The Villages Retirement Community in Florida

Fighting off the urge to green out guest EMMA DAY is back on the podcast for some geriatric fun! Join us as we talk about the developer behind The Villages senior living community in America's gorgeous right ventricle, Florida. Home to some of Florida's key rightwing voting bloc, The Villages has been a destination for every Republican presidential candidate in my lifetime. But don't be fooled by the gazebos that pump out Fox News or the tirelessly petty community bulletin boards, The Villages is also a land for greedy land developers to take advantage of EVERYBODY! 

This story is absolutely crazy, and does in fact have a guy going to jail. Just not the guy you're hoping it is...

Thanks to Ryan Grim for reporting on development and updates to this crazy tale - you can follow him and Jeremy Scahill's recently-launched Drop Site News for important and interesting journalism! 

Also, this was recorded on 11/27 before the UnitedHealth CEO assassination. All talks of assassination are purely coincidental...or should we say manifesting? 

Follow Emma's comedy show @thelesbianlodge (which I also produce) or @alldayemmaday on IG

Patreon.com/bustedbizbureau

SOURCES: 

1. Ryan Grim's original article in The Intercept about the Oren Miller Saga "The Villages Vendetta: How a Grassroots Revolt in the Iconic Retirement Community Ended With a 72-Year-Old Political Prisoner" https://theintercept.com/2023/02/05/ron-desantis-florida-villages-oren-miller/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

2. Ryan Grim's Drop-Site-Exclusive Update Post https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/a-revolt-in-the-villages-takes-a/comments?utm_source=substack&publication_id=2510348&post_id=147556878&utm_medium=email&isFreemail=false&comments=true&utm_campaign=email-half-magic-comments&action=post-comment

3. Andrew Blechman's 2007 book Leisureville : adventures in America's retirement utopias

4. Amanda Brian's article in the Southern Cultures journal ("The Faux History of The Villages") (Note, the link is to the illegal website I use lol); https://sci-hub.se/10.1353/scu.2014.0037 

5. Random interesting article about the real estate fraud 1968 ban: https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2768&context=caselrev

6. The Bloomberg nerds' article "Billionaire Morse’s Florida Dirt Bonds Not Tax-Exempt" https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-06-05/florida-billionaire-s-development-bonds-not-tax-exempt-irs-says?embedded-checkout=true 

7. Random Letters to the Editor in The Village News: https://www.villages-news.com/2024/11/20/ed-mcginty-offers-harsh-assessment-of-donald-trump/

https://www.villages-news.com/2024/11/14/be-careful-what-you-wish-for-with-hooters/

https://www.villages-news.com/2024/11/20/ed-mcginty-offers-harsh-assessment-of-donald-trump/

8. Lost Pets of The Villages, Florida: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1670057083262755/