Cerritos, California

For other uses of the Spanish word "Cerrito" or "Cerritos", see Cerrito (disambiguation).

City of Cerritos
—  City  —
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): "The Geographic Center of Southern California", "The Freeway City"
Motto: "A City With Vision", "Progress Through Commitment", "A History In Progress", "A Prestige Address"
Location of Cerritos in Los Angeles County, California
City of Cerritos Location in California
Coordinates: 33°52′6″N 118°4′3″W / 33.86833°N 118.0675°W / 33.86833; -118.0675Coordinates: 33°52′6″N 118°4′3″W / 33.86833°N 118.0675°W / 33.86833; -118.0675
Country	United States
State	California
County	Los Angeles
Incorporated (city)	April 24, 1956
Government
– Type	Charter City, Council-Manager
– Mayor	Carol K. Chen
– Mayor Pro Tem	Jim Edwards
– City Council	Bruce W. Barrows Joseph Cho Mark Pulido
– City Manager	Art Gallucci
Area[1]
– Total	8.856 sq mi (22.937 km2)
– Land	8.725 sq mi (22.598 km2)
– Water	0.131 sq mi (0.339 km2)  1.48%
Elevation	34 ft (14 m)
Population (2010)
– Total	49,041
– Density	5,537.6/sq mi (2,138.1/km2)
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
– Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP codes	90701, 90703
Area code(s)	562
FIPS code	06-12552
GNIS feature ID	0241229
Website	www.cerritos.us

Cerritos (formerly known as Dairy Valley because of the preponderance of dairy farms in the area) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and is one of several cities that constitute the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. It was incorporated on April 24, 1956. The current OMB metropolitan designation for Cerritos is "Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA." According to the 2010 US Census, the population was 49,041.^[2]

History

Cerritos was originally inhabited by Native Americans belonging to the Tongva people (or "People of the Earth"). Later, the Tongva would be renamed the "Gabrieleños" by the Spanish settlers after the nearby Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. The Gabrieleños were the largest group of Southern California Indians as well as the most developed in the region.^[3] The Gabrieleños lived off the land, deriving food from the animals or plants that could be gathered, snared, or hunted, and grinding acorns as a staple.^[3]

Beginning in the late 15th century, Spanish explorers arrived in the New World and worked their way to the California coast in 1542. The colonization process included "civilizing" the native populations in California by means of establishing various missions. Soon afterwards, a town called El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula (Los Angeles today) would be founded and prosper with the aid of subjects from New Spain and Native American labor.^[3]

One soldier, José Manuel Nieto, was granted a large plot of land by the Spanish King Carlos III, which he named Rancho Los Nietos. It covered 300,000 acres (1,200 km²) of what are today the cities of Cerritos, Long Beach, Lakewood, Downey, Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs, part of Whittier, Huntington Beach, Buena Park, and Garden Grove.^[3]

The rancho was divided five ways among Nieto's heirs during the nationalization of church property by the Mexican government, with Juan José Nieto retaining the largest plot called Rancho Los Coyotes. Nieto called the area of Rancho Los Coyotes, where Cerritos is located today, "cerritos" or "little hills" although no natural hills exist in modern-day Cerritos. In Spanish, the word cerritos means "little hills."

After the Mexican-American war, the rancho would eventually wind up in the hands of the Los Angeles and San Bernardino Land Company which encouraged development and rail lines to be built by Henry E. Huntington and his Pacific Electric Railway company. It is through rapid development combined with improved transportation systems that formed the modern-day city of Artesia in Rancho Los Coyotes in 1875, and from it, the City of Dairy Valley.

A small general aviation airport was built around 1946 and was called Cranford Airport and consisted of two 2,300' runways, one oriented north/south & the other northeast/southwest. Each runway had a parallel taxiway, and a ramp along the south side of the field had 2 building hangars. The site for Cranford Airport is located on the northwest corner of the intersection of South Street & Carmenita Road. Cranford Airport closed at some point between 1953-54.^[4]

The City of Dairy Valley was incorporated on April 24, 1956, as a reaction to nearby Artesia's rapid urbanization. The City's name symbolized the more than 400 dairies, 100,000 cows and 106,300 chickens found within its limits. The cows outnumbered the City's 3,439 residents by 29 to 1. The chickens outnumbered the residents by over 30 to 1.

