By Salem Reporter
COLUMN: Hospitality industry lags as Salem employment recovers to pre-pandemic levels
Salem unemployment trends through November 2021 (Pamela Ferrara/Special to Salem Reporter) The Salem area unemployment rate inched down to 4.1 percent in November, falling for the sixth month in a row. This translates into 8,700 people unemployed in Marion and…
Oregonians invited to ‘Let’s Talk’ session to share what they want from an Oregon governor
The governor’s office at the Capitol in Salem. (Salem Reporter) News organizations and nonprofit groups in Oregon have teamed up to learn what voters want candidates for governor to be talking about as they compete for votes. They seek Oregonians…
Data digest: Covid by the numbers for Jan. 17, 2022
Drive-thru Covid-19 testing at Salem Health’s laboratory site on State Street on Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) As Covid hospitalizations continue to rise again due to the omicron variant, Salem Reporter is again publishing case and hospitalization information…
Volunteers transform muddy trails, celebrate community at Orchard Heights Park
Volunteers hustle to fill wheelbarrows at Orchard Heights Park on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022 (Helen Caswell/Special to Salem Reporter) Early Saturday morning, West Salem’s Orchard Heights Park was 36 degrees and shrouded in fog. It was also teeming with 20…
State to accept rental assistance applications for up to five weeks starting Jan. 26
Ridgeland Apartments on Center Street Northeast on Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The state will briefly start taking new applications for rental assistance on Jan. 26 after not accepting them for eight weeks. Oregon Housing and Community service…
County health officials limiting Covid investigations after cases spike
Katrina Rothenberger, incident commander at the Marion County Health and Human Services COVID-19 incident command works in the office on July 13, 2020. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Starting this week, Marion County residents who test positive for Covid will most likely…
Minor shoots at car, house in east Salem Sunday morning, sheriff’s office says
Northeast Deana Street (Courtesy/Marion County Sheriff’s Office) Marion County deputies are investigating a shooting Sunday morning in which they say a minor shot at a car and house in east Salem. “At this time, deputies have not located anyone who…
LOCAL HISTORY: The Salem couple who filed Oregon’s first civil rights suit – and won
A Jan. 25, 1964 Oregon Statesman article shows the McKenzies, a Salem couple who filed Oregon’s first civil rights suit after their application to rent a west Salem apartment was denied. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made a lasting contribution…
Running for governor, Kristof defends residency claim to Oregon Supreme Court
Nick Kristof, pictured on his farm in Yamhill on Sept. 11, launched his campaign for governor on Wednesday, Oct. 27. (David Hume Kennerly/Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona) Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nick Kristof asserted Friday he paid…
Audit: Oregon State Police should change how it determines staffing needs
Oregon State Police inside the Capitol (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Oregon State Police should use workload, not the state’s population, to decide how many troopers it needs, state auditors said in a report released Friday. The 33-page report from the Secretary of State’s…