Salinas, California
Salinas is the
county seat and largest municipality of
Monterey County in the
U.S. state of
California, and it is also known as the
"Salad Bowl" of America. As of the 2000 census, the population within the city was 151,060, with a metropolitan area of 412,104. The city's development in the 19th century may have been a
WASP response to the predominantly Italian fishing community of
Monterey.
Salinas' economy is largely based upon
agriculture. Located in one of
California's richest farming regions, the area produces a variety of
fruits and
vegetables, including
lettuce,
strawberries,
watermelons,
broccoli,
carrots,
cabbages, and
spinach.Therefore many major vegetable producers are headquartered in Salinas.
Salinas was also the birthplace of writer
John Steinbeck. The recently revitalized historic downtown is home to the National Steinbeck Center and the
John Steinbeck Library. The city is currently meeting with local developers to build a high-rise hotel and condominum complex. As of now, no defenite decision has been made but development of one of the proposal is likely to proceed in the coming months.
Salinas is located at (36.683859, -121.643128).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 49.2
km² (19.0
mi²), all land.
The city lies approximately 18
meters (59
feet) above sea level and is located roughly eight miles from the
Pacific Ocean coast, at the mouth of the Salinas Valley. The Gabilan and Santa Lucia mountain ranges border the city to the east and south, respectively. Both mountain ranges and the Salinas Valley run approximately 90 miles south-east from Salinas towards
King City.
|
On 10 March 2006, a record breaking storm covered many of the nearby mountain tops in a white blanket of snow. |
Salinas enjoys cool and moderate temperatures due to the "natural
air conditioner" that conveys ocean air and fog in from the
Monterey Bay to Salinas while towns to the north and south of Salinas experience hotter summers as mountains block the ocean air. Thus Salinas weather is closer to that of the
Central Coast of California rather than that of inland valleys and thus enjoys a mild
Mediterranean climate with typical daily highs ranging from the low 50s (°
F) in the winter to the low 70s (°F) in the summer. The difference between ocean and air temperature also tends to create heavy morning fog during the summer months (known as the
marine layer) driven by an
onshore wind created by the local high pressure sunny portions of the
Salinas Valley which extend north and south from Salinas and the Bay.
The average annual rainfall for the city is approximately 242.3
mm (9.5
in). On rare occasions there is snowfall on the peaks of the
Gabilan and
Santa Lucia mountain ranges, which border, respectively, the east and west sides of the
Salinas Valley.
|
New homes in the city's northern Harden Ranch neighborhood. |
As of the
census of 2000, there were 151,060 people, 38,298 households, and 30,025 families residing in the city. The
population density was 3,068.1/km² (7,948.4/mi²). There were 39,659 housing units at an average density of 805.5/km² (2,086.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.10%
Hispanic, 45.16%
White, 5.90%
Asian American, 3.27%
African American, 1.26%
Native American out of which 49.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.6% were
married couples living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.6% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.66 and the average family size was 4.07.
In the city the population was spread out with 32.0% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 15.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 113.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $43,728, and the median income for a family was $44,669. Males had a median income of $35,641 versus $27,013 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $14,495. About 12.8% of families and 16.7% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 20.1% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.
The Salinas Municipal Airport is located on the southeastern boundary of the City of Salinas, three miles from city center. It is an excellent, well-constructed, general aviation facility occupying 763 acres, with three runways serving single and twin engine aircraft and helicopters, as well as an increasing number of turbopropeller and turbine-powered business jets.The airport has an air traffic control tower in operation twelve hours/day, 7 days/week. The Airport Terminal is located on Mortensen Avenue and houses Airport Office staff as well as professional offices. The City is currently accepting proposals for leasing and operation of the restaurant located within the Terminal.The airport has a full Instrument Landing System (ILS) and a Very High Frequency Omni Directional Range (VOR) located on the airport. The ISL has a Medium Intensity Approach Lighting System, with Runway Alignment Indicator Lights. The VOR approach has Runway End Identifier Lights. All but the ILS runway, RWY 31, have Visual Approach Slope Indicators (VASIs).FAA Identifier: SNSLat/Long: 36-39-46.0520N / 121-36-22.8970W36-39.767533N / 121-36.381617W36.6627922 / -121.6063603(estimated)Elevation: 84 ft. / 25.6 m (surveyed)Variation: 16E (1980)From city: 3 miles SE of SALINAS, CAZip code: 93905Airport Operational StatisticsAircraft based on the field: 224 Single engine airplanes: 160 Multi engine airplanes: 49 Jet airplanes: 1 Helicopters: 14
Aircraft operations: avg 237/day
57% transient general aviation 40% local general aviation 2% air taxi <1% military
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Northridge Mall is the largest shopping mall in both Salinas and Monterey County. |
Salinas is known as the "Salad Bowl of the World," and for good reason. Over 80% of the lettuce grown in the United States is grown in the Salinas Valley. According to the 2000 US Census, 24% of the population worked in sales and office occupations, 21.4% worked in management, professional, and related occupations, 16.2% worked in service occupations, 14.9% worked in farming, fishing, and forestry occupations, 14.4% worked in production, transportation, and material moving occupations, and 9.1% worked in construction, extraction, and maintenance occupations.
