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Rangers roll past Redskins in quarterfinals (Visalia Times-Delta / Tulare Advance-Register)
If Hanford is going to face a serious challenger for its West Yosemite League crown this season, odds are it’s going to be the Redwood Rangers and the Rangers may just have a Polly Wilhelmsen Invitational title by the end of the week to prove it.

Pop Music: Rita Hosking: Down from the mountains (The Sacramento Bee)
Rita Hosking with her band, Cousin Jack. Band mates are, from left, husband Sean Feder, Bill Dakin and Andy Lentz. “People say home is where the heart is, and (the mountains of eastern Shasta County area are) where my home was, definitely. It was such a wild and rich upbringing,” says Hosking. The roots of Davis folk singer-songwriter Rita Hosking’s music go deep into a California gold …

Bay Area people of note who died in 2008 (San Francisco Chronicle)
A restaurateur. A lion keeper. A breast cancer activist. A heroine in the AIDS epidemic. A nightclub singer, Bayview-Hunters Point community activist, World War II hero and key figure in the Free Speech Movement. They were among the thousands of people who…

Pitman perfect in tournament (Modesto Bee)
CERES — Pitman High’s Edgar Lopez scored 22 points, hitting five 3-pointers, as the Pride topped Central Valley 69-54 Wednesday to win the Ceres Holiday Tournament.

Valley set to kick off 2009 decked in gray (The Fresno Bee)
Dense fog on this first day of the new year followed by a chance of rain on the weekend will make sunshine a rarity for the next several days in the central San Joaquin Valley.

Meetings on Friday, January 2, 2009 (Merced Sun-Star)
Clubs

Huskies in Polly semifinals (The Hanford Sentinel)
VISALIA — Local basketball fans hoping for a sneak peek at next Wednesday’s West Yosemite League boys basketball opener between Hanford West and Lemoore will just have to wait for the real thing. Hanford West held up its end of the deal on the second day of the 58th annual Polly Wilhelmsen Invitational by defeating Granite Hills (Porterville) 77-56 Tuesday night, but Lemoore fell short of …