive inquiry into membership and finances might have a "chilling" effect on ISKCON's practice of its First Amendment activities, and that protection is particularly needed because the group's beliefs are so unpopular. 

In addition, ISKCON asserted, and the court concurred, that the issues in the case are (1) whether the airlines' policy constitutes state action, (2) whether the terminals are public spaces suitable for First Amendment activities, and, if so, (3) whether defendants' prohibition of all soliciting and leafletting is an overbroad limitation on First Amendment activities. The court found the interrogatories irrelevant to these issues.  From the Religious Freedom Reporter, Feb. 1985, pp. 32-33. 

September

Krishna Woman Sues Over Deprogramming (p. 9) A Hare Krishna member has filed a federal civil rights suit for damages and an injunction against her parents and the deprogrammers they allegedly hired to abduct her. She claims that she was held against her will and abused physically, mentally, and emotionally, for a month before she escaped.

The complaint also names as defendants members of the Baltimore Police Department and the FBI, charging that they refused to pursue the case after it was learned that it involved a religious deprogramming, and refused to pursue the charges she made against those involved following her escape. A declaration is sought to the effect that any FBI policy of nonpursuance of kidnapping cases involving religious deprogramming "is outside the statutory and constitutional limits of prosecutorial discretion" and that such a policy is contrary to international law, convention, and treaties to which the U.S. is a party, and is therefore void. From the Religious Freedom Reporter, May 1985, p. 98. 

October

Court Rules Hare Krishnas May Solicit at Stadium (p. 14) Hare Krishna members do have the right to solicit donations around Anaheim Stadium, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on August 13. The court's decision overturned a ban on Krishna solicitations, and declared unconstitutional a city law requiring a permit for such actions on which the ban had been based.

The court based its decision on free speech protections in the California Constitution that are broader than similar provisions in the U.S. Constitution. U.S. Circuit Judge William Norris ruled that under the California Liberty of Speech Clause, the parking facilities and walkways of the city-owned stadium are  “public forums" in the same sense as streets, sidewalks and parks, and "must be open to expressive activity." From the Los Angeles Times, Aug. 14, 1985.

Deprogramming "'Must Be Stopped, " Says Lawyer for Watchdog Group (pp.14, 23)  "Deprogramming is the most direct assault on religious liberty in this country today. It must be stopped," says Lee Boothby, a lawyer with Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The religious watchdog group has filed suit in federal district court in Baltimore on behalf of 24-year-old Kimberly Gough, whose parents hired professional deprogrammers to try to force her to leave the Hare Krishnas. From the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph, Jul. 20, 1985. 

November

Mayor Lauds Krishna Food Program (p. 8) Mayor Wilson Goode of Philadelphia was guest of honor at a May 29 ribbon-cutting ceremony which marked the opening of a Hare Krishna "Food for Life" center in that city.  

The Food for Life program, begun 18 years ago, now has centers in 12 major U.S. cities. The Philadelphia facility is paid for by private donations and funds from the Federal Emergency Management Administration, administered by the Philadelphia Committee for the Homeless. Charlotte McLaughlin, whose Krishna name is Chandrika Devi Dasi, a member of the prominent Philadelphia Lippincott publishing family, is director of the shelter, which serves free vegetarian lunches and provides shelter for 18 homeless men. 

Mayor Goode, described as looking uncomfortable in a pink carnation lei placed around his neck by a devotee, praised the efforts of the Krishnas on behalf of the "homeless and the hungry."  From the Philadelphia Daily News, May 30, 1985.  

The county has, for the third straight year, rejected Krishna petitions for a tax exemption, questioning the group's tax exempt status and whether the building is used primarily for religious purposes.  

"The burden of proof is on the taxpayer to show they are entitled to an exemption," said Assistant County Attorney Daniel Weiss. The county has also asked why the building's title is under the name of Bhaktivedanta Title Holding Corp. of Miami Beach Inc. Hayward Bradnian, attorney for the Krishnas, said that Bhaktivedanta is a holding corporation set up to simplify church bookkeeping. 

