Bradenton House Raided; Sex Ring Suspected (Sarasota, Holmes Beach: renters, insurance, condos)

[Ladywithafan]

You can read the story at bradentonherald.com

What else is new in the state of Florida...

Now, we know this can happen anywhere, but as those of you who come to this site are learning, Florida is full of strangeness.

When I first moved to Bradenton, back in 1991, the Pee Wee Herman Sarasota Scandal occured. That was my introduction to news of the weird.

As far as Bradenton is concerned, we've had a sex house raided, right next to the Holmes Beach Police Department last year; you could get in for free if you got naked, otherwise, there was an admission charge...this monthly party was advertised on the internet as well...when it came down to it, the owners said they had no idea what the renters were up to...yeah, right.

In the past two months, just to recap, we've lost two young boys to guns, are smack in the middle of "Operation Tidal Wave" regarding the SUR13 round-up, which is also making use of these thugs "myspace" pages. The hookers & crack dealers have been moved off 14th/41 to make that strip from Manatee to Cortez more approachable to business and tourism. Unfortunately, high property taxes and escalating insurance is causing the island of Anna Maria to start a trend of closed businesses which can not survive their bills. I will be very curious to see what happens in November when the snow birds return.

[Fishouttawater]

I left AMI 2 years ago after living there for 18 years. I know the property value has increased so much during those years but so much more has been lost. I worked at front desks of beach resorts for some years and as I saw more & more small motels being turned into condos or torn down & replaced with time shares etc. I could see the atmosphere changing & hospitality jobs disappearing --- restaurant jobs being lost due to closings & people who had worked in those fields leaving the island. I so missed the old beachy island that I had found in 1987 & enjoyed for so many years. I think it will turn around before too many more years because it is pricing itself out of the reach of most people. Few year round residents are left and the year round residents are always the ones who care for their communities and make the best decisions for it because they truly care. An uncared for community cannot hold its high value for long as that lack of caring will start to show in many ways which will make it a less desirable place to live. I have seen examples of this before and believe this is where AMI is headed. I had returned for a visit 2 weeks ago and did not feel any desire to live there again but am considering moving to FLs East Coast which still offers some of the atmosphere that AMI had some years back. Its sad that so much has been lost in the name of "progress" but money talks --- LOUDLY

[Ladywithafan]

Originally Posted by Fishouttawater

I left AMI 2 years ago after living there for 18 years. I know the property value has increased so much during those years but so much more has been lost. I worked at front desks of beach resorts for some years and as I saw more & more small motels being turned into condos or torn down & replaced with time shares etc. I could see the atmosphere changing & hospitality jobs disappearing --- restaurant jobs being lost due to closings & people who had worked in those fields leaving the island. I so missed the old beachy island that I had found in 1987 & enjoyed for so many years. I think it will turn around before too many more years because it is pricing itself out of the reach of most people. Few year round residents are left and the year round residents are always the ones who care for their communities and make the best decisions for it because they truly care. An uncared for community cannot hold its high value for long as that lack of caring will start to show in many ways which will make it a less desirable place to live. I have seen examples of this before and believe this is where AMI is headed. I had returned for a visit 2 weeks ago and did not feel any desire to live there again but am considering moving to FLs East Coast which still offers some of the atmosphere that AMI had some years back. Its sad that so much has been lost in the name of "progress" but money talks --- LOUDLY

Right on. My sons were raised from birth there, now 9 & 11...and even they can't understand the 2 house to a lot thing that has sprung up over the past two and a 1/2 years....and they should have built the Key Royale Bridge eleven years ago and saved the city a ton of $...I just feel lucky to have built my home on the Bay and had my children in that atmosphere for the past ten years...

I'm back & forth over there quite a bit but it certainly does not feel like it used to....and so many businesses are calling it quits.