Charles Sams III of Oregon is slated to lead the National Park Service, including Crater Lake National Park. (National Park Service) President Joe Biden’s choice to lead the National Park Service told a U.S. Senate panel Tuesday he would work to rebuild the agency’s workforce, which has shrunk even as[Read More…]

Treatment rooms for seriously ill patients in the Salem Hospital emergency department are larger to allow more people and medical equipment inside (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Oregon’s urban hospitals have lost hundreds of employees and some have consolidated services over the state’s vaccine mandate but they’re continuing to admit patients, perform[Read More…]

Lane Hawkes, emergency room nurse, receives a Covid vaccine at Salem Hospital on Dec. 17 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) A federal judge on Monday struck down a last-minute attempt to block Oregon’s vaccination mandate for teachers, health care workers and state employees, while another heard arguments in a similar case.  Most[Read More…]

School buses parked in the Salem-Keizer School District lot on Hawthorne Avenue (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) A shortage of bus drivers in many parts of the state have shown just how valuable the ride to and from school is. Districts and bus companies have been forced to combine or cancel routes,[Read More…]

State Sen. Betsy Johnson, center, attends the dedication Gerry Frank | Salem Rotary Amphitheater in Riverfront Park on Friday, July 23, 2021 (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) Moderate Democratic state Sen. Betsy Johnson will leave her party and run for governor as an independent, she told supporters Thursday afternoon.  In an email[Read More…]

Smoke from fires in southern Oregon during 2020 settle over a farm further north in Washington. (Peter Stevens, Flickr) Klamath Falls had as many elevated pollution days as cities like Phoenix, Cincinnati and San Antonio in 2020, according to a new report.  The non-profit Environment America, part of the left-leaning[Read More…]

The intense care required for Covid-19 patients has exhausted nurses and other health care staff. (Oregon Health & Science University photo) With the Covid-19 vaccine mandate looming, the Oregon Nurses Association stepped into the fray on Thursday, calling on the state to take “bold” action to give relief to nurses[Read More…]

SALEM – In the week since the Oregon Legislature eked out new congressional maps, would-be candidates have largely stayed mum about their potential campaigns. A handful of candidates have already announced their campaigns, but no one can officially file to run for Congress or the state Legislature until after the[Read More…]

Kevin Purnell at a school board meeting at Adrian High School for the last time as the Adrian School District Superintendent on Monday, Aug. 30. (AUSTIN JOHNSON/The Enterprise) ADRIAN – The Adrian School District will pay former superintendent Kevin Purnell more than $100,000 as part of the settlement he signed[Read More…]