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Report: Jackson's will puts assets in trust
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-01 11:24 Meanwhile, Sheriff's Lt. Butch Arnoldi said authorities met Tuesday based on speculation over a possible memorial at Neverland, but Jackson's family had yet to reach out to them for assistance with any kind of memorial. "We have not been contacted by any member of the family or any representative of the family, talking about or requesting any kind of event," he said.
Neverland is located in the rolling hills of central California's wine country, about 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles. A public funeral there on a busy holiday weekend could bring the rural area's roads to a standstill. Officials from the local board of supervisors, the county executive and law enforcement met Tuesday to discuss the possibility of restricting parking along parts of Figueroa Mountain Road, which runs past Neverland. County Executive William Boyer said the meeting was to prepare in case a public event was staged at the ranch, which would overwhelm the two-lane narrow road with media and fans. He said he was not in contact with the family and was not aware of their wishes. California Highway Patrol spokesman Rick Quintero said the CHP had not received a request for a motorcade. "They would definitely need to notify us because it's going to impact the motoring public," Quintero said. It was unclear whether Jackson could be buried at the ranch. California Funeral Directors Association executive director Bob Achermann said state law would prohibit Jackson's uncremated remains from being interred at Neverland. The state's health and safety code makes interring any uncremated remains outside of a cemetery a misdemeanor, he said. Cremated remains can be kept in a home or private mausoleum outside a cemetery, he said. At once a symbol of Jackson's success and excesses, Neverland became the site of a makeshift memorial after his death Thursday. Scores of fans have streamed past the gated entrance to leave handwritten notes, photographs, balloons and flowers. He was 29 and at the height of his popularity when he bought the ranch, naming it after the mythical land of Peter Pan, where boys never grow up. There, he surrounded himself with animals, rides and children.
On the other coast, meanwhile, Jackson fans converged on New York City's famed Apollo Theater on Tuesday for a public tribute to the performer, clutching photographs, cheering and dancing to his music at the legendary venue that launched the one-time child star's career. The Rev. Al Sharpton gave a rousing speech praising the pop star to hundreds of fans who crammed into the theater as others waited in line outside to pay their respects. "Michael made young men and women all over the world imitate us," Sharpton said. "Before Michael, we were limited and ghettoized. But Michael put on a colorful military outfit, he pulled his pants up, he put on the one glove, and he smashed the barriers of segregated music." The promoter who booked Michael Jackson for a sold-out comeback tour said Tuesday that footage of the singer's rehearsals may be released in the future, and that an all-star tribute show based on his canceled concerts is likely to take place.
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