REAL NEWS in the Villages
 

I am new in The Villages. Is there somewhere I can get Village news? I hear stories of golf cart accidents and car being broken into and robbed from the rec center pools. Shouldnt we be aware of roberies and such things? Where do we get the inside scoop?

Yup...you'll get it all here! Jk You might read of some of that in the POA that is dropped in your driveway once a month...sometimes in the Sun. But many folks like to keep us all apprised here re: the "stuff" that goes on.

Just for clarification, people love to throw "robbery" around when it is only a larceny, or something was stolen. A robbery is when something of value is taken by force, threat, or intimidation from a person, you can't rob a car. Also you can't rob a house, which I see all the time. If someone breaks into an unoccupied house, it's burglary and larceny. Just a pet peeve. As for your question, I don't have an answer for you, sorry.

First ignore the "rumors" of supposed incidents on this site. Try Daily Commercial - Lessburg, Orlando Sentinel and the Daily Sun for factual not rumor reporting. JMHO

Yes, I was curious why Daily Sun doesn't post much in that area? And when they do, they just mention a block or area (not house number) and they don't post the name of person involved? be nice to know, if you live next door to a criminal. Maybe there is a reason for it.

Why not give them a call and ask the same question. Please post your results for us. Thanks

I know the Daily Sun does not report suicides out of respect for the families. There are no murders that have happened in over 5 years; I have not heard of a strong arm robbery in The Villages; there are assaults but these are almost all domestic cases; there are some break-ins but these are almost all vacant houses and new construction; and there are some golf clubs stolen from carts from time to time.

Basically, the crime scene is exceptionally low.

Did I miss anything of importance?

It's just to good to be true...I'm here. It's true.

My car was broken into in my driveway parked right next to the garage. When I was talking about it to some neighbors they told me someone went into their garage and stole their lawn equipment while they were home. I think you have to be careful here and on your guard just like any other place. We hired someone to do work on our house and they took a deposit and we never saw them again, so it is best to get referrals from neighbors or ask around, don't just call someone like we did, they were listed in the Village Paper, we later found out you never give a deposit, didn't know that is how it works here, where I came from that was a common practice. I think you get a false sense of safety here, you still have to be aware, I don't think it is any worse than other places but it is not free of crime.

Be smart!
 

On the first point highlighted above: One of the best sources of reliable tradesmen is this forum. Use the "search" option and put in what you're looking for. You'll get a list of threads that include anything on that subject, which you can go through and find out who the good, the bad, and the ugly are. You can even go one step further and PM the poster to get additional info before considering contracting with someone. The Internet has allowed for sharing of info in unprecedented ways, and it's up to us to take advantage of this amazing tool!!!

And on the second: How true it is! True, it is no "worse than other places" and likely better than most places, but it is definitely "not free of crime." I personally have never had a problem here, but I hear about problems involving crime from time to time. Do NOT rely on the Daily Sun to report on matters like this; after all, the primary purpose of this paper is to serve as an advertising tool for the developer. Good luck!

How do you know that none of these things are happening if you only rely on The Villages Daily Sun for your news? The Sun also doesn't report on any news coming out of Tallahassee, which are pocketbook issues effecting every Floridian. To be fully informed, one would have to subscribe to two or three daily newspapers.

I subscribe also to the Orlando and Tampa papers on a daily basis for home delivery. The Orlando paper has a negative viewpoint of The Villages and does not miss a chance of taking a potshot.

As I said before, the crime scene in The Villages is exceptionally low. That does not mean non existent.

Thanks for the answers. If a person has a gun, while stealing from your home that would be a robery. BTW..have met lots of wonderful retired teachers..dont correct my grammer, i am having to much fun to have to think too hard. lol.

They have Florida government briefs and state pages a lot actually and pretty much anything and everything Marlene O'Toole does. Plenty of Tallahassee news.

I'm with you on having usage corrected-- I am a proponent of using English correctly BUT don't need it pointed out on a public forum.
:boom:

Only if you are home at the time. In which case it would be armed robbery.

Otherwise it would be burglary and theft.

I'd be willing to bet that the Villages has the lowest crime rate of any community over 100,000 people in this country. Crime is exceptionally rare here. Does it happen? Of course it does. Crime happens everywhere, but I have never felt so safe, anywhere that I've ever lived before, as I do here.

:clap2:Petty crimes are everywhere. I'm rather paranoid about crime having been mugged in Miami but I feel completely safe here. Of course you have to use common sense. I always lock my doors, never leave my garage open and unattended, lock car doors whenever I'm shopping, etc.. Also, if someone knocks on my door unannounced I'm super cautious.

Negative news
 

I must tell you that the Daily Sun seldom publishes anything that reflects negatively on the Villages community. The developer owns the Daily Sun and "bad happenings" don't sell homes

smcgirl, are you ignoring the Public Safety page that is in the Daily Sun each Saturday? Also that Micheal Salerno is the public safety reporter for the DS? While one page once a week isn't "thorough" reporting, Mr. Salerno could be a source for you to get more information.

