  Neutron scattering measurements on a magnetoresistive manganite
La$_{0.75}$(Ca$_{0.45}$Sr$_{0.55}$)$_{0.25}$MnO$_3$ show that uncorrelated
dynamic polaronic lattice distortions are present in both the orthorhombic (O)
and rhombohedral (R) paramagnetic phases. The uncorrelated distortions do not
exhibit any significant anomaly at the O-to-R transition. Thus, both the
paramagnetic phases are inhomogeneous on the nanometer scale, as confirmed
further by strong damping of the acoustic phonons and by the anomalous
Debye-Waller factors in these phases. In contrast, recent x-ray measurements
and our neutron data show that polaronic correlations are present only in the O
phase. In optimally doped manganites, the R phase is metallic, while the O
paramagnetic state is insulating (or semiconducting). These measurements
therefore strongly suggest that the {\it correlated} lattice distortions are
primarily responsible for the insulating character of the paramagnetic state in
magnetoresistive manganites.
