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Your Friday evening update on Salem news

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Good evening, Salem.

We celebrated the first official day of summer with rain showers. Such is life in Oregon.

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There’s more in the forecast tomorrow, which has delayed some planned events like a Highland neighborhood cleanup and a repainting of the Big Toy play structure Keizer Rapids Park.

But Make Music Day will go on, rain or shine, and there’s plenty more to do this weekend.

Reporter Abbey McDonald also took a deeper dive into a package of mental health reforms nearing the finish line in the Legislature – and concerns some local supporters have raised about packaging multiple plans together.

Her report below builds on her deeper look at Oregon’s failed civil commitment system, which showed how years of neglect had built an impossible bar for some of Salem’s most troubled citizens to get the help they need.

Here’s some of our latest news. Catch all of our reports anytime on our website.

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The Legislature is considering some of the largest changes in years to Oregon’s system of committing people to mental health treatment who pose a serious danger to themselves or another…

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Salem’s annual free live music celebration is a decade old and will feature nearly 300 performances at dozens of venues across the city. It’s the first time the annual Juneu0026hellip;

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Forecasted rainy weather has delayed a makeover for the Big Toy at Keizer Rapids Park. The park will remain open this weekend.

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Jonathan Muhire faces accusations including sexual abuse, kidnapping and strangulation. Police arrested him Friday morning.

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Jose Soto-Araujo, 54, was found unresponsive in a Marion County Jail cell Thursday afternoon, according to the sheriff’s office. It’s the second reported jail death this year.

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Events in Salem this week include celebrations for Juneteenth and the 10th anniversary of Salem’s Make Music Day, a free celebration of live music across the city on Saturday, June…

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A residential fire was reported this morning at 8:25 a.m. across the street from Parrish Middle School. Firefighters extinguished it within five minutes after arriving on scene and no injuries…

SEE LOCAL EVENTS: Our new events calendar lets you browse what’s happening in Salem – completely free. Want to submit an upcoming event? You can do that here.

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