Two years later, Dairy Valley voted to become a chartered California city. As land values and property taxes in California rose in the early 1960s, agriculture became increasingly unprofitable, and development pressures increased. In a special election held on July 16, 1963, residents voted to permit large-scale residential development. As a reflection of its newly planned suburban orientation, the City's name formally changed to "Cerritos" on January 10, 1967, after the nearby Spanish land grant Rancho Los Cerritos, which figured prominently in the region and after Cerritos College in neighboring Norwalk.

Cerritos is a prime example of the "fiscalization" of California politics after the tax revolt of the 1970s and the passage of Proposition 13. The only way for California cities to raise long-term tax revenue in light of Proposition 13 was to create as many commercial zones as possible to take advantage of the percentage of county sales tax allocated back to municipalities as sales tax revenue. Cerritos was one of the first cities in Los Angeles County to develop large-scale retail zones, such as the Los Cerritos Center and Cerritos Auto Square, and achieved stunning success. City leaders reinvested funds into the community with large public works projects and an increasing number of community services and programs.

The current progressive nature of the Cerritos government and the unusually strong tax-base is best reflected in its facilities. In 1978, Cerritos dedicated the nation's first solar-heated City Hall complex. In 1993, the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts opened its doors. In 1994, the City unveiled the Cerritos Towne Center project that combines office, retail, lodging, fine arts and dining in an open-air location. In 1997, the City opened the Cerritos Sheriff's Station/Community Safety Center to provide public safety services. In 2002, the City rededicated its public library. In 2006, the City celebrated its golden anniversary with memorials and the unveiling of a sculpture garden. The assessed valuation of the City of Cerritos is $7,177,428,066.^[5]

Between 1970 and 1972, Cerritos was the fastest growing city in California.^[6] The population exploded from 16,000 to 38,000. Since the 1980s, Cerritos has attracted a large number of upper-middle class Filipino, Korean, Indian, and Chinese immigrant families.^[7]

On August 31, 1986, Aeroméxico Flight 498 on approach to Los Angeles International Airport was struck by a small Piper aircraft that had strayed into an air traffic control zone reserved for commercial flights. Eighty-two people died, including 15 people on the ground. The Piper crashed into Cerritos Elementary School's unoccupied playground, but the Douglas DC-9 fell inverted (upside-down) out of the sky and plowed into dense residential zones, immediately flattening four houses. Eight more houses were destroyed by the subsequent fire before firefighters could bring it under control. The incident is memorialized with a new sculpture installed in the Cerritos Sculpture Garden.

Geography

Cerritos is located at 33°52′6″N 118°4′3″W / 33.86833°N 118.0675°W / 33.86833; -118.0675 (33.868314, -118.067547).^[8]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.9 square miles (23 km²). 8.7 square miles (23 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of it (1.48%) is water.

Cerritos lies along the Los Angeles County and Orange County border. The cities bordering Cerritos on the Los Angeles County side include Artesia in the center, Bellflower, Lakewood, Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs, and La Mirada. Buena Park and La Palma border the City on the Orange County side. Other cities in the region include Cypress in Orange County, and Hawaiian Gardens, Long Beach, and Signal Hill in Los Angeles County.

The former postal ZIP code of Cerritos was 90701 and was shared with the city of Artesia; however, it was later changed to an exclusive 90703 to accommodate the increasing number of new addresses in the City during the mid-1990s.

Climate

Cerritos, California
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     3   68 46     3   68 48     2.4   69 50     0.6   73 53     0.2   74 58     0.1   78 61     0   83 65     0.1   85 66     0.2   83 64     0.4   79 58     1.1   73 50     1.8   69 45 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches Source: Weather.com / NWS
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     75   20 8     76   20 9     62   21 10     15   23 12     5.8   23 14     2   26 16     0.5   28 18     2.5   29 19     6.1   28 18     10   26 14     28   23 10     45   21 7 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

The City of Cerritos, as well as most of coastal Southern California, generally has a Mediterranean climate and shares the climate of areas along the Mediterranean Sea. Summers are warm to hot, and winters are cool, rarely falling below freezing. Precipitation in Cerritos occurs predominantly during the winter months.

