Category City News
Salem City Council approves sidewalk conduct ordinance without sit-lie aspect
Tents line the boulevard next to The ARCHES Project in downtown, where homeless residents have congregated in recent weeks. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Salem City Council approved a new city law Monday night that will regulate certain behaviors on sidewalks, but it won’t include perhaps its…
Salem leaders meet to talk homelessness, consider steps to take
Left-to-right: Mayor Chuck Bennett, business owner Jim Davis and Salem City Councilor Chris Hoy listen as school board member and Keizer Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Danielle Bethell talks during small groups at the Thursday meeting. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Meetings aren’t the same as taking…
Salem’s economy takes a jolt as 1,000 jobs disappear with NORPAC collapse
A NORPAC-branded truck transports frozen vegetables in Oregon. (Courtesy/Oregon Department of Agriculture) The impending closure of a century-old food processing company will have wide impacts on Salem’s economy as nearly 1,000 workers seek new jobs over the holidays and Willamette Valley farmers scramble for a…
Garbage rates in Salem could go up again
A truck from Suburban Garbage Services approaches cans on Southeast 45th Avenue in November 2018. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Your garbage bill may go up again in January, thanks in part to that still-strained recycling market. On either side of the Willamette River, a Salem resident…
New city law drafted to clear downtown streets of homeless
Robert Stone, a native of Cheyenne, Wyo., sits outside near a coffee shop in downtown Salem. The homeless Salem resident said he would “probably” be impacted by a proposed ban on sitting or lying down on public rights of way. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Salem city…
Citizens question legality of Salem council’s appointment
Salem city hall (Salem Reporter) Update 4:55 p.m.: Salem City Council will reopen the vote between Reid Sund and Vanessa Nordyke at its upcoming meeting, Oct. 28. City Manager Steve Powers released the following statement to Salem Reporter: “In reviewing the appointment process from Monday,…
Nordyke appointed to Salem City Council
Vanessa Nordyke, left, was appointed to Salem City Council on Monday night over Reid Sund, right. (Courtesy/Vanessa Nordyke, Reid Sund) Vanessa Nordyke will be the next representative of Salem’s southwest neighborhoods on Salem City Council. And she announced her plans to run for the seat…
Salem City Council finalists share thoughts on homelessness, third bridge, city budget
Vanessa Nordyke, left, and Reid Sund will interview with Salem City Council on Monday night to take the open seat. They responded to a short survey from Salem Reporter. Who will represent southwest neighborhoods on Salem City Council? It could be a state lawyer or…
Heitsch withdraws candidacy for Salem City Council
Bonnie Heitsch, 62, withdrew her candidacy Sunday for the open seat on Salem City Council. (Courtesy/Bonnie Heitsch) The pool of candidates for the open seat on Salem City Council is now down to two. Oregon Department of Justice lawyer Bonnie Heitsch dropped out Sunday, saying…