Troy Brynelson - Salem Reporter
New York firm appears to be reviving shuttered Salem solar panel plant
An excavator drops dirt into a truck at Panasonic Corp.’s former solar panel plant in east Salem on Aug. 29. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Construction workers have been busy at a closed solar panel factory in east Salem, but mystery shrouds…
Retirees snatching up new senior care homes as industry continues to boom
Construction crews work on one of the 17 new duplexes being built at Capital Manor on Aug. 6. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) At Capital Manor Retirement Community, an institution almost as old as its youngest residents, new life clambers together on…
Plastic bag ban starts impacting small Salem retailers Sept. 1
People shop in downtown Salem in the winter. (Caleb Wolf/Special to Salem Reporter) Plastic bags that already disappeared from checkout stands at big grocers and other large retailers in Salem will soon be gone from small shops, too. Starting Sept.…
Snowballing-out-of-control’: How the price rose by millions on Salem police headquarters
Deputy Police Chief Steve Bellshaw, right, leads a tour of Salem Police Department’s future headquarters on Aug. 2, 2019. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Ricardo Becerril looks at cabinets not as new police storage but pieces to a $58 million puzzle he’s…
Former Salem Housing Authority staffer slams “very toxic” environment in resignation
A former grant writer at Salem Housing Authority called out the agency in her resignation letter, calling it “very toxic,” at a time when the agency’s flagship homeless assistance program is in flux. Pamala Garrick wrote that the agency hired…
AGENDA: Marion County to consider renewing funding for mobile crisis services
Marion County commissioners on Wednesday will consider renewing its funding for a program that sends mental health professionals right to people in the middle of a crisis. Since 2014, a mental health professional has paired with a Sheriff’s Office deputy…
Emails hacked at regional mental health administrator
Hackers recently gained access to the email systems at the Mid-Valley Behavioral Care Network, officials told Salem Reporter on Tuesday. The organization manages mental health benefits for people on the Oregon Health Plan in Marion and Polk counties, and officials…
Salem On Ice won’t return after difficult second year
Skaters at Salem On Ice pictured in December 2018. An organizer said the rink saw a 20 percent drop in skaters, prompting a cancellation of year three. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter files) Salem on Ice is, well, on ice. Organizers of…
Salem police investigating gunfire Monday morning after two weekend fatal shootings
Police are investigating reports of gunfire in northeast Salem early Monday morning, the third reported shooting in the city in the last 48 hours. The latest shooting occurred around 1 a.m. in the 1500 block of Evergreen Avenue Northeast, according…
Cops, officials preview new Salem police HQ as construction hits turning point
Salem’s Deputy Chief Steve Bellshaw, right, leads a tour of officers through the site. The building is slated to open September 2020, officials said. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Three Salem Police Department officers stood at the foot of a hulking, concrete…