By Salem Reporter
The JCPenney building is empty. How it’s developed could change downtown
Nick Williams, commercial real estate adviser, stands in a back storeroom at the vacant JCPenney store in downtown Salem on Monday, Nov. 23. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) For the first time in over four decades, Salem’s JCPenney was empty on Black…
COLUMN: Enrollment deadline for insurance plans is Dec. 7
The pandemic is affecting even Medicare these days. A new Medicare beneficiary told the Medicare counselor that she had the Oregon Health Plan and that her Medicare began in October when she turned 65. She wanted to know if she…
PHOTOS: Salem’s JCPenney store hauntingly empty, awaits a new life
A storeroom at the vacant JCPenney store in downtown Salem on Monday, Nov. 23. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The fire alarm at Salem’s JCPenney building will not stop beeping. The store where generations of Salem residents went for back-to-school clothes and…
Marion, Polk counties considered at ‘extreme risk’ of Covid as governor rolls out new restrictions
Gov. Kate Brown listens to an update from the state Employment Department during a revenue briefing on Monday, April 20. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) NOTE: Salem Reporter is providing free access to its content related to the coronavirus as a community…
Courthouse Club Fitness slapped with fines after violating Covid orders
Courthouse Club Fitness in west Salem. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) UPDATE: This story has been updated with additional information from Oregon OSHA documents. Courthouse Club Fitness has been fined a total of $90,000 for keeping four its Salem area gyms open…
Outdoor dining will return, but Marion, Polk counties face long path toward lifting other Covid restrictions
New Covid cases have climbed rapidly in Marion County in recent weeks, prompting Gov. Kate Brown to declare the county at “extreme risk” (Graphic by Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Marion and Polk counties will have to live under stringent limits on…
Elsinore turns to community for help to stay alive until the curtain can go up again
Tom Fohn, executive director of the Elsinore Theatre, stands on stage next to the theatre’s ghost light on Monday, Nov. 23. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The performance venue at the Elsinore Theatre is in danger of closing for good unless enough…
Salem restaurants are better prepared for the shutdown. But still have reason to worry
Lupe Alvarez (right), the owner of Dough Hook Bake Shop, and her employee Lupe “Lupita” Ortiz (left) stands in front of the plastic shield installed as a Covid precaution. (Jake Thomas/Salem Reporter) When much of the Salem economy was shut…
Salem area unemployment drops. But not as much as previous months
A graph from the Oregon Employment Department shows the steep rise in unemployment following pandemic restrictions and how it has gradually tapered off. (Courtesy/Oregon Employment Department) Following the rest of the state and country, the unemployment rate for the Salem…
UPDATE: In court battle over her new order, Gov. Kate Brown says closing restaurants will save lives
Many restaurants are offering takeout orders after a ban on dining in at eateries went into effect on Tuesday, March 17. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) This story was updated Tuesday, Nov. 24. UPDATE: Gov. Kate Brown’s executive order limiting service at…