Looking forward to the future of journalism

Government official shocked — shocked! — when public data is posted online

Texas state officials surprised when public data is posted online by John Tedesco Karisa King and I were cleaning our corner of the newsroom last week, and I rediscovered this gem of an e-mail written by an official for the Texas Department of Insurance. The state agency oversees the amusement-ride industry. When a patron is … Read more

Does risk of police chases outweigh benefits of capturing suspects?

I had always wanted to write a story about police chases after I watched a crazy high-speed pursuit unfold on local TV. I wondered how often these chases go bad, and how the San Antonio Police Department keeps track of that information. Law enforcement agencies usually churn out paperwork for every situation known to man. … Read more

Mapping voting sites with ZeeMaps

Somehow my unofficial beat during every election in San Antonio is to roam around and write about the problems and low-voter turnout that afflict our messy Democracy. While on “election snafu” patrol, I was relying on a list of voting sites put out by the Bexar County Elections Department. But the list of locations was … Read more

Public litter data: Don’t Mess with Texas

Even people living outside Texas have heard of Don’t Mess with Texas, the public relations campaign by the Texas Department of Transportation. TxDOT wants to persuade litter bugs to stop throwing trash out of their cars. Buy what exactly do people tell TxDOT when they report a litterer? In her newspaper column today, Peggy Fikac … Read more

Search a Bexar County database to learn who’s disputing their property appraisals

Using the Texas Public Information Act, reporter Karisa King obtained a huge database that tracks property tax protests in Bexar County and San Antonio. She analyzed the data and here’s what she found: Everybody wants lower property taxes. But those with the least ability to pay rarely protest their appraised values, while owners of upscale … Read more

Theme park injuries go unreported in Texas

Ten years ago (wow, I’m getting old) I wrote a series of stories about the safety record of San Antonio’s major theme parks — Six Flags Fiesta Texas, SeaWorld San Antonio, and Splashtown. I learned state officials keep a little-known database that tracks amusement-ride injuries in Texas. The database isn’t perfect. The injuries are self-reported … Read more

Is your apartment building safe? How to check Code Enforcement Records

A fire that engulfed the San Pedro Apartments on Tuesday was probably caused by an overloaded electrical outlet. But tenants complained the old building wasn’t well maintained, which raised questions about any past Code Compliance violations issued by city inspectors. San Antonio’s Code Compliance Department has a Web site where you can plug in the … Read more