The special master, an impartial taxing arbitrator who reports to the Property Appraisal Adjustment Board, will have to rule on the case early this year. Each of the past two years, the special master has denied the Krishnas an exemption, and the Krishnas have refused to pay and have sued the county. Those cases are pending before separate circuit court judges.  From the Miami Herald, 11/29/84. 

"Where is Joey?" Reprinted (p. 30) "Where is Joey?: Lost Among the Hare Krishnas,"  

Mr. Yanoff writes: "Books like mine have taken on new importance since Pres. Reagan signed the bill which gives access to public schools by religious groups. The destructive cults will take full advantage: young people will need to be inoculated. A gift to a high school or college student will make interesting reading; more than that, it will prepare him/her to confront any cult with informed skepticism. " Cult Observer Report

April

 City Funds Krishna Meals for Needy (p. 9) The Hare Krishnas of Cleveland have instituted what is probably the nation's first government-funded vegetarian meals-on-wheels program, called Food For Life, to feed the city's poor. The program, approved by the City Council in July after nine months of discussions, began with a budget of $20,000 from the city, and will probably have served 60,000 meals by the end of its budget year.

Food For Life director Tapahpunja Swami said that the program was developed with the help of the late Councilman Lonnie Burden, in whose ward the meals are served. Burden was a regular patron of the Krishnas' now defunct chain of vegetarian restaurants.  From the Akron (OH) Beacon Journal, Dec. 23, 1984.

George Hamilton Sells Home to Krishnas (p.  17) On March 1, movie star George Hamilton sold his stately antebellum home in Church Hill, Mississippi, to the Old South Society of Vedic Life, a branch of the Hare Krishnas. Nico Kuyt, a representative of the group, says the mansion, known as The Cedars, will be made into a museum propagating the group's philosophy. "Since people are interested in antebellum homes, we will use that as an entry point," he said. "We'll fill the house ... with exhibits... that convey a different philosophical and cultural message." From the Hutchinson News, Mar. 3, 1985, p. 26. 

Krishna Ad Fraud (p. 7) The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Canada) has been fined $1,500 for the door-to-door peddling of phony paintings.

Judge Jacques Letourneau of Sessions Court in Longueuil imposed the fine after finding the religious sect guilty of false representation following complaints from the Quebec Consumer Protection Office. 

The consumer organization said a sect member identifying himself as an art student at Montreal's School of Fine Arts sold four paintings for $140 to a South Shore housewife in October 1983 after telling her that the works were originals done by a group of fellow art students. 

The woman later realized that the pictures were in fact cheap reproductions imported from Asia. 

The Krishna Society was also convicted of failing to draw up an itinerant sales contact.  Montreal Gazette, Mar. 13, 1985. 

Krishna Defends Santa Pose (p. 6) Krishna Santa Collects in Seattle Seattle Times Photo 

In a letter to the Editor of the Miami Herald, Bhagavata Dasa of the Miami Beach Hare Krishna temple defended the Krishnas' practice of soliciting funds during the Christmas season while dressed in Santa Claus suits. Responding to a Dec. 9 letter by Rabbi Rubin Dobin, Dasa said that solicitors wear badges that identify them as members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a tax-exempt organization, no matter how they are dressed.

 "Santa Claus is a Russian and German saint who has been adopted by all people in this country, no matter what their race, color, or creed," said Dasa. He likened the Krishnas to the Salvation Army, which collects money at Christmas for its charitable programs. "We distribute literature and food, and we also have buildings, vehicles, and volunteers to maintain," he said. "To do this we also collect donations as Santa Claus. The money is used for the same good work." 

In reply to Rabbi Dobin's charge that the Krishnas engage in "deceptive and illegal fundraising, " Dasa said that such allegations probably came "from some anti-cult book that quoted a deprogrammed devotee after he was beaten into submission." From the Miami Herald, ]an. 20, 1985. 

May

Krishnas' Soliciting: Religion or Fraud Debated in Suit (p. 6) Contending that their Constitutional rights to free religious expression are being violated, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has filed suit challenging the prohibition of leafletting and solicitation at JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports. But the defendants, including the New York Port Authority and several airlines, are countering ISKCON's contention by asserting that the Krishnas' airport activities are fraudulent in nature and have nothing to do with sincere religious beliefs.

