Tag STATE GOVERNMENT
Oregon OSHA to enact emergency rules for heat following Marion County farmworker death
An irrigation system in an agricultural field off of 76th Avenue Northeast on Friday, March 12, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Following the death of a farmworker in St. Paul during the heat wave last week, Gov. Kate Brown is directing the state agency in charge…
Here’s what Salem area lawmakers say they accomplished during the 2021 legislative session
Oregon Capitol (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Salem’s YMCA will see $4 million for early learning and childcare spaces in its new building. Cold medicine will be a little easier to get in Oregon. It’s easier to hire a physician’s assistant. Property owners in the Santiam Canyon…
As gamblers return to video lottery machines, Oregon Lottery faces payment backlog
The headquarters of the Oregon Lottery. (Jake Thomas/Salem Reporter) After winning $1,500 playing video lottery two weeks ago, Pierre Nelson had an unexpected reaction: frustration. Nelson, a resident of Salem, had won the money playing Big City 5, a slot-machine style game where players can…
Mike Nearman has been expelled from the Legislature. Here’s what comes next
Rep. Mike Nearman, R-Independence, at his desk on March 30, 2021 (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) The lights went out quickly in an office in the Oregon Legislature. After a historic Thursday night vote, state Rep, Mike Nearman, R-Independence, was expelled from the Legislature for his…
Oregon State Hospital Advisory Board says it was left out of loop on hospital staffing crisis
The Oregon State Hospital on Friday, May 28, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) An advisory panel to the Oregon State Hospital says it was blind-sided by the hospital’s move to request help from the National Guard to help relieve a severe staffing shortage. In a June…
With 30 National Guard members, help is on the way for Oregon State Hospital’s staffing crisis
Sgt. 1st Class Dugald Campbell, of the Oregon National Guard, poses for a photo in his mask. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Members of the Oregon National Guard are heading to the Oregon State Hospital next week, undergoing training before assuming hospital roles as the hospital endures…
Demonstrators intentionally let into Capitol by state Rep. Mike Nearman, report finds
Rep. Mike Nearman, R-Independence, at his desk on March 30, 2021 (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) State Rep. Mike Nearman, R-Independence, “more likely than not” intentionally breached security protocols by allowing a group of demonstrators into the Capitol, impeding the ability of staff to function. That’s the…
Oregon State Hospital makes it through Memorial Day weekend with enough staff
The Oregon State Hospital on Friday, May 28, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The Oregon State Hospital had enough staff to care for more than 500 patients for the three-day Memorial Day weekend despite a dire ongoing labor shortage at the Salem psychiatric hospital. Rebekah Gipson-King,…
Memorial honoring Vietnam War veterans on Oregon Capitol grounds moves forward
Ron Morgan recalled how after serving in the U.S. Army in the Vietnam War he tried to stop in an American Legion post but was told he couldn’t enter. “You’re not a real veteran. That’s not a real war,” Morgan, a 75-year-old resident of Salem…