Needles (Mojave ʼAha Kuloh) is a
city located on the western banks of the Colorado
River
in San Bernardino County
, California
. It is located in Mojave Valley, which
straddles the California–Arizona
border. The city is accessible via
Interstate 40 and
U.S. Route 95.
The population was 4,830 at the 2000 census, and was estimated at
5,700 by mid-2008. Needles was named after "The Needles," a group
of pointed rocks on the Arizona side of the river. There is a
relatively large
Mohave community, although
they are not the majority.
History
"Ancient
petroglyphs,
pictographs, intaglios, old trails and stone work
sites bear witness to those who came from an earlier time."
(Needles Chamber of Commerce)
Mohave people had been living in the area for
hundreds, if not thousands, of years prior to the European
exploration of the area. In 1859, Fort Mojave was built to protect
immigrants to California and other travelers from the
Mohave.
[16054]
The city
was founded in 1883 as a result of the construction of the
railroad, which crosses the Colorado
at this
point. The name is derived from pointed mountain peaks at
the south end of the valley.
In 2008,
claiming the county had been unwilling to help keep the city's
troubled hospital open as a full-service medical facility, the city
considered seceding from California and becoming part of
neighboring Nevada
, only a few
miles away. The options of attaching itself to the state
of Arizona or even
forming a new county were also considered.[16055]
Historic
U.S. Route 66 passes through the city, lined with
motels and other shops from that era. Needles is a tourism and
recreation center, a tradition going back for decades.
Climate
Needles,
like Death
Valley
, is known for extreme heat during the
summers. Temperatures in Needles routinely reach in late
July and early August. The Needles weather station is frequently
reported by the United State government's
National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the site of the
highest daily temperature recorded in the U.S. during the hot
desert summers. Needles occasionally sets national or world daily
high temperature records.
In January, the normal high temperature is with a normal low of .
In July, the normal high temperature is 107 degrees with a normal
low of 85. Annual rainfall is about .
On July 17, 2005, the high temperature at Needles was , the hottest
temperature ever recorded in Needles since record keeping began in
1940, breaking the previous all-time record high of four days
earlier (which prior to that, broke the all-time high of which was
set on July 2, 1967).
On July 22, 2006, about one year later, Needles experienced a
record high low temperature, with a temperature recorded to be at 5
AM with a high temperature exceeding .
The city is also known for moderate to locally severe thunderstorms
during the
monsoon season as
well as humid conditions.
Needles is served by the
National Weather Service's NOAA
Weather Radio operating on 162.50 MHz from the Las Vegas National
Weather Service.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 4,830
people, 1,940 households, and 1,268 families residing in the city.
The estimated population in July 2006: 5,330 (+10.4% change). The
population density was 162.3/mi²
(62.6/km²). There were 2,551 housing units at an average density of
85.7/mi² (33.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.87%
White, 1.61%
African American, 7.00%
Native American, 1.43%
Asian, 0.12%
Pacific Islander, 6.38% from
other races, and 5.59%
from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 18.36% of the
population.
There were 1,940 households out of which 31.2% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were
married couples living together, 16.8% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families.
29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had
someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age
of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to
64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was
39 years. For every 100 females there were 96.7 males. For every
100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,108, and the
median income for a family was $33,264. Males had a median income
of $39,688 versus $19,483 for females. The
per capita income for the city was
$15,156. About 21.2% of families and 26.1% of the population were
below the
poverty line, including 38.2%
of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those age 65 or over.
Major employment in the city is supported by the
BNSF Railway (formerly the
Santa Fe Railroad). The depot has been a
terminal (crew change point) for the railway since the late 1800s.
The railroad company has been the city's main employment source for
over a century.
According to the
United
States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 30.2 mi²
(78.2 km²). 29.8 mi² (77.2 km²) of it is land and 0.4 mi²
(1.1 km²) of it (1.36%) is water.
The once
smaller nearby communities of Bullhead City, Arizona
, Lake Havasu City, Arizona
, and Laughlin, Nevada
have in recent years become larger communities than
Needles.