Searching for evidence to back up their charge, the defendants served ISKCON with "a vast body of interrogatories," or legal questions, requesting detailed information about ISKCON's membership, property, and finances, in some instances for the past eighteen years. The Krishnas filed suit for a protective order relieving them of the obligation to respond to the interrogatories. The court held that the defendants had not shown sufficient need for the information sought, and the motion in ISKCON's favor was granted on Feb. 27. 

ISKCON objected to the interrogatories on the grounds that they were unusually burdensome and oppressive, that the information sought was irrelevant to the case, and that compliance with the requests would infringe upon its constitutionally protected religious liberty and associational privacy rights. The defendants argued that the information sought is needed to show the true nature of the activities in which ISKCON wishes to engage at the airports. The court, however, held that the extensive inquiry into membership and finances might have a "chilling" effect on ISKCON's practice of its First Amendment activities, and that protection is particularly needed because the group's beliefs are so unpopular. 

In addition, ISKCON asserted, and the court concurred, that the issues in the case are (1) whether the airlines' policy constitutes state action, (2) whether the terminals are public spaces suitable for First Amendment activities, and, if so, (3) whether defendants' prohibition of all soliciting and leafletting is an overbroad limitation on First Amendment activities. The court found the interrogatories irrelevant to these issues.  From the Religious Freedom Reporter, Feb. 1985, pp. 32-33. 

September

Krishna Woman Sues Over Deprogramming (p. 9) A Hare Krishna member has filed a federal civil rights suit for damages and an injunction against her parents and the deprogrammers they allegedly hired to abduct her. She claims that she was held against her will and abused physically, mentally, and emotionally, for a month before she escaped.

The complaint also names as defendants members of the Baltimore Police Department and the FBI, charging that they refused to pursue the case after it was learned that it involved a religious deprogramming, and refused to pursue the charges she made against those involved following her escape. A declaration is sought to the effect that any FBI policy of nonpursuance of kidnapping cases involving religious deprogramming "is outside the statutory and constitutional limits of prosecutorial discretion" and that such a policy is contrary to international law, convention, and treaties to which the U.S. is a party, and is therefore void. From the Religious Freedom Reporter, May 1985, p. 98. 

October

Court Rules Hare Krishnas May Solicit at Stadium (p. 14) Hare Krishna members do have the right to solicit donations around Anaheim Stadium, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on August 13. The court's decision overturned a ban on Krishna solicitations, and declared unconstitutional a city law requiring a permit for such actions on which the ban had been based.

The court based its decision on free speech protections in the California Constitution that are broader than similar provisions in the U.S. Constitution. U.S. Circuit Judge William Norris ruled that under the California Liberty of Speech Clause, the parking facilities and walkways of the city-owned stadium are  “public forums" in the same sense as streets, sidewalks and parks, and "must be open to expressive activity." From the Los Angeles Times, Aug. 14, 1985.

Deprogramming "'Must Be Stopped, " Says Lawyer for Watchdog Group (pp.14, 23)  "Deprogramming is the most direct assault on religious liberty in this country today. It must be stopped," says Lee Boothby, a lawyer with Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The religious watchdog group has filed suit in federal district court in Baltimore on behalf of 24-year-old Kimberly Gough, whose parents hired professional deprogrammers to try to force her to leave the Hare Krishnas. From the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph, Jul. 20, 1985. 

November

Mayor Lauds Krishna Food Program (p. 8) Mayor Wilson Goode of Philadelphia was guest of honor at a May 29 ribbon-cutting ceremony which marked the opening of a Hare Krishna "Food for Life" center in that city.  

The Food for Life program, begun 18 years ago, now has centers in 12 major U.S. cities. The Philadelphia facility is paid for by private donations and funds from the Federal Emergency Management Administration, administered by the Philadelphia Committee for the Homeless. Charlotte McLaughlin, whose Krishna name is Chandrika Devi Dasi, a member of the prominent Philadelphia Lippincott publishing family, is director of the shelter, which serves free vegetarian lunches and provides shelter for 18 homeless men. 

Mayor Goode, described as looking uncomfortable in a pink carnation lei placed around his neck by a devotee, praised the efforts of the Krishnas on behalf of the "homeless and the hungry."  From the Philadelphia Daily News, May 30, 1985.  

