Blake Nelson
@BCunninghamN
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Reporter for my hometown paper @sdut | Former: @njdotcom @starledger @AP | Writing + video, comics, podcasts, animation, data
Joined November 2014
I wrote a millisecond-by-millisecond account of everything happening on a molecular level when naloxone tries to bring somebody back to life. "8 minutes, 19 seconds: Inside one man’s dying body as Narcan molecules rush to reverse an overdose" https://t.co/qgNpcYvf2m
sandiegouniontribune.com
A battle fought in silence and darkness plays out about every day in San Diego County.
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A deeply disturbing story about how a 69-year-old man’s efforts to save a woman failed when San Diego County sheriff’s deputies apparently dismissed the incident because she was only a “transient.” Via @BCunninghamN and @lunettacaleb
sandiegouniontribune.com
Investigators are exploring whether a deputy blew off a neighbor’s call for help.
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Via @BCunninghamN and @Kristen_Taketa: Last year, @CityofSanDiego cleared more than 6,400 homeless camps. They preserved and catalogued personal belongings just 36 times.
sandiegouniontribune.com
The city of San Diego is spending millions of dollars a year to clear thousands of tent camps.
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Hi everyone! I’m so proud to announce that I joined the @sdut as the East County reporter! It’s surreal to report for the paper I grew up reading. My DMs are open for tips, story ideas and anything else! 😊
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This is big: San Diego County recently cancelled a multimillion-dollar contract to distribute naloxone, an overdose-reversing nasal spray that's commonly known as Narcan. Naloxone vending machines are already being pulled from local jails. https://t.co/68xR2KUChI
sandiegouniontribune.com
Vending machines carrying the overdose-reversing substance, often known as Narcan, are already being pulled from jails.
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I spent @Comic_Con following a collector and a creator as they searched for someone who could help realize their long-held dreams. https://t.co/C4UWAyR8Ku
sandiegouniontribune.com
A collector and a creator walked into this year’s convention in San Diego looking to realize long-held dreams
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Come work with me! The Union-Tribune is hiring a reporter to cover East San Diego County. This used to be my beat and I already have phone numbers for you. https://t.co/shhl8AN17l
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Second, I was with this man when he decided he wanted to go to rehab. But the region has long had a shortage of detox beds. Here's how officers responded. https://t.co/kDRQ7g14ez
sandiegouniontribune.com
Cops recently converged on a local park amid a shift in how the department addresses homelessness
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Here are 2 key perspectives about homelessness in San Diego: First, I spent time with a mother and daughter who make enough to pay rent but lack the savings for an apartment deposit. They mostly sleep in parking lots. https://t.co/TBTRgW6fgo
sandiegouniontribune.com
One mother and daughter sleeping in a Mission Bay parking lot don’t make enough to cover an apartment deposit.
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On the same day a team editorial at @sdutOpinion on the ICE protests was pulled, my position as deputy editor was suddenly eliminated. Thanks 🙏🏽 to the SD community for allowing me to lift your voices. My next chapter TBA. I won’t be silenced and neither should you. 💪🏽
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🧵Career highlight I hope will have many positive ripples: @Poynter just published a guide to homelesness reporting that I've spent months creating with an impressive group of journalists across the country with years of experience on the beat.
poynter.org
This new guide helps journalists navigate the ethical and human challenges of reporting on homelessness
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Have known for couple weeks this day was coming but that doesn’t make it any less sad. Bryce is gone way too soon and condolences to his lovely mom Bea, his brothers Bruce & Brian & the rest of his family & many friends who were lucky enough to know him.
sandiegouniontribune.com
Miller was diagnosed with muscle-invasive bladder cancer two years ago.
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ICYMI: I profiled San Diego’s first-ever cardinal, a prominent immigrants rights advocate headed to Washington D.C. We get into all of it: His work during the AIDS crisis, fallout from sexual abuse within Catholicism, 500 years of California history … https://t.co/WigH8rmx6n
sandiegouniontribune.com
Robert McElroy heads to Washington, D.C., at a pivotal moment for the church and the nation.
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We even got freelance writers Avery Bosco and Madelyn Walthall to follow him around in Rome.
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Amid all the coverage about Robert McElroy, San Diego’s first-ever cardinal, nobody had placed his ascent within California history. So I did. “Historic or heretical? San Diego‘s cardinal is one of the US’s most consequential Catholic leaders.” https://t.co/Iov9PxTiW9
sandiegouniontribune.com
Robert McElroy heads to Washington, D.C., at a pivotal moment for the church and the nation.
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After being a freelance contributor for years, today I'm joining the San Diego Union-Tribune's Watchdog team as a full-time reporter. Special thanks to @schulzsam, @SDUTmcdonald and Lora Cicalo for their support. Tips: kelly.davis@sduniontribune.com
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San Diego's housing agency has decided it must shut off a key engine it has used to help deliver thousands of homes for homeless and low-income San Diegans. https://t.co/uXxir8x8FI
voiceofsandiego.org
The San Diego Housing Commission has decided it no longer has the resources to dole out vouchers to specific low-income housing projects.
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ICYMI: I got a copy of a not-yet-published assessment of homelessness spending in San Diego County that found gaps in how officials monitor dozens of initiatives. "County homelessness programs sometimes don’t track key information, report finds" https://t.co/woeuheQu2L
sandiegouniontribune.com
The analysis of dozens of contracts further found that money is being left on the table
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Thanks to everyone who helped with this story, we found lots of families celebrating both Christmas and Hanukkah. https://t.co/6wEd67ARxg
sandiegouniontribune.com
A rare quirk of the calendar this year invites questions both logistical and theological
Left-field request for a feature story. This year the 1st day of Hanukkah falls on Christmas, which hasn't happened for a while. I'm looking for a family with both Christians and Jews who'll be celebrating their respective holidays together. DM's are open!
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Left-field request for a feature story. This year the 1st day of Hanukkah falls on Christmas, which hasn't happened for a while. I'm looking for a family with both Christians and Jews who'll be celebrating their respective holidays together. DM's are open!
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