New Year candles/ Credit: Flickr user Optical Illusion

While the rest of the country was drinking champagne and indulging in holiday treats, some non-profit media folks were hard at work readying new projects for the new decade.

California Watch is a new approach to investigative local journalism from the Center for Investigative Reporting. Based in the Bay Area, the project links reporters and media outlets, including San Francisco’s KQED to produce stories about issues across California. In its first iteration, the money and politics area of the site features a piece on campaign contributions and an interactive graphic tracking one candidate’s spending.

Curious about how to plan your career for the next decade? NPR’s Morning Edition reported on what types of jobs will be flourishing this decade, including many opportunities in health care and retail sales.

Unfortunately, not all the outlooks for 2010 are good. ProPublica looks at a group of reports from economists who still see the glass as half-empty this January.

If saving money was on your list of New Year’s resolutions, add the Youth Radio Facebook application “Stop Me From Spending”. Do you really need a new pair of shoes? The application lets you get advice from friends before you splurge.