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'Coachella' is a city in Riverside County, California; it is the easternmost city in the region collectively known as the Coachella Valley (or the Palm Springs area). It is located 28 miles east of Palm Springs, 72 miles east of Riverside, and 130 miles east of Los Angeles.
Known as the "City of Eternal Sunshine - Gateway to the Salton Sea", Coachella is largely a young, rural, family-oriented community in the desert. Much of its population consists of younger Latino families who enjoy a sense of community and a lifestyle enriched with the elements of a proud heritage.
Coachella's official population was 22,724 at the 2000 census. However, as of 2006, local officials say the population may have nearly doubled (to 40,000) — one of the highest population growth rates in the state. With a population density of 15,500 per square mile, this predominantly agricultural city has one of the highest in California outside of an urban area.
The eastern half of the Coachella valley is below sea level, and the area's average elevation is 68 feet (35 meters) below sea level. The Salton Sea, a saltwater lake located about 10 miles (6 km) South of Coachella, lies 227 feet below sea level.

Contents

Geography

History

Education

Culture

Demographics

Local issues

Events And Points of Interest

Trivia

External links

Geography

Coachella is located at (33.679522, -116.174488).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 53.9 km² (20.8 mi²), all land.
The elevation is 68 feet/35 meters below sea level, as the Eastern half of the Coachella valley is below sea level. The saltwater lake, Salton Sea is 10 miles/6 km. South of Coachella, lies 227 feet below sea level.

History

The city was originally founded as ''Woodspur'' in 1876, when the Southern Pacific Railroad built a rail siding on the site. In the 1880s the indigenous Cahuilla tribe sold their land plots to the railroads for new lands east of the current town site, and in the 1890s, a few hundred traqueros took up settlement along the tracks.
The origin of the name ''Coachella'' is unclear, but in 1901 the citizens of Woodspur voted on a new name for their community; at their town hall meeting, the homeowners settled on "Coachella". Some locals believe it was a misspelling of ''Conchilla'', a Spanish word for the small white snail shells found in the valley's sandy soil, vestiges of a lake which dried up over 3,000 years ago.
Coachella began as a 2.5 square mile territory gridded out on the mesquite-covered desert floor. Not until the 1950s did Coachella begin to expand into its present range, about 32 square miles, an area which contained large year-round agricultural corporate farms and fruit groves, particularly of citrus (lemons, oranges, grapefruit) and date palms.
Coachella became a city in 1946. During the incorporation voting process, the first city council was tentatively elected: Lester C. Cox, T. E. Reyes, John W. Westerfield, Lester True, and Paul S. Atkinson. Also elected on November 26, 1946, were City Clerk Marie L. Johnson and City Treasurer John C. Skene. John Westerfield was appointed mayor at the first meeting.
By the 1980 census, Coachella's population had reached at least 10,000.

Education

Coachella is served by the Coachella Valley Unified School District, based in Thermal, California. Its main high school is Coachella Valley High School (with 2900 students); its two middle schools are Cahuilla Desert Academy and Bobby Duke (slated to re-open in September, 2007). Elementary schools include Cesar Chavez, Palm View, Peter Pendleton, Valle Del Sol, Valley View, and Coral Mountain Academy.
The Coachella Valley Adult School, in operation since 1952, is the third largest adult school in Riverside County. It offers seven levels of English as a Second Language (ESL), and has offered citizenship classes for over 20 years. In the last ten years, over 1,500 people completed citizenship classes at the school and submitted N-400 forms.

Culture

The film director Frank Capra is interred in the Coachella Valley Cemetery. Professional boxing champions Antonio Diaz and Julio Diaz (brothers), are originally from Coachella. The agricultural area surrounding Coachella was where the United Farm Workers union staged strikes and protests, including visits by UFW leader Cesar Chavez. Migrant labor activist Sam Maestas has a home in the rural outskirts of Coachella.
Downtown Coachella is under renovation as the area experiences an economic boom which has brought increasing numbers of people in the city — ''Pueblo Viejo'' (the old neighborhood) as locals of Hispanic origin sometimes call it. Despite its image for Mexican immigration, a large percentage are US citizens, born and raised in Coachella. A multi-generational Mexican American subculture has taken root in the town.
Near the city limits of Coachella are three casinos on Indian reservations: Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino, Spotlight 29 Casino, and Augustine Casino, which are owned and operated by Native American tribes — the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, Twentynine Palms Band of Mission Indians, and Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians, respectively. These small but highly profitable tribes have representative councils to ensure self-reliance as a community. Coachella is also home to a significant Southwest Indian (Apache, Hopi, Navajo and Zuni) population, though not indigenous to the California desert region.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 22,724 people, 4,807 households, and 4,480 families residing in the city. The population density was 421.4/km² (1,091.4/mi²). There were 5,024 housing units at an average density of 93.2/km² (241.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 38.77% White, 0.45% Black or African American, 0.84% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 56.57% from other races, and 3.03% from two or more races.
Coachella has one of California's highest percentages of Latinos. Visitors may notice the cultural imprint of the city's Mexican-Americans as well as those who have recently come from Mexico to work in the valley's thriving economy. Agriculture, landscaping, domestic help, hotel lodging, and retail jobs in Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley are a major draw to the newcomers. However, city council officials have claimed that newcomers are predominantly from other US cities (Los Angeles and San Diego).
There were 4,807 households, of which 65.9% had children under the age of 18, 66.5% were married couples living together, 19.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 6.8% were non-families. 5.3% of all households were individuals living alone, and 2.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.72 and the average family size was 4.80, a typical cultural trait of a majority (but not all) of Hispanic-American residents. Of US cities with populations over 10,000, Coachella has one of the highest percentages of single mothers.
By age, the population was spread out with 40.8% under the age of 18, 12.7% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 12.8% from 45 to 64, and 5.0% 65 years or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.4 males. Teen pregnancy rates are notably higher than national and state average, and in Coachella Valley High School, over a quarter (28 percent) of female students are mothers.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,590, and the median income for a family was $28,320. Males had a median income of $23,044, compared to $15,550 for females. The per capita income for the city was $7,416. About 29.1% of families and 28.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.3% of those under age 18 and 25.7% of those 65 or over (rates above state and national average).

Local issues

According to a 2006 state-funded economic survey, Coachella ranks third lowest in average personal income of any California city, and one of ten poorest cities in the state. The city's remote location from urban areas and the continuous seasonal labor migration are largely responsible for the high poverty rate. In Coachella, one in every three are on public assistance and over 40 percent receive welfare and social security funds.
Coachella has dealt with socioeconomic issues which produced a history of above-average crime rates. For a long time the city has battled a negative image of illegal drug trade, high school dropouts, and youth gangs. Much of the non-Hispanic population moved away in reaction (a phenomenon called "white flight"). However, the 2006 FBI crime statistical release placed Coachella at the lowest crime rates in all of the Coachella Valley and Riverside Valley.
In 1995, state and federal officials designated Coachella as part of the Coachella Valley Enterprise Zone to boost economic activity and entice businesses to relocate to this rural city which was once home to several fruit shipping plants.
Near Coachella, new four-lane expressway, California State Highway 86, was built for international trucking from Mexicali, Mexico to Los Angeles or Arizona. Referred to as the "NAFTA highway", it replaces and older, less safe two-lane road.
In 2006 mayoral elections, 29-year-old Eduardo Garcia became the city's youngest mayor ever. Garcia was a lifelong Coachella resident and a 1995 graduate of Coachella Valley High School. He attended the College of the Desert in Palm Desert, California.
Today, retail and commercial properties appear on Coachella's two main drags, Harrison Street (formerly US Highway 99) and Grapefruit Boulevard (California State Highway 111), along with a new retail development on Avenue 48. Since 2000, thousands of single-family homes and multi-unit apartment complexes are being built at a fast pace, as the city's population soars, having more than doubled in the last decade. The population is estimated to reach 50,000 by 2010 and possibly 80,000 by 2020.
The future of Coachella could be linked one day to tourism as well as agriculture. Two popular fiestas are celebrated each year in town: Cinco de Mayo (May 5), and 16 September Fiestas Patrias (Mexico's Independence from Spain).
Coachella expanded recreational and social activities for which residents once had to drive 10 or 20 miles west. The city has a recreation center, a Boys and Girls Club center, and a boxing center in Bagdouma Park. There are two dance clubs and the Corona Yacht Club located near Spotlight 29 casino; two new golf courses (Desert Lakes and the Vineyards) attract many retirees, RV owners, and local business people.

Events And Points of Interest

★ Cinco de Mayo (May 5)

★ September Fiestas Patrias

★ Bagdouma Park

★ Coachella Boxing Club

★ Spotlight 29 Casino

★ Augustine Casino

Trivia

★ 'Coachella' is also a shorthand reference to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, held in nearby Indio, California.

★ The city erected a local Vietnam Veterans' memorial to represent over 600 men and women from Coachella who served in the Vietnam War.

★ The 'Ernie Ball' guitar company, based in Fullerton, California, opened a manufacturing facility near Coachella in 2005.

★ One of the few US alternative fuel plants is in Coachella, where cooking oil is recycled and transformed into use for motor vehicle engines.

External links

★ City of Coachella Official site

★ Coachella Chamber Of Commerce Official site

★ Coachella Valley Unified School District Official site

★ Augustine Casino Official site

★ Spotlight 29 Casino Official site