Rachel Alexander
Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers education, economic development and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for over a decade and is a past president of Oregon's Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening or with her nose buried in a book.
Chemeketa lays off part-time workers, offers retirement incentives to cut costs
Chemeketa Community College on Thursday, April 16. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Chemeketa Community College has laid off 250 part-time and student workers and is offering retirement incentives to others to trim spending for the coming year. More steps will likely be…
Salem library starts pilot curbside pickup program for holds placed during pandemic
Shelves at the Salem Public Library’s Broadway Street location on Feb. 18. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) Salem bookworms running out of reading material are in luck. The Salem Public Library, which has been closed since March 16, is now offering curbside…
Salem-Keizer budget committee considers $1.5 billion budget with COVID impacts still unknown
The Salem-Keizer budget committee in a May 19, 2020 meeting. Salem-Keizer’s budget committee will vote Tuesday night on a $1.5 billion district budget that represents an unlikely best-case scenario for Oregon’s second-largest school district in the coming year. The 233…
As they reopen, Marion, Polk counties short on some state benchmarks for COVID-19
New Oregon Health Authority benchmarks show where local counties are performing well and falling short in stopping the spread of COVID-19. (Screenshot from Oregon Health Authority dashboard) Marion and Polk counties are failing to meet some state benchmarks used to…
Willamette University lays off 37 employees, furloughs 80
Two people walk through Willamette University on May 15. 2020. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Willamette University is furloughing 80 employees for two months and laying off 37 workers in the latest move to balance the budget amid revenue hits from event…
In effort to help students with trauma, Houck Middle School will have new administration
Principals Suzanne Leonard, left, Julia DeWitt and Andrew Schiefer will take over new Salem-Keizer middle schools in the fall of 2020 (Courtesy/Salem-Keizer School District) Houck Middle School will have a new administration in the fall, part of a district effort…
McKay English teacher wins Willamette region’s Teacher of the Year award
McKay High School teacher Larkin Foley (Courtesy/Salem-Keizer School District) As a college senior at Willamette University, Larkin Foley got a chance to tutor local high school students. She was at the whiteboard, writing out an algebra problem for a small…
Thousands of Salem-Keizer educators will be furloughed to help balance budget
Highland Elementary 2nd grade teacher Becky Montgomery works with a student during a computer math exercise Wednesday March 13, 2019. (Fred Joe/Special to Salem Reporter) This article was updated on May 20 following a school board vote. Thousands of local…
Only 27% of Marion and Polk county voters have turned in ballots. There’s still time to get your vote counted.
A Marion County ballot dropbox at the health district is open 24 hours a day. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Just one quarter of eligible voters in Marion and Polk counties have handed their ballots back in as of Monday, May 18.…
Willamette University plans for in-person fall classes, with pay cuts for faculty and staff
The Willamette University campus in Salem (Courtesy/Willamette University) Willamette University faculty are planning to teach students in-person come fall, but university leaders say much is still uncertain as they look to cut about 10% of the university’s budget for the…