Above the fold

Good morning from downtown Los Angeles.

The Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times landed on my doorstep. There are only two stories visible above the fold. Both are Los Angeles Times Data Desk investigations.

I'm a little geeked about this. Let me explain why.

First, let's be clear: I'm an Internet nerd.

As you know, I spend too much time online blabbering about minor open-source software upgrades and questionable things we've managed to shoehorn on latimes dot com.

Our team is rarely focused on print, but I'm real proud of this.

Reason one: I love when computers help us tell stories that otherwise would not be told.

Exhibit A is on the left side of the page. It's a clever use of the LAPD arrest records that shows their rhetoric and actions on homelessness are out of whack.

Reason two: I love when data connects with old fashioned shoeleather to bring complicated issues to life.

You can see that on the right side of the page. It's a traditional government waste story made more powerful by linking it up with a huge database.

Reason three: I love seeing our young talent at the Los Angeles Times Data Desk stretch to do new things.

That homelessness story would not have happened without Christine Zhang.

She was a guest at the Los Angeles Times as an OpenNews fellow, where she proved her potential. Read her work. Then hire her!

Like any good reporter, Christine is strong willed about the things she knows.

One thing she knows is that the Python programming language, which I constantly preach, is a false God.

So this story was done in R, dammit. Her code is available on GitHub.

That story on the right wouldn't have happened without Ryan Menezes.

Ryan learned new skills to get a grip on tens of millions of payroll records.

As a result, he might now qualify for some sort of accounting license. And he's developed an earnest love for SQL sub queries.

There's a lot more I could say, but I should shut up. Check out the stories. As always, let us know what sucks.

Meanwhile, I think I'm going to find somewhere to have this framed.

It's the A1 editor's handwritten note yesterday listing Los Angeles Times Data Desk work in the top two slots.