End-of-session bills doling out state money for projects around Oregon include major building projects and operating money for several Salem institutions.
City News
Eugene man sentenced in 2021 Salem murder-for-hire with teen shooter
The teen charged with shooting two people, one fatally, in a fake drug deal outside a northeast Salem elementary school is scheduled to change his not guilty plea on July 6.
Salem to pay $25,000 settlement in lawsuit over excessive force at 2021 protest
City officials reached a settlement with Clifford Eiffler-Rodriguez three months after he sued the city, alleging police officers shot him at close range with pepper balls and “less than lethal” launchers.
UPDATE: Salem City Council advances 2023-24 budget, approves operations fee increase
The Salem City Council met Monday, June 12, to advance its 2023-24 budget and hear public testimony on the subject. Councilors also approved an increase to the city operations fee, effective July 1.
City council considering payroll tax without voter approval
Salem city councilors on June 12 will review a draft ordinance that would tax Salem workers an average of $42 a month to sustain and expand police, emergency response and homeless services. Councilors would vote at a later date after a public hearing.
End of sit-lie ban will bring little change to camping, city officials say
Salem leaders say a rule against sitting or lying on sidewalks during the day was never enforced because the city needed to first expand daytime shelter. Officials and service providers expect to see little change to public camping with the ban now lifted.
City kept in close touch with DEA following fatal cyclist collision, records show
Salem officials refuse to explain why they tried to keep secret records about a March fatal collision after Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson found the documents contained nothing that would harm an investigation.
Fire chief seeks payroll tax to fund 14 firefighters, cut response times
Last year, around a third of Salemites who called 911 had to wait more than five and a half
minutes for help to come. The Salem Fire Department, facing an increasing number of calls, hopes to add staff to improve response times.
Salem’s carousel to be renamed for founder Hazel Patton at Saturday ceremony
When Riverfront Carousel opened in 2001, Hazel Patton didn’t want her name on the building because she thought the structure should belong to the community. Now, as she nears her 90th birthday, her friends got her to reconsider.
YOUR GOVERNMENT: Cherriots looks to restart Shop-and-Ride service
The board of the Salem Area Mass Transit District meets Thursday, May 25, to consider applying to a federal grant to support its accessible shop-and-ride service, which takes people with disabilities to Fred Meyer and Walmart.