[graciegirl]

Correct me if I am wrong. A curfew means to me that youngsters have to go home, get off the streets, not appear in public. That isn't what this means does it? ONLY music that is stopped is at Havana Country Club? You can still dance at the squares and listen to the music there until nine....right?...and even after the music is over you can still stay and walk around and have a drink if you wish.

[NJblue]

Originally Posted by srateach

So- we are not yet full-timers. Never heard about a curfew. It's sometimes not even dark yet at 8PM. Doesn't sound very "friendly." What are they thinking? Has anyone looked at contacting state senators, etc? Even a mail campaign to create awareness about the curfew would be better than doing nothing. Where can one go to find the facts about this imposed curfew?

This is part of the problem with this whole thread. It is full of misinformation. Here are the facts:

1) There is no curfew!!! People are allowed to be on the street and go to any venue that is open - just as they always have. While the OP certainly brought a lot of attention to this and created a lot of angst with this inflamatory choice of words, they are completely untrue.

2) There are no fewer entertainment options than there ever have been. The country clubs have traditionally closed early and only a handful ever offered live entertainment which is typically turned off at 7 PM. No one is changing that. One CC (Havana) recently started to have later hours with a live band outside. This is the point of contention since there are people who live quite close to this.

3) The town centers continue to offer live outdoor entertainment in the squares until 9 PM - just as they always have.

4) The restaurants in the squares and elsewhere that choose to continue to offer late night entertainment options just as they always have. There has been one allegation of harassment of these venues. From my way of thinking, if this allegation is true, the focus of this thread should be on this - not Havana where there are some real issues of infringing on people's rights to tranquility.

[NJblue]

Originally Posted by Taj44

I'm sick and tired of reading all the nasty comments about NJBlue, simply because he or she has an opinion different than your. What is the matter with you people? And what about the Administrators - why are you allowing this?

Thanks Taj44, there are a few people who understand the issues involved. I suspect that there would be many others if they looked beyond their own self-interest (which is a natural phenomenon). And then there are others (mostly who don't live here yet) who simply don't know the facts and are acting out of emotions.

[dadspet]

If entertainment is forced to stop by 8 that will make THE VILLAGES the equivalent of a very over sized nursing home. I could have bought a room next to my 94 yr old mother in law and saved a lot of money. I don't think she even goes to bed by 8! Is someone nuts!! Does anyone realize what will happen to people who used to come to the villages for the active LIFE STYLE!

I can see the new CD The Villages will put out!

Enjoy yourself, sidewalks now rolled up at 8PM to conform with other non-active retirement communities!

There needs to be a very strong verbal and written protest "to someone" if this has any validity.

[NJblue]

dadspet, I suggest you read post 152. The bottom line is that nothing is any different than it was last year or two years ago.

[bluedog103]

Originally Posted by NJblue

This is part of the problem with this whole thread. It is full of misinformation. Here are the facts:

1) There is no curfew!!! People are allowed to be on the street and go to any venue that is open - just as they always have. While the OP certainly brought a lot of attention to this and created a lot of angst with this inflamatory choice of words, they are completely untrue.

2) There are no fewer entertainment options than there ever have been. The country clubs have traditionally closed early and only a handful ever offered live entertainment which is typically turned off at 7 PM. No one is changing that. One CC (Havana) recently started to have later hours with a live band outside. This is the point of contention since there are people who live quite close to this.

3) The town centers continue to offer live outdoor entertainment in the squares until 9 PM - just as they always have.

4) The restaurants in the squares and elsewhere that choose to continue to offer late night entertainment options just as they always have. There has been one allegation of harassment of these venues. From my way of thinking, if this allegation is true, the focus of this thread should be on this - not Havana where there are some real issues of infringing on people's rights to tranquility.

This thread was originally entitled "8 PM Curfew". Is it indeed a curfew? No, but that doesn't change the fact that people have very strong feelings about perceived restrictions on their lifestyle. I've never seen such strong emotions about any subject on this forum. Sometimes being united in a cause is a good thing. Fighting for something you believe in brings people closer together.

[NJblue]

Originally Posted by bluedog103

This thread was originally entitled "8 PM Curfew". Is it indeed a curfew? No, but that doesn't change the fact that people have very strong feelings about perceived restrictions on their lifestyle. I've never seen such strong emotions about any subject on this forum. Sometimes being united in a cause is a good thing. Fighting for something you believe in brings people closer together.

"Perceived" restrictions are the key words here. Yes emotions are running high but it is regrettable that they are running high under false pretenses - implying that the Villages lifestyle that everyone has thought it to be is about to change. This is false.

[otherbruddaDarrell]

Over 7100 views on this matter in a little over 1 day.
I have to agree with you NJBLUE.

[beady]

FYI.....The calls to Havana regarding the noise are being made by one....that's right, one person. That info from the manager at Havana.

