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all shook up Bartow Civic Center was transformed into a Las Vegas showplace for the Caregiver Appreciation Luncheon 3A

Mixed showing >> Winter Haven and Lake Wales triumph in Basketball classic while auburndale stumbles 1B Massive layoffs >> citigroup plans to cut about 53,000 jobs, trumping a global plan 5B

Cutting prices

Aid hopes darken for carmakers

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Target plans to slash prices for consumers during the holidays 5B

Dinner being held despite demise of showcase

Lawmakers showing fatigue as financial situation for Chrysler, Ford and GM grows more dire

By DONNA KELLY News Chief staff

WINTER HAVEN — The Florida Citrus Showcase may be gone and countless local groves replaced with housing subdivisions, but the spirit and legacy of the growers, packers and scientists who once made Florida the citrus capital of the World will live on in the industry’s annual celebration dinner. The Citrus Industry Dinner “Wild About Citrus” will be held 6:30 p.m. Jan. 8 at the Lakeland home of Marty and Angela Higgenbotham. The event includes a wild game dinner — alligator, venison, catfish, rattlesnake, seafood gumbo — and a live auction. Tickets cost $65 and can be purchased at all Riverside Bank locations. “It’s something that has gone on for over 50 years,” said Sam Killebrew, a former member of the Citrus Showcase Board of Directors. “We just felt like having that continue in the forefront to benefit agriculture in general.” The annual industry dinner was held by the Citrus Showcase until the organization closed its doors in February because it didn’t have enough money to continue paying for its lease on the Orange Dome, which is owned by the city of Winter Haven. Killebrew and a group of community leaders formed a committee over the summer to ensure that the event and the history it represents continue despite the demise of the Citrus Showcase. “We realized when the announcement was made of the Florida Citrus Festival’s passing that with it would fall events and celebrations of what was truly important to the recognition of Florida’s citrus industry,” said Jane Waters, event committee member and former public relations director of the Florida Citrus Showcase. “As the Florida Citrus Showcase was dissolving in character over the past 18 months, programs such as the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS

GEORGE AYCRIGG / News Chief

A sign at a gas station at the corner of Avenue L, N.W., and U.S. Highway 17 in Winter Haven show gas being sold below $2 a gallon Monday morning.

Falling Prices

Winter Haven sees gas dip below $2 a gallon By MAYA CARPENTER News Chief staff

WINTER HAVEN — Gas prices are looking better and better each day, though some are wondering if it will be going back up soon. “We expect it to be less than $2 within the next couple of weeks,” said Aladdin Smadi, manager at Sunoco located at 1502 Recker Highway. It will be about $1.85 to $1.90, he said. “It’s just based on percentages I’ve seen in the past month,” he said. Though the prices will be going below $2, 7 Days gas station located at the

Please see Dinner, 9A

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intersection of Avenue L, N.W. and U.S. Highway 17, is the first gas station to go below $2 in gas prices, according to its manager, Mike Dave. As of Monday it was $1.99. Dave said he can’t determine what the gas prices are going to be until after the gas vendor has given a price. If the price is lower, then the price people pay for gas is cheaper, he said. In late October, 7 Days’ gas prices were below $3. Winter Haven resident Loretta Ed-

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WASHINGTON — Prospects dimmed on Monday for the $25 billion bailout that U.S. automakers say they desperately need to get through a bleak and dangerous December. Though all sides ag ree that Detroit’s Big Three carmakers are in peril, battered by the economic meltdown that has choked their sales and frozen loans, the White House and congressional Democrats are headed for stalemate over how much government money should go toward helping them. Behind the log jam is a troubling reality for the car companies: Bailout fatigue has set in at the White House and on Capitol Hill, where many in both parties have spent the past few weeks bei ng berated by

n GM selling its Suzuki stake — 6B n Bailout lobbying — 9A

constituents for agreeing to the $700 billion Wall Street rescue. The new debate comes as the financial situation for General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC grows more precarious. GM has said it could run out of cash by year’s end without government aid. A Senate auto bailout bill unveiled Monday noted that 355,000 U.S. workers are directly employed by the auto industry, and an additional 4.5 million work in related i ndust r ies. T hat doesn’t count the 1 million retirees, spouses and dependents who rely on the companies

Please see Autos, 9A

Industrial park clears hurdle with ordinance By SHELLY GODEFRIN News Chief staff

LAKE ALFRED — In preparation for a future industrial park in Lake Alfred, the City Commission approved on first reading an ordinance amending various sections of the unified land-development code. The sections related to a light-heavy industrial zoning district. The ordinance will be back for a second reading and public hearing at the Dec. 8 meeting. City Manager Jan Shockley said the city is trying to get a light industrial park and the ordinance is one more step.

The park will be on U.S. Highway 17-92 on the east side of the city. The city only had a blanket coverage for industrial zoning and Shockley said the city needed something with “a lot more punch to it.” She said the area is currently surrounded by conservation on all but one side. There’s a 50-foot buffer on that side, Shockley said. Once completed, Shockley expects the heavy industrial to be further from the highway, with commercial and light industrial closer to the highway. She said it will be

Please see Park, 9a

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