Next few days crucial to Historic Cigar Factory’s future

(Lakeland Ledger) The future of the Bartow Cigar Factory will be clearer by next week.
Polk County and Bartow officials were negotiating today on an agreement to finally turn the building over to the city. The sticking point has been liability because Polk County’s risk management staff didn’t want to be on the hook for any potential blowback if Bartow’s or private supporters’ fund-raising attempts don’t work out and an increasingly decaying, unsafe building remains. Continued