NIKKI FRIED

Senator Rick Scott, in Miami to mark Versailles Restaurant’s 50th anniversary, served up scathing criticism of the bill Tuesday.

Delta-8 THC is sold in several forms, including vapes, tinctures, candy gummies and versions that can be smoked.

Democratic Florida gubernatorial primary opponents agree Gov. Ron DeSantis shouldn’t be getting in the way of public health measures such as face mask requirements and COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democratic candidate for governor. said that she compiled publicly available information that proves masks in schools work to keep COVID cases down.

The 8-inch snail that can eat your house and give you meningitis has been eradicated in Florida once again, officials announced Wednesday.

I remember watching Gov. Ron DeSantis’ first ad as a candidate, featuring his two small children. It’s not the use of family that upset me, that’s a common and accepted practice; it was the images of his children building a “wall” with cardboard bricks and reading a book on political division.

“This is the highest death toll we’ve seen in a single report. It should shock us to the core,” tweeted state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.

Three major school districts voted for mask mandates on Wednesday despite sanction threats by the DeSantis administration.

Lila Hartley said she is worried about her 10-year-old brother, who is ineligible for a vaccine.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' mask mandate ban has led to a major battle.

For most of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Ron DeSantis has followed a set strategy: protect elderly residents at greater risk of serious illness and death but impose no other restrictions and prevent others from imposing their own. Now that strategy is being tested as never before, as cases and hospitalizations surge around the state at numbers near Florida’s peak at the beginning of the year, taxing hospitals and putting pandemic-weary residents on edge as cities, counties, school boards and businesses contemplate reimposing safety protocols.

Florida’s only Democrat elected statewide has suspended concealed carry weapons permits for 22 people involved in the U.S. Capitol breach.

A group run by one of former President Donald Trump's most prominent election conspiracy adherents is now registered in Florida.

A group run by one of former President Donald Trump’s most prominent election conspiracy adherents, reacting to accusations it was illegally seeking donations in Florida, has registered with the state and says it will raise $7 million, documents released Wednesday show. The office of Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, which polices charities, said it has approved paperwork filed by attorney Sidney Powell’s Defending the Republic group. Fried's office had filed an administrative complaint last month against the group, accusing it of seeking donations without registering with the state as required.

With a strategy of leaning on small-dollar donors, Democrat candidate for Florida governor Nikki Fried announced her first month’s fundraising numbers Tuesday, a modest haul coming in at just under $813,000.

Republican Ron DeSantis claims university campuses are ‘intellectually repressive environments’ The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis: ‘It used to be thought that a university campus was a place where you’d be exposed to a lot of different ideas.’ Photograph: Wilfredo Lee/AP Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, sparked backlash this week when he signed legislation cracking down on so-called educational “indoctrination” at colleges and universities, soon after the state banned critical race

Police said the driver and both victims are members of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus.

It wasn't immediately known if the driver acted intentionally in the Saturday night incident that forced the cancellation of the parade.

The parade intended to commemorate the Stonewall Riots was canceled.

Democratic Florida gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried said Friday that her “greatest weakness” in the race is her opponent’s access to a national audience.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried on Friday said her office has filed a formal complaint against a charity run by Sidney Powell, a former attorney who joined President Donald Trump’s legal team and spewed false voter fraud claims about the 2020 election.

As part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ continued effort to hamper local governments’ ability to impose pandemic-related infractions, the state’s clemency board on Wednesday pardoned any lingering financial penalties including those against a Broward County gym owner who at one point faced potential jail time.

For all of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appalling political stances — from making it harder to vote by mail to picking a fight with the cruise industry over “vaccine passports” — he’s consistently been on the right side of one issue: protecting the Everglades.

Florida's only statewide elected Democrat has announced her intention to run for governor.

A day after Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried entered the Florida governor’s race, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis made it clear he’s willing to go on the attack.

Four days before she filed her paperwork to run for governor, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried amended two forms to disclose she made a substantial amount more as a marijuana lobbyist than previously reported.

Fried has consistently criticized incumbent Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, even calling him an 'authoritarian dictator' at one point.

Fried was first elected in 2018. She is the second Democrat to enter the governor's race.

Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is running for Florida governor, calling Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis an authoritarian who’s putting his party and political ambition ahead of Floridians.

