Category Government
Tension increases as vaccine bill passes another hurdle
Opponents raise and flutter their hands to silently show alliance with witnesses testifying on House Bill 3063, which would end nonmedical exemptions to vaccines. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter) It doesn’t raise taxes, regulate industry or control guns, but in some ways a proposal to remove nonmedical…
Rosenblum gets early win in first try as lead in a lawsuit against Trump
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum. (Pamplin Media Group file photo) PORTLAND – PORTLAND – Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum got a resounding win Tuesday as a federal court judge ruled in her favor by deciding to enjoin a rule change being imposed by the Trump Administration.…
Salem library review to return to Salem City Council this summer
A library-goer checks out a book at Salem Public Library. (Caleb Wolf/Special to Salem Reporter) A dispute over Salem Public Library’s review of some of its books, which some feared would lead to a purge, could be resolved this summer. Salem City Council on Monday…
Law changes seen as tool to boost affordable housing across Oregon
SALEM — It’s getting harder to find a place to live in Oregon, and state lawmakers are making a bipartisan effort to address what some call a housing crisis. New housing construction isn’t keeping pace with population growth in Oregon, according to state economists. The…
Youth come out to support cap and trade on Earth Day
Gov. Kate Brown riles up the crowd in support of the cap and trade bill. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter) SALEM – About two dozen kids came to the Capitol on Monday to celebrate Earth Day and lobby lawmakers to pass a major environmental legislation pending at…
Days after budget cuts proposed, Salem records fight could cost $120,000
As the city of Salem looks to wrangle its unwieldy general fund — which pays for parks, police, firefighters and other services — the Salem City Council on Monday will consider a new expense. Councilors are being asked to earmark $120,000 to pay the attorney…
Boarded in the ER: Oregon’s mental health crisis
NOTE: Published in a cooperative arrangement with The Lund Report. On a typical day, doctors rush through Kaiser’s emergency department toward sounding alarms, and ambulances whisk in people suffering heart attacks, strokes or severe pain. Medical technicians and nurses attend to patients as worried families…
City manager proposes cuts to homeless aid, youth programs to help general fund
Kids and homeless people would lose Salem city help under budget cuts disclosed Friday. City Manager Steve Powers proposed a budget for the next fiscal year, aiming to head-off forecasts that say Salem’s general fund – which pays for parks, police, firefighters and more –…
Kate Brown promises substantial change to child welfare system
Gov. Kate Brown is taking another whack at reforming Oregon’s beleaguered foster care system. Brown announced Thursday, April 18, that she was creating a special board to oversee child welfare issues and ensure that reforms are enacted. The move came two days after advocates filed…