Vista

City of Vista, California
Flag Seal
Location of Vista within San Diego County, California.
Country	United States
State	California
County	San Diego
Government
- Mayor	Morris Vance
Area
- City	18.7 sq mi (48.4 km2)
- Land	18.7 sq mi (48.4 km2)
- Water	0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Population (2000 - 2007 incl. Tijuana)[1]
- City	89,857
- Density	4,810.4/sq mi (1,857.3/km2)
- Metro	Incl. Tijuana: 4,922,723
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	92081, 92083, 92084, 92085
Area code(s)	760,443
Website	http://www.cityofvista.com/

Vista is a city in north San Diego County, California. It was incorporated January 28, 1963. Located just seven miles inland from the Pacific Ocean in northern San Diego County, the City of Vista has a Mediterranean climate.

Vista has more than 25 educational institutions for youth, and a business park home to over 800 companies. Vista was listed as the seventh-best place in the United States for family life, based on factors such as jobs and business opportunities, education, climate, and cost-of-living in a 2008 review.^[2]

Geography

Vista is located at 33°11′37″N 117°14′28″W / 33.19361°N 117.24111°W / 33.19361; -117.24111 According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 48.4 km² (18.7 mi²), all land.

Vista houses both the courthouse and the jail for northern San Diego County.

Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 89,857 people, 28,877 households, and 20,791 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,857.3/km² (4,810.0/mi²). There were 29,814 housing units at an average density of 616.2/km² (1,595.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.27% White, 4.24% African American, 1.00% Native American, 3.70% Asian, 0.68% Pacific Islander, 21.33% from other races, and 4.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 38.94% of the population.

Vista and nearby San Marcos had a large Japanese American community since the late 1800s. Older sections of Vista are predominantly Latino (Mexicans in particular). And there are several thousand American Jews now living in Vista, a small part of the community's multiplicity of religions and cultures. Demographers^[who?] stated Vista has a "minority-majority" population as Non-Hispanic whites are under half the city's population.

There were 28,877 households out of which 40.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.7% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.48. The FBI crime index for 2005 was 32.9 for every 1000 residents.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 16.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 99.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $42,594, and the median income for a family was $45,649. Males had a median income of $32,936 versus $25,812 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,027. About 10.0% of families and 14.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

Current estimates

According to estimates by the San Diego Association of Governments, the median household income of Vista in 2005 was $60,531 (not adjusted for inflation). When adjusted for inflation (1999 dollars; comparable to Census data above), the median household income was $49,153.

Politics

In the state legislature Vista is located in the 38th Senate District, represented by Republican Mark Wyland, and in the 74th Assembly District, represented by Republican Martin Garrick. Federally, Vista is located in California's 49th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of R +10^[4] and is represented by Republican Darrell Issa.

On a local level, the city is governed by a Mayor and City Council. The Mayor is Morris B. Vance, and the City Council Members are Bob Campbell, Judy Ritter, Steve Gronke, and Frank Lopez.

Education

The Vista Unified School District serves Vista. Vista has eighteen elementary schools, six middle schools, and six high schools, including Rancho Buena Vista High School and Vista High School. Guajome Park Academy is a charter school with joint middle and high schools that receives part of its funding from the Vista Unified School District. Alta Vista Continuation High School is another option for teens who cannot attend regular school.

Vista was mentioned in The Los Angeles Times when a group of social conservatives associated with the "Christian right" were elected to the Vista Unified School District's school board and tried to implement creationism into the curriculum in the early 1990s.^[5]

Biola University has a branch campus in Vista.

Recreation

Vista is home to two city-supported theaters: the recently updated Moonlight Amphitheatre and the Avo Playhouse. The Moonlight Amphitheatre is an open-air theater that specializes in musical productions, performing several during the course of the summer, including one youth production per season, and a winter season at the Avo Playhouse.

Vista houses one movie theater, a Krikorian Cinema which opened in fall 2003.

Two of the best-known parks in the city are Brengle Terrace Park and Guajome County Park. Brengle Terrace Park houses the Moonlight Amphitheatre, Alta Vista Gardens (a city-owned botanical garden), a baseball field, a senior center, a playground, and the city community center, where the main offices of the city's day camps are held. Guajome County Park has 557 acres (2.3 km²) of land, which is shared between Vista and nearby Oceanside. It features campsites, horse trails, and the Rancho Guajome Adobe, a National Historic Landmark.

Rancho Guajome Adobe and Rancho Buena Vista are two ranchos in Vista, built in the mid-nineteenth century, both available for touring and special occasions.

The city's Parks and Recreation Department runs the Wave Waterpark, a small but well-equipped waterpark near the downtown area open from mid-spring to early fall. Another attraction is the Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum, an open-air museum demonstrating agricultural equipment from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Vista is home of a Japanese-American Cultural Center and Buddhist Temple, one of only two in California, and over 75 other churches and temples of various denominations.

References

1. ^ World Gazetteer – San Diego-Tijuana
2. ^ 50 Fabulous Places to Raise Your Family, 3rd Ed. 2006 Kathleen Shaputis
3. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
4. ^ "Will Gerrymandered Districts Stem the Wave of Voter Unrest?". Campaign Legal Center Blog. http://www.clcblog.org/blog_item-85.html. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
5. ^ (CAROL MASCIOLA (1992, November 16). Judgment Day Approaches for Vista Schools Education: A new Christian right majority tries to reassure the community it will do a good job. But some fear there may be controversial changes :[San Diego County Edition]. Los Angeles Times (pre-1997 Fulltext),p. 1. Retrieved July 14, 2008, from Los Angeles Times database. (Document ID: 61711213)).

External links

• Official website for the City of Vista, California
• Vista Unified School District
• Vista Historical Society & Museum
• Alta Vista Gardens[1]

• Vista, California is at coordinates 33°11′37″N 117°14′28″W / 33.193549°N 117.24114°W / 33.193549; -117.24114 (Vista, California)Coordinates: 33°11′37″N 117°14′28″W / 33.193549°N 117.24114°W / 33.193549; -117.24114 (Vista, California)

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