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Orange County, California

Coordinates: 33°40′N 117°47′W / 33.67°N 117.78°W / 33.67; -117.78
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Orange County
County
Official seal of Orange County
Seal
Map of California highlighting Orange County
Location within the U.S. state of California
Map of the United States highlighting California
California's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°40′N 117°47′W / 33.67°N 117.78°W / 33.67; -117.78
Country United States
State California
FoundedMarch 11, 1889
SeatSanta Ana
Largest citySanta Ana
Area
 • Total948 sq mi (2,455 km2)
 • Land789 sq mi (2,045 km2)
 • Water159 sq mi (411 km2)  16.43%
Population
 (2000)
 • Total2,846,289
 • Density3,606/sq mi (1,392/km2)
Time zoneUTC−8 (Pacific)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−7 (PDT)
Websitewww.oc.ca.gov
Cities in Orange County

Orange County is a county in Southern California, United States. Its county seat is Santa Ana. According to the 2000 Census, its population was 2,846,289, making it the second most populous county in the state of California, and the fifth most populous in the United States. The state of California estimates its population as of 2007 to be 3,098,121 people, dropping its rank to third, behind San Diego County.[1]

Unlike many other large centers of population in the United States, Orange County uses its county name as its source of identification whereas other places in the country are identified by the large city that is closest to them. This is because there is no defined center to Orange County like there is in other areas which have one distinct large city. Five Orange County cities have populations exceeding 170,000 while no cities in the county have populations surpassing 360,000.

It is also famous as a tourist destination, as the county is home to such attractions as Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm, as well as sandy beaches for swimming and surfing, yacht harbors for sailing and pleasure boating, and extensive area devoted to parks and open space for golf, tennis, hiking, kayaking, cycling, skateboarding, and other outdoor recreation. It is at the center of Southern California's Tech Coast, with Irvine being the primary business hub.

Thirty-four incorporated cities are located in Orange County; the newest is Aliso Viejo. Seven of these cities are among the 200 largest cities in the United States.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,455 km² (948 sq mi), making it the smallest county in Southern California. Surface water accounts for 411 km² (159 sq mi) of the area, 16.73% of the total; 2,045 km² (789 sq mi) of it is land.

Orange County is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by Los Angeles County, on the northeast by San Bernardino County, on the east by Riverside County, and on the south by San Diego County.

The northern part of the county lies on the coastal plain of the Los Angeles Basin, while the southern half lies on the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. Most of Orange County's population reside in one of two shallow coastal valleys that lie in the basin, the Santa Ana Valley and the Saddleback Valley. The coastal plain gently rises into the Santa Ana Mountains, which lie within the boundaries of the county and of the Cleveland National Forest. The high point is Santiago Peak (5,687 ft/1,733 m), about 20 mi (32 km) east of Santa Ana. Santiago Peak and nearby Modjeska Peak, just 200 feet (60 m) shorter, form a ridge known as Saddleback, visible from almost everywhere in the county.

The Santa Ana River is the county's principal watercourse. Its major tributary running through the county is Santiago Creek. Other watercourses within the county include Aliso Creek, San Juan Creek, and Horsethief Creek. The San Gabriel River also briefly crosses into Orange County and exits into the Pacific on the Los Angeles-Orange County line between Long Beach and Seal Beach. Laguna Beach is home to the county's only natural lakes, Laguna Lakes, which are formed by water rising up against an underground fault.

Residents often divide the county into "North County" and the cities of the "South County", as opposed to an East-West division characterized by inland and coastal cities. There is no formal geographical division of North and South County, although a rough boundary is considered to exist along State Route 55 (aka the Costa Mesa Freeway). The division is perpetuated by the popular television shows "The OC" and "Laguna Beach."

Incorporated cities

As of August 2006, Orange County has 34 incorporated cities. The oldest is Anaheim (1870) and the newest is Aliso Viejo (2001).


Noteworthy communities, BEE-OTCH!!!

