Alissa Zhu
@AlissaZhu
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Reporter @BaltimoreBanner. tips: alissa.zhu(at)https://t.co/K88xbjNdQ9. past: @nytimes local investigations fellowship, @clarionledger, @springfieldnl
Baltimore, MD
Joined September 2011
Since fentanyl, the overdose death rate in Baltimore has climbed up and up, now 2x as high as the next big city’s. When we first started reporting last year, I knew that things were bad, but not this bad. Turns out, even city leaders didn’t know. 🧵
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It. me.
big s/o to this couple that brought ziplocs of spaghetti to the orioles game
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Here are the young activists behind @BlmSip who organized today’s protest. From left to right: Calvert White, Taylor Turnage, Maisie Brown and Timothy Young.
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The news is OUT! I'm so excited to have this opportunity to join @nytimes as a local investigations fellow. I'll be working on a year-long project on the opioid overdose crisis in Baltimore and across MD in partnership with @BaltimoreBanner with data+reporting by @FurrierTranform.
We are thrilled to announce the inaugural class of the Local Investigations Fellowship. The journalists, who hail from five states, will produce signature investigative work focused on their state or region.
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Jay-Z and Yo Gotti’s Team Roc took out full page ads in the NYT and Clarion Ledger today to publish an open letter to Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves. “You can no longer point to prior administrations as the culprits and no longer attempt to scapegoat the inmates. ”
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Today is my last day at the Clarion Ledger. I’m taking a buyout. The two years I’ve spent in Mississippi feel like forever and also no time at all. When I interviewed for the job, everyone told me there’s never a boring day down here for a journalist. Oh boy, were they right.
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YA GIRL'S BACK AT IT! Today's my first day reporting for the @BaltimoreBanner. After I took the buyout I wasn't sure if I would return to news. Then I started talking to folks at the Banner. I was impressed with their passion, drive and vision for what local journalism could be.
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Mississippi Parchman inmates file 2nd lawsuit aided by Jay-Z, Yo Gotti. What stands out to me in this lawsuit are details of some really serious allegations against guards.
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Fly high, mosquito flag 😭😭😩😩🦟👼
Announcement: The mosquito flag advanced to Round Two due to a typo in a list of flag numbers submitted by one commissioner. That commissioner has requested that the flag be removed from the Round Two gallery, and MDAH staff has complied.
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Man on street: How do u say hi in ur language?.Me: HELLO.He changes direction to follow me: No ur real language.Me: speedwalks.#thisis2016
Asian Americans, tweet at me your own racist encounters and I'll try to collect them. Hashtag it like I did #thisis2016.
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After an alleged suicide attempt, a man incarcerated at Parchman told a doctor, "I wasn't trying to kill myself, I was trying to get the (correctional officer's) attention, because I haven't had any food to eat in four days and I have lost 30-40 pounds."
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I am proud of Jackson, Mississippi. So many people took to the streets today. There was anger and pain, yes, and also love and support for each other. It was awe-inspiring to behold.
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On Friday, Mississippi saw a record number of new coronavirus cases. Restaurants will be allowed to reopen for dine-in services. Gov. Reeves is having a very public and very heated fight with lawmakers. Today's presser was a doozy
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The protest ended and now people are line dancing in the street. Jackson, Mississippi y’all. #blmsip
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I’m not 100% sure yet where I’m going next. Don’t be surprised if you see my byline in the CL after I leave. I have a big project wrapping up soon that I’m excited to share. Thanks for reading and support your local journalists!! We’re doing the best we can in a tough industry ❤️.
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If any Mississippi restaurants do this, please PLEASE let me know ASAP because this is incredible. Love to see our descent into dystopian absurdity.
To comply with social distancing guidelines, luxury restaurant in northern Virginia will have 1940s-era mannequins occupying 50 percent of the tables.
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Three of the Mississippi chicken plants targeted in last year's ICE raids bilked employees of tens of thousands of dollars by paying them below minimum wage and incorrectly calculating overtime, investigators found. One plant also violated child labor laws
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I am so honored to be awarded the Bill Minor Prize by @MPAnewspapers. I want to talk about how this story was possible, in the face of a frustratingly untransparent corrections system which never allowed me to set foot in Parchman or any other prison.
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Since losing his car, W. Baltimore resident Joseph Snowden, must ask others for help to get groceries. The supermarket is 1.5 miles away. He can't find healthy affordable food at corner stores. Like Snowden, nearly 1 of 4 Baltimoreans live in food deserts
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Strangely comforting in a way.
A nationwide survey finds that loneliness is widespread in America, with nearly 50 percent of respondents reporting that they feel alone or left out always or sometimes.
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Daljinder Singh left India to escape political violence, he said. He's been in ICE detention since May. “We didn’t get enough freedom from India and we’re trying to go to a country that has freedom and still we’re treated like hell here. All we’re trying to do is save our lives.”
