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Wine Country

Wine Country

Wine Country is a region of Northern California in the United States, known world-wide as a premium wine-growing region since 1838. There are some 200 wineries in the area north of San Francisco, mostly located in the area's valleys, including Napa Valley in Napa County, and the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County. Some of the region's major cities include Santa Rosa (the setting for many major films including Hitchcock thriller Shadow of a Doubt), Napa, Calistoga (famous for its hot springs), Geyserville (famous for its... geysers), Bodega Bay (the setting for The Birds, another Hitchcock thriller), Healdsburg, historic Fort Ross and Ukiah. Wine Country proper is generally thought to lie within Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties, but wine grapes grow well throughout much of northern California. The federal government maintains the list of American Viticultural Areas for tax purposes.

Northern California

Northern California (sometimes NorCal) refers to the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, roughly covering all of those counties except for the ten counties which make up Southern California. It is characterized by its beautiful coastline, mediterranean climate, relatively low population density (apart from the San Francisco Bay Area and metropolitan Sacramento), and redwood forests. Northern California's largest metropolitan area is San Jose and its Silicon Valley suburbs. Other major cities include San Francisco, Sacramento (the state capital), and Oakland.

Higher education

- California State University, Chico
- California State University, East Bay (formerly California State University, Hayward)
- California State University, Sacramento
- California State University, Monterey Bay
- Humboldt State University
- Saint Mary's College of California
- Santa Clara University
- San Francisco State University
- San José State University
- Sonoma State University
- Stanford University
- University of California, Berkeley
- University of California, Davis
- University of California, Merced
- University of California, San Francisco
- University of California, Santa Cruz
- University of the Pacific
- University of San Francisco Northern California is also home to a number of seminaries including Fuller Theological Seminary (see also Fuller Northern California), and Western Seminary, each with campuses in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Sacramento.

NorCal Regions

- San Francisco Bay Area
- North Bay (Marin, Sonoma, Solano, and Napa counties)
- East Bay
- South Bay (Santa Clara Valley, "Silicon Valley")
- The Peninsula
- Wine Country
- Salinas Valley, including Salinas and King City
- Monterey, including Pacific Grove and carmel
- Gold Country
- Shasta Cascade
- Emerald Triangle
- Sacramento Valley
- San Joaquin Valley, with the exception of Kern County. Category:Geography of California

1838

1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar).

Events

- January 6 - Samuel Morse first publicly demonstrates the telegraph.
- January 8 - Alfred Vail demonstrates a telegraph using dots and dashes (this is the forerunner of Morse code)
- January 12 - Joseph Smith, Jr. and Sidney Rigdon flee Ohio for Missouri
- March 7 – Jenny Lind, the "Swedish Nightingale" debuts at the Stockholm Opera
- March 8 - The New Orleans Mint strikes its first coinage, 30 dimes.
- April 30 - Nicaragua declares independence from the Central American Federation
- May 31 - In Cornwall, self-declared Messiah John Nichols Thom kills a policeman who was sent to arrest him and flees to Bossenden Wood with 30 followers. Later in the day he dies when he tries to rally his followers to fight soldiers of the 45th Foot regiment
- June 12 - Territory of Iowa established
- 1 August - Slavery officially abolished in Trinidad & Tobago
- 7 September - Grace Darling rescues 9 survivors from the wreck of Forfarshire off the Farne Islands
- September 3 - Dressed in a sailor's uniform and carrying identification papers provided by a free Black seaman, future abolitionist Frederick Douglass boards a train in Maryland on his way to freedom from slavery
- October 16 - Date in the Bill Stump's Stone
- October 27 - Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs issues the Extermination Order, ordering the expulsion of all Mormons from the state.
- November 3 The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce is founded. This paper was later renamed to The Times of India in 1861
- November 5 - Honduras separates from the Central American Federation, weakening the confederation.
- Proteins discovered by Jöns Jakob Berzelius
- the Pastry War
- Start of First British-Afghan War
- Republic of Yucatan declares independence from Mexico
- Start of Central American Civil War
- Friedrich Bessel makes the first accurate measurement of distance to a star.
- Christian Hermann Weisse proposes the two-source hypothesis of gospel origins, which is held by a majority of biblical scholars to this day.
- Regular Atlantic steamship service begins
- Augustus Siebe invents a closed diving suit with a helmet
- Louis Daguerre develops Daguerreotype
- Epidemic kills half of the native population in the Aleuts

Births

- January 4 - General Tom Thumb, American circus performer and entertainer (d. 1883)
- January 6 - Max Bruch, German composer (d. 1920)
- January 16 - Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (d. 1917)
- February 6 - Henry Irving, English actor (d. 1905)
- February 10 - Gustav Oelwein, The founder of Oelwein, Iowa (d. 1913)
- February 16 - Henry Adams, American historian (d. 1918)
- February 18 - Ernst Mach, Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1916)
- March 3 - George William Hill, American astronomer (d. 1914)
- April 8 - Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German inventor (d. 1917)
- April 16 - Martha McClellan Brown, American temperance movement leader (d. 1916)
- April 28 - Tobias Michael Carel Asser, Dutch jurist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1913)
- April 21 - John Muir, American ecologist (d. 1914)
- May 10 - John Wilkes Booth, American actor and assassin (d. 1865)
- May 20 - Jules Méline, French statesman (d. 1925)
- September 2 - Liliuokalani of Hawai'i, last Queen of Hawaii (d. 1917)
- October 6 - Giuseppe Cesare Abba, Italian patriot and writer (d. 1910)
- October 25 - Georges Bizet, French composer (d. 1875)
- November 7 - Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, French writer (d. 1889)
- November 13 - Joseph Fielding Smith, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1918)
- December 20 - Edwin Abbott Abbott, theologian and author (d. 1926)
- December 30 - Émile Loubet, 7th president President of France (d.1929)

Month/day unknown

- Cleveland Abbe, American meteorologist (d. 1916)
- John S. Billings,M.D., American military and medical leader (d. 1913)

Deaths

- January 5 - Anthony Van Egmond, A Rebel leader in Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837
- May 17 - Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, French diplomat (b. 1754)
- July 4 - Colonel José Antonio Vidaurre, Chilean rebel (shot)
- August 21 - Adelbert von Chamisso, German writer (b. 1781)
- September 1 - William Clark, American explorer (b. 1770)
- November 21 - Georges Mouton, count of Lobau, Marshal of France (b. 1770) Category:1838 ko:1838년 simple:1838 th:พ.ศ. 2381