As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis struggled to contain the coronavirus pandemic, Democrats readied to pounce. The state's economy was in tatters, infections and deaths were on the rise and there were doubts about the Republican's plan to lead Florida out of crisis. Now that the pandemic appears to be waning and DeSantis is heading into his reelection campaign next year, he has emerged from the political uncertainty as one of the most prominent Republican governors and an early White House front-runner in 2024 among Donald Trump's acolytes, if the former president doesn't run again.

One body was recovered Tuesday night and no survivors have been found, Leesburg Fire Rescue said in a Facebook post. A search and rescue effort began immediately after the crash, but the crash site couldn't be cleared because of hazards in the area, the Leesburg Police Department said in a news release Wednesday. “We are deeply saddened by this tragedy within our wildland firefighting family,” said Florida Forest Service director Erin Albury.

Fire danger risk is high across Florida.

This is the latest move in a three-decade political career that has seen Charlie Crist get elected statewide three times as a Republican run an ill-fated campaign for the U.S. Senate as an independent become a Democrat lose a 2014 bid for governor and get elected to Congress.

County Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins met with Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried in District 8 at Deering Estate to ensure synergy in efforts to protect the environment, support the agriculture industry and enhance quality of life for South Dade residents. She also brought concerns from local farmers to the attention of Agriculture Commissioner Fried, including agricultural land preservation, labor shortages, and the need for funding to combat pests that are destroying local crops. “The challenges of this past year have hit our agriculture community especially hard — an economic and cultural impact felt by the 20,000 residents who rely upon the industry in Miami-Dade,” said Commissioner Cohen Higgins. “Florida is ground zero for climate change and sea level rise, and nowhere knows that better than Miami-Dade County. Restoring the water flow of the Everglades, one of the world’s greatest ecological treasures, is a goal that Commissioner Cohen Higgins and I share, along with protecting our water resources,” said Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.

Nikki Fried stood at a gas station on Monday in Hialeah to announce her support of a proposed bill against credit card skimmers who exploit gas station pumps in Florida.

Complete closure of the facility is expected to cost up to $200 million, and Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson says "this has been a catastrophe waiting to happen for too long."

A mandatory evacuation order near a leaking Florida wastewater reservoir that affected more than 300 homes and additional businesses has been lifted.

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.

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.

Florida's only Democrat elected statewide is Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Nikki Fried.

The plan adopted by the board — made up of DeSantis, Moody, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis — will automatically restore civil rights to felons who have paid all court-ordered fines, fees and restitution related to their crimes. They will have to apply to begin the process of rights restoration, but they will not be required to go before the Board of Executive Clemency to have their cases considered.

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. Ad“I don’t know anybody who’s happy with investing $100 million and not winning,” 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.

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 administration’s 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.

Ron DeSantis over "alleged political favoritism" in his state's distribution of Covid-19 vaccine doses. Fried cited news reports of the three so-called pop-up vaccination sites. Fried cited other reports, too, of pop-up vaccination sites appearing in affluent neighborhoods reportedly connected to DeSantis' donors. It's the second time a Florida Democrat has called for a federal investigation into DeSantis' handling of the vaccine rollout. "As reported by multiple news outlets, the Governor is setting up 'pop-up' vaccination sites to deliver doses to select communities," Crist, another longtime DeSantis critic, wrote.

(AP Photo/Julie Smith, File)FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – 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 — a move that the governor's office called “petty.”The 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.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In a possible prelude to Florida’s upcoming gubernatorial campaign, the state’s 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 governor’s mansion in next year’s 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.

“If you look at what Florida has done, we have done by far the most for senior citizens,” DeSantis said. Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried, a Democrat, accused the Republican governor of mismanaging the vaccine distribution. “This is not a positive roll-out ... Don’t call it a success,” 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.

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. “We 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 you’re from.”___Lush reported from St. Petersburg, Florida, and Calvan from Tallahassee, Florida.

“Given the challenges of this year, we want to ensure Santa Claus can safely travel the state and spread Christmas joy to all of Florida’s children,” said agricultural commissioner Nikki Fried. “As Florida’s regulator for the entry of animals, we’re pleased to issue Santa’s necessary Certificate of Animal Movement early, waive all fees, and ensure proper safety protocols to protect against livestock diseases and COVID-19.”

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Joining the latest episode of the This Week in South Florida podcast are FIU infectious disease expert Dr. Aileen Marty, Florida’s 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

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Joining the latest episode of This Week in South Florida are FIU infectious disease expert Dr. Aileen Marty, Florida’s 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.

