Rancho Mirage

Rancho Mirage is a low-density desert-resort community with resorts, golf courses, and country clubs in the Coachella Valley within the Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert. It is home to and has been home to a number of celebrities, including Don Sutton, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis Jr., Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, Billie Dove and Gerald and Betty Ford. It has been nicknamed "Playground of the Presidents" and "Golf Capital of the World" The city has hosted and currently hosts a variety of golf and tennis tournaments, including the Ryder Cup, Desert Classic (PGA Tour), Davis Cup, and the LPGa Tour (Chevron Championship). Native Americans came to the area 2,000 years ago. The local tribe is the Agua Caliente Indian tribe of Cahuilla Indians. The tribe was almost annihilated by smallpox in 186263 but survived, establishing a resort and casino within the city limits. An ancient Native-American trade route, the Halchidhoma trade route, follows the water holes and water springs along the foothills of the Santa Rosa Mountains. This trail is now partially California State Route 111 in Rancho Mirage. The city is located between the cities of Palm Springs and Palm Desert. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal (part-time) population can exceed 20,000. The resort, which is the third-largest employer, is located on 249-acre Rancho Las Palmas Ranch.

History

Native Americans came to the area 2,000 years ago. The local tribe in Rancho Mirage is the Agua Caliente Indian tribe of Cahuilla Indians. The tribe was almost annihilated by smallpox in 186263 but survived, establishing a resort and casino within the city limits. An ancient Native-American trade route, the Halchidhomatrade route, follows the water holes and water springs along the foothills of the Santa Rosa Mountains. The Betty Ford Center, an addiction rehabilitation center, is located in Ranchi Mirage at the Eisenhower Medical Center. The Annenberg Estate or 'Sunnylands', owned by philanthropists Walter and Leonore Annenberg, was popular with the wealthy and powerful, including Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Patrick Macnee, Zeppo Marx and Mary Martin. Several U.S. Presidents vacationed at the Annenberg estate, including Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and Gerald Ford. The golf cart or electric golf cart is rumored to have been invented at Thunderbird. Ford Thunderbird is also named for the country club. It was the second casino to be built in the Coachella Valley off Interstate 10 off Ramon Road in 2001. It is a popular destination for tourists and locals alike. The city was incorporated in 1973 from a merger of five unincorporated areas known as the "Cove" communities (Rancho Mirage, Desert Palmas, Tamarisk, and Thunderbird), and had 3,000 residents at the time.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 24.8 square miles (64 km²) Rancho Mirage is home to one eatery for every 240 residents, making it the city in the Coachella Valley with the most restaurants per capita. A number of street names are named for celebrities, entertainers, and presidents who resided in the city, including Gerald Ford Drive, Ginger Rogers Road, Frank Sinatra Drive (formerly Wonder Palms Road), Bob Hope Drive (formerly Rio del Sol), Kaye Ballard Lane, Danny Kaye Road, Dinah Shore Drive, Dean Martin Drive, and Bing Crosby Drive. A flood along Magnesia Spring Creeks alluvial fan in 1979 led to one death and $7 million in damages. Earthquakes are also somewhat common, and on July 8, 1986, an earthquake led to the destruction of 20 buildings and homes, along with big damages to roads and other structures. The city has over 20 species of mammals, including the Coyote, Bobcat, and Desert Kitcher. The Sonoran Desert has eleven species of rattlesnakes - more than anywhere else in the world. Four rare species of scorpions have been sighted on the surrounding mountains, however they inhabit the mountains and have been rare on numerous occasions. The California fan palm, which is the only palm tree native to the region, is found in areas of freshwater sources, including by Magnesia spring Creek and Whitewater River.

Demographics

The 2010 United States Census reported that Rancho Mirage had a population of 17,218. There were 14,243 housing units at an average density of 573.5 per square mile. The median household income was $77,526, with 13.6% of the population living below the federal poverty line. The city's airport is 30 minutes away from the city, and is under debate over whether to build a new airport there or to build an airport in the nearby Coachella Valley. The population of the city in 2000 was 13,249, and in 2010 it was 17,154. It is located in the Mojave Desert, which is a desert climate region. The Mojave River runs through the city. The town's name is derived from the word "mirage" or "miracle" which means "miraculous" or'miracle' in Spanish. It was named after the town of the same name, where it is believed that the word mirage means'mirage' or 'Miracle' or "Miracle City' is used to refer to the city's former status as a retirement haven. It also means 'City of the Miracles' in English and 'Rancho Mirage' in Portuguese. The name is also used in Spanish as "Ranchos de la Mirage" (or Ranchos de las Mirage) or 'Ranches of the Mirage' (Spanish for 'Rancheros of the Desert'). The city is located on the U.S.-Mexico border, and was founded in 1881.

