This Week in South Florida Podcast: May 19, 2024
Local 10 News This Week In South Florida Anchor Glenna Milbergย interviews Kevin Doyle, of the Consumer Energy Alliance; Raymer Maguire, of the Climate Leadership Engagement Institute; Damian Pardo, a Miami commissioner who represents District 2; Nikki Fried, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party; and Kristin Murphy, a teacher at Nova Middle School.
This Week in South Florida Podcast: September 10, 2023
On the latest episode of the This Week in South Florida podcast, host Glenna Milberg welcomes Miami-Dade School Board Member Roberto Alonso, journalist Marc Caputo, Miami-Dade County Independent Civilian Panel Chair Loreal Arscott, WLRN journalist Tom Hudson, Miami-Dade Republican Party vice chair Kevin Cooper and attorney Alex Tachmes.
This Week in South Florida Full Episode: August 13, 2023
On the latest episode of This Week in South Florida, host Glenna Milberg is joined by Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried, author and educator Marvin Dunn, attorney and political analyst Rafael Yaniz, attorney Loreal Arscott, journalist and political analyst Anne Geggis and attorney Marili Cancio.
Florida Democrats choose Rep. Crist to challenge DeSantis
U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist has won the Democratic nomination for governor in Florida, putting him in position to challenge Gov. Ron DeSantis this fall in a campaign the Republican incumbent is eyeing as the first step toward a potential White House run.
This Week in South Florida Podcast: June 19, 2022
On the latest episode of the This Week in South Florida podcast, hosts Glenna Milberg and Michael Putney are joined by Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, MSD parent and gun control activist Max Schachter and Urban League of Greater Miami President T Willard Fair.
This Week in South Florida Full Episode: June 19, 2022
On the latest episode of This Week in South Florida, hosts Glenna Milberg and Michael Putney are joined by Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, MSD parent and gun control activist Max Schachter and Urban League of Greater Miami President T Willard Fair.
This Week in South Florida Full Episode: April 24, 2022
On the latest episode of This Week in South Florida, hosts Michael Putney and Glenna Milberg speak with Florida Rep. Randy Fine, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, filmmaker and activist Billy Corben and former Miami Marlins President David Samson.
Mayor, governor candidate call for probe of voter ID changes after Local 10 reports
State and local leaders are calling for an investigation into possible election interference after Local 10 News reported this week that South Florida senior citizens learned their political party was unknowingly changed to Republican.
This Week in South Florida Full Episode: January 23, 2022
On the latest episode of This Week in South Florida, hosts Michael Putney and Glenna Milberg welcome Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, Broward County Elections Supervisor Joe Scott, State Sen. Shevrin Jones and State Rep. David Borrero.
![This Week in South Florida Podcast: April 4, 2021](https://www.local10.com/resizer/a96wo2KcXm5gs9z173Sd2lDmg3I=/1600x900/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/PQBCF3GRLFCXBJR6Z24KRITHZM.jpg)
This Week in South Florida Podcast: April 4, 2021
On the latest episode of the This Week in South Florida podcast, hosts Michael Putney and Glenna Milberg are joined by Deputy Secretary for the Florida Department of Health Dr. Shamarial Roberson, state lawmakers Sen. Annette Taddeo and Rep. Daniel Perez, Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Nikki Fried and South Florida Water Management District board member Ron Bergeron.
![This Week in South Florida Full Episode: April 4, 2021](https://www.local10.com/resizer/k1X7tfz0u81uxqc92Wqegg1IsMY=/1600x900/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/04-04-2021/t_1484024811c341d89b5a865af79eed19_name_image.jpg)
This Week in South Florida Full Episode: April 4, 2021
On the latest episode of This Week in South Florida, hosts Michael Putney and Glenna Milberg are joined by Deputy Secretary for the Florida Department of Health Dr. Shamarial Roberson, state lawmakers Sen. Annette Taddeo and Rep. Daniel Perez, Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Nikki Fried and South Florida Water Management District board member Ron Bergeron.
