Aliso Viejo, California Totally Explained

Everything about Aliso Viejo California totally explained

Aliso Viejo is a city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, Aliso Viejo population was 40,166. Aliso Viejo became Orange County's 34th city on July 1, 2001, and has been the only city in Orange County to incorporate since 2000. It borders the cities of Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, and Laguna Woods.

History

Incorporation

Aliso Viejo had been an unincorporated community since around 1990, when it became Orange County's 34th City on July 1, 2001. Aliso Viejo became a City mainly in response to Aliso Viejo's Cityhood 2000 committee, which was responsible for introducing an initiative onto the ballot for the City's 2001 special election. Voters passed the initiative, making Aliso Viejo officially a City, with 93.3% in favor. (External Link

) The Committee was created by the City's first Mayor, Carmen Vali-Cave, who was the Committee' co-founder and president.

City Council

Aliso Viejo has five spots on its City Council, with its members serving staggered four-year terms. Each year, the Council votes for its next Mayor and Mayor pro tem.
In 2001, the City's first City Council was voted into office. The original City Council consisted of Carmen Vali, Cynthia Pickett, Bill Phillips, Karl Warkomski, and Greg Ficke. (External Link

) The Council selected Vali-Cave to serve as the City's first Mayor, and Pickett as the City's first Mayor pro tem. Vali-Cave and Pickett served as the Mayor and Mayor pro tem from 2001 to 2002. In 2003, Pickett became Mayor with Phillips as Mayor pro tem.
In 2004, City Councilmen Karl Warkomski, Bill Phillips, and Greg Ficke faced re-election. All three candidates were re-elected for four more years on Council. Other candidates included Todd Gillespie and Don Garcia. In 2004 Phillips served as the City's Mayor with Warkomski as Mayor pro tem. In 2005, Warkomski served as Mayor with Carmen Vali-Cave as Mayor pro tem. In 2006, Vali-Cave served as Mayor with Cynthia Pickett-Adams as Mayor pro tem. In November 2006, Carmen Vali-Cave and Cynthia Pickett-Adams were re-elected to four-year terms. They had run against newcomers Daniel Orlowski and Larry Flynn.
In January of 2007, Adams again assumed office as as the City's Mayor with Vali-Cave, again, as the City's Mayor Pro Tem. In February of 2007, Councilman Warkomski resigned from office unexpectedly and the council appointed Don Garcia to his position. In March of 2007, Phillip Tsunoda was appointed to fill the vacancy left by the departure of Cynthia Adams. Vali-Cave was made Mayor and Bill Phillips Mayor pro tem after Adams's departure. In 2008, Bill Phillips assumed office as Mayor with Don Garcia serving as Mayor pro tem.

Geography

Aliso Viejo is located at (33.575096, -117.725431) in the San Joaquin Hills of Orange County.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 26.5 km² (10.2 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 40,166 people, 16,147 households, and 10,689 families residing in the CDP (now a city). The population density was 1,516.0/km² (3,927.7/mi²). There were 16,608 housing units at an average density of 626.8/km² (1,624.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP (now a city) is 78.16% White, 2.06% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 10.99% Asian, 0.22% Pacific Islander, 3.51% from other races, and 4.66% from two or more races. 11.65% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
   There were 16,147 households out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.7% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.8% were non-families. 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.01.
   In the CDP (now a city) the population is spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 48.8% from 25 to 44, 16.3% from 45 to 64, and 3.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.
   The median income for a household in the CDP (now a city) was $76,409, and the median income for a family was $84,592. Males had a median income of $61,316 versus $44,190 for females. The per capita income for the CDP (now a city) is $35,244. About 2.3% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 2.8% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

In the state legislature Aliso Viejo is located in the 33rd Senate District, represented by Republican Dick Ackerman, and in the 70th and 73rd Assembly Districts, represented by Republicans Chuck DeVore and Mimi Walters respectively. Federally, Aliso Viejo is located in California's 48th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of R +8 and is represented by Republican John Campbell.

