SAN LUIS, ARIZONA

:''For other similarly named towns and cities, see San Luis.''
'San Luis' (the Spanish language name of Saint Louis) is a city in Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The population was 15,322 at the 2000 census. San Luis was the second fastest-growing place among all cities and towns in Arizona of any size from 1990 and 2000. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 21,646. Annual Estimates of the Population for All Incorporated Places in Arizona

Contents

History

Geography

Principal Economic Activities

Scenic Attractions

El Golfo De Santa Clara

Demographics

Prison

Comite de Bienestar

Weather

Education

Government

Media

Newspapers

Television

Transportation

References

External links

History

The City of San Luis, located in the southwestern end of the state of Arizona, comprises part of an important industrial, agricultural and commercial area together along with San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, a zone considered to offer treat advantages for the commercial trade between the United States and Mexico.
The city was established in 1930 with the opening of the U.S. Custom along the border crossing with Mexico, and in the last twenty years it has registered an accelerated population increase going from 1,946 inhabitants in 1980, to approximately 20,000 in the year 2000. The growth is due to a constant migration from Mexico and California, productive activities in the border area and opportunities San Luis has to offer. The City annexed over of land within the past six years. Therefore, increasing the availability of land for residential, commercial and industrial growth to the East part of town where the new commercial port of entry will be constructed.

Geography

San Luis is located at (32.496116, -114.768327). It stands on the U.S.-Mexico border, opposite San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 68.5 km² (26.5 mi²). 68.5 km² (26.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.11%) is water.
The City of San Luis, located in the southwestern end of the state of Arizona, comprises part of an important industrial, agricultural and commercial area together along with San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, a zone considered to offer treat advantages for the commercial trade between the United States and Mexico.

Principal Economic Activities

Retail trade, agriculture and manufacturing form a large portion of the local economy. Another significant segment is the light industry located on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border. San Luis is an excellent site for labor intensive manufacturing and assembly plants. A new 40 acre privately owned industrial park and 40 acre commercial area are currently under construction in north San Luis along Highway 95. Parcels and pads are available for purchase and development.

Scenic Attractions

Visitor attractions within a 30 minute drive of San Luis include the old Territorial Prison, Fort Yuma and the 16th century Fort Thomas Mission. Laguna, Imperial and Morelos Dams and the California sand dues are also nearby. Fishing, water skiing and swimming at lakes along the Colorado River attract residents of the area and tourists alike. Located across the border is San Luis, Sonora, Mexico, reputed to be Mexico’s fastest growing city with a population of approximately 200,000. This area has curio shops, night clubs and various other attractions for tourists.

El Golfo De Santa Clara

El Golfo De Santa Clara is located 70 miles (110 km) south of San Luis, and sits on the northernmost point of the Sea of Cortez and confluence of the Colorado River. Large holiday crowds converge here to ride all-terrain vehicles on of pristine, undeveloped beach. In the small village of El Golfo de Santa Clara there are restaurants, an ice house, market and dry goods store and RV spaces with showers. Beach camping is recommended for the experienced camper.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 15,322 people, 3,018 households, and 2,876 families residing in the city. The population density was 223.7/km² (579.5/mi²). There were 3,325 housing units at an average density of 48.6/km² (125.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 58.78% White, 2.95% Black or African American, 1.46% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 34.36% from other races, and 2.26% from two or more races. 89.13% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 3,018 households out of which 71.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.1% were married couples living together, 18.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 4.7% were non-families. 3.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.31 and the average family size was 4.38.
In the city the population was spread out with 35.6% under the age of 18, 12.9% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 13.4% from 45 to 64, and 4.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 126.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 144.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $22,966, and the median income for a family was $22,368. Males had a median income of $20,770 versus $14,149 for females. The per capita income for the city was $5,377. About 36.3% of families and 35.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.5% of those under age 18 and 44.3% of those age 65 or over.

Prison

The Arizona State Prison Complex - Yuma is located on the corner of Avenue B and Juan Sanchez Boulevard, in San Luis. ASPC-Yuma provides housing to an average population of 2,279 convicted male felons. ASPC-Yuma is also a major employer in Yuma County, employing 755 full-time employees. ASPC-Yuma is a provider of inmate work crews utilized by members of our local, state and community organizations. Among other duties, ASPC-Yuma has a Wildland Fire Crew that consists of one sergeant, two correctional officers and twenty inmates that assists in fighting fires throughout Arizona

Comite de Bienestar

Comite de Bien Estar (Comite) is a membership organization, specifically a land development cooperative. It was started in the border town of San Luis, Arizona in 1981 when 400 families banded together to save enough money to purchase and develop of land for lots on which they could build their own homes. By the time they accomplished their vision, the families had pooled $1.4 million for the land and infrastructure - with no outside financial assistance.