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To Al Holden, Jaylon Ferguson, Bruce Setherley, Aidan Filer, Devon Wellington, William Miller Sr. and the nearly 6,000 other people who have died in Baltimore of overdoses in the past six years: We remember. To all the families who shared their stories of love & loss, thank you
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.@CivilRights is launching an investigation into Mississippi prisons. The investigation will focus on conditions at:.- Parchman.- SMCI.- CMCF.- Wilkinson County Correctional Facility
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Our next home: Baltimore! I'm starting my MSPH at @JohnsHopkinsSPH with a focus on health policy. No better time to study public health than during a pandemic, right?? .After a long hiatus, I'm ready to get back into the messy middle of things. See you in Charm City.
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If you missed my Parchman story that ran earlier this week in the @clarionledger, here it is in USA Today — this time it’s not behind the subscriber paywall. Documents paint a detailed picture of what it’s like to eat, sleep, live and sometimes die in the Mississippi prison.
"Men incarcerated at Parchman resort to threats of self harm, flooding cells and setting fires to seek help for severely injured and sick residents — including a diabetic patient who didn't receive insulin for three days" via @AlissaZhu.
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There are names for the thing causing the pandemic that are not racist or xenophobic. The coronavirus. COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2, if that’s your jam. Let’s go with those instead.
@ashtonpittman Asked about his use of the term "china virus" Reeves first said no Chinese residents or visitors should be bullied, then said that individuals who refuse to wear masks should also not be bullied. Then he said this:.
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HI remember this bizarre story I wrote in April? Things didn't add up & it got my reporter senses tingling. I told my friend @newsmanual, because who better to investigate tech mysteries than @replyall? Well, Emmanuel DELIVERED & the episode dropped today:
The REALLY weird part — orgs all across the country have made the same mistake over the years. They post toll-free numbers intended purchasers of cat food, victims of hurricanes, fans of Capt. Marvel, etc. — all leading to the same provocative message
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It was cool to see our story win a 1st place award from the Mississippi Press Association. After the ICE raids, we wanted to show how so many Central American immigrants came to settle in MS and what role they play in local & state economies.
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I’ve boated across flooded Delta cotton fields, wrote about a Supreme Court case, walked the halls of a chicken plant after an immigration raid and covered hundreds of other stories. There’s so much work left to be done. I’m really gonna miss this job and this state.
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Ya girl was voter No. 288 at the Brentwood Library. There was no line when I got there, but poll workers told me it’s been busy all morning.
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At the ICE detention center near Natchez, Sharanjeet Singh said people who fall ill don't recieve proper medical care. The facility is cold and meals are meager, he said, but more than anything, what keeps him up at night is the threat of deportation to India. “I will be killed."
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In two days, a Misssissippi abortion law will be coming before the U.S. Supreme Court. And it's a HUGE deal because it could upend the longstanding protections established by Roe v. Wade. Everyone should be paying attention.
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1/5 Y’all, it’s time for some ~personal news~. This is my last week at the @springfieldNL. I’ll be joining the @clarionledger in Jackson, Mississippi as a breaking news & public safety reporter in January.
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People eating at restaurants, shopping without masks, hanging out at bars while Mississippi reports more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases in a DAY -- way higher than anything we've seen before.
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@RMcElhenney We are fans of your work! Thank you so much for the sweet message. This will be a cherished memory forever!!.- the spaghetti couple
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Me, minding my own business:.Old man at grocery store: Two phones.Me: It’s true.Old man: *shakes head*.Me: One’s for work, one’s personal .Old man: I don’t know what to say. *walks away*.Me, yelling after him: I’m not a drug dealer!.
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Some wild stuff is happening in Mississippi prisons right now. On Sunday, MDOC locked everything down after an inmate died. But the violence continues. Three more inmates have died, including one who was stabbed to death at Parchman today.
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When I started at the @clarionledger 2 years ago, Jimmie got the job of showing the newbie around the statehouse. It seemed to me there wasn’t a single lawmaker who didn’t stop to say hello to to the legendary Jimmie Gates. I’m so thankful to have had the chance to work with him.
After 39 years, I have decided to retire from the Clarion Ledger. I took a voluntary buyout offer. Tomorrow is my last day. Thank you for being my readers over the years!.
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Only thing better than bringing spaghetti to baseball games? Subscribe to the @BaltimoreBanner
big s/o to this couple that brought ziplocs of spaghetti to the orioles game
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Holy mother of all potholes ft. tomato plants thriving in the open sewage: some sort of metaphor about life
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Wake up, babe, new @ayewolfe investigation just dropped (!!!!).