Cerritos also has a unique "semi-marine" climate pattern within Los Angeles County. The fog that typically covers the beach cities rarely reaches Cerritos, but the breeze that comes along the San Gabriel River from the Pacific Ocean has a significant cooling effect. As a result, Cerritos is rarely affected by the smog, Santa Ana winds, and smothering heat of the Los Angeles Basin.^[9]

The period of April through November is warm to hot and dry with average high temperatures of 71–79 °F (22–26 °C) and lows of 50–62 °F (10–17 °C). Due to the moderating effect of the ocean, temperatures are cooler than in more inland areas of Los Angeles, where temperatures can exceed 90 °F (32 °C).

The Los Angeles area is also subject to the phenomenon typical of a microclimate. As such, the temperatures can vary as much as 18 °F (10 °C) between inland areas and the coast, with a temperature gradient of over one degree per mile (1.6 km) from the coast inland. California has also a weather phenomenon called "June Gloom" or "May Gray", which sometimes gives overcast or foggy skies in the morning at the coast, but usually gives sunny skies by noon, during late spring and early summer.

Demographics

The 2010 United States Census^[10] reported that Cerritos had a population of 49,041. The population density was 5,537.6 people per square mile (2,138.1/km²). The racial makeup of Cerritos was 11,341 (23.1%) White, 3,388 (6.9%) African American, 131 (0.3%) Native American, 30,363 (61.9%) Asian, 138 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 1,822 (3.7%) from other races, and 1,858 (3.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5,883 persons (12.0%).

The Census reported that 48,937 people (99.8% of the population) lived in households, 86 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 18 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 15,526 households, out of which 5,724 (36.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 10,843 (69.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,884 (12.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 628 (4.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 278 (1.8%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 64 (0.4%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,801 households (11.6%) were made up of individuals and 1,005 (6.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.15. There were 13,355 families (86.0% of all households); the average family size was 3.40.

The population was spread out with 10,013 people (20.4%) under the age of 18, 4,065 people (8.3%) aged 18 to 24, 11,134 people (22.7%) aged 25 to 44, 15,158 people (30.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 8,671 people (17.7%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.0 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.

There were 15,859 housing units at an average density of 1,790.8 per square mile (691.4/km²), of which 12,711 (81.9%) were owner-occupied, and 2,815 (18.1%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.1%. 39,392 people (80.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 9,545 people (19.5%) lived in rental housing units.

The median income for a household in the city in 2010 was $95,797, and the estimated median income for a family is $76,944.^[11][12]

In 2000, males have a median income of $50,103 versus $37,421 for females. The per capita income for the city is $25,249. About 5.0% of the population and 4.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 5.4% of those under the age of 18 and 5.3% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. The average annual income of a household is $87,700 (approx. 15,900 total households as of 2006).

Economy

The two major sources of revenue for Cerritos are from retail sales tax and interest income from its general fund.^[13]

Employment within Cerritos is primarily located in two districts, Los Cerritos Shopping Center and Cerritos Industrial Park. Businesses found in the Industrial Park provide jobs in light manufacturing and assembly of electronic and automotive parts, among other things. United Parcel Service, the city's largest employer with a staff of 6,000, is located in the Industrial Park.^[14] In 2010, Los Cerritos Center provided for 4,450 full and part-time positions and the Cerritos Auto Square employs 2,160 people.^[5] Retail and industrial trades are responsible for Cerritos' $2 billion taxable retail sales and the $7.2 billion assessed property valuation.

According to the California State Board of Equalization, Cerritos residents are the second highest retail spenders in California (second to Beverly Hills) averaging $36,544 per resident. Applied Development Economics, in a presentation for the Cerritos Economic Commission on February 14, 2006 states that total annual household spending on retail is about $365 million a year with new car dealerships, grocery stores, department stores, service stations and eating places having the strongest demands.^[15]

A business survey conducted by Applied Development Economics in February 2006 revealed that the total consumer breakdown in Cerritos is: 25% from residents from other parts of Southern California, about 21.9% from Cerritos residents, 18% from commuters, 16% from neighboring communities, 13% from business to business/employee transactions, 10% from residents of Orange County, 5% from households from outside of Southern California, mainly to purchase vehicles from the Auto Square.

