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Five SoCal Must-Reads: 2 Cities Make 2011's 'Dumbest Local Political Scandals' List

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A big picture look at the region:

  • "A prison realignment program will send low-level offenders to county jails, depriving the state of using them to help clear brush, cut fire lines and stop infernos from spreading," says the Los Angeles Times.
  • Traffic on a portion of the 101 Freeway in San Luis Obispo County has increased dramatically over the last decade. The Paso Robles area has seen a jump from 40,000 vehicles each day to 70,000, reports Central Coast News.
  • In the last five years, 1,480 people have been wrongly incarcerated in L.A. County jails, finds the Los Angeles Times in an inquiry.
  • The first flu-related death in California this season was reported in Kern County last week, says KERO 23 Bakersfield.
  • Surprise, surprise? Two of seven "dumbest local political scandals of 2011," as tallied by The Atlantic Cities, are in L.A. County: the recent affairs in the city of San Fernando and the continuing drama in the city of Bell.

Photo by Orbitgal via KCET's Southern California Flickr Pool

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