Visalia Times-Delta from Visalia, California • 3

TIMES-DELTAADVANCE-REGISTER WEEKEND, NOVEMBER 6-7, 2010 3A BACKGROUND Daniel Schorl's death: Firefighters responded to a mobile home fire around 9:45 a.m. in the 2500 block of Palm Road, Pixley. Fire destroyed the home; Schorl's body was inside. An autopsy showed no soot in his lungs, suggesting Schott, 45, was dead before the fire started. Classified a suspicious death; the sheriff's department continues to investigate.

between Schott and possible gang members may have contributed to his death. Those people may have had ties to gang members controlled by a larger organization, says resident and laborer Frank Martinez, who works in orchards near Schott's home. Martinez says while there are few details, he believes gang members may have returned to the home and killed Schott as retaliation for an earlier fight over the tractor. Again, the sheriff's department says town theories are unfounded. "It's scary that the death hasn't been solved yet.

The killer is still out Martinez said. "I know the family and hope this gets done fast. But there are a lot of things in Pixley that go unsolved." Schott's family, most of whom live in the Pixley and Tipton areas, need closure, his brother said. "It's very tough to only be able to speculate on what happened to my Rusty Schott need closure. He was a good man and deserves at least that." MYSTERY Continued from page 1 A detectives continue to investigate the death of the 45-year-old, but have denied theories coming from Pixley residents.

When news hit Pixley, population 2,701, theories spread quickly. The sheriffs department, which has classified the case as a suspicious death, has yet to provide answers publicly. "Rumors get started when a small town gets talking," resident Mike Montgomery said. Investigation continues "Everything that is going around right now is rumors. There is no evidence to support any of them," said Sheriff's Sgt.

Chris Douglass." We are waiting for the toxicology report before going further." Uncertainty has left Pixley residents with time for their own theories. Schott, a fitness buff, had lived alone in his mobile home for several years. He worked on the family farm and sold fitness equipment he designed. "He was a nice, quiet guy. Spent time fixing things and never bothered nobody," neighbor Earline Whitt said.

"I never really saw anyone over there, so I thought he may have been lonely. But he was religious." Several Pixley residents say Schott struggled with drug use for most of his life and which may be linked to his death. The Sheriffs Department ordered a toxicology report, due in the next couple of weeks. Some Pixley residents fear Schott was a victim of a drug deal gone bad. On the morning of Oct.

10, Sofia Uria heard a truck with what she described as a muffler problem, come and go from the Schott house at least twice. Her dog Jake began barking around. 2 a.m. and never stopped. She saw the truck drive north down Palm Road, stop and then head back to the house.

By the time the fire started, the truck was gone. "There was definitely SOLDIER Continued from page 1A resides in Hesperia, just north of San Bernardino, she states on her page. Brett Land attended Westfield Elementary School and Burton Intermediate School in Porter-ville but attended high school in Bakersfield and was, among other notable accomplishments, a highly regarded wrestler as a child and young man. Transportation of Brett Land's body from Afghanistan to Porterville is expected to take place by Tuesday. Porterville airport officials said that a paving project on the runway will be done in time to accept the airlifted body.

However, the airplane could land atVisalia Municipal Airport as part of a backup plan if the Porterville runway remains under repair, officials say. Explosive device involved The Army reported that Brett Land died when an improvised explosive device, built and detonated by insurgents, blew up while Land's unit was on duty in the Zhari district of Afghanistan. At the time, Land was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. Kenny Land, Brett's father, who has worked for the Sierra Forest Products in Terra Bella for 42 years, reported to various local media this week that his son felt he was doing something good in serving in the military overseas. Kenny Land resides in Camp Nelson, while Brett's mother, Gretchen Land Rileigh, lives in Wasco, near Bakersfield.

Flags were flown at half-staff starting Monday in the state Capitol area in Sacramento, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced. "Spec. Brett Land was an honorable solider among our country's bravest men and women," Schwarzenegger said in a prepared statement. "His loyalty and dedication to our country is truly inspirational, and we are forever indebted to his service." Kenny Land said that up to 2,500 visitors are expected at Wednesday's services, and that an unbelievable outpouring of support has streamed to the family over the Internet.

Full military honors are planned. 1 CHEESE Continued from page 1A eight in Colorado, three in New Mexico, two in Nevada and one in California. No deaths have been reported, but nine people were sick enough to be hospitalized, the FDA said. One possible case of hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure, was reported, the agency said. for a refund, Costco Assistant President Craig Wilson said has voluntarily removed the from its stores and used purchase records to notify other consum FDA, CDC and Costco are together on the investigation.

first results of Costco's own were expected Friday, Wilson a telephone interview. information had been as of press time. Symptoms of E. coli infection include bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramps, dehydration and, in severe cases, kidney failure. The FDA advised anyone experiencing those symptoms to contact a health care provider.

