Category Government
Former Salem city councilor faced ethics complaint for failing to disclose potential conflict of interest
Salem City Council Chambers. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) A former Salem city councilor was the subject of an ethics complaint after failing to disclose a potential conflict of interest during a Salem City Council meeting this summer. During a June meeting, the council denied awarding federal…
Marion County has spent more than $1 million on a hotel for Covid respite. Most of its rooms have sat empty
A sign directs patients at Salud Medical Center in Woodburn on Wednesday, April 29. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Marion County is spending $7,328 per day on a motel program for people who have tested positive or been exposed to Covid but have nowhere to isolate. There…
AGENDA: Salem Climate Action Plan task force holds first workshop Wednesday
Salem’s Climate Action Plan task force is holding its first workshop Wednesday, Nov. 17. Salem’s Climate Action Plan task force is meeting Wednesday morning for its first workshop to begin charting a 30-year course on how it will respond to climate change. The city is…
AGENDA: Salem City Council to discuss short-term goals for the city
Salem city council chambers on Wednesday, September 30. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The Salem City Council will discuss future goals for housing, growth and economic development at a work session Monday night that will guide the city for the next three to five years. The Salem…
Salem’s water plant ready to handle wildfire runoff, protect drinking water
Situated on an island in the middle of the North Santiam River near Stayton, the Geren Island Water Treatment Facility faces unprecedented challenges in providing clean water to Salem users. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) At 1 a.m. on Sept. 8, Tim Sherman, his wife, daughter, and…
After switching over half its bus fleet to renewable fuel, Cherriots eyes other ways to cut emissions
A Cherriots bus powered by renewable natural gas. (Courtesy/Cherriots) More than half of Cherriots buses now get their fuel from landfills. In December last year, the transit provider for the Salem area switched the fuel source for 34 buses from compressed natural gas to renewable…
City provides additional $1.2 million to find new shelter locations, add water to homeless camps
Salem installed portable bathrooms at Wallace Marine Park after closing the permanent restroom and shutting off the water to the drinking fountains because of concerns about virus spread. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) The Salem City Council on Monday approved $1.2 million in funding to go toward…
Salem leaders want civilians, not police, to respond to personal crises. They just have to find a way to pay for it
Brenton Gicker, left, prepares to pull CAHOOTS van toward a 911 call at Eugene Public Library on Nov. 10, 2019. SOURCE: (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Salem is a step closer to joining the growing number of communities across the country dealing with mental health emergencies with…
Cara Kaser steps off Salem City Council two months before end of term
Councilor Cara Kaser announced she planned to resign from city council on Nov. 2. (Courtesy/City of Salem) Councilor Cara Kaser, who represents Salem’s downtown ward and a portion of west Salem, has announced her intent to resign from the Salem City Council two months before…