Red Kettle campaign Page A5 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 48
$2
DECEMBER 2 - DECEMBER 8, 2022
Unwrap Christmases’ past
October home sales and median home prices stay steady By Ocala Gazette staff
T John Wineberger poses with a Storm Trooper helmet and a figure of a ghost from Ghostbusters at Up in The Attic Toys on East Silver Springs Boulevard in Ocala on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.
Beloved boxed action figures and dolls from the 20th century line the aisles of three independently owned vintage toy stores. By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com
T
he market for vintage toys and collectibles has grown like a Hungry Hungry Hippo in the past couple of years. Whether it’s the nostalgia they impart, their durability or how cool they look on a knickknack shelf, playthings from the past are in higher demand than ever, a trend reported by MarketDecipher.com. Even retail outlets as far-ranging as GameStop and Target stock “retro toys.” Big box stores and eBay, however, aren’t consumers’ only options for brick-andmortar, vintage toy shopping. Ocala-based independent retailers such as Vintage Toy King, Up in the Attic Toys and Vintage Toy Universe stock vintage games, action figures, comics and other collectibles. According to John Wineberger, who runs Up in the Attic Toys on E Silver Springs Boulevard (in the Hillside Shopping Center anchored by Big Lots), “buying local” isn’t just good for the soul; it saves money, too.
“We’re actually lowering our prices to draw people into our stores,” Wineberger said, comparing his shop to the big-box experience. “Understanding the inflation and possible recession that everybody’s going through, we are not raising our prices.” There’s always the dickering factor, too. For instance, you can’t walk into a Walmart and ask if you can have three items priced $40 or more for $100, but negotiating isn’t frowned upon at local vintage toy shops like Up in the Attic Toys, owned by Wineberger’s wife of 22 years, Zenaida “Sandy” Wineberger. “She’s Hispanic and I am a veteran, so we like to say our store is woman-and minority-owned and veteran-operated,” John Wineberger added, expressing pride. Born in 1971, the Desert Storm vet was once deployed to Kuwait. He grew up in west/southwest central Florida, moving around often, but one thing remained consistent: his mom gifting him “Star Wars” figures and spaceships. “I was a big “Star Wars” kid in the ‘70s,’’ he said. “I remember seeing “Star Wars” in Fort Myers and my mom
popping popcorn for us that she snuck into the theater.” His business sense, however, comes from his dad, who lived in Zephyrhills, where Wineberger lived for a few years. “The good thing about my dad was he made me earn my money,” Wineberger said. “I picked up lawn mowing jobs, and I only charged $5 a lawn, so I would take that money and run up to Eckerd Drug and I would buy stuff for myself, whether it was magazines or G.I. Joe figures.” Later in life, Wineberger worked for a company that sold electronic components used in space exploration. He has since decided to leave aerospace to return to the “Star Wars” universe and hasn’t looked back. In 2015, he maxed out his credit card at Emerald City Comics, Games and Toys in Clearwater to purchase the “Star Wars” toys he once owned as a child and then some. He sold some items and bought some more, growing his collection bigger and bigger. Not long after, a vendor invited See Vintage, page A3
Oath Keepers found guilty of Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy Among those found guilty, is a Marion County resident who led the Florida group. By Lindsay Whitehurst, Alanna Durkin Richer and Michael Kunzelman Associated Press
O
ath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was convicted Tuesday of seditious conspiracy for a violent plot to overturn President Joe Biden’s election, handing the Justice Department a major victory in its massive prosecution of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. A Washington, D.C., jury found Rhodes guilty of sedition after three days of deliberations in the nearly two-month-long trial that showcased the farright extremist group’s efforts to keep Republican Donald Trump in the White House at
all costs. Rhodes was acquitted of two other conspiracy charges. A co-defendant — Kelly Meggs, a Marion County resident who led the antigovernment group’s Florida chapter — was also convicted of seditious conspiracy, while three other associates were cleared of that charge. Jurors found all five defendants guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding: Congress’ certification of Biden’s electoral victory. The verdict, while mixed, marks a significant milestone for the Justice Department and is likely to clear the path for prosecutors to move ahead at full steam in upcoming trials of other extremists accused of sedition.
Rhodes and Meggs are the first people in nearly three decades to be found guilty at trial of seditious conspiracy — a rarely used Civil War-era charge that can be difficult to prove. The offense calls for up to 20 years behind bars. It could embolden investigators, whose work has expanded beyond those who attacked the Capitol to focus on others linked to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland recently named a veteran prosecutor, Jack Smith, to serve as special counsel to oversee key aspects of a probe into efforts to subvert the election as well as a separate investigation into the retention of classified
documents at Trump’s Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. Garland said after the verdict that the Justice Department “is committed to holding accountable those criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy on January 6, 2021.” “Democracy depends on the peaceful transfer of power. By attempting to block the certification of the 2020 presidential election results, the defendants flouted and trampled the rule of law,” Steven M. D’Antuono, assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, said in an emailed statement. “This case shows that force and See Local, page A2
he housing market in Florida remains robust, with sales prices continuing to outpace results from a year ago. “The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $401,990, up 12% from the previous year; for condo-townhouse units, it was $310,000, up 19.2% over the year-ago figure for the month of October,” according to the latest Florida Realtors® report. The median price is the midpoint price, meaning half the homes sold for more, half for less. For the Ocala metro area, the median sale price for a single-family existing home for the month of October remained steady for another month at $285,000, up 18.8% from the previous year. The median price for an Ocala condo-townhouse was $194,400, up 14.3% from the prior year. Over the past few months, the Ocala market has seen a decrease in the volume of sales ranging from 11% to 15% under from the prior year. “The supply of for-sale homes continues to slowly build, easing inventory constraints in many markets across the state,” said 2022 Florida Realtors® President Christina Pappas. “Having more supply available will begin to ease some of the pressure on home prices, which in turn will help buyers dealing with higher interest rates.” Florida Realtors®’ chief economist Dr. Brad O’Connor said rising interest rates are impacting the market. According to Freddie Mac, the interest rate for a 30-year fixedrate mortgage averaged 6.90% in October 2022, more than double the average during the same month a year earlier. “The beginning of 2022 marked the end of a nearly two-year period of record-low mortgage rates, as the Fed began to reverse its course in order to fight pervasive inflation in the economy,’’ said O’Connor. “The rapid pace of the resulting increases in interest rates has dramatically increased the monthly payments required for new mortgages, and home price growth has only recently started to show signs of responding.” Noting that home sales in Florida remain steady at pre-pandemic levels despite higher prices and higher mortgage rates, O’Connor said this “only illustrates that despite these headwinds, housing demand in Florida continues to receive support from its recent surge in post-pandemic in-migration, vacation home purchases, and the ever-increasing number of millennials looking to find a home for their growing families.” However, Florida Realtors® reported that homes are still going under contract quickly throughout the state. “The median time to contract for single-family existing homes last month was 25 days compared to 12 days during the same month a year ago. The median time to contract for existing condo-townhouse units was 25 days compared to 15 days in October 2021,” the report said.
READ DAILY NEWS AT OCALAGAZETTE.COM
INSIDE:
Word of the Year........................... A4 State News...................................... A7 Ocala Civic Theatre...................... B2 Calendar......................................... B4 Sports.............................................. B7
Subscribers will receive their paper through USPS on the USPS schedule. Subscription orders must be received by 5 pm on Tuesday in order to be included in the following week’s delivery. Starting at $10/month ocalagazette.com/subscribe