Category Government
Salem City Council to see fresh faces as newcomers run for four seats, three vie for mayor
The Salem City Council will see a slew of new faces come 2023. No incumbent councilor filed for re-election, leaving four council positions open. The mayor’s post also is up for election. The last day for candidates to file was Tuesday. The change could shift…
Federal grant will help renovate new, free preschool in west Salem
Student desks at the preschool program for Salem-Keizer Coalition for Equality’s Preescolar Aprendiendo Avanzamos on Thursday, April 8, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) More families in west Salem will be able to access preschool starting this fall once Community Action Head Start moves into a new…
Oregon Legislature passes bill mandating overtime pay for farmworkers
Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, called the farmworker overtime bill a “good beginning.” (Ron Cooper/Oregon Capital Chronicle) Oregon is headed towards becoming the eighth state to mandate overtime pay for farmworkers. The pay bill passed its final legislative hurdle on Thursday and heads to Gov.…
Judge bars parole board from reconsidering sentences for youth offenders under governor’s plan
(Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) A Marion County Circuit Court judge Tuesday ordered the state’s parole board not to hold hearings to consider early release of dozens of Oregonians for crimes they committed as minors. The ruling is a setback for a plan Gov. Kate Brown announced…
PHOTOS: City of Salem clears out homeless camp at Marion Square Park
Derrick Hart organizes his possessions as he prepares to move them out of Marion Square Park during the eviction of a homeless encampment at the park on Thursday, Mar. 3, 2022. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Crews of city workers, police and public works staff were at…
Budget plan would aid low-income Oregonians and help with housing, child care, job training
Democrats have advanced a $1.4 billion budget that includes affordable housing, education, health care and other priorities. (Ron Cooper/Oregon Capital Chronicle) New state spending designed to improve the lives of Oregonians by helping thousands of homeless residents obtain shelter, providing access to clean water in…
Salem City Council denies proposed subdivision on historic farm citing concerns about tree removal
The proposed subdivision is on a 29-acre property at 4540 Pringle Rd. S.E. (Ardeshir Tabrizian/Salem Reporter) The Salem City Council denied an application by a developer to build 139 single family lots on the historic Meyer Farm in south Salem. In a 5-2 vote, the…
Farmworker overtime bill passes Oregon House
A farmworker in eastern Oregon (Yadira Lopez/Malheur Enterprise) The House passed a proposal Tuesday that would require overtime pay for farmworkers. House Bill 4002 would phase in time-and-a-half pay over five years while paying farmers tax credits over six years to cushion the cost of the…
City Council lays out what they’d like to see in Salem’s next city manager
Salem City Hall. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Salem’s city councilors would the city’s next manager to have experience with community engagement and be bilingual in Spanish, according to feedback given to a recruiter during a special city council meeting Tuesday. Councilors spent an hour discussing a candidate…