Spring 2017 Home Garden& Lifestyle Expo was held April 22 at the Klein Conference Center in the Ewers Century Center at the College of Central Florida Ocala.
The event was put on by the Ocala/Marion County Chamber & Economic Partnership, The Marion County Building Industry Association (MCBIA) and the Ocala/Marion County Association of Realtors (OMCAR).
TomL Publishing (this paper) had a table there and enjoyed meeting vendors from last year and some new vendors. We heard from some of our readers encouraging us to continue telling it like it is. I would guess about 40 vendors.
They had a drawing every hour for a door prize and plenty of give-aways.
I learned some interesting stuff as I always do at these Expo’s.
There were free seminars and a couple of food vendors, some outside vendors with plant life and the Master Gardeners were inside answering questions asked of them by the visitors.
The flow of visitors was steady, giving the vendors time to talk to each one. We have a couple of Vendors we will be talking to Monday AM.
By TomL
The State Attorney’s office was not satisfied that they took down Sheriff Blair, taking down the Lake County Sheriff, and in addition putting four Marion County Sheriff deputies in prison. Brad King tried to prosecute the fifth officer that plead innocent. Now the State Attorney’s Office has ruined another innocent Deputy’s career. Deputy Parker, a 14 year veteran of the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, one of the World Winning Swat Team and a Canine Officer, was called into court to testify in a case. His testimony was different than his supervisor’s who was part of the Billy Woods transition Team. He gave his testimony to the best of his recollection and his written statement reflected the same as his testimony. The records show he was accurate. The State Attorney’s office lost the case against the fifth officer and then it started… Deputy Parker, a Sheriff Deputy, just a witness in the case had his career ruined because he remembered something different than another witness. Continue reading
‘Protectionism’ is the opposite of so-called ‘Free Trade’.
Many economists say that every industrialized major country in history, had some degree of economic protection.
Apparently American importers of lumber from Canada and steel from China as well as thousands of other products, are pocketing millions of dollars every day by gouging the American consumer. And exporting American jobs to foreign countries.
The Prez is getting a lot of criticism for protecting the USA. But the fact is protectionism is not a new idea at all.
Alexander Hamilton, advocated tariffs to protect America from foreign speculators.
George Washington signed the Tariff Act in 1789.
Just like Trump, Washington and Hamilton believed in economic independence and supporting Continue reading
The Oklawaha Valley Audubon Society of Lake County, FL will host a program on Eagle Watch 2 p.m. Sunday May 7th at Trout Lake Nature Center 520 E County Rd 44 Eustis, FL.
Shanwlei Breeding Eagle Watch Coordinator of the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland, FL and volunteers will discuss this 25 yr citizen science program that monitors bald eagles in central Florida. Volunteer training for Eagle Watch will be held in late summer.
Registration and refreshments will begin at 1:30 pm. the meeting is free and open to the public. Details: www.oklawaha-audubon.com or call 407-230-5404
We are closing in on the finish line of the 2017 Legislative Session. We have worked this session to better our state and its residents, and to protect faith, family, freedom, and opportunity.
This session, The Florida Senate passed Senate Bill 10, authorizing a significant increase in southern water storage to further the goal of reducing, and eventually eliminating, harmful discharges from Lake Okeechobee. This bill dramatically expands southern storage by leveraging existing water infrastructure, and utilizing a combination of state, local, and private land, in a manner that respects the interests of the agricultural community and private landowners.
We also passed Senate Bill 374, the College Competitiveness Act of 2017. This legislation will further elevate Florida’s nationally ranked community colleges through a renewed focus on their core mission, which is promoting on-time completion of vital associate degrees and workforce credentials that prepare students for jobs in communities across our state. Continue reading
Thank you Ocala/Marion County Chamber and Economic Partnership for helping Ocala Business Leaders, Inc. celebrate 20 years of connecting Ocala Business Leaders with everyone we meet.
There are so many incredible things happening in our community. The coming months will see the announcement of new primary employers and major expansions by existing primary employers. The Power Plant Business Incubator continues to help innovative and scalable startups primarily in the areas of technology, health care, and communications. The downtown area continues to generate enthusiasm with the new midtown plan, an ever-growing line up of restaurants and stores, and the long awaited hotel project set to break ground by the end of summer. All of this excitement and growth is in large part the result of our partners. Thank you for your engagement and investment in moving Ocala and Marion County forward.
Leadership Ocala Marion
Spring brings warmer weather, high school proms and graduations, and the beginning of planning for the CEP’s amazing leadership programs. For 30 years, Leadership Ocala Marion (LOM) has been training and providing opportunities to train new generations of leaders on the needs of this community and how they can engage. Continue reading
OCALA METRO POSTS THIRD FASTEST JOB GROWTH RATE IN FLORIDA
OCALA, Fla. (April 21, 2017) – If not yet in full bloom, the economy is certainly growing stronger in the CareerSource Citrus Levy Marion region.
According to today’s employment summary by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), the unemployment rate in March for the CareerSource CLM region was 5.2 percent, down 0.7 percentage point since February and 0.6 percentage point lower than the area’s rate a year ago of 5.8 percent.
Out of an expanded labor force of 201,238, there were 10,556 unemployed, a drop of 1,281 over the month and 915 less than a year ago. Significantly, there were 190,682 people with jobs throughout the three counties, an increase of 1,893 over the month and 5,882 more than in March 2016.
Additionally, the DEO reports that the Ocala metropolitan statistical area (MSA) posted 103,700 nonfarm jobs in March, an increase of 4,000 new jobs for a 4.0 percent growth rate over the year. That’s the third fastest rate among all Florida’s metro areas.
For the third consecutive month, the Ocala MSA continued to hold the fastest annual job growth rate compared to all metros in Florida in professional and business services, at 11.0 percent. The Ocala MSA had the third fastest job growth rate in mining, logging and construction at 10.4 percent.
Kathleen Woodring, CareerSource CLM’s executive vice president, said that the region is gaining momentum when it comes to positive economic indicators.
“This is exactly what we like to see: expansion of the labor force fueled by strong job growth,” she said. Continue reading
Pictured are some of the attendees at the Magnolia Family Urgent Care Open House. Not pictured were hosts Dr. Miguel Cruz MD and Stacy Edmondson Cruz, ARNP. The event was well attended by the Ocala Business Leaders and the CEP/Ocala Chamber of Commerce. They are located at 1490 SE Magnolia Extension Ocala Fl 34471 Phone 352-512-9703
2017 Kids Fest was a great success. They had Camel Rides, Tigers, Bounce Houses, Slides, Train Rides, Free Ice Cream, a Gymnastic Show, Easter Egg Hunt, Free pictures with the Easter Bunny. It was sponsored by Toomey Tools, Belleview Florida. This is Charity for local cancer fighting family with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
