Ashland

Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Interstate 5 approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the California border and near the south end of the Rogue Valley. The city is the home of Southern Oregon University (SOU) and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) The city's economy depends on restaurants, galleries, and retail stores that cater to tourists. Lithia Park along Ashland Creek, historic buildings, and a paved intercity bike trail provide additional visitor attractions. Ashland has a council-manager government assisted by citizen committees. Historically, its liberal politics have differed, often sharply, with much of the rest of southwest Oregon. In 1887, Portland, Oregon and San Francisco, California were joined by rail at Ashland. Until 1926, when most rail service began taking a different route (east through Klamath Falls to avoid the steep grade through the Siskiyou Mountains), Ashland thrived on rail trade of local products, including pears, peaches, and apples. Many of Ashland's historic buildings have been preserved and restored. The historic districts have 48 individual structures and the Downtown Addition District and Downtown District are on the National Register of Historic Places. The Enders Building (home of the Columbia Hotel), from 1910 to 1928, contained the largest mercantile establishment between Sacramento and Portland between 1910 and 1928. The town engaged John McLaren, landscape architect of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, to design the park, renamed Lithia Springs Park.

History

Ashland is a city in Oregon, United States. It is located on Ashland Creek. The city has 48 individual structures and two historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival was founded in Ashland in 1935 and has become an award-winning regional theater company. The town is home to the Columbia Hotel, which was the largest mercantile establishment between Sacramento and Portland from 1910 to 1928. The Ashland Railroad Addition District and the Downtown District are listed on the N.R.P.L.A. list of historic buildings. The City's name was changed from "Mills" to "Ashland" in 1871. In 1887, Portland, Oregon and San Francisco, California were joined by rail at Ashland. Until 1926, when most rail service began taking a different route (east through Klamath Falls to avoid the steep grade through the Siskiyou Mountains), Ashland thrived on rail trade of local products, including pears, peaches, and apples. In 1908 the Women's Civic Improvement Club petitioned for the creation of community space along Ashland creek, which became Ashland Canyon Park. The discovery of lithia water near Emigrant Lake around the same time led to a plan to establish a mineral spa at the park. Although the park was popular, the mineral spa plans proved too expensive for local taxpayers and were abandoned in 1916. During the Fourth of July celebration in 1935, Angus L. Bowmer arranged the first performances of what would become the Oregon Shakespeare festival.

Geography

Ashland is at 1,949 feet (594 m) above sea level in the foothills of the Siskiyou and Cascade ranges. On average, precipitation falls in Ashland on 114 days each year and totals about 20 inches (510 mm) The average annual snowfall is only 1.4 inches or 0.04 metres. The coolest month is December, with an average high temperature of 47 °F or 8.3 °C, and the warmest month is July. The wettest month on record has been December 1964 with 11.28 inches (286.5 mm), but the only other months with over 8 inches or 203.2 millimetres have been December 1996 with 10.89 inches (276.6 mm) and November 1998 with 8.03 inches (204.0 mm). The coldest day of the year averages around 34 °F (1 °C) or just above freezing. Warm summer nights are rare, with the record set as far back as 1910 at a mild 74 °C (23 °F) The mean summer night between 1991 and 2020 was a mild 62 °F (17 °C). Ashland is about 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Medford and 285 miles (459 km) south of Portland. Ashland lies within Oregon's southwest interior climate zone, in which all but the higher-elevation sites are in the rain shadow of the Oregon Coast Range to the west. Although the mountain peaks in this zone receive up to 120 inches or 3,050 millimetre of precipitation a year, the urban areas and the valleys in which they lie generally get 20 inches or less.

Demographics

In the 2010 census, there were 20,078 people, 9,409 households, and 4,542 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was about 90% White, 2% Asian, 1% African American, 1% Native American, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 1.4% from other races, and. 4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were about 5% of the population. The median income for a household in theCity was $41,334, and the median income. for a family was $58,409. The per capita income for the city in 2010 was $28,941. About 21% of residents and 13% of families had incomes below the poverty line. The city's population is about 46% male and 54% female. The average household size was 2.03 and the average family size was2.63. The age of the average resident is 42.9 years, and about 16% are under the age of 18. About 16% were between the ages of 18 and 24, and 21% were from 25 to 44 years old. In 2010, about 30% of those under 18 and 3.5% ofThose 65 and older were living below the income of the City's median income of $40,000. The City's population was about 20,000 people, and its population density was 3,047 inhabitants per square mile (1,176/km²).

Government

Ashland has a council-manager government consisting of a city manager, a mayor, and six council members. The mayor and council members are elected by the city's voters to serve staggered four-year terms. Current mayor Julie Akins was elected to her first term in 2020. In the presidential election of 1860, Ashland favored Abraham Lincoln while its neighbors strongly preferred pro-slavery candidates. In more recent elections, liberal Ashland has supported tax levies and environmental regulations opposed by voters elsewhere in Jackson and nearby counties. Critics sometimes refer to the city as the People's Republic of Ashland. At the federal level, Cliff Bentz, a Republican, represents Ashland as part of Oregon's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both Democrats, serve the state of Oregon in the U.S. Senate. Pam Marsh, a Democrat from Ashland, represents all of Oregon House District 5 in the state legislature. Ashland is represented by Democrat Jeff Golden in the Oregon Senate District 3. The city has a population of about 2,000 people, about half of whom live in Ashland and the rest in nearby Jackson County. The town has a history of supporting women's suffrage and prohibition, generally out of step with the rest of the region. It also has a long history of support for environmental regulations, which have been opposed by other voters in Jackson County and elsewhere in the area. It has a reputation for being a hotbed of liberalism.

