Category City News
Salem library starts pilot curbside pickup program for holds placed during pandemic
Shelves at the Salem Public Library’s Broadway Street location on Feb. 18. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) Salem bookworms running out of reading material are in luck. The Salem Public Library, which has been closed since March 16, is now offering curbside pickup by appointment for holds…
Oregon advocacy group condemns city’s emergency loitering prohibition, saying it had the practical effect of “sit lie”
A homeless person sets up a tarp along a downtown street in March, 2020. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) Legal advocacy group Disability Rights Oregon wrote a letter to the Salem City Council and Mayor Chuck Bennett Tuesday, arguing that the city is using the coronavirus pandemic…
Running for city councilor has gotten costly for one ward as partisan divide shapes a local race
Salem city hall (Salem Reporter) In the race to represent Salem through unpaid, nonpartisan city council positions, one campaign this year stands out for the heavy campaign spending, unusual for such local races. Reid Sund, finance director for Salem Health, has collected $46,846 from his…
Former city employee claims in suit he was forced to quit over hearing loss
Salem city hall (Salem Reporter) A Marion County man is suing the city of Salem, claiming he was forced to resign for having a disability. Ronald McHenry, who worked as a communications specialist for the Salem Police Department, said he started losing his hearing and…
Salem adopts sit-lie ban a week after emergency declaration cleared downtown streets of homeless people
After its third attempt in as many years, the Salem City Council on Monday banned sitting or lying on city sidewalks during the day, effective once certain provisions are met. The ban comes on the heels of an emergency declaration on March 17 that prohibited…
Salem declares state of emergency, bans loitering on sidewalks and allows city camping
The Salem City Council declared a state of emergency on March 17, a move that will prohibit people from loitering on public property. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) NOTE: Salem Reporter is providing free access to its content related to the coronavirus as a community service. Subscriptions starting at…
City to erect 7,000-square foot covering in Marion Square Park after sit-lie ban goes into effect
The boulevard pictured along Commercial Street Northeast where tents had been staked in December.(Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Salem city councilors on Monday voted to erect a canopy and install portable restrooms in Marion Square Park as a ban on sitting or lying on sidewalks during the…
Salem employee sues the city for racist workplace harassment
A Salem city employee who claims he endured harassment from his supervisor because of his race has sued in U.S. District Court. Jose Botello, a former fleet maintenance technician who is Latino, claims in the lawsuit that his supervisor, Michael Gandolfi, told him in September…
Salem councilor tries to find middle ground in sit-lie but some service providers are dubious
An idea to bridge the divide between protecting an area that the city has spent millions investing in and humanely treating the homeless in Salem may have come in the throes of an illness. Councilor Cara Kaser got sick after the Salem City Council’s Feb.…