I see issues with reporting crimes and accidents:
1. "Official" reports often are not immediately available following an event. Police, fire, and other departments need time to completely investigate matters, so information is limited to a newspaper/website that is publishing daily. What we see in the DS are small blurbs which report the preliminary info available immediately following an event.

2. Although this issue seems to be important to you, unfortunately I think most people couldn't care less. It becomes important only when it happens to "me" or occurs near "me."

3. Bottom line... it boils down to priorities. I feel reporting crimes or accidents is not a high priority. Especially, reporting complete details - the reporting staff and time required to do so becomes cost prohibitive. These matters are just a portion of "everything" that readers expect to find in a newspaper/website.

Just my opinion.

The Village Sun is no longer owned by the developer, it was sold to the publisher over a year ago.... but still continues with the same attitude it has always had which is very positive and very conservative and very flattering to The Villages. Being that I live here full time, I like that..

Usually if someone is panning the paper it is because they do not like the editorial page.

The Daily Sun subscribes to all the big wire services so we get all pertinent national and international news too. But if you don't like it, don't read it.

I am so tired of hearing how folks don't like The Sun because that means they don't like most of what I like.

I like The Sun.

I also like the new onwire news The Voice that is owned by Meta Minton who recently retired as managing editor of The Sun. She can now tell "The Bigger Story".

Every state has their own description of criminal charges. Where I reside their are different degrees of burglary, the highest ones can contain, possession of a weapon, using force or assault in the act of the crime.

So where you hearing all these stories??
You don't know now so " be alert".
If you knew would you still "be alert"?
Point is wether you know the inside scoop or not it should not change your behavior. Right?

Just wondering...what is "real news"? I guess that is all a matter of perspective. To me real news is what is on at the theater and who is playing at the square. :ho: I get all of the BAD NEWS I need from TV and the Internet..

Where to read..." The Voice"
 

Graciegirl...where can I find The Voice onwire news service you refer to in your comment? Thanks in advance.

I think I have incorrectly called it The Voice. Somebody fish me out and give this nice person the real name of the new online news about The Villages.

I like The Villages Daily Sun too. No other paper can give us human interest stories about our friends like they do. Plus they give us the news we need to enjoy our community every day. What can be more important in our immediate lives than that? We have our televisions and internet to keep us informed as another poster mentioned, and other papers if we want them, but The Sun is a staple to know about our immediate world. We don't have much time, except on Sundays, to read anything else!

lifeline 360 on your smart phone will show you where all the robberies, stabbings, accidents, and best of all where all the sex offenders and child molestors live near you !!!

Where did you get the information about the sale? Any sale certainly should have been front page news in the Daily Sun and othe local papers. According to public records, the Daily Sun is still owned by the Developer. Go to: www.sunbiz.org - Department of State

This might just account for the Sun's abysmal reporting on any issue that might adversely reflect on the Developer. E.g., the IRS investigation and the Berlin Wall.

I Vote with Gracie !
 

I am a News Junkie and frankly wish that I could break the habit !

However I think the Daily Sun is just perfect as it is . Delivered seven days a week for not much more than $1 per week I would have no reason to expect to be receiving " The New York Times ".

There are more than enough instantly updated National and International news sources available online .

It is a pleasure to read all of the activity updates and " slice of life " stories which the Daily Sun takes pride in researching and sharing . Also the sports section is pretty good as well .

So here`s too the Daily Sun ! :ho::thumbup::clap2::BigApplause:
NOW PILE ON EVERYONE PILE ON !

I agree that the Daily Sun is a great little paper as a supplement to other papers. Mrs. Buggy and I enjoy it each day with our coffee and toast watching some early morning golfers go by our Florida room.

I enjoy the homey articles, the compassionate stories, and of course - we get a laugh out of lots of the letters to the editor. I just wish they would print those wonderful and wacky letters everyday.

Once again, The Villages Daily Sun is a welcome part of our day.

The best advice is just be aware of your surroundings and who is in the neighborhood. The worst that has happened to us (knock on wood) is that I left a pitching wedge on the green and realized it on the next. I turned around and went back to the last green and asked if anyone had picked up a pitching wedge to which all parties replied no. I believed one of them was lying but what was I going to do, check all the golf bags? Unfortunately, not everyone is honest regardless of where you live.

I don't care where you live in the USA or overseas....yes...YOU need to lock your doors to the house and car at night. Sorry, even TV will have some crime whether it is reported or not. After 10 pm each night, I still see so many garage doors open...not a very good idea!

It's called The Daily Sun. If they published all the bad news (what little there really is) it would be called The Daily Cloud.

Frankly, I'm tired or reading, listening to and watching the news as it's presented. There seems to be nothing but bad from most outlets. If you only depended on the news outlets for all of your information you would get the idea that the world is a horrible place and they we are all in grave danger of being robbed, pillaged, raped and killed 24-7.

I hardly ever pay any attention to the news these days. I'm enjoying my life too much to have it ruined by all that negativity.

I get up with the sun, and look forward to my coffee and reading the stories in The Sun. I like the paper, it makes me happy. A DC dectectives daughter, I like to know about the crime, not from fear.Today driving through Belview I did notice 4 pawn shops..yipes. lol. love this place.