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – The lone Democrat elected statewide is often the voice of opposition and it again at it this week. Nikki Fried, Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, has been a vocal critic of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 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.

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 Fried’s leadership, she said, the Division of Licensing reduced initial review times by up to 98 percent for new applications.

WYNWOOD, Fla. – The cars and people showed up by the dozens in a last-ditch message to voters. “The only way that we take back our country and take back the White House is if Miami-Dade votes,” said Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. “This is the only way,” said rally attendee Etiony Aldarondo. “We don’t want anyone to be left out, we don’t want anyone left behind,” she said. “The idea is to get everybody excited and wanting to go out and vote,” said rally attendee Maria Crespo.

NORTH MIAMI, Fla. – “Now listen, you delivered twice for me, Florida, and now I am asking you to deliver for Joe and deliver for Kamala,” former President Barack Obama said Saturday at a drive-in rally at Florida International University’s Biscayne Bay campus in North Miami. The Biden campaign’s 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 can’t find it,” which elicited much car-horn “applause.”The full video of Obama’s 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. “I looked at the crowd that was — that President Obama had.

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. “The horntail snail is an invasive pest with the potential to cause serious health implications for Floridians,” she said. Inspectors combed the area where it was found and discovered more of the snail sites in Miami-Dade County.

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 Sheriff’s 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.

ORLANDO Today, Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo released a statement asking Governor Ron DeSantis to listen to the medical experts and issue a stay-at-home order to quell the spread of coronavirus in the Sunshine State. This is not a partisan strategy: seventeen states have employed this critical measure to fight the pandemic, including several Republican governors. Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried called for a shelter-in-place order last week. Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo:Our state is in trouble and we need to slow the spread of this virus before our healthcare system drowns in a wave of critically sick patients. Im asking Governor DeSantis to please respect the science, listen to our medical experts, and issue a statewide stay-at-home order immediately.Health experts are clear: social distancing is critical for slowing the spread of this virus and preventing hospitals from being overwhelmed with patients battling COVID-19.

42+ hour walk honored 42 million survivors of child sexual abuseSenator Wilton Simpson and other state leaders recently joined Laurens Kids Founder and CEO State Senator Lauren Book to kick off the start of the 42 Hours for 42 Million advocacy walk at the Florida Capitol. Legislators, state leaders, survivors, advocates and community members joined Senator Book in a 42+ hour continuous walk to honor the more than 42 million survivors of child sexual abuse who live in the United States. Senator Book, a tireless advocate and child sexual abuse survivor, walked through much of tonight. I know all too well what survivors are up against the feelings of shame and guilt that are not ours to carry, explained Senator Book. For more information about the 42 Hours for 42 Million, please visit LaurensKids.org/42-Hours.

The timing was perfect for Floridian Bryan Coco, who had started a hemp company, HGE, in Colorado the previous year. After the 2018 bill was passed, Coco realized the market would grow quickly and decided he wanted to cultivate and process hemp. But in Florida, the pilot program is available only to universities a decision made by Gov. Rick Scott when he signed legislation for the Industrial Hemp Research Pilot Program in 2017. Though he doesn't discount the possibility of jumping into the Florida hemp industry in the future, he thinks his involvement will most likely be in the form of providing internationally and state-certified hemp genetics to Florida farmers.

By Donnie WilliamsTALLAHASSEEMembers of the Black Press Association of Florida conducted annual meetings with cabinet officials by reviewing the 2020 priorities of two powerful state regulators; Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis. Fried: Fighting Food Deserts, Gun Loopholes, and the Onerous Clemency ProcessAgriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried stays busy. Within months of taking office, Fried put together a pilot project in Little Haiti, providing universal breakfast to those qualifying. Patronis has made combating it a priority, dubbing the effort Fraud Free Florida. The CFO himself could have been a victim. The mental health overall and cancer insurance coverage for Florida firefighters was an emotional issue for the CFO.

Co-hosts Glenna Milberg and Michael Putney sit down with Florida Agriculture Commissioner, Nikki Fried for an in-depth discussion.

Co-hosts Glenna Milberg and Michael Putney are joined by Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried. SUBSCRIBE TO THE TWISF PODCAST - iOS | AndroidCopyright 2019 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.

Then inspectors noticed three employees wheeling a shopping cart out of one of the quarantined rooms in violation of an order. Tape that officials had put up to prevent reentry to the room had been torn during the breach, according to an inspection summary. The breach prompted state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried to sign an order to close the store on Thursday.