Part 1 of our investigation:. Former Gov. Phil Bryant used his office, political influence and connections to help NFL legend Brett Favre boost a fledgling drug company. Then he tried to cash in on the project when he left office, text messages show:
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I'll be covering immigration, inequality and the many important stories Baltimore has to tell. You know the drill. Send tips, story ideas, book recommendations to alissa.zhu@thebaltimorebanner.com.
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Tooting my own horn: My reporting last year on #sgfcouncil's pedestrian ordinance got 2nd place for best coverage of government in the Missouri Better Newspaper Contest. Kudos to my dedicated @springfieldNL friends for their many awards & accomplishments!
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Mississippi has seen the biggest percent increase in daily COVID-19 cases of any state in the country, this @NPRHealth analysis shows. Cases are up 344% from two weeks ago.
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A year ago, ICE executed the biggest single-state immigration raid in U.S. history in Mississippi. Since then, families have struggled tremendously while the companies that hired undocumented workers & profited off their labor have faced few consequences.
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@jpbrammer @emmaroller Believe it or not, the author is actually a real person and she was a senior at @MissouriState when she wrote the prom dress column for the Odyssey.
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As an Asian food enthusiast, I was VERY excited to learn about the new food fest coming to Howard Co Fairgrounds. This is about the amazing-sounding food the Asia Collective Night Market plans to showcase on Aug. 20. But I wanted to go deeper than that
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A prison in Yazoo City is the site of a coronavirus outbreak. At least 43 people are ill. "It is horrible," an inmate said. ". We are crammed in here like sardines. There are inmates sick that are not being tended to & they say they have to wait it out."
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In awe of the self control exhibited by the my buffalo river facebook group
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we made it @FurrierTranform @JessMGallagher.
@nytimes This sentence is ungrammatical for lack of “and” before “turnover” because “as well as” is not a conjunction. “50 times more potent” means “51 times as potent”; see the Times style guide. @AlissaZhu @FurrierTranform
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This is horrible. The coronavirus is spreading through a federal prison in Yazoo City. So far 25 inmates and 3 staff members have tested positive.
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The greatest bit I've come up with on our way west is continuously exclaiming, "Well, we sure ain't in Mississippi anymore!"
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I’ve gone by my middle name, Alissa, since kindergarten because kids couldn’t pronounce Dounan and called me “doughnut.” I’ve grown to love my Chinese name. My parents put a lot of thought into choosing it for me and it reflects their own stories as immigrants in a new country.
Help on a story? If you've ever chosen to use one of your names over another, American or ethnic, let me know and why? I've only ever used my American name, sadly ashamed of my Chinese one.
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Reunited with the Jackson neighbors in Arkansas for a weekend last month 🥰
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Normally I get comments about my voluminous hair. This time it was about my ~voluminous~ records request
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MY BEAUTIFUL SON. _.
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The @BaltimoreBanner got autopsy data after suing the medical examiner’s office, which had been withholding public info about who was dying, where and how. We learned OD deaths have happened on 1/3 of city blocks & 13 children under 4 have died since 2020 from drug exposure.
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BREAKING: They really did it. Attorneys working with Jay-Z and Yo Gotti are suing @MS_MDOC Commissioner Pelicia Hall on behalf of 29 people incarcerated in Mississippi prisons.
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18 very nervous 🥺/now better at hiding it
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Some days reporting means wading through thigh-high floodwater in someone's living room and ducking under branches that rained scores of spiders into our boat. I'm pretty lucky to get to work with these two brave women.
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I just noticed this graphic at the bottom of @msdh's COVID-19 page. Everyone had better be wearing ONLY CROP TOPS by the end of this pandemic
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Here’s design 1: “The Great River Flag,” the only one that doesn’t prominently feature a magnolia
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Six inmates have died in Mississippi in the span of a week. That brings the death toll to 24 since Dec. 29. 2/26 — Omar Beard, 36.2/27 — Paul Joseph Capps, 70.2/28 — Timothy Sharp, 61.3/2 — Patricia Wilhite, 68.3/3 — Grayland Cox, 62.3/4 — Not yet publicly ID'd Parchman inmate.
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Someone with an incredible voice is leading the crowd in “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” #blmsip
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Holy hell this is not what I was expecting when I decided to try a new brand of cereal
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Bonus footage of me struggling to spread the yellow slime monster, I mean american cheese sauce
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Despite being smaller than ever, the @springfieldNL is kicking butt and taking names. I'm proud of my old newsroom.
The News-Leader took two "sweepstakes" awards in competition with every Missouri newspaper, including those in Kansas City and St. Louis.
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These are the final three Mississippi flag designs. One will go on to a public vote in November.
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A compilation of voting selfies from today and elections past to show that voting makes you look cool! and fun! . PSA: Go vote! Polls close at 7 #mselex
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Copy editors are the unsung heroes of the newsroom. 🫡 to @allhaeleah and @michaelmhughes who work long and late hours to save reporters from themselves.
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