The Californian from Salinas, California • 5

nssa Wednesday, April 8, 2009 NEWS W7 48 HOUSING i Continued from page 1A there are even more buyers than there were in 1999, according to the Realtors' association. Currently, according to real estate tracking Web site ziIIow.com, there are 96 foreclosed condos, duplexes and single-family homes in the Salinas area. About 430 single-family homes in the Salinas area are priced at $200,000 and under. Those prices are luring first-time home buyers to the market and investors to jump back in. "It's been really hectic over the past three Bitar said.

Out of the 40 foreclosures he had three weeks ago, only six remain on the market. One home, he said, got 20 offers. New home buyers Dina Urquizo, a housing counselor at the Housing Resource Center of Monterey County, is one of those joining the ranks of new home buyers. "I thought it would never happen. I thought I would never be able to buy in Monterey County" Urquizo said.

"It's finally affordable." Her office helps people facing foreclosure, and it provides counseling for first-time home buyers. "It's unfortunate for those who lost their homes, but good for those who are now able to afford homes," she said, citing an oft-turned phrase around the office. The inventory of foreclosed homes is drying up, Salinas-area real estate agents said. But banks that put a moratorium on foreclosures over the holidays will soon place some of those houses on the market within the next few months. Median home prices for March will be released later this week, but the association's chief executive officer, Sandy Haney, expects the numbers to hold steady.

"Some people think we've hit bottom" in the property value downturn, Haney said. She then added, "But my crystal ball isn't plugged in." i je i ''si i RICHARD CREENTHE SALINAS CALII-OKNIAN Jackie Vosbrink feeds some of the 26 chickens she raises for show and sale at her Prunedale home. ROOSTERS Continued from page 1A Supervisor Louis Calcagno's principal aide, Henry Gowin, said the proposal isn't aimed at discouraging people who keep coops for eggs or show chickens as pets. It's directed at the noise large numbers of roosters can generate, Gowin said. "When you have several roosters in a small coop, well, the roosters go a little berserk," he said.

"The residents of our district are very concerned." As Kinison Brown works with neighbors on both sides, he's weighing new options, such as limiting roosters to a ratio of the hens on a property or by the acreage of the property. PASTOR Continued from page 1A speak to could be considered a person of the interest. We have no specific person that wearelookingatatthistime." The sergeant noted that police have found no link between Lawless and the suitcase. According to Lawless, he lived in Salinas in the early 1980s, and now lives in Space 57 at Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park the same mobile home park where Sandra lived with her mom, grandparents and siblings before her March 27 disappearance. Lawless said he lived in Salinas for about a year while receiving his theological education from the Alisal Baptist Institute Theological Seminary.

Lawless said he also lived in Livermore and made the one-and-a-half hour commute to Salinas when he taught and preached at the institute. Pastor Arthur Harris of the Alisal Baptist Church said the institute is still around but hasn't had any students or staff for a couple of years. Harris, now the dean of the institute, described the institute as more of a Bible school as opposed to a liberal arts department. Harris confirmed Lawless received a bachelor's degree in religious studies at the institute. Harris, who said he is Lawless' brother-in-law, has matter," she said.

"It's only reasonable that they would go through everything." Investigators surmise that the person who dumped the body in the pond must have known the rural area, just north of Tracy. "Someone would have to be familiar with that area to know to go there to place that suitcase," Sheneman said. Sandra was last seen on surveillance video skipping down the street near her home. It sparked a widespread search that included hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement officials, including the FBI, and drew more than 1,000 tips. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

known Lawless since the 1950s. He described Lawless as "one of the most kind and gentle persons" he knows but understands the reason why police questioned him. "The police have to do what they have to do," Harris, 66, said adding that with Lawless' ailing health, "He saves all his energy for Sunday mornings." Lawless' wife, Connie, said they had been interviewed by police because Sandra was a regular playmate of their great-granddaughter's. "Sandra was last seen heading toward the direction where our house is, but she never went here," Connie said. "(The police are just trying to get to the truth of the Scientists breed goats with enhanced milk reached 16.2 percent, according the state Employment Development Department last month.