![Sunshine State dims for Dems amid election losses, cash woes](https://www.local10.com/resizer/wAxLfktNrQaIO_o1lYeMsV_jNjo=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/57C6AV6RDVAKROBBQGNUEVX65M.jpg)
Sunshine State dims for Dems amid election losses, cash woes
Democrats hope to make deeper strides in changing their fortunes in a state that has become friendlier place for Republicans. And that was despite $100 million spent by Michael Bloomberg to help Democrats in the state. When the spending tally is complete, the last election cycle in Florida is expected to rank as among the most expensive in state history. AdโI donโt know anybody whoโs happy with investing $100 million and not winning,โ said Manny Diaz, the new chair of the Florida Democratic Party. Diaz, the state party chairman, is trying to reverse the slide in its voter registration advantage over Republicans.
![Florida Gov. DeSantis faces growing charges of vaccine favoritism](https://www.local10.com/resizer/Y_0RkwPGFspph03z2TKQqkKRVuw=/1600x900/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/03-04-2021/t_cd1275ad45d6417cb058ffaac2e55e06_name_image.jpg)
Florida Gov. DeSantis faces growing charges of vaccine favoritism
Bruce Rauner, last week gave the Florida governor's campaign committee $250,000. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried joined Democratic U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist in calling for federal officials to probe the DeSantis administrationโs vaccine distribution programs. AdDuring a Thursday news conference, DeSantis expressed no misgivings about the early vaccinations at the exclusive Key Largo community. In recent weeks, other reports have surfaced of wealthy retirement communities getting exclusive access to vaccine doses through pop-up vaccine sites. Bruce Rauner to the Florida governor's campaign committee.
![Palm Beach County refuses to lower flags for Rush Limbaugh](https://www.local10.com/resizer/YxR1crGf0P0u4Yi5YTZF0IuWrO4=/1600x1269/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/IIMTAKMW3BF47EEZCTQEHIBPNE.jpg)
Palm Beach County refuses to lower flags for Rush Limbaugh
(AP Photo/Julie Smith, File)FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. โ Palm Beach County defied Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, refusing to lower its courthouse flags to half-staff in honor of the late conservative broadcaster Rush Limbaugh โ a move that the governor's office called โpetty.โThe county's courthouse flags remained at full staff, ignoring Gov. He also ordered the Town of Palm Beach and the State Capitol in Tallahassee to fly their flags at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Wednesday. Officials in the Town of Palm Beach, the wealthy island enclave where Limbaugh lived for two decades, issued a statement saying its policy is to comply with governor's orders to lower the flags. Trump also lives in Palm Beach at his Mar-a-Lago club and he and Limbaugh were close friends.
![Did Nikki Fried fire first shot against Ron DeSantis in upcoming race for governor?](https://www.local10.com/resizer/s98OmhW6dMeYWkLjaWKhZVRO5s0=/1277x769/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/7JXRLRF4FRANHBOAIJXPR5RWZI.jpeg)
Did Nikki Fried fire first shot against Ron DeSantis in upcoming race for governor?
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. โ In a possible prelude to Floridaโs upcoming gubernatorial campaign, the stateโs only Democrat holding statewide office is taking a shot at Gov. Ron DeSantis in a campaign-style video that casts the Republican as unempathetic amid a deadly pandemic and beholden to former President Donald Trump. In her 1-minute video, Florida Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried did not do what many expect her to do sometime in the coming months: Announce a bid to challenge DeSantis for the governorโs mansion in next yearโs election. But even if she fell short of making an announcement on a bid, it set off more speculation and could accelerate the jockeying within a Democratic field considering a run against DeSantis.
