LOS ALAMITOS

Government

City Council: Paul Bernal (mayor), Charles E. Sylvia (mayor pro tem), Alice B. Jempsa, Robert P. Wahlstrom, Anthony R. Selvaggi City Manager/City Clerk: Michael A. Graziano

Fire Chief: county

Chief of Police: Jim Guess

Statistics

Population: (1986 est.) 11,468 Area: 4.3 square miles Incorporation: March 1, 1960 Median household income: $32,564 Median home value: $116,083

Racial/ethnic mix: white, 89.3%; Latino, 14.5%; black, 2.0%; other, 8.7%

(Total is more than 100% because racial/ethnic breakdowns overlap)

City Services

City Hall: (213) 827-8670

3191 Katella Ave.

Police (business): (213) 527-7775

3201 Katella Ave.

Fire (business): (213) 744-0400

3642 Green Ave.

Post Office: (213) 431-6546

10932 Pine St.

In Emergency, Dial 911

Education

Adults over 25

Years of school completed

0-11 years: 20.1% 12 years: 34.5% 13-15 years: 24.3% 16+ years: 21.0% Median years completed: 12.8

POPULATION

Median Age: 33.4 years

Statistics: Donnelley Demographics

FOCUS

Community Spirit

Commonly mistaken as home to the horse-racing track that bears its name, Los Alamitos is actually a small, closely knit city that neighbors the Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress. The home of the 1942 Los Alamitos Air Station, operated since 1977 as an Armed Forces Reserve Center, Los Alamitos may be a strategic place to live during an earthquake. The military installation, with its fleet of about 100 helicopters and a capacity for the largest transport aircraft in stock, is designated as a pivotal location for disaster relief. During a catastrophic quake, it will become a beachhead, coordinating resources, communications and rescue efforts, according to Michael Guerin, Office of Emergency Services. The city itself is a well-balanced bedroom/business community with a “small-town feel� and a populace, according to city leaders, that possesses tremendous community spirit. Last year, for example, Los Alamitos Unifed School District teachers applied for and won a state grant to create the first high school for the arts in Orange County. The new school opened in September at the Los Alamitos High School campus, and city and private donors chipped in to fund a new $50,000 television production studio that will open on campus in February.

Clipboard researched by Rick VanderKnyff, Dan Crump, Nancy Reed, Henry Rivero / Los Angeles Times