KID CARE: In its annual county-by-county comparison,...

KID CARE: In its annual county-by-county comparison, Oakland-based Children Now shows Ventura County making substantial improvement in luring pregnant women to clinics for early checkups (B1). . . . The number of women with late or no prenatal care fell from 727 in 1991 to 302 in 1993, the sharpest reduction in any urban county. . . . But Judy Bysshe, who chaired a countywide task force to prevent teen pregnancy, said more can always be done. “We do have programs out there to assist pregnant mothers,” she said, “but they are still very limited.”

L.A.’S BEST: A special Best of L.A. issue in the November Los Angeles magazine ranks, among other things, L.A.’s best nude beach, the best restaurant for a tryst and the best public golf course. . . . The latter honor went to the Simi Hills Golf Course in Simi Valley. . . . “We over-seeded with 22,000 pounds of rye grass,” assistant manager Warren Leary said. “The course is green and beautiful and ready to be played.”

CHUGGING ALONG: By early next century, slow-moving railroad cars should be rumbling through Ventura County citrus groves, delivering tourists--and their money--to historic downtowns (B1). . . . Last month, officials sealed a deal to purchase a 32-mile railroad corridor, culminating years of work by tourism and transit planners. . . . “The attraction of having a steam locomotive run through Ventura County is going to be unbelievable,” Fillmore Councilman Roger Campbell said.

CUT THE COMMUTE: Colleges in Moorpark and Ventura have come up with a way to reduce drive time and help keep the air clean. They offer telecommuting centers where students can plug in to their off-campus jobs. . . . The centers will offer classes to employers on how to manage telecommuters. . . . “A lot of employers manage by control; they want to see you every day,” administrator Candace Robinson said. “With telecommuting, you have to manage by objective, setting goals for the employee that both people agree on.”