Some of the communities that exist within city limits are listed below:


Unincorporated communities

These communities are outside of the city limits in unincorporated county territory:


See also: List of neighborhoods and unincorporated communities in Orange County

Adjacent counties

History

File:IMG 0525small.JPG
Aerial view of central Orange County South Coast Metro area

Members of the Tongva and Juaneño/Luiseño nations long inhabited the area. After the 1769 expedition of Gaspar de Portolà, a Spanish expedition led by Junipero Serra named the area Vallejo de Santa Ana (Valley of Saint Anne). On November 1, 1776, Mission San Juan Capistrano became the first permanent European settlement. Among the group of explorers that came with Portolá were José Manuel Nieto and José Antonio Yorba. Both of these men were given land grants and their heirs also inherited portions of family land. The oldest of the Orange County land grants or ranchos was Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana granted in 1810 by Ferdinand VII of Spain. The Yorba heirs Bernardo and Teodosio Yorba inherited ranches in 1834 and 1846 respectively. Their ranches were known as Rancho Cañón de Santa Ana (Santa Ana Canyon Ranch) and Rancho Lomas de Santiago.The Nieto heirs Juan José and Antonio Nieto were granted land in 1834. The Nieto ranches were known as Rancho Los Alamitos, Rancho Las Bolsas, and Rancho Los Coyotes. Other ranches in Orange County were granted by the Mexican government post 1821, year of Mexican Independence, during the Mexican period in Alta California.

A severe drought in the 1860s devastated the prevailing industry, cattle ranching, and much land came into the possession of Richard O'Neill, Sr.,[2] James Irvine and other land barons. In 1887, silver was discovered in the Santa Ana Mountains, attracting settlers via the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railroads. This growth led the California legislature to divide Los Angeles County and create Orange County as a separate political entity on March 11, 1889. It was named for its most famous product[3], but other citrus crops, avocados, and oil extraction were also important to the early economy.

Orange County benefited from the July 4, 1904 completion of the Pacific Electric Railway, a trolley connecting Los Angeles with Santa Ana and Newport Beach . The link made Orange County an accessible weekend retreat for celebrities of early Hollywood. It was deemed so significant that the city of Pacific City changed its name to Huntington Beach in honor of Henry Huntington, president of the Pacific Electric and nephew of robber baron Collis Huntington. Transportation further improved with the completion of the State Route and U.S. Route 101 (now mostly Interstate 5) in the 1920s.

Agriculture, such as the boysenberry which was made famous by Buena Park native Walter Knott, began to decline after World War II but the county's prosperity soared. The completion of Interstate 5 in 1954 helped make Orange County a bedroom community for many who moved to Southern California to work in aerospace and manufacturing. Orange County received a further boost in 1955 with the opening of Disneyland.

In 1969, Yorba Linda-born Orange County native Richard Nixon became the 37th President of the United States.

In the 1980s, the population topped two million for the first time. Orange County had become the second largest county in California.

A spectacular investment fund melt-down in 1994 led to the criminal prosecution of County of Orange treasurer Robert Citron. The county lost at least $1.5 billion through high-risk investments in derivatives.[4] On December 6, 1994, the County of Orange declared Chapter 9 bankruptcy,[4] from which it emerged in June 1995; this was the largest ever municipal bankruptcy in the U.S.[4]

In recent years, the county has been characterized by conflict between the older more historic northern and newer southern cities over development, the building of new toll roads, and a recently defeated proposal to build an international airport at the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station that would have reduced operations at the existing John Wayne Airport.

Demographics

CensusPop.Note%±
189013,589—
190019,69644.9%
191034,43674.8%
192061,37578.2%
1930118,67493.4%
1940130,76010.2%
1950216,22465.4%
1960703,925225.6%
19701,420,386101.8%
19801,932,70936.1%
19902,410,55624.7%
20002,846,28918.1%
2006 (est.)3,002,048
Orange County Density Map. Lighter shades indicate less dense areas, darker shades indicate denser areas.

2005 Census bureau estimates place the non-Latino white population of Orange County at around 48%. The 2005 Latino population of Orange County was 32.5%. The Asian population was 15.9%. African Americans constituted 1.9% of the population. Other populations did not change significantly.

