Slab City

Slab City or The Slabs is a snowbird campsite in the Sonoran Desert 156 miles northeast of San Diego, used by recreational vehicle owners and squatters from across North America. It takes its name from the concrete slabs that remain from the abandoned World War II Marine barracks of Camp Dunlap.

Several thousand campers, many of them retired, use the site during the winter months. These "snowbirds" stay only for the winter, before migrating north in the spring to cooler climates. The temperatures during the summer are unforgiving (as high as 120 °F) (48 °C); nonetheless, there is a group of around 150 permanent residents who live in the Slabs all year round. Some of these "Slabbers" derive their living by way of government checks (SSI, Social Security, and Social Security Disability) and have been driven to the Slabs through poverty. Others have moved to The Slabs to learn how to live off the grid and to be left alone. Still others have moved there to stretch their retirement income.

Slab (geology)

In geology, a slab is the portion of a tectonic plate that is being subducted.

Slabs constitute an important part of the global plate tectonic system. They drive plate tectonics both by pulling along the lithosphere to which they are attached in a processes known as slab pull and by inciting currents in the mantle (slab suction). They cause volcanism due to flux melting of the mantle wedge, and they affect the flow and thermal evolution of the Earth's mantle. Their motion can cause dynamic uplift and subsidence of the Earth's surface, forming shallow seaways and potentially rearranging drainage patterns.

Slabs have been imaged down to the seismic discontinuities between the upper and lower mantle and to the core–mantle boundary. Slab subduction is the mechanism by which lithospheric material is mixed back into the Earth's mantle.

See also

References

Slab (comics)

Slab (Christopher Anderson), a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe. His first appearance was in X-Factor #74.

Fictional character biography

Slab is a mutant villain who is recruited by Mister Sinister to be part of his Nasty Boys and was the first team member to attack their nemesis, the government sponsored X-Factor team. Slab climbs to the top of the Washington Monument and calls Strong Guy out to fight him, and they battle. When Slab shrinks to normal size to duck a punch, he causes Strong Guy to shatter and destroy the monument. Slab's battle is aided off-scenes by Senator Stephen Shaffran, who has the mutant power to manipulate probability, (including causing others to suffer bad luck while enjoying good luck himself).

Slab was captured along with his teammate Hairbag and taken to a holding cell by X-Factor. While he waits for his lawyer to negotiate bail, Slab and Hairbag are broken out of prison by the Mutant Liberation Front (of which Slab's sister Thumbelina is a member). He is returned to the Nasty Boys shortly afterwards. Slab has not been seen since the group's subsequent breakup. It is unknown if Slab retained his mutant powers after the M-Day.

City

A city is a large and permanent human settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town in general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.

Cities generally have complex systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, housing, and transportation. The concentration of development greatly facilitates interaction between people and businesses, benefiting both parties in the process, but it also presents challenges to managing urban growth.

A big city or metropolis usually has associated suburbs and exurbs. Such cities are usually associated with metropolitan areas and urban areas, creating numerous business commuters traveling to urban centers for employment. Once a city expands far enough to reach another city, this region can be deemed a conurbation or megalopolis. In terms of population, the largest city proper is Shanghai, while the fastest-growing is Dubai.

Origins

There is not enough evidence to assert what conditions gave rise to the first cities. Some theorists have speculated on what they consider suitable pre-conditions and basic mechanisms that might have been important driving forces.

City government in Washington (state)

There are 281 municipalities in the U.S. state of Washington. State law determines the various powers its municipalities have.

City classes

Legally, a city in Washington can be described primarily by its class. There are five classes of cities in Washington:

First class cities are cities with a population over 10,000 at the time of reorganization and operating under a home rule charter. They are permitted to perform any function specifically granted them by Title 35 RCW (Revised Code of Washington). Among them are Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, Vancouver, and Yakima.

Second class cities are cities with a population over 1,500 at the time of reorganization and operating without a home rule charter. Like first class cities, they are permitted to perform any function specifically granted them by Title 35 RCW. Among them are Port Orchard, Wapato, and Colville.

Towns are municipalities with a population of under 1,500 at the time of reorganization. Towns are not authorized to operate under a charter. Like the previously listed cities, they are permitted to perform any function specifically granted them by Title 35 RCW. Among them are Steilacoom, Friday Harbor, Eatonville, and Waterville. In 1994, the legislature made 1,500 the minimum population required to incorporate.

Administrative divisions of Texas

Texas has a total of 254 counties, many cities, and numerous special districts, the most common of which is the independent school district.

County

Texas has a total of 254 counties, by far the largest number of counties of any state.

Each county is run by a five-member Commissioners' Court consisting of four commissioners elected from single-member districts (called commissioner precincts) and a county judge elected at-large. The county judge does not have authority to veto a decision of the commissioners court; the judge votes along with the commissioners (being the tie-breaker in close calls). In smaller counties, the county judge actually does perform judicial duties, but in larger counties the judge's role is limited to serving on the commissioners court and certifying elections. Certain officials, such as the sheriff and tax collector, are elected separately by the voters, but the commissioners court determines their office budgets, and sets overall county policy. All county elections are partisan, and commissioner precincts are redistricted after each ten year Census both to equalize the voting power in each and in consideration of the political party preferences of the voters in each.