Orinda, California

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This article refers to the city of Orinda. For other "Orinda" articles, see Orinda (disambiguation).

Orinda is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 17,599 at the 2000 census.

Orinda is a well-known bedroom community in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is home to many wealthy professionals who commute to downtown Oakland, San Francisco and Walnut Creek.

Originally a rural area mainly known for ranching and summer cabins, the town's popularity as a year-round place to live increased after the Caldecott Tunnel was completed. It provides a shorter trip to access points west, including San Francisco. Bisected by Highway 24 leading quickly to urban attractions, this suburban area is framed by its rolling hills covered with grass and oak trees.

It is home to four elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. One of the most popular sports in the area is swimming, and Orinda has several swim clubs that compete for a recreational championship cup in mid-August every year, the OMPA (Orinda Moraga Pool Association). Orinda is also home to the popular year-round swim team, Orinda Aquatics, which practices at Campolindo High School in Moraga, California.

Contents 1 Geography 2 Demographics 3 Schools 4 Famous Current or Former Residents 5 Sister Cities 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Geography

Orinda is located at 37°52′56″N, 122°10′30″W (37.882358, -122.175123)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 32.7 km² (12.6 mi²). 32.6 km² (12.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.32%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 17,599 people, 6,596 households, and 5,243 families residing in the city. The population density was 539.7/km² (1,398.2/mi²). There were 6,744 housing units at an average density of 206.8/km² (535.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.6% White, 0.5% Black, 0.15% Native American, 9.24% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.64% from other races, and 2.84% from two or more races. 3.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,596 households out of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.3% were married couples living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.5% were non-families. 16.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 7.66 and the average family size was 0.98.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 20.5% from 25 to 44, 32.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $117,637, and the median income for a family was $132,531. The per capita income for the city was $65,428. About 1.3% of families and 1.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.3% of those under age 18 and 1.7% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Schools

The Orinda school system is noted for its excellence in all levels by California standards. The town's only high school, Miramonte, is a part of the Acalanes Union High School District. The only middle school is Orinda Intermediate School (a.k.a. OIS). The four public elementary schools are Sleepy Hollow Elementary, Wagner Ranch Elementary, Glorietta Elementary and Del Rey Elementary. The middle and elementary schools comprise the Orinda Union School District, the highest ranked K-8 school district in California^[1].

[edit] Famous Current or Former Residents

• Dana Sparks, actress/spokesperson "Falcon Crest", "Passions" "L.A. Law", "L'Oreal", "Mercedes Benz", etc.
• Gary Radnich, news broadcaster
• Claudell Washington, former Major League baseball player
• Ken Dorsey, former quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers
• Will Wright, computer game designer of games such as SimCity and The Sims
• Drew Bennett, NFL wide receiver of the Tennessee Titans
• Members of Green Day, a punk rock band
• Bob Freeman, talk show host
• Adonal Foyle, current star Golden State Warriors center and founder of Democracy Matters
• Owsley Stanley, audio engineer and legendary psychedelic chemist. A raid on his Orinda ranch house in December 1967 reportedly found a lab with 250,000 hits of LSD.
• Susan Polk, Orinda housewife sentenced to 16 to life for the murder of husband, Felix Polk. Immortalized in Catherine Crier's book, "Final Analysis: The Untold Story of the Susan Polk Murder Trial."

[edit] Sister Cities

Moraga, California
Lafayette, California

The cities of Orinda and Lafayette, along with the town of Moraga, are collectively known as "Lamorinda."

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official City of Orinda Website
• A brief history of Orinda

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 37.882358° -122.175123°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA