Category City News
Salem area officials worry bill to decriminalize homelessness will just lead to more litigation
Dogs stand outside of a camp at Cascades Gateway City Park on March 2, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Marion County officials say a bill making its way through the Legislature aimed at decriminalizing homelessness would create more legal headaches for local governments. House Bill 3115,…
Salem venues hopeful that new federal program will keep them afloat
The Elsinore Theatre, in downtown Salem on Monday, Nov. 23. Because of the pandemic, the theatre remains quiet. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Loretta Miles, the owner of Salem Cinema, had high hopes for a new program aimed at struggling venues like hers before it was even…
As Salem begins budget process, strategic plan will help guide priorities
For Courtney Knox Busch, the mark of a good strategic plan is that Salem residents can see their input and feel they have an impact on city operations. The city of Salem strategic initiatives manager was tasked with funneling hundreds of pieces of input on…
Salem needs more housing. But the building industry has its own problems
Pat Laverty works on a home build on Vine Maple Street Southeast on Thursday, April 8, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) At a construction site in south Salem, the work gets more expensive by the day. As the buzz of electric saws rings in the background,…
Salem climate survey finds differing priorities between task force, survey takers
Salem’s Climate Action Plan task force held its first workshop Wednesday, Nov. 17. Salem residents recently surveyed preferred community improvement strategies like repairing sidewalks and planting more trees over more aggressive measures to combat climate change. Their responses stand in contrast to priorities from a…
With the Great Junk Hunt, things start to return to normal at the Oregon State Fairgrounds
A sign for The Great Junk Hunt at the Oregon State Fairgrounds on Thursday, April 8, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Since the pandemic began, the Oregon State Fairgrounds has been used as a temporary hospital, Covid testing site, temporary shelter for homeless people…
COLUMN: Is a low wage a living wage in Marion County?
Downtown Salem’s usually busy streets were nearly empty during the lunch hour on March 17, 2020, the first day of a statewide restaurant closure (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Many burdens of the pandemic economy have fallen largely on the lowest-paid workers in the lowest-paying industries in…
Salem has large pockets of residents behind on utilities. New programs offer relief
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) Central and northeast Salem has more residents struggling to pay their…
With low inventory and high demand, Salem’s housing market tightens
Gladys Blum, Blum Real Estate principal broker, puts a ‘sale pending’ banner on a real estate sign on Wednesday, March 24. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) With his wife and two kids cooped up during the pandemic, Derrick McIntosh’s two-bedroom south Salem apartment had become a “walkway”…