Good morning…….

The oversized scissors came out last week as the latest affordable housing complex opened in Salem.

As reporter Abbey McDonald reported, Sequoia Crossings will become home for those who have gone without permanent housing. The ribbon cutting by dignitaries officially opened the complex.

At Salem Reporter, we regularly get questions from readers about affordable housing. What, exactly, is affordable housing? And what’s considered affordable?

Abbey has teamed up with Managing Editor Rachel Alexander to address those questions. Their package of stories will be published soon.

The city’s Revenue Task Force met for the first time last week. Some relief from the budget strains city officials say they face may be coming from the Capitol. A local legislator is seeking $6 million a year from the state to cover some city costs. This has been an issue for Salem leaders for decades. The state doesn’t pay property taxes used to support police, fire and other public services. Legislators in the past haven’t been too open to chipping in.

On another money front, the Salem-Keizer School District has given its unions new offers to pay employees more and give bonuses. Negotiators are trying to avoid what happened in Portland – a disruptive teachers’ strike that shut down schools.

In public safety news, the man accused of killing a 15-year-old in northeast Salem last fall now faces new charges. As reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian reported, prosecutors now accuse the man of trying to kill two others riding with the teen.

Ardeshir also dug out details about that gunplay at the Fred Meyer on Market Street last week. According to a police affidavit, three were wounded by gunfire in a meth deal that didn’t go as planned.

These crimes underscore the need for the Town Hall on Gun Violence. The Town Hall is coming up next week, it’s free, and you should be there.

Meantime, Salem will be busier than usual this week. The Oregon Legislature convenes Monday for its 35-day session. The focus will be on Gov. Tina Kotek’s continuing push to get more housing across Oregon and on reforms to Measure 110. The Democrats propose making some drug possession a crime again. Republicans want more severe reforms.

Six senators from the Republican side of the aisle may be in their last session. As our colleagues at Oregon Capital Chronicle reported, the Oregon Supreme Court let stand action that will bar them from office. That means Sen. Brian Boquist of Dallas can’t run again to return next year. The term for Sen. Kim Thatcher runs another two years, but then she’ll be out.

And the price tag to fix Oregon’s mental health system: $500 million. A new report says the state is short 3,000 beds to properly care for ailing Oregonians.

On the lighter side, our bird expert talks about the wild turkeys that hang around Salem.

And local galleries are ready with new exhibits. That includes a display of erotica at Salem on the Edge. The idea of erotica is so different for everyone, I wanted ALL erotica to be shown,” says owner Melanie Weston.

TOWN HALL ON GUN VIOLENCE

DATE/TIME: 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15.

LOCATION: Elsinore Theatre, 170 High St. S.E.

FREE TICKETS: Available online

NOTE ON TICKETS: You will need a new ticket even if you had one from the January event. This allows the Elsinore crew to plan for the audience size.

IN SPANISH: Live Spanish interpretation will be provided with headsets available for loan.

LEARN MORE: Editor’s note

QUESTIONS: Email Editor Les Zaitz – [email protected].

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As always, thank you for reading and feel free to reach out to me anytime at [email protected] with ideas, questions or concerns.

–Les Zaitz, CEO and editor