La Cañada Flintridge, California

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1 Pronunciation
2 Geography
3 Weather
4 History
5 Demographics
6 Education
7 Media
8 City Government
9 Community organizations
10 Points of interest
11 References
12 External links

[edit] Pronunciation

The name for La Cañada Flintridge comes from the Spanish word la cañada, meaning gorge, ravine. In Spanish, this is prounounced (IPA: [ka ˈɲa da]), but this is often rendered as [kən ˈja də] when referring to the city. Thus La Cañada is pronounced roughly as "La Kin-yaw-duh," rather than "La Can-a-da" (such as the country of Canada) because it retains the Spanish tilde (ñ).

[edit] Geography

La Cañada Flintridge is located at 34°12′22″N, 118°11′58″W (34.206047, -118.199499)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.4 km² (8.6 mi²), all land.

La Cañada Flintridge is situated in the eastern end of the Crescenta Valley. It is nestled between the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Rafael Hills, below the Angeles National Forest. The city is home to Descanso Gardens and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

[edit] Weather

La Canada varies in elevation from about 1,400 - 2,250 feet. Occasionally during a cold winter storm, the upper elevations of the city may see trace amounts of snow. Within close proximity, roughly 45 miles, are top tier ski resorts like Mountain High, Mount Baldy, and Mount Waterman. Summer weather is typical of a foothill community. Hot drafts from the mountains warm the city, keeping it at a higher temperature than neighboring Los Angeles city.

[edit] History

During the Spanish era, the area was known as Rancho La Cañada, or the Ranch of the Gorge.

The area consisted of two distinct communities (La Cañada and Flintridge) until they incorporated in 1976, out of unincorporated Los Angeles County land. The city name specifically does not have a hyphen in it, to illustrate unity between the communities that were once separately known as La Cañada and Flintridge.

La Cañada Flintridge once had the longest city name in California with 18 letters. The title was ceded to Rancho Santa Margarita.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 20,318 people, 6,823 households, and 5,690 families residing in the city. The population density was 906.9/km² (2,348.9/mi²). There were 6,989 housing units at an average density of 312.0/km² (808.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 74.53% White, 0.36% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 20.57% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.01% from other races, and 3.31% from two or more races. 4.80% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,823 households out of which 44.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.7% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.6% were non-families. 14.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.8% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 20.9% from 25 to 44, 30.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $109,989, and the median income for a family was $122,779. Males had a median income of $92,760 versus $57,321 for females. The per capita income for the city was $52,838. About 3.6% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

La Canada Flintridge has been home to many celebrities over the years, including Haley Joel Osment, Kevin Costner, Miley Cyrus (better known as Hannah Montana), and her father, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. It is also a popular filming location, where movies such as "American Pie" and "Old School" have been shot.

[edit] Education

The La Cañada Unified School District serves most of the city. Three public schools serve grades K-6: La Cañada Elementary, Palm Crest Elementary, and Paradise Canyon Elementary. The public high school, La Cañada High School, which also serves as a middle school (grades 7-8), is a 2004 Blue Ribbon School. In addition, a small portion of the city is served by the Glendale Unified School District, with La Cañada Flintridge students attending Mountain Avenue Elementary School (a 2005 Blue Ribbon School), Rosemont Middle School, Clark Magnet High School (a 2005 California Distinguished School), and Crescenta Valley High School (a 2005 California Distinguished School).

[edit] Media

La Cañada is served by two distinct weekly newspapers: La Cañada Valley Sun, owned by Times Community News, a division of the Los Angeles Times; and La Cañada Outlook, owned by La Cañada News, Inc. Both newspapers publish on Thursdays. The La Cañada Valley Sun has a sister paper, the Crescenta Valley Sun, published Fridays.

[edit] City Government

La Cañada Flintridge is governed by the City Council, which is comprised of five councilmembers, each elected to overlapping four-year terms. Each year, the City Council selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and one to serve as Mayor Pro-Tem for terms of one year. The City Council is aided by five commissions and two committees, each with its own area of responsibility. In addition, the City Council appoints the City Manager, City Attorney, City Treasurer, and all members of its advisory bodies. It also serves as the governing board for the Public Improvement Corporation, the Redevelopment Agency, the LCF Local Financing Authority, and Sanitation Districts No. 28 and No. 34.

The Current Members of the City Council are:

Mayor: Gregory Brown
Mayor Pro-Tem: David Spence
Councilmember: Donald Voss
Councilmember: Laura Olhasso
Councilmember: Stephen A. Del Guercio

The City Council meets on the first and third Mondays of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the La Cañada Flintridge City Hall.

[edit] Community organizations

La Cañada has many clubs, religious and social organizations:

Assistance League of Flintridge
Cañada Auxiliary of Professionals of Assistance League of Flintridge
Crescenta-Cañada Lions Club
Delta Kappa Gamma, Alpha Upsilon Chapter
Flintridge Guild of Children's Hospital Friends of La Cañada Flintridge Library
Girl Scout Association of La Cañada
Glendale Community Foundation
Kiwanis Club of La Cañada
La Cañada Flintridge Chamber of Commerce and Community Assn
La Cañada Flintridge Coordinating Council
La Canada Flintridge Democratic Club
La Canada Flintridge Educational Foundation
La Cañada Flintridge Orthopaedic Guild
La Canada Flintridge Tournament of Roses
La Cañada Flintridge Trails Council
La Cañada Flintridge Women's Club
La Canada High School 7/8 PTA
La Canada High School 9-12 PTA
La Cañada High School Friends of Drama
La Cañada High School Music Parents Association
La Canada Junior Baseball/Softball Association
La Cañada Junior Women's Club
La Cañada Newcomers Club
La Canada Presbyterian Church
La Cañada Thursday Club
La Cañada Valley Beautiful
La Crescenta Valley Republican Women Federation
Lanterman Historical Museum Foundation
Leisure Club of La Cañada Flintridge
Lions Club Foundation
Los Altos Auxiliary of the Sycamores
Palm Crest Elementary School PTA
Paradise Canyon Elementary School PTA
Roger Barkley Community Center
Rotary Club of La Cañada Flintridge
Community Scholarship Foundation of La Cañada Flintridge
Special Children's League
St. Bede's Parish Council of Women
St. Bede's Church Skidettes
Verdugo Hills Hospital Volunteers
Wellness Community - Foothills
Women's Council of Verdugo Hills Hospital & Foundation
Towne Singers
The Young Republicans of La Canada Flintridge
The Young Democrats of La Canada Flintridge

[edit] Points of interest

La Cañada Flintridge is home to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is responsible for many space probes.
The first disc golf course is located in the Hahamonga Watershed Park, right outside of La Cañada Flintridge.
La Cañada hosts the largest collection of camellia species in North America at Descanso Gardens: http://www.descansogardens.org/site/