The county has, for the third straight year, rejected Krishna petitions for a tax exemption, questioning the group's tax exempt status and whether the building is used primarily for religious purposes.  

"The burden of proof is on the taxpayer to show they are entitled to an exemption," said Assistant County Attorney Daniel Weiss. The county has also asked why the building's title is under the name of Bhaktivedanta Title Holding Corp. of Miami Beach Inc. Hayward Bradnian, attorney for the Krishnas, said that Bhaktivedanta is a holding corporation set up to simplify church bookkeeping. 

The special master, an impartial taxing arbitrator who reports to the Property Appraisal Adjustment Board, will have to rule on the case early this year. Each of the past two years, the special master has denied the Krishnas an exemption, and the Krishnas have refused to pay and have sued the county. Those cases are pending before separate circuit court judges.  From the Miami Herald, 11/29/84. 

"Where is Joey?" Reprinted (p. 30) "Where is Joey?: Lost Among the Hare Krishnas,"  

Mr. Yanoff writes: "Books like mine have taken on new importance since Pres. Reagan signed the bill which gives access to public schools by religious groups. The destructive cults will take full advantage: young people will need to be inoculated. A gift to a high school or college student will make interesting reading; more than that, it will prepare him/her to confront any cult with informed skepticism. " Cult Observer Report

April

 City Funds Krishna Meals for Needy (p. 9) The Hare Krishnas of Cleveland have instituted what is probably the nation's first government-funded vegetarian meals-on-wheels program, called Food For Life, to feed the city's poor. The program, approved by the City Council in July after nine months of discussions, began with a budget of $20,000 from the city, and will probably have served 60,000 meals by the end of its budget year.

Food For Life director Tapahpunja Swami said that the program was developed with the help of the late Councilman Lonnie Burden, in whose ward the meals are served. Burden was a regular patron of the Krishnas' now defunct chain of vegetarian restaurants.  From the Akron (OH) Beacon Journal, Dec. 23, 1984.

George Hamilton Sells Home to Krishnas (p.  17) On March 1, movie star George Hamilton sold his stately antebellum home in Church Hill, Mississippi, to the Old South Society of Vedic Life, a branch of the Hare Krishnas. Nico Kuyt, a representative of the group, says the mansion, known as The Cedars, will be made into a museum propagating the group's philosophy. "Since people are interested in antebellum homes, we will use that as an entry point," he said. "We'll fill the house ... with exhibits... that convey a different philosophical and cultural message." From the Hutchinson News, Mar. 3, 1985, p. 26. 

Krishna Ad Fraud (p. 7) The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Canada) has been fined $1,500 for the door-to-door peddling of phony paintings.

Judge Jacques Letourneau of Sessions Court in Longueuil imposed the fine after finding the religious sect guilty of false representation following complaints from the Quebec Consumer Protection Office. 

The consumer organization said a sect member identifying himself as an art student at Montreal's School of Fine Arts sold four paintings for $140 to a South Shore housewife in October 1983 after telling her that the works were originals done by a group of fellow art students. 

The woman later realized that the pictures were in fact cheap reproductions imported from Asia. 

The Krishna Society was also convicted of failing to draw up an itinerant sales contact.  Montreal Gazette, Mar. 13, 1985. 

Krishna Defends Santa Pose (p. 6) Krishna Santa Collects in Seattle Seattle Times Photo 

In a letter to the Editor of the Miami Herald, Bhagavata Dasa of the Miami Beach Hare Krishna temple defended the Krishnas' practice of soliciting funds during the Christmas season while dressed in Santa Claus suits. Responding to a Dec. 9 letter by Rabbi Rubin Dobin, Dasa said that solicitors wear badges that identify them as members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a tax-exempt organization, no matter how they are dressed.

 "Santa Claus is a Russian and German saint who has been adopted by all people in this country, no matter what their race, color, or creed," said Dasa. He likened the Krishnas to the Salvation Army, which collects money at Christmas for its charitable programs. "We distribute literature and food, and we also have buildings, vehicles, and volunteers to maintain," he said. "To do this we also collect donations as