text
stringlengths 0
6.86k
|
|---|
the galveston railway originally established and named in 1854 as the galveston wharf and cotton press company is a class iii terminal switching railroad that primarily serves the transportation of cargo to and from the port of galveston the railway operates 32 miles ( 51 km ) of yard track at galveston over a 50 @@ acre ( 200 @@ 000 m2 ) facility island transit which operates the galveston island trolley manages the city 's public transportation services intercity bus service to galveston was previously operated by kerrville bus company following the company 's acquisition by coach usa service was operated by megabus all regular intercity bus service has been discontinued
|
galveston is served by amtrak 's texas eagle via connecting bus service at longview texas
|
interstate 45 has a southern terminus in galveston and serves as a main artery to galveston from mainland galveston county and houston farm to market road <unk> ( locally called seawall boulevard ) connects galveston to brazoria county via the san luis pass @@ <unk> toll bridge state highway 87 known locally as broadway street connects the island to the bolivar peninsula via the bolivar ferry a project to construct the proposed bolivar bridge to link galveston to bolivar peninsula was cancelled in 2007
|
= = education = =
|
= = = colleges and universities = = =
|
established in 1891 with one building and fewer than 50 students today the university of texas medical branch ( utmb ) campus has grown to more than 70 buildings and an enrollment of more than 2 @@ 500 students the 84 @@ acre ( 340 @@ 000 m2 ) campus includes schools of medicine nursing allied health professions and a graduate school of biomedical sciences as well as three institutes for advanced studies & medical humanities a major medical library seven hospitals a network of clinics that provide a full range of primary and specialized medical care and numerous research facilities
|
galveston is home to two post @@ secondary institutions offering traditional degrees in higher education galveston college a junior college that opened in 1967 and texas a & m university at galveston an ocean @@ oriented branch campus of texas a & m university
|
= = = primary and secondary schools = = =
|
the city of galveston is served by galveston independent school district which includes six elementary schools two middle schools and one high school ball high school there is also one magnet middle school austin middle school serving grades 5 through 8
|
galveston has several state @@ funded charter schools not affiliated with local school districts including kindergarten through 8th grade ambassadors preparatory academy and pre @@ kindergarten through 8th grade odyssey academy in addition kipp the knowledge is power program opened kipp coastal village in galveston under the auspices of <unk>
|
several private schools exist in galveston the roman catholic archdiocese of galveston @@ houston operates two roman catholic private schools including holy family catholic school ( k through 8th ) and o 'connell college preparatory school ( 9 @@ 12 ) other private schools include satori elementary school trinity episcopal school seaside christian academy and heritage christian academy
|
= = galveston in media and literature = =
|
galveston is the name of a popular song written by jimmy webb and sung by glen campbell
|
sheldon cooper one of the main characters from the tv series the big bang theory grew up in galveston
|
the theater film the man from galveston ( 1963 ) was the original pilot episode of the proposed nbc western television series temple houston with jeffrey hunter cast as temple lea houston a lawyer and the youngest son of the legendary sam houston for a time the real temple houston was the county attorney of brazoria county texas the temple houston series lasted for only twenty @@ six episodes in the 1963 @@ 1964 television season
|
donald barthelme 's 1974 short story i bought a little city is about an unnamed man who invests his fortune in buying galveston only to sell it thereafter
|
galveston is the setting of sean stewart 's 2000 fantasy novel galveston in which a flood of magic takes over the island city resulting in strange and carnivalesque adventures it tied in 2001 with declare by tim powers for the world fantasy award for best novel it also won the 2001 sunburst award and was a preliminary nominee for the nebula award for best novel
|
the drowning house a novel by elizabeth black ( 2013 ) is an exploration of the island of galveston texas and the intertwined histories of two families who reside there
|
stephenie meyer has mentioned galveston island in her third book of the twilight series eclipse
|
galveston ( 2010 ) is the first novel by nic pizzolatto the creator of the hbo series true detective
|
= = sister cities = =
|
galveston has five sister cities as designated by sister cities international
|
armavir armenia
|
thiruvananthapuram india
|
veracruz mexico
|
stavanger norway
|
niigata japan
|
= sarnia =
|
