The Florida building material association, celebrated their relocation to Lady Lake with a ribbon-cutting at their new office on Teague Trail.
‘A Pivotal Time For Our Organization’
By Tamara Fleischhaker
It is both an honor and a privilege to serve as Interim CEO of the Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership. As I step into this role at a pivotal time for our organization and the region we serve, I am reminded of the enduring values that have guided the CEP’s work for over a decade: bold vision, collaborative spirit, and an unwavering commitment to being the catalyst for a prosperous community.
Right now, it’s not about starting over—it’s about staying focused on what’s working. Our mission, our momentum, and the strong partnerships we’ve built have all played a key role in moving us forward. Staying on track means sticking with the priorities that have helped make the Ocala Metro one of the most vibrant communities in Florida and beyond. It also means continuing to invest in the relationships that truly make a difference—whether with small businesses, major employers, local governments, schools, or community groups. These connections aren’t just part of our progress—they’re at the heart of it. Continue reading
May 18–24, 2025
Theme: “People, Purpose, Presence”
The Town of Lady Lake proudly recognizes the incredible efforts of our Public Works team during National Public Works Week!
At the May 19 Town Commission meeting, Mayor Ed Freeman presented an official proclamation to honor the dedicated Public Works professionals who keep our community running smoothly—from maintaining roads and facilities to ensuring clean water and reliable infrastructure.
These behind-the-scenes heroes are essential to our health, safety, and quality of life. Their work touches every part of our daily lives, and this week we say THANK YOU!
Join us in celebrating the purpose, presence, and people of Public Works who make Lady Lake a better place to live!
To Kathy Bryant; Chair – Marion County Commissioners
SUBJECT: Marion County Republican Executive Committee support of revised Transportation Impact Fees
On behalf of the Marion County Republican Executive Committee (MCREC), representing more than 130,000 registered Republican voters we support the revision of cost-equivalent transportation impact fees. As an organization we support free enterprise and on-going private equity investment in our County, however a key pillar of this support is “fair share cost liability” with respect to developers and most importantly to Marion County taxpayers.
To state obvious transportation impact fees have not risen for more than a decade, 2015 last revision, subsequent to the economic downturn beginning in 2009 and prior to the Covid impacts of +2019. As a prudent step in 2015 to entice resi-dential and non-residential development, the transportation impact fees set in 2015 were discounted significantly below the actual cost impacts to County residents; only 20% for residential and 11% for commercial developments of the ac-tual impact fee. Again, both below the needed impact fee cost projections. To date, given the ten-year increase in cost for roads, services, property taxes, etc., the current transportation impact fees applied represent an even greater dis-counted fee than in 2015. Continue reading
Pictured is Breakfast with the Mayor at the Cottage in on May 21. About 20 people attended.
Hello, everyon
e.
My name is Steve Hunt, and I have the honor of serving as Chief of the Lady Lake Police Department.
On behalf of LLPD, The Town of Lady Lake Mayor Freeman, the Town Commissioners, and Town Manager Lawrence, thank you all for being here today. It’s not every day that a department our size receives this kind of recognition, and I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t feel a little surreal. I stand here humbled and proud—not for myself, but for the incredible men and women I work alongside every single day.
This recognition from the FBI is a tremendous honor, and I want to sincerely thank them—not only for this acknowledgment, but for their continued partnership and support in pursuing justice.
But let’s be clear—the real story here is about teamwork, dedication, and doing the job the right way. We didn’t make this arrest to be in the spotlight. We did it because it was our duty—our responsibility—to protect this community. Continue reading
Lady Lake Business Luncheon. The Chamber had several events going on at once. Some 30 businesses were represented at the Business Luncheon held at the Glennview Country Club restaurant . There were plenty of Door Prizes given out. The Business Luncheons are held the third Thursday of every month. Check with the chamber for the location because they change once in a while.
Tap and glue scams leverage the convenience of tap-to-pay technology at ATMs, combined with a simple but effective trick involving glue. Scammers first disable the card insertion slot by pouring glue into it, forcing customers to use the tap function. While this may seem like an easy fix, it sets the stage for the scam.
Once a customer taps their card and withdraws cash, they often forget to log out of their account. This leaves the session open, allowing the scammer to step in and continue withdrawing funds. The scam relies on the victim’s unfamiliarity with tap-to-pay procedures, making it a lucrative tactic for fraudsters.
By TomL
They are defending the criminals illegal instead of protecting our legal citizens. They are allowing the taxpayers to suffer and they pay the illegal to stay in our country FREE. There is a delicate balance going on that most US citizens don’t understand. Our country can’t survive the illegal onslaught. Unless Trump pulls the rabbit out of the hat and makes the tariffs work, the United States and World will be in a bad place.
Half of the country is Trump hater’s and would rather we go down with the ship rather than to co-operate. Our politician’s must work together to survive. The world is on a collision course. Most of the countries want the power. A few understand they need to work together to stand up to the giants or super power. The problem is the way our country is run the other countries don’t know who is going to be President next term? They made a deal with Trump! He is timing out in three years ….Or is he!
Mean while the democrat’s are fighting to make a name as the front runner to run for President and they are breaking the law to do it. I think that is pretty stupid. If they set policy and half of the policy’s are in agreement with Trump, that is half the battle is started right. Not imposing men in women’s bathrooms, raising taxes on working families, or defending criminal illegals over American citizen. THEY HAVE LOST THEIR MINDS! Continue reading
This picture was taken by Tammy Griffin at the Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park while Nick Navetta and his wife Diana were honoring two of his Soldiers who were killed in action while serving in Iraq. Sergeant Rodney Alan Murray and Sergeant Arthur Stacey Mastrapa were killed on two separate incidents. Nick Navetta is listed as the Commander of the 317th Military Police Battalion. Nick expresses his deep condolences and prays for their families.
Nick and Diana have called Marion County their home for over 50 years. Their roots in Marion County are far reaching. Nick and his wife are part of many outreach programs they are proud to be a part of. They live by the same motto as one of the organizations they belong to, the Military Officer’s Association of America —“Never Stop Serving”. Colonel Navetta Nick served in Desert Shield/Desert Storm; Operation Joint Forge in Bosnia; multiple tours of Iraqi Freedom; and Enduring Freedom.
Nick has never stopped serving. On Veteran’s Day in 2009, Nick coordinated the SOCOM Parachute Team from MacDill Airforce Base to fly in and parachute into the Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park, landing in the middle of the crowd. They were men who worked under Nick at SOCOM. Enthusiastically Nick states, “That’s what these guys do. They’re that good!” His last duty position was the Training Division Chief for all Special Operations Worldwide at the United States Special Operations Command, or SOCOM for short. Continue reading