As of the census² of 2000, there were 2,846,289 people, 935,287 households, and 667,794 families residing in the county, making Orange County the second most populous county in California. The population density was 1,392/km² (3,606/sq mi). There were 969,484 housing units at an average density of 474/km² (1,228/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 64.81% White, 13.59% Asian, 1.67% African American, 0.70% Native American, 0.31% Pacific Islander, 14.80% from other races, and 4.12% from two or more races. 30.76% are Hispanic or Latino of any race. 58.6% spoke English, 25.3% Spanish, 4.7% Vietnamese, 1.9% Korean, 1.5% Chinese or Mandarin and 1.2% Tagalog as their first language.

In 1990, still according to the census² there were 2,410,556 people residing in the county. The racial makeup of the county was 78.60% White, 10.34% Asian or Pacific Islander, 1.77% African American, 0.50% Native American, and 8.79% from other races. 23.43% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 935,287 households out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.6% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.48.

The population is diverse age-wise, with 27.0% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there were 99.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $61,899, and the median income for a family was $75,700. Males had a median income of $45,059 versus $34,026 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,826. About 7.0% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

Median household income by community

Unincorporated communities are included if their population is greater than 15,000.


Education

Orange County is home to many colleges and universities, including:



Many Orange County residents commute to colleges in neighboring counties, including Cerritos College, Biola University and California State University, Long Beach which are all right next to the L.A.-Orange county borderline.

Its county department of education also oversees 28 school districts.

Further information: List of school districts in Orange County, California

Tallest buildings in Orange County

City Structure Height (feet) Stories Built
Buena Park Knott's Supreme Scream (amusement ride) 312 N/A N/A
Costa Mesa Center Tower 285 21 1985
Costa Mesa Plaza Tower 282 21 1992
Orange City Tower 269 21 1988
Newport Beach The Islands Hotel (Formerly the Four Seasons) N/A 20 1986
Orange Doubletree Hotel Anaheim N/A 20 1986
Irvine Jamboree Center - 4 Park Plaza 263 19 1990
Irvine Jamboree Center - 3 Park Plaza 263 19 1990
Irvine Jamboree Center - 5 Park Plaza 263 19 1990
Irvine Edison International Tower 263 19 N/A
Anaheim Anaheim Marriot - Palms Tower N/A 19 N/A
Newport Beach 610 Tower N/A 18 N/A
Orange City Plaza N/A 18 N/A
Irvine Opus Center Irvine II 246 14 2002
Costa Mesa Park Tower 240 17 1979
Irvine Wells Fargo Center 230 18 1990
Irvine Tower 17 220 17 1987
Costa Mesa Comerica Bank Tower (Two Town Center) 213 15 N/A
Costa Mesa DiTech.com Tower (Two Town Center) 213 15 N/A
Orange 1100 Executive Tower 210 16 N/A
Costa Mesa Westin South Coast Plaza N/A 17 N/A
Irvine Irvine Marriott (Koll Center Irvine) N/A 17 N/A
Newport Beach 620 Tower N/A 17 1970
Newport Beach 660 Tower N/A 17 N/A
Anaheim Anaheim Marriott - Oasis Tower N/A 16 N/A
Garden Grove Hyatt Regency Orange County N/A 16 1987
Irvine 2600 Michelson N/A 16 N/A
Newport Beach Marriott Newport Beach Hotel N/A 16 N/A
Santa Ana Xerox Centre N/A 16 1988
Anaheim Disney California Adventure's Hollywood Tower of Terror (amusement ride) 199 --- 2004
Anaheim Anaheim Convention Center

[2]