Economy

In 2011, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival sold more than 390,000 tickets to its theater productions. Southern Oregon University has a faculty and staff of more than 750. The Bathroom Readers' Press, which produces the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader books, is based in Ashland and San Diego. Brammo, specializing in battery-electric motorcycles, was based inAshland but moved to Talent. In 2010, the Shakespeare Festival employed about 500 people, the hospital about 400, the public schools about 300, and the City of Ashland about 250. The town's largest employer is SouthernOregon University (SOU), which has aFaculty and Staff of over 750. In addition to the university, health-service providers make significant contributions to the economy. Businesses related to outdoor recreation, transportation, technology, and light manufacturing are also important. The city's economy is based on tourism, which is important to the town's residents. The economy is also based on business, such as outdoor recreation and transportation, which are important to Ashland's residents, as well as the city's business, including the hospital, schools, and public schools. In 2011, Ashland had a population of 2,788. The population of Talent was 1,838. The City's economy was based on businesses, including restaurants, galleries, and retail stores, which make up about 20 percent of the city. The Town's economy relies on tourism and other sources of income. The tourism industry makes up about 10 percent of Ashlands' economy.

Arts and culture

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival has grown from a summer outdoor series in the 1930s to a season that stretches from February to October. In 2009, Ashland was the setting for the film adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Coraline. The National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland is the world's only laboratory dedicated to solving crimes against wildlife. The Ashland City Band was organized in the late 19th century as the Ashland Brass Band. The band used an octagonal gazebo-style bandstand in Lithia Park until the Butler Memorial Band Shell was built in 1946. The ACB gives public concerts there each summer between June and August. The Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University focuses on academic programs including creative arts (art, emerging media and creative writing), music, and theatre. The Schneider Museum of Art has rotation exhibitions of works featuring professional contemporary artists. Also affiliated with the center are chamber music concerts, a Shakespeare institute, a piano series, and other art-related events. The annual Ashland New Plays Festival (ANPF) is a nonprofit organization that encourages playwrights to develop new work through public readings. Each year, the ANPF holds an international competition that winnows hundreds of submissions to four plays that are read to live audiences by professional actors during a five-day festival in October. The OSF has become the largest regional repertory theater in the United States. It has three theaters: the Oregon Cabaret Theater, the Oregon Dinner Theater, and the Oregon Shakespeare Theater.

Parks

Lithia Park is a 93-acre (38 ha) park, including 42 acres (17 ha) on the National Register of Historic Places. It includes two ponds, a Japanese garden, tennis courts, two public greens, a bandshell (outdoor stage) and miles of hiking trails. A hiking and biking path, the Bear Creek Greenway, begins in Ashland near the intersection of West Nevada Street with Helman Street. The 18-mile (29 km) path follows Bear Creek between Ashland and Central Point and passes through Talent, Phoenix, and Medford.Calle Guanajuato is a small park bordering Ashland Creek, with several restaurants offering outdoor dining. The name Lithia comes from natural mineral water found in the Ashland area. It has a strong mineral taste and slight effervescence, and the lithia water fountains found on the town plaza are frequently tasted by unsuspecting tourists (often at the behest of residents or frequent visitors who use the fountain as a cheap, humorous Ashland initiation rite). The name lithia is also used to refer to the town of Ashland, where the town's name is derived from lithia, which is a type of mineral. The town is located on the eastern edge of the San Francisco Bay Area and is known as the "City of Lithia" The town has a population of about 3,000. It is located in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains, about 30 miles (50 km) north of San Francisco.

Education

Southern Oregon University, a public co-ed four-year university founded in 1926, offers courses of study toward degrees in the liberal arts, science, business, and education. In 202021, about 59 percent of the university's students were women, and about 38 percent were men. Full-time undergraduate tuition in 202021 was about $11,000 per year for Oregon residents and $28,000 for non-residents. Ashland High School was ranked 1,395th best among the nation's public high schools and 15th best in Oregon by U.S. News & World Report as of 2013. The Ashland School District oversees three elementary schools, one of which is a magnet school focused on science and the arts; one middle school; one high school; and a community learning center.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Ashland, Jackson County, Oregon = 68.2. 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 60. 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 99. 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 Ashland = 3.2 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 21,360 individuals with a median age of 39.1 age the population grows by 12.80% in Ashland, Jackson County, Oregon population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 3,218.81 residents per square mile of area (1,242.84/km²). There are average 2.09 people per household in the 9,830 households with an average household income of $38,840 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 11.40% of the available work force and has dropped -5.23% 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 18.14%. The number of physicians in Ashland per 100,000 population = 267.8.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Ashland = 19.4 inches and the annual snowfall = 7.1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 105. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 198. 87 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 29.7 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 66, 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 Ashland, Jackson County, Oregon which are owned by the occupant = 49.06%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 30 years with median home cost = $320,360 and home appreciation of -8.39%. 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 $10.16 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 $7,557 per student. There are 13.5 students for each teacher in the school, 388 students for each Librarian and 333 students for each Counselor. 6.94% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 29.14% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 21.18% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).