Category Government
Former Salem Housing Authority staffer slams “very toxic” environment in resignation
A former grant writer at Salem Housing Authority called out the agency in her resignation letter, calling it “very toxic,” at a time when the agency’s flagship homeless assistance program is in flux. Pamala Garrick wrote that the agency hired “unqualified” managers and that her…
First-ever public records survey shows mixed bag for Oregon government transparency practices
A first-ever survey of Oregon public bodies sheds light on how well government of all sizes complies with public records law. The results are a mixed bag, said Ginger McCall, the state’s public records advocate. The survey was sent to 132 bodies, a mix of…
Gov. Brown backs off veto after Newport community and officials go to bat for dam project
SALEM — Newport Mayor Dean Sawyer was driving back from a conference of mayors in Medford when he got the call. Rep. David Gomberg, D-Central Coast, had bad news. The governor wanted to veto $4 million in state money to help replace two critical dams…
DHS pays out $1.1 million settlement in Keizer child death
The Oregon Department of Human Services has agreed to a $1.1 million settlement to avoid litigation over its alleged lack of action in preventing the death of a 12-year-old Keizer boy. On the evening of Jan. 13, 2017, Caden Berry had bathed and was watching…
Sorrow, frustration for Oregon’s Latinx community in wake of El Paso shooting
SALEM — Latinx advocates, politicians and community members in Oregon expressed sorrow, frustration and worry this week after a shooter who told police he was targeting “Mexicans” killed 22 at a Walmart in south Texas. “The feeling is definitely really heavy in my house,” said…
Rep. Mike Nearman to head Oregon Freedom Foundation
Rep. Mike Nearman. (Courtesy of the Freedom Foundation) State Rep. Mike Nearman — one of the Legislature’s most conservative members — is the new state director of the anti-union group Freedom Foundation. The Republican from Independence started last week and was a natural fit, said…
New report links Oregon’s female prisoners to high levels of trauma throughout their lives
A screenshot of the report shows some results from the second survey, interviewing 66 female prisoners at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. (Oregon Justice Resource Center) Women incarcerated at Oregon’s Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville by an overwhelming number have been abused throughout their lives…
Weekend shootings spur gun control debate in Oregon
SALEM — Stalled gun reforms in Oregon aren’t likely to move ahead until next year despite a resurgent national debate following the shooting deaths over the weekend of 31 people in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. One of the Oregon Legislature’s leading advocates of…
Rep. Barker will call it quits after 18 years in Oregon House
Rep. Jeff Barker in 2017. (Jaime Valdez/Pamplin Media Group) Rep. Jeff Barker will call it quits after almost two decades in the Oregon House from a district centered on Aloha. Barker, now 76, was elected as a Democrat in 2002 after a 31-year career in…