In honor of Earth Day, how about a stroll through the Sharon Rose Weichens Preserve via the To Retirement and Beyond YouTube Channel:
Here’s what else I’m reading and watching this week:
While turning thousands of acres of vacant land into houses won’t win The Villages any Earth Day awards, they do what they can to preserve some natural beauty:
- The Villages commits to conservation (The Villages Daily Sun)
You may have heard about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis taking aim at Disney this week, threatening to revoke their special district, Reedy Creek, which, similar to The Villages own special districts, allows Disney to basically self govern without much oversight from the county or state.
From reading that article, it doesn’t sound like the governor has any chance of this plan actually succeeding, but I thought it was kind of ironic that he announced this action while standing in The Villages.
Apparently the announcement of the elimination of Disney’s special district alarmed enough residents that The Villages District management felt it necessary to put out a statement to calm fears:
- The Villages District Office issues statement indicating it’s not part of DeSantis’ aim at Disney (Villages-News)
Most full time residents like it when the snowbirds go back north, but it puts a strain on local charity groups that rely on volunteers:
- Charity groups adjust to the seasonal exodus (The Villages Daily Sun)
Special delivery…
- First new ambulance arrives at Station 44 (The Villages Daily Sun)
- Speaking of, here’s a good Q&A about The Villages Independent Fire Control and Rescue District, including a chart showing what all of this is going to cost residents.
Have a great week!
Alan says
Why don’t you or anyone else talk about the smoking in The Villages. I did the lifestyle program visit and ended up with a migraine headache every day from the incessant smoking. Everywhere I went people were blowing smoke in my face. I am a cancer patient and had an appointment at the cancer center to check on treatment. The cancer center was great. But even in our courtyard villa, the smoke from the neighbor came right over the wall. I went to Florida for the beautiful weather and to eat outside but I couldn’t because they even smoke at the outdoor restaurants. Moving to the Villages would actually shorten my life. It was absolutely terrible. There was not little village that was all non smoking. There were a lot of people in the cancer center getting treatment for cancer when I was there. Doesn’t anyone in the Villages care about any of them?