Aliso Viejo, California

Aliso Viejo is a city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, Aliso Viejo population was 40,166. Aliso Viejo became Orange County's 34th city on July 1, 2001, and has been the only city in Orange County to incorporate since 2000.

Geography

Aliso Viejo is located at (33.575096, -117.725431).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 26.5 km² (10.2 mi²), all land.

Demographics (from 2000 census to 2001 incorporation)

As of the census of 2000, there were 40,166 people, 16,147 households, and 10,689 families residing in the CDP (now a city). The population density was 1,516.0/km² (3,927.7/mi²). There were 16,608 housing units at an average density of 626.8/km² (1,624.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP (now a city) is 78.16% White, 2.06% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 10.99% Asian, 0.22% Pacific Islander, 3.51% from other races, and 4.66% from two or more races. 11.65% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 16,147 households out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.7% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.8% were non-families. 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the CDP (now a city) the population is spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 48.8% from 25 to 44, 16.3% from 45 to 64, and 3.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP (now a city) is $76,409, and the median income for a family was $84,592. Males had a median income of $61,316 versus $44,190 for females. The per capita income for the CDP (now a city) is $35,244. About 2.3% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 2.8% of those age 65 or over. There is a high concentration of affluent African Americans in comparison to other regions in the United States.

Notable natives and residents

Cynthia Adams, Mayor Pro Tem, former Mayor and City Council Member
Farzad Bonyadi, professional poker player
Greg Ficke, City Council Member
William Freund, autistic murderer
Jim Gilchrist, politician and founder of the Minuteman Project
Bill Phillips, City Council Member and former Mayor
Toni Turner, author
Carmen Vali-Cave, Mayor and City Council Member
Karl Warkomski, City Council Member and former Mayor

Notable companies

Aliso Viejo is known for being the home of the headquarters of many large companies. The following companies are based in Aliso Viejo:

Buy.com, an online retailer
eEye Digital Security, an digital security company
Fluor Corporation, an international construction contractor for petrochemical, infrastructure, and environmental projects, headquartered in Aliso Viejo until it was relocated to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex suburb of Irving, Texas in March 2006
Ketel One, a vodka company
Quest Software, a software manufacturer
Red 5 Studios, a computer game company
Smith Micro Software, a software developer
Tamiya Corporation, a manfacturer of model cars
USWeb, an Internet marketing company
LAN International, a division of Clearchannel, is a software development company specializing in radio advertising
FUGU Corporation, a producer and distributor of online consumer training

History

Incorporation

Aliso Viejo had been an unicorporated community since around 1995 it becamse Orange County's 34th City on July 1, 2001. Aliso Viejo became a City mainly in response to Aliso Viejo's Cityhood 2000 committee, which was responsible for introducing an initiative onto the ballot for the City's 2001 special election. Voters passed the initiative, making Aliso Viejo officially a City, with a whopping 93.3% in favor. ^* The Committee was created by the City's first Mayor, Carmen Vali-Cave, who was the Committee' co-founder and president.

City Council

Aliso Viejo has five spots on its City Council, with its members serving staggered four-year terms. Each year, the Council votes for its next Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem.

2001 - 2004

In 2001, the City's first City Council was voted into office. The original City Council consisted of Carmen Vali-Cave, Cynthia Pickett, Bill Phllips, Karl Warkomski, and Greg Ficke. ^* The Council selected Vali-Cave to serve as the City's first Mayor, and Pickett as the City's first Mayor Pro Tem.

Vali-Cave and Pickett served as the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem from 2001 to 2002. In 2003, Pickett became Mayor with Phillips as Mayor Pro Tem.

2004 onward

In 2004, City Councilmen Karl Warkomski, Bill Phillips, and Greg Ficke faced re-election. All three candidates were re-elected for four more years on Council. Other candidates included Todd Gillespie and Don Garcia. ^* The election was the source of much controversy, with accustations folating around the Councilman Ficke had received bribes.

In 2004 Phillips served as the City's Mayor with Warkomski as Mayor Pro Tem. In 2005, Warkomski served as Mayor with Carmen Vali-Cave as Mayor Pro Tem. In 2006, Vali-Cave served as Mayor with Cynthia Pickett-Adams as Mayor Pro Tem.

In November of 2006, Carmen Vali-Cave and Cynthia Pickett-Adams will each face re-election.

The dihydrogen monoxide fiasco

Aliso Viejo city officials famously came close to banning styrofoam cups after hearing that "dihydrogen monoxide" was used in their production, neglecting the fact that this substance is actually plain water. A paralegal working for the city found the dhmo.org website and subsequently proceeded to propose the ban. ^*

The Greg Ficke debacle

During a City Council meeting in the fall of 2004, City Council Member Carmen Vali-Cave brought up allegations that fellow Council Member Greg Ficke, who was up for re-election in November of 2004, had illegally accepted campaign donations from the ambulance company Doctor's Ambulance in exchange for giving the company the City's ambulance contract. Ficke has come out, saying that these accusations were only brought up in hopes of ruining Ficke's re-election attempts. In addition to this, fliers were passed out in the City with Vali-Cave and all of the other members of City Council, except Ficke, under the name "Aliso Viejo United". It shall also be noted that candidate Don Garcia was listed in Ficke's place. Ficke publicly "called the claim by Doctor's Ambulance a smear campaign from the other slate of three candidates". ^*

The City Lights incident

In February of 2005, the City of Aliso Viejo made national headlines once again when a 37 year old woman named Elizabeth Noverola was hit by a car driven by a man named George William Carter in Aliso's City Lights neighborhood. ^*

Problems with mail theft

Aliso Viejo has always been the home to much mail theft, and many residents have been impacted by threats of mail theft. In March of 2005, more than 10 residents of the Aliso Viejo neighborhood Canyon Vistas reported having their mail stolen. ^*

The William Freund massacre

In October of 2005, William Freund, a nineteen year old male Aliso Viejo resident donned a cape and ski mask and went on a shooting rampage in the city. He shot and killed two people before going home and killing himself by shooting himself in the torso.