Staff/Wire reports

A 20-year-old man who shot a man to death last June was sentenced Monday to eight years in prison after he was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, court officials said.

Kerwin Banks, of Avondale, fatally shot 19-year-old Michael Dean on June 27 about 11 p.m. on Hutchins Avenue in Avondale, according to police.

Enticement attempt reported

ANDERSON TOWNSHIP - A 13-year-old boy told authorities Monday that a man tried to lure him into a pickup truck on Hundley Road.

The driver of the pickup - a white man believed to be in his 40s - stopped his vehicle on Hundley Road near Titan Drive on Monday morning and asked the boy if he would get into the truck and help look for a lost dog, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office said.

The boy did not speak to the man and ran away. The incident occurred between 10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., the sheriff's office said.

The man, who had short dark hair and a salt-and-pepper mustache, was driving a small, older model red Toyota pickup.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's office at 825-1500 or Crime Stoppers at 352-3040.

Small firms want insurance pool

Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao visits Cincinnati today to talk to small-business owners about their troubles getting affordable health care for employees. The roundtable discussion will take place at Foster Transformer Co., a 67-year-old, family-owned manufacturer in Northside. Of the 50 employees, only a handful can afford health insurance because costs for small businesses are so expensive, said Herman L. Harrison, the company's vice president. Small firms want the right to join with other small businesses and form a giant buying pool to attract better rates. Joining Harrison at the discussion will be eight other small-business owners, as well as Cincinnati GOP Reps. Rob Portman and Steve Chabot, said company sales director Judy Lowe. Chao is the wife of Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Gun-law activist gets a permit

One of the people who sued to challenge Ohio's former law banning carrying concealed weapons was the first to get a permit in Hamilton County to carry a gun.

Sheriff Simon Leis personally handed the permit Monday afternoon to Chuck Klein, a private investigator and author. Klein was one of four people who sued in 2000, seeking to overturn the law banning the carrying of concealed weapons. They argued that the law violated their constitutional rights. Sheriff's offices across the state started taking applications for the permits Thursday.

TRAFFIC WATCH

• On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, northbound Interstate 471 will be restricted to two lanes on the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge from 9 a.m. until 6 a.m. the following day. Beginning Saturday, one northbound lane will be closed 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and one southbound lane will be closed 7 a.m.-3 p.m. daily until further notice.

• The ramp from westbound Ohio 32 to westbound Ohio 125 will be closed at 9 tonight and reopened at 5 a.m. Wednesday.

CORRECTION

The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati will pay a total $165,000 over three years to support the nursing program at Northern Kentucky University. An item in Monday's Local News section incorrectly stated the amount.