Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried recently appeared on Facing South Florida, with Jim DeFede and responded to questions related to medical marijuana, Governor DeSantis and her political future. Provided below is a summary of the interview. Jim Defede: You ran on legalizing medicinal marijuana and you want to move toward legalizing recreational marijuana, are there […]
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at allowing people to use recreational marijuana, saying it would be misleading to voters. Backers of the proposed amendment sought to put it on the 2022 ballot and had submitted hundreds of thousands […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis late Monday signed into law a plan to require out-of-state online retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases made by Floridians, with the estimated $1 billion a year in revenue going to curb a pair of taxes on Florida businesses. While the […]
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — With two weeks left in the legislative session, the Florida House and Senate began formal negotiations Friday night on what could be a record $100 billion state budget for the fiscal year that will start July 1. Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, and House […]
President Joe Biden announced Friday that he plans to nominate former Florida Congresswoman Gwen Graham to serve as an assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Education. Graham, an attorney, represented the Tallahassee area and other parts of North Florida in the U.S. House from 2015 to 2017 and ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018. […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — A bipartisan proposal to add hiring standards and bolster use-of-force training for police and correctional officers began moving forward Thursday in the House. With the measure deemed a starting point for further talks, the Judiciary Committee unanimously supported the proposal (PCB JDC 21-01) by Rep. […]
By Christine Sexton, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday railed against YouTube and Google for removing a video of a COVID-19 discussion he had with scientists who oppose government lockdowns, school closures and mask wearing, calling it “censorship.” The ramped-up criticism by the Republican governor came as lawmakers try […]
Documents filed in 2020 shows that Nikki Fried had a financial interest in a marijuana company doing business in Florida in 2019, the same year she created the Cannabis Office and the Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee in the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs. Also, documents filed with the Florida Commission on Ethics indicate […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — California surpassed Florida in a new estimate of orange production, the latest sign of continuing struggles in Florida’s citrus industry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in a monthly update released Friday, said Florida is forecast to produce enough oranges to fill 51.7 million 90-pound boxes […]
By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — A controversial elections bill focused largely on the state’s vote-by-mail process underwent an overhaul Thursday in the Florida House, but critics say it still poses unnecessary barriers to voters. The revamped proposal, which addresses issues such as the use of mail-in ballot drop boxes and […]