Not for eight hours did the stage at the downtown Ocala Square go quiet during this year’s Ocala Pride Fest. Between live performances by local bands, vocalists and the dazzling drag queens and kings, Ocala’s downtown shimmered with the celebration of LGBTQ pride.
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After two years of cancellations due to COVID-19, Ocala Pride Fest is back to celebrate LGBTQ culture with vendors, live music performances and an assortment of food. The Fest will take place at the downtown Ocala Square, 1 Northeast 1st Ave., from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday The event organizers, Ocala Pride Inc., say that Pride Fest is needed now more than ever in light of the discourse around LGBTQ equality taking root in Florida and reverberating around the country. Coming after legislation like the Parental Rights in Education bill, or the “Don’t Say Gay” bill as its dubbed by critics, LGBTQ rights in Florida will take center stage in Ocala this weekend.
Read More »The Nebraska senator is likely to resign to become the school's next leader.
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Former Orlando-area State Attorney Aramis Ayala is attempting to unseat Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody.
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Gainesville hotels, restaurants, businesses and city residents plan ahead to accommodate the influx of out-of-town visitors and locals on University of Florida game days, which bring in significant revenue to the city. But some residents complain of traffic and overcrowding on game weekends.
Read More »Danny Ross says he has at least three lives after multiple close calls.
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The Alachua County Sheriff's Office saw low attendance at its annual "Coffee With a Cop” event.
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Two men were arrested Tuesday and accused of running a human sex trafficking business in a Gainesville group home. The arrests happened at a Gate gas station on 3001 NW 13th Street at 4 p.m. The suspects' identities were confirmed as 20-year-old Kevarius Nyrtell King and 25-year-old Justin Terrel Hoyt. The victim was living in the Safe Hands Group Home, a housing service partnered with homeless shelters and co-owned by King since a little less than a year ago. The two men forced the victim into multiple sexual acts, sometimes without her consent, with dozens of men in the group home. Police were able to report the crime as the victim had told the staff at the Tower Road Branch Library that she was a victim of human trafficking and to alert the authorities. Through a search warrant of the group home, police were able to confirm the identities of King and Hoyt and later arrest and charge them with human sex trafficking. King and Hoyt are currently booked in the Alachua County Jail, each with release bonds set at $250,000.
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Alachua County Public Schools began taking standardized tests with the new Florida Assessment of Student Thinking less than a month into the school year. Students in voluntary prekindergarten through 10th grade will participate in this assessment three times a year. Florida Assessment of Student Thinking replaces the end-of-the-year Florida Standards Assessments and monitors student progress in the fall, winter and spring. Each cycle tests students’ knowledge of the entire year’s material in English Language Arts and mathematics, according to the Florida Department of Education. But critics of the new assessment say more time spent testing means less instructional time.
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Aces in Motion helps students ace middle and high school.
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WUFT News News and Public Media for North Central Florida from the University of Florida in Gainesville