Points of interest

The area's warm Mediterranean climate and 42 miles (68 km) of year-round beaches attract millions of tourists annually. Huntington Beach is a hot spot for sunbathing and surfing; nicknamed "Surf City, U.S.A.", it is home to many surfing competitions. "eVocal", on the west side of Costa Mesa is the center of Orange County's underground artistic movement. "The Wedge", at the tip of The Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach, is one of the most famous body surfing spots in the world. Other tourist destinations include the theme parks Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim and Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park. The Anaheim Convention Center is the largest such facility on the West Coast. The old town area in the City of Orange (the traffic circle at the middle of Chapman Ave. at Glassell) still maintains its 1950s image, and appeared in the That Thing You Do! movie. Little Saigon is another notable tourist destination, being home to the largest concentration of Vietnamese people outside of Vietnam. There are also sizable Taiwanese, Chinese, and Korean communities, particularly in western Orange County. This is evident in several Asian-influenced shopping centers in Asian American hubs like the city of Irvine.

Other notable structures include the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse in Santa Ana, the largest building in the county; the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, the largest house of worship in California; the historic Balboa Pavilion [3] in Newport Beach; the Huntington Beach Pier; and the restored Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Some of the most exclusive (and expensive) neighborhoods in the U.S. are located here, many along the Orange County Coast, and some in north Orange County. Historical points of interest include Mission San Juan Capistrano (destination of migrating swallows), and the Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum in Yorba Linda. The Nixon Home is a National Historic Landmark, as is the home of a very different character, Madam Helena Modjeska, in Modjeska Canyon on Santiago Creek.

Since the premiere in fall 2003 of the hit FOX series The OC, tourism has increased with travelers from across the globe hoping to see the sights seen in the show.

Shopping Malls

Orange County is home to many large World class shopping malls.

Swap Meets & Flea Markets

Sports

Huntington Beach annually plays host to the U.S. Open of Surfing, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball and Vans World Championship of Skateboarding.[4]

Sports teams

Street banners promoting the county's two major league teams, the Ducks and the Angels.

The Major League Baseball team in Orange County is the Angels of Anaheim. The Angels won the World Series in 2002 when they were known as the Anaheim Angels. The change to the new name in 2005, which prompted a lawsuit by the City of Anaheim against Angels owner Arte Moreno, has been widely unpopular in Orange County [5].

The county's National Hockey League team, the Anaheim Ducks, won the 2007 Stanley Cup beating the Ottawa Senators. They also came close to winning the 2003 Stanley Cup finals after winning three games in a seven-game series against the New Jersey Devils.

The Orange County Blue Star is a USL Premier Development League soccer club. They play at Orange Coast College. Among those who have played for OCBS are Juergen Klinsmann, the former German star and Germany's 2006 World Cup coach, who played under an assumed name.

The Anaheim Arsenal are an NBA D-League expansion team for the 2006-2007 season. They play their home games at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The Orange County Gladiators are an American Basketball Association (ABA) expansion team starting in November of 2007. They will play their home games at Fieldhouse Gym at JSerra in San Juan Capistrano.

Orange County Roller Girls [6] - an All Female Flat Track Roller Derby League formed in 2006 and actively plays (bouts) at various locations in Orange County. Many of the leagues bouts are played against teams from other cities throughout the United States.

Orange County has two amateur Australian Rules Football teams. The men's team is the Southern California Australian Football League Orange County Bombers [7]. The women's team is the Women's Australian Football Association Orange County Bombshells [8].

Former and defunct Orange County sports teams

The National Football League football left the county when the Los Angeles Rams relocated to St. Louis in 1995. Anaheim city leaders are in talks with the NFL to bring a Los Angeles-area franchise to Orange County, though they are competing with other cities in and around Los Angeles.

The California Surf played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1981. The club called Anaheim Stadium home.

The L.A. Salsa played at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Stadium in 1993-94 in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL), at the time the top soccer league in the U.S. The Salsa, whose general manager was former Cosmos star Ricky Davis and its coach former Brazil star Rildo Menezes, also played some games at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park, Calif., attempting a season in Mexico's second-tier Primera A Division. That attempt was cancelled after several games when FIFA and CONCACAF ruled a club could not play in two leagues in separate countries. The Salsa lost to the Colorado Foxes in the 1993 APSL final at Cal State Fullerton.

