The New York Times has used the Google Maps interface to plot all of its "36 Hours" travel columns over the last three years. Winston-Salem was recently featured and you’ll also find articles on Boone and Charlotte.
That’s a very nice, useful application of the Google API, not just another "Let’s do this just because it’s cool" application. I think it actually adds value to the columns since I could see using this a tool to find a getaway that offers something a little different.
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Befuddled 
When I first read your post I thought the NY Times had mapped out the itinerary of each 36-hours piece they did (which would be useful for folks looking for driving directions). What they did is much simpler, and is another way to organize an article index.
I’d like to do something like this with the photos we run in the newspaper I work for, I think it would be fun. Jon, did you see the lottery vendor map we put together? http://lotterymap.journalnow.net . I’m working on a more advanced version, that will organize vendors across the whole state (and also allow views by zip code), but this is alright for a first draft.
No I didn’t see the map before, but that’s another great use. I think any time you can add information like that to a story it is very useful and relevant. We all look at stories and try to determine how it is relative to us and part of that is understanding the “where” of a story, which the maps definitely help with. A great follow up to this in a couple of months will be a map showing where the stores with the most lottery sales are located. How much you want to bet that they’re located near borders and lower-income neighborhoods?
Keep up the great work!
I hope the state releases detailed sales statistics for lottery sales … it seems logical. Check this article ( http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ/MGArticle/WSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137834971208 ) for the News and Observer’s take on the lottery (it has some analysis of vendor placement). Also, I finished the updated version of the Lottery Vendor Map today ( http://lotterymap.journalnow.net/*?blog ), now you can search by zip code and view results from the entire state.