Good morning……

With lives so busy these days, allow me to help you catch up with Salem news you might have missed.

Money for local government is a big topic. What services you and your family get could change, officials are warning.

The most immediate sitaution is at the city of Salem. The city is banking on a new payroll tax to keep police and fire agencies staffed and libraries open. But opposition is strong to the payroll tax, which critics say asks for too much and is too complicated.

We gave air to those viewpoints at the recent well-attended Town Hall at the Elsinore. So many questions came in that we didn’t have time to get to them all. Reporter Abbey McDonald and Managing Editor Rachel Alexander doubled back and put together a great list of questions and answers.

Meantime, the Salem-Keizer School District is facing its own money problems. Superintendent Andrea Castañeda said the school system has a “a very difficult school year” coming. Citizens soon get their say at “community listening sessions” at each of the high schools.

But there’s also good news.

Volunteers who tackle a range of tasks in Salem got their time in the spotlight at a recent awards ceremony. Reading through the list of winners and what they did to deserve recognition will make you feel good about your community.

One of the most popular stories of the last week was about the Book Bin, in downtown Salem.

“I talk to customers all the time who tell me they’ve been coming to our store since they were kids,” said Obadiah Baird.

And columnist Lynelle Wilcox provides a fascinating column about shadowing a woman as she faces a psychiatric evaluation. “I didn’t know that schizophrenia can make showers even harder. Yet apparently it can be overwhelming to some people to have voices and shower noise and a bathroom fan going all at once,” she writes. Lynelle works with homeless in Salem and has been providing insightful columns with a vital perspective.

You may recall that the highway to the coast through west Salem was shut down for hours not long ago. That was to give police time to investigate a fatal shooting that injured an officer. Reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian has an exclusive report that includes authorities’ detailed account of that deadly night.

Speaking of police news, the Salem Police Department is now generating a modified police log, highlighting some of its calls. This describes a sampling of incidents without names or details. What’s your interest in seeing that in our newsletter? Send me your thumbs up/thumbs down  ([email protected])

Salem Reporter also delivered two profiles of prominent local residents who passed away.

Those who knew George Puentes responded with affection and respect as they recounted his life as a business and community leader.

And the quirky nature of Ron Eachus is evident from the record he left behind of a go-go life in the community. A citation for one area of his service captures it well: “Ron Eachus’s verbal torrents have included as many as 26 ideas and 14 questions in a single statement, during which he did not appear to take any breaths of air.”

In the coming week, we’re looking at how local people are affected by developments in Israel and Gaza. If you or your organization want to share, send an email to Rachel ([email protected]).

Meantime, our small crew always welcomes your story ideas and tips. You can reach out to any of our journalists or email [email protected].

So, let’s go have a great week, Salem.

–Les Zaitz, editor, Salem Reporter

PS: We want to grow and add another reporter or two to do even more of this kind of work, but that all depends on getting more subscribers. Please join our team or, If you have the interest and chance, please invite those you know to subscribe. We invest it all back into the operation.