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Al Shaw

Al Shaw is a Senior News Application Developer at ProPublica.

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Al Shaw is a Senior News Application Developer at ProPublica. He uses data and interactive graphics to cover environmental issues, natural disasters and politics.

A year before Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston, Shaw was part of a team that produced “Hell and High Water,” which warned of the region's vulnerability to coastal storms. The project won a Peabody Award in 2017. Shaw's project, “Losing Ground,” about the century-long erosion of Louisiana's coast won a Gold Medal from the Society for News Design. His interactive maps surrounding FEMA's response to Hurricane Sandy were honored with the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi award. Before joining ProPublica, Shaw was a designer/developer at the political news website Talking Points Memo.

Coronavirus

Coronavirus in New York City: How Many Confirmed Cases Are Near Me?

We’re tracking how many New York City residents have tested positive for the coronavirus in every ZIP code and how each neighborhood compares with others.

Coronavirus

Are Hospitals Near Me Ready for Coronavirus? Here Are Nine Different Scenarios.

How soon regions run out of hospital beds depends on how fast the novel coronavirus spreads and how many open beds they had to begin with. Here’s a look at the whole country. You can also search for your region.

Disaster in the Pacific

How We Reconstructed the Flawed Navigation Controls Behind the Navy’s Worst Maritime Accident in 40 Years

To see the complex navigation system aboard the USS John S. McCain is to wonder how any amount of training would have been enough for sailors to have been confident using it.

The Real Bosses of New Jersey

See How This Political Boss and His Associates Bought Up Valuable Land After A Tax Break Law

Camden’s waterfront sat vacant for decades, but George E. Norcross III helped to usher in lucrative tax breaks. The land went to his friends and allies.

Local Reporting Network

Polluter’s Paradise

How We Found New Chemical Plants Are Being Built in South Louisiana’s Most Polluted Areas

ProPublica and The Times-Picayune and The Advocate investigated the potential cancer-causing toxicity in the air. Using EPA data, public records requests and more, we found that some of the country’s most toxic air will likely get worse.

Local Reporting Network

Polluter’s Paradise

In a Notoriously Polluted Area of the Country, Massive New Chemical Plants Are Still Moving In

Data from an EPA model indicates that communities along the lower Mississippi River corridor already face severely elevated cancer risks from industrial activity. Massive new chemical plants are slated to be built there anyway.

Local Reporting Network

Trump Town: Track White House Staff, Cabinet Members and Political Appointees Across the Government

Tracking White House staffers, Cabinet members and political appointees across the government

The New Power Brokers

A Guide to Every Permitted Natural Gas Well in West Virginia

For the first time ever, ProPublica and the Gazette-Mail used software to show over 5,000 permitted wells and the pads on which they sit. Here’s what they look like.

Local Reporting Network

The New Power Brokers

Powerless: What It Looks and Sounds Like When a Gas Driller Overruns Your Land

The gas rush is upending communities with traffic and noise, reshaping the way the state looks and sounds. Residents are often powerless to stop it.

Local Reporting Network

“A Never-Ending Commitment”: The High Cost of Preserving Vulnerable Beaches

In the wake of hurricanes like Florence, the U.S. government pays to dump truckloads of sand onto eroding beaches, in a cycle that is said to harm ecosystems and disproportionately benefit the rich.