Ocala Electric Utility employees win statewide safety and performance awards in Tallahassee
Following recent wins by local Duke Energy teams, Ocala Electric Utility lineworkers are the latest to bring home a series of individual honors and a major safety award from the Florida Lineman Competition. Ocala Electric Utility (OEU) is celebrating a major haul of accolades following the 2025 Florida Lineman...
Marion County Fire Rescue responds to garage fire in The Villages
Garage fire in the villages leaves one resident hospitalized for smoke inhalation. Cause and origin of the fire remain under investigation.
Marion County Public Schools to expand breakfast with $85,000 ‘No Kid Hungry’ grant
The Marion County School Board will vote next week on a new grant aimed at increasing breakfast participation at 22 local schools where fewer than half of students currently eat the morning meal. During its upcoming meeting on Tuesday, March 24, the Marion County School Board will review a request...
Michigan woman killed when SUV crashes into tree in Leesburg
A Michigan woman was killed when a sports utility vehicle crashed into a tree in Leesburg. The 69-year-old New Boston, Mich. woman was a passenger in a 2021 Ford Explorer at about 2 p.m. Thursday which had been northbound on County Road 473 approaching Allyson Road near the Bonfire Mobile Home Park when the vehicle...
Man Convicted In Marion County For Filing $16 Million Fraudulent Lien Against Public Officials
MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A Marion County man has been convicted after a jury found he filed a fraudulent lien targeting multiple public officials, falsely claiming they owed millions of dollars. Last week, jurors found 58-year-old Manes Pierre guilty of fraudulent simulation of a legal process and making a false The...
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods Talks Inmate Deaths, Evolving Local Law Enforcement, More
OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods, the county’s top law enforcement officer for a decade, stopped by the Ocala offices of North Central Florida Media Group on the morning of Thursday, March 19, 2026, to sit down first in the studio and on the air with radio stations 93.7 K-Country and...
We need to fight back against the heavy hand of government in The Villages
One thing I have started to learn over time is The Villages basically are terrorists who hold people hostage when it comes to the rules. Every time I turn around I read about someone being pulled in front of a board due to a complaint about a yard, hedges, etc. and they all end in the same way. DO THIS or we will...
Pregnant wife hides from aggressive husband in physician’s office
A Wildwood man was arrested after allegedly slapping his pregnant wife’s phone out of her hand and threatening to “beat her.”. The pregnant wife of 22-year-old Jaylin Marquez Barnes asked an employee of Mid Florida Physicians Group, located at 300 S Main St., to call the police around 12:10 p.m. Wednesday, according...
Marion County Commission Paves Way for Sports Complex and Concerts at WEC
OCALA, FL (352today.com) – The Marion County Board of County Commissioners held a planning and zoning public hearing Wednesday, March 18, 2026, and unanimously approved all five agenda items, including a comprehensive plan large-scale text amendment request made by Golden Ocala Equestrian Land, LLC, a comprehensive...
Wildwood Soup Kitchen completes $1.5 million purchase of former hot dog restaurant
The Wildwood Soup Kitchen has officially secured its new home on Main Street, finalizing a $1.5 million-dollar real estate deal with the previous restaurant tenant that allows it to continue feeding the community. According to a deed filed with the Sumter County Property Appraiser’s office, the sale was completed on...
