Tracy

Tracy, California
Location in San Joaquin County and the state of California
Coordinates: 37°44′17″N 121°26′2″W / 37.73806°N 121.43389°W / 37.73806; -121.43389
Country	United States
State	California
County	San Joaquin
Government
- Mayor	Brent Ives
- Senate	Michael Machado (D)
- Assembly	Cathleen Galgiani (D)
- U. S. Congress	Jerry McNerney (D)
Area
- Total	21 sq mi (54.4 km2)
- Land	21 sq mi (54.4 km2)
- Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	52 ft (16 m)
Population (2009)
- Total	81,714
- Density	2,710.9/sq mi (1,046.5/km2)
Time zone	Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP codes	95304, 95376-95378, 95385, 95391, 95377
Area code(s)	209
FIPS code	06-80238
GNIS feature ID	0277621

11th Street and Central Avenue, Tracy

Tracy is a city in San Joaquin County, California, United States, and is a suburb of Stockton. Being 7 miles (11 km) east of the Altamont Pass, Tracy serves as a suburb for the San Francisco Bay Area, as many residents commute over the congested Interstate 580 to job centers in the Bay Area.

Geography and environment

Located in the Central Valley, Tracy sits atop fertile agricultural lands, which have come under increasing development pressure as the San Francisco Bay Area's vigorous population growth has spilled over into the Tracy area as well as other locations near the Bay Area's edge. Because of the historic use of DDT on area row crops, there are residual issues of soil contamination from this substance and related persistent chemicals.^[1] There is a historic area chloroform groundwater plume associated with Georgia Pacific operations in the area. Faults considered active in the Tracy area are the Black Butte Fault, Midway Fault and Carnegie Corral Fault.^[2] The San Joaquin Fault traverses the Tracy area and is a potential source of risk for seismic events.^[3]

Demographics

As of the census^[4] of 2007, there were 81,548 people, 17,620 households, and 14,307 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,711.3 people per square mile (1,046.7/km²). There were 18,087 housing units at an average density of 861.4/sq mi (332.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 65.22% White, 5.48% African American, 0.91% Native American, 8.14% Asian, 0.55% Pacific Islander, 13.08% from other races, and 6.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 27.69% of the population.

There were 17,620 households out of which 51.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.0% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.8% were non-families. 14.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.21 and the average family size was 3.56.

In the city the population was spread out with 34.4% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 35.0% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 100.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $62,794, and the median income for a family was $67,464. Males had a median income of $50,095 versus $35,143 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,397. About 5.2% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

School districts

Two main school districts serve the city of Tracy. The largest and most recognized is the Tracy Unified School District. This school system incorporates many elementary and middle schools as well as three Tracy high schools: Tracy High School, Merrill F. West High School, and Delta Charter High School. Another high school is planned to be opened for the 2009 school year called John C. Kimball High School. The other school district is the Jefferson School District which incorporates the south side of Tracy and includes four schools:

• Jefferson Middle School
• Hawkins School
• Monticello Elementary School
• Anthony C. Traina School
• Delta Charter School

Transportation

Public transportation

Tracy is served by Tracer, a local bus service. Tracy has an Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) station, which provides commuter rail service to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Major highways

Interstate 205 passes along the north side of the city and connects the nearby Interstates 580 and 5, with the three Interstates forming an iron triangle around much of the city. In addition, Business Loop 205 runs through the center of Tracy along 11th Street, formerly a portion of U.S. Highway 50.

Aviation

Tracy is served by Tracy Municipal Airport, located south of the city. It serves general aviation; there is no scheduled airline service from the airport.

Local media

Tracy's newspaper is the Tracy Press, a twice-weekly newspaper owned since the 19th century by the Matthews family.

Sister city

Tracy's sister city is Memuro, Japan. However, Tracy's Sister City Association sends people to both Memuro and Velas in the Azores.

Media Exposure

• Tracy was mentioned in Hunter S. Thompson's book, "Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs."
• Tracy was mentioned in Jack Kerouac's book, "On the Road."
• The parade scene in the film "The Candidate" starring Robert Redford, was shot in Tracy.
• The Tracy High School football field and MVP trophy are named after Peter B. Kyne, a novelist from San Francisco whose Bohemian Club friends orchestrated the naming in 1927, even though Kyne had very little to ever do with Tracy.
• Kathy Griffin recorded her CD, "Kathy Griffin: For Your Consideration" live on February 17, 2008 at the ETK Theatre at the Grand Theatre Center For The Arts in Tracy.
• The city gained notoriety in December 2008 after a 16-year-old battered and emaciated boy - with shackled feet and wearing nothing but boxers - escaped the Tracy home where he was being held prisoner by climbing over a sound wall to a nearby fitness center. Those accused of holding the boy prisoner and of torturing him were the married couple who lived in the home and the boy's former guardian, staying in the home. All three were charged in Stockton with mass mayhem, kidnapping, and felony child abuse that could give them life sentences if they are found guilty; they are being held on $2.2 million bail each.
• Tracy was the home of Sandra Cantu, a child who was murdered in the city sometime in March or April 2009. She was reported missing on March 27, 2009. On April 6, 2009, farmworkers found her body inside a suitcase after draining an irrigation pond. On April 10, 2009 police arrested 28 year old Melissa Huckaby.^[5]

Notable Tracyites

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008)

• Sandra Cantu- a girl that went missing on March 27, 2009
• Troy Dayak - soccer player/coach
• Nick Eddy - former NFL player
• MC Hammer - musician
• Rod Lauren - singer/actor
• Richard Pombo - former United States Representative
• Keena Turner - football star
• Gary Bairos - All-American Wrestler / Tracy High School 1978-1981 / Arizona State Sun Devils 1981-1985 4 Time Pac 10 Champion. Team Captain 1980 ASU National Championship Team.

References

External links

• Official City Website

• Tracy, California is at coordinates 37°44′17″N 121°26′02″W / 37.737979°N 121.433857°W / 37.737979; -121.433857 (Tracy, California)Coordinates: 37°44′17″N 121°26′02″W / 37.737979°N 121.433857°W / 37.737979; -121.433857 (Tracy, California)

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