Florida Sentinel Bulletin

Tampa led the state in new hires last month as Florida’s job market brightened, with the state’s unemployment rate dipping to its lowest point in four years.

10,000 jobs were added locally last month, sinking Tampa jobless rate from 8 percent to 7.4 percent in one month, state data released Friday show. With 33,000 jobs added since February 2012, Tampa’s year-over-year job growth bested every metro area in the state.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama promoted a plan to create jobs by attracting private investment in highways and other public works during a visit Friday to a Miami port, a senior administration official said.

The President fleshed out details of his proposals in a speech at the port, which is undergoing $2 billion in upgrades paid for with government and private money. Pres. Obama, in the quick trip to South Florida, revealed that the economy remains his top priority in the midst of high-profile campaigns on immigration reform and gun control.

Among the proposals Pres. Obama called for:

-Higher caps on “private activity bonds” to encourage more private spending on highways and other infrastructure projects. State and local governments use the bonds to attract investment.

-Giving foreign pension funds tax-exempt status when selling U.S. infrastructure, property or real estate assets. U.S. pension funds are generally tax exempt in those circumstances. The administration says some international pension funds cite the tax burden as a reason for not investing in American infrastructure.

-$4 billion in new spending on two infrastructure programs that award loans and grants.

-A renewed call for a $10 billion national “infrastructure bank” – a proposal from his first term that gained little traction. Pres. Obama will release his budget April 10.

MIAMI — The 6-year-old brother of a 4-year-old girl was found holding the gun just moments after she was shot dead inside their grandparents car.

Rahquel Carr was airlifted to a local hospital and pronounced dead after the Saturday night shooting. Police have not confirmed that her older brother was the one to pull the trigger, but it was reported that he was seen with the firearm in his hand immediately following the incident. Police believe the shooting was accidental.

The shooting occurred as victim Rahquel sat in a white Mercedes-Benz outside the home of her grandparents in Miami-Dade, Florida. Reports say the girl had been living with the grandparents at the time.

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama appointed former field agent Julia Pierson as the next director of the U.S. Secret Service. Pierson is the first woman to ever hold the office.

Pierson previously served as the Chief of Staff and the Assistant Director of the Office of Human Resources and Training for the Secret Service. A White House official who confirmed the news that Pierson would move up from her current role to the director’s office. President Obama sang Pierson’s praises in a media statement.

Over her 30 years of experience with the Secret Service, Julia has consistently exemplified the spirit and dedication the men and women of the service demonstrate every day. Julia is eminently qualified to lead the agency that not only safeguards Americans at major events and secures our financial system, but also protects our leaders and our first families, including my own. Julia has had an exemplary career, and I know these experiences will guide her as she takes on this new challenge to lead the impressive men and women of this important agency.

WASHINGTON  — Howard University says former President Bill Clinton will deliver the school’s commencement address in May.

University President Sidney Ribeau said Tuesday that Clinton would deliver the speech on May 11. Ribeau says Clinton’s example as a leader, humanitarian and advocate and his commitment to public service will inspire the class of 2013.

The Washington, D.C., university is among the nation’s oldest Historically Black Colleges and Universities. It was established in 1867, following the Civil War.

KANSAS CITY, MO — Billy Ray Harris was once a homeless man who spent his days on the streets of Kansas City asking others for their change.

Now, Harris has a part-time job, is over $180,000 richer and most importantly, was reunited with his family on Sunday’s episode of The Today Show.

What caused such a drastic change in luck? It can all be attributed to Harris’ good deed earlier this year when passerby Sarah Darling accidentally dropped her engagement ring, along with change, into Harris’ cup.

“When I finally decided to leave I got on my bike and dumped the change into my hand and there was the ring,” Harris said. “It was really worth some money. Worth enough that he was ready to give me four grand right there on the spot.”

But instead of cashing in the ring, Harris says he was raised to be an honest man and decided to hold on to the diamond band with hopes of returning it to its owner. The following day, Darling realized the mistake she had made and became overjoyed when she saw Harris had held on to her ring.

“It was such a feeling of loss when it was gone,” Darling told Harris. “I’m so eternally grateful.”

BRUNSWICK, GA — The lawyer for a suspect in the shooting death of a baby in a stroller says his client is “absolutely” not guilty.

Public defender Kevin Gough said that 17-year-old De’Marquise Elkins, who is charged as an adult with murder, “is absolutely, 1,000% not guilty.”

Gough spoke as he prepared for Elkins’ first court appearance Monday afternoon.

Earlier, a 14-year-old boy who also faces a murder charge appeared in court Monday morning in the death of 13-month-old Antonio Santiago in Brunswick.

The baby was killed Thursday morning as his mother, Sherry West, walked with him in their neighborhood. West said two boys confronted her and one of them opened fire. Police say she was shot in the leg and her baby was shot in the face.

AMMAN, JORDAN  — President Barack Obama says each of his proposed steps to reduce gun violence should get a vote in Congress – even an assault weapons ban that both parties agree stands little chance at passing.

Senate Democrats dropped the ban from the bill they plan to debate next month out of concern it could sink the whole package. Still, Pres. Obama says he’s pushing for it.

In his weekly radio and Internet address released Saturday, Pres. Obama says the U.S. has changed in the three months since the December school shooting in Newtown, Conn. He says Americans support the ban, plus limits on high-capacity ammunition magazines, school security funding and a crackdown on gun trafficking.

“Today there is still genuine disagreement among well-meaning people about what steps we should take to reduce the epidemic of gun violence in this country. But you, the American people, have spoken,” Pres. Obama said.

The White House said Saturday that Pres. Obama will make additional trips outside Washington to rally support for the measures, including the assault weapons ban. The White House also said that before Pres. Obama left for Israel earlier this week, his push for gun control was among the issues he raised with lawmakers from both parties as he embarked on a concerted effort to reach out to Congress.

CHICAGO — Tens of thousands of Chicago students, parents, and teachers learned Thursday their schools were on a long-feared list of 54 the city plans to close in an effort to stabilize an educational system facing a huge budget shortfall.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the closures are necessary because too many Chicago Public School buildings are half-empty, with 403,000 students in a system that has seats for more than 500,000. But opponents say the closures will further erode troubled neighborhoods and endanger students who may have to cross gang boundaries to attend school. The schools slated for closure are all elementary schools and are overwhelmingly Black and in low-income neighborhoods.