Category Government
Where the government’s unwanted stuff finds a second life
Darren Kennedy, senior analyst with the State Surplus Property program, holds a sign that once directed drivers to the state Capitol. (Jake Thomas/Salem Reporter) When the military has extra combat boots, when buses from the local transit district reach a half million miles and when…
Oregon’s third largest party is asking unaffiliated voters to help pick its candidates
As the number of Oregon voters unaffiliated with a political party rises, so has the number of voters locked out a key part of the electoral process. Oregon’s third-largest political party sees an opportunity in that. The Independent Party of Oregon, the state’s largest third…
Oregon court rule draws the attention of the Trump administration
U.S. Attorney General William Barr (Wikimedia Commons photo) Oregon’s new court rule intended to curb immigration arrests in state courthouses has drawn the attention of two of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet officials and set up a potential legal conflict. As part of the Trump administration’s…
Salem City Council approves sidewalk conduct ordinance without sit-lie aspect
Tents line the boulevard next to The ARCHES Project in downtown, where homeless residents have congregated in recent weeks. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Salem City Council approved a new city law Monday night that will regulate certain behaviors on sidewalks, but it won’t include perhaps its…
Oregon moves to hire hundreds of child welfare workers as consultants wrap up review
SALEM — By Christmas, crisis consultants brought on to improve Oregon’s struggling foster care system are expected to wrap up their $1 million contract. In April, Gov. Kate Brown asked a crew of consultants from the firm Alvarez and Marsal — perhaps best known for…
Indigent defendants to get improved legal help under Oregon changes
(Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons) Public defenders in Oregon may have more time to represent clients as a state agency overhauls how it pays for the constitutionally required legal help. The way Oregon provides legal counsel for people accused of crimes but who can’t afford a lawyer has…
Twenty-one arrested after hours-long sit-in of Gov. Kate Brown’s office
Thomas Joseph (right) a protester against the Jordon Cove Pipeline talks on speaker phone with Gov. Kate Brown. The governor’s chief of staff, Nick Blosser, listens in. (Jake Thomas/Salem Reporter) UPDATE 11:39 a.m.: Names of arrested released. SALEM – State police ended a protest and…
Protesters stage sit-in at Gov. Brown’s office against proposed southern Oregon pipeline
Opponents to the Jordan Cove pipeline held a sit-in at Gov. Kate Brown’s office Thursday. (Sam Stites/Oregon Capital Bureau) SALEM — Protesters upset over a gas pipeline slated to cut across southern Oregon filled Gov. Kate Brown’s ceremonial office Thursday, vowing to stay until the…
Lawsuit emerges over state workers in Dallas alleged to have had sex in front of foster child
The state Department of Human Services (Courtesy/State of Oregon) A 15-year-old foster child who awoke to find two state workers having sex near him sued state officials in federal court Tuesday, claiming he had been repeatedly neglected while under state care. The victim, identified in…