Ocala Gazette

Marion County Public Schools (MCPS) will be holding its first-ever Hometown Hiring Career Fair on Tuesday, July 19, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at three local schools, according to a June 29 press release. Marion Oaks Elementary, 280 Marion Oaks Trail, Ocala, 34473, Fort King Middle, 545 N.E. 17th...

July is National Parks and Recreation Month—a time to highlight the impact of parks and recreation within the community. And to commemorate this, the Ocala Recreation and Parks Department announced a new mascot, Rex the Squirrel, on Friday, July 1, as part of the month-long celebration. “We are thrilled...

Mary Robert’s Equestrian Operations, LLC, in conjunction with Arena House Shows of Ocala, received a special use permit (SUP) by the Marion County Board of County Commissioners last week, June 21, during the board’s regular meeting. The county board voted 5-0 in favor of a height increase from...

A visibly depressed high school student, hunched over in a hoodie, gets mercilessly teased by peers for his unfashionable attire. One day, he has had enough and fatally shoots one of the offending students point blank. Convicted as an adult, the young felon soon realizes the consequences of his crime;...

Local winery Katya Vineyards was recently honored by “Wine Spectator” magazine, according to a June 29 press release, earning a 2022 Restaurant Award for its outstanding wine program. It is the only Marion County dining establishment to earn this prestigious award for a second year in a row.

The Appleton Museum of Art is back to offering summer activities and programs at full capacity after two years of limited operations due to the pandemic. “This summer we are actually opening up our art camps again, so we are able to allow the community in,” said James Dickins, coordinator of finance services.

According to Dr. Sheni Meghani, enjoyment of the arts is a three-dimensional experience that immerses the participant in culture and different sensual experiences — sights, sounds, textures, flavors and aromas– by way of the imagination. But most, importantly, art also celebrates how similar we are. Meghani inspires and...

As we gather to celebrate Independence Day, it’s a good time to reflect on how our most fundamental freedoms have served this nation well. It’s an even better time to think about what would happen if those liberties were taken away. Sadly, the latter doesn’t take much imagination...

After the May 17 Ocala City Council meeting, in which the board approved one economic incentive grant for a company but denied a second grant for a different company, the Gazette sought to explore the reasoning behind these decisions. The newspaper noted, for example, that the city staff-generated return-on-investment, or...

The Discovery Center’s latest exhibit, Spy Science, is scheduled to open to the public on Saturday, July 2, according to a June 29 press release. It will remain on display through to Sept. 17. The exhibit, which is sponsored by Marion Rotary Duck Derby, Ocala Electric Utilities, Fun4Ocala Kids...

The official qualifying period for County Commission and School Board candidates in the upcoming Marion County 2022 election cycle ended on Friday, June 17. The salary for a county commissioner is on average $144,488 a year and the salary for a school board member is $39,732 a year. To see who made the final list of candidates for each respective race, read below:

Every Friday, James Blevins, this newspaper’s in-house reporter and poet—who has seen his work previously published in “Salt Hill Journal,” “Pretty Owl Poetry,” “Stoneboat Journal,” “Mud Season Review” and “AZURE,” as well as numerous other outlets both online and in print—chooses one poem for publication.

Those seated in a classroom listening to Ocala Police Department Major Angy Scroble were rapt as she talked about personal safety and offered tips about awareness of your environment and paying attention to details, such as tag numbers, when using a ride service. Scroble shared incidents from her life that,...

The Orlando Museum of Art has parted ways with its CEO in the days after the FBI raided the Florida museum and seized more than two dozen paintings attributed to artist Jean-Michel Basquiat that are the subjects of an investigation into possible wire fraud and conspiracy. The museum’s board of...

During last week’s Ocala City Council regular meeting, held on June 21, two service awards were handed out to two incredibly dedicated employees to the City of Ocala. Sergeant William Christman received an award for 25 years of service to the Ocala Police Department (OPD) and Virginia Walker received an award for 20 years of service to the city’s Public Works Department.

A fourth appeal of the court ruling involving $80 million in refunds to Ocala Utility customers has been filed, this time by a resident in a unique situation. He is both a class member of the group that sued Ocala over fire fees and was a lawyer with the firm that defended the city during the long-running dispute.

The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday approved Gov. Ron DeSantis’ request to impanel a statewide grand jury to investigate immigration-related issues such as the smuggling of undocumented children into the state. Justices, in a four-page unanimous order, said the statewide grand jury will be impaneled for a year in...

As they battle over a 2018 Florida law that raised the minimum age from 18 to 21 to buy rifles and other long guns, attorneys for the state and the National Rifle Association are trying to use a new U.S. Supreme Court ruling to bolster their arguments. The Supreme Court...

A federal judge Monday rejected arguments by attorneys for teachers, a student and a diversity consultant that he should block a controversial new state law that restricts the way race-related concepts can be taught in classrooms and workplace training. Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a 23-page order that...

A controversial measure that would have given businesses power to sue cities and counties to recoup lost profits was among five bills that Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed Friday. While the veto of the business measure (SB 620) drew praise from local-government and environmental groups, DeSantis left open the door for lawmakers to consider similar, but more targeted, legislation in the future.