By Salem Reporter
The Great Oregon Steam-up will continue this year — as a drive-through event
A volunteer at Powerland Heritage Park demonstrating how machinery from another era works. (Courtesy/Powerland Heritage Park) Just as the Great Oregon Steam-up was preparing for its 50th anniversary and had received a special recognition from the state, the coronavirus pandemic…
A voice from the past talks you through a key piece of Salem history
The Willamette Heritage Center is now providing a new way to learn the history of Salem’s Thomas Kay Woolen Mill. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) In these uncertain times, there’s a way to learn some fun facts about the Thomas Kay Woolen…
With inequities in mind, Oregon Health Authority distributes grants to help community groups’ pandemic response
A sign directs patients at Salud Medical Center in Woodburn on Wednesday, April 29. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Hoping to better serve disadvantaged populations hard hit by the pandemic, the Oregon Health Authority has awarded over $2 million to 26 community-based…
Salem’s long-term care facilities cautiously reopen for visits
A woman in personal protective equipment walks in to Prestige Senior Living Orchard Heights on May 15, 2020. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Since the Covid pandemic hit, Judie Wilson only sees her family through a screen. Wilson, a 75-year-old resident of…
AGENDA: Affordable housing deal goes before city’s Urban Renewal Agency
A depiction of the new Jory Apartments, a new building that will include affordable housing. (City of Salem) Salem’s Urban Renewal Agency will meet Monday evening to consider an agreement that will give a developer a tax break in exchange…
A fresh look at Salem’s history provided by Jason Lee artifacts
The Jason Lee house at its original location on Northeast Broadway Street before it was moved in 1963 (Willamette Heritage Center archives) About 2,000 artifacts were discovered during a recent archaeological dig at the former home site of Jason Lee,…
Public health officials warn that coming weeks will be pivotal in containing Covid
CERT team volunteer Laura Hildebrandt holds out one of the donated masks during a mask collection event at Woodmansee Park on Thursday, April 16. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) As Covid transmissions continue to rise in Salem and across Oregon, public health…
COLUMN: Help available for seniors to trim prescription drug costs
The fellow was 65, new to Medicare, and distraught. Medicare had just deducted $145 for the monthly Part B premium from his Social Security check, and he wanted to know if he could drop Medicare altogether. His concern, he told…
Mask mandate muffles free speech rights of medically vulnerable, new legal action argues
A protester wears a mask outside the State Capitol. (Kate McMahon/Salem Reporter) State mandates requiring people to wear face coverings in public are illegal and violate Oregon’s free speech protections, a conservative advocacy group has alleged in a new court…
As the economy reopens, more people are riding the bus
William Shephard rides a Cherriots bus to work on Friday, May 22. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) After ridership plummeted at the start of the pandemic, more people are venturing back on to Salem’s bus service. In June, 87,000 people boarded a…