Temecula, California

, with an enrollment of approximately 25,000 students (Grades K-12). The district has expanded rapidly in recent years and offers many programs for students to advance their educational experience.

Private schools

There are several private schools, including Linfield Christian School, Van Avery Prep, Temecula Prep, Hillcrest Academy, Rancho Community Christian School, and more.

Public libraries

* Grace Mellman Community Library
* Temecula Public Library

Wineries

Tourism

Golf

Although the area is not as well known as Palm Springs, the warm desert climate attracts tourists year-round, especially golfers who can use one of the nine local golf courses including Redhawk, Temecula Creek Inn, Temeku Hills, CrossCreek, Pala Mesa and the SCGA Member's Course (in nearby Murrieta).

Old Town Temecula

A collection of historic 1890s buildings, antique stores, shopping and restaurants, Old Town Temecula is also home to such events as car shows, western days and summer entertainment. Specialty food stores, unique boutiques, dozens of gift and collectible stores and 7 large antique dealers do business in the district as well as Starbucks Coffee located near the entrance to Old Town.

Old Town is also home to the Temecula Museum which features exhibits about the local band of Native Americans and the local natural history and city development.

Pechanga Resort and Casino

In 2001, the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians built the $262 million Pechanga Resort & Casino complex. Linked together in an architectural design that subtly highlights the tribe's Luiseño culture, the facility includes: an convert|85000|sqft|m2|-2|sing=on casino, 1,200-seat bingo hall, convert|515000|sqft|m2|-2|sing=on, 13-story, 522-room hotel and convert|38800|sqft|m2|-1|sing=on convention center, 1,200-seat showroom, 200-seat cabaret lounge, and seven restaurants. The new casino also features 2,000 slot machines, 60 card tables and 15 poker tables.

In 2004, construction of a new gaming area was begun and completed. It is almost convert|400000|sqft|m2|-4 in area, including a new nightclub, Silk, and the Round Bar. Silk has a capacity of 1600 people and has five bars inside the club. The Round Bar features California's largest glass structure. The new poker room features 60 tables of play, including no limit poker. Also included are about 60 new card tables. The new casino also features a new sportsbar and restaurant, Kelseys, and five new eateries at the Festival of Foods.

Pechanga Resort and Casino is Temecula Valley's number one employer, with about 7,500 people employed.

The venue also attracts big name performances. Pechanga has played host to the musical Chicago, singer and actress Liza Minnelli, and comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld among countless others.

The resort attracts gamblers and tourists from all over California and the U.S.

Festivals

*Temecula Bluegrass Festival [http://www.temeculabluegrass.org/html/about_us.html]
*Temecula Street Painting Festival
*Temecula Photo Contest [http://www.rememberwhenmedia.com]
*Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival [http://tvbwf.com/about.php]
*Temecula Valley International Film and Music Festival
*Temecula Valley International Jazz Festival [http://www.temeculajazzfest.com/]
*Children's Matsuri [http://www.temeculasistercityassociation.org/matsuri.htm]
*Dutch American Heritage Day
*Taste of the World

ister cities

Temecula maintains international relations with two cities, Leidschendam-Voorburg in the Netherlands and Daisen, Tottori in Japan.

Margarita Middle School is the sister school to Daisen-cho, Japan. The three high schools, Temecula Valley High School, Great Oak High School, and Chaparral High School switch off sending students to the Netherlands while they all share hosting. The Dutch students come during October and the American students go during Spring Break. Margarita Middle sends a delegation every other year during Spring Break, while Daisen sends a delegation every year during the summer. The sister cities celebrated their 13th year of cooperation this year.

The city recently dedicated a Japanese Garden at the centrally located Temecula Duck Pond to honor the 10th anniversary of the city's relationship with sister city Daisen.

The Temecula Duck Pond is also home to an art piece entitled Singing in the Rain. It was commissioned by the city of Leidschendam-Voorburg as a gift to the city to commemorate the resilient American spirit in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The piece depicts a mother and her children bravely pedalling a bicycle into the strong headwinds of a storm. The statue stands as a lasting tribute to the strength and courage of those who refuse to be broken by brutality and terrorism.

