city buildings under the blue sky

L.A. County’s Population Still Towers Over 80% of the U.S.

J.T.1 Comment
StatePopulation
Alaska578,803
Vermont623,989
Wyoming645,570
D.C.670,050
South Dakota732,673
Rhode Island774,948
North Dakota895,376
West Virginia1,003,084
Maine1,095,610
New Hampshire1,104,271
Delaware1,372,447
Mississippi1,388,992
Montana1,441,553
Hawaii1,782,959
Idaho1,900,923
Nebraska1,963,692
Kansas2,934,582
New Mexico2,949,965
Arkansas3,025,891
Nevada3,143,991
Iowa3,193,079
Utah3,337,975
Connecticut3,605,597
Oklahoma3,986,639
Oregon4,246,155
Kentucky4,509,394
Louisiana4,624,047
Alabama5,039,877
South Carolina5,100,000
Minnesota5,707,390
Colorado5,812,069
Wisconsin5,895,908
Maryland6,165,129
Missouri6,168,187
Indiana6,805,985
Tennessee6,975,218
Massachusetts6,984,723
Arizona7,276,316
Washington7,738,692
Virginia8,642,274
New Jersey9,267,130
L.A. County9,934,710
Michigan10,050,811
North Carolina10,551,162
Georgia10,799,566
Ohio11,780,017
Illinois12,671,469
Pennsylvania12,964,056
New York19,835,913
Florida21,781,128
Texas29,527,941
California39,237,836

Although L.A. County and California recently lost a Congressional seat (and electoral college vote) due to the rising cost of living here over the last decade, it remains the case that both supply the U.S. with unmatched people power and economic activity.

If both were suddenly removed from the union, the U.S. would instantly lose 14% of its total economy and also go from a nation of 330 million people to 291 million. The 40 states behind in terms of population and D.C.’s combined area also amount to 2.8 million of the 3.8 million square miles (land and water areas included) that comprise the United States.

In other words, if one of those 1950s Martian men suddenly crashed their ship in the contiguous U.S.–including Alaska– it’d need to scour through at least 74% of the nation’s land and water before finding a region as populous as L.A. County. Moreover, while the state of Michigan–which voted for Trump in 2016–holds a population just slightly higher than that of L.A. County at 10 million, it takes 96,700 square miles of that state’s area to situate its residents, while L.A. County places its 9.9 million people with only 4,700 square miles.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, June 2021

J.T.

Four Years of JIMBO TIMES the L.A. Storyteller

J.T.3 Comments

JIMBO TIMES began just a little over four years ago following an epiphanous walk from my mom’s newsstand on Santa Monica boulevard the evening of August 19, 2014. It was near mid-night when the idea took hold of me, and I can still remember crawling from the apartment bedroom into the bathroom with the same laptop I write these words on now to spill out an ode to the city I call home.

Four years later, with the Back to School Party, a day of art, workshops and music for youth and families in my neighborhood less than a week behind me, I can think of no better place to be with J.T: The L.A. Storyteller.

If I’m fortunate enough to get four more years of this magical glitz through the stars, the idea is to do so not alone, but alongside more of Los Cuentos. Not only Los Cuentos, the shirts by Jimbo Times, but also with Los Cuentos de nuestro pueblo, Los Angeles.

What do you say, L.A? Do we dare dream of what could still be, might be, or should be if we only put our minds to it?

J.T.

Sweet Dreams Los Angeles

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Rampart Village, Los Angeles, CA

Even with a bounteous affinity for The City, there’s still so much about it which is left for me to get to know; but at the same time, there is also more for Los Angeles to see from JIMBO TIMES. Although The L.A. Storyteller is in its fourth year now, there are certain other incarnations for ‘J.T’ which I’ve had in mind for nearly just as long.

I can assure readers and other supporters that I’m working on it. For example, how about a JIMBO TIMES ball cap for a more grassroots representation of L.A under the sun? Or for that matter, a shirt or sweater with art inspired by photography from yours truly of Los Angeles, the community? My interests in more for J.T. are not limited to just apparel, however.

Most recently, I’ve very much appreciated the NY Times‘s offering of articles by its staff in both Español and Chinese-Mandarin. The L.A. Times has also begun a multilingual publication process, though it’s still in the formative stages, and I know that for this little set of pages, it would be fantastic to publish in both English and Español. Sixty percent of the American continent comprises of Spanish speakers, and certainly over my last few visits to more of the pueblos throughout America, I’ve definitely got more gente I’d like to reach with the cuentos now.

In the same spirit, I’d like to know how JIMBO TIMES can go to print as a dual-language paper for circulation throughout L.A.’s neighborhoods, or for circulation among its student bodies. I am nearing on four years as a partner with The Plus Me Project, and though in the past I’ve been able to donate postcards and posters to different classrooms and their students following our ‘lectures’, I’m now interested in how I can leave them with some written material just as well.

Maybe it’s nostalgic on my part, but there is still nothing like the feel of a printed periodical or journal for a literary and visual journey through the world. Indeed, it’s what this website aspires to ‘recreate’ for readers and observers. To that end, of course I’ve got to find out how it gets out there for the people to grasp with their very own hands just as well.

I am working on all of it, and more, and while it’s a continual process, I also know that it’s such for good reason. Bear with me, Los Angeles. In the grand scheme of time, we are definitely nearly there.

J.T.