SPORTS | B1 LOCAL | A3 EUSTIS’ COACH THE WALK LEE SHOWS CONTINUES FOR SIGNS OF ‘CLARA’S LAW’ IMPROVEMENT Tuesday, January 8, 2019 YOUR LOCAL SOURCE FOR LAKE & SUMTER COUNTIES @dailycommercial Facebook.com/daily.commercial 75¢ Trump Groveland Four case to be plans heard by clemency board address, border By Jim Saunders Chief Financial Officer News Service of Florida Jimmy Patronis are sched- visit uled to meet at 9 a.m. Friday TALLAHASSEE – Just at the Capitol and then will three days after they are hold a clemency board meet- President to speak to sworn into office, new Gov. ing to discuss the Groveland nation tonight on wall Ron DeSantis and mem- Four case, according to an plan as government bers of the Florida Cabinet agenda posted online. shutdown continues are expected to take up the The discussion will follow Groveland Four case of four calls to pardon the Grove- By Catherine Lucey African-American men land Four — and DeSantis’ and Lisa Mascaro accused in 1949 of raping a statement last month that The Associated Press white woman. he wanted to make the issue DeSantis, new Attorney a “priority.” WASHINGTON — With General Ashley Moody, new “Seventy years is a long no breakthrough in sight to Three of the four members of the Groveland Four are pictured Agriculture Commissioner end the partial government after their arrest with Sheriff Willis McCall, right. [SUBMITTED] Nikki Fried and returning See CLEMENCY, A6 shutdown, President Donald Trump plans a Tuesday night address to the nation and a Thursday visit the U.S.- Mexico border to highlight his demands for a border wall. Newly empowered House Looking ahead to 2019 Democrats — and at least a few Republican senators — are stepping up pressure on Trump and GOP lawmakers to reopen the government. Trump said he would dis- cuss the “Humanitarian and National Security crisis on our Southern Border” at 9 p.m. EST. He maintains that more than $5 billion for a wall is necessary to secure the border. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted Monday that Trump will use the visit to “meet with those on the front lines of the national security and humanitarian crisis.” As the shutdown lurched into a third week, many Republicans watched ner- vously from the sidelines as hundreds of thousands of federal workers went without pay and government disrup- tions hit the lives of ordinary Americans. Trump has offered to build the barrier with steel rather than concrete, billing that as a concession to Democrats’ objections to a solid wall. They “don’t like concrete, so we’ll give them steel,” he has said. But the Democrats have The City of Leesburg continues making millions of dollar worth of improvements to Venetian Gardens to restore its place as a local made clear they see a wall as gathering spot. [Daily Commercial) immoral and ineffective and See BORDER, A6 LOOKING Leesburg, Tavares 2018, launching a raft of proj- of life for residents AHEAD fi nishing major ects intended to make local Here is a look at what the improvements this year communities more inviting cities of Leesburg and Tavares Today: Tavares and and better situated to handle are working on in 2019. Leesburg By Roxanne Brown the continued growth here Wednesday: South roxanne.brown@daily- and around the rest of Central LEESBURG Lake commercial.com Florida. Many of those proj- Thursday: Schools ects are expected to come to In Leesburg, the city’s and Lake County at Area cities, schools, com- fruition in 2019, and others will new community building is large munity groups and other emerge out of necessity, or out decision-makers were busy in of a desire to improve quality See 2019, A6 Warren bashes banks, rich in fi rst 2020 campaign swing SPORTS | B1 By Joshua Green field of Democrats expected and “beholden to giant America Great Again, but EUSTIS’ and John McCormick to jockey for the right to corporations.” he’s making corporations Bloomberg challenge President Donald Warren’s critiques of Wall great — he doesn’t give a BOWERS Trump in 2020. Street’s political influence sh_t about us, and his flun- Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s In a weekend swing that struck a chord with many of kies don’t care either,” said BOUNCES BACK, first trip to Iowa as a likely saw overflow crowds at the Iowans who came to see Dana Evans, 69, of Aurelia, presidential candidate high- every stop, the Massachu- her, 13 months ahead of the Iowa, president of Vietnam EARNS ALL- lighted her fiery anti-Wall setts liberal harshly critiqued Iowa caucuses that formally Veterans of Northwest Iowa. Street populism and could a Washington political cul- kick off the nomination race. CONFERENCE set the tone for the sprawling ture she called “corrupt” “Trump says Make See WARREN, A6 HONORS Volume 143, Issue 8 Local & State ..............A3 Sports........................ B1 ©2018 GateHouse Media Opinion .................... A9 Comics ......................B6 Home delivery: 352-787-0600 Weather ................... A10 Classified ...................B7 A2 Tuesday, January 8, 2019 | DailyCommercial.com NATION&WORLD IN BRIEF UNION, S.C. Deputies kill 81-year-old man who they say fi red gun fi rst Authorities say police offi- cers in South Carolina shot and killed an 81-year-old man who fired a gun at them as they tried to take him into custody for a mental evaluation. Union County Sheriff’s deputies said they were called Saturday night to a home near Union after a neighbor said Harold Thompson fired a gun in the air after his dog barked at him. Deputies say Thomp- son didn’t answer his door and, after several tries, they obtained a court order for a mental evaluation. A sheriff’s statement says when deputies entered the home to take Thompson into custody, he walked out of a room with a gun, didn’t drop the weapon when ordered and fired at officers. FLINT, MICH. Another misdemeanor deal in Actor Kevin Spacey arrives at district court Monday in Nantucket, Mass., to be arraigned on a charge of indecent assault and battery. Flint water investigation [STEVEN SENNE/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS] Michigan’s former drinking water regulator has pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor in the Flint water investigation. Spacey pleads not guilty to It’s a break for Liane Shek- ter Smith, who was facing felony charges, including involuntary manslaughter , groping young man at bar in an investigation of Flint’s lead-tainted water and a Legionnaires’ disease By Alanna Durkin Richer declined to comment as they pants and groping him for scheduled to appear. outbreak. The Associated Press left the courthouse amid a about three minutes. A judge denied Spacey’s Smith pleaded no contest crush of reporters. Spacey, The accuser told police bid to avoid appearing in Monday to disturbance of a NANTUCKET, Mass. — wearing a gray suit, navy that he tried to move Spac- person Monday. Spacey had lawful meeting and agreed Kevin Spacey pleaded not vest and polka dot tie, didn’t ey’s hands, but the groping argued that his presence to testify against others, if guilty Monday to groping speak during the hearing and continued, and he didn’t would “amplify the negative necessary. Special prosecu- an 18-year-old busboy in his lawyers entered the not- know what to do because he publicity already generated” tor Todd Flood praised her 2016 in the first criminal guilty plea on his behalf. didn’t want to get in trouble by the case. “candor and truthfulness.” case brought against the In court documents, for drinking. The man said he After the charge was Defense attorney Brian disgraced actor following a Spacey’s lawyers called the fled when Spacey went to the announced last month, Morley says the case likely string of sexual misconduct accusations “patently false” bathroom. Spacey released a video in the will be dismissed in six to 12 allegations that crippled his and noted that prosecutors The Associated Press does voice of Frank Underwood, months. career. have no witnesses to the not typically identify people his character on “House of Spacey’s court appearance alleged groping. Spacey’s alleging sexual assault. Cards,” in which he said, LIBREVILLE, GABON came more than a year after lawyers wrote that the teen The civil attorney for “I’m certainly not going to Gabon government thwarts former Boston TV anchor lied about his age, “wel- the accuser said in a state- pay the price for the thing coup attempt, 2 plotters dead Heather Unruh accused the comed” drinks bought by ment ahead of the hearing I didn’t do.” It was unclear former “House of Cards” star Spacey, left the bar with him that his client is “leading by whether he was referring to Gabon’s government of sexually assaulting her son to smoke a cigarette and gave example.” the charge. thwarted an attempted in a bar on the Massachusetts Spacey his phone number. “By reporting the sexual Spacey was ousted from military coup on Monday, resort island of Nantucket. “At best, this describes two assault, my client is a deter- the Netflix series and other retaining control of the oil- Nantucket District Court people engaged in mutual mined and encouraging voice productions after he was rich West African nation Judge Thomas Barrett and consensual flirtation, for those victims not yet accused of sexual assault after two plotters were killed ordered Spacey to stay away nothing more,” his attorneys ready to report being sexu- and inappropriate behavior and other army officers were from his accuser and the wrote. ally assaulted,” said lawyer by numerous people amid the arrested, the government man’s family. Spacey will If convicted of felony inde- Mitchell Garabedian, who #MeToo movement.