Economy

Aliso Viejo is known for being the home of the headquarters of many large companies. The following companies are based in Aliso Viejo:

AND1, an athletic shoe manufacturer
Buy.com, an online retailer
eEye Digital Security, a digital security company
Fluor Corporation, an international construction contractor for petrochemical, infrastructure, and environmental projects, headquartered in Aliso Viejo until it was relocated to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex suburb of Irving, Texas in March 2006. Some divisions still reside in Aliso Viejo.
Ketel One, a vodka company
Marie Callender's, a restaurant chain
Pacific Life, an insurance company
QLogic, a network storage manufacturer
Quest Software, a software manufacturer
Red 5 Studios, a computer game company
Smith Micro Software, a software developer
Tamiya Corporation, a manufacturer of model cars
UST Global, an IT services and business process outsourcing company
USWeb, an Internet marketing company

Sports Teams

The Orange County Gladiators are an American Basketball Association (ABA) expansion team starting in November of 2007. They will play their home games at Aliso Niguel High School.

Controversy

The dihydrogen monoxide incident

Aliso Viejo city officials famously came close to banning styrofoam cups in 2004 after hearing that "dihydrogen monoxide" was used in their production, neglecting the fact that this substance is actually plain water. A paralegal working for the city found the dhmo.org

website and subsequently proceeded to propose the ban.

William Freund murder-suicide

In October 2005, the City gained national media attention once again when 19 year old resident William Freund donned a cape and mask and murdered two of his neighbors before killing himself. Freund was an alumnus of Aliso Viejo's only high school, Aliso Niguel High School, and he'd recently been diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome.
On November 17, 2006, the family of the two victims sued Freund's parents for "wrongful death and emotional distress."

School dance ban

In September 2006, Charles Salter, the principal of Aliso Niguel High School, Aliso Viejo's High School, gained widespread media attention when he infamously banned all school dances until further notice. Salter came under fire for his decision. His decision was based on the school's "Welcome Back Dance", in which several students became intoxicated, while others engaged in "freak dancing". Salter views "freak dancing" as inappropriate at a school dance. At the end of the month, Salter stood his ground and cancelled the school's annual Homecoming Dance, which gained both Salter and the school notoriety. A story on the school was featured on the national television program, Geraldo at Large and the BBC also covered the dance ban. In late November, it was announced that the dances would return to the school, but under new rules that banned "freak dancing."

Daniel Baldwin arrest

On November 8, 2006, actor Daniel Baldwin was arrested for stealing the car of a friend in Aliso Viejo.

Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist

Jim Gilchrist, founder of the anti-illegal immigration group Minuteman Project, resides in Aliso Viejo. The group gained national attention by sending volunteers to the U.S./Mexico border as lookouts for those attempting illegal entry into the United States. The group attends rallies supporting enforcement of immigration laws and opposes day laborer centers and special orders by law enforcement officials that forbid stopping a known illegal alien based on their immigration status.

Emergency services

Fire protection in Aliso Viejo is provided by the Orange County Fire Authority with ambulance service by Doctor's Ambulance. Law enforcement is provided by the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Education

The city is served by Capistrano Unified School District.
The schools that serve the city are:
Elementary

Canyon Vista Elementary School

Don Juan Avila Elementary School

Foxborough Elementary School

Oak Grove Elementary School

Wood Canyon Elementary School

Middle school

Aliso Viejo Middle School

Don Juan Avila Middle School High school

Aliso Niguel High School University

Soka University of America

Notable natives and residents

The following is a list of notable people who either have lived or do live in the City of Aliso Viejo:

Farzad Bonyadi, professional poker player

Ryan Coiner, Major League Soccer player for the Columbus Crew

William Freund, double-murder suicide

Jim Gilchrist, politician and founder of the Minuteman Project

Kenneth Kizer, CEO and former Secretary of Health in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs

Ivan Koumaev, contestant on the reality series So You Think You Can Dance

Marc Maiffret, computer security expert/computer hacker

Toni Turner, author

Alisa Valdez-Rodriguez, authorFurther Information

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