Loma Linda, California

Loma Linda (Spanish for Beautiful Hill ) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States, that was incorporated in 1970. The population was 23,261 at the 2010 census, up from 18,681 at the 2000 census. The central area of the city was originally known as Mound City and its eastern half was known as Bryn Mawr.

Geography
Loma Linda is located in the San Bernardino Valley and is part of the Inland Empire. It is bordered on the north by San Bernardino, on the east by Redlands, on the west by Colton, and on the south by Riverside County. A small area of unincorporated territory separates Loma Linda from the city of Moreno Valley to the south.

The remnants of Bryn Mawr were annexed by the City in 2006.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.5 sqmi, 99.99% of it land.

Surrounding municipalities
The following diagram displays municipalities within a 16 km radius of Loma Linda.

2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Loma Linda had a population of 23,261. The population density was 3,094.3 people per square mile (1,194.7/km²). The racial makeup of Loma Linda was 11,122 (47.8%) White, 2,032 (8.7%) African American, 97 (0.4%) Native American, 6,589 (28.3%) Asian, 154 (0.7%) Pacific Islander, 2,022 (8.7%) from other races, and 1,245 (5.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5,171 persons (22.2%).

The Census reported that 22,457 people (96.5% of the population) lived in households, 562 (2.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 242 (1.0%) were institutionalized.

There were 8,764 households, out of which 2,650 (30.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 3,832 (43.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,190 (13.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 461 (5.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 351 (4.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 46 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,453 households (28.0%) were made up of individuals and 837 (9.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56. There were 5,483 families (62.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.18.

The population was spread out with 4,859 people (20.9%) under the age of 18, 2,642 people (11.4%) aged 18 to 24, 7,463 people (32.1%) aged 25 to 44, 5,056 people (21.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,241 people (13.9%) who were 65 years of age or lder. The median age was 33.2 years. For every 100 females there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.9 males.

There were 9,649 housing units at an average density of 1,283.6 per square mile (495.6/km²), of which 3,432 (39.2%) were owner-occupied, and 5,332 (60.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 9.9%. 9,496 people (40.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 12,961 people (55.7%) lived in rental housing units.

2000
As of the census of 2000, there were 18,681 people, 7,536 households, and 4,498 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,541.7 people per square mile (981.3/km²). There were 8,084 housing units at an average density of 1,099.9 per square mile (424.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 54.2% White, 7.2% African American, 0.5% Native American, 24.4% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 7.5% from other races, and 6.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.3% of the population.

There were 7,536 households out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.3% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.4 and the average family size was 3.1.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 86.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $38,204, and the median income for a family was $45,774. Males had a median income of $36,086 versus $35,096 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,189. About 12.9% of families and 15.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.6% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over. Whether or not these poverty statistics include unemployed full-time students is not known.

Government
Loma Linda uses the council-manager form of government, and the City Council is composed of Mayor Rhodes Rigsby, Mayor pro tempore Ovidiu Popescu, Ron Dailey, Stan Brauer, and Phill Dupper.

Politics
In the state legislature Loma Linda is located in the 31st Senate District, represented by Republican Robert Dutton, and in the 63rd Assembly District, represented by Republican Bill Emmerson. Federally, Loma Linda is located in California's 41st congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of R +9 and is represented by Republican Jerry Lewis.

Loma Linda is also the Sister City of Libertador, Argentina and Manipal, India.

Education
The city of Loma Linda is part of the Redlands Unified School District, with Bryn Mawr Elementary School being situated within Loma Linda city limits. However, the western edge of the city is served by the Colton Unified School District. Also located in the city are Loma Linda Academy, a K-12 institution, and Loma Linda University, both of which are run by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Notable features
Loma Linda is a center of activity for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and is home to Loma Linda University, a Seventh-day Adventist Christian health sciences institution of higher learning with a world-renowned medical center. Notable firsts at the Loma Linda University Medical Center include baboon-to-human heart transplant and the first split-brain surgery. Animal Planet television show Venom ER was filmed at the medical center, as well.

Loma Linda was featured by National Geographic Magazine as one of the three places in the world with the highest longevity. Dan Buettner considers this community to be a Blue Zone.

Since a popular practice of Seventh-day Adventists is vegetarianism, most restaurants in Loma Linda feature a vegetarian menu in addition to regular menu items. The Loma Linda Baker's Drive-Thru was the first in that fast-food chain to feature the "Loma Linda Kitchen" vegetarian menu. The chain has since dropped the Loma Linda name for the menu and expanded its vegetarian choices.

Due to the large number of Loma Linda residents who are Seventh-day Adventists, the city is one of the few which has weekend mail delivery service on Sunday instead of Saturday. However, this distinction ended on April 23, 2011, when Saturday delivery resumed as part of a Post Office cost-cutting effort.

Water contamination and air pollution
Ground water near Loma Linda is contaminated by a plume of the chemical perchlorate which was used in the manufacture of solid rocket fuel. Also, this chemical was formerly (decades ago and in very small amounts) prescribed by physicians to control the overactive thyroid glands of certain patients. Attempts to quantify the effects of low-level exposure to perchlorate have met with resistance from environmental (and other) activists. A nearby plant operated by Lockheed Aerospace has been implicated in the improper disposal of the rocket fuel ingredient, which leached into the ground water northeast of Loma Linda. Loma Linda's municipal water supply, nevertheless, has been unaffected by the plume, primarily because Lockheed Martin installed a $19 million treatment plant in 2010 to remove both perchlorate and trichloroethylene from water after pumping it from the aquifer. The San Bernardino Valley has some of the worst breathing-air quality in the United States, because of the prevailing westerly winds that blow large amounts of pollutants from Los Angeles County into this area of San Bernardino County.