Job prospects for the class of 2009 are considerably below those for the previous five graduating classes, according to a report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. "Students are so Irene Moulton, who works at CSUMB's Center for Reading Diagnosis and Instruction and was volunteering of them don't know what to wear for interviews. It really helps their self-esteem and the way the feel when they go out for interviews. It makes a big CSUMB Continued from page 1A "Students don't have money to buy expensive suits," Quiroz-Mojica said. "With the economy the way it is, they students are worried about finding jobs." Johnston is one of the 800 students expected to graduate from CSUMB on May 16.

Many will enter a highly competitive job market already saturated with laid-off, experienced candidates. The unemployment rate has reached 8.1 percent nationally, but in Monterey County, it's double that. The February jobless rate, the most recent available, 1 I i it if Researchers say new herd could help fight intestinal diseases The Associated Press DAVIS University of California scientists say they have found a way to combat intestinal diseases in the developing world through a type of enhanced goat milk. A decade ago, UC Davis researchers found a way to transfer a human gene into goats so they would produce a high concentration of an enzyme that fights diarrhea-causing bacteria. They are now working with three Brazilian universities to ship semen and from their goat population to that country, where it is hoped a new herd will begin producing the enzyme-rich milk.

The experiment is the result of work by animal research scientists James Murray and Elizabeth Maga. Their herd produces milk with a high concentration of the enzyme lysozyme. Normal goats' mUk contains a fraction of 1 percent of the enzyme. Their herd is in its fifth generation, and they said it's time to take the next step. 1 They are seeking government permits to send semen and embryos to Brazil, IHEtoiOCIAItDPKtSS This April 3 photo shows James Murray, an animal science researcher at the University of California, Davis, as he pets 10-year-old Artemis at the goat barn at the Davis campus.

Artemis was the first goat that Murray and fellow UC Davis researcher Elizabeth Maga used in an experiment intended to reduce diarrhea in the Third World. AROUND THE WORLD News service reports Central Italy rocked by strong aftershocks L'AQUILA, Italy Strong aftershocks Tuesday sent a fresh wave of fear across earthquake-shattered central Italy, and rescue crews pulled a young woman alive from a collapsed building about 42 hours after the main quake struck the mountainous regioa Eleonora Calesini, a 20-year-old student, was found alive in the ruins of the five-story building in central L'Aquila, said her grandfather, Renato Calesini, in the seaside town of Mondaini. "She's safe!" he told The Associated Press, adding that her father had gone to devastated city in the snowcapped Apennine mountains to try to locate the student, who wears a hearing aid. She reportedly had an arm injury but was in good condition otherwise. Federal judge dismisses Stevens' conviction WASHINGTON A seething federal judge dismissed the corruption conviction of former Alaska Sealed Stevens on Tuesday and took the rare and serious step oi ordering a criminal investigation into prosecutors who poisoned the case.

"In nearly 25 years on the bench, I've never seen anything approaching the mishandling and misconduct that I've seen in this District Judge Emmet Sullivan said. Sullivan appointed a special prosecutor to investigate Justice Department lawyers who repeatedly withheld evidence from defense attorneys and the judge during the monthlong trial. Stevens was convicted in October of lying on Senate forms. nearly twice the Brazilian national average. In some cities, 15 percent of children die, among the highest rates in the world.

Infant diarrhea remains a leading cause of death in there because the population does not have reliable access to safe water, nutritious food or medical care. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 2 million children a year worldwide die of intestinal infections. enhanced milk to adults, then to children in some areas of northeast Brazil where childhood diarrhea is a deadly problem. "I think the benefit is potentially huge," Murray said. This doesnt solve the problem.

One still needs to have clean water and adequate food." Researchers at the University of Fortaleza in Brazil said more than 5 percent of children die of all causes before age 5 in the region, where breeding with a native goat population should produce a new herd. They hope to begin testing the goats' milk on humans within five years. So far, the enzyme-rich milk has been tested only on pigs. Pigs fed the enriched milk had no side effects and were better able to fight bacterial infections than pigs fed normal goats' milk. After more laboratory and animal testing, the scientists plan to give the OBITUARIES BASS LAKE Arrangements: Healey Mortuary Crematory, 405 N.