Cerritos Auto Square

Main article: Cerritos Auto Square

The Cerritos Auto Square is a planned auto mall combining all auto dealers within Cerritos into one, large three-block center accessible through two freeways.

Los Cerritos Center

Main article: Los Cerritos Center

Since September 1971, the Los Cerritos Center has been an integral source of retail tax revenue. The total gross lease area is 1,288,245 square feet (119,682 m²) and is the city's largest tax revenue source, producing $581 per square foot as of 2010.

Cerritos Towne Center

Main article: Cerritos Towne Center

The Towne Center has special traffic light gantries.

The Cerritos Towne Center is a power center which combines offices, retail, hotel, and entertainment facilities in one master planned project. The Towne Center includes the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts,^[16] a 203-room Sheraton Hotel and more than one million square feet (93,000 m²) of office space. The retail portion of the project includes several anchors and specialty shops.^[17] The project is bounded by 183rd Street to the south, Bloomfield Avenue to the west, Shoemaker Avenue to the east, and the Artesia Freeway (Route 91) to the north.

The Magnolia Power Project

The uncertain state of availability of electricity in California prompted the City of Cerritos on February 13, 2003, in conjunction with the cities of Anaheim, Burbank, Colton, Glendale and Pasadena, to participate in the Magnolia Power Project, which authorized the construction of a 310-megawatt power plant in the City of Burbank.^[18] Cerritos receives 10 megawatts, or 4% of the total output, to power public facilities, park lighting, traffic signals and water wells. Excess power (approximately 5 megawatts) is sold to public and/or private agencies.

Top employers

According to the City's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,^[19] the top employers in the city are:

#	Employer	# of Employees
1	ABC Unified School District	1,899
2	United Parcel Service	1,761
3	AT&T Mobility	994
4	Southern Wine & Spirits of Southern California	979
5	City of Cerritos	667
6	College Hospital	523
7	S&J Chevrolet	415
8	Nordstrom	364
9	Delta Dental of California	353
10	Norm Reeves Honda Superstore	286

Arts and culture

The Cerritos Fine Arts and Historical Commission has an "Art in Public Places Program" whereby the City commissions artists to create sculptures and fountains to be displayed in public points of interest, commercial property, and gateways into the city.

Tournament of Roses Parade

Since 2002, the City of Cerritos has participated in the Tournament of Roses Parade that is held every New Year's Day in Pasadena. The following floats have won awards in the Tournament of Roses Parade:

2003: "Learning Can Be Magical" — Judges' Special Trophy for Showmanship and Dramatic Impact

2004: "Rhapsody in Blue" — Craftsman Trophy

2005: "Families Make a Community" Tournament Special Trophy for exceptional merit in multiple categories

2006: "Magical Music Machine" — Animation Trophy

2007: "Nature Rocks" — Bob Hope Humor Award

2008: "Festival of Lanterns: Illuminating the Way" — Lathrop K. Leishman Trophy for being the most beautiful float entered by a non-commercial sponsor

2009: "Camelot: A Knight's Tale" — Grand Marshall Award

Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts

Main article: Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts

The Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts (CCPA) features live performances in music, magic, comedy, dance and drama. The 154,000 square foot (14,300 m²) arts center has movable seats, floors, ceilings and stage areas; the end result being a theater that can transform into six distinctive seating configurations, ranging in capacity from 921 to 1,800 seats. The facility also houses three additional meeting and banquet areas. The CCPA was designed by architect Barton Myers.

The cost of the CCPA had reached over $60 million by the end of construction and scheduling. It was designed to serve as a cultural icon for people in the community and formally opened its doors on January 9, 1993 with a four-day performance by Frank Sinatra.

The CCPA collected four awards for design shortly after its opening and has been named one of the top grossing theaters in its category in the United States.

Cerritos Millennium Library

Main article: Cerritos Millennium Library

Western facade of the Cerritos Millennium Library during the Christmas holiday season

The Cerritos Library originally opened to the public on September 17, 1973 with a "First Ladies" theme (in recognition of former First Lady Pat Nixon's home in the community). Eight years later, the City made its first renovation to the library for $6.6 million. Twenty-one thousand square feet (2,000 m²) were added for $5.4 million, and the remaining $1.2 million was spent on furniture and equipment.

In the late 1990s, Cerritos recognized the ever-changing innovation in information technology and the Internet and plans for a second renovation were approved.^[20] During the reconstruction, all materials were moved off site to temporary trailers in the parking lot of the Cerritos Towne Center for two years. The second renovation and expansion was completed on March 16, 2002.

At the time of its rededication, the newly renamed Cerritos Millennium Library was the first building in North America to be coated in titanium panels. This $40 million library features an elaborate interior design with themed reading rooms in a variety of Old World and ultramodern styles. A third floor was added to include several conference rooms and an outdoor terrace.

The Cerritos Library currently holds a Smithsonian Affiliation. It has been awarded American Library Association/American Institute of Architects "Award of Excellence" back in 1989. It was also honored with Reader's Digest's 2004 Best Library Award.

Cerritos Sculpture Garden

The Cerritos Air Disaster Memorial in the Cerritos Sculpture Garden - The sculpture is a memorial for Aeroméxico Flight 498.

The Cerritos Sculpture Garden was dedicated on March 11, 2006 and included a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by representatives from Cerritos' Sister City, Loreto, Baja California Sur. It is located in the Civic Center and is designed to house approximately 20 sculptures to be phased in over the coming years. At the time of the dedication ceremony, three sculptures were already in place.

• The Air Disaster Memorial honoring by name all the victims of the Aeroméxico Flight 498 disaster on August 31, 1986
• A replica of the Statue of Freedom which sits atop of the United States Capitol dome
• The four elemental allegories (Earth, Water, Wind and Fire) over a reflecting pool

The garden was made to be able to accommodate future sculpture installations in a lush landscape.^[21]

Parks and recreation

Cerritos Olympic Swim & Fitness Center

The Cerritos Olympic Swim & Fitness Center provides year-round, indoor recreational, instructional and competitive swimming and gym.

The Swim Center was used by Olympians for swimming practices during the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Pat Nixon Park

Main article: Pat Nixon Park

The Pat Nixon Park is a recreational park that pays tribute to the late First Lady Pat Nixon on the site of her childhood home. The City of Cerritos undertook the project of building a Senior Center in 1993 to create a state-of-the-art public facility dedicated to its seniors with social events, services, life enriching programs and clubs. Also on the property was Pat Nixon's childhood home; which was destroyed by an arsonist in 1974.

Community and neighborhood parks

Cerritos Park East is the de facto "central park" of the City. The Olympic Swim and Fitness Center is located on its grounds.

Heritage Park, a community park in the center of the City, pays tribute to Revolutionary America and the founding of the country. It re-opened to the public in 2002 with a refurbished colonial themed play island and moat.

Liberty Park, another community park in the western end of town, underwent massive renovation and re-opened to the public in February 2005 and features an updated community center, fitness center, rubberized jogging track, and children's playground. Camp Liberty, a children's amphitheater located within Liberty Park has also been updated.

Cerritos Regional Park houses the Cerritos Sports Complex, the skate park, and outdoor swimming pools. The unique characteristic is an artificial lake complete with sporting fish. Los Angeles County maintains 75% of Regional Park and Cerritos oversees the remaining 25%.

The City also has 18 neighborhood parks located near residential tracts, an executive golf course, and two community gymnasiums located on the Cerritos and Whitney high school campuses.

Government

Cerritos operates under a Council/Manager form of government, established by the Charter of the City of Cerritos in 1958. The five-member City Council acts as the City's chief policy-making body and as members of the Cerritos Redevelopment Agency.

Local government

City Council

The Mayor, selected by the Council, is its presiding officer and serves a one-year term. In the Mayor's absence the Mayor Pro Tempore assumes his or her responsibilities.

The City Council is directly responsible for the employment of only three individuals: the City Manager, Clerk/Treasurer, and the City Attorney.^[22]

Management of the city and coordination of city services are provided by:^[23]

Office	Officeholder
City Manager	Art Gallucci
Interim City Clerk / Treasurer	Vida Barone
Director of Administrative Services	Denise Manoogian
Director of Community Development	Torrey N. Contreras
Director of Community and Safety Services	Greg Berg
Director of Public Works	Hal Arbogast
Director of Theater Department	Craig Springer, PhD.

Cerritos Redevelopment Agency

The Cerritos Redevelopment Agency was established on November 19, 1970. The Redevelopment Agency's primary purpose is to promote sound new community development and prepare and execute plans designed to address blighted areas.

The Cerritos Redevelopment Agency has two project areas: the Los Cerritos Project Area, and the Los Coyotes Project Area.^[24]

	Los Cerritos Project Area	Los Coyotes Project Area
Area	940 acres (3.8 km2)	1,600 acres (6.5 km2)
Location within the city	western half	eastern half
Expiration	May 2016	May 2016

Emergency services

The Cerritos Sheriff's Station/Community Safety Center provides 24-hour safety services to Cerritos residents. Located in the Civic Center, the Station houses the City's Community Safety Division and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department personnel. The station was constructed by a referendum in 1996, and inaugurated in 1997. In 2006, the city council approved the construction of a 5,000-square-foot (500 m²) expansion to the Sheriff's Station, at a cost of $400,000.

Fire protection is provided by Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 30, the headquarters for Battalion 9 with ambulance transport by Care Ambulance Service.

County, state, and federal representation

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department operates the Cerritos Sheriff's Station and Community Safety Center in Cerritos, which was built into the Cerritos Civic Center. The 28,000 square feet (2,600 m²) facility, built by the City of Cerritos, has a complaint/dispatch area, and 18 bed jail, administrative and detective personnel offices, and a community meeting room.^[25] In addition the sheriff's department operates the Lakewood Station in Lakewood, serving Cerritos.^[26]

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Whittier Health Center in Whittier, serving Cerritos.^[27]

In the state legislature Cerritos is located in the 27th Senate District, represented by Democrat Alan Lowenthal, and in the 56th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Tony Mendoza. Federally, Cerritos is located in California's 39th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of D +13^[28] and is represented by Democrat Linda Sánchez.

The United States Postal Service operates the Cerritos Post Office at 18122 Carmenita Road.^[29]

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

The majority of Cerritos is under the jurisdiction of the ABC Unified School District with a small portion on the west side of the City bounded by Palo Verde Avenue on the west, the San Gabriel River on the east, Artesia Boulevard on the north, and South Street on the south that is under the jurisdiction of the Bellflower Unified School District.^[30]

Children in Cerritos attend a neighborhood elementary school (kindergarten to sixth grade) before going onto a middle school (seventh and eighth grade) and then a high school (ninth to twelfth grade) unless admitted to Whitney High School, which covers seventh to twelfth grade. Whitney High School is currently ranked the top school in California and third in the United States according to U.S. News & Report.

Private schools

Valley Christian High School is one of the largest private Protestant schools in Los Angeles County.

Colleges and universities

Cerritos is also serviced by Cerritos College and UEI College.

Education of citizens

Eighty-five percent of high school graduates go on to higher education. Ten percent of the total population has an associates degree, 26% get a bachelors degree, and 11% get an advanced degree.

Transportation

The City of Cerritos owns a fleet of federally funded buses known as the Cerritos On Wheels (or COW),^[31] which has stops throughout town. The acronym, "COW," is a tribute to the City's origins as Dairy Valley, when cows outnumbered residents. The propane fueled COW also connects to the Long Beach Transit, Orange County Transportation Authority, Norwalk Transit or Los Angeles MTA Buses at overlapping stops on the borders of the City. Wi-Fi Internet access is also accessible on the buses.

In conjunction with the COW, the City also provides a Dial-A-Ride service for its disabled and elderly commuters.

Cerritos is directly served by three major California freeways:

• SR 91 (the Artesia Freeway) cuts through the center of the City.
• Interstate 605 (the San Gabriel River Freeway) runs along the west side between the Los Cerritos Center and Auto Square.
• Interstate 5 (the Santa Ana Freeway) grazes Cerritos at the northeast border.

The major thoroughfares in Cerritos are Alondra Boulevard, Artesia Boulevard, Bloomfield Avenue, Carmenita Road, Del Amo Boulevard, Norwalk Boulevard, Pioneer Boulevard, Shoemaker Avenue, South Street, Studebaker Road, and Valley View Avenue.

The nearby Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach are major ports of entry from the Pacific Ocean for importing and exporting goods.

Airports that serve Cerritos include: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), John Wayne Airport in Orange County, Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, Ontario International Airport, and the Long Beach Municipal Airport.

Notable residents

• Troy Aikman, American Football Quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys^[32]
• Marcelo Balboa, MLS — Colorado Rapids and US National Soccer Team Member was born and raised in Cerritos^{[citation needed]}
• Bret Barberie, former second baseman for the Florida Marlins and was once married to TV news star Jillian Barberie^[33]
• Johnny Chan, Professional Poker Player.^{[citation needed]}
• Morris Chestnut, actor^{[citation needed]}
• Rickey Cradle, MLB player for Seattle Mariners.^{[citation needed]}
• Ben Howland, UCLA men's basketball head coach.^{[citation needed]}
• Don Knabe, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors member serving the Fourth District since 1997^{[citation needed]}
• Eddie Lewis, former Derby County and soccer player for the Los Angeles Galaxy^{[citation needed]}
• Roger Lodge, host of the reality show Blind Date and radio sports announcer.^{[citation needed]}
• Shane Mack, former MLB Baseball Player.^{[citation needed]}
• Todd McMillon, NFL player for Chicago Bears.^{[citation needed]}
• Pat Nixon, First Lady and wife of President Richard Nixon. Her family owned a truck farm formerly in Artesia, but now in Cerritos. Her childhood home was located at what is now Pat Nixon Park.^{[citation needed]}
• Richard Rabago, martial arts master^{[citation needed]}
• Lela Rochon, actress^{[citation needed]}
• Jorge Salcedo, NCAA soccer coach for UCLA^{[citation needed]}
• Renato Sobral, Mixed Martial Artist and Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion.^{[citation needed]}
• José Luis Jair Soria, professional wrestler^{[citation needed]}
• Kirsten Vangsness, actress^{[citation needed]}
• John J.B. Wilson, copywriter, publicist and founder of the Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies).^{[citation needed]}
• Han Ye Seul, Korean singer, actress, model^{[citation needed]}
• Jim Zorn, Head Football Coach Washington Redskins and Former NFL Quarterback^{[citation needed]}

Filming location

According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), the following productions have either been partially or entirely filmed in Cerritos:^[34]

• Almost There! (TV series 1988)
• Wayne's World (1992)
• Imminent Contact (1992)
• Until Tomorrow Comes (1992)
• McAllister Affair (TV series 1992)
• Coneheads (1993)
• She's All That (1999)
• The Flip Side (2001)
• Anokha (2004)
• A Modest Proposal (2006)
• Illegal (2007)
• Eli's Liquor Store (2007)
• The First Time (2007)
• Thunder (Music video 2008)

Sister cities

• Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
• Banciao, Taiwan, Taiwan.
• Itapetinga, Bahia, Brazil^[35]

See also

	Los Angeles portal
	Greater Los Angeles portal
	Southern California portal

• Cerritos Auto Square
• Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts
• Cerritos College
• Cerritos Millennium Library
• Cerritos Senior Center at Pat Nixon Park
• Cerritos Towne Center
• Cerritos Veterans Memorial
• Los Cerritos Center

Footnotes

1. ^ U.S. Census
2. ^ "AMERICAN FACTFINDER" (Flash). US Census. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DP_DPDP1&prodType=table. Retrieved May 17, 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Cenovich, Marilyn; Audrey Eftychiou (2006). Cerritos At 50: Celebrating Our Past and Our Future. The Donning Company. pp. 11–19. ISBN 978-1-57864-349-3. 
4. ^ Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: California: Long Beach area
5. ^ ^{a b} [1]
6. ^ "History of Cerritos". City of Cerritos. 2006-06-22. http://www.ci.cerritos.ca.us/atoz/history.html. Retrieved October 20, 2006. 
7. ^ Cenovich, Marilyn (1995). "Chapter 9, 1987–1996 - A Decade of Difficulties and Satisfaction". The Story of Cerritos: A History in Progress. City of Cerritos. pp. Chapter 9. http://menu.ci.cerritos.ca.us/collections/local_history/cl_lhStory9.htm. Retrieved October 21, 2006. 
8. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
9. ^ The Story of Cerritos
10. ^ All data are derived from the United States Census Bureau reports from the 2010 United States Census, and are accessible on-line here. The data on unmarried partnerships and same-sex married couples are from the Census report DEC_10_SF1_PCT15. All other housing and population data are from Census report DEC_10_DP_DPDP1. Both reports are viewable online or downloadable in a zip file containing a comma-delimited data file. The area data, from which densities are calculated, are available on-line here. Percentage totals may not add to 100% due to rounding. The Census Bureau defines families as a household containing one or more people related to the householder by birth, opposite-sex marriage, or adoption. People living in group quarters are tabulated by the Census Bureau as neither owners nor renters. For further details, see the text files accompanying the data files containing the Census reports mentioned above.
11. ^ Cerritos city, California - Fact Sheet, American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau.
12. ^ http://www.cerritos.us/_pdfs/state_of_the_city_2011.pdf
13. ^ [2]
14. ^ Cerritos Statistical Profile
15. ^ Cerritos TV3
16. ^ Cerritos Center
17. ^ Cerritos Blockbuster Music
18. ^ Magnolia Power Project
19. ^ City of Cerritos CAFR
20. ^ Cerritos Library Today
21. ^ Cerritos Sculpture Garden
22. ^ "Appointed City Officials". City of Cerritos. 2005-04-28. http://www.ci.cerritos.ca.us/citygov/officials.html. Retrieved October 22, 2006. 
23. ^ City of Cerritos Website Retrieved on 2009-06-04
24. ^ "Cerritos Redevelopment Agency". Cerritos City Council. City of Cerritos. 2006-03-16. http://www.ci.cerritos.ca.us/citygov/council.html. Retrieved October 31, 2006. 
25. ^ "Cerritos Sheriff's Station and Community Safety Center." Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Retrieved on January 21, 2010.
26. ^ "Lakewood Station." Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Retrieved on January 21, 2010.
27. ^ "Whittier Health Center." Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Retrieved on March 18, 2010.
28. ^ "Will Gerrymandered Districts Stem the Wave of Voter Unrest?". Campaign Legal Center Blog. http://www.clcblog.org/blog_item-85.html. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
29. ^ "Post Office Location - CERRITOS." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on December 6, 2008.
30. ^ Bellflower Unified School District
31. ^ City of Cerritos | Cerritos on Wheels (COW)
32. ^ Newman, Bruce (November 14, 1988). "The Battle To Be Top Gun". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1067979/index.htm. Retrieved April 19, 2011. 
33. ^ Marla Lehner (2006). "Jillian Barberie Gets Married". People (magazine). http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1212600,00.html. Retrieved 2008-12-02. 
34. ^ IMDB Filming Location
35. ^ Sister Cities International

References

• The Story of Cerritos: A History in Progress by Marilyn Cenovich
• History of Cerritos
• A Los Angeles Times article on Cerritos
• Images from Vestar's website: The Cerritos Towne Center development company
• The Cerritos 2005–2006 budget
• The City Manager's Letter to the City Council 2005
• CNN Article On Wireless Network
• Press Telegram Article On 2006 Capital Projects
• Cerritos Sculpture Garden press release
• Los Angeles Business Journal article on Cerritos
• Eftychiou, Audrey. Cerritos At 50: Celebrating Our Past and Our Future. Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company, 2006.
• 2010 State of the City Presentation
• August 16, 2007 Edition of The Economist feature on Cerritos

External links

• City of Cerritos Official Website
• Cerritos Chamber of Commerce
• Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts