By Salem Reporter
UPDATE: Friends plan Monday evening vigil for Karissa Fretwell and her son, still missing
A Memorial Day vigil for a missing Salem mother and her son is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at Maud Williamson State Recreation Site northwest of Salem. Friends are organizing the candlelight vigil and prayers for Karissa Fretwell, 25, missing…
Safeguards will protect Oregon’s new school money from diversion, supporters say
SALEM — Educators, students and advocates celebrated as Gov. Kate Brown signed a sweeping new law that could channel about $1 billion per year into Oregon public schools — money critics suggest could end up a casualty of spiraling retirement…
DOME DIGEST: Hazing, cemeteries and payday loans
Editor’s note: The Oregon Capital Bureau begins a new weekly feature – Dome Digest – to provide a roundup of bills becoming law that you might not have heard. SALEM — These bills might not make headlines, but may make…
Students push back on political leaders after gun control bill dies in a political negotiation
Students from March For Our Lives, a group advocating for tighter gun laws to prevent school violence, were at the Capitol Thursday to voice their disappointment over the failure of SB 978, which would have increased state restrictions on guns.…
Questions arise over cap and trade’s impact on the State Highway Fund
People rally outside of the Capitol to support cap and trade. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter) If Oregon’s proposed cap-and-trade program is approved and effective, it could decimate the State Highway Fund over the next 30 years. An analysis by a nonpartisan…
Oregon state trooper awarded nation’s highest police honor
Left to right, Capt. Tim Fox and Superintendent Travis Hampton stand and clap as Trooper Nic Cederberg is awarded the Medal of Valor from President Donald Trump. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter) SALEM – Oregon State Police Trooper Nic Cederberg stood in…
Sen. Jackie Winters working to recover from lung cancer treatment
Sen. Jackie Winters, R-Salem. SALEM — A veteran Republican senator absent for a month from the Capitol said Wednesday that her health is improving and that she is “working hard” to return to the 2019 Legislature. State Sen. Jackie Winters…
Measure 11 reform, other criminal justice bills move forward
(Caleb Wolf/Special to Salem Reporter) A Senate-approved Measure 11 reform bill passed out of a House committee Tuesday, signaling the stars have aligned to pass one of the most significant changes to Oregon’s criminal justice system in decades. Senate Bill…
State legislator’s private company poised to get another $180,000 from Malheur County
Greg Smith, a state legislator and Malheur County’s economic development director, appears at a public meeting regarding the county’s proposed rail shipping center. John Braese, a project manager for the county agency, was hired in 2018 to help. (Pat Caldwell/The…
AGENDA: Polk County Commission has a light week
The Polk County Courthouse. (Courtesy of Jolene Guzman/Polk County Itemizer-Observer) The Polk County Commission has an easy week this week, with its regular meeting agenda consisting of just approval of last week’s minutes and an executive session. The commission can…