Category Government
Mayor appeals for third bridge in annual address, reveals plans for resiliency task force
Lobby of Salem City Hall. (Salem Reporter files) Updated 3:30 p.m. with more information about a proposed hub of electric vehicle chargers and the consideration of more bond measures. Delivering the annual State of the City Address on Wednesday, Mayor Chuck Bennett visited a handful…
Winters sheds leadership role to focus on justice reform in Senate
State Sen. Jackie Winters, R-Salem, in her Capitol office on Jan. 3. (Portland Tribune/Jaime Valdez) When state Sen. Jackie Winters hears the word “felon,” she often thinks of her late husband, Marc “Ted” Winters. Her husband, who died in 2008, had a prestigious career in…
Opening day at Oregon Legislature is about ceremony, getting acquainted
State Rep. Cheri Helt is introduced by House page Ismael Diaz by Brian McKinley, the House sergeant-at-arms during the opening hours on Tuesday, Jan. 22, of the Oregon Legislature. (Portland Tribune/Paris Achen) As state Rep. Cheri Helt, a freshman Republican legislator from Bend, left the…
Salem looking to boost internet downtown
People walk in front of shops in downtown Salem in December. (Caleb Wolf/Special to Salem Reporter) The city of Salem is considering laying internet infrastructure in downtown to either lease out or manage like a utility. Since December, the city has been looking to hire…
Mayor calls on Marion County, Salem Health to help pay for proposed sobering center
Mayor Chuck Bennett in September at the ribbon cutting of the Career and Technical Education Center. Bennett on Friday called on Salem Health and Marion County to help the city pay for a sobering center to treat severely intoxicated people. (Salem Reporter files) A ballooning…
Oregon Supreme Court denies Salem appeal to withhold arrest records in sex abuse case
The lobby at Salem City Hall. (Salem Reporter files) Updated 4:46 p.m. Jan. 18 with comments from City Manager Steve Powers. After years of resisting, the city of Salem will have to disclose the arrest records of a local man convicted of sexually abusing a…
State transportation director Garrett to retire after 13 years
Oregon Department of Transportation Director Matt Garrett speaks at a distracted driving awareness event in 2017. (ODOT Flickr) SALEM —Matt Garrett, the longtime director of the state Transportation Department, announced Friday that he intends to retire by June. 30. During his 13-year tenure, Garrett oversaw…
Outreach and organization can help regular citizens have a voice in the Capitol
SALEM — When Oregon legislators convene on Tuesday, they could raise or lower your taxes, cut or boost government services and decide how much your landlord can hike the rent. Interest groups, from the pharmaceutical industry to labor unions, spend millions of dollars lobbying legislators…
Unions look to take advantage of Democratic leadership and strong economy in 2019
In November, educators and school children got a champion. The homeless got an advocate and environmentalists got a steward. But perhaps the people most happy with Gov. Kate Brown’s re-election reside in Oregon’s union shops. Brown has long been pro union. She has publicly supported…