Politics
In the
state
legislature Needles is located in the 18th
Senate District, represented by
Republican Roy Ashburn, and in the 34th
Assembly District, represented by
Republican
Connie Conway. Federally,
Needles is located in
California's 41st
congressional district, which has a
Cook PVI of R +9 and is
represented by Republican
Jerry
Lewis.While Needles falls within all Republican districts due
to gerrymandering, the city itself falls into Democratic territory
with the March 9th 2009 voter registration totals for the city
coming to:
- American Independent: 104
- Democratic: 907
- Libertarian: 8
- Non Partisan: 430
- Peace and Freedom: 9
- Republican: 624
- City Total: 2,082
In 2008, the city put forward a proposal to be annexed to Nevada or
to exempt itself from San Bernardino County and create its own
county due to a conflict over funding a public hospital. The
proposal needs approval from the
United States Congress, both states,
and the populace of the town.
Rail transportation
Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides
daily service to Needles
, operating its Southwest
Chief between Chicago
and Los
Angeles
that arrives between midnight to 2am.
Local transportation
Transit service to the Needles area is provided by Needles Area
Transit.
Public services
Fire services
John Lorimer was the first mayor of
Needles.
John's son Robert Burns Lorimer established the first
Volunteer fire department.
Needles is served under contract with the San Bernardino County
Fire Department. Fire Station 31 serves as the administrative
offices for fire protection to the City of Needles and houses three
Type I Engine companies and one Water Tender. The station is
staffed with one paid officer augmented by limited-term
firefighters and paid-call firefighters living in the
community.
Schools
Needles schools are part of the
Needles Unified School
District. The school district is one of the largest in the
United States in terms of area with almost in its boundaries. The
district runs from Amboy to Needles, and south to Parker Dam. It
has 1,158 students enrolled. The local Needles schools include
Katie Hohstadt Elementary School, formerly called 'D' Street School
(Grades 1–2), Vista Colorado Elementary School(Grades K–5), Needles
Middle School (Grades 6–8), Needles High School (Grades 9–12), and
the Educational Training Center (Grades 9–12).
Needles also has two private schools; the Needles Assembly of God
Christian School and Needles Seventh-Day Adventist School.
Popular culture references
Movies
- Movies/shows using locations in Needles:
Books
Print media
- In the comic strip Peanuts,
whose creator Charles Schulz lived in
Needles as a boy, Snoopy's brother Spike lived in the desert outside Needles.
He frequently heads to Needles to partake of the town's nightlife,
often running afoul of the local coyotes.
Recordings
- In 2004, John Lowery (John 5),
former guitarist for Marilyn Manson, released his CD
Vertigo, in which the first track is entitled "Needles,
California".
- The town is mentioned in the lyrics of Hoyt Axton's "Never Been To Spain"; the song was
a hit for Three Dog Night in
1972.
- Quoted in Three Dog Night's
"Never Been to Spain." Also performed by Elvis –
Well I never been to England, but I kinda like the
Beatles.
Well, I headed out for Las Vegas, only made it out to
Needles.
Can you feel it?
Must be real.
It feels so good!
Television
- In October 2006, two students and two teachers from Needles
High School were invited to Washington DC to meet with the Under
Secretary of Defense, in which they spoke of the new program at
Needles High School called MOCK National Security Workshop. The
students were also interviewed for the nation-wide, fifteen minute
television news show, Channel One
News, where the episode was aired on October 25.
- Needles was the main site of a 2009 UFO Hunters episode investigating a
supposed UFO Crash.
Other popular culture connections
- April 11, 1992: the 38-year old comedian Sam Kinison was
killed in a head-on car crash in Needles, California. His newlywed
wife was also critically injured.
Tony Hawk at the opening of the
Needles Skate Park on January 3rd, 2004.
- In late 2000 to early 2001, skateboard legend Tony Hawk donated $10,000 to the Needles Skate
Park, which is still in use today. Hawk was present for the grand
opening of the park in January 2004.
- Needles (and the surrounding area) was the scene for the hit
1986 post-apocalyptic computer RPG
Wasteland.
Notable natives and residents
References
- Needles ponders leaving California for Nevada,
Associated
Press they also think about going to Arizona Fox News, 2008-04-19
- Needles, California (CA) Detailed Profile -
relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime,
news, sex offenders
- http://www.sbcounty.gov/ROV/general_info/distsummary.pdf
- Sanbag public transit providers
- San Bernardino County Fire Department
- Needles Unified School District schools, Needles -
CA: charter and public schools. Needles school district - Needles
CA school district
- IMDB search results for Needles
- Mayor's Office, City of San Bernardino web
site
-
http://www.progressiveu.org/175929-max-rafferty-1917-82-conservative-educator-and-california-state-school-superintendent-during-1962-70
External links
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