Good morning and thanks for dropping by.
In July, the city of Salem threw the switch on a new parking system in downtown.
No more free parking.
An app to pay the parking fee – with an extra fee for using the app.
Reporter Joe Siess examined how the system has worked in the first weeks. Getting information from city officials wasn’t easy. They wanted to keep secret some of their dealings with the company providing the parking machines. Asked for basic information, city officials stiff armed Salem Reporter. “File a public records request,” we were told – a system that adds time and expense for getting government information.
Despite the obstacles, the findings in our exclusive story are eye opening. The city is making far more money than expected. The downtown business community wonders where that money will go.
Stay tuned for more reporting on this.
And we bet a lot of you are interested in how the Salem City Council moves on yet another airline service. Councilors will consider a report that millions more in public money are going to be needed to lure any airline to Salem. We’ll report on Monday’s action.
We were delighted to announce a new community service this week. Salem Reporter has arranged to provide free access to our stories to students and staff in the Salem-Keizer School District. The intent is to let students have a way to keep up with their community while improving literacy. This is a big step for a small news outfit and we encourage parents to alert their kids to this arrangement.
In other school news:
•Bus drivers and others are getting special training to deal with challenging students.
•McKay High School welcomed students for the first day of school. Managing Editor Rachel Alexander also produced this video from the day.
•Elementary schools opened as well, and our photos show students settling in at Candalaria Elementary School.
In other local government news:
•Salem city councilors are on record backing a state transportation package that is deeply controversial in Oregon. Marion County commissioners are standing against it.
•Cherriots announced a series of open houses to explain transit plans and why a new payroll tax is needed.
•Marion County commissioners sat impassively as person after person scolded them for their lawsuit over Oregon’s sanctuary law.
In public safety reporting:
•Another person has died while being held at the Marion County Jail in Salem. Authorities aren’t releasing much information.
•A Salem man who crashed while driving 100 mph on Oregon Highway 22 is going to prison. The crash killed his father.
•Fire destroyed a Salem home and displaced a family and its pets.
In community news reporting:
•Downtown Salem has a new place to go for ice cream – and it’s not your usual Baskin-Robbins.
•Readers through social media shared positive reviews about a new Ethiopian restaurant we featured recently.
• And the story about some vendors dropping out of the Oregon State Fair generated hundreds of comments on our social media channel.
HAVE A COMMENT? SUGGESTION?
Have thoughts about our reporting? A story we should do? A person we should profile? Or do you have questions about how we do our work? You’re welcome to send me an email – I read every one of them. Email: [email protected].
–Les Zaitz, Editor and co-founder
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