![DeSantis bragging about Floridaโs vaccination program upsets Nikki Fried](https://www.local10.com/resizer/tZItkXYzXo-5VPtVz0lPe_IMwpU=/1600x900/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/01-16-2021/t_69e7feacbdf34bb0ace7bf625a58871b_name_image.jpg)
DeSantis bragging about Floridaโs vaccination program upsets Nikki Fried
โIf you look at what Florida has done, we have done by far the most for senior citizens,โ DeSantis said. Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried, a Democrat, accused the Republican governor of mismanaging the vaccine distribution. โThis is not a positive roll-out ... Donโt call it a success,โ Fried said. Vaccinations next week in South Florida are iffy because there are no new shipments of vaccines scheduled. So far, in Miami-Dade County more than 100,000 people have been vaccinated, more than 77,000 in Broward County, and about 3,000 in Monroe County.
![Florida downplays reports of medical tourism for vaccines](https://www.local10.com/resizer/c_0-MInhx0bGaMnnMsn6N6yaKBA=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/ROPBYSJF65H2BHY2QVZQPFKEPE.jpg)
Florida downplays reports of medical tourism for vaccines
State officials have moved quickly to disavow such scuttlebutt. Ron DeSantis said stories of people flying to Florida, getting vaccinated and returning home are overblown. โWe are seeing lines all across the state of Florida. She praised Florida officials for allowing outsiders to get shots. This has nothing to do with where youโre from.โ___Lush reported from St. Petersburg, Florida, and Calvan from Tallahassee, Florida.
![This Week in South Florida Podcast: December 13, 2020](https://www.local10.com/resizer/CCPBjzSqSJqYWdtUU1qQsuA0j_I=/1600x900/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/66AWRPSUYRH5LBB6YZJTJWO3WQ.jpg)
This Week in South Florida Podcast: December 13, 2020
PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. โ Joining the latest episode of the This Week in South Florida podcast are FIU infectious disease expert Dr. Aileen Marty, Floridaโs Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried, Feeding South Florida President Paco Velez, and journalists Nancy Ancrum from the Miami Herald and Steve Bousquet from the Sun Sentinel. Subscribe to the weekly TWISF Podcast on iOS or Android
![This Week in South Florida Full Episode: December 13, 2020](https://www.local10.com/resizer/5F40ImJBzLwvPpms8Zb8ek222Jk=/1600x900/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/12-13-2020/t_c727f67710a243b8bdc38acc664ed3b2_name_image.jpg)
This Week in South Florida Full Episode: December 13, 2020
PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. โ Joining the latest episode of This Week in South Florida are FIU infectious disease expert Dr. Aileen Marty, Floridaโs Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried, Feeding South Florida President Paco Velez, and journalists Nancy Ancrum from the Miami Herald and Steve Bousquet from the Sun Sentinel. The full episode can be viewed at the top of this page.
![This Week in South Florida: Nikki Fried](https://www.local10.com/resizer/u4bNw6Efv7CV7jINoMYi8DWhabk=/1600x900/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/12-13-2020/t_6e4db34073574e859433903415265126_name_image.jpg)
This Week in South Florida: Nikki Fried
PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. โ The lone Democrat elected statewide is often the voice of opposition and it again at it this week. Nikki Fried, Floridaโs Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, has been a vocal critic of Gov. Ron DeSantisโ direction on coronavirus health and safety. This week, she was one of the first to come to the defense of data analyst Rebekah Jones, who was fired for insubordination last spring and was recently targeted with a search warrant. Fried joined This Week in South Florida hosts Michael Putney and Glenna Milberg to discuss, and their conversation can be seen at the top of this page.
![Concealed weapons license requests hit all-time high in Florida](https://www.local10.com/resizer/PylVThLq9dI13vywwchsg8kqffg=/1600x1068/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/C2TJOW5HUNHUNLAZRDK6SG2P7Y.jpg)
Concealed weapons license requests hit all-time high in Florida
38,349 new CWL applications were received in October in addition to 8,590 CWL renewal applications. FDACS has received at least 36,000 new CWL applications every month since July 2020. FDACS received 202,698 new CWL applications in 2019 and 188,900 new CWL applications in 2018. It is currently processing approximately 10,000 CWL applications per week. Under Friedโs leadership, she said, the Division of Licensing reduced initial review times by up to 98 percent for new applications.
