Sarasota's War Zone

As reported in the Sarasota Observer.

In late June and early July, San Remo Estates residents reached out to city officials with an urgent message: The neighborhood is suffering from a crime epidemic.

Those residents had concerns about the response time to incidents in the past month, which included a stolen vehicle and two attempted break-ins. They called on city leaders to add officers to the Sarasota Police Department and asked for relief from what they described as a dire situation.

**** “Far from the idyllic life we envisioned, we are living in a state of alert one might experience in a war zone!” San Remo resident Ellen Foster wrote in an email.

San Remo Estates is a 67-home neighborhood on the water near the north Siesta Key bridge. So far this year, police have recorded seven property crimes in the neighborhood. That’s an increase over the two reported last year.

Sarasota Police Chief Bernadette DiPino says the community is relatively safe, but understands the significance of the concerns residents have expressed.

“If it’s your stuff that’s taken, you feel very serious about it,” DiPino said.

She said the crimes in San Remo have mostly been opportunistic. When someone’s car was stolen, the owner left the keys in the car. When thieves broke into other cars, the doors were unlocked.

****   I drove through San Remo this afternoon en route to Trader Joe's.  I didn't see any bullet holes, any bombed out homes, any burned out tanks.

I did see a couple of modest homes being transformed into McMansions.

A war zone? NOT!!!

Ellen Foster, I do not know you, but may I suggest that you should  try Fallujah, Homs, or Yemen for war zones.

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Spoiled brats come in all ages.