Company prominently displays AAA decals all over their tow trucks and in front of their office. Yet they take no time and effort at the scene of an accident to ask if the individual being towed is a member of AAA. When you go pick up your car they basically tell you that unless you explicitly tell them (or as they put it “take out your card and s...
Azusa is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 44,712 at the 2000 census. Though sometimes assumed to be a compaction of the phrase "everything from A to Z in the USA" from an old Jack Benny joke, the place name "Azusa" traces back to at least the eighteenth century. Azusa originally referred to the San Gabriel Valley and river, and likely derives from the Tongva place name Asuksagna.
Geography
The City is located at the entrance to the San Gabriel Canyon (hence the city's nickname, The Canyon City) and on the east side of the San Gabriel River.
As of the census of 2000, there were 44,712 people, 12,549 households, and 9,298 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,939.7/km² (5,023.7/mi²). There were 13,013 housing units at an average density of 564.5/km² (1,462.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 52.35% White, 3.78% Black or African American, 1.31% Native American, 6.14% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 30.52% from other races, and 5.73% from two or more races. 63.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 12,549 households out of which 43.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 17.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.9% were non-families. 18.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.41 and the average family size was 3.90.
In the city the population was spread out with 30.8% under the age of 18, 15.5% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 15.3% from 45 to 64, and 6.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,191, and the median income for a family was $40,918. Males had a median income of $30,845 versus $26,565 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,412. About 15.1% of families and 18.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.9% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.
Azusa is home to St. Frances of Rome Elementary School, serving grades k-8, which is part of St. Frances of Rome Catholic Church, under the Los Angeles Archdiocese.
Azusa is served by the Azusa Unified School District. Its schools include:
In October of 2009, the MTA Board unanimously voted to include the Foothill Extension in its long-range plan, and approved funding for the construction and operation of the Foothill Extension's first phase to Azusa. The terminus of this extension will be at the second of two stops in Azusa. The first stop will be the Alamada Station, just west of Alameda Avenue and east of Azusa Avenue, a main thoroughfare. The second stop will be at the planned northern extension of Citrus Avenue at Azusa's eastern border. This phase of the extension is scheduled to break ground in June of 2010, and is expected to be completed and opened in 2013.
A popular running gag on the long-running radio comedy The Jack Benny Program involved a railroad station announcer, voiced by Mel Blanc, announcing the arrival or departure of a train to or from "Anaheim, Azusa, and Cuc-a-monga." In Benny's day, the Santa Fe offered passenger service through Azusa and Cucamonga. Currently, there is no passenger rail service to Azusa proper, though Metrolink's well-maintained San Bernardino Line stops in nearby Covina and Baldwin Park many times daily. That line also serves Cucamonga, and a change of trains in San Bernardino or Los Angeles will enable one to reach Anaheim.
Public safety
The City of Azusa has its own Police Department, and maintained its own fire department until 1982. The city fire department merged with Los Angeles County Fire Department after a city election where the citizens approved an advisory measure to merge the fire department with the County in order to obtain paramedic and EMT services for the city. The LA County Consolidated Fire Department services Azusa from Fire Station 32 (605 N Alameda) and Fire Station 97 (Sierra Madre Blvd along the foothills), with backup assistance from Fire Station 152, 153, and 154 (Covina), Fire Station 29 (Baldwin Park), Station 44 (Duarte), and Station 48 (Irwindale). Fire Station 32, which was Azusa's own fire station, houses 1 front line paramedic squad with an average of 12.29 calls per 24 hour shift, and 1 front line engine with an average of 7.05 calls per 24 hour shift. Fire Station 32 also houses a reserve engine (E-532), a urban search and rescue trailer, and MA-32. Fire Station 97 houses 1 front line engine, and 1 front line patrol. Fire Station 32 is also home to Explorer Post 16, a youth program for 15-21 year olds that are interested in a career in the fire service. The Post meets on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month. The program is a joint with the Boy Scouts of America. Once becoming certified, the Explorer is then allowed to "Ride-Along," with different fire stations throughout the county.
The Azusa Police Department was home to the very first Chevrolet Camaro police car ever built. Originally produced at the now-closed GM Assembly Plant in Van Nuys (with a custom turbocharging system donated by race-car legend Gale Banks), it inspired the California Highway Patrol and the Michigan State Police to order a few Camaro police specials for their fleets (with many other police and sheriff's departments as well as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to follow). The Camaro was finally retired from active service in 2000. At that time it was the only Camaro police car of the original mid-1980s design to remain in service in any California police force.
Azusa was once home to the now defunct Lucky Lager brewery. Built in 1949, the facility was purchased by Miller Brewery in the early 1970's. A decade later, Miller relocated its operations to the nearby city of Irwindale, and the Azusa facility was eventually torn down.
Azusa was also home to a plant for rocket developer, Aerojet. In 1980, it was announced that there was TCE contamination in the groundwater at Aerojet's facility in Azusa in a hearing chaired by State Senator Esteben Torres. In 1985, it was declared a Superfund Site by the EPA as San Gabriel Superfund Site II and the cleanup done under the Baldwin Park Operable Unit. In 1997, it was also discovered that there was also NDMA and Ammonium Perchlorate contamination in this plume and that Aerojet was once again labeled a Potentially Responsible Party in this action. Aerojet sold this facility in 2001 to Northrop Grumman Corporation.