Trivia

* Temecula was the setting of a 1996 made-for-TV movie of couples visiting the area's wine country, entitled "A Weekend in the Country" directed by Martin Bergman and co-written by Bergman and Rita Rudner, with actors Rita Rudner, Christine Lahti, Jack Lemmon, Dudley Moore, Richard Lewis and Betty White.

* In 1991, Pepsi playpark opened in old town Temecula, one of hundreds of children's playgrounds sponsored by the food corporation.

* In demographics, Temecula has one of the largest Native American populations in Southern California, mostly members of the Pechanga (Luiseno) and Temecula (Serrano) tribes.

* Cable network Outdoor Channel is headquartered in Temecula

* Temecula was mentioned on the television show "24" (Season 6, Episode 15 "8:00pm-9:00pm"). The original airdate of the episode was March 26, 2007. In the episode, Bill Buchanan mentions that Nadia Yassir was to be "moved to a holding facility in Temecula".

* New Years Day's song "Temecula Sunrise" features on their 2007 album My Dear.

* 'Beachhead', the pilot episode of the 1960s TV series The Invaders was filmed in part in Old Town Temecula and prominently featured the exterior of the historic [http://www.palomarinntemecula.com Palomar Inn Hotel]

Ronald Reagan and Temecula

In a March 1983 speech to the U.S. Olympic Committee, President Ronald Reagan praised a community in Southern California and their "can-do" volunteer spirit: "... There are many similar stories right here in California, the folks in a rather small town, Temecula. They got together and built themselves a sports park, held fundraising barbecues and dinners. And those that didn't have money, volunteered the time and energy. And now the young people of that community have baseball diamonds for Little League and other sports events, just due to what's traditional Americanism... " At the time of the speech, Temecula was six years away from becoming a city and many projects were completed by community leaders and volunteers who provided money, labor and equipment.

Reagan also owned a convert|771|acre|km2|1 spread in nearby Tenaja where he contemplated building a ranch. He bought the land in 1968 and sold it 11 years later.

On the 22nd anniversary of the speech, in 2005, about 70 city officials, community leaders and residents gathered to formally rename the Rancho California Sports Park, which has served the community for many years with its family friendly sports fields and attractions, after Reagan. Former first lady Nancy Reagan sent a letter thanking the city.

It was recently decided that the city would dedicate a memorial to the 40th president and place the statue in the park. The monument will depict a young family and represent the volunteers who helped build the park. Those figures will be life-size. Reagan will be "larger than life", a short distance away. Ronald Reagan will be smiling as he looks at the family. He will be holding a cowboy hat in one hand and leaning on a shovel in the other.

Construction of the memorial is slated to begin by the 23rd anniversary of the speech in 2006.

Famous/Former residents

* Nate Adams, Freestyle motocross rider; prior Murrieta resident, current Temecula resident
* Leah Baray, hockey champion; current resident
* Tim Barela, comic strip author
* Timmy Curran, professional surfer; prior resident during his teenage years
* Terrell Davis, retired Denver Broncos Pro Bowl running back; current resident
* Brian Deegan, freestyle motocross rider and founder of Metal Mulisha; current resident
* Jason Ellis, professional vert skateboarder; prior resident
* Finch, post-hardcore band; originally from Temecula
* Andy Fraser, bass player with 70's English rock band, Free, co-writer of classic rock song "Allright Now" and many other widely covered songs; previous/current resident
* Erle Stanley Gardner, author, wrote over 100 of the Perry Mason novels at his Temecula ranch, "Rancho del Paisano" between 1931 and his death in 1970
* Christy Hemme, pro wrestler and manager; prior resident
* Dan Henderson, professional mixed martial artist, Pride Fighting Championship welterweight and middleweight champion, and former Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler; current resident
* Reed Johnson, Chicago Cubs baseball player; born and resided here
* Jack Klugman, actor; owned a ranch in Temecula until the early 1990s
* The Massie Family, who run the Gold Prospectors Association of America and the Temecula-based Outdoor Channel
* April Matson, actress from "Kyle XY", previous resident
* Cody Miller, legendary massage therapist; owns two homes in Temecula, one of which was featured on "Cribs"
* Michelle Rodriguez, actress; recently bought a house here
* Jeremy "twitch" Stenberg, Freestyle Motocross Rider
* Jason Stewart "J. Stew" of The Jim Rome Show graduated from Temecula Valley High School and starred at third base on the varsity baseball team for two years ('89 and '90). At that time, he was affectionately known as the "Beave" (short for "Beaver")
* Lol Tolhurst, ex The Cure founder; current resident Fact|date=August 2007
* Tyrese, rapper and actor; previous resident
* Trevor Wells, pro skateboarder; current resident
* Ruth Wysocki, 1984 Summer Olympian; current resident
* Jerry Yang, 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event winner
* Ronnie Faisst,rider for the metal mulisha
* Anthony Granic, famous supporter of the EFSE Baarn Munshn

