Store at Market Street at Heath Brook Mall pauses for a makeover
The Old Navy store at Market Street at Heath Brook Mall has temporarily closed for a remodel. No reopening date has been set, though signage, which was posted Jan. 10, says the doors will open again this winter. More business news: Ocala will see a major restaurant surge in 2026 The mall recently added Men's...
Ocala native Jackie Kay’s sports movie opening in theaters Friday
Ocala native Jackie Kay III tapped into his local upbringing in Marion County to embody the titular character in his upcoming sports comedy, Signing Tony Raymond, which opens in theaters this week. The movie will open in select theaters on Friday, Jan. 16. It tells the story of a college...
Suspected road rager brake-checks officer who stopped him for aggressive driving
An Ocala man was arrested for resisting after brake-checking an officer who stopped him for following another driver too closely. An officer on patrol stopped at the intersection of County Road 466 and U.S. Hwy. 301 at 1:40 p.m. Sunday, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department. While at the...
Ludacris is Headed to Ocala for Rock the Country, Celebrating 250 Years of Freedom...
America is celebrating 250 years of freedom this year with lots of celebrations happening all throughout 2026!. We started the year with a reimagined ball that dropped in NYC for New Years Eve and now, we’re getting “a festival for the people:”. Peachtree Entertainment is bringing Rock The...
Car wash near downtown Ocala sold for $4.75 million
A car wash chain that started in Ocala in 2019 and has since expanded to 64 locations across the United States just sold one of its locations in the city for $4.75 million. The Caliber Car Wash located at 815 S Pine Avenue was sold by Gill Ocala, LLC to 815 S Pine Avenue, LLC for $4,750,000 on Wednesday, January 7,...
County-by-county: Freeze watch issued for Central Florida
ORLANDO, Fla. – Ahead of the coldest temperatures in years for Central Florida, the National Weather Service has issued a freeze watch for Friday morning. A freeze watch means temperatures of 32 degrees or lower are possible. Exterior pipes should be protected in Marion, Sumter and northern Lake counties...
Health violations shut down over a dozen Central Florida eateries
ORLANDO, Fla. – It’s already been well over a week into the new year, and over a dozen Central Florida restaurants have already been forced to close up shop after a visit from a health inspector, according to state records. These records show that the reported eateries experienced...
Ocala woman wins $150,000 from $3 scratch-off bought at Winn-Dixie
An Ocala resident has started the new year with a six-figure windfall after she purchased a winning lottery ticket worth $150,000 at a local grocery store. Stephanie Lynn Mitchell claimed the top prize from the Florida Lottery’s “LOTERIA” scratch-off game on Tuesday, Jan. 6. Mitchell purchased her...
Florida police arrest woman missing for 40 years and tell her daughter: “You’re a...
By the time Florida deputies walked up to a woman out walking her dog and told her she was under arrest, a 40-year-old missing child case was already on the brink of collapsing in on itself. The woman they were cuffing was accused of vanishing with her toddler in the early 1980s, and the adult ... Read more
Growth has gotten out of control in The Villages
I do not believe the numbers of the pool study, and it was the wrong time of the year to do the testing. You need to do the testing in the summer hotter months. That’s when the most people swim and people without pools sneak in. We are tired of paying all these amenities and nothing being done, even at the gates. A...
