A group of Willamette University students are occupying the Putnam University Center on campus, demanding the university divest from the U.S. arms industry which they said is profiting from genocide in Gaza. The occupation, organized by the university’s Students for a Democratic Society, joins a growing protest movement on campuses around the U.S. seeking to call attention to the Israel-Hamas war and urge divestment from Israel. Willamette students gathered Friday afternoon in Jackson Plaza outside the campus library before moving to the student center. About 20 students were on the third floo ..read more

The Salem Police Department won’t lose a graffiti abatement worker next year as expected, but the future of splash pads and summer parks events remains in limbo after four hours of work by the budget committee this week. The city committee, which includes all city councilors, voted unanimously on Wednesday, May 1, to keep the graffiti job in the police department budget. City Manager Keith Stahley recommended cutting it as part of his budget-balancing plan. That would have left just one police employee removing graffiti. Mayor Chris Hoy proposed spending $91,500 from the city’s savings to pay ..read more

With her head deep in a hole at Willamette Heritage Center, Chloe Abrahamson brushed mud off a few ceramic fragments. Abrahamson, a freshman archaeology major at Willamette University, was part of a group digging at the heritage center Thursday for what they believe could be the foundation of a parsonage building built by Methodist missionaries in 1841.  Her discovery prompted a flurry of activity as Kimberli Fitzgerald, city of Salem archaeologist, rushed over to take a look. She identified the fragments as likely from a plate, made with a type of material available in the 1840s. The pla ..read more

Oregon State Hospital has a security camera system with blind spots and has failed to prevent patient-on-patient assaults or stop patients from having sexual contact with each other, a federal report found.  Federal inspectors found that the state-run psychiatric hospital in Salem passes out condoms to patients – even though patients aren’t allowed to have sex with each other. That, too, is a problem, the federal agency found.  Officials with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services visited the hospital, which is overseen by the Oregon Health Authority, after a pat ..read more

Ron Steiner, 85, died April 26, 2024, in Salem, Oregon. The son of William and Alice Patrizio Steiner, he was born April 14, 1939, in Indiana, Pennsylvania, where he worked in his father’s market, played a variety of sports, and made several lifelong friends. He attended Allegheny College, playing quarterback on the football team and earning a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology in 1961. For most of the next two decades, he worked in Pittsburgh as an advertising salesperson and eventually sales manager for television station WIIC. He later moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to serve as general manag ..read more

Omar Alvarado believes Salem needs more opportunities to showcase musicians, art and culture. Those are experiences that people often venture to Portland for, the 30-year-old event producer said. “We have so much potential. Why are we traveling to Portland and spending our money in Portland?” he said. His answer is Tianguis de Salem, a free community fair and market scheduled for Saturday, May 11, at Riverfront Park from 2-6 p.m. People can get a free ticket in advance, or just show up day of. It’s a celebration of Mexican and Mesoamerican culture highlighting small businesses and artisans, as ..read more

The Marion County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday approved a major property tax break for GK Machines, a Donald agricultural equipment manufacturer which plans to expand its current facility.  The board’s approval was contingent on the company adding at least 25 full-time industry jobs to its current team of 160 employees.  GK is building a 140,000 square foot expansion to its facility, which will have a $25 million value, according to the board packet. With the green light from the county, the company can now seek approval from other taxing districts in the area, like the city o ..read more

Shane Matthews, a Realtor running for a seat on the Salem City Council, has rarely voted in local races that determine the city’s elected leadership. Since registering to vote in Marion County in 2010, Matthews, 37, has voted in seven of 28 elections for which he received a ballot, according to records from the county elections office. He cast ballots during general elections but not in the primaries that typically determine local representation like school boards and city leaders.  He also voted in two special elections: one in 2011 and the November 2023 special election on Salem’s  ..read more

A long search to find a missing Boise woman on the range north of Jordan Valley ended with the discovery last month of her remains, approximately two miles from where her vehicle was found abandoned last June. Malheur County Sheriff Travis Johnson confirmed the discovery of Gwen Brunelle’s remains in area about 18 miles north of Jordan Valley in the Succor Creek area. An analysis of drone photography yielded crucial clues that led to her discovery, according to her father, Andy Brunelle of Boise. Gwen Brunelle was 27 when she left her Boise home in June 2023 with a car loaded with 11 show rabb ..read more

After weeks of criticism from within and outside her office and the departure of key staff, Gov. Tina Kotek is abandoning plans to expand first lady Aimee Kotek Wilson’s role in the office.  Kotek announced her change of heart in a statement Wednesday and answered questions from reporters during an afternoon news conference, repeatedly apologizing for the way she handled giving Kotek Wilson a larger role in policy decisions than what first spouses in Oregon have historically had. “I regret that this hasn’t been very clear, and it’s been a little messy,” Kotek said. “I apologize to Oregon ..read more