Pomona

Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, lies partially within Pomona's city limits, with the rest being located in the neigboring unincorporated community of Ramona. The city is named after Pomona the ancient Roman goddess of fruit. In 2005, Norma Torres, the first Guatemalan woman elected to a post outside of Guatemala, would become a U.S. congresswoman representing a 35th congressional district in 2015. In the 1920s Pomona was known as the "Queen of the Citrus Belt", with one of the highest per-capita levels of income in the United States. There are now more than 120 churches, representing most religions in today's society. Pomona Mall was a downtown pedestrian mall, recognized by the Los Angeles Conservancy as an outstanding example of Mid-century modern and modern architecture and design. The eastern end is now part of the Western University of Health Sciences, while the western end houses numerous art galleries, art studios and restaurants. According to the United Census Bureau, the total area of Pomona is 22.9 square miles (34.060,117 km) Pomona Valley is 30 miles (48 km) east of Los Angeles, located at 34°N 117°4521W (117°W 117°W) In the 1940s it was used as a movie-previewing location for major motion picture studios to see how their films would play to modally middle-class audiences.

History

Pomona is the primary city name, but also Phillips Ranch, Phillips Rnch are acceptable city names or spellings. "Pomona" was the winning entry in a contest to name the city in 1875, before anyone had ever planted a fruit tree there. The city was first settled by Ricardo Véjar and Ygnacio Palomares in the 1830s, when California and much of the now-American Southwest were part of Mexico. In the 1920s Pomona was known as the "Queen of the Citrus Belt", with one of the highest per-capita levels of income in the United States. In 2005, Pomona citizens elected Norma Torres, the first woman of Guatemalan heritage to be elected to a mayoral post outside of Guatemala. There are now more than 120 churches, representing most religions in today's society. Pomona Mall was a downtown pedestrian mall, recognized by the Los Angeles Conservancy as an outstanding example of Mid-century modern and modern architecture and design. It was completed in 1962, one element in a larger plan of civic improvements covering the whole city. The eastern end is now part of the Western University of Health Sciences campus, while the western end now houses numerous art galleries, art studios and restaurants. The site of Spadra is 3 miles (4.8 km) west of the Pomona Station along Pomona Blvd. just east of the 57 (Orange) Freeway. The Southern Pacific Railroad had a terminus at Spadra, but the line was extended east to Colton, and Spadra lost momentum. In 1964, the area was annexed by Pomona.

Geography

Pomona is 30 miles (48 km) east of Los Angeles in the Pomona Valley. It is located at 34°339N 117°4521W (34.060760, -117.755886) According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.964 square miles (59.48 km²) It 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, Walnut, South San Jose Hills, and Industry on the southwest, and the unincorporated community of Ramona on the west. The Los Angeles/San Bernardino county line forms most of the city's southern and eastern boundaries. It has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa) with hot, dry summers and mild, damp winters and a large amount of sunshine year-round. Snowfall is virtually unheard of, but frost can occur once or twice a year. Annual precipitation averages 17.32 inches (439.9 mm) in Pomona. The city is home to the Cal Poly Pomona College of Environmental Design (1971) and the Fox Theater Pomona (1931) The Pomona Mall (1962) is also located in the city. It was built by Millard Sheets and the Los Angeles Conservancy in the 1960s and 1970s.

Demographics

The 2010 United States Census reported that Pomona had a population of 149,058, a slight decline from the 2000 census population. The racial makeup of Pomona was 71,564 (48.0%) White (12.5% Non-Hispanic White), 10,924 (7.3%) African American, 1,763 (1.2%) Native American, 12,688 (8.5%) Asian of which is Chinese. The most common ancestries in Pomona are German, English, Italian, Irish and French. The median household income was $49,474, with 21.6% of the population living below the federal poverty line. The average household size was 3.77, and the average family size was 4.15. The population was spread out, with 43,853 people (29.4%) under the age of 18, 20,155 people (13.5) aged 18 to 24, 42,311 people (28.4) aged 25 to 44, 31,369 people (21.0) aged 45 to 64, and 11,370 people (7.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. There were 39,620 housing units at an average density of 1,771.8 per square mile (684.1/km²), of which 21,197 (55.1%) were owner-occupied, and 17,280 (44.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0%; the rental vacancy rates was 5.9%.

Economy

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. Northern Pomona has seen some gentrification with additional housing units added and revamped streetscapes. Pomona had two malls, the pedestrian Pomona Mall downtown and the Indian Hill Mall, both now defunct as malls per se, but still dedicated to retail and other uses. The city's top employers in the city and number of employees are Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center (3,230), Pomona Unified School District (3, 034), California State Polytechnic University (2,440), Fairplex (1,071), Casa Colina Rehabilitation Center (1, 020), City of Pomona (661), and County of Los Angeles Department of Social Services (350). Pomona Electronics was originally based in theCity. The Pomona City Council has a majority of African-American voters. The City Council is made up of four African-Americans, two Latinos, and two Asian-Americans. The mayor is a Democrat, and the city council is made of three African- Americans, two Hispanics and one Asian-American. The top employer in Pomona is Pomona County, with a total of 3,230 employees. The number of residents in the City is 2,440, with the majority of residents living in the South Valley. The average household income is $60,000. The most common city crime rate is 1.3%.

