Category Government
Kaser won’t seek second term on Salem City Council
Yet another seat on Salem City Council will be wide open this year. Citing major changes with both her family and her career, Councilor Cara Kaser told Salem Reporter on Saturday morning she won’t seek a second term as one of the city’s nine policymakers.…
State Hospital puts up ‘no vacancy’ sign for civil commitments
Oregon State Hospital Salem Reporter/file The Oregon State Hospital is suspending all civil admissions until Dec. 27 to prioritize patients ordered by courts to receive competency restoration treatment. The halt on civil commitments was announced in a letter Monday, Dec. 16, to the hospital’s statewide…
New plan to clamp Oregon’s industrial emissions spares rural areas
SALEM — The environmental plan that launched a thousand logging trucks is getting a makeover in the Oregon Senate. Private negotiations among state senators have led to a new legislative concept. It’s the skeleton of what could be a new system to gradually clamp down…
Across Oregon, legislators are leaving to pursue new careers or escape Capitol ‘rancor’
SALEM — Legislators who have played key roles in Oregon public policy in recent years are heading for the exit. Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, might author another book. Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson, D-Gresham, is yearning for some “alone time.” Sen. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, is aiming…
Oregon lawmakers share wishlists for 2020 short session
Oregon State Capitol (Caleb Wolf/Special to Salem Reporter) SALEM — While many Democrats are eager to tackle big-ticket issues like climate change in the approaching legislative session, legislators also have other ideas they want to push. During short sessions, which take place every even-numbered year…
Salem leaders decide to shelter homeless instead of setting up public camping
People sleep on mats at a warming shelter at First Presbyterian Church during a cold snap earlier this year. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Tasked with finding a place for homeless residents to legally camp, Salem’s elected leaders on Monday night decided instead to take them indoors.…
Federal watchdog finds shortcomings in DHS treatment of parents with disabilities
The state Department of Human Services (Courtesy/State of Oregon) SALEM — A federal civil rights watchdog has found “systemic deficiencies” in the state’s treatment of parents with disabilities. The Oregon Department of Human Services has agreed to comply with federal laws that protect people with…
Salem bans open camping and now seeks a place to host it
Tents line the boulevard next to The ARCHES Project in downtown, where homeless residents have congregated in recent weeks. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Tents and other dwellings will soon have to disappear from sidewalks and boulevards after the Salem City Council on Monday night banned camping…
Thousands of Oregon workers now saving for retirement under new program
A salon in Portland, a brewery in Astoria and an industrial fabric manufacturer from Eugene now have employees with retirement programs. They are among the 459 small businesses that recently enrolled in Oregon’s state-run retirement program, OregonSaves. That represents the second phase of a program…