sarnia is a city in southwestern ontario canada and had a 2011 population of 72 @@ 366 it is the largest city on lake huron and in lambton county sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the upper and lower great lakes where lake huron flows into the st clair river which forms the canada @@ united states border directly across from port huron michigan the city 's natural harbour first attracted the french explorer la salle who named the site the rapids when he had horses and men pull his 45 tonnes ( 50 short tons 44 long tons ) barque le griffon up the almost four @@ knot current of the st clair river on 23 august 1679
|
this was the first time anything other than a canoe or other oar @@ powered vessel had sailed into lake huron and la salle 's voyage was thus germinal in the development of commercial shipping on the great lakes located in the natural harbour the sarnia port remains an important centre for lake freighters and oceangoing ships carrying cargoes of grain and petroleum products the natural port and the salt caverns that exist in the surrounding areas together with the oil discovered in nearby oil springs in 1858 led to the massive growth of the petroleum industry in this area because oil springs was the first place in canada and north america to drill commercially for oil the knowledge that was acquired there led to oil drillers from sarnia travelling the world teaching other nations how to drill for oil
|
the complex of refining and chemical companies is called chemical valley and located south of downtown sarnia the city has the highest level of particulates air pollution of any canadian city because of its reliance on the petrochemical industry about 60 percent of the particulate matter however comes from the neighboring united states lake huron is cooler than the air in summer and warmer than the air in winter therefore it moderates sarnia 's humid continental climate which makes temperature extremes of hot and cold very rare in the winter sarnia experiences lake @@ effect snow because arctic air blows across the warmer waters of lake huron and condenses to form snow squalls once over land
|
culturally sarnia is a large part of the artistic presence in southern ontario the city 's international symphony orchestra is renowned in the area and has won the outstanding community orchestra award given by the detroit music awards in 2011 michael learned graced the stage of the imperial theatre for a 2010 production of driving miss daisy the largest event that happens in sarnia is sarnia bayfest which is a popular music festival that takes place during the summer in 2013 organizers cancelled the event because of money troubles but look forward in 2015 to combining with the international powerboat festival and presenting a joint event
|
= = name = =
|
the name sarnia is latin for guernsey which is a british channel island in 1829 sir john colborne a former governor of guernsey was appointed lieutenant governor of upper canada in this capacity he visited two small settlements in 1835 that had been laid out on the shores of lake huron one of these named the rapids consisted then of 44 taxpayers nine frame houses four log houses two brick dwellings two taverns and three stores the villagers wished to change its name but were unable to agree on an alternative the english settlers favoured the name buenos aires and the scottish new glasgow sir john colborne suggested port sarnia on 4 january 1836 the name was formally adopted by a vote of 26 to 16 and colborne also named the nearby village moore after british military hero sir john moore sarnia adopted the nickname the imperial city on 7 may 1914 because of the visit of canada 's governor general hrh the duke of connaught and his daughter princess patricia
|
= = history = =
|
first nations peoples have lived hunted and traveled across the area for at least 10 @@ 000 years as shown by archaeological evidence on walpole island these peoples were drawn from an amalgamation of ojibwa odawa and <unk> clans which formed the three fires confederacy also called the council of three fires in <unk> these clans came together through common links in both language and culture developing a self @@ sufficient society where tasks and responsibilities were equally shared among all members
|
during the 1600s and 1700s the three fires confederacy controlled much of the area known as the hub of the great lakes which included the canadian shore where sarnia is now located during this time it maintained relations with many of the first nations including huron sioux and iroquois as well as the countries of great britain and france in fact their trading partners the huron welcomed la salle and the griffon in 1679 after he sailed into lake huron the ontario heritage trust erected a sign under the blue water bridge in commemoration of the voyage as shown by the photo of the sign
|
because of this beginning of the incursion of europeans into the area the members of the confederacy helped shape the development of north america throughout the 18th century becoming a center of trade and culture great britain supported this strengthening of the tribes in the area as a set of allies against the french and the <unk> the people of the three fires confederacy however sided with the french during the seven years ' war and only made peace with great britain after the treaty of fort niagara in 1764 it also fought on the side of the british during the war of 1812 the three fires confederacy also broke several treaties with the united states prior to 1815 but finally signed the treaty of <unk> in september of that year and ceased all hostilities directed at the united states the grand council survived intact until the middle to late 19th century when more modern political systems began to evolve
