Ocala International Airport Could Become "Ocala National Airport"

In December, Marion County commissioners said no to 71 homes on a horse farm off SW 80th Street. On Oct. 6 they voted 4-0 to certify the farm as an agricultural enclave, because a new state law gave them little choice. The 71-home plan still goes through county staff review. Commissioners said the state keeps taking decisions away from the people closest to them.

Ocala City Council introduced Ordinance 2027-1 on Oct. 6 to repeal the city's local business tax, known as the business tax receipt (BTR). The final vote is scheduled for Oct. 20. Staff also asked to refund businesses that already paid for 2026-27.

Marion County voters will decide Nov. 3, 2026, whether the county may issue up to $140 million in bonds for parks, trails, clean water protection, farms and forests, repaid by a countywide property tax of no more than 0.35 mill. Here is the ballot language, the rules the commission attached and the county's project list.

A 105-acre mixed-use project called NW 49th Street Gateway, on the west side of the new I-75 interchange that will serve the Ocala Buc-ee's, goes to the Marion County Commission on Oct. 20 after the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval.

A batch of Florida laws took effect Oct. 1, 2026. Here is what changes for Ocala and Marion County drivers, renters, landlords and smoke shops, from the new $2,000 crash-report threshold to the nitrous oxide ban.

The City of Ocala celebrates a major milestone in its recreational facilities with the grand opening of the expanded Ocala Skate Park on March 28, featuring legendary skateboarder Rodney Mullen as the guest of honor.