The cheese is manufactured by Bravo Farms north of Visalia. The FDA said it and California state officials have begun an investigation at Bravo Farms. Consumers should return any remaining Bravo Farms Gouda to Nebraska court won't weigh in on city's immigration measure USDA: Grocery store prices to keep climbing nance is discriminatory and contrary to what is allowed by state law. U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp has said she wasn't sure which court should hear the lawsuits because they suggest the ordinance violates both state and federal laws.

She asked attorneys to craft the language of a question to be answered by the Nebraska Supreme Court that would indicate whether the ordinance is valid under state law. The question was submitted to the high court in September. A clerk in Smith Camp's office said Friday that the judge hadn't received formal notification of the high court's order, so no decision has been made on the future of the case. A message left for the judge wasn't immediately returned. Cynthia Dixon, a Los Angeles-based attorney for MALDEF, said she thought it was appropriate to ask the Nebraska Supreme Court to weigh in, though the refusal wasn't unexpected.

In this photo taken Sept 30, Dionne Spikes and her half sister Melinda Patterson, right shop for food at a Cincinnati Kroger store. movement over there. Jake barked every time Danny was around," she said. "The truck was just idling there in the driveway and then was gone." The next thing Uria knew, Schott's home was on fire. Left without answers Two tractors, a car and two trucks are some of just a few items that remain from the fire.

Rusty Schott says the items belonged to his brother and the Schott family. Neighbors fear one of those tractors specifically an argument over it THE ASSOCIATED PRESS price increases. McDonalds, General Mills, Kellogg, Kraft and Kroger are also raising prices. "Right now, our projections are 2 to 3 percent inflation overall, meaning that for both restau "The overall job picture in October was much better than anticipated. Services sectors led the parade.

Retailers have begun to hire for the holiday shopping season. With consumers in a better mood, it is hoped that they will splurge during the season." Among the newly hired is Kelly Paolino, who said she landed a job last week after looking for more than a year. Paolino, 30, took a 10 percent pay cut to become an entertainment assistant in New York City. Yet after 12 months of job hunting, she said, just about any position seemed attractive. "I would get up in the morning and sit down in front of the computer for hours looking for job postings," Paolino said.

"I did it for 10 or 11 hours a day. It became my full-time job." Despite the hiring gains, unemployment isn't expected to budge much this year. Economists think it could take until near the end of this decade to drop the jobless rate to a more normal 6 percent. "Even though the economy is no longer in recession, the unemployment rate is coming down very slowly," Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told college students Friday in Jacksonville, Ha. There were 14.8 million people unemployed in October.

Adding those people to others who are working 1 IHIwWJft(Ji Costco Vice Costco cheese ers. The working The testing said in But.no released Hiring spurt in October eases jobs crisis a bit The Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. The Nebraska Supreme Court won't weigh in on whether municipalities can enact immigration-related restrictions on where people can live or work, the court said in an opinion issued Friday. A federal judge had asked the state's highest court to consider the legality of local restrictions as she hears a lawsuit challenging the city of Fremont's ordinance barring illegal immigrants from renting or working there. The high court said the request didn't allege a violation of state law, so it won't take up the question.

Fremont voters approved the ordinance in June, but it has yet to go into effect. The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska and the Mexican American Legal Defense Educational also known as MALDEF, have challenged the ordinance. The groups, whose lawsuits have been combined, say the voter-approved ordi- Banks fail in 3 states The Associated Press WASHINGTON Regulators shut down four banks Friday, bringing the total of 2010 failures to 143. That tops the 140 shuttered last year and is the most in a year since the savings-and-loan crisis two decades ago. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

took over Bank, based in Randallstown, with $538.3 million in assets, and Pierce Commercial Bank, based in Tacoma, with $221.1 million in assets. The FDIC also seized two California banks: Western Commercial Bank in Woodland Hills, with $98.6 million in assets, and First Vietnamese American Bank in Westminster, with assets of $48 million. First California Bank, based in Westlake Village, is acquiring the assets and deposits of Western Commercial Bank. Heritage Bank, based in Olympia, is taking the assets and deposits of Pierce Commercial Bank, while Los Angeles-based Grandpoint Bank is assuming the assets and deposits of First Vietnamese American Bank. rants and grocery stores you'll see average of about 2.5 percent higher prices.