|
after the war of 1812 the first europeans in the area were french settlers loyal to the british crown who moved north from detroit they successfully traded with the three fires confederacy which contributed to the growth of the area after its foundation port sarnia expanded throughout the 19th century on 19 june 1856 the residents passed the act to <unk> the town of sarnia and the name port sarnia was officially changed to sarnia effective 1 january 1857 the act mentioned 1 @@ 000 inhabitants in three wards the wealth of adjoining stands of timber the discovery of oil in nearby oil springs in 1858 by james miller williams and the arrival of the great western railway in 1858 and the grand trunk railway in 1859 all stimulated sarnia 's growth the rail lines were later linked directly to the united states by the opening of the st clair tunnel under the st clair river at sarnia in 1890 by the grand trunk railway which was the first railroad tunnel ever constructed under a river the tunnel was an engineering marvel in its day achieved through the development of original techniques for excavating in a compressed air environment
|
canada steamship lines formed in 1913 from many previous companies that plied the waters of the st clair river one of these companies was northwest transportation company of sarnia which was founded in 1870 by 20 april 1914 when the residents passed act to <unk> the city of sarnia the population had grown to 10 @@ 985 in six wards sarnia officially became a city as of 7 may 1914
|
sarnia 's grain elevator which is the sixth largest currently operating in canada was built after the dredging of sarnia harbour in 1927 two short years later grain shipments had become an important part of sarnia 's economy the grain elevator rises above the harbour and next to it is the slip for the numerous bulk carriers and other ships that are part of the shipping industry that includes vessels from all over the world the waterway between detroit and sarnia is one of the world 's busiest as indicated by the average of 78 @@ 943 @@ 900 tonnes ( 87 @@ 020 @@ 800 short tons 77 @@ 697 @@ 100 long tons ) of shipping that annually travelled the river going in both directions during the period 1993 2002 lake freighters and oceangoing ships which are known as <unk> pass up and down the river at the rate of about one every seven minutes during the shipping season during this same period the paul m tellier tunnel which was named after the retired president of cn in 2004 was bored and began operation in 1995 it accommodates double @@ stacked rail cars and is located next to the original tunnel which has been sealed
|
while there had been a petroleum industry in the sarnia area since 1858 the establishment of polymer corporation in 1942 to manufacture synthetic rubber during world war ii was a great success and began sarnia 's rise as a major petrochemical centre because of sarnia 's importance in this industry it appeared on a united states government list of possible soviet targets as part of its anti @@ energy nuclear strike strategy during the cold war
|
on 1 january 1991 sarnia and the neighbouring town of clearwater were amalgamated as the new city of sarnia @@ clearwater the amalgamation was originally slated to include the village of point edward although that village 's residents resisted and were eventually permitted to remain independent of the city on 1 january 1992 the city reverted to the name sarnia
|
sarnia 's population experienced a continual growth from 1961 to 1991 with a 1991 population of 74 @@ 376 in 2001 the population had declined by approximately 3 @@ 000 since 2001 sarnia 's population has been growing slowly with a 2011 population count of 72 @@ 366 despite these modest gains an april 2010 report sarnia @@ lambton 's labour market states large petrochemical companies are the community 's main economic drivers over the recent past several plants have shutdown and of those still in operation increased automation and outsourcing has led to significantly fewer workers these shutdowns and the resulting loss of jobs and therefore population as workers search for employment elsewhere will contribute to a general decline shown by one august 2011 study which shows that the population will decline by 17 over the next twenty @@ five years the monteith @@ brown study cited outlines a plan for restructuring the city based on hybrid zoning areas which will bring work opportunities closer to the neighborhoods where people live the city of sarnia and lambton county are also implementing an economic development plan with an emphasis on <unk> and renewable energy
|
= = geography = =
|
