William Shephard rides a Cherriots bus to work on Friday, May 22. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) EDITOR’S NOTE: Your support matters. A monthly subscription to Salem Reporter starts at $5. Go HERE. Eight weeks after suspending all bus routes, the Salem Area Transit District is running at 57% pre-pandemic level but only for[Read More…]
Latest News
PHOTOS: Salem opens the door to more business as pandemic rules ease
Josh Pritchfield pours a taster at Vagabond Brewing, 2195 Hyacinth St. N.E., on Friday, May 22. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) A new phase of life began in Salem on Friday, May 22, with the lifting of restrictions on restaurants, bars and personal service businesses such as gyms and salons. For two[Read More…]
Salem real estate agents avoided shutdowns, but their work looks much different
A sale sign in West Salem on Friday, May 22. Sales dipped in the area in April compared to a year ago. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) EDITOR’S NOTE: Your support matters. A monthly subscription to Salem Reporter starts at $5. Go HERE. Open the door, pull open the kitchen drawers and pull[Read More…]
With caution and care, Salem takes a step back towards normal
Russell Brand, owner of Oregon Tattoo Company, tattoos Chynalyn Cantere during the first phase of Salem’s reopening on Friday, May 22. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) EDITOR’S NOTE: Your support matters. A monthly subscription to Salem Reporter starts at $5. Go HERE. Court Street Dairy Lunch opened up at 6 a.m. on Friday.[Read More…]
Uncategorized As they reopen, Marion, Polk counties short on some state benchmarks for COVID-19
New Oregon Health Authority benchmarks show where local counties are performing well and falling short in stopping the spread of COVID-19. (Screenshot from Oregon Health Authority dashboard) Marion and Polk counties are failing to meet some state benchmarks used to track the severity of COVID-19 outbreaks, even as communities in[Read More…]
Uncategorized And now a break from Salem’s pandemic
Customers browse through the Thursday West Salem Farmer’s Market on Edgewater Street which runs from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. until mid-September. On Saturdays, the Salem Saturday Market runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 865 Marion St. N.E. with extra precautions because of COVID-19. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Uncategorized Willamette University lays off 37 employees, furloughs 80
Two people walk through Willamette University on May 15. 2020. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Willamette University is furloughing 80 employees for two months and laying off 37 workers in the latest move to balance the budget amid revenue hits from event cancellations and dorm closures. The university’s Board of Trustees approved[Read More…]
Uncategorized Struggling to pay rent? New state funds expected to help 600 families
The sign at The ARCHES Project. (Anthony McGuire/Special to Salem Reporter) Marion County residents struggling to pay rent because of economic hardships brought on by COVID-19 can soon get a leg up from the area’s poverty assistance agency. The Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency is giving away more than $2[Read More…]
Fewer people in Marion and Polk counties seeking unemployment benefits
Claims for unemployment benefits continue to drop in Marion and Polk counties. For the week of May 10, 982 people in Marion County filed for initial unemployment benefits, a decrease from 1,750 the previous week. In Polk County, 237 people filed for unemployment benefits the same week, a drop from[Read More…]
Oregon inmate who tested positive for COVID-19 dies
Oregon State Penitentiary (Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons) An inmate in at Oregon State Penitentiary who tested positive for COVID-19 has died, according to the Department of Corrections. According to the department, the inmate died on May 20, at a hospital, and was between 50 and 60 years old. The individual’s next of[Read More…]
