INFLATION: Consumer prices jumped in January (A1),...

INFLATION: Consumer prices jumped in January (A1), but high costs are nothing new in Orange County. . . . Although prices in much of Southern California once lagged behind the national average, they overtook the rest of the nation in 1986 and the gap (above) has continued to widen. . . . Chapman College economics professor James L. Doti said the higher price index here can be blamed on higher rents and higher average incomes chasing too few goods. That trend should continue in 1990, he said, since job growth here is expected to be double that of the nation.