Arts and culture

The city is the site of the Fairplex, which hosts the L.A. County Fair and the Pomona Swap Meet & Classic Car Show. The city is also home to the NHRA Auto Club Raceway at Pomona (formerly Pomona Raceway), which hosts Winternationals drag racing competition. Pomona is home to several museums and other points of interest, including the Glass House, Phillips Mansion, Cal Poly Pomona, and the American Museum of Ceramic Art. The Pomona Ebell Museum of History is located in the Arts District of Pomona. The Fairplex is the home of the annual Los Angeles County Fair, which is held seven times throughout the year. It is also the location of the National Museum of American History, which has a collection of more than 1,000 works of art. The fair is held in the city's fairgrounds, which are open to the public on the first Sunday of each month. The town also hosts a number of other cultural events, such as the annual Pomona International Car Show, which takes place on the second Sunday of the month. It also hosts the annual L.C. County Swap Meet and Classic Car show, held on the third Sunday of every month. In the summer, the city hosts a car show for car parts and accessories on the last weekend of the summer. It has a museum of art and culture called the Museum of Art and Design, which houses works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, and others.

Government

Pomona was incorporated on January 6, 1888, and adopted a charter in 1911, making it a charter city. The city is governed by a seven-member city council. The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Pomona Health Center in Pomona. Pomona is in the California State Legislature, represented by Democrat Caroline Menjivar. In the United States House of Representatives, the city is in California's 35th congressional district. The L.A. County Fire Department provides fire department services for Pomona on a contract basis. The council appoints a new vice mayor from among its members every eight months. The mayor is the presiding councilmember, elected at-large, and the other six members are elected by districts. According to the city's most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the various funds had $220.3 million in revenues, $225.5 million in expenditures, $818.3million in total assets, $520 million in total liabilities, and $80.6 million in cash and investments. The Pomona City Council is made up of seven members; the mayor is Tim Sandoval, who is elected for a four-year term. The president of the council is John Nolte, who was elected for his first term in 2010. The City Council also has a city manager, James Makshanoff, who has been in charge of the city for the past four years. The U.S. House of Reps is represented by Democrats Norma Torres and Freddie Rodriguez.

Education

Most of Pomona and some of the surrounding area are served by the Pomona Unified School District. There are four parochial schools of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles located in Pomona. Cal Poly Pomona is located southwest of the junction of the 10 and 57 freeways. Western University of Health Sciences, (formerly known as College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific) is located south of Highway 10 off Towne Avenue. Mt. San Antonio College, located in Walnut, California, is adjacent to CalPoly Pomona, west of the 57 Freeway. Pomona College was founded in 1887, but moved to neighboring Claremont, California in 1889. It is now part of the Claremont Colleges. The city is located on the site of breakfast cereal magnate W.K. Kellogg's ranch on the city's western corner. The university has over 24,000 students and covers an area of over 1,437 acres (5.82 km²). The university is known for its agricultural, hospitality, engineering and architectural programs. Some campus areas are also located in. Walnut and the unincorporated community of Ramona. The Pomona High School, Diamond Ranch High School and Ganesha High School are PUSD's seven high schools. Residents in northern Pomona are zoned to Sumner Elementary School, El Roble Intermediate School, and Claremont High School. The School of Arts and Enterprise, a charter high school, is located in the city.

Infrastructure

Pomona is connected to downtown Los Angeles and to downtown Riverside via Metrolink and is connected by Amtrak via the Sunset Limited and the Texas Eagle. The Silver Streak is Foothill Transit's bus rapid transit line operating between eastbound to Montclair and westbound to Downtown Los Angeles. Omnitrans bus line 61 runs throughout downtown Pomona. Pomona is serviced by:Ontario Airport (ONT), located 12 miles (19 km) away, John Wayne Airport (SNA), formerly called the Orange County Airport, located 30 miles (48 km), Long Beach Airport (LGB), located 35 miles (56 km), and Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR), located in Burbank, 42 miles (68 km) Away from the city is Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), located 45 miles (72 km) The city is also served by the San Bernardino Freeway and the Chino Valley Freeway, both of which are located in the city of San Bernardino. The Pomona Police Department is based in the town of Pomona, which is located in San Bernardino County, California. The city has a population of 2.2 million (2.3 million in Los Angeles County). Pomona was once the largest city in the state, but is now a suburb of Los Angeles, with a population in excess of 1.5 million (1.7 million in L.A. County). The city was once one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, but has fallen behind in recent years.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Pomona, 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 52. 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 Pomona = 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 151,713 individuals with a median age of 29 age the population grows by 5.91% in Pomona, Los Angeles County, California population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 6,600 residents per square mile of area (2,500/km²). There are average 3.92 people per household in the 39,110 households with an average household income of $49,594 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 14.00% 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 13.52%. The number of physicians in Pomona per 100,000 population = 213.2.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Pomona = 17 inches and the annual snowfall = 0 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 35. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 285. 91 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 38.3 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 46, 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 Pomona, Los Angeles County, California which are owned by the occupant = 54.51%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 42 years with median home cost = $180,480 and home appreciation of -25.13%. 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 $4,942 per student. There are 22 students for each teacher in the school, 6450 students for each Librarian and 1536 students for each Counselor. 5.12% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 8.76% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 3.72% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).