A sign for The Great Junk Hunt at the Oregon State Fairgrounds on Thursday, April 8, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Since the pandemic began, the Oregon State Fairgrounds has been used as a temporary hospital, Covid testing site, temporary shelter for homeless people and wildfire evacuees, as well[Read More…]
Latest News
Salem Budget Committee meets April 14
Learn how Salem is going to pay for city services as the Budget Committee considers City Manager Steve Powers’ proposed budget for the next fiscal year on Wednesday, April 14. The committee, which is comprised of the Mayor, City Council and residents, will consider budget proposals Wednesday evenings until May[Read More…]
Salem Health seeks applications for community grants
Salem Health employees file into a groundbreaking ceremony on the asphalt lot slated to become a new hospital building opening in 2022. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Community groups focused on improving health in Marion or Polk counties could get up to $30,000 from Salem Health. The health care provider is accepting[Read More…]
A year of struggles, failed services, a lonely motel death
Kevin Holloway, a nurse with Northwest Human Services, unloads medical supplies to treat an injury while conducting medical outreach at Cascades Gateway City Park on March 2, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) As Jean Hendron climbed the flight of stairs to a Salem motel on the edge of town, she had[Read More…]
Oregon won’t approve Covid exposure app, citing limited resources
Austin Griffith, a medic with Woodburn Ambulance Service, administers a Covid test during a free drive-through testing clinic on Tuesday, Aug. 25. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Oregon said Tuesday it won’t approve widely adopted technology that would allow smartphone users to be notified if they are potentially exposed to COVID-19, saying[Read More…]
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: Bill in Oregon Legislature aims to improve civics education
(Courtesy/Sue Luft) The Oregon Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that concerns an area where politics and education meet. THE ISSUE: Americans’ basic understanding of how their government has declined in recent years. THE BILL: Senate Bill 513 WHAT IT DOES: Requires every Oregon high school student to receive one[Read More…]
Oregon Legislature considers bill creating right to repair electronics
Brant Walsh, the owner of Salem-based repair shop The Mac Guy, opens up an older MacBook Pro to replace its battery. (Jake Thomas/Salem Reporter) Brant Walsh’s business, The Mac Guy, was typically booked a week and a half out for appointments. But with Salem residents increasingly relying on the[Read More…]
Three arrested in connection with February shooting in west Salem
Three people were arrested in connection with a Feb. shooting in west Salem, the Salem Police Department announced in a news release Wednesday afternoon. Colton Thomas James Burr, 22, of Mill City, and Austin Mitchell McClure, 21, of Lebanon, were arrested for their role in a shooting that happened on[Read More…]
Salem to get millions to create emergency shelter, street outreach
Rachel Miller and Matt Herbert walk into a field near Interstate 5 for the annual count of Salem’s unsheltered on Jan. 6, 2021. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) Salem is about to get millions to address homelessness as this week $5.5 million in federal grant funding was announced by the Oregon Housing[Read More…]
After meandering path marked by ‘oddball invocations,’ Willamette University’s “heart and soul” plans her retirement
Karen Wood, Willamette University chaplain, will retire in July 2021 (Courtesy/Willamette University) For over a decade, Karen Wood, the chaplain at Willamette University, has had a challenging task: addressing hundreds of faculty, students and their family from different faith traditions (or none at all) in a meaningful way without offending[Read More…]