Economy

The Rancho Mirage City Council has adopted a $28.8 million budget for fiscal year 202122. Sales and hotel taxes are the two biggest sources of revenue for the city, making up 51 percent of Rancho Mirages annual revenue. The Ritz-Carlton, The Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort and Spa, The Omni Las Palmas, Hilton Garden Inn, and the Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa are some of the top employers in the city. About 43 percent of city expenditures are allocated to public safety, the citys biggest annual expense. The city has a population of 10,000, with 1,700 different business organizations employed by the city's top employers. It is located on 24 acres (9.7 ha) of land on a 650 ft (200 m) plateau in the Santa Rosa Mountains. The now public 18-hole golf course at Desert Island Golf & Country Club was designed by British-American golfer Desmond Muirhead. The country club has 226 units and three separate condo buildings. A seven-story building is Located on an island in the club's 25-acre (0.10 km²) artificial lake. It's located across Frank Sinatra Dr. from Sunnylands. According to the 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top Employers in the City were: Hoteliers, restaurants, retailers, banks, and financial institutions. The top Employer in theCity was Hoteliers and Restaurant Association of Southern California (HASCA), which has more than 2,000 employees.

Arts and culture

The 1957 Kenaston House was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2016. The botanical gardens at Sunnylands Center and Gardens feature over 53,000 plants in its 9 acres (3.6 ha) of desert gardens. The Rancho Mirage Public Library features 62,000 volumes and regularly hosts musical events, exhibits, and various programs. The city's oldest house, the 1934 Casa Chiquita (Ranchito Chiquito) was the first structure added to. the register when designated a historic site on June 1, 2003. As of 2021, there are 72 structures listed on the Rancho. Mirage Register of historic Places, including celebrity homes previously owned by Kaye Ballard, Red. Skelton, and Gummo Marx. There is an official summit with Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu on March 23, 1990. The annual two-day Rancho Mirages Art Affaire is held every November. It is an annual weekend celebration with entertainment, food vendors, and art. The museum features instructive exhibits, picnic areas, miniature rock-climbing areas, a sculpture wall, a rope maze, and more. The Children's Discovery Museum of the Desert has interactive exhibits and programs focused on the local natural environment. The library hosts the annual International Classical Concert Series along with a number of other musical performances. The gardens feature rows of Golden barrel cactus, Moroccan mound cactus and Artichoke agave, and species such as Pink hesperaloe, Spanish bayonet, and Palo verde.

Sports

Rancho Mirage has 12 or 13 golf courses, also known as country clubs or golf resorts. Thunderbird Country Club has hosted the Ryder Cup and the Desert Classic of the PGA Tour. Mission Hills Country Club hosted the Davis Cup finals in 1978. The Dinah Shore Golf Classic is held in Rancho Mirage every March and draws an estimated 15,000 lesbian visitors to the area. In womens golf, the tournament ranks second only to the U.S. Women's Open. The city's first resort was the Thunderbird Guest Ranch, opened in 1946 for entertainers and business clientele. Other golf resorts are The S at rancho Mirage, Tamarisk, Mission Hills, Thunderbird, The Springs, Sunrise, Omni Resorts Rancho Las Palmas hotel (opened in 1979 to replace the Desert Air golf and private airport from 1954 to 1978), Morningside and Mission Hills North Course. Westin Hotels Mission Hills resort and Tuscania by Sunrise Company opened in 2006. The Chevron Championship was held in 2022, one of five major championships in womens professional golf (LPGA) and is held at Mission Hills. It is part of the Kraft Nabisco Championship tournament, held at the Mission Hill Country Club. It was one of the original golf courses in the tournament that later became the Bob Hope Classic. It also held a Pga Tour event from 195259 and was one-of the original courses for the event. The tournament was held at The Springs.

