Rosemead, California: Difference between revisions

City of Rosemead
City
Seal
Location of Rosemead in Los Angeles County, California
Country	United States
State	California
County	Los Angeles
Incorporated (city)	1959-08-04
Government
• Mayor	Gary Taylor
Area
• Total	5.15 sq mi (13.35 km2)
• Land	5.15 sq mi (13.33 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.02 km2)  0.18%
Elevation	318 ft (97 m)
Population  (January 1, 2009)
• Total	57,594
• Density	11,190.4/sq mi (4,320.63/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP Code	91770-91772
Area code	626
FIPS code	06-62896
GNIS feature ID	1656611
Website	http://www.cityofrosemead.org/

Rosemead is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of 2009, it has a population of approximately 57,594. Rosemead is part of a cluster of cities, along with Arcadia, Temple City, Monterey Park, San Marino, and San Gabriel, in the west San Gabriel Valley with a growing Asian population.

History

Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, the area around Rosemead was populated by native Americans of the Tongva or Gabrielino ethnic group. In 1771, the Spanish founded the first San Gabriel mission in the area that is now known as Whittier Narrows on the border between Montebello and Rosemead. In 1775, the mission moved to avoid the spring floods that ruined the first crops, to its present location in San Gabriel.

During the Spanish colonial period the area now covered by the City of Rosemead was part of the land administered by the San Gabriel Mission. After Mexican independence, the land was distributed to private citizens as part of the Mexican government's Secularization Act of 1833. The southern part of Rosemead was part of Rancho Potrero Grande (Large Pasture) which was originally granted to an native American man named Manuel Antonio, who was a "mayordomo" (overseer) at the San Gabriel Mission. The 4,431-acre (18 km²) ranch was later transferred to Juan Matias Sánchez.

Following the Mexican-American War and the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe which transferred sovereignty over the territory now known as the State of California to the United States, Anglo-American immigration began to flow to the area. In 1852, John Guess and his wife Harriet moved into the San Gabriel Valley from Conway County, Arkansas. In 1855 the couple camped where present-day Savannah Elementary School is located on Rio Hondo Avenue. They rented land afterwards as the years passed. In 1867, John Guess purchased 100 acres (0.4 km²) of a 1,164-acre (5 km²) ranch and named it Savanna. The land stretched from Valley Boulevard to Marshall Street, and from Rosemead Boulevard to the Eaton Wash.

Other pioneers, Frank Forst and Leonard J. Rose, also settled in this valley. Rose and his wife Amanda bought about 600 acres (2.4 km²) of land between what is now Rosemead Boulevard and Walnut Grove Avenue. Rose bred and trained horses for a living. He later named his ranch "Rosemeade." The name Rosemeade was later shortened to Rosemead and adopted by the community, and the area flourished with various rabbit and chicken farms.

On August 4, 1959, the citizens elected to incorporate Rosemead into a city.

Emergency services

Fire protection in Rosemead is provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department with ambulance transport by Guardian Ambulance Service. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department provides law enforcement, operating out of the Temple City Station.

Economy

Edison International, the international family of companies providing electric services, is headquartered in the city. Southern California Edison and serves Rosemead, as well as much of Southern California. The University of the West (formerly known as Hsi Lai University) moved to its current location in Rosemead in 1996. It is one of the very first Buddhist funded university in the United States. Rosemead School of Psychology was named after its original location in Rosemead. This school was the first independent professional school of psychology in the nation to be accredited by regional accrediting association. Rosemead School of Psychology is now located in La Mirada, but still keeps the city name. The Chinese cuisine fast food chain Panda Restaurant Group is headquartered in Rosemead. The Chinese-Vietnamese Sriracha red chili sauce (known to many as Rooster sauce) manufacturer Huy Fong Foods, Inc. (匯豐食品公司) is also based in the city.

