Editor's Notes Happy Friday, Baltimore. As we head to the weekend, allow us to add one longread to your list: This week, we published a deep dive from reporter Donte Kirby that looks at the city's 20-year history of using data in local government. The City of Baltimore pioneered tracking internal performance with CitiStat, and was early on releasing info to the public with open data. There were plenty of growing pains along the way that show people are just as important as stats. And with an election underway that will bring a new mayor, the piece offers a reminder that a program's form and success is dependent on leadership. Read the full story here. Kirby joined Technical.ly this year through Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position in Baltimore is supported by the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation. —Stephen Babcock, Technical.ly Assistant Editor ([email protected]) |