South Gate is a city in Los Angeles County, California,is the sixteenth largest city in Los Angeles County and encompasses 7.5 square miles. South Gate is located just 12 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles[5] It is part of the Gateway Cities region of southeastern Los Angeles County. As of January 1, 2009, the city had a total population of 102,770.[6] The "City of South Gate", known as an "Azalea City", adopted the azalea as its official flower in 1965 and uses its image in the official “All American
City” sea.l [1]/was incorporated on January 20, 1923, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.[7] In 1990, South Gate was one of ten U.S. communities to receive the All-America City Award from the National Civic League.[8]
History
The South Gate area was inhabited by the Gabrielino/Tongva Indians before development by Spanish ranchers. Spaniards have been living in this area of California since the mid-1500s. Among the early Spanish settlers was one of California’s first families, the Lugos. In the summer of 1769, a group of Spanish explorers set out from the coast of San Diego to explore the uncharted territory between San Diego and the Bay of Monterey. With them was Father Juan Crespi, considered by historians to be one of the great diarists of the new world explorations. His daily entries were remarkably revealing of the country through which the caravan passed. They proceeded in the general direction of the San Gabriel Valley, across the Los Angeles River, which Crespi named "Porciuncula" on August 2, 1769. There would be no history of South Gate without including the story of the Lugo Spanish Land Grant. That grant encompassed a great part of what is now the City of South Gate and is a vital and colorful part of this area's history. While stationed at Mission San Antonio de Padua near Salinas, California, Francisco Lugo’s first California son, Antonio Maria Lugo was born in 1775. [9] That son became Don Antonio Maria Lugo, Spanish aristocrat and soldier, who settled on 30,000 acres of land that encompasses what is now the City of South Gate. In 1810, the King of Spain formally granted the land to Lugo, the land grant was a reward for his and his father's military service to the crown. [10] Rancho San Antonio extended from the low range of hills which separated it from the San Gabriel Valley to the old Dominguez Ranch at its south, and from the eastern boundary of the pueblo of Los Angeles to the San Gabriel River .Lugo also became the mayor of a little town called Los Angeles, from 1816-1819, [11]
A little more than 100 years after the establishment of the Lugo Land Grant, the area at the south gate of the ranch became the City of South Gate. As Don Lugo's family grew, he obtained San Bernardino Rancho and other grants in his children's names.
The future South Gate site and adjacent mesas presented a colorful spectacle when countless heads of cattle and horses were herded from all directions to a common point for the annual great spring rodeo. Lugo would direct the proceedings and settle disputes regarding ownership of contested animals as well as adjudicate agricultural disputes. In his saddle, he was the court and the plains his courtroom.
The Land Grant was handed down from generation to generation, dividing among offspring and eventually parceled and sold to people outside the Lugo family.
Don Antonio's son Vincente (1820-1889) built his adobe dwelling in the 1850's on five and one half acres. It is known as Lugo Ranch, and is situated on modern day Gage Avenue in the City of Bell Gardens.[12]
Before the end of the 1870's, much of the original land grant had been replaced by 40 acre tracts. By 1880, cattle raising had been replaced by agriculture as the most important local industry. During the years between 1910 and 1940, most of the agricultural land was replaced by homes and factories. Today, with the land divided by freeways, it is difficult to imagine those early centuries when it was a vast plain stretching from the mountains to the sea.[13]
The R.D. Tweedy family has played an important part in South Gate's history. Mr. Tweedy was born in 1812 in Illinois, and came to California by ox-drawn cart in 1852. Mrs. Tweedy rode across the prairies perched on her rocking chair in the ox cart. The family was large, and several generations have lived in this city. The family members bought some 2,000 acres of the land on which much of South Gate was built. The "downtown business district" in South Gate was named after the family and is known as the Tweedy Mile.[14]
The city was named in 1918 after the South Gate Gardens on the Cudahy Ranch.[15] The city was incorporated five years later, in 1923, using the shortened form of the name.[15] The name refers to the city's being south of Los Angeles.[15]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.4 km² (7.5 mi²). 19.1 km² (7.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.60% water.
South Gate has a semi-arid Mediterranean climate with mild winters and hot, dry summers. The average annual precipitation is 14.8 inches per year with most occurring between November and April. Temperatures range from a low of 40 F to a high of 110 F. The average daily temperatures range from 54 F to 73 F.[citation needed]
As of the 2000 census, there were 96,375 people, 23,213 households, and 20,063 families residing in the city. The population density was 13,084.6/sq mi (5,052.0/km²). There are 24,269 housing units at an average density of 1,271.4/km² (3,294.9/mi²).[17]
There are 23,213 households out of which 58.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% are married couples living together, 18.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 13.6% are non-families. 10.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 4.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 4.15 and the average family size is 4.37.
