COMMUNITY PROFILE : CERRITOS : FOCUS : Enlightened City

Cerritos is known in some quarters as “solar city,” and with good reason. For nearly a decade now, this city has had a love affair with the power of the sun. When the new city hall opened in 1978 it was the first in the nation to be solar heated. Since then four other facilities in the city--the Olympic Swim Center, the city maintenance yard, a fire station and the new post office--have been equipped with solar panels for heating and hot water. The push to tap the sun’s power even extends to about 350 homes. Since the late 1970s, the city has required half of all new homes built here to have some solar heating. In a city where the sun shined for all but 34 days last year, it makes sense to plug into this cheap and boundless source of energy. While difficult to estimate the savings from the city’s solar commitment, it is safe to say the return has been a bright spot for this former dairy town.

City Services City Hall 860-0311

18125 S. Bloomfield Ave.

Police (business) 866-9061

5130 N. Clark Ave., Lakewood

Fire (business) 865-3714

190 Pioneer Blvd.

Fire (business) 926-1511

13717 Artesia Blvd.

Post Office 860-6694

11721 East 183rd St.

Library 924-5776

18025 S. Bloomfield Ave.

In Emergency, Dial 911

Government City Council: Don Knabe (mayor), Daniel Wong (mayor pro tem), Ann Joynt, Diana Needham, Barry Rabbitt

City Manager: Gaylord Knapp

Fire Chief: Morris Gregory

Sheriff’s Captain: Stephen Batchelor

Area Lawmakers Congress: Robert K. Dornan, Republican, 38th District; 12387 Lewis St., No. 203;

Garden Grove 92640; (714) 971-9292

State Assembly: Wayne Grisham, Republican, 63rd District; 13710 Studebaker Road, No. 202, Norwalk 90650; (213) 929-1797

State Senate: Paul B. Carpenter, Democrat, 33rd District; 5400 Orange Ave., No. 203,

Cypress 90630; (714) 952-3201

County Supervisor: Deane Dana, 4th District, Hall of Administration, 500 W. Temple St., Room 822, Los Angeles 90012; (213) 974-1044

Statistics Population: 55,822

Area: 8.90 square miles

Incorporation: April 24, 1956

Median household income: $39,301

Median home value: $120,861

Median age: 29.8 years

Race: white, 64.0%; Latino, 14.9%; black, 10.9%; other, 25.1%

(Total is more than 100% because racial/ethnic breakdowns overlap)

Statistics: Donnelley Demographics (1985 estimates)