Amazing what one complaint can stir up......I have a feeling he,she ,whoever, will not win this battle.

[barb1191]

Take the music inside the CC and let the neighbors choose their own music in their own home sans outside interference. How could you not realize the imposition imposed on the nearby residents????

It's like living in an apartment building where the apartment over yours is blaring a stereo and intruding upon your peace and quiet. Cause for complaint, for sure.

I think that one must look at the complete picture to understand the situation; just take the music indoors.

No, I do not reside in that area, merely feeling empathy for those neighbors forced to listen to the noise (and it can be considered "noise" if it's imposing).....b

[Martha Kaye]

Originally Posted by bluedog103

How about finding out who the complainers are and pay them a visit. Perhaps there are reasons for their behavior. Probably not, other than just being miserable people, but there is a possibility. The visit might provide information about the volume level of the music in question and perhaps provide a remedy. In any case, the anonymity of these complaints would be a thing of the past. If you know who is making your life miserable, perhaps you can convince them to do otherwise. Use your imagination.

...pay them a visit???

[golf2140]

My suggestion to end all the confusion is to start calling Sumter County Sheriff for the music from Sumter Landing after 8 P. M. Maybe when all is said and done,they will have a policy that fits all. In a earlier post someone mentioned that the music is halted at 7 P.M. at some locations. I have been hear 9 years and you are completely wrong. In the case of Havana, the Country Club was there before homes. We looked at a home there, heard the music and shifted our location to Bonita.

[Freeda]

The issue is not whether or not the desire of Havana (or any other CC or restaurant) to have outdoor music later is a new concept, or different than has been done in the past, or from what other CC's or restaurants are doing now. The issue is whether the noise level is reasonable, ie, complies with the law; and if it does, it doesn't matter that it may be something new that didn't happen in the past.

No one is justified in having an expectation that no 'changes' - often called 'progress', and granted that depends one's sentiments - can take place; that everything must always stay the way it has always been; or the way it was when they moved here.

For example, I personally preferred the color of the flowers at the roundabout we live next to when we moved here as compared with those we have now; but I didn't have any right to expect that that same color of flower would always be there.

It may be true as has been said that other CC's have not stayed open later than 8 PM - I don't know; perhaps they don't have the desire to, perhaps didn't think that they could - maybe they were told they couldn't; who knows? Regardless, that should not control the decision of other CCs or restaurants to have later outdoor music hours, provided that they comply with the legal noise levels.

The baby boomers (which until recently had been the largest in number generation ever born) were born 1946-1964, so they are now ages 45-63, a pretty young group; as well, even the next prior generation, those born before 1946 are as young as only 64 - still a very active group. Thus, there are many retirees, and many more to come.

So, it should not surprise anyone, whether or not it was the case when they bought here, that the inevitable has occurred; that as more people, some portion of whom desire a night life, move here - and this will increase in the future unless they are discouraged from doing so - there will be businesses who want to accommodate them.

Businesses that are not breaking the law should be allowed to do business, even if it is a change or something 'new'. That is what free enterprise is about, and it is what made our country great.

[Bogie Shooter]

Now that most of the arguments pro & con have been aired, it seems the next step would be to attend a county commissoners meeting and voice the concern. Not a cast of 2000 (yet) but as a small delegation to present the concerns. Yelling and screaming as has been done at recent "tea party" meetings will not gain any support from those not directly involved. By attending the meeting the topic will become part of the record and may get the attention of those who do not visit Talk of The Villages.
Just a thought.

[JeanneBeannie]

Well....in my opinion, I moved here to "live my life", not lay down and go to bed at 8 or 9.....been there and done that while working and as all of us have done, worked, raised children, etc. Isnt this is what retirement is all about...to enjoy our lives?
I love watching people enjoy themselves, dancing and singing...means they are happy. Those grumbling and complaining over alittle music in the background perhaps need a quiet place to retire, not an active community like TV.
I truly believe it is "one" person complaining, so for those of us who want to enjoy ourselves, enjoy music, friends, outdoor entertainment and dancing to gather together and speak our views to those who are trying to shut down our entertainment.
I understand there are a few who dislike the music at night, but it is nice music, not rock or rap. In fact last night in Havana we enjoyed beautiful Christmas music. So Mr. Scrooge, go to bed, close your windows, put in ear plus....whatever you need to do so you can rest peacefully at night.
I love the music in the square, but I also love dancing at Havana, Big City Grill etc., and so do many many others. Are we to stop having fun at the prime of our life because of a few unhappy campers? I wont, I will go to meetings or whatever it takes to come to a peaceful resolution...but it aint 8 p.m., 10 p.m. is definitely fair. I didnt move all this way to lay down and die, I could have done that in NY, I have been having the time of my life and hope to continue, so hopefully the powers that be are reading all these posts.