Victorville, Calif., was the fastest growing U.S. city in 2007 after New Orleans, jumping 9.5 percent in 12 months to more than 100,000, just before the financial crisis, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Foreclosures are running at more than double the national rate, according to RealtyTrac Inc. Unemployment was 12.7 percent in March, when the state averaged 9.4 percent, the California Employment Development Department said. The city’s biggest asset, at least in terms of geography, is the former George Air Force Base. Its 15,050-foot (4,587-meter) runway is second only to Denver as the longest for public use in the U.S. City officials, who controlled the Southern California Logistics Airport Authority, came up with plans for a 3,500-acre railroad complex to make the airfield a logistics hub for ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach. Victorville issued $13.3 million in municipal bonds for four new hangars and planned a power plant in addition to the rail facility -- projects called “ill-conceived” by the SEC in its complaint filed April 29 in federal court in Riverside, Calif. The complaint accused the city, Assistant City Manager Keith Metzler and underwriter Kinsell, Newcomb & DeDios of lying to investors by doubling the value of the four hangars backing the bonds to $65 million in the April 2008 official statement. The hangars were worth less than $28 million, based on San Bernardino County assessor’s records, according to the complaint.
