The historic gold rush town of Mariposa will be ghoulishly decorated for its annual Halloween Downtown on Oct. 31.  That evening, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., visitors will mix with locals at the town’s Annual Halloween Carnival held at the Mariposa County Fairgrounds.  Sponsored by the Mariposa Lions Club and presented by Mariposa Safe Families, Inc. the carnival will include game booths, prizes, food, a fire safety house, tub o’ treats and other family .Sponsored by Mariposa Lions Club.

New ‘Leopard’ operating system puts Macintosh OS X ahead of Windows Vista (Pioneer Press)
If you’re in the market for a Macintosh computer, now is a good time to buy. l Apple has just released a fifth major upgrade to its Mac OS X operating system. Dubbed “Leopard,” the software replaces “Tiger” and adds hundreds of fresh features that make a Mac purchase all the more enticing.

Park Service veteran leaves sun, swamps (Anchorage Daily News)
One of Alaska’s most popular national parks has a new leader — one from clear across the country.

The tricks for safe haunting (Rocky Mountain News)
Halloween costume? Check! But does your young ghoul have a flashlight? Do you know the best neighborhoods - the ones that hand out full-size Snickers bars?

Some homes beat the heat (Chicago Tribune)
Design, landscaping helped withstand fires in California LAKE ARROWHEAD, Calif. The hand-painted sign in front of the home, one of just a handful still standing amid mind-boggling destruction, credited a higher power for the house’s unlikely survival: “We believe in miracles.”

Hanford, Lemoore advance in playoffs (The Sentinel)
OAKHURST — No. 11-seeded Hanford High rallied to knock off No. 6 Yosemite 5-4 in the first round of the Central Section Division II girls tennis playoffs on Wednesday.

Desrochers leads Golden West to victory (Visalia Times-Delta)
The Golden West boys water polo team defeated Redwood 14-4 in a West Yosemite League match on Thursday.

‘The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Simple Home Repair’ by Judy Ostrow (Los Angeles Times)
The delight is in the details of this guide. Nuggets of information and illustrations are helpful and clear. WHEN you first pick up “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Simple Home Repair,” you may not be overly excited; it may not give you that “gotta-have-it” feeling. But don’t set it aside too quickly.

GW can’t keep up with Tigers (Visalia Times-Delta)
At halftime, it appeared that Golden West was ready to spring the upset against Lemoore in a West Yosemite League contest on Friday night.

Badgers comback falls short; lose to Redskins 35-28 (Sierra Star)
In life and in football, all good things come to an end. For Chowchilla, Friday’s visit to Badgers Stadium resulted in a 35-28 victory over the Yosemite Badgers and the conclusion of its eight-game losing streak.

Final goodbye for Bob’s Big Boy (The Fresno Bee)
The former Bob’s Big Boy at Blackstone Avenue and Auto Center Drive in Fresno is being razed to make way for the city’s newest Taco Bell.

Fab Five: Games to watch (The Fresno Bee)
No. 11 Buchanan (5-3) at No. 9 Clovis East (5-3) Meaning: Buchanan, which is 3-0 in the Tri-River Athletic Conference, could clinch at least a tie for its first league championship since 2000, when it also won a Central Section title.

Hispanic chamber enjoys regrowth (The Fresno Bee)
Six years ago, the Central California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce was in turmoil.

Rangers get No. 2 seed in Division 1 (Visalia Times-Delta)
The four time defending West Yosemite League champion Redwood Rangers got the No. 2 seed in the Division 1 Valley team playoffs on Monday.

Valley’s foothill residents wary, but not regretful (Daily Bulletin)
Sharon Wilson of San Dimas keeps one eye on the hills and the other on the news coverage of the fires ravaging communities throughout Southern California.

Miners on a roll (Visalia Times-Delta)
El Diamante’s volleyball team rolled to its third straight West Yosemite League match win with a 3-0 sweep of Redwood in the Rangers’ gymnasium.

Larkspur Hospitality wins battle at Presidio (BizJournals)
Larkspur Hospitality has been selected to build a hotel on the Presidio’s main parade ground, beating out finalist Joie de Vivre Hotels for the coveted assignment.

Children detach from natural world as they explore the virtual one (San Francisco Chronicle)
Yosemite may be nice and all, but Tommy Nguyen of San Francisco would much prefer spending his day in front of a new video game or strolling around the mall with his buddies. What, after all, is a 15-year-old supposed to do in what John Muir called “the…

Sikhs laud new airport rules for passengers with turbans (The Fresno Bee)
Many Valley Sikhs who felt singled out by new federal rules that give screeners more discretion to inspect turbans are breathing a sigh of relief after learning they won’t be forced to remove their turbans after all.

Redskins escape Delano with win (Visalia Times-Delta)
Tulare Union quarterback Bobby Barnes threw three touchdown passes and ran in for another as the Redskins rallied in the second half to beat Delano 27-21 in an East Yosemite League game on Friday night in Delano.

Hello, Columbus (The Columbus Dispatch)
Just back from a trip? Where did you go? What did you do? Travel would like to share your experience:

Prep Tennis: Lemoore rules in WYL doubles (The Sentinel)
VISALIA It was an all-Lemoore finals in doubles play, which also included section qualifiers from Hanford West to highlight Kings County finishers in the West Yosemite League girls tennis tournament Friday afternoon at Redwood High School.

Hanford teams meet Monday (The Sentinel)
HANFORD — The Hanford High Bullpups will try to rebound from their first-match play loss of the season when they play at Hanford West in a West Yosemite League volleyball match Monday night at 6:30.

Badgers win shootout at the Dos Palos corral convincingly, 48-30 (Sierra Star)
Even though Dos Palos set school records on offense, the Yosemite Badgers football team roped in the Broncos with a convincing 48-30 North Sequoia League victory in the rain last Friday night at Bill Hume Stadium in Dos Palos.

The stunning rock formations and towering waterfalls; enjoying Yosemite generally means looking up. That’s until now. … (KOLO 8 Reno)
A park spokesperson says they have people who come to the park for solitude and recreation, but they also have people who are techno-savvy. 40 different topics are offered, including park history, video, trail maps, even a puppet character named Ranger Bill for children.

YHS girls are 8-2 in NSL tennis (Sierra Star)
The Yosemite High School girls tennis team wrapped-up its North Sequoia League schedule with an 8-2 record.

Young Tulare Western girls golf squad takes second in EYL (Tulare Advance-Register)
The Tulare Western Mustangs appear to have enough talent on the roster to seriously contend for the East Yosemite League and Central Section team titles in 2008 and 2009.

Yosemite Show-and-Tell Gadgets Debut (News10 Sacramento)
It’s not what most hikers think of taking with them when they tour Yosemite’s spectacular sights, but it’s available anyway.

Hanford squeaks out win over GW (The Sentinel)
HANFORD — While the Hanford High Bullpups have won all of their West Yosemite League volleyball matches this season, they haven’t necessarily had an easy time doing so.

Yosemite Has Some Hi-Tech Help to Get Visitors Back to Nature (KFSN-TV Fresno)
Handheld video tour guides are now being used at the park.

Momologue Blog: A Near-Deaf Mom With An Autistic Kid (KERO 23 Bakersfield)
Genevieve Choate lives in Fresno and works for the Fresno Bee and Yosemite Writers. She also writes Momologue , a blog about being a near-deaf mom with kids, especially an autistic kid.