In the city the population is spread out with 35.6% under the age of 18, 12.5% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 14.9% from 45 to 64, and 5.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 26 years. For every 100 females there are 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 95.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $35,695, and the median income for a family is $35,789. Males have a median income of $25,350 versus $19,978 for females. The per capita income for the city is $10,602. 19.2% of the population and 17.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 24.2% of those under the age of 18 and 12.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Religion
File:Saint Helen Roman Catholic Church.jpgSaint Helen Roman Catholic Church.
58.08% of the people in South Gate, CA are religious, meaning they affiliate with a religion. 39.99% are Catholic; 6.75% are Protestant; 1.04% are LDS; 3.33% are another Christian faith; 5.93% in South Gate, CA are Jewish; 0.07% are an eastern faith; 0.98% affilite with Islam.[20]
Demographics history
South Gate developed during the 1920s and 1930s as an industrial city (primarily in "metal-bashing" industries) and its blue-collar community was predominantly non-Hispanic white.
During the 1940s and 1950s, South Gate was one of the most fiercely segregationist cities in Southern California; gangs of white youths were known to prowl the streets looking for blacks who dared to cross over from neighboring Watts. One of the most infamous clubs of the area at that time was the Spook Hunters.
The next year South Gate began to change. In August 1965, the Watts riots erupted. Watts was virtually 100 percent black, and South Gate, immediately to the east of Watts, was nearly 100 percent white. Although the rioters were mostly confined to black areas of south-central Los Angeles and did not cross the line into South Gate, younger whites in South Gate started to look elsewhere to buy their first houses. As the white population of South Gate began to decline, the Mexican population, which earlier had established a foothold, began to increase.
Since the 1970s, South Gate has had a large Hispanic community, which became dominant in the 1990s as working-class Hispanics and immigrant Latin American families filled the vacuum left by white flight.[21]
Economy
As of June 2009, California's EDD lists the unemployment rate in South Gate as 14.4%, with negative job growth. The California State Board of Equalization lists South Gate's sale tax rate as 10.75%. The income per capita is $11,566, which includes all adults and children. The median household income is $41,064.[22]
File:South Gate69.JPGTweedy Blvd.
South Gate's commercial activity is concentrated in the following zones:
Tweedy Mile (on Tweedy Blvd. from Alameda St to Atlantic Ave.)
Firestone Blvd. (from Long Beach Blvd. to Garfield Ave.)
El Paseo (Corner of Firestone Blvd. and Garfield Ave.)
Hollydale (on Garfield Ave. from 105 Freeway to Imperial Hwy.)
As of April 1, 2009, the City of South Gate imposes a 10.25-percent,which is now 10.75. 11 cents per dollar sales tax (statewide plus local supplementary), which matches Pico Rivera's sales tax rate as the highest in the State of California.[23]
Heroin trafficking has become another large source of income in the South Gate area.
Government
Local government
City Council
Henry C Gonzalez- Mayor
Greg Martinez - Vice Mayor
María Dávila - Councilwoman
Bill De Witt - Councilmember
Gill Hurtado - Councilmember
The City Council consists of five persons elected at large by the residents of South Gate. These Council members serve a four year term and establish the governing policies and procedures for the city. The Mayor is selected on an annual, rotating basis from among the Council members.[2]
City Clerk
File:Carmen Avalos.jpgCarmen Avalos the South Gate City Clerk.
Carmen Ávalos
The City Clerk in South Gate is an elected position that serves a four-year term. As the official record keeper for the City, the City Clerk is responsible for maintaining all central and legal files, preparing City Council meeting agendas and minutes, conducting municipal elections and assisting the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder with voter registration.[24]
Bernal was elected City Treasurer of South Gate on March 24.
Political parties
63.10% of the people in South Gate are registered as Democrats. 35.60% are registered Republican. Remaining are independent: 1.30%.[22]
Scandal and corruption
From 2001 to 2003, then-city treasurer, Albert Robles, along with three accomplices on the city council, accepted bribes and in turn gave taxpayer dollars to friends and relatives to perform city contracts. The three accomplices formed a majority of the five member city council, so they could effectively run the city any way they wanted. For example, in 2002, Robles was arrested on felony threat charges but was appointed by the city council to the deputy city manager position and had his legal bills covered by the city. The city council gave themselves a 2000% pay raise, and cut the pay of city clerk Carmen Avalos by 90%, after she complained about corruption and election fraud in the city to the California State Secretary.[26]
On January 28, 2003, voters recalled Robles along with his political allies, former Mayor Xochitl Ruvalcaba, former Vice Mayor Raul Moriel, and former city councilwoman Maria Benavides.[27][28]
Robles was convicted of bribery in July 2005.[29] In November 2006 he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, ordered to pay the city of South Gate $639,000 in restitution, and was immediately put into custody.[30]
In March 2006, Rudy Navarro, who was elected to replace Albert Robles as city treasurer, was caught making a false statement on his biography as posted on the city's official web site. He claimed that he earned a degree from San Diego State University, when he actually had not completed all the requirements.[31][32][33]
South Gate's recent political history has been characterized by political observers and editors as having elements of Third World Politics.
The most complete account of the South Gate corruption scandal can be found in journalist Sam Quinones' book, ANTONIO'S GUN AND DELFINO'S DREAM: True Tales of Mexican Migration (Univ. of New Mexico Press, 2007). See www.samquinones.com.[34][35][36]
Finances
South Gate was $150 million in debt in 2005.In addition, South Gate has one of the highest state and city taxes within California at 10.75%.[29]
On June 5, 2007, the city reported that it is facing a severe financial crisis. [2]
Part of South Gate is served by Downey Unified School District.
Private schools
Private primary schools
Lollypop Lane Preschool and Kindergarten
Redeemer Lutheran School
Saint Helen Elementary School
Private high schools
Academia Betel
Faith Christian Academy
Education
=Education
Schools located in South Gate include: 16 public (12 elementary, 2 high school and 2 middle high school) and two parochial schools. Adult Education classes are conducted at both the junior and senior high schools. The City is also served by 3 community colleges (Compton, Cerritos and East Los Angeles--main campus and South Gate satellite) and 3 California State Universities (Dominguez Hills, Long Beach and Los Angeles.)
Amelia Earhart was taught to fly at an unpaved air strip in South Gate named Kinner Field. It was located on Martin Luther King Jr Blvd (formerly Century Boulevard) at the intersection with Long Beach Boulevard. This is now officially the northern most part of the neighboring city of Lynwood.
Rufus B. Keeler, renowned ceramicist behind Malibu Potteries and Calco. His hand-built house of tiles still stands intact in a South Gate neighborhood. Keeler is feted by the Arts and Crafts movement as a genius. See http://www.gamblehouse.org/events/lecture.html
Glenn Seaborg, the 1951 co-winner of the "Nobel Prize", who also worked on the Manhattan Project lived in a neighborhood which later became part of South Gate.
Mark Gonzales, also known as "Gonz," is a professional skateboarder and artist. He is known in the skateboarding world as a pioneer of modern street skateboarding.
^ abcGudde, Erwin Gustav (2004). California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names. University of California Press. p. 371. ISBN9780520242173. ((cite book)): Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^"SOUTH GATE CITY TREASURER". City of South Gate. Retrieved December 1, 2006. One of three children, Rudy is proud of the fact that he is the first member of his family to earn a college degree. He chose to attend San Diego State University, where he majored in both Finance and Political Science, with a minor in International Conflict Resolution.
^"Treasurer Elected to Help Clean Up South Gate Admits Resume Fib". Cactus Thorns; Irreverent Barbs On Desert Politics. March 20, 2006. Retrieved December 1, 2006. Rudy Navarro, 26, admitted he did not graduate from San Diego State University as he had claimed on the resume that's posted on the city's Web site, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday. "I don't know what I was thinking. It was stupid," said Navarro, adding that until this week he hadn't even told his parents he had yet to finish college. "Maybe it was the pressure to make myself look better than the previous person. My intention was really to come out and help."
^
Bebitch Jeffe, Sherry (March 2003). "Southgate". March 2004 issue. California Journal. Retrieved December 4, 2006. Using a strategy reminiscent of old-style Mexican politics, the besieged incumbents began offering their constituents "freebies," including one-month's free trash service, a plan for free medical care out of a new health clinic, and raffles which awarded a new television set to one newly registered voter and a free, new house, offered by the city, to one lucky non-homeowner.
^
Marosi, Richard (January 25, 2003). "The Freebies Pile Up as South Gate Goes to Polls ; Some residents say the city's largess before a recall vote resembles the graft they saw in Mexico". January 25, 2003, issue. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 4, 2006. Have Third World politics come to South Gate? As three council members and the treasurer face a closely watched recall election Tuesday, many residents say the answer is yes... If the recall targets prevail, residents and political observers say, South Gate-style politics could spread to other Latino- majority communities, since candidates like to lift pages from other successful politicians' playbooks.
^
Anderson, Jeffrey (February 21, 2007). "The Town the Law Forgot". L.A. Weekly. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
