How we report

Lampline's house style is Street-Level Receipts: every story tells readers what changed on their block, who it hits, and shows the documents that prove it. News copy takes no side, uses no outrage words, and lets verbs and numbers do the work.

Every story answers five questions, in order

• What changed: the news, in one sentence, with a number and a place.
• Who it hits: the people, blocks or businesses affected, by name where possible.
• The paper trail: the records behind the story, linked in a Paper Trail box.
• What happens next: the next vote, hearing, deadline or decision, with its date.
• What you can do: how to comment, appeal, apply, attend or check your own address.

Sourcing and trust

• We link every document, dataset and filing we rely on. If a record cannot be published, the story says what it is and why.
• We name sources. An unnamed source needs an editor's sign-off and a sentence saying why they cannot be named.
• Every investigation carries a short How we did this note: records requested, people interviewed, and what we could not confirm.
• We ask the people a story criticizes for comment, give them time to answer, and say what they said, or that they did not respond.
• We disclose any use of AI tools in reporting or production.
• Every story carries a label at the top (Breaking, Brief, Explainer, Investigation, Block Report, or Analysis / Opinion) so readers know what they are reading.
• Headlines follow one formula: place, what changed, and the number or consequence, under 70 characters. The search title and the on-page headline say the same thing.

Corrections

We correct fast and in public, with a dated note at the top of the story and an entry on the corrections page. We never quietly change a fact or a date.