Jackson closes house on Neverland ranch

LOS OLIVOS, Calif. - Michael Jackson has closed the house on his Neverland Ranch and laid off some of the employees there but has not completely shuttered the sprawling estate, the pop star's spokesman said late Thursday. "It is public knowledge that Mr. Jackson currently resides in the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain. He therefore decided to close his house and reduce his work force. This is a common practice when a residence is vacant for an extended period of time," Jackson spokeswoman Raymone K. Bain said in a statement. The action came a day after state labor officials announced that Jackson had agreed to pay his Neverland Ranch employees hundreds of thousands of dollars in back wages, avoiding a lawsuit by the California Department of Industrial Relations. Employees who received their back pay Thursday were told they were being laid off because the state had shut down the ranch, the syndicated television news magazine "Entertainment Tonight" reported on its Web site Thursday night. But Bain indicated the ranch was still operating, at least on a limited basis. "Reports indicating that Neverland has been closed or 'shut down' for good are inaccurate," she said in her statement. The statement, which did not say what plans Jackson has for the estate's future, concluded: "There will be no further comments regarding this matter." -AP