San Francisco, California

: The City and County of San Francisco (2004 estimated population 744,230) is the fourth-largest city in the state of California, in the United States. A consolidated city-county, mainland San Francisco is located on the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula. Insular San Francisco includes several islands in the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Strait, notably Alcatraz, Treasure Island, and the Farallon Islands 27 miles offshore in the Pacific Ocean and also most of the privately owned Red Rock Island near the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. (See Islands of San Francisco Bay) The city is a focal point of the San Francisco Bay Area, and forms part of the greater San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Combined Statistical Area (CSA), whose population is over 7 million. U.S. census data show that San Francisco has the highest population density of any major U.S. city aside from New York City. The first Europeans to settle in San Francisco were the Spanish, in 1776. With the advent of the California gold rush in 1848 the city entered a period of rapid growth. Devastated by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the city was quickly rebuilt. The phoenix on the city's flag represents San Francisco's "rebirth" from the ashes of the fire that resulted from the quake. Long enjoying a bohemian reputation the city became a counterculture magnet in the second half of the 20th century. It was a center of the dot-com boom and explosive growth of the internet at the end of the century. San Francisco has unique characteristics when compared to other major cities in the U.S., including its steep rolling hills, an eclectic mix of architecture including both Victorian style houses and modern skyscrapers, and unmatched physical beauty, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay. San Francisco's famous hallmarks include its cable cars and the Golden Gate Bridge, which are recognized worldwide.
History
Golden Gate Bridge European visitors to the Bay Area were preceded 10,000 to 20,000 years earlier by Native Americans. When Europeans arrived, they found the area inhabited by the Yelamu tribe, belonging to a linguistic grouping later called the Ohlone (a Miwok Indian word meaning "western people") living in the coastal area between Point Sur and the San Francisco Bay. San Francisco's characteristic foggy weather and geography led early European explorers, including Juan Cabrillo and Sir Francis Drake (who would instead land a few miles north in Point Reyes), to pass by the Golden Gate and miss the San Francisco Bay. Eventually, a Spanish party, led by Don Gaspar de Portolà, discovered the bay in 1770, claiming it in the name of Spain. In 1776, Juan Bautista de Anza arrived and established the sites for the Presidio of San Francisco and Mission San Francisco de Asis (named for Saint Francis of Assisi and now popularly known as "Mission Dolores"). In 1792 British explorer George Vancouver set up a small settlement near the village of Yerba Buena (later downtown San Francisco) which became a small base for English, Russian, and other European fur traders, explorers, and settlers. Due to its distance from Mexico City and the decline of Spanish power, the area was isolated, remaining sparsely populated and undeveloped. It became part of an independent Mexico in 1821. Following the passing of the Secularization Act of 1833, effectively ending the Mission period, Mission San Francisco de Asis was abandoned. The local indigenous tribes of Ohlone and Miwok had became virtually extinct by this time due to disease and warfare with the European settlers. In addition to Spanish and European settlers, Russian colonists also visited the Bay area. From 1770, lasting through 1841, Russia colonized an area that ranged from Alaska south to Fort Ross in Sonoma County, California. The naming of San Francisco's Russian Hill neighborhood is attributed to the remains of Russian fur-traders and sailors found there. Serious development by non-Spanish speakers began in 1822, when William Richardson, an English whaler redeveloped a section of Yerba Buena in what is now Portsmouth Square in Chinatown. Yerba Buena remained a small town until the Mexican-American War broke out in 1846. The British Empire briefly entertained the idea of purchasing the bay from Mexico in 1841, claiming it would "Secure to Great Britain all the advantages of the finest port in the Pacific for her commercial speculations in time of peace, and in war for more easily securing her maritime ascendency". However little came of this, and San Francisco become a prize of United States continental imperialism rather than that of British thalassocratic power. A naval force under Commodore John D. Sloat claimed it in the name of the United States and renamed it "San Francisco" on January 30, 1847. Situated at the tip of a windswept peninsula without water or firewood, San Francisco lacked most of the basic facilities for a nineteenth century settlement. These natural disadvantages forced the town's residents to bring water, fuel and food to the site. The first of many environmental transformations was the city's reliance on filled marshlands for real estate. Much of the present downtown is built over the former Yerba Buena Cove, granted to the city by military governor Stephen Watts Kearny in 1847. Stephen Watts Kearny The California gold rush starting in 1848 led to a large boom in population, including considerable immigration. Between January 1848 and December 1849, the population of San Francisco increased from 1,000 to 25,000. This included many workers from China who came to work in the gold mines and later on the Transcontinental Railroad. The Chinatown district of the city became and is still one of the largest in the country; the city as a whole is roughly one-fifth Chinese, one of the largest concentrations outside of China. Many businesses founded to service the growing population exist today, notably Levi Strauss & Co. clothing, Ghirardelli chocolate, and Wells Fargo bank. Many famous railroad, banking, and mining tycoons or "robber barons" such as Charles Crocker, Mark Hopkins, Collis P. Huntington, and Leland Stanford settled in the city in its Nob Hill neighborhood. The sites of their mansions are now famous and expensive San Francisco hotels (Mark Hopkins Hotel and the Huntington Hotel). Huntington Hotel, 1856.]] As in many mining towns, the social climate in early San Francisco was chaotic. This was exacerbated by squabbling in the United States Senate, where the Compromise of 1850 was igniting a fierce fight over slavery. Committees of Vigilance were formed in 1851, and again in 1856, in response to crime and government corruption, but also had a strong element of anti-immigrant violence, and arguably created more lawlessness than they eliminated. This popular militia movement lynched 12 people, kidnapped hundreds of Irishmen and government militia members, and forced several elected officials to resign. The Committee of Vigilance relinquished power both times after it decided the city had been "cleaned up." This mob activity later focused on Chinese immigrants, creating many race riots. These riots culminated in the creation of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 that aimed to reduce Chinese immigration to the United States by limiting immigration to males and reducing numbers of immigrants allowed in the city. The law was not repealed until 1943. Chinese Exclusion Act San Francisco County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. The parts of the county not in the city limits were split off to form San Mateo County in 1856. San Francisco became America's largest city west of the Mississippi River, until it lost that title to Los Angeles. It was also briefly the state capital in 1851, until San José received the title. (Sacramento is the current capital.) In autumn of 1855, a ship bearing refugees from an ongoing cholera epidemic in the far east (authorities disagree as to whether this was the S.S. Sam or the S.S. Carolina) docked in San Francisco. As the city's rapid gold-rush area population growth had significantly outstripped the development of infrastructure, including sanitation, a serious cholera epidemic quickly broke out. The responsibility for caring for the indigent sick had previously rested on the state, but faced with the San Francisco cholera epidemic, the state legislature devolved this responsibility to the counties, setting the precedent for California's system of county hospitals for the poor still in effect today. The Sisters of Mercy were contracted to run San Francisco's first county hospital at the height of the cholera epidemic, and in 1857, the order opened its own charity hospital, Mercy Hospital of San Francisco, which is still in operation today at its original location on Stanyan Street. By the 1890s, San Francisco was suffering from Boss politics and corruption, and was ripe for political reform. Adolph Sutro ran for mayor in 1894 under the auspices of the Populist Party and won handily without campaigning. Unfortunately, except for the Sutro Baths, Mayor Sutro substantially failed in his efforts to improve the city. The next mayor, James D. Phelan elected in 1896, was more successful, pushing through a new city charter that allowed for the ability to raise funds through bond issues. He was able to get bonds passed to construct a new sewer system, seventeen new schools, two parks, a hospital, and a main library. After leaving office in 1901, Phelan became interested in remaking San Francisco into a grand and modern Paris of the West. When the San Francisco Art Association asked him to draft a plan for the beautification of the city, he hired famed architect Daniel Burnham. Burnham and Phelan's plan was ambitious, envisioning a 50-year effort to transform the city with wide diagonal boulevards creating open spaces and squares as they crossed the orthogonal grid of existing streets. Some parts of the plan were eventually implemented, including an Opera house to the north of City Hall, a subway under Market Street, and a waterfront boulevard (The Embarcadero) circling the city. In 1900, a ship from China brought with it rats infected with bubonic plague. Mistakenly believing that interred corpses contributed to the transmission of plague, and possibly also motivated by the opportunity for profitable land speculation, city leaders banned all burials within the city. Cemeteries moved to the undeveloped area just south of the city limit, now the town of Colma, California. A fifteen-block section of Chinatown was quarantined while city leaders squabbled over the proper course to take, but the outbreak was finally eradicated by 1905. However, the problem of existing cemeteries and the shortage of land in the city remained. In 1912 (with fights extending until 1942), all remaining cemeteries in the city were evicted to Colma, where the dead now outnumber the living by more than a thousand to one. The above-ground Columbarium of San Francisco was allowed to remain, as well as the historic cemetery at the Mission Dolores Church and The San Francisco National Cemetery in the Presidio of San Francisco. On April 18 1906, a devastating earthquake resulted from the rupture of over 270 miles of the San Andreas Fault, from San Juan Bautista to Eureka, centered immediately offshore of San Francisco. The quake is estimated by the USGS to have had a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale. Water mains ruptured throughout San Francisco, and the fires that followed burned out of control for days, destroying approximately 80% of the city, including almost all of the downtown core. Many residents were trapped between the water on three sides and the approaching fire, and a mass evacuation (similar to that of the later Battle of Dunkirk) across the Bay saved thousands. Refugee camps were also set up in Golden Gate Park, Ocean Beach, and other undeveloped sections of the city. The