By Salem Reporter
Polk County will move to “moderate risk” following drop in new Covid cases
Two people walk down Edgewater Street Northwest in West Salem on May 15, 2020. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Polk County businesses can have more people inside starting Friday, June 4 following a decline in the number of new Covid cases among…
Oregon State Hospital makes it through Memorial Day weekend with enough staff
The Oregon State Hospital on Friday, May 28, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The Oregon State Hospital had enough staff to care for more than 500 patients for the three-day Memorial Day weekend despite a dire ongoing labor shortage at the…
Neighborhood garden tour takes place this weekend
Tulips blooming at the Gaiety Hollow gardens. (Courtesy/ Pam Wasson) For the second year in a row, people can take a self-guided tour through residential gardens in the Historic Court Chemeketa District on Saturday and Sunday. The annual fundraiser for…
West Salem student dies after being pinned under vehicle in Riverfront Park
A 15-year-old boy died Memorial Day in Salem after falling off a car hood and getting trapped underneath the car at Riverfront Park, Salem police said in a news release. The boy was a student at West Salem High School,…
AROUND OREGON: Oregon police find marijuana laws difficult to enforce, study says
BEND – A recent study that draws heavily on Deschutes County found an “overwhelming consensus” among law enforcement officers that Oregon’s marijuana laws are poorly written and confusing. As a result, this perception has even led some local officers to…
AROUND OREGON: Oregon Shakespeare Festival will resume in-person performances in July
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival announced Thursday the company would resume in-person performances in July. The festival closed its theaters on March 12, 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The musical “Fannie” will be its first show back in front of…
New bathrooms open at Riverfront Park
New restrooms at Riverfront Park will open in time for Memorial Day weekend. (Courtesy/City of Salem) Newly constructed restrooms at Riverfront Park will be open in time for Memorial Day weekend. The new restroom building will include eight individual unisex…
Here are the requests from Salem area lawmakers on how to spend federal stimulus dollars
A rendering of the YMCA’s new gym and headquarters in downtown Salem by CBTWO Architects(Courtesy/YMCA of Marion and Polk Counties) Rural Polk County will get broadband internet. The local YMCA will be able to offer childcare after upgrading its building.…
Oregon legislative staff vote to unionize
Oregon State Capitol. (Salem Reporter/file) Oregon legislative staff became the first in the country to unionize after a vote of aides on Friday. Legislative aides voted 75-31 to join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 89 on Friday. Although…
Workers’ comp provider SAIF hires new president
SAIF headquarters near downtown Salem. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Chip Terhune will be the next leader of SAIF, Oregon’s largest workers’ compensation insurance provider and one of Salem’s largest employers. The state-chartered insurance provider announced Terhune’s hiring this week. He will…