Finding trends in local government

This exercise is designed to help you track local government data through online search engines. We can use that data to find trends, interesting facts and, of course, story ideas. As you work on this exercise, look for potential story ideas.

Complete the exercises below and post the answers to your blog, including the three ledes. Provide answers for the questions or statements in italics.

I. State and local
a. Using the online resource www.census.gov, answer the following questions:
1. What’s the population of Whitman County? 41,664
2. Percent white? 86.6
3. Percent with bachelor’s degree? 44
4. Median household income? $36,538
5. Persons below poverty? 26.7


II. Drilling down into Census data: Housing
a. Google/unclesam is a powerful tool that let’s us search all “.gov” Web sites. Go to the search bar and type “Whitman County building permits.”
b. Click on the second link, “Whitman County QuickLinks.”
c. Under Business QuickLinks, click on “Building Permits.”

1. Find the annual construction costs for building permits for Pullman from 2004 to 2008. Report it for each individual year.
2004: 21,793,767
2005: 34,549,367
2006: 31,922,839
2007: 31,922,839
2008: 14,007,013

2. What’s the most current construction cost for 2009? (Obviously the annual report isn’t yet available so look for the most recent month.)
August 2009: 7,170,166

3. Write a lede based on this information.
Residential construction in Pullman has dropped by more than 50% from 2007 to 2008, according to a census report on annual building permits.


III. Federal grants and insurance
Who needs government? Well, Whitman County certainly received some federal help last year. But we want to know how much.
a. Go back to the QuickLinks main page and click on something called “Consolidated Federal Funds Report.”
b. Under ‘Available Data,’ choose 2008 and Geography. Click ‘Submit.’
c. On the next page, choose ‘Washington’ and ‘Yes’ on County. We want ‘All Fund Types.’
d. On the next page, choose Whitman County.

1. How much did Whitman County farmers receive in Crop Insurance? $134,236,720
2. How much did Whitman County receive in grants? $122,982,596
3. Name three of the grants: 1) Airport Improvement Program 2) National Estuary Program 3) Trio-Student Support Services


IV. Health Care in Whitman County
a. Let’s take another big national issue: Health insurance. Return to the Quick Links page.
b. Under People Quick Links, locate “2005 Health Insurance Coverage.”
c. Choose Washington and then ‘Submit.’

1. Which two counties have the highest percent of uninsured people? King County, Pierce County
2. What’s the percentage in Whitman County? 9,118


V. Population
Is Whitman County’s population growing? Let’s look at population trends.

1. Type “Whitman County population” into Google Uncle Sam. Which federal or state agency comes up first in the Google list?
2. Click on the first listing, which takes us to the Office of Financial Management’s profile of the county.
3. On the profile page, click on “Population, Change, Marriages and Divorce.”

a. What’s the total population change in Whitman County from 2000 to 2007, according to OFM? 1,960
b. What’s the natural increase? 1,324
c. Explain the difference between “total change” and “natural change.” Total change includes people who moved into or out of the area, natural change counts only births and deaths.

4. Go back to the Google search results for ‘Whitman County population.”
5. Choose the second result, which should take you to Whitman County page.
6. Under General Information, click on “Whitman County Overview from the Choose Washington website.” (Should be Web site, right?)
7. Under “County Data,” click on Population.
a. Based on this projection, how many people will live in Whitman County in 2025?
46,786

Spokane City Council Agenda
1. The city of Spokane provides all its City Council information online. Google “Spokane City Council.” Choose the second Google result, which will take us directly to the Council’s home page.
2. Let’s look at the Sept. 14 agenda. Under ‘Current Agendas,’ choose Sept. 14.
3. What’s the number of the ordinance that would create a new alcohol-impact area?ORD C34475
4. We want to know more about this ordinance. In fact, we want to see the actual document. Under the ‘Services’ tab at the top of the page, scroll down to ‘Documents and Forms.’ Navigate to ‘City Clerk Records.’
5. Type in the keyword ‘alcohol.’ That will bring up the actual ordinance. We have several different listings for the same ordinance. So, under ‘Sub Type,’ find the ordinance designated ‘SMC.’
6. Click ‘View’ and open with Adobe Acrobat.
7. What will the ordinance do? Write a lede based on the City Council’s approval of this ordinance.
An ordinance passed by the Spokane City Council on Sept 14 created an alcohol impact area that restricts the sale of alchohol within designated areas of the city. The ordinance is an effort to decrease public inebriation and improve public health and safety.

Whitman County Agenda

1. The Web site www.whitmancounty.org provides the agendas and minutes for the meeting of the county’s commissioners. Navigate to the commissioners’ page.
2. Open the current agenda.
a. According to the agenda, what meeting will be held on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 2 p.m.?

3. Review the minutes from the Sept. 21, 2009, meeting. Find the H1N1 report.
a. How many confirmed cases in Whitman County?
b. How many doses of vaccine will be available in Washington state?
c. How many in Whitman County?
d. What is Dr. Moody’s suggestion on how to distribute?
e. Write a lede based on this information.