Past Contributions

• On the Records: Paycheck U.

  By Kosaku Narioka May 17, 2010

  Today we're adding another 17 agencies to our government salaries database, an extra 67,000 workers who collectively earn $2.9 billion in public payroll. The database now has records on more than 550,000 employees working at 62 of the largest state agencies, cities, universities, counties and mass-transit authorities. Full Story 

• Data App: More University Pay

  By Reeve Hamilton, Matt Stiles and Kosaku Narioka May 17, 2010

  The top professors and administrators at Texas universities routinely earn between to $250,000 and $500,000 year, while presidents and chancellors earn up to $900,000, according to salary data for more than a dozen universities and university systems added today to the Tribune's public employee salary database. Some 57 employees at the University of Texas make more than $250,000; by contrast, only 13 employees at Texas Tech make that much. Full Story 

• TribBlog: First Responders

  By Kosaku Narioka March 31, 2010

  Census Day isn't until tomorrow, but residents in some Texas cities and counties got a significant head start, according to the latest questionnaire response rates. Full Story 

• On the Records: The Census Gets Interactive

  By Kosaku Narioka March 29, 2010

  The U.S. Census Bureau recently launched an interactive map that makes it easy to track participation in the decennial count of households. The map application, which relies on the Google Maps API, visualizes the participation rates by color — orange for higher rates, and blue for lower rates. Full Story 

• Data App: Even More Payroll

  By Kosaku Narioka March 22, 2010

  We've added 14 school districts (from Aldine to San Antonio) and five counties (Bexar, Dallas, Harris, Tarrant and Travis) to our government payroll app — an addition of 140,000 public employees earning roughly $6 billion. Full Story