Our roundup of Salem news you might have missed
Good morning…
For your team at Salem Reporter, the news about us last week was exciting.
Our managing editor, Rachel Alexander, was among two dozen journalists from around the world selected for an intense training program.
Don’t worry. Rachel’s not going anywhere.
Her participation in the Emerging Leadership Program is virtual.
This is a big commitment for Rachel and for our team. She disappears online for two hours each week for specialized training. She’ll have a major project to complete in the next six months.
That means good things for you and other readers.
Rachel is getting access to some of the best thinking there is about the future of digital news. She will learn skills that help us do more, better, and get even stronger.
Her selection is a professional star for us. Her devotion to our brand of journalism – fair, accurate and tough reporting – and her commitment to Salem were factors in her selection.
All of us at Salem Reporter are proud of Rachel, and we hope you are too.
The work she and the rest of the team does depends on one reality: Subscribers. We exist only because Salem people trust us and want local news. If you haven’t made the move to subscribe, why not do so today? It’s easy, secure and so important for Salem.
Meantime, few developments have provoked as much public attention as the possibility that city officials might close the Salem Public Library. Just even putting that on a “what if” list triggered strong reactions – and misunderstandings.
Reporter Abbey McDonald, who spends countless hours in meetings and with budget documents, was on top of the developments. She reported on what happened at a budget session that kicked off the controversy. More importantly, she reached every person on the Salem City Council to find out their position. A big majority went on the record: No library closure ahead.
You can count on Abbey and Salem Reporter to keep you updated as the city figures how to balance its budget. We’ll be particularly alert to changes in city services that will have an effect on you.
Elsewhere on the money front, Rachel reports on projects around Salem getting a boost with state funding, including rehab work on the riverfront Eco Earth structure. And the YMCA is moving ahead with a one-stop center downtown for those needing social services.
And spring break in Salem included the good news that the Salem-Keizer School District and its teachers union hit on a deal before a strike. Teachers look forward to changes in their work contained in the new contract.
Our team of columnists reported in this week. Pam Ferrera discusses the strength of manufacturing in Salem, Harry Fuller writes about chickadee season, and Jim Sellers helps untangle the complexities of Medicare.
One addition we made to Salem Reporter last year was providing for obituaries. These life stories are important not only for families and friends, but they help chronicle a community’s history. You learn about people who maybe didn’t make big headlines but who had interesting lives.
In recent days, we published two obituaries that took advantage of an exclusive feature of ours – families can provide up to five photographs to go with the story. We think that’s a better way to capture a person’s life than a single, and often dated, headshot.
I invite you to read about Jerry Sachtjen, a pharmacist, and Helen Caswell, a writer and social justice advocate. (Submitting an obituary like this is easy – here’s how.)
Of course, you can see every story any hour of the day that suits you by going to our website at www.salemreporter.com.
Finally, we’re about one month away from the big debate in the Salem mayor’s race. Chris Hoy and Julie Hoy will face each other Tuesday, April 30, at the Elsinore. This is being conducted by Salem Reporter and the Salem City Club. Get your free general admission tickets online and we’ll see you at the debate.
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As always, thank you for reading and feel free to reach out to me anytime at [email protected] with ideas, questions or concerns.
–Les Zaitz, CEO and editor
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