really long Assignment

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? 44.0%
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 fto 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.
a. 2004= 21,793,767
b. 2005= 40,062,508
c. 2006= 34,549,367
d. 2007= 31,922,839
e. 2008= 14,007,013
f. 2009 year to date = 7,170,166

a. 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.) 2009 year to date = 7,170,166

3. Write a lede based on this information.
Construction cost in Pullman Wash. are plummeting according to the U.S. Census Bureau, with costs of construction of a home cut in half from 2007 to 2008 due to a decrease in number of buildings being erected.


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? 154,354,927
3. Name three of the grants.
RETIREMENT / DISABILITY PAYMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS (DR) 78,902,668
OTHER DIRECT PAYMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS (DO) 57,396,471
DIRECT PAYMENTS OTHER THAN FOR INDIVIDUALS (DX) 36,639,076


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?
a. San Juan County, Washington
b. Whitman County, Washington
2. What’s the percentage in Whitman County? 29.2


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?
a. Office of Finacial management state of Washington Data book Whitman county

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.”
People move here

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.

2. What’s the number of the ordinance that would create a new alcohol-impact area?
a. 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.

A) Due to failed attempts in controlling alcohol Spokane County have approved a City ordinance restricting sales of alcohol in Downtown and East Central Spokane Wash..



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.?

2:00 p.m. – Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee meeting.


3. Review the minutes from the Sept. 21, 2009, meeting. Find the H1N1 report.

a. How many confirmed cases in Whitman County?
Whitman County has 4 confirmed H1N1 cases.
b. How many doses of vaccine will be available in
Washington state is slated to receive 600,000 doses. Based on population,

Washington state?
c. How many in Whitman County?
Whitman County will receive approximately 360 doses.
d. What is Dr. Moody’s suggestion on how to distribute?
Dr. Moody feels we should wait to distribute the vaccine until there is enough injectable vaccine to offer to the majority of residents.
e. Write a lede based on this information.
With only 360 H1N1 vaccines alloted to Whitman County, experts suggest wating to vaccinate the masses untill more is avaliable according to testimony from the Whitman County commissioners meeting.