The Tennessean‘s three-part series on gangs reveals a growing problem across the state, particularly in suburbia and small towns. Law enforcement is overwhelmed and schools are ripe recruiting grounds in what’s part of a national trend of gangs expanding their influence to areas outside the urban core to sell drugs.
Archive for the ‘Mapping’ Category
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Tulsa County’s poorest spend most on lottery tickets
November 16th, 2009 
Beth Using Oklahoma Lottery Commission sales data and U.S. Census Bureau data, the Tulsa World found that some of Tulsa County’s poorest areas spend the most money on lottery tickets per capita, according to a report by Gavin Off. An interactive map showing income vs. lottery spending can be found here.
Aging water pipes a problem in Houston
August 13th, 2009 Beth KHOU-Houston found that a few of the city’s older neighborhoods suffer more water-pipe breaks than other areas.
Many bad bridges not receiving stimulus funds
July 31st, 2009 Beth “Tens of thousands of unsafe or decaying bridges carrying 100 million drivers a day must wait for repairs because states are spending stimulus money on spans that are already in good shape or on easier projects like repaving roads, an Associated Press analysis shows.” An interactive map gives details state-by-state on bridge projects funded by [...]
Iowa air pollution levels nearing federal limits
June 16th, 2009 Beth Higher poverty schools get newer teachers
May 27th, 2009 admin The Statesman Journal recently ran a two-day package that showed how the newest and least experienced teachers in the Salem-Keizer School District work in the highest poverty schools, which was based on a data analysis by the newspaper. Salem-Keizer is the second largest school district in Oregon, with about 40,000 students. Using raw data from [...]
Power Hungry series looks at nation’s electrical grid
May 1st, 2009 Beth In its 10-part series, “Power Hungry“, NPR looks at the “the costs, the politics and other challenges of upgrading the country’s electricity grid.”
Sarah Cohen discusses data visualization in reporting
April 14th, 2009 Beth Steve Myers of Poynter interviewed Sarah Cohen, database editor for The Washington Post‘s investigative team, on her use of data visualization as part of exploratory reporting. Cohen spoke on the topic at the 2009 CAR Conference in Indianapolis. Download the tipsheet from her presentation here (pdf).
Housing program fails to aid low-income families
April 13th, 2009 Beth A story by William Heisel of the Los Angeles Times focuses on the failures of the federal government’s efforts to revitalize the housing market and to increase affordable housing. For a decade, the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has been giving local governments homes to refurbish and resell to low-income buyers.
Tulsa County siren coverage is spotty in areas
March 10th, 2009 Beth As many as 24,800 Tulsa County residents live in areas not reached by outdoor tornado sirens, a Tulsa World analysis found.
