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Ocala Gazette
How can the high school project move forward?
After two months of heated standstill on the southwest Marion County high school project, the school board must choose among three options on how to proceed with choosing a contractor—with the danger growing each day of failing to build and open the school in time for the 2026 school year as promised.
Ocala Prayer Vigil Ruled Unconstitutional
TALLAHASSEE — Nearly a decade after the event was held amid a crime spree, a federal judge Wednesday ruled that the city of Ocala violated the U.S. Constitution in organizing and carrying out a prayer vigil. U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan issued a 50-page decision that sided with atheists,...
MCPS bus collides with house after being run off the road
At approximately 8:08 a.m. this morning, a pickup truck driven by a 25-year-old female Ocala resident traveling southbound ran a stop sign at SW 31st Avenue Road approaching Marion Oaks Trail, hitting a Marion County District Schools bus traveling westbound on Marion Oaks Trail approaching the SW 31st Avenue Road intersection, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
First-time candidate Steve Shives vies for District 27 Florida House seat
Editor’s Note: The cutline on the booking photo added to this story in the a.m. of 6/26 has been corrected from served 30 days to sentenced to 30 days jail or $465 in fines. The error was by the editor, not the author of the article. Political newcomer Steve...
New Laws: From Dozier Compensation to Stripper Restrictions
TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s 2024-2025 fiscal year will arrive next week with a fresh $116.5 billion budget and nearly 200 new laws. Lawmakers also tucked another $2 billion in spending into bills, with that money not showing up in the budget (HB 5001). Among the measures slated to take effect July 1:
OPD searching for information in north Ocala homicide
Ocala Police Department detectives are investigating a shooting that killed one man in north Ocala on Sunday evening. OPD responded to the 2800 block of Northeast 8th Terrace at about 11:25 p.m. on Sunday, where they found the victim, 24-year-old Derrick Brown Jr., suffering from a gunshot wound. Brown was...
Home sale prices show slight drop in Florida and Ocala area
The Florida Realtors agents’ association released its May 2024 market report, showing that statewide, the median single-family home sale price dropped slightly to $426,581, a 1.6% year over year increase, and townhouses and condo median sales price also decreased slightly to $330,000, a 1.5% year over year increase. Ocala/Marion...
Justices’ Ruling Could Affect Gun Age Case
TALLAHASSEE — A U.S. Supreme Court decision Friday upholding a ban on gun possession by people under domestic-violence restraining orders will refuel a legal battle about a Florida law that prevents people under age 21 from buying rifles and shotguns. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year...
Labor force, employment and jobless numbers down across region
The jobless rate in the CareerSource Citrus Levy Marion region was 3.8% in May, down 0.4 percentage point over the month and 0.3 percentage point greater than the region’s year ago rate of 3.5%. The labor force was 217,695, down 1,570 (-0.7%) over the year. There were 8,370 unemployed residents in the region, a drop pf 825 compared to April and up 652 over the year.
A special place
The Community Room in the College of Central Florida Hampton Center was named in honor of retired pastor and community advocate Rev. Dr. Lorenzo Edwards during a ceremony Thursday, June 20. “I wasn’t expecting it (but) I appreciate it,” said Edwards, 86, just prior to the ceremony. A...
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