official death toll at the time was 478, although it was officially revised in 2005 to 3,000+. The initial low death toll was concocted by civic, state, and federal officials who felt that reporting the actual numbers would hurt rebuilding and redevelopment efforts, as well as city and national morale. Ocean Beach In 1915, the city hosted the Panama-Pacific Exposition, officially to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal, but also as a showcase of the vibrant completely rebuilt city less than a decade after the Earthquake. After the exposition ended, all of its grand buildings were demolished except for the Palace of Fine Arts which survives today in an abbreviated form. The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was opened in 1936 and the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937. During World War II, San Francisco was the major mainland supply point and port of embarkation for the war in the Pacific. The War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco has been the site of some significant post World War II history. In 1945, the conference that formed the United Nations was held there, with the UN Charter being signed on June 26. Additionally the Treaty of San Francisco which formally ended war with Japan and established peaceful relations, was drafted and signed here six years later in 1951. After World War II, many American military personnel who fell in love with the city during leaving to or returning from the Pacific, settled in the city prompting the creation of the Sunset District and Visitacion Valley. During this period, Caltrans commenced an aggressive freeway construction program in the Bay Area. However, Caltrans soon encountered strong resistance in San Francisco, for the city's high population density meant that virtually any right-of-way would displace a large number of people. Caltrans tried to minimize displacement (and its land acquisition costs) by building double-decker freeways, but the crude state of civil engineering at that time resulted in construction of some embarrassingly ugly freeways which ultimately turned out to be seismically unsafe. In 1959, the Board of Supervisors voted to halt construction of any more freeways in the city, an event known as the Freeway Revolt. Although some minor modifications have been allowed to the ends of existing freeways, the city's anti-freeway policy has remained in place ever since. In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake destroyed the Embarcadero Freeway and portions of the so-called Central Freeway. Over the course of several referenda, San Francisco's residents elected not to rebuild either structure. The neighborhoods once covered by these freeways have been rebuilt, and the restoration of the Embarcadero, San Francisco's historic bay waterfront, as a public space has been especially successful. In the 1950s San Francisco hired Harvard graduate Justin Herman to head the redevelopment agency for the city and county. Justin Herman began an aggressive campaign to renew blighted areas of the city. Enacting eminent domain whenever necessary, he set upon a plan to tear down huge areas of the city and replace them with modern construction. Critics accused Herman of racism for what was perceived as attempts to create segregation and displacement of African-Americans. Many African-Americans were forced to move from their homes near the Fillmore jazz district to newly constructed projects such as the near the naval base Hunter's Point or even to cities such as Oakland. He began leveling entire areas in San Francisco's Western Addition and Japantown neighborhoods. His planning led to the creation of Embarcadero Center, the Embarcadero Freeway, Japantown, the Geary Street superblocks, and Yerba Buena Gardens. San Francisco has often been a magnet for America's counterculture. During the 1950s, City Lights Bookstore in the North Beach neighborhood was an important publisher of Beat Generation literature. Some of the story of the evolving arts scene of the 1950s is told in the article San Francisco Renaissance. During the latter half of the following decade, the 1960s, San Francisco was the center of hippie and other alternative culture. In 1966 the Church Of Satan opened their headquarters, and in 1967 thousands of young people poured into the Haight-Ashbury district during what became known as the Summer of Love. At this time, the "San Francisco sound" emerged as an influential force in rock music, with such acts as the Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead achieving international prominence, blurring the boundaries between folk, rock and jazz traditions and further developing the lyrical content of rock. During the 1980s and 1990s San Francisco became a major focal point in the North American--and international-- punk, thrash metal, and rave scenes. On the rave scene, the city was the first to host the Love Parade outside its birthplace of Berlin, Germany in 2004. It was also a hot spot during the 1980's for comedians like Ellen DeGeneres and Robin Williams who got major career boosts thanks to the presence of the city's popular comedy clubs. San Francisco's frontier spirit and wild and ribald character caused it to become known as a gay mecca beginning in the nineteenth century. This reputation was enforced greatly during World War II, when thousands of gay male soldiers spent time in the City, while en route to and from the Pacific theater. The late 1960s also brought in a new wave of lesbians and gays who were more radical and less mainstream and who had flocked to San Francisco not only for its gay-friendly reputation, but for its reputation as a radical, left-wing epicenter. These new residents were the prime movers of Gay Liberation and often lived communally, buying decrepit Victorians in the Haight and fixing them up. When drugs and violence began to become a serious problem in the Haight, many lesbians and gays simply moved "over the hill", to the Castro replacing Irish-Americans who had moved to the more affluent and culturally homogenous suburbs. The Castro became known as a Gay Mecca, and its gay population swelled as significant numbers of gay people moved to San Francisco in the 1970s and 1980s. The growth of the gay population caused tensions with some of the established ethnic groups in the western part of the city. On November 27, 1978 Dan White, a former member of the Board of Supervisors and former police officer, assassinated the city's mayor George Moscone and San Francisco's first openly gay elected official, Supervisor Harvey Milk (see "Twinkie Defense"). The murders and the subsequent trial were marked both by candlelight vigils and riots within the gay community. In the 1980s, the AIDS virus wreaked havoc on the gay male community there. Today, the gay population of the city is estimated to be approximately 15%, and gays remain an important force in the city's life. San Francisco has a higher percentage of gays and lesbians than any other major US city. During the administration of Mayor Dianne Feinstein (1978-1988), San Francisco saw a development boom referred to as "Manhattanization." Many large skyscrapers were built — primarily in the Financial District — but the boom also included high-rise condominiums in some residential neighborhoods. An opposition movement gained traction among those who felt the skyscrapers ruined views and destroyed San Francisco's unique character. Similar to the freeway revolt in the city decades earlier, a "skyscraper revolt" forced the city to embed height restrictions in the planning code. For many years, the limits slowed construction of new skyscrapers, but recent (2000-2005) housing pressures have led to master plan changes which will allow new construction of high-rise structures along The Embarcadero and in the South of Market district. South of Market During the 1980s, homeless people began appearing in large numbers in the city, the result of multiple factors including the closing of state institutions for the mentally ill, and social changes which increased the availability of addictive drugs. Combined with San Francisco's attractive environment and generous welfare policies the problem soon became endemic. Mayor Art Agnos (1988-92) was the first to attack the problem, and not the last; it is a top issue for San Franciscans even today. Agnos allowed the homeless to camp in the Civic Center park, which led to its title of "Camp Agnos." The failure of this policy led to his losing the election to Frank Jordan in 1991. Jordan launched the "MATRIX" program the next year, which aimed to displace the homeless through aggressive police action. And it did displace them - to the rest of the city. His successor, Willie Brown, was able to largely ignore the problem, riding on the strong economy into a second term. Present mayor Gavin Newsom's policy on the homeless is the controversial "Care Not Cash" program, which calls for ending the city's generous welfare policies towards the homeless and instead placing them in affordable housing and requiring them to attend city funded drug rehabilitation and job training programs. On October 17, 1989, an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter magnitude scale struck on the San Andreas Fault near Loma Prieta Peak in the Santa Cruz mountains, approximately 70 miles south of San Francisco, a few minutes before game 3 of the 1989 World Series. The quake severely damaged many of the city's freeway's including the Embarcadero Freeway and the Central Freeway. The damage to these freeways was so extensive that they were eventually demolished. The quake also caused extensive damage in the Marina District and the South of Market. Known in most of the United States as the "World Series Quake," but in California and by seismologists as the Loma Prieta earthquake, it caused significant destruction and loss of life throughout the greater Bay Area. During the dot-com boom of the 1990s, large numbers of entrepreneurs and computer software professionals moved into the city, followed by marketing and sales professionals, and changed the social landscape as once poorer neighborhoods became gentrified. The rising rents forced many people and businesses to leave, and this caused considerable tension in the city's politics. The resulting backlash resulted in a progressive majority winning control of the Board of Supervisors in the 2000 election. By 2001, the boom was over, and many people left San Francisco. South of Market, where many dot-com companies were located, had been bustling and crowded with few vacancies, but by 2002 was a virtual wasteland of empty offices and for-rent signs. Much of the boom was blamed for the city's "fastest shrinking population", reducing the city's population by 30,000 in just a few years. While the boom has helped put an ease on the city's apartment rents, the city remains expensive nonetheless. In February 2004, San Francisco became the first city in the United States to grant marriage to gay couples when Mayor Gavin Newsom, elected the previous year, ordered the City Clerks office to issue same-sex marriage licenses. The California Supreme Court later invalidated these licenses, holding that Newsom had acted without proper authority. In 2005 San Francisco hosted the United Nations annual World Environment Day conference, the first in the United States, and banned outdoor smoking in all city-owned parks, plazas and public sports venues. Also as of December 2005, the crime rate has gone up, with more than 90 killngs throughout the year. San Francisco is also facing serious budget deficits, and, for such a small city, the homeless problem is still one of the worst in America.
Geography and climate
