function _getCoordinates($city, $state)
{
$coordinates = new Coordinate();
$coordinates->where('city', $city)->where('state', $state)->get();
if (!$coordinates->exists()) {
$data = file_get_contents("http://maps.google.com/maps/api/geocode/json?address=" . urlencode($city) . "," . urlencode($state) . "&sensor=false");
$json_array = json_decode($data, true);
$lat = $json_array['results'][0]['geometry']['location']['lat'];
$long = $json_array['results'][0]['geometry']['location']['lng'];
$c = new Coordinate();
$c->city = $city;
$c->state = $state;
$c->lat = $lat;
$c->lng = $long;
$c->save();
} else {
$lat = $coordinates->lat;
$long = $coordinates->lng;
}
return array($lat, $long);
}