By Salem Reporter
BOLI execs struggle to explain last-minute act on major Oregon pay law
SALEM – Oregon senators put state labor regulators in the hot seat Wednesday over why they waited 18 months to finalize rules for Oregon’s landmark pay equity law, which takes force Jan. 1. Lawmakers summoned officials with the state Bureau…
Oregon Senate president tags Boquist with cease and desist for hostile conduct
SALEM — Senate President Peter Courtney has directed a Republican state senator to “cease and desist” intimidating communications with other senators and legislative employees. Courtney made the demand to state Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, in a Nov. 15 letter obtained…
Criminally insane in Oregon attack twice as many people as previously known, new data shows
CORRECTION: A review of this story after publication identified factual errors and flaws in data analysis. To learn about the errors, please see this POST. Editor’s Note: This updates a story published on Nov. 14 by ProPublica and the Malheur…
UPDATED: Oregon board says those found criminally insane rarely commit new crimes. The numbers say otherwise.
CORRECTION: A review of this story after publication identified factual errors and flaws in data analysis. To learn about the errors, please see this POST. Editor’s Note: This story updates a Nov. 14 report by ProPublica and the Malheur Enterprise…
Salem-Keizer School Board gives Superintendent Christy Perry three more years
Salem-Keizer Superintendent Christy Perry (Moriah Ratner/Special to Salem Reporter) With one dissenting vote, the Salem-Keizer School Board on Tuesday approved a three-year contract extension for Superintendent Christy Perry. Perry, who has been superintendent since 2016, will earn $239,126 this year…
Union bargains 14 percent pay increase for rural workers in government-subsidized childcare
After years of bargaining, childcare providers working in rural Oregon will get double-digit pay raises in the new year. The union representing them, Service Employees International Union Local 503, said the rural workers will see a 14 percent wage increase,…
Rent unaffordable in half of Salem neighborhoods, Census data shows
Half of Salem and Keizer neighborhoods are not affordable for renters as rents have climbed faster than inflation over the past five years, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data. In neighborhoods across central, north and east Salem, a renter…
Auditors hope opioid findings will light fire under Oregon legislators
SALEM — Oregon is collecting valuable information about opioid prescribers and their patients but state law hamstrings using the system to confront drug abuse, state auditors said Tuesday. Oregon, like all other states, collects information on prescriptions for controlled substances…
Oregon labor commissioner rushes employers to digest new pay rules
Workers across Oregon could receive pay raises under the state’s unique pay equity law that goes into force Jan. 1, but state officials have been late directing employers how to obey. Oregon lawmakers in May 2017 passed one of the…
Audit finds Oregon keeps vital opioid information under wraps
SALEM — Oregon is collecting valuable information about opioid prescribers and their patients but state law hamstrings using the system to confront drug abuse, state auditors said Tuesday. Oregon, like all other states, collects information on prescriptions for controlled substances…