Azusa

Azusa (Tongva: Asuksa-nga) is a city in the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 50,000 in 2020, an increase from 46,361 at the 2010 census. The city is located 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Azusa is located at 34°N 117°W. It has one sister city, Zacatecas, Mexico, and one sister town, Gladstone, New Mexico. The area was part of the Tongva peoples' (Gabrieleño Indians) homeland since at least 55 BC. A backronym, "Azusa stands for everything from A to Z in the U.S.A.," has been a phrase used to promote the city by organisations such as the Chamber of Commerce for many years. The first Mexican settlement in Azusa was at the Rancho el Susa in 1841, a Mexican land grant from the Alta California Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado to Luis Arenas. In 1844, Arenas sold the rancho's land to Henry Dalton, an English immigrant and wealthy merchant from the Pueblo of Los Angeles, for $7,000. He renamed it Rancho Azusa de Dalton, and had built a winery, distillery, vinegar house, meat smokehouse, and flour mill. Also, a vineyard was planted. In the end, Dalton owned an unbroken expanse of land from present-day San Dimas to the eastern edge of Pasadena. The Gold Line Foothill light rail line is being built on the old-of-way.

History

Azusa is the primary city name, but also Irwindale are acceptable city names or spellings. The place name Azusa dates to the Mexican Alta California era in the 19th century. It appears to have been derived from the Tongva place name Asuksa-nga. A backronym, "Azusa stands for everything from A to Z in the U.S.A.," has been a phrase used to promote the city by organisations such as the Chamber of Commerce for many years. The first Mexican settlement in Azusa was at the Rancho el Susa in 1841, a Mexican land grant from the Alta. California Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado to Luis Arenas. In 1844, Arenas sold the rancho's land to Henry Dalton, an English immigrant and wealthy merchant from the Pueblo of Los Angeles, for $7,000. He renamed it Rancho Azusa de Dalton, and had built a winery, distillery, vinegar house, meat smokehouse, and flour mill. The completion of the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad in January 1887, later sold to the Santa Fe railroad, brought new people looking for homes and investment opportunities. Part of this land boom was the short-lived town of Gladstone, which merged into Azusa in 1905. The Gold Line Foothill light rail line is being built on the old rail right-of-way. The city was officially incorporated in 1898. It was listed in the 1860 census as a township with a population of 363. The 1870 US Census listed the area as the township of Azusa El Monte Township and 1880 US Census List of San Jose and Azusa.

Geography

The city is located at the entrance to the San Gabriel Canyon, giving the city its nickname "The Canyon City" Azusa has a warm, dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F (22.0 °C) The city has a total area of 9.7 square miles (25 km²) According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Azusa have a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.Azusa has one sister city: Zacatecas, State of Zacatecs, Mexico. It is on the east side of the SanGabriel River, which is a tributary of the Colorado River. It has a population of 2,816. The city is home to the University of California, San Diego. It also has a chapter of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which was founded in 1876. It was named after the town of Azusa, California, which dates back to the 16th century. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the city's population at 2,716. It had a population in the year 2000. It's located at 34°750N 117°5425W. It experiences warm,dry summers, and no average Monthly Temperatures above 71 °F. The town has a temperature of 71.5 °C (22 0 °F) in the summer, and 71.7 °F in the winter. The average monthly temperature in the city is 71.8°F (21.7°C).

Demographics

The 2010 United States Census reported that Azusa had a population of 46,361. The racial makeup of the city was 52.35% White, 3.78% Black or African American, 1.31% Native American, 6.14% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 30.52% from other races, and 5.73% from two or more races. There were 13,386 housing units at an average density of 1,384.4 per square mile (534.5/km²), of which 6,802 (53.5%) were owner-occupied and 5,914 (46.5) were occupied by renters. In 2009, the city had a median household income of $52,001, with 20.1% of the population living below the federal poverty line. The city's population was spread out, with 12,407 people (26.8%) under the age of 18, 7,724 people (16.7%) aged 18 to 24, 13,185 people (28.4%) aged 25 to 44, 9,469 people (20.4) aged 45 to 64, and 3,576 people (7.7) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For each 100 females age 18 and over, there are 92.8 males. The average household size was 3.43. There are 12,549 households, of which 43.5% had children under 18 living with them, and 25% were non-families.

Economy

Azusa was the former home of the Lucky Lager brewery and its successor, General Brewing. Built in 1949, the facility was purchased and converted to production by Miller Brewery in May 1966. Miller relocated its operations to the nearby city of Irwindale and the Azusa facility ceased production in 1980, eventually being demolished. The top employers in the city are:Professional sports teams are the city's top employers. The city is home to the Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Galaxy football teams. The City of Azusa is located in the Central Coast region of California and is located on the Santa Catalina Peninsula. It is located near the San Francisco Bay Area and the Santa Ana River Valley. It has a population of around 2,000. The largest employers in Azusa are the City of Los Angeles and the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. It also has a number of small businesses that are based in the area. The town has a history of being home to several professional sports teams, including the California Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the California Golden Bears. The Azusa Police Department has a department that protects the city from crime and is in charge of patrolling the downtown area of the city. It was founded in the early 1900s and has been in operation since the 1950s. The police department has a budget of about $1.5 million. In the city, there are more than 1,000 law enforcement officers, including police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and firefighters. The number of residents is about 2,500.

