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From the LA Times:

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Plight of the Hotel Children
Crime is just one of the problems facing young tenants along L.A.'s skid row. 'A lot of people want to mess with you,' says one teenage girl.
<full story>

Hahn, Rivals Court Labor Support
Candidates for mayor make the rounds of holiday events as they seek endorsements from unions in the March election.
<full story>

Officials Split on Staying the Course on Bus Lanes
The MTA wants to keep the mile-long route on Wilshire Boulevard. But L.A. city officials and the Auto Club say the path slows traffic flow.
<full story>

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From the Daily News:

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Major cities left shortchanged
Alpine County boasts two gas stations, one bar, 1,208 souls and not a single terrorist target. Tucked against the Nevada state line and cut off in winter by the snowed-in Carson Pass, it's California's least populous county. Yet, it has gotten $218.20 per person in anti-terror grants since the 9-11 attacks.
<full story>

Builders down to wire on new Valley schools
VAN NUYS -- More than 200 workers are scrambling to lay carpet, plant trees and place desks so that the San Fernando Valley's first new middle school in nearly four decades can open with the district's other traditional campuses on Thursday.
<full story>

Composite sketch of slasher done
Police released another composite drawing Monday of a man suspected of randomly attacking a number of people in the Reseda area with a knife, including a 13-year-old girl and a 58-year-old woman.
<full story>