![Biden-Harris supporters hold drive-up rally in Wynwood on final day of early voting](https://www.local10.com/resizer/09zQpty6rP42M-t3JxoqHSSpBz0=/1600x900/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/11-02-2020/t_8d1fcf443ad34bbdbaf94b87c18f2ce1_name_image.jpg)
Biden-Harris supporters hold drive-up rally in Wynwood on final day of early voting
WYNWOOD, Fla. โ The cars and people showed up by the dozens in a last-ditch message to voters. โThe only way that we take back our country and take back the White House is if Miami-Dade votes,โ said Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. โThis is the only way,โ said rally attendee Etiony Aldarondo. โWe donโt want anyone to be left out, we donโt want anyone left behind,โ she said. โThe idea is to get everybody excited and wanting to go out and vote,โ said rally attendee Maria Crespo.
![Former President Barack Obama in North Miami speaks about pandemic, Trump and urges vote for Joe Biden](https://www.local10.com/resizer/id_WpsPrpRwl5AHfLejrTJe0yM0=/1600x900/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/10-25-2020/t_e0eeb55a411f41efa5285df9931d7310_name_image.jpg)
Former President Barack Obama in North Miami speaks about pandemic, Trump and urges vote for Joe Biden
NORTH MIAMI, Fla. โ โNow listen, you delivered twice for me, Florida, and now I am asking you to deliver for Joe and deliver for Kamala,โ former President Barack Obama said Saturday at a drive-in rally at Florida International Universityโs Biscayne Bay campus in North Miami. The Biden campaignโs most high-profile surrogate, was in South Florida to stump for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris. [RELATED: President Trump casts ballot in person in West Palm Beach]Obama talked much about the pandemic, President Trump, Obamacare, healthcare, the economy, and, of course, why people should vote for the Biden-Harris ticket. We canโt find it,โ which elicited much car-horn โapplause.โThe full video of Obamaโs speech can be seen below:Obama speech North Miami WATCH LIVE: Former President Barack Obama speaks at a drive-in campaign rally for Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden in North Miami. โI looked at the crowd that was โ that President Obama had.
![Miami-Dade County first place in U.S. where invasive snail from India found, itโs not good news](https://www.local10.com/resizer/RNkp2SczA7s1uDWu8EEehok375s=/552x383/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/N5NIHXFHOJC5DOTYUJ2KGQEWGM.jpg)
Miami-Dade County first place in U.S. where invasive snail from India found, itโs not good news
Found in India, it is a horntail snail (Macrochlamys indica), UF scientists discovered and FDACS confirmed it. Miami-Dade County is the first known place where a horntail snail has been found in the United States. Research is continuing to gather further information about the horntail snail, according to Commissioner Nikki Fried, who heads the FDACS. โThe horntail snail is an invasive pest with the potential to cause serious health implications for Floridians,โ she said. Inspectors combed the area where it was found and discovered more of the snail sites in Miami-Dade County.
![Hundreds evacuated as wildfires rage in Florida Panhandle](https://www.local10.com/resizer/eCDap4Jy_CHPoKWlO1Oy8fGtdZk=/1600x993/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-gmg.s3.amazonaws.com/public/EYSS7ENU7RFTJCXQ4WL5STSWYU.jpg)
Hundreds evacuated as wildfires rage in Florida Panhandle
The 2,000-acre (809-hectare) fire in Santa Rosa County, located just east of Pensacola, prompted the evacuation of 1,100 homes Wednesday. Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said in a news conference Thursday afternoon that fire officials are working around the clock to contain the wildfires. Rich Aloy, with the Santa Rosa County Sheriffโs Office, was patrolling Wednesday when he and other deputies rescued an older couple trapped by a burning power line. The Santa Rosa County fire began Monday when a prescribed burn by a private contractor got out of control, Fried said. Crews from other areas of Florida, including Jacksonville, are assisting firefighters who've been working long hours since Monday.