sarnia is located on the eastern shore of lake huron at its extreme southern point where it flows into the st clair river most of the surrounding area is flat and the elevation ranges from 169 metres ( 554 ft ) and 281 metres ( 922 ft ) above sea level the soil mostly comprises clay despite this high percentage of clay the soil is remarkably rich for cultivation prior to the ice age glaciers covered most of the area as can be seen not only by the existence of the great lakes themselves but also of alluvial sand deposits terminal moraines and rich oil reserves the entire area was submerged and plant and animal matter formed many layers of sediment as they settled after the waters receded sarnia is not part of the canadian shield and is located just beyond its southernmost reaches 290 kilometres ( 180 mi ) west of toronto and 106 kilometres ( 66 mi ) north of detroit
|
= = = neighbourhoods = = =
|
wiltshire park woodland oak acres <unk> beach oakwood corners woodrow shores and blackwell are part of the north end of sarnia which begins immediately north of ontario highway 402 and terminates at the shore of lake huron coronation park heritage park college park the tree streets and sherwood village are some of the neighbourhoods south of the highway the village of blue water was built to house workers and their families in chemical valley during the construction of polymer corporation and at one point had nearly 3 @@ 000 residents in 1961 all the residents were relocated mostly to the north end to make way for expansion of the chemical industry the village was demolished and all that remains now is an historical marker at the corner of vidal street and huron avenue this neighbourhood was largely forgotten until historian lorraine williams penned two books about it and was instrumental in the dedication of the plaque
|
= = = climate = = =
|
sarnia has a humid continental climate ( köppen climate classification dfb ) winters are cold with a few short @@ lasting arctic air masses that dip far enough south and bring with them daily high temperatures lower than − 10 ° c ( 14 ° f ) sarnia while not quite located in the southwestern ontario snowbelt sometimes receives large quantities of lake @@ effect snow sarnia averages 112 @@ 0 cm ( 44 @@ 1 in ) of snow per year while london averages 194 @@ 3 cm ( 76 @@ 5 in )
|
the lake creates a seasonal lag and compared to the rest of canada and inland ontario sarnia has a noticeably longer warm period following summer however cooler temperatures tend to prevail for longer after winter lake huron can also create large temperature differences within the city in spring and early summer particularly on hot days in late may early june finally extreme temperatures particularly lows are rarely ever seen daily lows less than − 10 ° c ( 14 ° f ) are seen an average of 30 days a year and less than − 20 ° c ( − 4 ° f ) two days a year summers are warm to hot and usually humid <unk> readings can be very high at times from late may to late september in fact sarnia has the second greatest number of high humidex days at or above 35 ° c ( 95 ° f ) ( with 23 @@ 16 days on average per year ) and humidex days at or above 30 ° c ( 86 ° f ) ( with 61 @@ 20 days on average per year ) in canada both after windsor ontario thunderstorms can become quite severe from april to september destructive weather is very rare in the area but has occurred such as the tornado event of 1953
|
= = demographics = =
|
in the 2011 census the city of sarnia had a population of 72 @@ 366 an increase of 1 @@ 3 from the 2006 census with a land area of 164 @@ 71 km2 ( 63 @@ 59 sq mi ) it had a population density of 439 @@ 354 / km2 ( 1 @@ 137 @@ 92 / sq mi ) in 2011
|
in 2011 sarnia had an overwhelmingly white population only 8 @@ 54 were visible minorities of those 63 @@ 77 were aboriginal representing the largest group in 2011 89 @@ 31 of <unk> called english their mother tongue 2 @@ 46 listed french 0 @@ 87 stated both of those languages and 7 @@ 37 said another language was their mother tongue
|
the median age in sarnia is 44 @@ 5 which is older than the canadian median of 40 @@ 95 indicative of sarnia 's aging population according to the 2011 census sarnia is predominately christian as 28 @@ 46 of the population were catholic 12 @@ 4 were members of the united church of canada 7 @@ 3 were anglican and 20 @@ 06 were of other christian faiths muslim or jewish 28 @@ 38 professed no religious preference or were atheists the median income counting all persons 15 years old or older in sarnia in 2010 was $ 29 @@ 196 while median family income was $ 76 @@ 523 both of which were slightly lower than ontario 's at $ 30 @@ 526 and $ 80 @@ 987 respectively the cost of living in sarnia however is significantly lower than it is in ontario as a whole the median value of a dwelling for instance is $ 179 @@ 266 compared to the $ 300 @@ 862 of ontario as a whole
|
= = economy and infrastructure = =
|
the sarnia @@ lambton workforce development board states in its march 2011 labour market report that even though employment in both the petrochemical and agricultural industries has declined significantly in recent years these two industries remain central drivers of the sarnia lambton economy
|
