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‘People’s Backs Are Against the Wall’; Amid Downturn, a Rise in Jobless D.C. Parolees and Chances of Recidivism


The Washington Post, September 6, 2009
BY: Yamiche Alcindor

For the first time in nearly a decade, the majority of court-supervised ex-offenders in the District are unemployed.

Although the exact number of out-of-work ex-offenders in the District and nationwide is unclear, community leaders, city officials and former felons agree that a poor economy decreases the odds of an ex-offender landing a job.

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Soldier was ‘living his dream’; Wis. man, 26, killed in Afghanistan, leaves behind family, new love

Mourners including Larry and Sharon Mueller, far right, parents of Sgt. Nickolas A. Mueller, attend the funeral at Arlington Cemetery.

Mourners including Larry and Sharon Mueller, far right, parents of Sgt. Nickolas A. Mueller, attend the funeral at Arlington Cemetery. (Gerald Herbert/associated Press)

The Washington Post, November 17, 2009
BY: Yamiche Alcindor

When Heather Huckett fell in love with Nickolas Mueller, she thought he was too good to be true. He made sure to open doors for her, bought her lavender roses and lilies, and liked spending time cooking and cuddling with her in their apartment in Savannah, Ga.

“I’d never been in love before, so everything we did together was the most amazing thing in the world,” Huckett said. “I knew every morning I would wake up next to him and every night he would come home to me.”

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Not home for the holidays; Officials’ attitudes in clearing Alexandria property for redevelopment anger residents of public housing who have to move

Denise Thompson cleans the James Bland public-housing she shares with her mother, Hattie Thompson, before moving. Some buildings are set to be razed.
Denise Thompson cleans the James Bland public-housing she shares with her mother, Hattie Thompson, before moving. Some buildings are set to be razed. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)


The Washington Post, December 21, 2009
BY: Yamiche Alcindor

Martha Holmes’s small, frail body often bumps into things in her new apartment, which seems like a maze to the 87-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s disease. In the last month, she has been hospitalized twice, and police have found her wandering the streets, attempting to walk back to the public housing apartment in Alexandria that she called home for more than 40 years.

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Network of care for LIers; Patients, families find comfort and support by sharing stories on Internet

Amanda Marsh, 27, who was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins

Photo credit: Newsday / Audrey C. Tiernan | Amanda Marsh, 27, who was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma five years ago and is now in remission talked about how her blog and other social media avenues helped her cope with her illness. (May 26, 2010)

Newsday, June 8, 2010
BY YAMICHE ALCINDOR

When Amanda Marsh was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at 22, she sought refuge and comfort in the things that allowed her to live outside her hospital room: the building’s dial-up Internet, the blog she kept, and her readers who became like a family.

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At a Glance

2010 Newsday Staff Writer

2009 Washington Post Intern

2009 New York Times Student Journalism Institute Participant

2009 washingtonpost.com Online Production Intern

2008 Mmegi, Newspaper of Botswana, Intern

2007/ 2005 Miami Herald Intern

2006 National Association of Black Journalists Intern at The Seattle Times

Couple’s deaths haunt sons, detectives

Joginder Singh, right, in his Bethpage home with

Photo credit: Newsday / John Paraskevas

Newsday, March 22, 2011

By YAMICHE ALCINDOR

Josh Singh last saw his mother alive when he and his younger brother left for school on a winter day four years ago.

Geeta Singh was standing outside their home in Syosset, calling to him to wear a jacket.

Hours later, when Josh, then 13, and his brother, Ankur, 12, returned home, they came upon a gruesome scene. Both parents had been shot. Later, the kids would discover from police that the couple had died. It was Jan. 23, 2007.

“I kept thinking, why them?” Josh Singh said recently. “They were good people who did everything for their kids.”

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