By Salem Reporter
Former Oregon Health Authority worker charged with embezzling $1.5 million in Covid scheme
The Oregon Justice Department announced on Wednesday, April 20, that a former Oregon Health Authority employee has been indicted on 21 counts for an embezzlement scheme. (Ron Cooper/Oregon Capital Chronicle) An Oregon Health Authority employee who processed requests for vendor…
Portland Road micro shelter site to double capacity months ahead of deadline to clear
A partially-completed pallet shelter on April 13, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) A managed micro shelter village on Northeast Portland Road will double its capacity in the next two weeks as staff from the city of Salem and homeless provider Church…
Salem council candidate Deanna Gwyn has rarely voted, records show
Deanna Gwyn, 2022 Salem City Council candidate for Ward 4 (Campaign photo) A Salem real estate broker seeking election to the Salem City Council has voted just twice in local elections the past decade, records show. Deanna Gwyn, who’s running…
Director of state agency overseeing police and fire licensing resigns on Sunday
Jerry Granderson, director of the state Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, resigned on Sunday, April 17. (Amanda Loman/Oregon Capital Chronicle) The director of the state agency that trains and certifies police and firefighters in Oregon resigned effective Sunday…
Beaver spotted girdling cottonwood trees at Riverfront Park
Wildlife camera footage shows a beaver munching on a tree in in Salem’s Riverfront Park in mid-March 2022 (Courtesy/City of Salem) Salem parks department staff removed two cottonwood trees in Riverfront Park after they sustained substantial damage from a hungry…
Salem dog shelter offering adoptions at reduced fees May 2-8
(Facebook/ BISSELL Pet Foundation) Marion County residents next month can adopt a dog for $25 or less as animal shelters in Oregon and across the U.S. face overcrowding. Adoption fees at Marion County Dog Services, the county-run dog shelter, will…
VOTE 2022: Q&A with city council candidate Linda Nishioka
Linda Nishioka, 2022 candidate for Salem City Council, Ward 2 (Campaign photo) On May 17, Salem voters will select four city councilors and the city’s next mayor. Council candidates are running in ward 2, 4, 6 and 8. Voters must…
Dozens of companies that defied Covid mandates are fighting nearly $1 million in fines
Courthouse Club Fitness owes the largest Covid-related fines to Oregon according to new data from the state’s workplace safety agency. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) Though most pandemic restrictions in Oregon are gone, several dozen businesses cited by state safety officials for…
Botaneity offers, wine, eggs in revitalized west Salem farmstand
Kayla Borgen prepares for the reopening of a farmstand on the old Lindbeck Farm property in West Salem. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) Kayla Borgen and Robert Lauer weren’t looking for a new home when they stumbled across a listing for the…
Cherriots lifting mask mandate following federal ruling
(Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Salem’s mass transit agency, Cherriots, is no longer requiring masks after a federal judge on Monday struck down a mask mandate on public transit and airplanes. “Effective immediately, masks are encouraged but are now optional,” said Patricia…