when world war ii threatened tropical sources of natural latex for rubber sarnia was selected as the site to spearhead development of synthetic petroleum @@ based rubbers for war materials and polymer corporation was built by dow chemical at the request of the government of canada large pipelines bring alberta oil to sarnia where oil refining and petrochemical production have become mainstays of the city 's economy shell canada imperial oil and suncor energy ( sunoco ) operate refineries in sarnia large salt beds found under the city became a source of chlorine and other significant ingredients which contributed to the success of chemical valley chemical companies operating in sarnia include nova chemicals bayer ( lanxess and hc starck ) cabot corporation and ethyl corporation
|
dow ceased operations at its sarnia site in 2009 the plant was decommissioned and the land has been sold to neighbouring <unk> energy corporation <unk> produces power and steam for industry and is the largest natural gas co @@ generation plant in canada it has created the bluewater energy park on the former dow site lanxess produces more than 150 @@ 000 tonnes ( 170 @@ 000 short tons 150 @@ 000 long tons ) of butyl rubber annually at its sarnia location and is the sole producer of regulatory @@ approved food @@ grade butyl rubber used in the manufacture of chewing gum within the boundaries of its sarnia plant lanxess has also created the bio @@ industrial park sarnia
|
chemical valley and the surrounding area are home to 62 facilities and refineries these industrial complexes are the heart of sarnia 's infrastructure and economy they directly employ nearly 8 @@ 000 and contribute to almost 45 @@ 000 additional jobs in the area in 1971 the canadian government deemed this area so important to the economic development of the country that it printed an image of a sarnia oil refinery on the reverse of the canadian $ 10 note the huge industrial area is the cause of significant air and water pollution the canada wide daily standard for airborne particulate matter and ozone pollution regulation pm25 is 30 micrograms per cubic metre forty @@ five percent of this particulate air pollution in sarnia comes from chemical valley and the rest drifts over the st clair river from the neighbouring united states in the form of what is known as <unk> air pollution
|
sarnia is the location of enbridge 's sarnia photovoltaic power plant the facility went into full commercial operation in december 2009 with 20 mw of power as of september 2010 the plant was the largest photovoltaic ( pv ) solar power generation facility in the world putting out 97 mw
|
the 80 @@ acre western university research park sarnia @@ lambton campus was established in 2003 by the university of western ontario as a joint initiative with the county of lambton and the city of sarnia the park is also the location of the <unk> innovation centre canada 's centre for the commercialization of industrial biotechnology
|
in 2012 <unk> began construction of north america 's first <unk> acid plant at the bio @@ industrial park the company has since announced that it plans to double the original size of this $ 80 million plant <unk> is developing a 50 @@ 000 square foot demonstration facility at the bluewater energy park this company captures waste gas / water streams to process into value @@ added co @@ products <unk> corporation a canadian biotech startup company producing ultra @@ low @@ cost therapeutic antibody drugs opened an office at the western university research park in 2011 and the <unk> corporation began work on a pilot plant at the park in summer 2012 for the production of biobutanol
|
= = = retail and hospitality = = =
|
sarnia has two large malls lambton mall with 72 stores and the bayside centre with 9 stores and several government and medical services these large malls combine with several smaller shopping centres discount stores dollar stores convenience stores and a collection of antique and specialty stores to form the crux of sarnia 's retail business travellers can choose from eight branded and many family @@ owned hotels and motels
|
= = = transportation = = =
|
the blue water bridge links sarnia and its neighbouring village of point edward to the city of port huron in the united states it spans the st clair river which connects lake huron to lake st clair the bridge 's original three @@ lane span opened in 1938 was twinned on 22 july 1997 making the bridge the fourth busiest border crossing in ontario the blue water bridge border crossing makes use of both the <unk> ( frequent traveler program ) and the free and secure trade ( fast ) program linking highway 402 with the american interstate 94 ( i @@ 94 ) and i @@ 69 the bridge forms part of the nafta superhighway and is one of the most important gateways on the north south truck routes
|
public transportation within the city of sarnia including conventional bus transit transportation of people with disabilities transportation support for major events and charter services is provided by sarnia transit from the city 's local airport sarnia chris hadfield airport air georgian operates services to and from toronto pearson international airport on behalf of air canada express for rail travel sarnia is one of the two western termini along with windsor of the via rail quebec city windsor corridor over which a service departs sarnia station in the morning and arrives in the evening
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.