banned outdoor smoking Landsat 7]] San Francisco lies near the San Andreas Fault and Hayward Fault, two major sources of earthquake activity in California. The most serious earthquake, in 1906, is mentioned above. Earlier significant quakes rocked the city in 1851, 1858, 1865, and 1868. The Daly City Earthquake of 1957 caused some damage. The Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989, which also did significant damage to parts of the city, is also famous for having interrupted a World Series baseball game between the Bay Area's two Major League Baseball teams, the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics. The threat of another major earthquake like the 1906 one plays a major role in the city's infrastructure development. New buildings must be built to very high structural standards, while many dollars must be spent to retrofit the city's older buildings and bridges. Entire neighborhoods of the city such as the Marina and Hunters Point were created and sit on man made landfill (made up of mud, sand, and rubble from past earthquakes) and other reclamation projects over the San Francisco Bay when flatland became scarce. Such land is extremely unstable during earthquakes; the resultant liquefaction during earthquakes causes extensive damage to property built upon it, as was evidenced in the Marina district during the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. The most impressive example of an "infill neighborhood" is Treasure Island. It was constructed from material dredged from the bay as well as material resulting from tunnelling through Yerba Buena Island in the construction of the Bay Bridge. It was a site for the 1939 San Francisco World's Fair, and it was originally envisioned that Treasure Island would serve as the site for San Francisco's municipal airport, but it became a Navy base at the start of World War II. In 1997 Treasure Island was returned to the city and it provides a unique vantage point to view the San Francisco skyline. San Francisco is famous for its hills. A "Hill" in San Francisco, is an elevation that is over 100 ft (30 Meters). There are a total of 42 hills within city limits. Some of these hills are neighborhoods such as Nob Hill, Pacific Heights, Russian Hill, and Telegraph Hill, while some of these hills are public parks and open space such as Twin Peaks, Mt. Sutro, Mount Davidson, and Buena Vista Park. Near the geographic center of the city and away from the downtown area are a series of less populated hills. Dominating this area is Mount Sutro, which is the site of Sutro Tower, a large red and white radio transmission tower, that is a well known landmark to city residents. Nearby are the equally well known Twin Peaks, which are a pair of hills resting at one of the city's highest points. About 1.2km (1 mile) south of Mount Sutro is San Francisco's highest mountain, Mount Davidson, which is over 282 meters (over 925 feet) high. On top of Mount Davidson is a 31.4 meter (103 foot) tall cross built in 1934. Twin Peaks Not to be missed are the beautiful homes and area of the city known as Pacific Heights as well as victorians in the Haight-Ashbury and the "painted ladies" of Alamo Square and the Castro. San Francisco is also famous for its Cable cars (narrow gauge, 1067 mm (3'6")), which were designed to carry residents up those steep hills. It is still possible to take a cable car ride up and down Nob and Russian Hills. Along with New Orleans' streetcars, San Francisco's cable cars are one of only two mobile United States National Monuments. Coit Tower, a notable landmark dedicated to San Francisco's firefighters, is located at the top of Telegraph Hill.
Climate
Surrounded on three sides by water, San Francisco's climate is strongly influenced by the cool currents of the Pacific Ocean. The weather is remarkably mild all year round, with a so-called Mediterranean climate characterized by cool, foggy summers and relatively warm winters; average daily high temperatures in the summer typically range from the upper 60's to mid 70's (15-22 degrees Celsius), while in the winter it virtually never reaches freezing. Rain in the summer is quite rare, but winters are very rainy. Snow is very rare. The Pacific Ocean off the west coast of the city is particularly cold year round. The combination of cold ocean water and the high heat of the California mainland creates the city's characteristic foggy weather that covers the western half of the city in fog all day during the summer and early fall, as well as the rest of the San Francisco metropolitan area as far as 35-50 miles inland in overcast and fog. Thus, the summer temperatures are significantly lower in San Francisco than in other parts of inland California. The fog is less pronounced during the months of September & October and during the late spring, which is generally the warmest, most summer-like months of the year. In January, morning lows average 46 °F (8 °C) and afternoon highs average 58 °F (14 °C). In August, lows average 56 °F (13 °C) and highs average 72 °F (22 °C). San Francisco receives an average of 22.28 inches (56.6 cm) of precipitation annually with July and August being almost completely free of precipitation. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city and county has a total area of 600.7 km² (231.9 mi²). 120.9 km² (46.7 mi²) of it is land and 479.7 km² (185.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 79.86% water. The city proper is often reputed to be roughly a seven mile square, and in fact is only slightly smaller. The geographical center of the city is on the east side of Grandview Avenue between Alvarado and Twenty-third Streets. mi²
Neighborhoods in San Francisco
mi² San Francisco has a Japantown and Chinatown; both are among the largest and oldest in the US. It also boasts a budding Vietnamese community in the Tenderloin neighborhood, Filipinos in Crocker-Amazon and South of Market, an Italian community in North Beach, a French Quarter, and Irish and Russian communities in the Richmond District. The predominantly Hispanic Mission District is the oldest neighborhood in the city, being the site of Mission Dolores, established in 1776. Russian Hill is a residential neighborhood most famous for Lombard Street "the crookedest street in the world". Haight-Ashbury gained prominence during the "Summer of Love" 1960s for its counter-culture and concentration of hippies. The Castro neighborhood has the world's highest concentration of homosexuals. In addition to the predominantly gay Castro, there are significant concentrations of gays in NoeValley, Diamond Heights, Bernal Heights, Potrero Hill, Haight-Ashbury, Hayes Valley, and SOMA. (See The Castro for more gay demographics.) The Castro") at Alamo Square]] Current demographic and land use expansion is concentrated in the east and south. The South of Market neighborhood was an epicenter of the dot-com boom of the late 1990s. A new neighborhood, Mission Bay, is being redeveloped from an industrial area at the far eastern end of South of Market. The cornerstones of this development are the SBC Park baseball stadium and an extension of the University of California, San Francisco medical school.
Parks
The best-known, as well as biggest, park is Golden Gate Park which is 174 acres larger than New York's Central Park. Another notable park is The Presidio at the south edge of the Golden Gate. The Presidio is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which includes Alcatraz, and many other large local parks. Buena Vista Park located in the Haight-Ashbury, is the city's oldest, established in 1867, nearby Alamo Square is famous for its views of the city and the famous Victorian houses known as the Painted Ladies. A large fresh-water lake, Lake Merced, is located in the south west corner of the city near San Francisco State University and Fort Funston. San Francisco also contains many public beaches such as Baker Beach and Ocean Beach.
Demographics
Ocean Beach, Richmond District, and in Chinatown.]] As of the census of 2000, there are 776,733 people, 329,700 households, and 145,068 families residing in the city. The population density is 6,423.2/km² (16,634.4/mi²), making it the second densest city of 500,000 or more, as well as the fifth densest county, in the country [http://gislounge.com/features/aa041101c.shtml]. . There are 346,527 housing units at an average density of 2,865.6/km² (7,421.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 49.66% White, 7.79% African American, 0.45% Native American, 30.84% Asian, 0.49% Pacific Islander, 6.48% from other races, and 4.28% from two or more races. 14.10% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. The ethnic makeup is 19.6% Chinese, 8.8% Irish, 7.7% German, and 6.1% English. San Francisco has the largest Chinese population in America and the largest Asian population outside of Hawaii. The City has the highest percentage of gay families (as well as a large numbers of single gay people) of any American county or large city. Gay men outnumber lesbians, who are more concentrated in the suburban East Bay. There are 329,700 households out of which 16.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.6% are married couples living together, 8.9% have a female head of household with no husband present, and 56.0% are non-families. 38.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.30 and the average family size is 3.22. In the city the population is spread out with 14.5% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 40.5% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 103.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 103.1 males. The median income for a household in the city is $55,221, and the median income for a family is $63,545 one of the highest in the United States at 15th place overall and 3rd in a single large city. Males have a median income of $46,260 versus $40,049 for females. The per capita income for the city is $34,556 which is ranked as the 19th highest in the country. 11.3% of the population and 7.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 13.5% of those under the age of 18 and 10.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Government and politics
As the official name implies, the City and County San Francisco is a metropolitan municipality, being simultaneously a charter city and charter county with a consolidated government. It is the only metropolitan municipality in California and the only California county with a mayor, who is also the county executive. San Francisco is the only California city with a board of supervisors, which is also the city council. San Francisco's unique status also makes it a municipal corporation and an administrative division of the state. It is in the latter capacity that San Francisco exercises jurisdiction over property that would otherwise be located outside of its corporation limit. San Francisco International Airport, for example, would be located within San Mateo County but for the fact it is owned and operated by the City and County of San Francisco. Because counties are administrative divisions of the state, it is legally impossible for two counties to occupy or exercise jurisdiction over the same piece of land. Thus, the airport, which is about 15 miles south of mainland San Francisco, is legally part of San Francisco because the municipality owns it. San Francisco exercises jurisdiction over the Hetch Hetchy Valley and watershed, in Yosemite National Park, pursuant to a perpetual leasehold granted by Act of Congress in 1913, the Raker Act. Under the current charter, the Government of San Francisco is constituted of two co-equal branches - the executive or administrative branch, which is headed by the mayor and includes other city-wide elected and appointed officials, and the civil service; and the legislative branch, which is constituted of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, which exercises general oversight over all city and county functions. The mayor is elected every four years, in the odd-numbered year that precedes the U.S. presidential election. The current mayor, Gavin Newsom, was elected in December 2003 in a runoff competition against Matt Gonzalez (see also List of Mayors of San Francisco, California). Gonzalez was president of the Board of Supervisors, representing District 5, and Newsom was a member of the board