A truck from Suburban Garbage Services approaches cans on Southeast 45th Avenue in November 2018. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Your garbage bill may go up again in January, thanks in part to that still-strained recycling market. On either side of the Willamette River, a Salem resident with a typical, 35-gallon cart[Read More…]
Latest News
State seeks owners of medals of heroism sitting unclaimed in Salem
Navy insignia found inside a deposit box once owned by a George B. James was sent from an Umpqua Bank in Bandon. (Courtesy/Oregon Department of State Lands) Tucked away inside a vault within the Oregon Department of State Lands sit several safes. Inside these safes rest mementos such old photos[Read More…]
Unapologetic ska fan anchors 105.5 The Moon’s quirky sound
Darbie Versoza in the studio for her show on 105.5 The Moon (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) On air, Darbie Versoza introduces herself as “Darbie, your one friend who still listens to ska.” Her Tuesday show on The Moon, Salem’s homegrown indie radio station kicked off this week with OK Go and[Read More…]
Oregon State Penitentiary unveils new “healing garden”
Oregon State Penitentiary Memorial Healing Garden gets its first visitors on Wednesday afternoon. (Jake Thomas/Salem Reporter) SALEM — Wearing blue prison uniforms and kukui nut necklaces, Toshio Takanobu and Johnny Cofer stood outside of a room at the Oregon State Penitentiary welcoming people to the unveiling of an unlikely project[Read More…]
Capitol exhibit highlights Jewish service members in World War II
A World War II exhibit at the Capitol Galleria runs until Nov. 28. (Courtesy/Oregon State Capitol) Visitors to Friday’s Tribute to Veterans at the Oregon State Capitol can see the presentation of the colors flag ceremony and listen to a choral performance. If they head further inside, they’ll be able[Read More…]
CHECK OUT: A play, a tribute to veterans or a festival of light
Oregon Spirit Chorus will perform at the Tribute to Veterans on Friday. (Courtesy/Oregon Legislature) Thursday You’re 6 years old and mom is in the hospital. She finds it hard to be happy, so you start to make a list of everything that’s brilliant about the world. Every Brilliant Thing, a[Read More…]
Why a new Oregon law seeks to improve how hate crimes are reported
Ellen Rosenblum, Oregon attorney general In late October, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office won the first conviction under Oregon’s new hate crime law. The case involved a 50-year-old man who hurled slurs at two gay men before picking a fight with them. The conviction marks a shift in Oregon’s[Read More…]
Work still needed to protect student information against hackers, Oregon audit finds
(Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) SALEM — The state agency that holds the education records of more than half a million Oregon students can tighten its control of that information, state auditors say. The Oregon Department of Education regularly checks its computer systems for vulnerabilities and performs other “critical security tasks,” but[Read More…]
Salem councilors consider easing the restrictions proposed to govern sitting, lying on public property
Robert Stone, originally of Cheyenne, Wyo., sits outside near a coffee shop in downtown Salem. The homeless Salem resident said he would “probably” be impacted by a proposed ban on sitting or lying down on public rights of way. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Nothing is set in stone yet, though it[Read More…]
Where others see chaos, he tackles opportunity to reshape mental health care
Steve Allen is director of the state agency charged with caring for Oregonians with mental health and substance abuse. (Sam Stites/Oregon Capital Bureau) Finding a director to run a key new division of the Oregon Health Authority vexed Pat Allen for months. The agency director worked with hundreds of internal[Read More…]