Peace Plaza, between Salem City Hall and the Salem Public Library, is among the city sites under consideration for a new micro shelter camp. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) About a dozen people gathered for a forum at Broadway Commons Thursday night to learn more about a few proposed micro shelter locations[Read More…]

Tent sites at Wallace Marine Park on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Homeless people could soon be a protected class in Salem under city law. The proposed change would prohibit employers, landlords and businesses from denying service or discriminating against people solely because they don’t have housing. It[Read More…]

The proposed subdivision is on a 29-acre property at 4540 Pringle Rd. S.E. (Ardeshir Tabrizian/Salem Reporter) A proposed subdivision on a historic farm in south Salem has drawn stiff opposition from community members concerned about the degradation of open space in a largely built-out neighborhood. The Salem City Council on[Read More…]

Salem City Councilor Chris Hoy. (Courtesy/ Chris Hoy) Chris Hoy, a Salem city councilor and recently appointed representative of House District 21, is running for mayor. Hoy, 56, announced his candidacy Tuesday morning on community radio show “Willamette Wake Up.” When reached Tuesday, Hoy said he chose to run because[Read More…]

Quail chicks. (Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons) Salem residents could soon keep quail and similar birds, be limited in the size of trees they can cut down and see more duplexes and triplexes in their neighborhoods once the Salem City Council passes a slate of amendments to the city’s Unified Development Code. The[Read More…]

The Oregon State Capitol. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) Salem is one of 14 Oregon cities slated to receive $1 million for housing and homeless services following the state Legislature’s Monday special session, but city officials say it could take months for money to get out the door. Funding would first go[Read More…]

The site of the future Salem Public Works building. Construction is set to start in January on the $39 million project. (Courtesy/ City of Salem) A fence will go up next week at 1457 23rd St. as construction is slated to begin in January on a new $39 million Salem[Read More…]

The Oregon State Capitol. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) Salem city councilors hope the legislature will come through with millions to bridge a shortfall to construct a navigation center that would help homeless people move into housing. The Oregon Legislature in May allocated $5 million to fund two years of the center’s[Read More…]

A natural gas meter outside a Salem home (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) The natural gas utility that serves nearly 40,000 Salem customers is opposed to an objective in Salem’s proposed Climate Action Plan that aims to ban new natural gas hookups in the city. The final draft of the plan completed[Read More…]

Trees cut down on a property in south Salem that led to an investigation by the city of Salem. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) A field of cut down trees on a property in south Salem triggered a review by the city of Salem that could lead to fines. Trevor Smith, Salem[Read More…]