Controversies over the development of a Wal-Mart Supercenter, in a residential section in the southern portion of the city, have been bitterly longstanding. It opened on September 13, 2006. A recall election to remove two council members that supported the Wal-Mart, Jay Imperial and Gary Taylor, was set for September 19, 2006. The voters defeated the recall in a 60 to 40 percent majority vote. However, in the general elections that followed shortly thereafter on March 6, 2007, Polly Low defeated incumbent and former recall target Jay Imperial, garnering the highest vote count among the five candidates vying for the two open seats on the council. Margaret Clark, Steven Ly, and Sandra Armenta, swept their elections on March 3, 2009. As of March 2010, Gary Taylor is serving his fourth term as mayor succeeding Margaret Clark. Steven Ly is mayor pro tem.

Top employers

According to the City's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

#	Employer	# of Employees
1	Southern California Edison	4,000
2	Garvey School District	953
3	Wal-Mart	420
4	Panda Restaurant Group	400
5	Rosemead School District	337
6	Target	200
7	Hermetic Seal	139
8	Doubletree	90
9	Don Bosco Technical Institute	90
10	Marge Carson	80
11	Irish Construction	75

Geography

Rosemead is located at 34°4′14″N 118°4′56″W (34.070428, -118.082312).Template:GR

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.3 km² (5.2 mi²). 13.3 km² (5.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.19% is water.

The city is bordered to the north by San Gabriel and Temple City, to the east by El Monte, to the south by the unincorporated area of South San Gabriel and Montebello and to the west by San Gabriel and Monterey Park.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1960	15,476		—
1970	40,972		164.7%
1980	42,604		4.0%
1990	51,638		21.2%
2000	53,505		3.6%
source:

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 53,505 people, 13,913 households, and 11,632 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,011.3/km² (10,398.3/mi²). There were 14,345 housing units at an average density of 1,075.5/km² (2,787.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 26.57% White, 0.68% African American, 0.85% Native American, 48.76% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 19.69% from other races, and 3.38% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 41.30% of the population.

There were 14,110 households out of which 40.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.7% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.1% were non-families. 16.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.70 and the average family size was 4.19.

In the city the population was spread out with 6.5% under the age of 5, 76.9% over the age of 18, and 15.2% over the age of 65. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 102.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $44,115, and the median income for a family was $46,327. Males working full time had a median income of $31,599 versus $28,456 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,072. About 11.6% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.6% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

In the State Legislature Rosemead is located in the 24th Senate District, represented by Democrat Gloria Romero, and in the 49th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Mike Eng. Federally, Rosemead is located in California's 32nd congressional district, which has a Partisan Voting Index of: Cook PVI D +17. When Representative Hilda Solis was confirmed as The United States Labor Secretary, her position became vacant. Her successor, Judy Chu was determined in a runoff election on July 14, 2009. Judy Chu was sworn in on July 16, 2009.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) operates the Temple Station in Temple City, serving Rosemead.

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Monrovia Health Center in Monrovia, serving Rosemead.

Education

Rosemead is served by two elementary school districts: Garvey School District and Rosemead School District. Each of these districts overlaps with a high school district; the former overlaps with the Alhambra Unified School District and the latter overlaps with a portion of the El Monte Union High School District.

There is one public high school--Rosemead High School)--in the city and three public middle schools: Muscatel Middle School, Richard Garvey Intermediate School and Temple Intermediate School. Don Bosco Technical Institute is located in Rosemead.

University of the West has also been located in Rosemead since 1996. The Buddhist-founded campus is located at 1409 N. Walnut Grove Ave. UWest is Rosemead's only WASC accredited campus.

Places of interest

The Dinsmoor Heritage House is a bijou museum that houses, preserves and displays a showcase of the colorful and rich history of the City of Rosemead. Once a private home, it was built in the late 1920s by Adelberrt Dinsmoor, son of one of Rosemead's pioneers, Raphael Dinsmoor. Currently closed to undergoing refurbishing, it will again conduct monthly tours and host a variety of special events when completed. It is located at 9642 Steele Street.

