Category City Hall
Should Salem reallocate some of the police budget? Here’s what local citizens are saying
Salem City Council Chambers. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Hundreds of comments have poured into Salem city councilor’s inboxes ahead of Monday’s city council meeting where it will vote on the 2020-21 budget, including the Salem Police Department. All told, more than 290 people wrote to council…
AGENDA: Salem City Council will vote on budget Monday
Salem City Hall. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The Salem City Council will consider adopting a $752 million budget at its Monday, June 22 meeting. The council has received hundreds of pages of comments from citizens about police funding as conversations emerge nationwide over reallocating some money…
To increase seating capacity Salem will close a portion of State Street to allow for outdoor dining
A couple sits outside of Ritter’s Housemade Foods during the first phase of Salem’s reopening on Friday, May 22. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) One Salem street may resemble something closer to a European café Saturday when the city launches a pilot program intended to expand restaurants’…
Nearly 100 apply as the city extends aid to Salem businesses left out of relief efforts
Cindy Gerkman prunes geranium planters outside of Ritter’s Housemade Foods on May 12, 2020. Ritter’s Housemade Foods reopened for business on Friday for take-out and delivery after being temporarily closed. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Small Salem businesses left out by other programs intended to provide help…
Salem businesses in need have a new place to turn – City Hall
A sign in the window of Coin Jam on March 17, 2020 announcing a closure during the COVID-19 pandemic (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Salem businesses that could use a cash infusion and haven’t received other pandemic financial aid can apply for thousands of dollars in city…
Councilors call for review of Salem police protest actions and bias training
Salem City Hall. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The Salem City Council wants a to review of a widely circulated video in which a Salem police officer was recorded last week helping a group of armed people outside a downtown salon avoid running afoul of a city-imposed…
City to make nearly $400,000 available to small businesses in Salem
A view of Liberty Street in downtown Salem on Thursday, April 2. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Hoping to lend a hand to struggling businesses that have been unable to get federal funding to help pay for payroll or rent, Salem has allocated money to help around…
Oregon advocacy group condemns city’s emergency loitering prohibition, saying it had the practical effect of “sit lie”
A homeless person sets up a tarp along a downtown street in March, 2020. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) Legal advocacy group Disability Rights Oregon wrote a letter to the Salem City Council and Mayor Chuck Bennett Tuesday, arguing that the city is using the coronavirus pandemic…
Running for city councilor has gotten costly for one ward as partisan divide shapes a local race
Salem city hall (Salem Reporter) In the race to represent Salem through unpaid, nonpartisan city council positions, one campaign this year stands out for the heavy campaign spending, unusual for such local races. Reid Sund, finance director for Salem Health, has collected $46,846 from his…