That's great! I've been thinking of starting a similar project. What fork/ version of news/arc are you using, and could you provide some technical details about how the parent site is implemented?
I previously submitted equaldex.com and it got no traction (at least none that I could tell -- no upvotes, no comments). I submitted it in part because of the beautiful GIS work. I have a certificate in GIS and the maps for different subtopics are really beautiful pieces of work -- they are interesting, informative and have visual appeal. So while you are there, check out that piece as well, if you missed it before.