Comite works to empower Mexican-American residents and immigrants who encounter many barriers, including low wages, little access to conventional financing, and limited political representation. Its development strategy addresses the realities of the bi-national local
community.

Marco "Tony" Reyes has been the executive director of the organization since its inception. He also serves as member of the Yuma County Board of Supervisors, having served as the Mayor of
San Luis from 1984 to 1994. He is also the chairman of the Enterprise Community Advisory Board.^[1]

Weather

Month	Daily Min	Daily Max	Precipitation (inches)
January	39.1	67.9	0.39
February	41.9	73.1	0.32
March	46.1	78.7	0.27
April	51.5	85.9	0.13
May	58.5	93.5	0.03
June	66.0	101.5	0.02
July	78.0	100.1	0.24
August	76.2	104.9	0.54
September	69.2	100.8	0.48
October	57.0	90.2	0.33
November	45.9	77.4	0.18
December	40.4	68.5	0.49

Education

The city of San Luis has 7 elementary schools and 2 middle schools run by the Gadsden Elementary School District #32, and 1 high school, San Luis High School run by the Yuma Union High School District #70. There is also a campus for Arizona Western College.

Government

The City of San Luis runs by a Council-Manager form, where the 7 member council appoints a city manager, city attorney, city engineer, city magistrate, chief of police, fire chief. Since 1996 the city has been plagued by a wave of recalls. It has had six different mayors in a 10 year period.

Name	Period
Pedro Julian	(1996-1997)
A. Joe Harper	(1997-2003)
Guillermina Fuentes	(2003-2004)
Nieves G. Riedel	(2004-2006)
Guillermina Fuentes	(2006-2006)
Juan Carlos Escamilla	(2006-Present)

The city also has gone through almost two dozen council members in that same 10 year period.
Current City Council (Jan 2007)

Office	Name	Period
Mayor:	Juan Carlos Escamilla	(2006-2010) [Under Recall]
Vice-Mayor:	Archibaldo Gurrola	(2006-2010) [Under Recall]
Council Member:	Tony Reyes Jr	(2006-2010) [Under Recall]
Council Member:	Rafael Torres	(2006-2010) [Under Recall]
Council Member:	Nieves Riedel	(2004-2008)
Council Member:	Guillermina Fuentes	(2004-2008)
Council Member:	Dolores "Lolita" Concha	(2004-2008
City Manager:	Ness Maness
City Clerk:	Sonia Sanchez
City Attorney:	Glenn Gimbut
City Magistrate:	Rosendo Morales Jr.
City Engineer:
Chief of Police:
Fire Chief:

City Hall is located at:

City Administration

P.O. Box 1170

765 N. First Ave.

San Luis, AZ 85349

Phone: (928) 341-8520

Fax: (928) 627-3879

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Media

Newspapers

Bajo el Sol is a major weekly newspaper in the town, published every Friday. The parent company of the Bajo el Sol, Freddom Publishers, Inc., also publishes The Yuma Sun, The Super Shopper and New Homes. The Yuma Sun is also a daily publication available in San Luis, as well as La Prensa, from San Luis Rio Colorado.

Television

San Luis is served by these American TV Stations:

K19CX Channel 19 Indio

KSWT Channel 13 - Yuma

KYMA Channel 11 - Yuma

KECY Channel 9 - Yuma

KVYE Channel 7 - El Centro

KVFA-LP Channel 6 - Indio

KYUM-LP Channel 2 - Indio

K19CX Channel 19 Indio

K28FM Channel 28 (MTV3) - Yuma

KESE-LPChannel 35 (TEL) - Yuma

KAJB Cahnnel 54 (TFU) - El Centro

Additionally by these Mexican TV Stations:

XHBC Channel 3 (Televisa) - Mexicali

XHAQ Channel 5 (TV Azteca 13) - Mexicali

XHBM Channel 14 (Televisa XEW) - Mexicali

XHEXT Channel 20 (TV Azteca 7) - Mexicali

XHMEX Channel 32 (Televisa XHGC) - Mexicali

XHMEE Channel 38 (Televisa XEQ) - Mexicali

XHLRT Channel 44 (Televisa XEW) - San Luis Rio Colorado

XHRCS Channel 50 (Telemax) - San Luis Rio Colorado

XHILA Channel 66 (Ind/CNI) - Mexicali

Transportation

San Luis is served by San Luis-Yuma Transist, which is operated by the Yuma Metropolitan Planning Organization (YMPO)

Also several taxi companies operate within the city boundaries. Taxis are operated by individulas under company concecion and under authority of the police department.

References

1. Comite de Bien Estar - San Luis, AZ

External links

★ City of San Luis Official Page

★ Gadsden School District Page

★ Comite de Bienestar