Coordinates: 36°44′52″N 119°46′21″W / 36.74778°N 119.7725°W / 36.74778; -119.7725
Fresno (pronounced /ˈfrɛznoʊ/ , -noe ) is a city in California, USA, the county seat of Fresno County. As of February 27, 2009, the population was estimated at 500,017, making it the fifth largest city in California and the 36th largest in the nation. Fresno is located in the center of the wide San Joaquin Valley of Central California, approximately 200 miles (322 km) north of Los Angeles and 170 miles (274 km) south of the state capital, Sacramento. The city is part of the Fresno-Clovis metropolitan area, which, with a population of 1,002,046, is the second largest metropolitan area in the Central Valley after Sacramento. The name Fresno is the Spanish language word for the ash tree and an ash leaf is featured on its flag.
Government
Fresno has a modified strong-mayor form of local government and seven City Council members (Legislative branch) elected for no more than two 4-year terms. The City council and the mayor are nonpartisan, not affiliated with any political party. Alan Autry was first elected in November 2000, reelected on March 2, 2004, and served until January 2009. Ashley Swearengin was sworn in as Mayor on January 6, 2009.
Mayor
See also: List of mayors of Fresno, California
- 2009- present Ashley Swearengin
- 2001-2009 Alan Autry
- 1993-2001 Jim Patterson
- 1989-1993 Karen Humphrey
- 1985-1989 Dale Doig
- 1977-1985 Dan Whitehurst
- 1969-1977 Ted C. Wills
- 1965-1969 Floyd H. Hyde
- 1964-1965 Wallace Henderson (acting)
- 1958-1964 Arthur L. Selland †
- 1957-1958 C. Cal Evans
- 1949-1957 Gordon D. Dunn
- 1947 Glenn M. Devore (acting)
- 1941-1947 Z.S. Leymel †
- 1937-1941 Frank A. Homan
- 1929-1934 Z.S. Leymel
- 1925-1929 A.E. Sunderland
- 1921-1925 Truman C. Hart
- 1917-1921 William F. Toomey
- 1912-1917 Alva E. Snow
- 1909-1912 Chester Rowell †
- 1908-1909 Ed. F. Bush (acting)
- 1905-1908 W. Parker Lyon
- 1901-1905 L.O. Stephens
† Died in office
President, Board of Trustees
Prior to 1901, Fresno was governed by a board of trustees.
- October 27, 1895-1901 C.J. Craycroft
- April 15, 1889-unknown A.J. Pedlar
- October 31, 1887-April 15, 1889 A.M. Clark
- April 25, 1887-October 31, 1887 W.L. Graves
- October 27, 1885-April 25, 1887 William Faymonville
City Council
City council is made up of seven members, elected by district:
- District 1 (west-central) - Blong Xiong
- District 2 (northwest) - Andreas Borgeas
- District 3 (southwest) - Cynthia Sterling (Council President)
- District 4 (east-central) - Larry Westerlund
- District 5 (southeast) - Mike Dages
- District 6 (northeast) - Lee Brand
- District 7 (central) - Henry T. Perea
Courts
Fresno is the county seat of Fresno County. It maintains the main courthouse in the county for criminal and some civil court cases. There is also a satellite court house that was recently built and judges were moved to the new courthouse to help alleviate some of the overcrowding in the main courthouse.
The United States District Court, Eastern District of California, has one of its six divisions based in the Robert E. Coyle Courthouse. The new courthouse replaced the outdated B.F. Sisk Federal Building in 2006. The Sisk building did not have enough space for the growing Fresno Division and it is currently undergoing renovation for future use.
Fresno is also the seat of the Fifth Appellate District of the State of California Court of Appeal where a new courthouse was build in the old Armenian Town section of downtown Fresno in 2007 across from Selland Arena and the Fresno Convention Center.
The Fifth District Court of Appeal Courthouse is named after the distinguished George N. Zenovich, the former Senator and Associate Justice of the Fifth District.
Politics
The city of Fresno is closely split between Democrats and Republicans. Mirroring the nationwide vote, George Bush won 48.41% of the vote in 2000 and 51.77% in 2004, while Barack Obama won with 50.0% in 2008.
The citizens of Fresno are represented in the California State Senate by Dave Cogdill (R) and Dean Florez (D) and in the California State Assembly by Michael Villines (R) and Juan Arambula (I). Representation in the United States Congress by George Radanovich (R) in (California's 19th congressional district), Jim Costa (D) in (California's 20th congressional district) and Devin Nunes (R) in (California's 21st congressional district).
Economy
Fresno serves as the economic hub of Fresno County and California's Central Valley. The unincorporated area and rural cities surrounding Fresno remain predominantly tied to large-scale agricultural production.
Fresno is unique in that it is home to many business incubators that serve as a resource hub for business entrepreneurs and new companies. Some of these incubators are found at California State University, Fresno. Many of the businesses formed at the incubators have gone on to become internationally known in the business world. Some of the businesses involved range from environmental engineering to fashion designers.
Geography
Fresno is located at 36°44′52″N 119°46′21″W / 36.74778°N 119.7725°W / 36.74778; -119.7725 .
The United States Census Bureau reports Fresno as having a total area of 104.8 square miles (271 km 2 ) with 99.58% land covering 104.4 square miles (270 km 2 ), and .42% water, 0.4 square miles (1.0 km 2 ).
Fresno's location, very near the geographical center of California, places the city a comfortable distance from several of the major recreation areas and urban centers in the state. Just 60 mi (97 km) south of Yosemite National Park, it is the nearest major city to the park. Likewise, Sierra National Forest is 40 mi (64 km), Kings Canyon National Park is 60 mi (97 km) and Sequoia National Park is 75 mi (121 km).
Because it sits at the junction of Highways 41 and 99 (41 is the park's southern access road, and 99 branches east from Interstate 5 to serve the urban centers of the San Joaquin Valley), the city is a major gateway for visitors coming from Los Angeles. The city also serves as an entrance into Sierra National Forest via highway 168 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks via Highway 180.
Fresno has three large public parks, two located in the city limits and one in county land to the southwest. Woodward Park, which features the Shinzen Japanese Gardens, numerous picnic areas and several miles of trails, is located in North Fresno and is adjacent to the San Joaquin River Parkway. Roeding Park, located near Downtown Fresno, is home to the Chaffee Zoological Gardens, and Rotary Storyland and Playland. Kearney Park is the largest of the Fresno region's park system and is home to historic Kearney Mansion and plays host to the annual Civil War Revisited, the largest reenactment of the Civil War in the west coast of the U.S.
Climate
Fresno has relatively mild winters and hot dry summers. Somewhat like a Mediterranean Climate but more like a semi-arid climate December low temperatures average 37.0 °F (2.8 °C) with July high temperatures averaging 100.6 °F (38.1 °C), though summer temperatures can occasionally soar to highs of 112 °F (44 °C) or more. Summers provide considerable sunshine, with July peaking at 97 percent of the total possible sunlight hours; conversely, January is the lowest with only 46 percent of the daylight time in sunlight because of thick tule fog. Average annual precipitation is 11.23 in (28.5 cm), which, by definition, would classify the area as a semidesert and very close to a desert climate—with agriculture only possible through the use of very extensive, tax-payer subsidized irrigation; rainfall is concentrated in the winter and spring seasons, with the summers typically being very dry. Most of the wind rose direction occurrences derive from the northwest, as winds are driven downward along the axis of the California Central Valley; in December, January and February there is an increased presence of southeastern wind directions in the wind rose statistics. Fres
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