Geography

Temecula is located at coor dms|33|30|12|N|117|7|25|W|city (33.503295, -117.123687)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.3 square miles (68.1 km²), of which, 26.3 square miles (68.0 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.11%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 57,716 people, 18,293 households, and 15,164 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,198.3 people per square mile (848.6/km²). There were 19,099 housing units at an average density of 727.4/sq mi (280.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 78.93% White, 3.42% African American, 0.86% Native American, 4.73% Asian, 0.30% Pacific Islander, 7.41% from other races, and 4.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.01% of the population.

There were 18,293 households out of which 52.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.8% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.1% were non-families. 12.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.15 and the average family size was 3.45.

In the city the population was spread out with 34.7% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 17.2% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. The above average number of young people in Temecula was attriubted to an influx of middle-class families came to buy homes in the 1990s real estate boom. For every 100 females there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males.

According to a 2006 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $71,754, and the median income for a family was $79,042. [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=16000US0659451&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US06%7C16000US0659451&_street=&_county=temecula&_cityTown=temecula&_state=04000US06&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=160&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=ACS_2006_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=] Males had a median income of $47,113 (2000) versus $31,608 (2000) for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,312 (2003). About 5.6% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.

The community is also known for its technology. Temecula has 2.2 computer per household with 90% of them having an internet connection. The city has also been chosen to have the new fiberoptic internet connection infrastructure.

Politics

In the state legislature Temecula is located in the 36th Senate District, represented by Republican Dennis Hollingsworth, and in the 64th and 66th Assembly Districts, represented by Republicans John J. Benoit and Kevin Jeffries respectively. Federally, Temecula is located in California's 49th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of R +10 [cite web | title = Will Gerrymandered Districts Stem the Wave of Voter Unrest? | publisher = Campaign Legal Center Blog | url=http://www.clcblog.org/blog_item-85.html | accessdate = 2008-02-10] and is represented by Republican Darrell Issa.

Public safety

The Temecula Valley area is served by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department through its regional station in the unincorporated town of French Valley, just immediately north of the City of Temecula, east of State Route 79 (also serving the towns of Sedco Hills & Wildomar, the station is adjacent to the Riverside County Superior Court's Southwest Regional Judicial District Courthouse and Southwest Regional Detention Center (one of the four regional jails in this county).

Crime

Temecula crime statistics (2004): [ [http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_04/offenses_reported/offense_tabulations/table_08.html Table 8 - Crime in the United States 2004 ] ]

Population: 101,057

Violent crime: 1,310

Murder and non-negligent man-slaughter: 7

Forcible rape: 19

Robbery: 40

Aggravated assault: 162

Property crime: 2,432

Burglary: 541

Larceny-theft: 1,558

Motor vehicle theft: 340

Arson: 9

A recent estimate says there 12 gangs in Temecula, but only one of them is established,made up Latino men, 40 are self-admitted members, about another 15 associate with the gang, but have not admitted they are members. As of 2006 there were 341 documented gangs in Riverside County with over 10,000 known members. [http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/03/23/news/californian/22_03_333_22_06.txt ] [http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/08/25/news/californian/23_40_038_24_07.txt ]

References

External links

* [http://www.cityoftemecula.org City of Temecula]
* [http://www.tvusd.k12.ca.us/ Temecula Unified School District]
* [http://www.pechanga-nsn.gov/page?pageId=1 Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians]