Category City News
Salem to examine police department interactions, best practices through audit
Salem City Council Chambers. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The Salem City Council unanimously voted to go ahead with an outside performance audit of the Salem Police Department to examine the agency’s policies and training as conversations about the role of policing continue to unfold nationwide. The…
Why Salem City Council nixed an affordable housing development over an office space
DevNW is hoping to turn Evergreen Church into 14 units of affordable housing but faces another hurdle after Salem City Council denied it funding. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) A developer seeking to build 14 units of affordable housing faced a set back after the Salem City…
COLUMN: Unemployment rate dips slightly, but low-wage workers continue to be hardest hit
A graph showing the percentage of total U.S. employment in goods producing and service producing industries from 1950 to 2018. (Courtesy/ Oregon Employment Department) The good news for Salem’s economy is that the unemployment rate has come down from 13.2 percent in April to 12.7…
Salem starts construction on future amphitheater site
A rendering of the Gerry Frank Salem Rotary Amphitheater, slated to be built at Riverfront Park. (Courtesy of the Rotary Club of Salem) The city of Salem on Monday started construction on the groundwork for the Gerry Frank Salem Rotary Amphitheater in Riverfront Park that’ll…
To acknowledge the civil rights movement locally, city councilor pushes for MLK Avenue
City Councilor Chris Hoy is pushing for Center Street to be renamed Martin Luther King Avenue. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Jonathan Jones has wanted a recognition of the civil rights movement in Salem for some time but felt that the current moment was the right time…
Minimum wage workers will soon see extra on their paychecks
A map of the minimum wage increases across Oregon starting July 1. (Courtesy/Oregon Employment Department) Low-wage workers in Marion and Polk counties will get a 75-cent raise starting next week when the state’s minimum wage increases for the fourth time since 2016. Workers will now…
Salem’s budget by the numbers: here’s what the city is doing with taxpayer money
Salem City Council Chambers. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The Salem City Council on Monday passed a $748 million budget as the city faces an economic crisis and communities across the country are demanding significant changes to police funding and practices. Hundreds of citizens sent emails to…
Should Salem reallocate some of the police budget? Here’s what local citizens are saying
Salem City Council Chambers. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Hundreds of comments have poured into Salem city councilor’s inboxes ahead of Monday’s city council meeting where it will vote on the 2020-21 budget, including the Salem Police Department. All told, more than 290 people wrote to council…
AGENDA: Salem City Council will vote on budget Monday
Salem City Hall. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The Salem City Council will consider adopting a $752 million budget at its Monday, June 22 meeting. The council has received hundreds of pages of comments from citizens about police funding as conversations emerge nationwide over reallocating some money…