Sanborn Road, Salinas, www.healeymortuary.com. st f' Survivors: Sister, Annette Brannon of Salinas; niece, Tammy Massa Kay (Bob Kay) of Belmont; nephew, Scott Dickens of Salinas; wife, Diane of Bass Lake; step-daughters, Shelly Doman of Salinas and Jeni Meuse (Tony) of Coarsegold; and three step-grandchildren. Services and Burial: Were held Friday, March 6, in Oakhurst. father, Benjamin Barnett; twin vorite charity. sister, Darlene Trimble; and Arrangements: Struve and sister, Evelyn Williams.

Laporte Chapel. Survivors: Husband of 60 Online condolences: years, Joe Bailey Brooks of www.struveandlaporte.com Salinas; daughter, Janet (Rob- fRESNO ert) Hogge of Salinas; grand- daughter, JoLynn (Brad) Ros- bach; great-grandson, Bailey Reed Rosbach; grandson, Rob- ert (Jessica) Hogge IV; great- VjOlQOn JU. granddaughters, Haleigh Ann Hogge and Kyleigh Grace PgCFSOn SALINAS GlennR. Sutton Glenn R. Sutton, 88, of Salinas, passed away Sunday, April 5, 2009, in Salinas.

He was born Jan. 22, 1921, in Fullerton. He served in the U.S. McSHANE'S Select Color 455-1876 Stan Brannon The Farm i jii mmm i. jiiw .1 ji I Jiuc, au ui oaiinaa.

Memorial celebration: 1:30 p.m Friday, April 10, in the Struve and Laporte Mortuary Chapel, 41 W. San Luis Salinas. Memorials: American Cancer Society, or the donor's fa- Gordon L. Peterson, 76, of Airforce. Fresno and formerly of Salinas, Services: No services will be passed away Saturday, April 4, held.

2009. Cremation: To take place, He was born March 4, 1933, in Hawaii. He was retired Sargent U.S. Army. 'mmm- alma HI Roomslh rS Home Decor Gifts i ki Candles Satwtdcuf, Opnit 1M fmem jpror lid -f-vA Stan Brannon, 68, of Bass Lake, passed away Monday, Feb.

23, 2009, in a Fresno hospital after a single car accident at Bass Lake, where he lived for the last 15 years. He was bom in 1940 in Red Oak, Okla. Stan's family moved to Salinas in 1949, where he attended Fremont Elementary School. He attended Washington Junior High School and graduated from Salinas Union High School in 1958. He attended Haitnell College and later entered the National Guard.

Stan graduated from San Jose State College with a degree in I Mechanical Engineering and went to work at Lockheed in Sunnyvale as a mechanical engineer. During this time, commuting from Salinas to Sunnyvale for several years. He loved fly fishing and was a member of the Salinas Valley Fly Fishing Club. Stan was a watercolor artist. His artwork beautifully expressed his love of the outdoors.

Stan's hobby was box turtles from OkahomaV He raised and took good care of them for many years. He was preceded in death by his father, Garnett Brannon and. mother, Rita Brannon Stillens. Affordable Gifts mmm 4 Gearlene "Gerry" Brooks Gearlene "Gerry" Brooks passed away Monday, April 6, 2009, at her home in Salinas. She was born Dec.

5, 1932, in Atoka, Oklahoma and had been a resident of Salinas for 70 years. Gerry attended Echoes from Calvary Pentecostal Church of God. Her favorite interest was watching her family race late model race cars. She also loved playing cards with her friends, bowling, quilting, baking pies and spending time with her family and friends. Gerry was preceded in death bv her mother, Jewell Grissom: 'j -J Puppet Show at 11:00 am Baby Animals on Highway 68, take Spreckets turn-off 9an6pm 455-2575 i.