ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

'Alameda County' is a county in the U.S. state of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2000 census it had a population of 1,443,741 making it the 7th largest county in the state. The county seat is Oakland.
Alameda County currently has the highest sales tax rate in California, which is 8.75%.

Contents

History

Government

Events

Geography

Incorporated Cities

Unincorporated Communities

Former townships

Adjacent Counties

Transportation Infrastructure

Major Highways

Mass transit

Demographics

Politics

Arts

Interesting places to visit

See also

External links

References

History

The county was formed on March 25, 1853 from a large portion of Contra Costa County and a smaller portion of Santa Clara County.
The word 'alameda' means 'a place where poplar trees grow', a name which originally was given to the Arroyo de la Alameda (Poplar Grove Creek). The willow and sycamore trees along the banks of the river reminded the early explorers of a road lined with trees, also known as an 'alameda'.
The county seat at the time it was formed was located at Alvarado; it was moved to San Leandro in 1856 where the county courthouse was destroyed by the devastating 1868 quake on the Hayward Fault. The county seat was then re-established in the town of Brooklyn from 1872-1875. Brooklyn is now part of Oakland, which has been the county seat since 1873.
Much of what is now considered an intensively urban region, with major cities, was developed as a trolley car suburb of San Francisco in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The historical progression from native American tribal lands to Spanish Land Grants, thence to farms, ranches, and orchards, suburbs and eventually cities, is shared with the adjacent Contra Costa County (see that article for an extensive history applicable to this county).

Government

Alameda County is governed by an elected Board of Supervisors.
The county's law enforcement is overseen by an elected county sheriff supervising a force of deputies whose primary responsibilities include policing unincorporated areas of the county, and providing security for county buildings including courthouses and other properties. The County Sheriff also serves various court writs and warrants.

Events

The annual Alameda County fair is held at the fairgrounds in Pleasanton. The fair runs for 3 weekends from June to July. Attractions include horse racing, carnival, 4-H exhibits, and live bands.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,127 km² (821 mi²). 1,910 km² (738 mi²) of it is land and 216 km² (84 mi²) of it (10.18%) is water.
The San Francisco Bay borders the county on the west. The crest of the Berkeley Hills form part of the northeastern boundary, and reach into the center of the county. A coastal plain several miles wide lines the bay, being home to Oakland and the most populated regions. Livermore Valley lies in the eastern part of the county.
The Hayward Fault, a major branch of the San Andreas Fault to the west, runs through the most populated parts of Alameda County, while the Calaveras Fault runs through the southeastern part of the county.

Incorporated Cities

★ Alameda

★ Albany

★ Berkeley

★ Dublin

★ Emeryville

★ Fremont

★ Hayward

★ Livermore

★ Newark

★ Oakland

★ Piedmont

★ Pleasanton

★ San Leandro

★ Union City

Unincorporated Communities

★ Ashland

★ Castro Valley

★ Cherryland

★ Fairview

★ Sunol

★ San Lorenzo

Former townships

★ Oakland Township - the northern portion subsequently became the cities of Berkeley and Albany

★ Alameda Township

★ Brooklyn Township

★ Eden Township

★ Washington Township

★ Murray Township

Adjacent Counties

★ Santa Clara County, California - south

★ San Mateo County, California - west

★ San Francisco County, California - west

★ Contra Costa County, California - north

★ San Joaquin County, California - east

Transportation Infrastructure

Major Highways

★ Interstate 80 (Eastshore Freeway) ★ Interstate 238 ★ Interstate 580 (MacArthur Freeway/Arthur Breed Freeway) ★ Interstate 680 (Sinclair Freeway) ★ Interstate 880 (Nimitz Freeway/Cypress Freeway) ★ Interstate 980 (John B. Williams Freeway) ★ California State Route 13 (Warren Freeway/Ashby Avenue/Tunnel Road) ★ California State Route 24 (William Byron Rumford Freeway) ★ California State Route 84 ★ California State Route 92 (Jackson Street) ★ California State Route 123 (San Pablo Avenue) ★ California State Route 238 (Mission Boulevard/Foothill Boulevard)

Mass transit

★ ACE train - commuter rail using existing railroad tracks, primarily brings commuters from San Joaquin County to Santa Clara County

★ AC Transit - local bus system in western Alameda County and west Contra Costa County, with additional service across the three bridges from Alameda County to downtown San Francisco, San Mateo, and Palo Alto

★ BART - commuter rail centered on northwest Oakland, primarily serving commuters to downtown San Francisco and downtown Oakland

★ Capitol Corridor - commuter rail using existing railroad tracks, extending from San Jose to Sacramento, running through western Alameda County

★ WHEELS - bus system in the cities of southeastern Alameda County

★ Union City Transit - local city bus service within Union City in addition to AC Transit.

★ Emery-Go-Round - free bus service in Emeryville.

★ Oakland-Alameda Ferry and Harbor Bay Ferry, connecting Oakland, Alameda, and Bay Farm Island with downtown San Francisco.

★ San Joaquins Amtrak line between Oakland and Bakersfield through the Fresno and the Central Valley.

★ VTA commuter service between southern Alameda county and job centers in the Silicon Valley.

★ Dumbarton Express additional service along the Dumbarton bridge between Fremont and Palo Alto.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 1,443,741 people, 523,366 households, and 339,141 families residing in the county. The population density was 756/km² (1,957/mi²). There were 540,183 housing units at an average density of 283/km² (732/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 48.79% White, 20.45% Asian, 14.93% Black or African American, 8.94% from other races, 5.63% from two or more races, 18.97% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 0.63% Native American, and 0.63% Pacific Islander. 63.2% spoke English, 14.3% Spanish, 5.0% Chinese or Mandarin, 3.5% Tagalog, 1.6% Vietnamese and Cantonese as their first language.
In 2005 Almeda County had a population that was 38.0% non-Hispanic whites. African-Americans now constituted 13.8% of the population. Asians were now 24.2% of the population. Hispanics came in at 20.8%, while both Native Americans and Pacific Islanders came in at 0.7% of the population.^[1]
In 2000 there were 523,366 households out of which 32.60% had children under the age of 18 living within them, 47.00% married couples living together, 13.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.20% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.31.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.60% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 33.90% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 10.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 96.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $55,946, and the median income for a family was $65,857. Males had a median income of $47,425 versus $36,921 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,680. About 7.70% of families and 11.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.50% of those under age 18 and 8.10% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Alameda County is a stronghold of the Democratic Party. It has not supported a Republican since Eisenhower's victory in 1956. Even when Reagan won America by an 18.3% margin, Mondale won Alameda County with a slightly larger margin. In 2004 it provided Kerry with over a 50% margin. Every city and town voted Democratic. [1] The county is represented in Congress by the 9th-13th districts. All the seats are held by Democrats. In the State Assembly four out of five of its legislators are Democrats. According to the Alameda County registrar for 2008, 370,919 (55.2%) are registered Democrats, 117,086 (17.4%) are registered Republicans, 36,276 (5.4%) are registered to minor political parties, and 147,279 (21.9%) declined to answer. This means the Democrats have a 37.8% registration advantage over the Republicans. Every city and town in Alameda County has more registered Democrats than Republicans, except for Livermore and Pleasanton, and Republicans hold registration advantages in those cities by razor-thin margins.

'Presidential elections results'

Year	GOP	Dems
2004	23.3% ''130,911	'75.2%' ''422,585
2000	24.1% ''119,279	'69.4%' ''342,889
1996	23.1% ''106,581	'65.8%' ''303,903
1992	20.6% ''109,292	'63.0%' ''334,224
1988	34.0% ''162,815	'64.8%' ''310,283
1984	40.0% ''192,408	'58.7%' ''282,041
1980	38.0% ''158,531	'48.3%' ''201,720
1976	38.1% ''155,280	'57.9%' ''235,988
1972	42.8% ''201,862	'55.0%' ''259,254
1968	37.6% ''153,285	'53.9%' ''219,545
1964	33.5% ''142,998	'66.4%' ''283,833
1960	45.6% ''183,354	'54.0%' ''217,172

Arts

★ Home to the Alameda County Arts Commission which serves the arts in Alameda County.

★ Home to the Alameda Civic Ballet (ACB).

★ Home to the Alameda Ballet Academy, official ballet school of the ACB.

Interesting places to visit

★ University of California, Berkeley

★ Lawrence Hall of Science

★ Tilden Regional Park

★ Sunol Water Temple

See also

★ USS ''Alameda County'' (LST-32)

★ List of school districts in Alameda County, California

★ Solar power in Alameda County

External links

★ Alameda County's Official Web Site

★ Alameda County Fairgrounds - Annual county fair June to July

★ A short film about Alameda County from 1958

References

1. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/06001.html