We hope that by using some of the techniques we describe other news applications developers can build apps that use sophisticated (and free!) tools at record speeds and create engaging news products.
Agustin Armendariz
Senior Data Reporter
Agustín Armendariz is an investigative reporter specializing in data analysis for The Center for Investigative Reporting. He previously worked at the San Diego Union-Tribune where he was a database specialist on the watchdog reporting team. While there, he delved into city finances, redevelopment projects and foreclosures. He earned his masters in journalism from American University in Washington, D.C. Agustin worked at the Center for Public Integrity and was a contributor to the publication "The Buying of the President" (2004) which was a New York Times bestseller.
Posted inReturning Home to Battle
How we analyzed the VA’s opiate prescription data
We combined two VA data sets to illustrate the agency’s opiate prescriptions around the country.
Posted inU.S. Education
UCLA officials bend travel rules with first-class flights, luxury hotels
At UCLA, Chancellor Gene Block and 17 deans who oversee the schools of business, film and theater, law, medicine and others spent about million on travel and entertainment from 2008 to 2012.Prayitno/Flickr Thirteen years ago, the University of California changed its ban on flying business or first class on the university’s dime, adding a special […]
Posted inMoney and Politics
California speaker gives Assembly’s juiciest jobs to biggest fundraisers
Assemblyman Chris Holden (left), D-Pasadena, talks to Speaker John A. Pérez during a legislative session at the state Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. The freshman legislator donated 9,000 to Pérez’s targeted 2012 campaigns, and the speaker chose Holden to be majority whip.Max Whittaker / Prime In May 2012 and again in June, Speaker John A. Pérez […]
Posted inMoney and Politics
Interest groups play major role in Democrats’ campaign funds, analysis finds
When they needed political money – to make donations urged by Speaker John A. Pérez and to pay for their 2012 campaigns – Democrats in the California Assembly turned to interest groups with a big stake in state government decisions, a Center for Investigative Reporting analysis shows. For last year’s state elections, Assembly Democrats together […]
Posted inMoney and Politics
How we analyzed Democratic legislators’ fundraising
When Speaker John A. Pérez asked Democrats in the California Assembly to make political donations, how did lawmakers respond? Were lawmakers who gave large sums rewarded with powerful positions in the new Legislature? What were the outcomes for lawmakers who didn’t give? For this report on campaign finance dynamics during the 2012 state election, the […]
Posted inMoney and Politics
Map: Bay Area foreclosures, county by county
Since mid-2008, more than 184,000 Bay Area properties have entered default. This map shows the number of foreclosures for each of the nine Bay Area counties. Click on the county to see foreclosure information. Source: RealtyTrac Inc., 2010 U.S. Census
Posted inEducation, U.S. Education
State’s community colleges spend millions on duplicative administrators
Richard Raasueld studies at Copper Mountain College in Joshua Tree. The district broke from the Desert Community College District in 1999. The region’s two districts, with one college each, are among the state’s smallest.Carlos Puma/California Watch The state’s 72 community college districts spend tens of millions of dollars on administrative positions that could be consolidated […]
Posted inUncategorized
How we analyzed community colleges’ administrative costs
To get a better idea of possible savings that could be achieved by consolidating executives at geographically close community college districts, we chose to dig in deeper on a group of 16 districts.
