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VOLUME 2 ISSUE 9
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AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2021
Councilman tied to campaign of council candidate By Carlos Medina carlos@ocalagazette.com An Ocala City Councilman who works for a political consulting company reportedly pitched his services to a sitting councilmember and is working on the campaign of another candidate running against his fellow
councilman Brent Malever. Justin Grabelle, who is the current city council president and represents District 5, is listed as the director of business development for Gainesvillebased Data Targeting Inc. Barry Mansfield, who is running for the District 1 seat, previously said Grabelle was involved in his campaign.
Jay Musleh, the incumbent District 3 councilman said Grabelle approached him in March offering campaign services. Musleh said he passed. During this election cycle, the company has provided services to Mansfield, Ty Schlichter and Kent Guinn but is also connected to historically doing work for Accountability in
Government, Inc., a PAC that is active in this election Schlichter seeks the District 3 seat and Guinn is running for re-election as mayor. On Aug. 25, neither Grabelle nor Mansfield immediately returned calls for comment. Schlichter, meanwhile, said Grabelle does not work for his campaign, nor can he
remember directly speaking to him about using Data Targeting for services. “We got quotes from a bunch of direct mail companies. They were the most competitive. We got about five quotes,” Schlichter said. Guinn said his association with Data See Grabelle, page A3
Lucky Penny
The State of the
Penny sales tax boosts projects across city
Redfish
By Matthew Cretul matthew@ocalagazette.com
Ocala hosts inaugural redfish summit By James Blevins james@ocalagazette.com
F
or a day at least, the redfish industry’s attention was focused on Ocala during the 2021 Redfish Summit. The inaugural daylong event, presented by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, explored the status of the popular fish in Florida, its biology and management, and conservation efforts to restore and conserve its habitat. The Coastal Conservation Association of Florida, the Sea and Shoreline Aquatic Restoration, the American Sportfishing Association and the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida sponsored the 2021 Redfish Summit. The event, held at the Hilton Ocala, was well attended for an inaugural event, said Amanda Nalley, a spokeswoman for the FWC. “We had a good turnout of people that registered,” Nalley said. “It didn’t fill up quite as fast as the Snook Symposium did, but that symposium has been going on for seven years. And this is our first Redfish Summit ever.” Redfish—also known as red drum, spot tail, red bass and channel bass—inhabit inshore and offshore waters along the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to Key West and throughout the Gulf of Mexico. In Florida waters, redfish can reach lengths up to 45 inches and weigh as much as 51 pounds. The game fish is extremely popular in Florida due to its ability to fight for extended periods and its taste when cooked, according to FWC’s website. It’s also a fish found everywhere near shore in Florida. “The thing about redfish is that it’s really a success story,” said Nalley. “A few years ago, it wasn’t doing very well. Now, it’s doing a lot better, and that’s why we’re here, to continue asking, ‘What do you want us to do with this fishery?’” Nalley described the summit as a workshop. A collection of researchers, managers and concerned citizens gathering together in one spot to get a lay of the state as far as the redfish is concerned and help find solutions to big questions like stock decline. Summit attendee Michael Rogar cares deeply about the health of the redfish population.
Defund the Police became a slogan during the summer of 2020 after the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis. Since then, politicians and candidates have used the phrase to decry any shift in funding for public safety. In the runup to the Sept. 21 Ocala elections, some local candidates have commented on shifts to planned allocations of penny sales tax revenue away from the city’s public safety departments in the context of defunding emergency services. During the first four years of the tax, which was passed in 2016 and raised nearly $35.5 million for the city, police and fire received equal shares of 52% of the revenue, while roads and transportation projects got 48%. Voters approved a four-year extension of the tax in 2020. The Ocala City Council gave city staff direction to shift spending to 60% for roads and transportation, and 40% divided equally between police and fire. See Penny Tax, page A2
See Redfish, page A2
CF shifts plans on health sciences programs By Carlos Medina carlos@ocalagazette.com Plans for a four-story healthcare education hub at the College of Central Florida have evolved into a mix of new and renovated sites on the Ocala campus. Jim Henningsen, CF president, recently unveiled what he called “Plan B” for additional spaces to house medical-affiliated programs from nursing to respiratory
therapy to paramedicine. The new plan includes renovating two existing buildings, including the gymnasium, and building a new 24,000-square-foot, one-story building on the campus at 3001 SW State Road 200. The new building would fill the space once planned for the four-story health sciences building. Original plans unveiled in 2017 eventually called for a $43 million structure. The
state would fund 80% of the cost over several years, with 20% coming from matching money from the Marion County Hospital District. But the legislature only approved $6 million over the last four years. In addition to the $1.2 million from the district’s 20% match, the money paid for site preparation. “We demolished the old building, did the site work, infrastructure, engineering… parking lot,
did the plaza. Everything is there except the building,” Henningsen told the Maron County Commission during a presentation on Aug. 17. Henningsen said he will present the new plan to the Marion County legislative delegation in September. He said the single-story building would cost $16 million. He hopes to get $13.6 million from the state and a 20% match from the district to pay for the construction.
The new building would house the nursing program, which the college hopes to expand to 325 students. “I think there is still an opportunity this (legislative) year. They still have federal dollars available,” Henningsen said of the upcoming legislative session scheduled to begin in January. But the hospital district has not committed to the See CF Programs, page A3
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