representing District 2. If the mayor dies or resigns, the President of the Board of Supervisors assumes the office until a special election can be held. The eleven members of the Board of Supervisors (as of January 2005) are listed in the table at right by district number[http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=4385]. The current president of the Board is Aaron Peskin, who represents District 3. How the Board of Supervisors shall be elected has been a bone of contention in recent San Francisco history. Throughout the United States, almost all cities and counties with populations in excess of 20,000 divide the jurisdiction into electoral districts (in cities, often called "wards") to ensure proportionate representation of the whole community and to evenly distribute the community interaction workload evenly among the members of the governing body (city council, county board of supervisors, etc.) But California has always been disinclined to follow examples set by the rest of the country; and San Francisco, notwithstanding a population of 0.7 million, has been no exception. Prior to 1977 and again from 1980 through 2000, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors was elected at-large. All candidates appeared together on the ballot. The person who received the most votes was elected President of the Board of Supervisors, and the next ten were elected to seats on the board. The first district-based elections in 1977 resulted in a radical change to the composition of the Board, including the election of Harvey Milk, only the third openly gay or lesbian individual (and the first who was male) elected to public office in the United States. Following the assassinations of Supervisor Milk and Mayor George Moscone a year later, by Supervisor Dan White who had just resigned, district elections were deemed divisive and San Francisco returned to at-large elections until the current system was implemented in 2000. Under the current system, Supervisors are elected by district to four-year terms. The terms are staggered so that only half the board is elected every two years, thereby providing continuity. Supervisors representing odd-numbered districts (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11) are elected every fourth year counted from 2000 (so, 2000, 2004, 2008, etc.). Supervisors representing even-numbered districts (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10) were elected to transitional two-year terms in 2000, thereafter to be elected every fourth year (2002, 2006, 2010, etc.). The President of the Board of Supervisors, under the new system, is elected by the members of the Board from among their number. This is done by secret ballot, typically at the first meeting of the new session commencing after the general election. The Mayor and members of the Board of Supervisors are subject to term limits under the San Francisco Charter. None may serve more than two consecutive terms. As part of the change to district elections, however, this provision applies to supervisors only as of the first full term of election following its implementation in 2000. Thus, Tom Ammiano, who was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 1994 and 1998 under the old system, then again in 2000 under the new system, was able to run yet again in 2004 (and won). A single vote transfer system of elections was approved by the electorate and implemented in time for the 2004 general election. This system replaced the old, expensive system of run-off elections. Under this new ranked-choice system, whenever there are more than two candidates for an office, voters rank their choices in order of preference. If a candidate does not achieve a majority of votes cast when the first choice votes are counted, the candidate with the least number of votes is eliminated and the second choice votes on those ballots are tabulated and "transferred" to the remaining candidates. The process continues, as necessary, until one candidate achieves a majority of votes cast and is then declared the winner. Eyed warily by some and optimistically by others - in both cases owing to the belief that single-transfer voting might favour so-called "progressive" and "minority party" candidates over so-called "conservative" and "mainstream party" candidates - the 2004 general election results showed that belief to be unfounded, as all incumbent Supervisors were returned to office. Vacancies on the Board of Supervisors are filled by mayoral appointment, subject to special election (except as the Charter permits an appointee to remain in office until the general election for the seat is held). A person appointed or elected to fill a vacancy of less than two years is not deemed to have served a full term for purposes of term limits, whereas a person who fills a vacancy with more than two years remaining in the term is deemed to serve a full term and will be able to run for a consecutive term only once. The Mayor's 2005-2006 proposed budget forecasts general fund expenditures of $2.44 billion. As the largest city on the west coast before World War I, San Francisco became and remains the legal hub for the western United States. The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and the Federal District Court for Northern California are headquartered in San Francisco. The Supreme Court of California is also headquartered in San Francisco, making The City the de facto judicial capital of the state. California is the only U.S. jurisdiction whose highest court and judicial seat is not in the official state or territorial capital. The California Supreme Court also maintains branch offices in Los Angeles and Sacramento. In addition, the city is the seat of the First Appellate District of the State Courts of Appeals and the San Francisco County Superior Court.
City flag
The flag depicts a rising Phoenix, symbolic of the City's recovery from the 1906 fire. Underneath the phoenix it has a motto written in Spanish: "Oro en Paz, Fierro en Guerra," which translates into: "Gold in Peace, Iron in War."
City seal
The seal, which was adopted in the 1850s, depicts two working men, on one side a miner and on the other a sailor with a sextant. Above is a rising phoenix and behind is the bay with sailing ships. The Phoenix symbolizes the city's emergence from the ashes of several devastating fires in the early 1850's.
Economy
Because of the California gold rush, San Francisco became and remains the banking and financial center of the U.S. West Coast. It is the home of the twelfth district of the U.S. Federal Reserve as well as major production facilities for the U.S. Mint. The Pacific Exchange is located in the financial district. Many major American and international banks and venture capital firms have all set up their regional headquarters in the city. Fortune 500 rankings indicated in parenthesis. Companies headquartered in San Francisco are: Companies headquartered near San Francisco include:
Education
The city is served by San Francisco Unified School District. Despite its limited geographical space, San Francisco is home to a multitude of Universities and Colleges. Public universities include:
- University of California, San Francisco, primarily a Medical School, located north of Forest Hill
- San Francisco State University located in the southwest corner of the city near Lake Merced
- University of California, Hastings College of the Law located downtown at its Civic Center
- City College of San Francisco, one of the largest community colleges in the country is located in the Ingleside, with several extension campuses. Private universities:
- The Jesuit-run University of San Francisco, one of the first universities established west of the Mississippi, located in the center of the city
- Golden Gate University, a business and law school located downtown
- Napa County is a county located north of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2000 the population is 124,279. The county seat is Napa. Napa County, once the producer of many different crops is known today for its wine industry, rising in the 1960s to the first rank of wine regions with France and Italy. The combination of natural beauty, pleasant Mediterranean climate, and proximity to San Francisco, Oakland, and Sacramento has made it into one of the United States' most desirable areas in which to live. However, its citizens are famous for their resistance to suburban development, with the result that 33 of California's 58 counties--including many that are far from major urban areas--are more populous. The relative poverty of the city of Napa, which houses most of the Latino migrant workers who tend and harvest the county's vineyards, produces a significant downward bias on its apparent wealth: estates in the county, particularly those with views of San Pablo Bay, have been known to sell for nearly ten million dollars. Additionally, the city is well-known for shutting down clubs and venues that cater to those under the age of 21. The Napa wine country was the inspiration for the fictional Tuscany Valley on the nighttime soap opera Falcon Crest.
History
Napa County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Parts of the county's territory were given to Lake County in 1861. The word napa is of Native American derivation and has been variously translated as "grizzly bear," "house," "motherland" or "fish." Of the many explanations of the name's origin, the most plausible seems to be that it is derived from the Patwin word napo meaning house.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,042 km² (788 mi²). 1,952 km² (754 mi²) of it is land and 89 km² (35 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 4.38% water. The default wallpaper for the Windows XP operating system is Bliss, a JPEG photograph of a landscape in the Napa Valley, with rolling green hills and a blue sky with stratocumulus and cirrus clouds. The photograph inspired Windows XP's 200-million USD advertising campaign Yes you can. Napa is warmer in the summer than Sonoma County to the west or Santa Barbara to the south. Thus, the Napa wineries favor varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, while Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are more the specialty of Sonoma wineries and [http://wikitravel.org/en/Santa_Barbara Santa Barbara wineries]. At the north end of Napa County lies Mount St. Helena, the Bay Area's tallest peak at 4,344 feet and home to Robert Louis Stevenson State Park.
Demographics
As of the census ² of 2000, there are 124,279 people, 45,402 households, and 30,691 families residing in the county. The population density is 64/km² (165/mi²). There are 48,554 housing units at an average density of 25/km² (64/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 79.98% White, 1.32% Black or African American, 0.84% Native American, 2.97% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, 10.95% from other races, and 3.71% from two or more races. 23.67% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 45,402 households out of which 31.40% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.20% are married couples living together, 9.90% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.40% are non-families. 25.80% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.60% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.62 and the average family size is 3.16. In the county the population is spread out with 24.10% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 15.40% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 99.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 97.40 males. The median income for a household in the county is $51,738, and the median income for a family is $61,410. Males have a median income of $42,137 versus $31,781 for females. The per capita income for the county is $26,395. 8.30% of the population and 5.60% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 10.60% of those under the age of 18 and 5.60% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Cities and towns

