SF Dancers Ruled Not Independent Contractors
July 13, 1998

From the Department of Labor's Women's Bureau:
SAN FRANCISCO - A class of some 500 exotic dancers will share $1.65 million from a $2.85 million settlement of wage claims filed against the theater where they worked, attorneys said July 13.

The settlement still must be approved by San Francisco Superior Court Judge Alfred Chiantelli.

The women sued Cinema Seven and its owner Jim Mitchell under California Labor Code Sections 1194, 1998, 432.45, and 450 and the California Business and Professions Code Sec. 17200, which covers unfair business practices, alleging that they were misclassified as independent contractors. The suit contended that the theater failed to pay state-mandated benefits, including overtime and workers' compensation, operated as an unlawful talent agency, and charged dancers mandatory booking or stage fees of $100-$300.

Under the tentative settlement, the employer agrees to make all regular dancers employees no later than October, which entails providing workers' compensation coverage and paying all required taxes on the workers' behalf, Ross said. That provision excludes headliners and featured performers.

To read more about this issue from a Bay Guardian article, click here.

Jumbo's #1 In New Times LA
July 1, 1998

From New Times LA (June 25 - July 1, 1998, Volume 3 # 26 Issue)

BEST STRIP JOINT
Jumbo's Clown Room
5153 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles
213-666-1187

Do you ever hanker for the old days of strip joints? Before they all looked like a mix between T.G.I.Friday's and a lounge in Laughlin, Nev.? Hanker no more, and head very quickly to Jumbo's, where the vibe is more like a corner bar in Pittsburgh and the gals and barmaids and patrons are jes' plain folks. The place is easy to miss--sandwiched in a mini-mall between a Thai place and a liquor store--but it's been there for going on 29 years. And the talent? Well, not every lady looks like they walked out of a sticky issue of Penthouse, but that's just another element of Jumbo's charm.

Stick around long enough, keep downing those drafts, and you'll see the thong-clad dream girl you always yearned for, boogeying down onstage with Band-Aids over her nipples. The bar is female-managed, which seems to lend a certain warmth to the atmosphere.

Certain discriminating celebs have been sighted here; Mick Jagger on occasion, David Lynch used to sit at the bar and write. And, of course, this is where Courtney Love got her start in show biz, taking it off at night before Vanity Fair would give her the time of day.

Reader's Choice: JUMBO'S CLOWN ROOM

Best LA Exotic Dancer
July 1, 1998

From Los Angeles Magazine (July Best of LA Issue):

VICE: EXOTIC DANCER
A cross between Julie Andrews and Annie Lennox, 22-year-old Raven is the Michael Jordan of the brass pole. Born Summer Rose ("God-given name," she swears) and trained in ballet from age 6, her professional credits include a Placido Domingo video and Gary Oldman's 40th birthday party. Classical, Latin and modern dance steps infuse her performances, and eyes widen when she grasps the pole, leaps and swiftly rotates four times, her spiked heels centimeters above the ground. Fans vow they'd throw twenties even if her top stayed on.

Cheetah's, 4600 Hollywood Blvd., 213-660-6733.

Man Injured By Breasts
July 1, 1998

TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - A Florida man has filed suit against a nightclub, claiming he suffered whiplash when a topless dancer knocked him out with her oversized breasts, the Tampa Tribune reported Wednesday.

"Apparently she jumped up and slammed her breasts on my head and just about knocked me out," the newspaper quoted plaintiff Paul Shimkonis as saying. "It was like two cement blocks hit me. I saw stars. I've never been right since."

Shimkonis, 38, filed suit in Pinellas County Court seeking more than $15,000 in damages from the Diamond Dolls club. The dancer, known as Tawny Peaks, was not named in the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, Shimkonis and friends visited the bar on Sept. 27, 1996, for his bachelor party. Because he was the guest of honor, the dancers asked him to sit on a low chair, rest his head on the back of the chair and close his eyes.

The lawsuit said Peaks danced in front of him, and without warning or consent "jumped on the plaintiff forcing her very large breasts into his face causing his head to jerk backward."

Shimkonis suffered head, neck and other injuries that caused bodily injury, disability, pain and suffering, disfigurement, mental anguish and loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, the suit said.

"It's so embarrassing," Shimkonis told the newspaper. "This is no joke. I'm dead serious. This really happened."

Diamond Dolls representatives scoffed at the lawsuit.

"We have bachelor parties all the time. Everyone has fun here," owner Jim Dato told the newspaper. "This is all pretty bizarre."

"You would think the guy would love it," day shift manager Vinny Randene said.

MaxiCare for Dancers?
June 1, 1998

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Performers in adult films may seem to be in a risky business, but a large managed-care company has decided to provide them with group health care.

The Free Speech Coalition, the trade association for the pornography industry, has entered a deal with Los Angeles-based Maxicare Health Plans to provide insurance coverage to some 500 actors and technicians, coalition Executive Director Jeffrey Douglas said Tuesday.

