Good morning!
The role of a convicted murderer on a Salem police advisory committee has stirred the community powerfully in recent weeks.
The appointment of Kyle Hedquist drew national attention – and national condemnation. Local forces rose up to act, with city employee unions taking a key role in demanding action.
Reporter Joe Siess’s story about the special meeting last Wednesday of the Salem City Council drew hundreds of comments on our social media channels.
One result of the council’s change of heart is volunteers in the future face background checks before going onto a city board or commission. We’re looking at that process – what does it involve, what is the cost and does it apply to those already holding volunteer positions.
And the controversy raises other questions for our team. Just how many city boards and commissioners are there? Who holds those seats and how hard is it for the city to find people these days to join at all?
This sort of reporting provides context and fills in some blanks.
Speaking of comments, watch for our announcement soon for our own new approach to public commenting on our stories.
And in a bit of our own news, Abbey McDonald has been promoted to senior editor. Abbey has been part of the Salem Reporter team since 2022. She was an intern with me years ago at the Malheur Enterprise, joined the staff of the Daily Astorian in Astoria and came to Salem from there. Abbey’s new role puts her into a broader leadership on our news team, but she’ll continue to report expertly on Salem’s homeless and housing issues.
Now, on to other news of the week.
On Saturday, Salem joined a list of cities large and small across the country as the scene of protests over the shooting death of a woman in Minneapolis by an immigration officer. Read our report, including photos.
In local government news:
*A Town Hall in February will dig into the reading crisis in Salem schools, where experts say too many students are too far behind. Salem Reporter is hosting the event.
*The Salem-Keizer School Board is considering new contracts for two top executives in the district.
*A former employee at a local government is suing over her dismissal for wearing a shirt with artwork that depicted a racial slur.
*Columnist Mark Wardell explains how you and your family can be ready in the event of a major emergency. He maps out week by week steps you can take to be prepared.
In community news:
*Salem musicians now have plenty of room for practice sessions as a Portland firm expands its operations. One partner described Salem’s music scene as being in a “recovery state.”
*Just four minutes into the new year, the first baby of the year in Salem was born. As Hailey Cook reports, “Baby Sarohee entered the world with a full head of black hair, weighing 6 pounds, 5 ounces. Sarohee came ahead of schedule, with her parents, Kiranpreet Kaur and Varinder Singh, not expecting her until Jan. 6.”
*Because of new state restrictions, utility bills aren’t going up soon. But other local fees are. Joe Siess reports: “The Fair Energy Act, signed into law in July, prohibits state-regulated electric utilities from raising rates during the winter heating season, which ends in April.”
In public safety reporting:
*The DEA agent accused of causing the death of a Salem cyclist gets protection from prosecution, a federal court ruled recently.
*A crash in rural Polk County led police to the body of a Salem woman. Her boyfriend killed her in Salem. He has pleaded guilty.
And did you catch our new feature? We launched “Whatever Happened” to catch up on past news events and bring you up to speed. You’ll find this every month as we continue to hone our service to the community.
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 owner
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