Pomona, California

History

The area was originally occupied by the Tongva or Gabrielino Native Americans.

The city is named for Pomona, the ancient Roman goddess of fruit. For Horticulturist Solomon Gates, "Pomona" was the winning entry in a contest to name the city in 1875, before anyone had ever planted a fruit tree The city was first settled by Ricardo Vejar and Ygnacio Palomares in the 1830s, when California and much of the now-American Southwest were part of Mexico. The first Anglo-Americans arrived in prior to 1848 when the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo resulted in California becoming part of the United States. 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.

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 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 around the country (for which Pomona was at that time viewed as an idealized example).

Religious institutions are deeply embedded in the history of Pomona. There are now more than 120 churches, representing most religions in today's society. The historical architecture of these churches provide glimpses of the European church design and architecture from other eras.

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 an urban area of Los Angeles County in the Pomona Valley, located at 34°3′39″N 117°45′21″W (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), over 99% of it land.

Pomona is approximately 27 miles (43 km) east of downtown 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.

Climate

Pomona has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa) with hot, dry summers and mild, damp winters and a large amount of sunshine year-round. August is the warmest month with an average daytime high temperature of 92 °F (33 °C). Summers are characterized by sunny days and very little rainfall during the months of June through September. Fall brings cooler temperatures and occasional showers, as well as seasonal Santa Ana winds originating from the northeast. December is the coolest month with an average high temperature of 68 °F (20 °C). Winter also brings the majority of annual precipitation. Snowfall is virtually unheard of, but frost can occur once or twice a year. Annual precipitation averages 17.32 inches (439.9 mm).

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Pomona had a population of 149,058, a slight decline from the 2000 census population. The population density was 6,491.2 people per square mile (2,506.3/km²). 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, 282 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 45,171 (30.3%) from other races, and 6,666 (4.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 105,135 persons (70.5%).

The Census reported that 144,920 people (97.2% of the population) lived in households, 2,782 (1.9%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1,356 (0.9%) were institutionalized.

There were 38,477 households, out of which 19,690 (51.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 19,986 (51.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 6,960 (18.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 3,313 (8.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,823 (7.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 299 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 5,810 households (15.1%) were made up of individuals and 2,010 (5.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.77. There were 30,259 families (78.6% of all households); 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. The median age was 29.5 years. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.4 males.

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 rate was 5.9%. 80,968 people (54.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 63,952 people (42.9%) lived in rental housing units

During 2009–2013, Pomona had a median household income of $49,474, with 21.6% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

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. Today, Phillips Ranch is nearly all residential. Northern Pomona has seen some gentrification with additional housing units added and revamped streetscapes. Pomona Electronics was originally based in the city.

According to the City's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city and number of employees are Pomona Unified School District (3,424), Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center (3,230), California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (2,316), Lanterman Developmental Center (1,283), City of Pomona (810), Casa Colina Rehabilitation Center (688), Verizon (596), County of Los Angeles Department of Social Services (383), First Transit (320), and Cal Spas (315).

Annual cultural events

The city is the site of the Fairplex, which hosts the L.A. County Fair and the NHRA Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, (formerly known as Pomona Raceway) Powerade Winternationals Drag Racing competition.

The city also hosts the Pomona Swap Meet and the Classic Car Show. The Classic Car Show is considered by many to be a Southern California classic. It is one of seven major events hosted at the Fairplex each year.

Museums and other points of interest

Municipal 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. Regular municipal elections occur in even-numbered years. Councilmembers serve four-year terms, and the mayor is the presiding councilmember, elected at-large. The other six members are elected by districts. Every eight months, the council appoints a new vice mayor from among its members.

Mayor: Tim Sandoval

City Council members:

City manager: Linda Lowry

Financial report

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.

County representation

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

The Los Angeles County Fire Department provides fire department services for Pomona on a contract basis.

State and federal representation

In the California State Legislature, Pomona is in the 20th Senate District, represented by Democrat Connie Leyva, and in the 52nd Assembly District, represented by Democrat Freddie Rodriguez.

In the United States House of Representatives, Pomona is in California's 35th congressional district, represented by Democrat Norma Torres.

Public and private schools

Most of Pomona and some of the surrounding area are served by the Pomona Unified School District. Pomona High School, Diamond Ranch High School, Garey High School, Fremont Academy, Palomares Academy, Village Academy and Ganesha High School are PUSD's seven high schools. The Claremont Unified School District serves a small section of northern Pomona. Residents there 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 also located in the city.

There are three parochial schools located in Pomona: St. Madeleine's School (K-5th), St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School (K–8), and Pomona Catholic Middle School and High School. There is also an Islamic K-12, City of Knowledge Islamic School.

Colleges and universities

Nearby

Media

The major daily newspaper in the area is Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. 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:

Transportation

Pomona is connected to downtown Los Angeles, and to downtown Riverside via Metrolink. In addition, with the Gold Line Foothill Extension, Pomona will be connected to Los Angeles and eastern Los Angeles county via light rail, when the Gold Line extension is completed in early 2018.

Freeways

Airports

Pomona is serviced by:

Buses

Pomona is served by Foothill Transit. 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.

The service runs much more frequently than other area mass transit, and operates around the clock. 60-foot NABI articulated buses are used on this route, like the ones used on the Metro Orange Line, Metro Local, and Metro Rapid.

In popular culture