Category City News
Marion County among the highest in the state for back rent, new analysis shows
Patience and social distancing are two requirements for cashing in bottles and cans at Salem’s BottleDrop centers. Customers cash in at the center on Northeast Commercial Street on Friday, May 1. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Marion County has the fifth-highest amount of past-due rent of any…
Salem zoning changes would allow more multifamily housing along major arterials
Matt and Lisa Caswell, of Salem, take advantage of the nice weather to get out of the house and ride their bikes over the Union Street Railroad Bridge on Thursday, April 9. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Salem leaders want residents to walk, bike or take the…
On-street dining will become permanent in downtown under new program
The Kitchen on Court Street installed a platform for outdoor dining ahead of a city program that will start in September. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) When grabbing a bite to eat in downtown Salem, you may have noticed tables in spaces where there were once cars.…
SALEM ECONOMIC INDEX: Salem sees housing market reach new highs and signs that hiring is picking up
A home is seen under construction on Vine Maple Drive Southeast above a row of completed homes on Thursday, April 8, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The housing market in Salem and Keizer remains hot. Fewer people in the Salem area are receiving unemployment benefits, more…
‘Cottage cluster’ housing for low-income Salem seniors moves forward after city agrees to land sale
A rendering of a planned cottage cluster on Market Street to serve low-income seniors. (Courtesy/ United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley) A planned tiny home project that expects to offer low-income seniors affordable rent cleared a big hurdle Monday night when the Salem City Council voted…
Oregon’s economy expected to come roaring back from pandemic-induced recession
A ‘Now Hiring’ sign in front of the Boon’s Treasury McMenamin’s location on Monday, April 26. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) With “no real signs of permanent damage or economic scarring” from the pandemic, Oregonians’ incomes are expected to grow and the labor market is expected to…
Salem Reporter earns top journalism honors for fire coverage
The Oak Park Motel sign in Gates on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. The iconic photo was part of an award-winning photo essay by Amanda Loman of Salem Reporter. Reporting on the wildfires that struck the Santiam Canyon last fall earned Salem Reporter top journalism honors…
Employment Department will bring back job-seeking requirements for laid-off Oregonians
Oregon Employment Department. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) In another sign the pandemic is waning, the Oregon Employment Department announced a shift in requirements for people receiving unemployment benefits: they’ll have to start actively looking for work. David Gerstenfeld, the department’s acting director, made the announcement on…
Internal investigation: Keizer city manager told others he was breaking policy on firearms
Former Keizer city manager Chris Eppley (Keizertimes photo) An internal investigation report into the discharge of a firearm by the former city manager found that Chris Eppley had carried loaded and unloaded firearms into the Keizer Civic Center on numerous occasions prior to discharging one…