|
An average 1,800 sq ft home in the city's desirable north-western district valued at roughly $700k |
While the median household income in Salinas remains at $44,669, the
median home price now lies in excess of $630,000 according to the Monterey County Realtors Association. This means that when financed through a regular 30 year loan at 5.7% interest with a $100,000 downpayment, the mortgage payment on an average 1300+ sq ft home would be in excess of $3,000 a month. Assuming a household spends 50% of all net income on housing an annual gross income of $95,932 would be required. If the household only spends 30% of all net income on mortgage payments an annual gross income of $143,899 would be required. Only 8.54% of households in Salinas have six-figure incomes, excluding many from a housing market in which fixer-uppers start in the 500,000's.
|
Ranch style home in North Salinas |
During the first half of this decade, the Salinas city government struggled to deal with funding shortages. A downturn in the state economy, combined with an unusually low per-capita tax base, forced the city to curtail certain services. During the crisis, Salinas almost became the first city in the
United States to close its libraries. However, an outpouring of private donations provided an ample stop-gap measure, keeping the libraries open with reduced hours. Donations were raised through
Rally Salinas!, a grassroots fundraising organization launched by the city's mayor, to keep the libraries open through 2005.
In November 2005, voters approved a tax measure to fund several vital services in the city, including libraries, by a 61 percent vote. The measure, known locally as Measure V, will provide some $11 million in funding to take affect in the 2007 fiscal year. The measure will allow the city to start restoring more than $15 million in service cuts including the closure of three recreation centers and the elimination of graffiti abatement and crossing guard money for schools. An independent oversight committee was appointed by the City Council to oversee the money raised by the tax increase, which will be in place for the next 10 years. In April 2006, the committee recommended dedicating 70% of revenues to restoring
library and police services.
In 2006, the city's financial situation was considerably improved, as Salinas officials announced a budget surplus.
One of the city's most serious problems is violent crime. The problem has become a large priority for the Salinas police. Salinas' violent crime rate is relatively high. In 2004, there were 11.4 murders per 100,000 residents, more than twice the national average of 5.5. However, historic trends suggest improvement. The number of aggravated assaults fell from 844 in 1993 to 661 in 1998.
Gang activity is responsible for a substantial portion of violent crime in Salinas. In 1998, local police estimated that 17% of all violent crimes were gang related. Partners for Peace, a local gang prevention and youth welfare group, cites the city's low literacy rate and high population density due to lack of affordable housing as aggravating factors. The County of Monterey launched a gang task force early this year in an effort to fight the problem of gangs, the Monterey County Joint Gang Task Force is composed of personnel from the Monterey County Sheriff's Office, Probation Department, District Attorney's Office and the Salinas Police Department. During the fall, the Sheriff's Office and the Salinas Police Department placed orders for a total of seven cars that will allow task force members to use their own equipment. The cars will feature radio and computer systems that can communicate across both Sheriff's Office and police frequencies. To increase their visibility to gang members, the cars are painted black with the words "Gang Task Force" written in silver across the sides, making them distinct from the black-and-white cars used by regular patrol officers.
*Labor leader
César Chávez was once a "temporary resident" as he was jailed in the Monterey County Jail for his labor-related protesting.
*
Vanessa Anne Hudgens, from the Disney Channel Movie High School Musical.
*
Ernie Irvan, a former
NASCAR driver, resides here.
*Joseph Robert Kapp, an American football quarterback, Minn. Vikings standout, labeled "Toughest Chicano" in the NFL by Sports Illustrated.
*
Xavier Nady, an American baseball player for the Pittsburg Pirates. He also played with the New York Mets and the San Diego Padres (while not a current resident of Salinas, Nady was raised in Salinas).
*
Giovanni "Van" Partible, creator of cartoon character Johnny Bravo.
*
John Steinbeck (1902-1968) was born and raised in Salinas. "I remember Salinas, the town of my birth, when it proudly announced it had reached four-thousand citizens.. even those people who joy in numbers and are impressed with bigness are beginning to worry, gradually becoming aware that there must be a saturation point and the progress may be a progression toward strangulation. And no solution has been found." (
Travels with Charley (1961))
The Monterey/Salinas metro area is served by a limited variety of local television stations, and is the 125th largest designated market area (DMA) in the U.S. with 218,080 homes (0.198% of the U.S.). Those stations are:
Channel 8:
KSBW - (
NBC) - Salinas
Channel 15/22:
K15CU/KMUV - (
Telemundo) - Monterey/Salinas/Santa Cruz (Simulcast of
KSTS 48).
Channel 25:
KCAH - (
PBS) - Watsonville (Simulcast of San Jose's
KTEH)
Channel 33:
KDJT - (
Telefutura) - Monterey
Channel 35:
KCBA - (
Fox) - Salinas
Channel 43:
KMCE - (
Azteca America) - Monterey/Salinas
Channel 46:
KION - (
CBS) - Monterey
Channel 67:
KSMS - (
Univision) - Monterey
The Monterey/Salinas area lacks an ABC (
American Broadcasting Company) affiliate since 2000, when
KNTV was purchased, and subsequently became the NBC station for the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose metropolitan area. KNTV, now known as
NBC11, later moved its transmission tower from Loma Prieta Peak (located between San Jose and Santa Cruz) to San Bruno Mountain, north of San Francisco International Airport, therefore ceasing its signal coverage in Monterey and Salinas. A microwave relay feed of
KGO-7, the ABC affiliate out of San Francisco, is available through the local cable provider (
Comcast).
*
Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital; City of Salinas
*[http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/Admin/Airport/ADairprt.html/ City of Salinas Airport
*[http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/ City of Salinas Official Web Site*
Monterey County Realtors Association*
Newspaper serving The City of Salinas*
Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau*
National Steinbeck Center Salinas*
Salinas City Police Department
