Ocala

Florida wildlife officials this week will hear a proposal to create an annual “limited-entry” black bear hunt, with a December hunting period the first in more than a decade.

Ocala residents and elected officials spoke in favor of a state bill Thursday that would create an online database of people convicted on animal abuse charges in Florida. The bill is named after a dog that a St. Petersburg man adopted then decapitated a few days later, and was inspired by a similar ordinance passed by Marion County commissioners.

Demonstrators attended a protest along East Silver Springs Boulevard in Ocala on Saturday to express their opposition to President Donald Trump and his administration.

“I got what I wanted, which was to have her disbarred. She hurt other people way worse than she hurt me,” a former client said.

In hopes of reducing vehicle conflict points while encouraging safer driving speeds, the Florida Department of Transportation proposed enhancements to the 3.3-mile strip of State Road 200 by replacing portions of the multi-directional center lane – considered “suicide lanes” – with a raised concrete median.

WUFT Morning Edition and WUFT Amplified host, Glenn Richards, gets a preview of the 2nd Annual Sunshine Music & Arts Festival from the organizer and one of the performers, PRIZILLA.

Richard Couto, founder and president of Animal Recovery Mission, estimates tens of thousands of slaughters happen each year because of the high demand for the illegal meat.

The Ocala-Marion Transportation Planning Commission wants residents to share their vision for the next 25 years of transportation in Ocala and Marion.

In January 2024, the Ocala City Council allocated $500,000, from the city’s engineering department budget, to renovate the Ocala Skate Park. Despite the allotted funds, the city has yet to approve the project’s design in a city council meeting, preventing construction from beginning.

Officials from the College of Central Florida and the Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership celebrated the grand opening of the AdventHealth Center for Nursing on Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Central Florida Ocala Campus.