Salem City Hall. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The Salem City Council wants a to review of a widely circulated video in which a Salem police officer was recorded last week helping a group of armed people outside a downtown salon avoid running afoul of a city-imposed curfew last week. Several city[Read More…]

A view of Liberty Street in downtown Salem on Thursday, April 2. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Hoping to lend a hand to struggling businesses that have been unable to get federal funding to help pay for payroll or rent, Salem has allocated money to help around 100 local businesses. Salem officials[Read More…]

A homeless person sets up a tarp along a downtown street in March, 2020. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) Legal advocacy group Disability Rights Oregon wrote a letter to the Salem City Council and Mayor Chuck Bennett Tuesday, arguing that the city is using the coronavirus pandemic to push homeless people out[Read More…]

Salem city hall (Salem Reporter) In the race to represent Salem through unpaid, nonpartisan city council positions, one campaign this year stands out for the heavy campaign spending, unusual for such local races. Reid Sund, finance director for Salem Health, has collected $46,846 from his supporters in the race to[Read More…]

Salem city hall (Salem Reporter) A Marion County man is suing the city of Salem, claiming he was forced to resign for having a disability. Ronald McHenry, who worked as a communications specialist for the Salem Police Department, said he started losing his hearing and was eventually forced to resign,[Read More…]

After its third attempt in as many years, the Salem City Council on Monday banned sitting or lying on city sidewalks during the day, effective once certain provisions are met. The ban comes on the heels of an emergency declaration on March 17 that prohibited loitering on sidewalks and partially[Read More…]

The Salem City Council declared a state of emergency on March 17, a move that will prohibit people from loitering on public property. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) NOTE: Salem Reporter is providing free access to its content related to the coronavirus as a community service. Subscriptions starting at $5 a month help support this.[Read More…]

The boulevard pictured along Commercial Street Northeast where tents had been staked in December.(Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Salem city councilors on Monday voted to erect a canopy and install portable restrooms in Marion Square Park as a ban on sitting or lying on sidewalks during the day takes effect. The 7,000-square-foot[Read More…]

A Salem city employee who claims he endured harassment from his supervisor because of his race has sued in U.S. District Court. Jose Botello, a former fleet maintenance technician who is Latino, claims in the lawsuit that his supervisor, Michael Gandolfi, told him in September 2018 that he could be[Read More…]

An idea to bridge the divide between protecting an area that the city has spent millions investing in and humanely treating the homeless in Salem may have come in the throes of an illness. Councilor Cara Kaser got sick after the Salem City Council’s Feb. 10 meeting and was restlessly[Read More…]