Recreation

Some of the most visited hiking trails in the Coachella Valley are found within city limits. Access to the Mirada Trail System is located behind Rancho Mirage City Hall where trailheads can be found for a number of trails. There are six Cahuilla cultural heritage sites within the city limits, including Bradley Canyon, Magnesia Spring, and Edom Hill (Indio Hills) The city also operates various nature and wildlife reserves to provide habitat for the Peninsular Bighorn Sheep and other local wildlife. The city operates the following five public parks:Blixseth Mountain Park (access near the corner of Indian Trail and Mirage Road): 7-acre desert mountain park at the foothills of the Santa Rosa Mountains, accessed by a wooden bridge. The Magnesia Springs Ecological Reserve, a 3,800-acre area, was designated by the California Department of Wildlife in 1975. It became a reserve to preserve and rehabilitate both freshwater sources and freshwater sources for the Magnese Spring sheep. It is home to wildlife such as the Peninular bighorn sheep, Coyote fox, Golden eagle, Golden quail, Mourning Prairie Prairie falcon, and Mourning Mourning dove. The City's oldest home dating to 1934 was moved to this park in 2004. The park is located adjacent to Whitewater River and was originally developed in 1982. It has bronze sculptures, walkways, tiled benches, and a waterfall. An additional park, the 1.3-acre Magnesia Falls Neighborhood Park, is adjacent to the Family YCA.

Government

Rancho Mirage is in the California State Legislature. In the U.S. House of Representatives, it is in California's 36th congressional district. The tribal government of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians governs over parts of the city where reservation jurisdictions overlap. Hillary Clinton won the 2016 presidential election in Rancho Mirage. 57.8 percent voted for Joe Biden and 41.2 percent for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. The city's city hall is located at the intersection of California State Route 111 and Frank Sinatra Dr. It was previously Merton Bakers real estate office. It is currently represented by Democrat Lola Smallwood-Cuevas and Independent Chad Mayes in the State Legislature and 42nd Assembly District. It has a population of about 2,000. The town is located in the foothills of the San Diego County mountains. The San Diego River runs through the city, and the city is located near the town's northern border with the town of Lompoc, in the Sierra foothills. It also has a small portion of the Mojave River, which flows through the town to the north and south of the town. The community is home to the Santa Catalina Mountains, which run through the northern part of the county. The area is known for its redwood and chaparral forests, which can be seen from the city's downtown area. The Santa Catalana River is a tributary to the San Francisco Bay.

Education

There is one elementary school (Rancho Mirage Elementary) and one high school Rancho Mirage High School in the city limits. The newly renovated Nellie Coffman Middle School is on the city line with Cathedral City. There is one private school, Palm Valley School, which covers grades preschool-12th. The PSUSD is building a new grade-middle school complex on the lands of the former Walter Annenberg estate donated to the PSUSD. The complex has yet to be constructed. The city is home to a campus of Santa Barbara Business College, a private college that offers academic degrees and career training. It is also home to the University of California, Santa Barbara, which offers a variety of degrees and training for business executives and professionals. It also has a private high school, which is part of the Palm Springs Unified School District, and a private middle school, the Palm Valley High School, that covers grades 6-12. There are no high schools in Palm Springs, but there are several private high schools and one private elementary school in Cathedral City, which also covers grades 5-12, and two private middle schools in Santa Barbara County, California, which cover grades 5 and 6. The school district is in the process of constructing a new high school complex, which will include a new middle school and a new elementary school. It will be called Palm Springs High School and the high school will be known as Palm Springs Ranch High School. The high school is located in the center of the city, on the north side of the Santa Barbara River.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Rancho Mirage, Riverside County, California = 1. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 50. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 10. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Rancho Mirage = 5.7 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 5,762 individuals with a median age of 61.3 age the population grows by 30.06% in Rancho Mirage, Riverside County, California population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 730.80 residents per square mile of area (282.17/km²). There are average 1.93 people per household in the 8,844 households with an average household income of $76,835 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 15.10% of the available work force and has dropped -6.49% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 11.92%. The number of physicians in Rancho Mirage per 100,000 population = 109.8.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Rancho Mirage = 5.5 inches and the annual snowfall = 0 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 17. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 270. 108 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 42 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 17, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Rancho Mirage, Riverside County, California which are owned by the occupant = 47.64%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 20 years with median home cost = $403,330 and home appreciation of -17.40%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $9.19 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,722 per student. There are 22.3 students for each teacher in the school, 8018 students for each Librarian and 983 students for each Counselor. 4.64% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 21.00% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 15.10% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).