The Orange County Zodiac, affiliated with MLS's Los Angeles Galaxy, played soccer at Santa Ana Stadium (also known as Santa Ana Bowl) and Orange Coast College from 1997 to 2000.

The county was the home of the Orange County Buzz basketball team of the American Basketball Association (ABA). In May 2006, the NBA Development League's L.A. Clippers-affiliated team announced their move to Carson, California.

The Anaheim Storm was a member of the National Lacrosse League. They folded in 2005 due to low attendance.

The Anaheim Piranhas were a Arena Football League team in 1996-97, but folded due to team board financial problems.

The Anaheim Bullfrogs were a Roller Hockey International team that lasted from 1993-99 and were briefly revived in 2001.

The Anaheim Splash was a soccer team that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League from 1993 to 1997.

The Los Angeles Clippers played some home games at The Arrowhead Pond, now known as the Honda Center, for a few years, before moving to Staples Center, which they share with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Southern California Sun was an American football team based out of Anaheim that played in the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. Their records were 13-7 in 1974 and 7-5 in 1975. Their home stadium was Anaheim Stadium.

Government

Orange County is a chartered county of California; its seat is Santa Ana. Its legislative and executive authority is vested in a five-member Board of Supervisors. Each Supervisor is popularly elected from a regional district, and together the board oversees the activities of the county's agencies and departments and sets policy on development, public improvements, and county services. At the beginning of each year the Supervisors select a Chairman and Vice-Chairman, but the administration is headed by a professional municipal manager, the County Executive. The current supervisors are Janet Nguyen, John Moorlach, Bill Campbell, Chris Norby, and Pat Bates.

Seven other public officials are elected at-large: the County Assessor, Auditor-Controller, Clerk-Recorder, District Attorney, Sheriff-Coroner, Treasurer-Tax Collector and Public Administrator. Since 1999, the Orange County Sheriff's Department has been led by Sheriff-Coroner Mike Carona.

Politics

Orange County Votes
by Party in Presidential Elections
Year GOP DEM Others
2004 59.7% 641,832 39.0% 419,239 1.3% 14,328
2000 55.8% 541,299 40.4% 391,819 3.9% 37,787
1996 51.7% 446,717 37.9% 327,485 10.5% 90,374
1992 43.9% 426,613 31.6% 306,930 24.6% 239,006
1988 67.7% 586,230 31.1% 269,013 1.2% 10,064
1984 74.7% 635,013 24.3% 206,272 1.0% 8,792
1980 67.9% 529,797 22.6% 176,704 9.5% 73,711
1976 62.2% 408,632 35.3% 232,246 2.5% 16,555
1972 68.3% 448,291 26.9% 176,847 4.8% 31,515
1968 63.1% 314,905 29.9% 148,869 7.0% 34,933
1964 55.9% 224,196 44.0% 176,539 0.1% 430
1960 60.8% 174,891 38.9% 112,007 0.2% 701
1956 67.4% 113,510 32.6% 54,895 0.9% 1,474
1952 70.4% 77,548 29.6% 32,530 0.7% 844

Orange County has long been known as a Republican stronghold and has consistently sent Republican representatives to the state and federal legislatures. Republican majorities in Orange County helped deliver California's electoral votes to Republican presidential candidates Richard Nixon (1960, 1968 and 1972), Gerald Ford (1976), Ronald Reagan (1980 and 1984) and George H. W. Bush (1988). Orange County has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since Franklin D. Roosevelt's United States presidential election, 1936|1936]] landslide re-election for a second term. Although Democrats have made inroads in the northern end of the county since the mid-1980s, Orange County politics are still dominated by Republicans. Five of the county's six U.S. Representatives, four of its five State Senators and seven of its nine State Assembly members are Republicans, as are all five members of the County Board of Supervisors. Only four Democrats have carried the county in a statewide race in the last 50 years; Jerry Brown in his successful campaign for Governor in 1978, March Fong Eu for Secretary of State and Kenneth Cory for State Controller, both also in 1978 and Kathleen Connell for Controller in 1998.

In Congress, representatives whose districts are completely or partially in the county include Republicans Ed Royce (CA-40), Gary Miller (CA-42), Ken Calvert (CA-44), Dana Rohrabacher (CA-46), and John Campbell (CA-48), and Democrat Loretta Sanchez (CA-47). In the State Senate, Senators whose districts are completely or partially in the county include Republicans Bob Margett (SD-29), Dick Ackerman (SD-33), Tom Harman (SD-35), and Mark Wyland (SD-38), and Democrat Lou Correa (SD-34). In the State Assembly, Assemblymembers whose districts are completely or partially in the county include Republicans Bob Huff (AD-60), Jim Silva (AD-67), Van Tran (AD-68), Chuck DeVore (AD-70), Todd Spitzer (AD-71), Michael D. Duvall (AD-72), and Mimi Walters (AD-73), and Democrats Tony Mendoza (AD-56) and Jose Solorio (AD-69).

According to the Orange County Registrar of Voters, as of December 26, 2006, Orange County had 1,501,843 registered voters. Of these registered voters, 47.78% (717,546) are registered Republicans, and 30.08% (451,706) are registered Democrats, giving the Republicans a registration advantage of 17.7% (265,840) – or over a quarter of a million voters. An additional 18.19% (273,215) declined to state a political party, and the remaining 3.95% (59,376) are registered with minor political parties.[5]

Orange County has produced such notable Republicans as President Richard Nixon (born in Yorba Linda and lived in San Clemente), U.S. Senator John F. Seymour (previously mayor of Anaheim), and U.S. Senator Thomas Kuchel (of Anaheim). Former Congressman Chris Cox (of Newport Beach), a White House counsel for President Ronald Reagan, is currently chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Orange County was also home to former Republican Congressman John G. Schmitz, a presidential candidate in 1972 from the ultra-conservative American Independent Party and the father of Mary Kay Letourneau. In 1996, Curt Pringle (currently mayor of Anaheim) became the first Republican-elected Speaker of the California State Assembly in decades.

While the growth of the county's Hispanic and Asian populations in recent decades has significantly influenced the culture of Orange County, its conservative reputation has remained largely intact. Partisan voter registration patterns of Hispanics, Asians and other ethnic minorities in the county have tended to reflect the surrounding demographics, with resultant Republican majorities in all but the central portion of the county. When Democrat Loretta Sanchez defeated veteran Republican Bob Dornan in the congressional contest of 1996, she was continuing a trend of Democratic representation of that district that had been interrupted by Dornan's 1984 upset of former Congressman Jerry Patterson. Until 1992, Sanchez herself was a Republican, and she is viewed as having moderate or even conservative positions on many issues.

Republicans have responded to the influx of ethnic immigrants by making more explicit efforts to court the Hispanic and Asian vote. In 2004, George W. Bush captured 60% of the county's vote, up from 56% in 2000, despite a higher Democratic popular vote compared with the 2000 election. Although Barbara Boxer won statewide, and fared better in Orange County than she did in 1998, Republican Bill Jones defeated her in the county, 51% to 43%. And while the 39% that John Kerry received is higher than the percentage Bill Clinton won in both 1992 and 1996, the percentage of the vote George W. Bush received in 2004 (60% of the vote) is the highest any presidential candidate has received since 1988, showing a still-dominant GOP presence in the county. In 2006, Senator Dianne Feinstein won 45% of the vote in the county, the highest margin of a Democrat in a Senate race in over four decades. Democratic strength is concentrated in the communities of Santa Ana, Laguna Beach, and Laguna Woods.

The county features prominently in the book Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right by Lisa McGirr. She argues that the county's conservative political orientation in the 20th century owed much to its settlement by Midwestern transplants, who reacted strongly to communist sympathies, the civil rights movement, and the turmoil of the 1960s in nearby Los Angeles — across the "Orange Curtain."

In the 1970s and 1980s, Orange County was one of California's leading Republican voting blocs and a sub-culture of residents to hold "Middle American" values that emphasized a capitalist religious morality in contrast to West coast progressive liberalism that well existed there.

Orange County has a high portion of Republican voters from culturally conservative Asian-American, Middle Eastern and Latino immigrants, many came as refugees from wars and dictatorships, are strongly loyal to policies of the Republican party to defeat communism and radical Islamic terrorism. High numbers of Vietnamese-Americans in Garden Grove and Westminster are also Republican loyalists for the party's anti-communist policies. Vietnamese Americans registered Republicans outnumber Democrats at a rate of 55% to 22%. Republican Assemblyman Van Tran was elected to become the first Vietnamese-American to serve in a state legislature and is tied with Texan Hubert Vo as the highest-ranking elected Vietnamese-American in the United States. In the 2007 Special Election for the vacant county supervisor seat following Democrat Lou Correa's election to the state senate, two Vietnamese-American Republican candidates topped the list of 10 candidates, separated from each other by only 7 votes, making the Board of Supervisors all-Republican.

Transportation

Major highways

Surface transportation in Orange County relies heavily on several major interstate highways: the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5), the San Diego Freeway (I-405 and I-5 south of Irvine), and the San Gabriel River Freeway (I-605), which only briefly enters Orange County territory in the northwest. The other freeways in the county are state highways, and include the perpetually congested Riverside and Artesia Freeway (SR 91) and the Garden Grove Freeway (SR 22) running east-west, and the Orange Freeway (SR 57), the Costa Mesa Freeway (SR/SR 55), the Laguna Freeway (SR 133), the San Joaquin Transportation Corridor (SR 73), the Eastern Transportation Corridor (SR 261, SR 133, SR 241), and the Foothill Transportation Corridor (SR 241) running north-south. Minor stub freeways include the Richard M. Nixon Freeway (SR 90), also known as Imperial Highway, and the southern terminus of Pacific Coast Highway (SR 1).

Public transit

Transit in Orange County is offered primarily by the Orange County Transportation Authority. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) cited OCTA as the best large property transportation system in the United States for 2005. OCTA manages the county's bus network and funds the construction and maintenance of local streets, highways, and freeways; regulates taxicab services; maintains express toll lanes through the median of the Riverside Freeway (SR 91); and works with Southern California's Metrolink to provide commuter rail service along three lines - the Orange County Line, the 91 Line, and the Inland Empire-Orange County Line.

The bus network comprises 6,542 stops on 77 lines, running along most major streets, and accounts for 210,000 boardings a day. The fleet of 817 buses is gradually being replaced by LNG-powered vehicles, which already represent over 40% of the total.

Starting in 1992, Metrolink has operated three commuter rail lines through Orange County, and has also maintained Rail-to-Rail service with parallel Amtrak service. On a typical weekday, 40 trains run along the Orange County Line, the 91 Line and the Inland Empire-Orange County Line. Along with Metrolink riders on parallel Amtrak lines, these lines generate over 12,000 boardings per weekday. Metrolink also began offering weekend service on the Orange County Line and the Inland Empire-Orange County line in the summer of 2006. As ridership has steadily increased in the region, new stations have opened at Anaheim Canyon, Tustin, and Laguna Niguel, and a new station in Buena Park is slated to open in 2008. Stations at Placentia and Yorba Linda are proposed for future construction.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) will be making its debut in 2008.

A car and passenger ferry service, the Balboa Island Ferry, comprising three ferries running every five minutes, operates between Balboa Peninsula and Balboa Island in Newport Beach.

Orange County's only major airport is the John Wayne-Orange County Airport (SNA). It is located in unincorporated territory surrounded by the cities of Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, and Irvine. Its modern Thomas F. Riley Terminal handles over 8 million passengers annually through 14 different airlines.

Film and television

Orange County has been the setting for numerous films and television shows:

Orange County has also been used as a shooting location for several films and television programs. Examples of movies at least partially shot in Orange County are Tom Hanks's That Thing You Do, the Coen Brothers' The Man Who Wasn't There, and the Martin Lawrence movie Big Momma's House. All three of which were filmed in or around the Old Towne Plaza in the City of Orange.

Music

In 2006, Gwen Stefani, an Orange County native, released a song called "Orange County Girl" for her album The Sweet Escape.

Literature

A number of novels by best-selling fiction and horror author Dean Koontz, a resident of Newport Beach, are set in the area.

Several of the stories in Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon's collection, A Model World, are set in Orange County. Chabon studied creative writing at UC Irvine.

Orange County is the place in which Kim Stanley Robinson's Three Californias Trilogy is set. These books depict three different futures of the Orange County (survivors of a nuclear war in The Wild Shore, a developer's dream gone mad in The Gold Coast, and an ecotopian utopia in Pacific Edge). Philip K. Dick's novel A Scanner Darkly was also set in Orange County.

From his first novel, "Laguna Heat," to more recent books such as "California Girl," mystery-writer T. Jefferson Parker has set many of his novels in Orange County.

The modern fantasy novel "All the Bells on Earth" by James P. Blaylock is set in Orange.

Religion

Orange County is also the base for several significant religious organizations:

It should be noted that among the Christian population, the majority of the population with German ancestry follows the various Protestant denominations while the ethnic Irish, Hispanic, and other populations follow Roman Catholicism. There are about 1.04 million Catholics in Orange County [14]. Also, there are about 35 synagogues to serve the sizeable Jewish community in the county.

Master planned communities

Orange County has a history of large master planned communities. Nearly 30% of the county was created as master planned communities, the most notable being the City of Irvine, Coto de Caza, Anaheim Hills, Tustin Ranch, Ladera Ranch, Talega, and Mission Viejo. Irvine has become the model master planned city, encompassing many villages which were all planned under a master plan by the Irvine Company in the mid-1960s. Many communities within California and throughout the country (and even outside the country including China) have used these Orange County developments as models for their own planning. Elements such as community clubhouses, numerous community pools, pocket parks, horse trails, and active associations were first established in Orange County master planned communities and have been copied in numerous places throughout the United States.

Notable residents

Main article: Notable Orange County residents

Due to Orange County's proximity to Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the United States, many film and media celebrities have moved or bought second homes in the county. Actor John Wayne, who lived in Newport Beach, is the namesake for Orange County's John Wayne Airport. Orange County has also produced many homegrown celebrities, including golfer Tiger Woods, basketball player Dennis Rodman, a number of professional ballplayers, including retired slugger Mark McGwire, actor Kevin Costner, comedian/actors Steve Martin and Will Ferrell, actresses Michelle Pfeiffer and Diane Keaton, and singers Chester Bennington, Bonnie Raitt, Gwen Stefani, Jeff Buckley, and Drake Bell.

The county's most famous resident was perhaps Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the United States, who was born in Yorba Linda and lived in San Clemente for several years following his resignation. His presidential library is in Yorba Linda.

ZIP codes

Further information: Southern California ZIP Codes

See also

References

  1. ^ State of California, Department of Finance (May 2007). "E-1 Population Estimates for Cities, Counties and the State with Annual Percent Change — January 1, 2006 and 2007". Retrieved 2007-07-10.
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ However, there was already a town by the name of Orange, California that was not named for the fruit, but rather for Orange County, Virginia
  4. ^ a b c "Orange County Goes Bust". Time Magazine. December 19, 1994. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ Orange County Registrar of Voters - District Registration by Party
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Orange County, California.

Government

Media

  • The Orange County Register - OC's chief Newspaper
  • OC Weekly - Orange County's Alternative Newsweekly
  • Orange County Business Journal - Weekly newspaper covering business in OC.
  • KOCE Orange County Public Television (PBS)- Five night per week Orange County news program "Real Orange."
  • SqueezeOC Web site devoted to things to do in Orange County.
  • OC Post Tabloid newspaper from the publishers of the Orange County Register.
  • OCLegend.Com Orange County's Original News Fabricator
  • OCThen.com Published memories from Orange County residents
  • OCVarsity.com Everything you need to know about Orange County High School sports.

Others

33°40′N 117°47′W / 33.67°N 117.78°W / 33.67; -117.78

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