- 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.
It is part of the
Yuma
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
San Luis was the second fastest-growing place among all cities and
towns in Arizona of any size from 1990 and 2000. According to 2006
Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is
22,634.
History
The City
of San Luis is 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 RÃo
Colorado
, Sonora, a zone considered to offer great
advantages for the commercial trade between the United States and
Mexico .
The city was established in 1930 with the opening of a
border-crossing station. 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 has annexed over of land within the past six
years, thereby increasing the availability of land for residential,
commercial and industrial growth in the eastern 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 RÃo Colorado, Sonora
. The lowest point in the state
of Arizona is located on the Colorado River
in San Luis, where it flows out of Arizona and into
Sonora
in Mexico
.
According to the
United
States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which
is land and (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 dunes 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.
Gulf of Santa Clara
The
Gulf of Santa Clara is located
south of San Luis and sits on the northernmost point of the
Sea of
Cortez
, at its confluence with the Colorado River. Large holiday crowds converge here to ride
all-terrain vehicles on of 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 579.5
people per square mile (223.7/km²). There were 3,325 housing units
at an average density of 125.8/sq mi (48.6/km²). The racial
makeup of the city was 4.02%
White, 2.95%
Black or
African American, 1.46%
Native American, 0.16%
Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander,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. Moreover, it 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.
San Luis Detention Facility was opened in 2007. The facility is
owned by the San Luis Detention Facility Development Corporation, a
subsidiary of the city, and is currently operated by
CEC/Civigenics. The facility is located on the eastern edge of the
city near the Arizona State Prison Complex. It has 464 beds to hold
detainees, primarily for violations of immigration laws, from local
federal authorities. Approximately 80 full-time employees are
employed by the facility.
Climate
| 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 is served by Gadsden
Elementary School District #32, Yuma Union High School District
#70, and Harvest Preparatory Academy. The elementary schools are:
Gadsden Elementary, Rio Colorado Elementary, Arizona Desert
Elementary, Ed Pastor Elementary, Cesar Chavez Elementary, and
Desert View Elementary. Harvest Preparatory Academy is a new
addition to San Luis, which opened its doors in August of 2009.
They currently serve Kindergarten thru 3rd Grade. Their future plan
is to expand to a Kindergarten through High School in the next
several years. The two middle schools are Southwest Junior High and
San Luis Middle School, Southwest Jr. High(SWJH)is also known for
it's potential students. Every year they give advanced classes for
kids that are too advanced for the regular classes. In the school
we have a very large number of High school algebra kids. They also
give us the opportunity to take Arizona Western College
classes(AWC). We have one of the best math teachers ever as well,
Mr. Arrizon. Last year we were the only ones to send about 40
students to the John Hopkins program. Every year we take the
ACT(american college test). This year we want to make a new record,
140 kids to the universities. We are the only ones in America to
make send 40 kids, that certainly has closed the mouths of Yuma,
Arizona kids, that always made fun of us because we mostly have
mexicans in our schools. We are a performing plus school, and that
has made the city a whole lot better. The pre-school is San Luis
Pre-school. The Gadsden Elementary school district has over 5,000
students in the system.The Governing Board Members are: Luis
Marquez, President, Martina Lopez, Clerk, Gloria Torres, member,
Rosa Varela, member, and Tadeo de la Hoya, board member.
Arizona Western College serves over 1/3 of its total students in
the San Luis And Somerton Community. Courses are taught in a new
San Luis Campus and Gadsden Elementary Schools and at the San Luis
High School campuses.
Government
The City of San Luis runs by a Council-Manager form, where the
seven-member council appoints a city manager, city attorney, city
engineer, city magistrate, chief of police and 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 |
| Josefina C. Rodriguez |
(1979–1982) |
| Elias Bermudez |
(1982–1984) |
| Marco Antonio "Tony" Reyes |
(1984–1994) |
| Mike Lopez |
(1994–1996) |
| Pedro Julian |
(1996–1997) |
| A. Joe Harper |
(1997–2003) |
| Guillermina Fuentes |
(2003–2004) |
| Nieves G. Riedel |
(2004–2006) |
| Guillermina Fuentes |
(2006) |
| Juan Carlos Escamilla |
(2006–present) |
|
The city has also gone through almost two dozen council members in
that same 10-year-period.
Current City Council (January 2007)
| Office |
Name |
Period |
| Mayor: |
Juan Carlos Escamilla |
(2006–2010) |
| Vice-Mayor: |
Tony Reyes Jr. |
(2006–2010) |
| Council Member: |
Archibaldo Gurrola |
(2006–2010) |
| Council Member: |
Rafael Torres |
(2006–2010) |
| Council Member: |
Jose Suarez |
(2008–2012) |
| Council Member: |
Mario Buchanan Jr. |
(2008–2012) |
| Council Member: |
Gerardo Sanchez |
(2008–2012) |
| Acting City Manager: |
Jeff Philpot |
| City Clerk: |
Sonia Cuello |
| City Attorney: |
Glenn Gimbut |
| City Magistrate: |
Rosendo Morales Jr. |
| City Engineer: |
|
| Chief of Police: |
Javier Nuno |
| Fire Chief: |
Hank Green |
Media
Newspapers
Bajo el Sol is a major weekly newspaper in the town,
published every Friday. The parent company of the
Bajo el
Sol, Freedom 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:
Additionally by these
Mexican TV
Stations:
Sports
Not nationally known for its sports, San Luis has become the new
home of an
Arizona Winter
League independent professional baseball franchise, the
San Luis Atleticos, which began
play in January 2009.
The team represents not only their home
city, but Mexico as
well.
Transportation
San Luis is served by Yuma County Area Transit's Yuma-San Luis
line, which is operated by the
Yuma Metropolitan
Planning Organization (
YMPO). The regular
fare to Yuma is $3.50. Local fare is $1.50. The bus, or Y CAT has a
total of eight stops in San Luis and then it continues to Yuma,
going through Gadsden and Somerton along the way.
Also several taxi companies operate within the city boundaries.
Local fare is from $4.00 to $5.00 and the fare to Yuma is $7.00.
Taxis are operated by individuals under company concession and
under authority of the police department.
References
External links
Channel 19
Indio
Channel 13 -
Yuma
Channel 11 -
Yuma
Channel 9 -
Yuma
Channel 7 -
El
Centro
Channel 54
(TFU) - El
Centro
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