Pomona, California

City of Pomona
—  City  —

Seal
Location in Los Angeles County and the State of California
Coordinates:
Country United States United States
State California California
County Los Angeles
Settled 1830s[1]
Incorporated (city) January 6, 1888[1]
Government
 - Type Council-Manager
 - City Council Mayor Elliott Rothman
Danielle Soto
Freddie Rodriguea
Cristina Carrizosa
Paula Lantz
Tim Saunders
Stephen Atchley
 - City Treasurer Douglas Peterson
 - City Attorney Arnold Alvarez-Glasman
 - City Manager Linda Lowry
Area
 - Total 22.8 sq mi (59.2 km2)
 - Land 22.8 sq mi (59.2 km2)
 - Water 0.0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation 850 ft (259 m)
Population (2008)
 - Total 162,255
 - Density 6,539.5/sq mi (2,524.9/km2)
Time zone PST (UTC-8)
 - Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code 91766
Area code(s) 909
FIPS code 06-58072
GNIS feature ID 1661247
Website City of Pomona

Pomona is the fifth largest city in Los Angeles County, California (after Los Angeles, Long Beach, Glendale, and Santa Clarita). As of the 2000 census, the city population was 149,473. In 2005, its population was estimated as 160,815.[2]

Pomona is home to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) and the Western University of Health Sciences (WesternU). Pomona College is in neighboring Claremont.

The city is the site of the Fairplex, which hosts the L.A. County Fair and the NHRA POMONA RACEWAY Powerade Winternationals Drag Racing competition. and the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals.

Since the 1980s, Pomona's newest neighborhood Phillips Ranch, experienced rapid growth with homes still being built in the hilly area between Downtown and Diamond Bar. Today, Phillips Ranch is nearly all residential. Northern Pomona has seen some gentrification with additional housing units added and revamped streetscapes.

Pomona is located in between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley.

Contents

History

1910 postcard image of Pomona Valley with Mt. Baldy in distance.

The city is named for Pomona, the ancient Roman goddess of fruit. Supplied by horticulturist Solomon Gates, "Pomona" was the winning entry in a contest to name the city. The city was first settled by Spaniards in the 1830s and the first Anglo-Americans arrived in 1868.[1] By the 1880s, the arrival of railroads and Coachella Valley water had made it the western anchor of the citrus-growing region. Pomona was officially incorporated on January 6, 1888.[1] In 2005, Pomona citizens elected Norma Torres, the first woman of Guatemalan heritage to be elected to a mayoral post outside of Guatemala.

Geography

Pomona is a suburb of Los Angeles in the Pomona Valley, located at (34.060760, -117.755886).[3] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 59.2 km² (22.8 mi²), all land.

Pomona is approximately 27 miles (43 km) east of Los Angeles, 25 miles (40 km) north of Santa Ana, 31 miles (50 km) west of Riverside, and 37 miles (60 km) west of San Bernardino.

Pomona is bordered by the cities of San Dimas on the northwest, La Verne and Claremont on the north, Montclair and Chino on the east, Chino Hills and Diamond Bar on the south, and Walnut, South San Jose Hills, and Industry on the southwest. The Los Angeles/San Bernardino county line forms most of the city's southern and eastern boundaries.

L.A. County Fair at dusk, 2008

Local sites of interest

Demographics

Pomona
Population by year [1]

2005 160,815
2000 149,473
1990 131,723
1980 92,742
1970 87,384
1960 67,157
1950 35,405
1940 23,539
1930 20,804
1920 13,505
1910 10,207
1900 5,526
1890 3,634

As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 149,473 people, 37,855 households, and 29,791 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,526.8/km² (6,544.3/mi²). There were 39,598 housing units at an average density of 669.4/km² (1,733.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 41.76% White, 9.63% African American, 1.26% Native American, 7.20% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 34.93% from other races, and 5.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 64.47% of the population.

As of 2000, speakers of Spanish as their first language accounted for 55.47% of residents, while English was spoken by 37.51%, Chinese by 0.84% of the population.[5]

There were 37,855 households out of which 49.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.3% were non-families. 15.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.82 and the average family size was 4.22.

In the city the population was spread out with 34.6% under the age of 18, 13.0% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 15.5% from 45 to 64, and 6.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 102.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.1 males.

The total employment for Pomona as of 2005 is 57,870. The top employers include Pomona Unified School District, California State Polytechnic University, Hamilton Sundstrand, Pomona Valley Medical Center, Casa Colina Center for Rehabilitation, and Lanterman Developmental Center, and a large residential facility for persons for severe/profound developmental disabilities.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,021, and the median income for a family was $40,852. Males had a median income of $30,195 versus $26,135 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,336. About 17.1% of families and 21.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.4% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Downtown Pomona Metrolink station

According to the City's 2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[6] the top employers in the city are:

# Employer # of Employees  % of Total City Employment
1 Pomona Unified School District 3,406 5.1%
2 Pomona Valley Hospital 3,080 4.6%
3 California State Polytechnic University, Pomona 2,640 3.9%
4 Lanterman Developmental Center 1,780 2.6%
5 City of Pomona 927 1.4%
6 Casa Colina Rehabilitation Center 600 0.9%
7 Verizon 596 0.9%
8 Lloyd's Material Supply (CAI) 536 0.8%
9 County of Los Angeles Department of Social Services 378 0.6%
10 Hayward Industries Inc 377 0.6%
11 First Transit 311 0.5%
12 Inland Valley Care & Rehab 301 0.4%
13 Royal Cabinets 300 0.4%
14 Pioneer Electronics 280 0.4%
15 Walmart Stores Inc 240 0.4%
16 Vertis Inc 235 0.3%
17 Hamilton Sundstrand 210 0.3%
18 Anheuser Busch 197 0.3%
19 Sheraton Suites Fairplex 190 0.3%
20 Home Depot 184 0.3%

Government

City Hall Pomona, California, 1969, Welton Becket and B.H. Anderson

Local Government

Pomona City Council Chambers

According to the city’s most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city’s various funds had $220.3 million in Revenues, $225.5 million in expenditures, $818.3 million in total assets, $520.0 million in total liabilities, and $80.6 million in cash and investments.[6]

The structure of the management and coordination of city services is:[6]

City Department Director
City Manager Linda Lowry
Finance Paula Chamberlain
Fire Chief Glynn Johnson
Human Resources William Johnson
Information Technology John Depolis
Library Greg Shapton
Community Services Steve Rudometkin
Planning & Housing Mark Lazzaretto
Police Chief VACANT
Public Works Tim D’Zmura
Utility Services Henry Pepper

County representation

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Pomona Health Center in Pomona.[7]

Politics

In the state legislature Pomona is located in the 32nd Senate District, represented by Democrat Gloria Negrete McLeod, and in the 61st Assembly District, represented by Democrat Norma Torres. Federally, Pomona is located in California's 38th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of D +20[8] and is represented by Democrat Grace Napolitano.

Education

Diamond Ranch High School

Most of Pomona and some of the surrounding area are served by the Pomona Unified School District, while portions of the northern section of the city are zoned to the Claremont Unified School District.[9] Pomona has been criticized for its construction of Diamond Ranch High School in the city's more affluent area of Phillips Ranch. Pomona contains a mix of both public and private schools.

There are two private schools that are located on Holt Blvd, being St. Joseph Elementary School and Pomona Catholic High School. The School of Arts and Enterprise is a charter high school located on Monterey Ave. and Garey Ave. Village Academy High School is also located on E. Holt Blvd and East End Ave. It is a high school that focuses on technology.

Colleges and universities

For-profit:

Media

The major daily newspaper in the area is The Los Angeles Times. La Opinión is the city's major Spanish-language paper. There are also a wide variety of smaller regional newspapers, alternative weeklies and magazines, including:

Notable residents

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 William D. Halsey, ed (1976). "Pomona". Collier's Encyclopedia. 19. Macmillan Educational Corporation. p. 232. 
  2. http://www.dof.ca.gov/HTML/DEMOGRAP/E-1table.xls
  3. "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  4. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  5. "Data Center Results - Huntington Park, California"]. Modern Language Association. http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&state_id=6&county_id=&mode=&zip=&place_id=58072&cty_id=&ll=&a=&ea=&order=r. Retrieved 2009-12-25. 
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 City of Pomona CAFR Retrieved 2009-08-14
  7. "Pomona Health Center." Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Retrieved on March 27, 2010.
  8. "Will Gerrymandered Districts Stem the Wave of Voter Unrest?". Campaign Legal Center Blog. http://www.clcblog.org/blog_item-85.html. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
  9. http://www.cusd.claremont.edu/stu/images/boundary_main.gif
  10. "Cal Poly Pomona Ranked Among Top Universities in the West". PolyCentric. http://polycentric.csupomona.edu/news.asp?id=2133. Retrieved 2008-08-27. 
  11. "The Top U.S. Architecture Schools". Architect Magazine - online version. http://www.architectmagazine.com/industry-news.asp?sectionID=1006&articleID=602885. Retrieved 2008-09-15. 
  12. "Cal Poly Pomona Rankings". Visitor & Information Centers at Cal Poly Pomona. http://www.dsa.csupomona.edu/visitors/rankings.asp. Retrieved 2008-08-27. 
  13. http://www.pom.devry.edu/

External links