Methods
How we work
- Start from a primary government file, not from another newsroom’s spreadsheet.
- Record the URL, fetch time, HTTP status, and a hash of the raw bytes.
- Recompute every published number from those rows at build time.
- If a file is missing, show an empty state. Do not interpolate.
- Maintain vector map geometries as optimized boundary layers.
- Arrest records: drop names, dates of birth, and physical descriptions before anything is stored.
- Flag series seams (UCR SRS → NIBRS in 2025; CCRS agency mix) next to the chart.
- Correct in public on the corrections page.
Primary public records sources & repositories
In keeping with our core rule, every published dataset and figure links back to its primary open data catalog or official municipal repository:
| Topic | Primary Source & Custodian | Official Repository |
|---|---|---|
| Crime & Clearances | California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) | CA DOJ OpenJustice Portal ↗ |
| Traffic Collisions | California Highway Patrol (CHP CCRS) | data.ca.gov CCRS Dataset ↗ |
| Housing Production (APR) | CA Dept. of Housing & Community Development (HCD) | data.ca.gov Housing APR ↗ |
| City Council Agendas & Videos | City of Burbank City Clerk / Granicus | Granicus Publisher View 6 ↗ |
| Parcels & Landbase GIS | City of Burbank Geographic Information Systems | Burbank GIS ArcGIS REST ↗ |
| Pavement Condition Index (PCI) | City of Burbank Public Works & Transportation | Portal Transportation Server ↗ |
| Homelessness Point-in-Time Census | Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) | LAHSA Homeless Count ↗ |
| Library Programs & Events | Burbank Public Library / LibNet | Burbank Library Events ↗ |
| Municipal Elections & Ballots | Burbank City Clerk & Los Angeles County Registrar | City Clerk Elections ↗ · LAVote ↗ |
| Local News Reporting | myBurbank & Community Publishers | myBurbank.com ↗ · Google News Burbank ↗ |
Limits that will not go away on their own
- No BPD incident extract — needs a CPRA request.
- No structured council vote API — official tallies are published within municipal minutes PDFs.
- No campaign-finance bulk export — filings are hosted individually on the city's public inspection portal.
- Census ACS tables are refreshed from official U.S. Census Bureau releases.