Climate Stripes is a graphical visualization of annual temperatures and precipitation averages. The project uses data from NOAA (National Centers for Environmental Information) and spans 125 years; 1895 through 2022. Visitors can click though barcode-style graphs showing the variation of yearly averages in relation to...

Have you established a retirement plan yet? A USA Facts article elaborated and visualized a decline in the number of American households that have defined a benefit plan. The article includes various interactive graphs showing the amount of money different age groups hold as a percentage. How much savings should people...

Have you ever wondered what your neighbors are searching for online? Google Trends may offer insight into people’s googling habits. Google Trends tracks a term’s popularity over time and makes good use of volunteered, independent queries. More importantly, it has been helping journalists and the news industry explore...

A couple presidential administrations ago, the notion of an “ownership society” grabbed headlines. The “compassionate conservatism” of George W. Bush was fond of promoting individual responsibility and government assistance, especially in the arena of home ownership. But home ownership has never been an issue that cleaved along party lines. The Clinton administration also promoted...

Spring is upon us and it is pothole repair time in the Valley. This is the season that brings brightly colored and large machines to our roadways, creating detours, blocking traffic, perhaps raising our blood pressure, but engaging in needed repairs both major and minor. It turns out that Walla Walla spends quite a bit of its public purse on these activities, an aspect of life that Trends indicator...

As economists and policymakers continue to assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the concerns is the possible disparate outcomes for lower income households. Fortunately, because of quick and dramatic policy actions in the form of fiscal stimulus and expanded unemployment insurance benefits, many individuals were spared from falling into poverty. This can be seen...

As economists and policymakers continue to assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the concerns is the possible disparate outcomes for lower income households. Fortunately, because of quick and dramatic policy actions in the form of fiscal stimulus and expanded unemployment insurance benefits, many individuals were spared from falling into poverty. This can be seen...