USDA Senior Economist Eprhraim Liebtag said. The price of coffee is up significantly, so Starbuck? is going to charge more for larger drinks. A world food chain, sorts, is the explanation for this food inflation. Higher demand for meat in emerging markets like China is increasing demand. Collapse of the Russian grain crop has hurt supply and that means higher feet! prices.

The other significant factor is the decreasing value of the U.S. dollar. Some companies say they will not raise prices but they will change their packaging. That means you won't pay more but you will get less. part-time but would prefer full-time jobs and those who have given up looking for work, nearly 27 million are "underemployed." That's 17 percent of the labor force.

It's down a bit from September's 17.1 percent. Still, the new "underemployed" figure remains close to a record high set last year. Economists say it would take up to 300,000 new jobs a month to reduce the unemployment rate significantly. The crater of losses created by the recession will take years to emerge from. To date, 7.5 million jobs have vanished, since December 2007, when the recession started.

At the current pace of job creation, it would take roughly seven years to recover those losses. Most of the job gains last month came from the lower-paying services sector. Those jobs also tend to have few, if any, benefits. Retailers added nearly 30,000 jobs last month.Tem-porary-help firms added nearly 35,000 jobs. Administrative and support services jobs grew by 41,000.

Bars and restaurants added 24,400 jobs. Higher-paying jobs at factories were cut by 7,000. The construction industry added 5,000 jobs. Accounting and bookkeeping jobs shrank by nearly 5,000. Jobs at hospital grew by 5,100, while computer designer jobs were up 7,500.

Gannett DENVER You will pay more or get less: An economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture says you will soon be spending more money to eat. Prices will go up for most consumers because prices are increasing for companies that provide the food. "What we purchase the most of is butter and cheese, and it has just continually gone up since probably about June," said Sally Weissman with the Great Harvest Bread Co. The price of dairy, meat, eggs and wheat has gone up more than 10 percent from last year.

Sugar and corn have hit new highs in the past two months. As a result, food sellers argue they have no choice but to pass on some of the expense to you. "We try not to, but if it Ik1T- 17. I ill 'if mm THE ASSOCIATED PRESS In this Sept. 16 photo, a sign says "we're hiring" at an American Apparel store in the downtown shopping district of Santa Monica.

ing faster so that people who need work can find it faster." Earlier this week, voters angry over the jobs shortage handed control of the House of Representatives to Republicans. The Senate stayed in Democrats' hands. The split will make it harder for Obama to enact any major economic initiatives. There's little appetite among Republicans to provide a fresh dose of government spending to stimulate the economy. They warn against further swelling the nation's $1.3 trillion budget deficit.

House Speaker-to-be John Boehner of Ohio said the top of his to-do list is extending tax cuts passed i continues to go up we'll have to," Weissman said. Inflation Safeway grocery store is one of many major companies already announcing during President George W. Bush's first term, which expire at the end of the year, and cutting government spending. "Our economy will ultimately recover, but it will do so because of hard work and entrepreneurship, not more of the same Washington spending sprees and job-killing policies the American people have repudiated so loudly and clearly," Boehner said after the latest employment figures were released. When government job cuts which totaled 8,000 last month are factored in, the economy added 151,000 jobs in October, the Labor Department's report showed Friday.

It marked the first increase in total payrolls in five months. All the momentum came from private companies. "Companies are starting to deploy their cash stash and increase hiring, as consumers are opening their wallets a little wider," said Sal Guatieri, economist at BMO Capital Markets Inc. That all bodes well for helping energize the fragile economy. The Federal Reserve's announcement that it will buy $600 billion in bonds, to lower interest rates and try to get Americans to spend more, might also lift the economy.

"The employment market may have gone through an inflection point," said economist Sung Won Sohn of California State University. The Associated Press WASHINGTON The jobs crisis eased a bit in October as companies stepped up hiring, suggesting further gains ahead. Still, hiring remains far too weak to drive down unemployment, now stuck at 9.6 percent. And the newly elected Congress will come under pressure to take action to accelerate job growth. The burst of hiring 159,000 net jobs added by private employers nevertheless raised hopes that companies are finally emerging from the hiring stall seen during much of the summer.

The previous big spurt of job growth a healthy 241,000 came in April. Private companies have added jobs for 10 straight months. That shows that recession-battered companies have regained some appetite to hire after slashing jobs for nearly two straight years in a row. While saying he was pleased with the improvement, President Barack Obama conceded the economy still isn't creating enough jobs for the nearly 15 million people out of work. Reaching out to the new Congress, which convenes in January, the president said he is "open to any idea, any proposal, any way we can get the economy grow-.