Category Government
Salem Elks Lodge wants the city’s help paying for a fence following camping in Cascades
Motor homes and trailers parked at the Salem Elks Lodge #336 RV park on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Blake Whitson has seen members at the Salem Elks Lodge #336 get threatened and screamed at since the city began allowing people experiencing homelessness…
Oregon legislators begin 2022 session with optimistic speeches, mask protests
Speaker Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, presides over the House during the opening day of the Legislature on Feb. 1, 2022. (Ron Cooper/Oregon Capital Chronicle) The Oregon Legislature started its 2022 session on Tuesday with optimistic speeches about bipartisanship and warning shots over a farmworker overtime proposal…
A quiet force working behind the scenes, Steve Powers heads for retirement
City Manager Steve Powers. (Courtesy/ Tami Carpenter) Steve Powers sees himself as an orchestra conductor, guiding the flow of Salem’s work while keeping the spotlight on the music, not himself. It’s an apt metaphor for a city manager who’s often quiet at council meetings, preferring…
Local climate group says city is “slow walking” approval of Climate Action Plan
Solar panels on the Library roof will be generating energy in the renovated building. (Courtesy/City of Salem) An effort from city leaders to implement Salem’s Climate Action Plan in phases is causing consternation from climate activists on and off the Salem City Council. Dozens of…
What Salem’s legislators want from the 2022 session
Oregon Capitol Rotunda (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) Salem, you may have some new faces representing you in the state legislature this year. With several retirements and resignations over the past year, and the expulsion of Rep. Mike Nearman, Marion and Polk counties have three newly appointed…
PHOTOS: How Oregon representatives decorate their desks
A desk in the Oregon House of Representatives ahead of the 2022 Legislative session (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) A flying pig, a gnome, baby Yoda, and a large bottle of pain medication are among the items found on desks in the Oregon House of Representatives. The sixty…
Brown, Democrats outline big spending plans as GOP calls for limited action in short session
The Oregon Senate chambers (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Oregonians would be better trained for jobs, have help buying a home and have wider access to child care under legislative priorities outlined Tuesday by Gov. Kate Brown and top leaders in the Oregon Legislature. Brown’s priorities, which…
Salem, Grand Ronde seek delay as feds weigh moving Siletz casino forward
A rendering of the proposed Siletz casino in Salem near I-5. Officials with the city of Salem and Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde want more time to review plans for a proposed tribal casino in north Salem as the Siletz tribe seeks federal approval for…
Casey Kulla drops out of governor’s race to run for labor commissioner
Casey Kulla, a Yamhill County farmer, dropped his gubernatorial bid on Wednesday to run for labor commissioner. (Casey Kulla photo) Casey Kulla decided to run for governor of Oregon a year ago, motivated by the Jan. 6 insurrection against the U.S. Capitol. He believed that…