Category City News
CITY MEETING: Councilors to consider $1.5 million from infrastructure bond for civic center electrical upgrades
Salem City Councilors will vote on whether to approve $1.5 million to upgrade the electrical system in the Salem Civic Center. The upgrades would be paid for using unassigned resources from the $300 million Salem Safety and Livability Bond approved by voters in 2022. They’ll also hear an update on the new social services fund for supporting vulnerable community members.
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Salem city races are expensive. Here’s who’s writing the checks.
Nearly one-third of Mayor Julie Hoy’s reelection campaign donations come from real estate or development firms and their political action committees, a Salem Reporter analysis of campaign finance found.
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Proposed VA cemetery development near Salem draws pushback from politicians, neighbors
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs officials touched down in Salem Thursday, April 30, to host two meetings about their proposal to establish a new cemetery 10 miles southeast of downtown.
At 7, she helped save Salem’s library. She’s just getting started
Salem third-grader Zoey Harper’s public speaking skills were instrumental to the effort to pass a tax measure that prevented deep library cuts in 2025. Now, she’s hosted a candidate forum and posed questions to elected officials. She has no plans of slowing down.
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Regence asks state to ax proposed Salem Health-Santiam merger
People insured through Regence BlueCross BlueShield have been without in-network access to the city's biggest hospital since late 2024. Now, the insurer is opposing the proposed merger between Salem Health and Santiam Hospital & Clinics, claiming the deal could further decrease healthcare access, competition and affordability in the region.
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Keizer council calls for police fee hikes in July, January
Keizer homeowners would pay $10.62 a month to fund the city's police department under a plan unanimously supported by city councilors.
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PHOTOS: Salem’s largest food bank envisions its future in bigger warehouse
The Marion Polk Food Share is planning for a future in a new warehouse three times the size of its current facility. Here’s a look inside the new building.
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Xicha Brewing says Oregon GOP candidate scheduled campaign event without permission
Rep. Ed Diehl, a Scio Republican vying for his party’s gubernatorial nomination in the primary, was advertising a separate Cinco de Mayo-themed campaign event at Xicha Brewing alongside Dan Farrington, a Republican running to represent Oregon’s 17th House District. The event has been moved to a nearby location.
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Salem saw “substantive” job growth in 2025 amid statewide downturn, experts say
Salem saw increased job growth in transportation, healthcare, government, finance and manufacturing in 2025 as other major Oregon cities saw a decline.
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