Before the deal, which gives X-rated actors the kind of benefits mainstream actors have, porn industry workers had to purchase pricier, individual plans for anything other than eye or dental care, Douglas said.

``As of three years ago, you could not get any group insurance -- health, liability or otherwise, for anything associated to the adult entertainment business,'' Douglas said.

It's a business that pulled in $4.2 billion in video sales in 1997 and is estimated to make $10 billion annually, including exotic dancing, magazine subscriptions and mail order sales, according to Adult Video News, the industry trade magazine based in Van Nuys.

Thomas Franco, a spokesman for Maxicare, which serves 540,000 people in seven states, said the agreement was a business deal and ``not an endorsement'' of the industry.

Since April, major producers of heterosexual porn videos have required actors to wear condoms. Greg Zeboray, who works with the coalition's insurance branch, said actors and actresses are tested every 30 days for HIV.

Pelican Theater Tries to Fly in La Habra
May 22, 1998

By ERIC CARPENTER of The Orange County Register

A Superior Court judge on Thursday heard arguments about whether a nude dance club should be allowed to open in La Habra. His decision is expected next week.

Owners of the yet-to-open Pelican Theater are seeking a preliminary injunction that would allow the former bank building on Imperial Highway near Harbor Boulevard to open as a club featuring nude female dancers.

"The theater, as we speak this afternoon, is ready to open," Roger J. Diamond, attorney for the Pelican, said in court. "(But) the city building inspector won't come out and inspect, so we can't get the (required permit)."

The La Habra City Council denied theater owners a city operating permit in October 1995, and the fate of the club has been tied up in legal appeals since.

Diamond argued that the council had no legitimate grounds for denying the Pelican a permit, and asked Orange County Superior Court Judge John C. Woolley, in Santa Ana, to review whether the council acted fairly.

Deborah Fox, an attorney for La Habra, said the Pelican was denied a permit because it did not have adequate parking spaces and wouldn't pay the required $256,000 in traffic fees. If allowed to open, it would "dramatically change the status quo" in La Habra, she said.

Woolley said he realizes the issue of an adult-entertainment venue "excites and inflames people," but he said he won't let emotions sway his decision.

"As distasteful as this conduct might be ... I'm simply looking at whether the City Council did what they were supposed to," Woolley said.

If he grants the preliminary injunction, the club could open until a trial, which probably wouldn't be scheduled until November.

Sahara Workers Sentenced
May 20, 1998

By ERIC CARPENTER of the  Orange County Register

Six employees of a nude dance club in Anaheim received three years' probation and 60- to 90-day jail sentences Tuesday for prostitution and violations of the city's adult-business ordinance.

The employees — four female dancers and two male managers from the Sahara Theater — were convicted earlier this year on misdemeanor charges for lewd acts while performing "lap dances." The managers were convicted of soliciting prostitution for overseeing the dances.

North Orange County Municipal Court Judge Stephen Sundvold sentenced dancers Anna Jenna, Karen Janini and Elizabeth Zillman and manager Sami Saddiq to 60-day jail terms. Dancer Gloria Hernandez and manager Mohammad Moghaddam received 90 days, after evidence was presented that they continued to perform similar acts after the arrests in May 1997, said Mark Logan, Anaheim's senior assistant city attorney.

Detectives videotaped evidence of the dancers making physical contact with patrons while dancing at the club, 1210 S. State College Blvd.

The arrests came as part of Anaheim's effort to ensure that adult businesses are operating within city codes, Logan said.

Lap Dances Lead to Guilty Verdict
March 28, 1998

By HOPE HAMASHIGE of the Los Angeles Times

ANAHEIM--A Municipal Court jury of five women and seven men convicted six employees of an Anaheim nude dance club Friday on prostitution charges stemming from lap dances.

The city banned the practice several years ago as part of its attempts to rid Anaheim of adult businesses and cited the employees of the Sahara Theater for violating city codes.

The defendants contended the city had no right to regulate what goes on inside a nude dance club.

Friday's jury verdict closes the latest chapter in the ongoing dispute between the city and the Sahara.

The club was shut down in 1992 by code enforcement officers for having topless waitresses and no entertainment permit. It reopened a few months later when Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard O. Frazee Sr. ruled Anaheim's adult entertainment ordinance was unconstitutional.

The defendants will be sentenced on the misdemeanor charges next week in Municipal Court in Fullerton.

Anaheim Club Talent and Managers Convicted of Prostitution
March 28, 1998

Orange County Register -- Four dancers and two nightclub managers were convicted Friday of Misdemeanors for violating an Anaheim law prohibiting touching between nude dancers and customers. The dancers were found guilty of prostitution and violating the ban on "touching," while managers were found guilty of four counts of aiding and abetting. The dancers face a maximum term of six months in jail, while the managers face up to one year. Another trial is set to begin on Monday for five more Sahara Club employees.