- American Canyon
- Angwin
- Calistoga
- Deer Park
- Napa
- St. Helena
- Yountville
Napa Valley Wineries (Partial List)
Yountville
- Artesa Winery
- Acacia
- Andretti Winery
- Atlas Peak Vineyards
- Beaulieu Vineyards
- Beringer Blass Wine Estates
- Cakebread Cellars
- Caymas
- Carneros Creek Winery
- Chimney Rock Winery
- Clos du Val
- Delectus Winery
- Domaine Carneros
- Domaine Chandon
- Duckhorn Vineyards
- Dutch Henry Winery
- Far Niente Winery
- Folie a Deux
- Frank Family Winery
- Franciscan
- Freemark Abbey
- Frog's Leap Winery
- Goosecross Cellars
- Grgich Hills Winery
- Heitz Cellars
- Hess Collection
- Howell Mountain Vineyards
- Charles Krug
- Louis Martini
- Mayacamas
- Merryvale Vineyards
- Monticello Vineyards
- Peju Province
- Pepi Winery
- Robert Mondavi
- Robert Sinskey Vineyards
- Mumm Napa Valley
- Niebaum-Coppola Winery
- Opus One
- Plump Jack Winery
- Pope Valley Winery
- Rutherford Hill Winery
- Seavey Vineyard
- Schramsberg
- Shafer Vineyards
- Silver Oak Celllars
- Stag's Leap Wine Cellars
- Stags' Leap Winery
- Sterling Vineyards
- Stony Hill Vineyard
- Sutter Home
- Trefethen
- Turnbull Wine Cellars
- V. Sattui
- Whitehall Lane Winery
- William Hill Winery
- ZD Wines
See also

