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(LOS ANGELES, CA) -- Like his life, details on Michael Jackson's farewell ceremonies, continue to mesmerize and excite his legion of fans.  The details, or lack of them at this time, are also frustrating the television networks and online news organizations.
 

Neverland Ranch

NBC News reported Wednesday Los Angeles could be the memorial service site because of its ability to handle a throng of unprecedented size.  But NBC had no news on the actual burial site.

CBS News reported the burial could possibly be in metro Los Angeles, followed by a memorial service at the entertainer's beloved Neverland Ranch, near Los Olivos in Santa Barbara County, about 120 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

TMZ, an entertainment television network, also reported the expected burial and memorial service might be scheduled near Neverland Ranch.

But Huffington Post, an online daily news site, is reporting the burial definitely will not be at Neverland.

Quoting a spokesperson for Colony Capital, the investment company that purchased Neverland in May 2008, Huntington Post says Colony  tried to get an exemption from the state for burial at Neverland but the application was not filed in time. The exemption was needed because Neverland is considered private property where human burial is not permitted.

At the same time, Huntington Post reports William Martin, communications director for Forest Lawn Memorial Park, the best-known cemetery in Los Angeles,  the funeral home, won't confirm or deny if Jackson will be buried there.

Ken Sunshine, described as a spokesman for the Jackson family, said in a prepared statement Wednesday a public memorial service is being planned, but not at Neverland.  He provided no further information on the burial and memorial service sites.

The international interest in the Jackson farewell ceremonies has been so intense the family has retained the  New York City-based public relations firm, Sunshine, Sachs & Associates to cope with frenzied media queries around the world.  Sunshine, Sachs, through its Los Angeles offices, handles  PR for celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Affleck.

Meanwhile, all of the television networks agree that fans already have set up camp in or near Los Olivos to attend any memorial service in the nearby Neverland Ranch vicinity.   They will rush to Los Angeles if the service was announced for that location, according to several TV reports.

TMZ reports hotel bookings in the Los Olivos area are booked solid.  Los Olivos, in the heart of Santa Barbara County's famous wine-producing belt, has a permanent population of 1,000.

Jackson, 50, died June 25 at his home in Holmby Hills, CA. Holmby Hills is an affluent and prominent neighborhood in the district of Westwood in western Los Angeles.

TMZ reporters cite the Fess Parker Wine Country Inn in Los Olivos as their source of the hotel bookings. The inn is located less than a mile from Neverland Ranch.

"They tell us that once news hit Jackson's body might be coming to Neverland, they sold out in just 20 minutes," TMZ is reporting.  "They are booked up solid from Thursday until Saturday."

The TMZ report states "people who are planning to drive to the  Los Olivos area, are advised  there aren't many places for lodging. The area hotels are mostly, if not all, sold out."
The network's reporters advise Jackson fans "to make a possible reservation before you drive to Los Olivos area."

TMZ adds, "It is expected that many Americans, who were planning to take a short summer vacation for the July 4 holiday, may change their directions and instead drive to Los Olivos, towards Neverland." 

CBS News reports residents of Los Olivos, plagued by reporters following Jackson's 2003 arrest on child molestation charges, once again are "having their lives upended by streams of TV vans and fans eager to mark the passing of a pop culture giant."

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