CLIPBOARD

While there is a little of everything in the Rancho Santiago neighborhood in Santa Ana, the main focal point is Rancho Santiago College at the corner of Bristol and 17th streets. Although there is no real college-town atmosphere, the school is an integral part of the neighborhood.

Through the community services department, the college provides more than 250 fee-based programs--”in self-improvement, travel, one-day seminars, and things such as that,” said Leslie James, supervisor of community services at Rancho Santiago. “We send brochures to everyone in the community and let them know what is available. We get approximately 8,000 to 10,000 people a school year participating.”

According to James, some of the more popular classes include a stand-up comedy workshop, researching public records, the preparation for the Postal Service examination and salt-water fishing classes. Other big hits have been classes on body language, speed Spanish and the ever-popular “Boot Camp for Bachelors,” which covers how a man should treat a woman.

“We are offering a couple of new classes this fall we expect to fill rather quickly,” said James. “We have one coming up for all of those pack rats out there called ‘A Clutter Clinic,’ and we have another one on how to repair bad credit.”

While the college may be a focal point in the community, the businesses are probably its bread-and-butter. The neighborhood around Rancho Santiago is abundant with small enterprises and mom-and-pop shops from fast food to automobile repair, with a few churches and medical clinics and a Spanish-language newspaper thrown in for good measure.

But it is always the residents who make up personality of any neighborhood.

Civic Center Drive seems to be the an unofficial line of demarcation. As less-affluent families begin to spread north into the better neighborhoods, some of the old problems are beginning to follow, but nothing that could be considered serious. In the northern end of the neighborhood, closer to the college, there are residential pockets where pride of ownership is pleasantly apparent in the immaculately tended yards and freshly painted houses.

“I’ve been here since 1971 and we’ve been working on our house and yard little by little,” said Solis

Alexander, who lives with his wife and three daughters in a corner house near the college.

Some in the neighborhood have gardeners, but Alexander takes care of his home and yard himself; the time he puts into it shows.

Johnny Smith happened to be checking on son George and daughter-in-law Deborah’s house while they were at work. It was a day when gardeners seemed to be out en masse, working on other homes in the area.

“I’m retired,” Smith said. “I saw the gardeners and asked them if they would come over and cut my son’s lawn. He works hard and they just bought this house two months ago. It’s nice inside and out. I just wanted to help take care of this for him.”

That is how it is in the little enclave. Residents run the gamut from newly arrived to the anchors such as Alexander, who have been there for years. But everyone takes pride in its aesthetic value.

Population Total: (1990 est.) 5,309 1980-90 change: +41.8% Median Age: 28.2

Racial/ethnic mix: Latino: 86% White (non-Latino): 8% Black: 2% Other: 4%

By sex and age: MALES Median age: 27.6years FEMALES Median age: 28.9years

Income Per capita: $10,705 Median household: $36,750 Average household: $43,232

Income Distribution: Less than $25,000: 32% $25,000-49,999: 36% $50,000-74,999: 22% $75,000-$99,999: 5% $100,000 and more: 5%