What’s making news in Salem you might have missed
Good morning…
Salem could feel like a very different place later this year.
No summer concerts in the park on the river.
Fewer teachers in classrooms when school opens in the fall.
Longer waits to get help from City Hall.
And potentially hundreds of people who had good-paying jobs suddenly will be looking for work.
This results as public officials are forced to stay within their budgets. At both the city of Salem and the Salem-Keizer School District, leaders say they have little choice. There isn’t enough money to go around.
At Salem Reporter, we’re going to work hard to keep you in the loop.
Our team will do its level best to not just throw a bunch of numbers at you.
They’ll deploy their expertise to turn numbers into plain language.
They’ll explain, with the help of government leaders, how the community will be different.
We invite you to share your questions about any of it and we’ll do our best to answer. Send an email to Managing Editor Rachel Alexander for consideration. She’s at [email protected].
Meantime, we’ll let you know when and how you can weigh in with local officials about the choices ahead.
There will be plenty of chances for citizens like you to speak up. Budget committee meetings might usually seem deadly dull. But they offer you a forum to say what YOU want to happen.
The importance of such coverage is clear, based on results so far in our survey.
More than 600 people have responded to our questions about what news is important, what more should be covered and how we can improve Salem Reporter.
Remarks from our readers have been so heartening. Just a sampling of comments left in survey responses:
*Awesome reporting. Impressive personal response to your readers’ inquiries.
*You are providing wonderful coverage. We try to let everyone we know of your efforts and stories. Thank you!
*Continue to be at the Salem Saturday Market, but we think your service and coverage is wonderful!
*You are great. I really appreciate your honest straightforward journalism that focuses on local news.
You still have time to participate, but hurry. We’ll close off the survey on Tuesday so we can dig into the results. And we’ll draw five names at random to each get a $25 gift card from our friends at Governor’s Cup Coffee Roasters.
The survey: Salem Reporter News Survey.
And before we get into the news, I wanted to again share my Editor’s Note that explains our relationship with Larry Tokarski, a founder of Salem Reporter and local developer. This is part of our effort to always be open and transparent with readers like you.
As for the news in recent days, it’s been a lot about government spending.
Rachel Alexander explains the layoffs coming in big numbers at the school district while Abbey McDonald has the first look at City Manager Keith Stahley’s plan to live within means in the months ahead. That includes possibly closing the branch library in west Salem. Abbey attended a rally a week ago at the main library, where supporters urged the city to look elsewhere for cuts.
The city already is shelving some service, ending summer music and park events.
Meantime, there’s been a dustup at City Hall over Councilor Julie Hoy’s efforts on behalf of a local tire business. Abbey carefully examined public records and interviewed key figures for her story – which the local daily newspaper quickly followed up on.
In the neighborhoods, events and projects are unfolding. Leaders of neighborhood associations are sharing with you the latest.
Over in west Salem, a horrific night unfolded recently in the homeless camp at Wallace Marine Park. Reporter Ardeshir Tarbrizian provided an exclusive account of what happened that led to a murder. Guest columnist Lynne Wilcox offered a bit more about the unhoused in Salem.
Finally, a dog story to put a smile on your face. This one is about a special training program for service dogs in Salem.
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You might note that every Sunday, I end by thanking our subscribers – and asking others to join in.
That’s not to be a nuisance. It’s to let you know how much we depend on local subscribers to provide the type of news I’ve described in this email.
News organizations everywhere are cutting back what they give to their communities.
Not Salem Reporter.
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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
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