So I follow @AmandaRMichel, who runs ProPublica’s distributed reporting program, on Twitter. And I think she’s said some of the smartest stuff I’ve seen about what works, what doesn’t, when it comes to distributed or “citizen” journalism, like this CJR piece from last March about her experience with Off The Bus. The fact that she’s not a journalist, but an organizer, matters a lot, I think. Probably decisive.
After hearing her at #pdf09 a couple of weeks ago, I decided I should actually do some distributed reporting (or whatever you want to call it) myself instead of just yammering about it, so that I have at least some hands on experience at the ground level with it. I mean, how hard could it be, right?
So I went to the ProPublica site, and signed up for their ProPublica Reporting Network, specifically for their “Adopt-a-Stimulus-Project.” (Btw guys, you know that except for the sign up form – which looks like an ad – the Reporting Network is pretty much invisible on your home page, right? Actually, it’s pretty much invisible, period, at least to navigate to it from the home page.) The ProPublica folks have posted a list of transportation construction projects funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, aka the stimulus bill, on their site. It shows the state, approximate location, amount approved, and “project code” for each one. After you register with the Network, you pick “your” project by clicking a button that says “I’m On It.” Once you’re on it, the assignment seemed pretty straightforward: find out where it is, what it is, and when it starts. And take a picture.
Pro Publica’s list included only one project “IN MARIN CO IN SAN RAFAEL FROM 0.8 KM S. OF , CONST HOV LANE AND BICYCLE TRAIL…” That’s near where I live, so that was the one for me. I’m On It!
But that’s a pretty strange description: South of what? and what’s with that elipsis at the end? Is there other stuff besides the HOV lane and bike path?
Okay, but it also told me that the project had received $2.1 million in ARRA funding, and it had a project code, too: CALIFORNIA_Transportation_Q101155
How hard could this be, right?
Well, here’s my verbatim report back to Amanda and ProPublica, which I delivered using their nifty online report-back form:
The following report for ProPublica’s Adopt-a-Stimulus-Project was received from this email address:
Name: Steve Katz
County: Marin
State: CALIFORNIA
Project Description: IN MARIN CO IN SAN RAFAEL FROM 0.8 KM S. OF , CONST HOV LANE AND BICYCLE TRAIL…
Your Report: On Tuesday July 7 I confirmed that the ProPublica listing of this project matches the California Department of Transportation project list shown on the CalDot website. I then emailed the California Department of Transportation general address to find out the exact location of this project, and project start date (the location given in the d/b is truncated, so it could be just about anywhere). No response so far.
On the same date, I also contacted the Marin County Department of Public Works and spoke with 3 people in the department, each of whom had a different explanation for what this project was. One person said that the County was awaiting approval by the California DOT for project go-ahead; the second said that he was unaware of any ARRA funds being used in this part of the county for transporation improvements; the third said that these funds were being rolled into a much larger highway widening/bike path rerouting project that had been originally funded by State of California bonds, but suspended due to the State’s budget crisis.
I also called California Department of Transportation District 4, which covers the greater San Francisco Bay Area, and was routed through their VM system to Bob Haus, public information officer for Marin County CalDOT projects. I left a message for Haus, asked him to return my call. No response as of 9 July 09.
On Wednesday July 8 I called Haus again. No response as of 9 July 09.
On Thursday July 9, I sent the following email to Haus:
Hello Bob, I”ve left a couple of VM for you regarding this query: I’m volunteering with an NGO that’s looking at how federal ARRA stimulus money allocated for transportation projects is being spent. My assignment is to track the following project listed in both CalDOT and Federal ARRA d/bs: IN MARIN CO IN SAN RAFAEL FROM 0.8 KM S. OF , CONST HOV LANE AND BICYCLE TRAIL…CALIFORNIA_Transportation_Q101155 Amount: $2.1 million.
Could you answer these questions:
Thank you for your inquiry. I apologize for the delay in answering.
This last segment of this particular HOV lane project has been underway
since September of 2007. The bicycle and pedestrian path is an important
part of this segment, as it will link to existing multi-use trails in Marin
County.
This project was never suspended. However, the cost has risen.
Originally, we planned to open the new HOV lanes and the bicycle/pedestrian
path at the same time. As time went on, the public and local governments
asked us to expedite the opening of the HOV lanes. We did so, even though
it increased both the difficulty and the cost of completing the
bicycle/pedestrian path. In March/April, it was determined that either
additional funds were needed to complete the bike path, or bike path work
would have to have been deferred from this contract work. Availability of
$2.1 million in ARRA funds will allow us to build the path.
The bike/pedestrian path will run along the west side of the highway. You
can view a map of the path here:
http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist4/marin101hov/docs/bike_path_project_map.pdf
The work to finish the path started after we received the ARRA funds.
Ghilotti Brothers Incorporated of San Rafael, California is the contractor.
I hope this is helpful. If you have any additional questions or concerns,
please feel free to contact us at any time.
Best Regards,
Robert Haus
11 July 2009 at 5:55 PM
Thanks for the write-up Steve. We are indeed going to make the Reporting Network more prominent on our front page.
16 July 2009 at 6:35 AM
[...] I first caught wind of on Twitter — asks individuals to pick one TARP project and track it. Steve Katz tried and hit a few walls, but it sounds like the folks at ProPublica are committed to staying on the project and working out [...]
22 April 2010 at 7:59 AM
Hrmm that was weird, my comment got eaten. Anyway I wanted to say that it’s nice to know that someone else also mentioned this as I had trouble finding the same info elsewhere. This was the first place that told me the answer.
26 July 2011 at 4:59 PM
Suspicious blog post you have here. I hadn’t investigated aforementioned.