Superfund site

Aerojet, the rocket engine manufacturer, had a plant in Azusa from World War II to 2001. In 1980, it was determined that under Aerojet's facility there was TCE water contamination in the groundwater. In 1985, the U.S. EPA declared it a Superfund Site. In 1997, additional chemical contamination, mostly NDMA and ammonium perchlorate, was found in the site's groundwater. Aerojet was named the Responsible Party for the groundwater remediation (cleanup) work and expenses. In a 2002 court decision, Aerojet and seven other San Gabriel Valley groundwater polluters agreed to provide funding to build and operate six water-treatment facilities. In 2001, Aerojet sold the property in 2001 to Northrop Grumman Corporation, but remained the responsibilites for the pollution. The SanGabriel Valley aquifer is very valuable, providing most of the drinking water in the area at a fraction of the cost of water imported by aqueducts. One of the main contaminants is per chlorate, a carcinogenic component of rocket fuels produced by Aerojet. The EPA declared the site a superfund site in 1985, and in 1997, the site was declared a Super Fund Site in 1997 and in 2002, the court decision was made. The site is located in the city of Azusa, California, and the city's groundwater basin is under the city. It is located on the San Gabriel River, which flows into the San Fernando River.

Government and infrastructure

Azusa lies along the Foothill Freeway between the San Gabriel River Freeway (I-605) and the Orange Freeway. Azusa is in California's 32nd congressional district, represented by Democrat Grace Napolitano. The city's City Council elections were held on a Tuesday after the first Monday in March in odd-numbered years until the 2017 election. On March 9, 2011, Azusa voters approved an agreement between Azusa Rock, Inc. and the city to address environmental issues associated with hillside mining in the area. The Metrolink San Bernardino Line stops nearby at Covina station and Baldwin Park station several times each day. The Gold Line operates along former Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway right-of-way purchased by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1993. The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Monrovia Health Center, serving Azusa. The City of Azusa has a public school district, with 11 traditional elementary schools and one combo school (grades K-8). The city also has a private university, AzUSA Pacific University. The mayor is Robert Gonzales, and the City Council members are elected to a four-year term and elected at-large. In the California State Legislature, the city is in the 22nd Senate District and the 48th Assembly District. The U.S. House of Representatives is represented by Democrats Susan Rubio and Blanca Rubio. The  city's main arterial streets are: Azusa Avenue (State Route 39) and Alosta Avenue (Foothill Boulevard).

In popular culture

Azusa boasted the world's first Go Kart factory as of 1958. The city's name appeared in the title of the Jan and Dean song "Anaheim, Azusa, & Cucamonga Sewing Circle, Book Review and Timing Association" in 1964. In 1971 Life magazine ran a cover story on teen pregnancy featuring a unique program for pregnant high school teens. The story focused on teenage mothers attending Citrus High School in Azusa. In Hold Back the Dawn (1941), Emmy Brown (Olivia de Havilland) recites the claim that it "stands for everything from A to Z in the U.S.A." The same happens in A Woman's Secret (1949), with Susan Caldwell (Gloria Grahame) describing the town's name as "kind of a made-up name" The city is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, near San Francisco and Los Angeles. It was once home to the California State University, San Francisco, and the University of California, San Diego. It is now a suburb of Los Angeles, with a population of more than 100,000. The town is located on the San Fernando River, which flows into the San Gabriel River. The San Fernando Valley, which runs through the city, was once part of the San Diego County, and is now part of San Diego, California. The name of the city was used as a running gag on the long-running radio comedy The Jack Benny Program.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Azusa, Los Angeles County, California = 1. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 53. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 10. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Azusa = 6.2 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 50,000 individuals with a median age of 29.5 age the population grows by 7.30% in Azusa, Los Angeles County, California population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 5,175.45 residents per square mile of area (1,998.24/km²). There are average 3.5 people per household in the 13,149 households with an average household income of $52,011 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 13.70% of the available work force and has dropped -6.24% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 13.82%. The number of physicians in Azusa per 100,000 population = 213.2.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Azusa = 22.5 inches and the annual snowfall = 0 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 44. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 287. 89 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 47.8 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 45, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Azusa, Los Angeles County, California which are owned by the occupant = 48.89%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 37 years with median home cost = $253,540 and home appreciation of -8.93%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $7.73 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,856 per student. There are 21.8 students for each teacher in the school. 12905.87% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 10.18% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 4.35% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).