Bill and Hillary bring some hope to Haiti

October 23, 2012 at 2:11AM
Former President Bill Clinton at the grand opening of the new Caracol Industrial Park in Haiti on Monday.
Former President Bill Clinton at the grand opening of the new Caracol Industrial Park in Haiti on Monday. (Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

CARACOL, HAITI - Bill and Hillary Clinton arrived in northern Haiti on Monday leading a delegation of foreign investors and celebrities to showcase a U.S. effort to help the country recover from the 2010 earthquake. An all-star entourage turned out for the opening of an industrial park more than 100 miles from the slowly recovering quake zone. Sean Penn, who has run his own aid effort in Haiti, was there, along with actor Ben Stiller and fashion designer Donna Karen.

Earlier, thousands of Haitians, many of them standing outside small roadside huts, waved at Secretary of State Clinton's motorcade as it wound its way from the airport. She and other U.S. officials, including Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D.-Vt., toured a housing development supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Hillary Clinton told investors that she had made Haiti a priority as secretary of state. "We had learned that supporting long-term prosperity in Haiti meant more than providing aid," she said. "It required investments in infrastructure and the economy that would help the Haitian people achieve their own dreams." The Clintons hope that the $300 million industrial facility will transform the northern part of the impoverished country by providing thousands of jobs.

Maroon 5 is coming to the X The Grammy-winning band Maroon 5 is coming to the Xcel Energy Center in March, with a Minnesota act on the bill, promoters announced Monday. Tickets for the March 4 performances by Maroon 5, Minnesota's Owl City and Neon Trees go on sale Saturday at the Xcel box office and the usual Ticketmaster outlets. Ticket prices range from about $30 to $80. Maroon 5 released its fourth studio album, "Overexposed," this past summer. Rolling Stone referred to it as the band's "best yet" and People magazine called "sweet soul kissed pop." Hits from the release include "Payphone" and "One More Night." The band's lead singer, Adam Levine, left, has returned for a third season as a coach on the No. 1 NBC-TV series "The Voice."

PAUL WALSH

KENNEDY TRIAL OPENS: A son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was acting on instinct when he kicked a nurse as she tried to stop him from taking his newborn son out of a hospital in New York's Westchester County, a defense lawyer said Monday. In opening statements at Douglas Kennedy's harassment and child endangerment trial, attorney Celia Gordon said Kennedy "just wanted to take his baby out for some fresh air" on Jan. 7. But the prosecutor said Kennedy had to be stopped because he was violating hospital policy.

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