A bike secured at a barrier along the Marion Square Park homeless encampment on Friday. The city of Salem is will clear the camp Tuesday morning. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Workers from Northwest Human Services will be among the first to arrive at a homeless camp under the Marion Street Bridge[Read More…]

Scattered trash and belongings at an encampment near Marion Square Park. The city announced this week it plans to evict the camp Tuesday. Concerns arose afterward about a program that provides free meals. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) After word spread the city of Salem would cancel a program that helped feed[Read More…]

A person examines a book at Salem Public Library. (Caleb Wolf/Special to Salem Reporter) Debate that was sometimes contentious and sometimes poetic lead to the shelving for at least a month of a rigorous review of library books. The Salem Public Library Advisory Board unanimously agreed Wednesday night to keep[Read More…]

The homeless camp under the Marion Street bridge pictured in December. The camp was given a notice to evict by the end of the week. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter files) UPDATE 4:35 p.m. Jan. 9: The city of Salem issued a press release. The release said the city had received “reports[Read More…]

A tag reading “Please Don’t” hangs from a tree that Salem marked for removal in December. Salem Public Works Director Peter Fernandez said an advisory board will decide in February what to do with the trees. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Trees in downtown Salem that residents fought to keep from being[Read More…]

Salem City Hall (Salem Reporter files) The city of Salem is moving to shut down a commission tasked with earmarking millions of federal dollars after it unraveled amid potential conflicts of interest. The Salem City Council Monday night agreed with a staff recommendation to dissolve the Community Services and Housing[Read More…]

City planner Aaron Panko speaks at Salem City Council Monday night. Public testimony lasted nearly three hours in the debate over whether to approve a shopping center in South Salem. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Determined Salem neighbors fought the $100 billion company Costco to a standstill Monday night, convincing the Salem[Read More…]

A truck from Suburban Garbage Services approaches cans on Southeast 45th Avenue Thursday morning. The company is among the six waste haulers in Salem that report to be losing money, according to city staff reports, and is asking to raise collection rates. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Art Kuenzi played a sort[Read More…]

Updated 9 p.m. Sept. 10: After nearly two hours of public testimony, the Salem City Council decided not to ban on single-use plastic bags — at least not yet. Council voted 5 to 4 to send the proposed ban back to staff for them to do more outreach on the[Read More…]