The Marinelli Stadium, named in memory of Rod Marinelli, formerly the head coach of the Detroit Lions, is located at Rosemead High School. "Rod Marinelli Stadium" appears in lights above the scoreboard and an encrypted bronze marker is placed at the southern edge of the field on a large stone.

There are two Community Centers in Rosemead that offer multi-purpose facilities for a large variety of occasions as well as senior activities, adult education programs, youth and adult classes, as well as two preschools.

The City is nearing completion of plans to completely renovate from the ground up, both city aquatic centers to bring them into "the 21st century." Rosemead Aquatic Center will feature swim, water polo and diving facilities as well as swim classes and recreation areas. Garvey Aquatic Center will be a state of the art recreational aquatic facility featuring water slides, interactive play areas and a lesson pool. Showers at both pools will be updated for resource efficiency. The city hopes to have these planss completed in time for the summer of 2011.

Savannah Pioneer Cemetery

Before the Civil War, many Southern families settled in El Monte, then called Lexington. The community of Rosemead, then called Savannah, is located adjacent to El Monte and is situated above the water table. The slightly elevated land made it the logical alternative as the burial site for residents of swampy Lexington. The first known burial was in 1846, five years before most of the settlers arrived. Today the 5 1/2 acre cemetery, with 200 plots remaining of its original 3,000, is privately owned by the El Monte Cemetery Association. When the City of Rosemead started to widen Valley Boulevard in the 1920s, construction crews unearthed dozens of corpses outside the fence of the cemetery. The majority of the skeletons were reburied in a mass grave inside the cemetery proper, but some were so deteriorated that the workers left them undisturbed and simply paved over them so that more graves are scattered under Valley Boulevard and beneath area businesses. The area also was an Indian burial ground before the corpses of settlers filled the place. Savannah Pioneer Cemetery is located near the intersection of Mission and Valley Blvds. It is reputed to be the oldest Protestant cemetery in Los Angeles County. The El Monte Cemetery Association, incorporated in 1920, is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the cemetery. The association's funding comes from private donations and fundraising activities.

Shopping

A small portion of the Montebello Town Center is actually located within Rosemead city limits. It features major department stores, smaller shops and a small food court. The boundary line between Montebello and Rosemead runs through the eastern end of the mall. Policing is provided by the City of Montebello.

There is an Asian Shopping Center in Rosemead, formerly The Diamond Square Shopping center it features many restaurants and many Chinese shops. It is located on Garvey Blvd. Also nearby, is The Square Supermarket featuring Korean and Vietnamese foods. Rosemead Square Shopping Center is located in Rosemead near the South El Monte and El Monte City limits.

Salary schedule, City officials

In light of the recent scandals involving neighboring towns, Rosemead has publicly posted its salary schedule for the city officials. [1]

Notable residents

• Audio Karate
• Isaias Hellman, German-Jewish banker and philanthropist, and a founding father of the University of Southern California.
• Taboo (rapper)
• Toscha Seidel, violinist
• Vikki Carr, (singer)
• Bob Mackie, (fashion designer)
• Rod Marinelli, (Assistant head coach, Chicago Bears)
• Prima J
• Jose Flores, (MLB baseball player)
• Arturo Yepez, (interior designer)
• Carl from Rosemead, (Jim Rome radio show regular]
• Jonathan Vera, (writer)

Sister cities

• Keelung, Taiwan
• Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico

External links

• City of Rosemead
• Committee for a Clean and Beautiful Rosemead
• LA County Disaster Communications Service ( DCS ) Temple Station
• Rosemead Chamber of Commerce
• Rosemead Kiwanis Club Community information resource including links to schools, spiritual organizations etc. for service club active in promoting after school, community health and similar programs.
• Rosemead PRIDE a group that promotes business and community development; leads the pro-Wal-Mart camp
• Save Our Community a community group fighting Wal-Mart in Rosemead
• Rosemead Rebels Youth Football
• Rosemead School District
• Garvey School District
• Rosemead High School
• University of the West
• El Monte Cemetery