September 25th, 2006 | by Derek Willis | published in DIY, Local Data
Jeff Parrott of the South Bend Tribune has a two-part series on sentencing by two judges in the neighboring Indiana counties of St. Joseph and Elkhart, finding that “the price one pays for committing a crime in Michiana can depend on where it occurs.” The paper built its own database of sentences by St. Joseph [...]
September 25th, 2006 | by Derek Willis | published in Local Data
Toby Coleman of the Raleigh News & Observer, with assistance from David Raynor, used local tax records to find that “multimillion-dollar mansions and humble starter houses have expanded over the past 26 years … The median new-home size in the Triangle’s largest and most populous county has shot up 50 percent since 1980, to 2,380 [...]
September 22nd, 2006 | by Derek Willis | published in Local Data
Valerie Kalfrin of the Tampa Tribune used local data to show that “when Tampa police officers fire a weapon or are under attack, they are most likely being confronted by a 29-year-old man with a criminal record and a firearm.” Tampa police officers have been involved in shootings or been shot at 65 times since [...]
September 18th, 2006 | by Derek Willis | published in Local Data
Matt Carroll of the Boston Globe used municipal employee data to find that “municipal workers in Brockton, Dedham, Plymouth, Quincy, and Weymouth take up to 50 percent more sick days than employees in the private sector overall.” About a quarter of city employees called in sick at least 10 days during 2005. The paper examined [...]
September 18th, 2006 | by Derek Willis | published in Local Data
Andy Nelesen of the Green Bay Press-Gazette used local crime data to show that “a Green Bay Packers’ home field loss comes with 50 percent more arrests than a victory.” Most arrests are related to alcohol consumption and night games result in more arrests than day games. “On average, Sunday night games have the highest [...]