- List of school districts in Napa County, California
External links

- [http://www.delectuswinery.com/ Delectus Winery, Napa Valley, CA]
- [http://www.farniente.com/ Far Niente Winery, Napa Valley, CA]
- [http://www.corleyfamilynapavalley.com/ Monticello Vineyards, Napa Valley, CA]
- [http://napalinks.com/index.html Napalinks.com]
- [http://www.co.napa.ca.us/ Napa County official website]
- [http://www.niebaum-coppola.com/site.php Niebaum-Coppola Winery, Napa Valley, CA]
- [http://www.napavalleyconnect.com/ Napa Valley California]
- [http://www.nvedc.org/ Napa Valley Economic Development Corporation] Category:U.S. wine regions Category:San Francisco Bay Area
- Category:California valleys Category:California counties ja:ナパ郡 (カリフォルニア州)

Sonoma County, California

Sonoma County is a county located on California's Pacific coast north of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of 2000 it had a population of 458,614. The county seat is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County is world-famous as a wine producing region. There are over 200 Sonoma County Wineries producing a wide variety of wines. Sonoma County is also home to 13 approved American Viticultural Areas. Sonoma County is the home of Sonoma State University and Santa Rosa Junior College.

History

Sonoma County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Sonoma is a Coast Miwok Indian name translated by some as "Valley of the Moon" and by others as "land or tribe of the Chief Nose."

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,580 km² (1,768 mi²). 4,082 km² (1,576 mi²) of it is land and 498 km² (192 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 10.88% water.

Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there are 458,614 people, 172,403 households, and 112,406 families residing in the county. The population density is 112/km² (291/mi²). There are 183,153 housing units at an average density of 45/km² (116/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 81.60% White, 1.42% Black or African American, 1.18% Native American, 3.07% Asian, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 8.44% from other races, and 4.09% from two or more races. 17.34% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 172,403 households out of which 31.90% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.30% are married couples living together, 10.40% have a female householder with no husband present, and 34.80% are non-families. 25.70% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.00% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.60 and the average family size is 3.12. In the county the population is spread out with 24.50% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 29.20% from 25 to 44, 24.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 94.00 males. The median income for a household in the county is $53,076, and the median income for a family is $61,921. Males have a median income of $42,035 versus $32,022 for females. The per capita income for the county is $25,724. 8.10% of the population and 4.70% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 8.40% of those under the age of 18 and 5.70% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Cities and towns

Incorporated cities

Unincorporated towns

Sonoma County winemaking

Winemaking -- both the growing of the grapes and their vinting -- are an important part of the economic and cultural life of Sonoma County. In 2004, growers harvested 165,783 short tons (150,396 tonnes) of wine grapes worth $310 million. About 80% of non-pasture agricultural land in the county is for growing wine grapes—59,973 acres (242.70 km²) of vineyards, with over 1100 growers. The most common varieties planted are Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir, though the area is also known for its Merlot and Zinfandel. Sonoma County is home to 191 wineries and 11 distinct (and 2 shared) American Viticultural Areas, including the Sonoma Valley, Russian River Valley, and Dry Creek Valley (the last famed for its production of high-quality Zinfandel).

Film locations

Sonoma County has served as a location for many major films, including (courtesy of [http://www.oldmovies.com/ oldmovies.com]):

Bodega Bay

See: Bodega Bay page

Cloverdale

- Many Rivers to Cross (1955) Shot near Cloverdale.
- So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993) Scenes shot at Cloverdale Airport (others at Alcatraz and S.F.).

Cotati

- The Farmer's Daughter (1947) Shot in Penngrove and Cotati.
- The Flatliners (1990) Shot in Cotati, and also Los Angeles, Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

Glen Ellen

- Shoot the Moon (1982) Shot in Glen Ellen and Jack London's Wolf House, both in Sonoma County (with additional shooting in Marin Co).

Occidental

- Nowhere to Run (1993) Shot on Coleman Valley Road, Sonoma County, Occidental, with farmhouse and pond scenes.

Penngrove

- The Farmer's Daughter (1947) Shot in Penngrove and Cotati.

Petaluma

See: Petaluma page

Rohnert Park

- Basic Instinct (1992) 3 day shoot in Petaluma and Rohnert Park, with other scenes in Carmel and S.F.

Russian River

- Salomy Jane (1914) While there are one or two shots taken along the Russian River near Monte Rio in Sonoma, it was mostly filmed in Marin, with the background to almost every scene the unmistakable Mount Tamalpais.
- Braveheart (1925) Story about Indians, with many shots taken along the Russian River.
- Holiday Inn (1942) Exterior shots of the Village Inn Lodge in Monte Rio on the Russian River, dressed with tons of fake snow, was the "Holiday Inn" lodge setting.

Sebastopol

- Thieves' Highway (1949) Shot on Gold Ridge Road, Sebastopol.
- Smooth Talk (1985) Locations include Sebastopol, the Gravenstein Highway and Santa Rosa.
- Mumford (1999) Locations throughout sebastopol, including sceens shot at Analy High School.

Santa Rosa

See: Santa Rosa page

Sonoma

- Magic of Lassie (1978) Shot at Hop Kiln Winery, Sonoma.

Sonoma County (general)

- Bronco Billy Anderson (1915) The only one of Anderson's 400 short westerns that has been identified as have been made in Sonoma County.
- The Third Day (1965)
- Images (1972-U.S-British) Filmed mostly in Ireland.
- Heroes (1977)
- Mr. Billion (1977)
- Impulse (1984) Farm sequences filmed in Petaluma.
- Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) Locations: Sonoma, Mount Tamalpais (Marin) and other Bay Area sites: Paramount Theatre, Oakland, San Bruno Malt Shop, S.F., and San Rafael.
- Nowhere to Run (1993) Shot on Coleman Valley Road, Sonoma County, Occidental, with farmhouse and pond scenes.
- The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
- Bandits (2001) Shot at the Flamingo Hotel and country roads around Sonoma County. One scene features a Clover milk truck featuring Clo the cow, a local icon.
- The Birds (1963) Shot in the town of Bodega including the Bodega church and schoolhouse.

Interesting places to visit

Sonoma county has a very beautiful coast line, alternating with cliffs and beaches.
- Sonoma County Beaches
- Goat Rock Beach The Russian River joins the Pacific Ocean at this beach.
- [http://www.sonoma-county.org/parks/ Sonoma County Regional Parks]
- Sonoma Lake recreational area
- Bodega Bay
- Luther Burbank Home and Gardens in Santa Rosa
-
- Fort Ross, former Russian fur trade outpost
-
- Jack London Home, Beauty Ranch, in Glen Ellen
-
- Petaluma Adobe, Petaluma
-
- Sonoma Plaza, Sonoma
- :
- National Historic Landmark

External links

- [http://www.sonoma-county.org Sonoma County official website]
- [http://www.parks.sonoma.net/burbank.html Luther Burbank Home and Gardens]
- [http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=451 Sonoma Coast State Beach official website]
- [http://www.parks.sonoma.net/ Parks and Recreation in Sonoma County]
- [http://www.sonomalibrary.org/history.html Sonoma County Local History and Genealogy Library] Category:U.S. wine regions Category:San Francisco Bay Area Category:California counties ja:ソノマ郡 (カリフォルニア州)

Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (August 13, 1899 – April 29, 1980) was a British-born (later American as well) film director and producer, closely associated with the suspense thriller genre. He began directing in the United Kingdom before working in the United States from 1939 onwards, becoming an American citizen in 1956. He directed more than fifty feature films in a career spanning six decades, from the silent film era, through the invention of talkies, to the color era. Hitchcock remains one of the best known and most popular directors of all time, famous for his expert and often unrivaled control of pace and suspense throughout his movies. Hitchcock's films draw heavily on both fear and fantasy, and are known for their droll humour. They often portray innocent people caught up in circumstances beyond their control or understanding. This often involves a transference of guilt in which the "innocent" character's failings are transferred to another character and magnified. Another common theme is the exploration of the compatibility of men and women; Hitchcock's films often take a cynical view of traditional romantic relationships. Although Hitchcock was an enormous star during his lifetime, he was not usually ranked highly by contemporaneous film critics. Rebecca was the only one of his films to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, although four others were nominated. He was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for lifetime achievement in 1967, but never personally received an Academy Award of Merit. The French New Wave critics, especially Eric Rohmer, Claude Chabrol, and François Truffaut, were among the first to promote his films as having artistic merit beyond entertainment. Hitchcock was one of the first directors to whom they applied their auteur theory, which stresses the artistic authority of the director in the movie-making process. Through his fame, public persona, and degree of creative control, Hitchcock transformed the role of the director, which had previously been eclipsed by that of the producer. He is seen today as the quintessential director who managed to combine art and entertainment in a way very few have ever matched. His innovations and vision have influenced a great number of filmmakers, producers, and actors.

Biography

Early life

Alfred Hitchcock was born on August 13, 1899, in Leytonstone, London, the second son and youngest of the three children of William Hitchcock, a greengrocer, and his wife, Emma Jane Hitchcock (nee Whelan). His family was mostly Irish Catholic. Hitchcock was sent to Catholic boarding schools in London. He has said his childhood was very lonely and sheltered. At 14, Hitchcock lost his father and left the Jesuit-run St Ignatius' College, his school at the time, to study at the School for Engineering and Navigation. After graduating, he became a draftsman and advertising designer with a cable company. About that time, Hitchcock became intrigued by photography and started working in film in London. In 1920, he obtained a full-time job at Islington Studios under its American owners, Players-Lasky, and their British successors, Gainsborough Pictures, designing the titles for silent movies.

Pre-war British career

As a major talent in a new industry with plenty of opportunity, he rose quickly. In 1925, Michael Balcon of Gainsborough Pictures gave him a chance to direct his first film, The Pleasure Garden, made at the Ufa studios in Germany. However, the commercial failure of this film, and his second, The Mountain Eagle, threatened to derail his promising career, until he attached himself to the thriller genre. The resulting film, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, was released in 1927 and was a major commercial and critical success. Like many of his earlier works it was influenced by Expressionist techniques he had witnessed first hand in Germany. In it, attractive blondes are strangled and the new lodger (Ivor Novello) in the Bunting family's upstairs apartment falls under heavy suspicion. This is the first truly "Hitchcockian" film, incorporating such themes as the "wrong man". Following the success of The Lodger, Hitchcock began his first efforts to promote himself in the media, and hired a publicist to cement his growing reputation as one of the British film industry's rising stars. In 1926, he was to marry his assistant director Alma Reville. The two had a daughter Patricia in 1928. Alma was Hitchcock's closest collaborator. She wrote some of his screenplays and worked with him on every one of his films. In 1929, he began work on Blackmail, his tenth film. While the film was in production, the studio decided to make it one of Britain's first sound pictures. With the climax of the film taking place on the dome of the British Museum, Blackmail also began the Hitchcock tradition of using famous landmarks as the backdrop to a story. In 1933, Hitchcock was once again working for Michael Balcon at Gaumont-British Picture Corporation. His first film for the company, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), was a success, while his second, The 39 Steps (1935), is often considered one of the best films from his early period. It was also one of the first to introduce the concept of the "MacGuffin", a plot device around which a whole story would revolve. In The 39 Steps, the MacGuffin is a stolen set of blueprints. His next major success was in 1938, The Lady Vanishes, a clever and fast-paced film about the search for a kindly old Englishwoman (Dame May Whitty), who disappears while on board a train in the fictional country of Vandrika (a thinly-veiled version of Nazi Germany). By the end of the 1930s, Hitchcock was at the top of his game artistically, and in a position to name his own terms when David O. Selznick managed to entice the Hitchcocks across to Hollywood.

Hollywood

Hitchcock's gallows humour continued in his American work, together with the suspense that became his trademark. However, working arrangements with his new producer were less than optimal. Selznick suffered from perennial money problems and Hitchcock was often unhappy with the amount of creative control demanded by Selznick over his films. Subsequently, Selznick ended up "loaning" Hitchcock to the larger studios more often than producing Hitchcock's films himself. With the prestigious picture Rebecca in 1940, Hitchcock made his first American movie, although it was set in England and based on a novel by English author Dame Daphne du Maurier. This Gothic melodrama explores the fears of a naïve young bride who enters a great English country home and must grapple with a distant husband, a predatory housekeeper, and the legacy of her husband's late wife. It has also subsequently been noted for lesbian undercurrents. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1940. Hitchcock's second American film, the European-set thriller Foreign Correspondent was also nominated for Best Picture that year. Hitchcock's work during the 1940's was very diverse, ranging from the romantic comedy, Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) and the courtroom drama The Paradine Case (1947), to the dark and disturbing Shadow of a Doubt (1943). Shadow of a Doubt, his personal favorite, was about young Charlotte "Charlie" Newton (Teresa Wright), who suspects her beloved uncle Charlie Spencer (Joseph Cotten) of murder. In its use of overlapping characters, dialogue, and closeups it has provided a generation of film theorists with psychoanalytic potential, including Jacques Lacan and Slavoj Žižek. The film also harkens to one of Cotten's better known films, Citizen Kane. Spellbound explored the then very fashionable subject of psychoanalysis and featured a dream sequence which was designed by Salvador Dali. The actual dream sequence in the film was considerably cut from the original planned scene that was to run for some minutes but proved too disturbing for the finished film. Notorious (1946) marked Hitchcock's first film as a producer as well as director. As Selznick failed to see the subject's potential, he allowed Hitchcock to make the film for RKO. From this point on, Hitchcock would produce his own films, giving him a far greater degree of freedom to pursue the projects that interested him. Starring Ingrid Bergman and Hitchcock regular Cary Grant, and featuring a plot about Nazis, radium and South America, Notorious was a huge box office success and has remained one of Hitchcock's most acclaimed films. Its inventive use of suspense and props briefly led to Hitchcock being under surveillance by the CIA due to his use of uranium as a plot device. Rope (his first color film) came next in 1948. Here Hitchcock experimented with marshalling suspense in a confined environment, as he had done earlier with Lifeboat. He also experimented with exceptionally long takes - up to ten minutes (see Themes and devices). Featuring James Stewart in the leading role, Rope was the first of an eventual four films Stewart would make for Hitchcock. Based on the Leopold and Loeb case of the 1920s, Rope is also among the earliest openly gay-themed films to emerge from the Hays Office controlled Hollywood studio era. Under Capricorn, set in nineteenth-century Australia, also used this short-lived technique, but to a more limited extent. For these two films he formed a production company with Sidney Bernstein, called Transatlantic Pictures, which folded after these two unsuccessful pictures.

Peak years and decline

With Strangers on a Train