In the post on flu vaccination rates and Trump’s 2024 vote, I was asked on reddit what the relationship was between gas prices and Trump’s approval rating. I told them that this data was not available on the county level but it was available on the state level. AAA keeps track of average gas pricesContinue reading “Gas Prices Weakly Predict Trump State Approval”
Category Archives: Statistics
Flu Vaccinations Predict Trump’s 2024 Vote in Pennsylvania
The next variable in the County Health Rankings updated is Flu Vaccinations. The data is from 2023 from the Medicare database for Medicare enrollees. The overall flu vaccination rate for the state was 52% which was higher than the U.S. rate of 44%. Potter county had the lowest rate at 26%. Montgomery had the highestContinue reading “Flu Vaccinations Predict Trump’s 2024 Vote in Pennsylvania”
Low Birth Weight Babies in PA
I have used County Health Rankings for years on this site to provide insight into the social ills plaguing the Allegheny mountains. Last year they lost their main funder, the Robert Wood Johnston Foundation. They are not doing major data releases now, but they update their site as new data is released. This post focusesContinue reading “Low Birth Weight Babies in PA”
Impact of Property Tax Hikes in Cambria County
Much is made of the recent property tax increase that the Cambria County commissioners passed — a 6.75 mill increase. This means that for every $1,000 in property value, the owner must pay an additional $6.75 in property tax. This post will take a look specifically at the impact of property tax hikes for CambriaContinue reading “Impact of Property Tax Hikes in Cambria County”
Reflecting on 2025 for Allegheny Independent Media
The end of the year is a time for reflecting on 2025 for Allegheny Independent Media. We have had 68 posts this year on a variety of issues in the Allegheny Mountains. By comparison there were 50 posts in 2024, a 36% increase. We had 11 posts by Lyrical Capo, 3 posts by Jackie AllisonContinue reading “Reflecting on 2025 for Allegheny Independent Media”
Homelessness in the Alleghenies Outside Cambria
The last post on student homelessness in Cambria County School Districts got a huge response. The map above from the Center for Rural Pennsylvania shows that this issue is not just a Cambria phenomenon. This post will take a look at student homelessness in the Alleghenies outside Cambria County. Not all of the school districtsContinue reading “Homelessness in the Alleghenies Outside Cambria”
5.7% of Greater Johnstown Students are Homeless
This holiday season (and every other season) it is important to remember those less fortunate. Accordingly, the Center for Rural Pennsylvania produced the map above. It shows all of the school districts in the state. The districts highlighted in green have rates of student homelessness that are higher than the state rate of 1.89% forContinue reading “5.7% of Greater Johnstown Students are Homeless”
Why Trump’s War on Statistics Matters
I am a longtime reader of The Nation Magazine. Recently, I came across an article by Eric Reinhart in the magazine titled Destroy the Metrics, Destroy the Truth. It details how the Trump Administration’s firings of scientists and statisticians at the CDC and other agencies are really cover for their misdeeds. In the article, ReinhartContinue reading “Why Trump’s War on Statistics Matters”
Turning Point USA in the Alleghenies
With the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk in still in the news I thought I would take a look at his organization Turning Point USA in the Alleghenies. According to their map of chapters there are 27 chapters in the region. Of these, 18 are on college campuses, 5 are in high schools and 4Continue reading “Turning Point USA in the Alleghenies”
How Downtown Johnstown Compares to Pennsylvania
When looking at the Unmet Need Score (UNS) from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) data tool, Downtown Johnstown (zip code 15901) had the highest UNS in Pennsylvania of 96.07 out of a possible 100. The UNS is a composite of 33 statistics. These statistics are in the table below for the 15901 zipContinue reading “How Downtown Johnstown Compares to Pennsylvania”