Posted inCity Council City of Salem Police reform

Salem City Council makes mobile crisis unit a low priority

If the efforts of city councilor Vanessa Nordyke to make a mobile crisis unit a reality in Salem ever come to fruition, she deserves a Perseverance Prize. Because while the general public really likes the idea of having people other than police officers respond to mental health and other calls that don't require an officer, the Salem Police Department, City Manager, and her fellow city councilors haven't been nearly as enthusiastic.  Last Monday the City Council dealt the mobile crisis unit proposal another setback when Nordyke's motion to seek $2 million in state funding for a multi-year pilot project failed…
2
Posted inCity of Salem Public Safety

City officials dawdle while major crashes happen at Liberty and Mildred

It's irritating when City of Salem staff play bureaucratic games that affect people's lives. It's infuriating when they do this after someone has died. But that's the sad state of affairs reported in a Statesman Journal story today about the dangerous intersection at Mildred Lane SE and Liberty Road S near the city limits. The story says that teenager Sara Schumann died in 2020 when the car she was a passenger in failed to heed the stop sign on Mildred and hit an oncoming vehicle. Then there were other major crashes in 2021 and 2022. Laurel, my wife, and I live about…
No Comments
Posted in2022 election Oregon politics

Kotek only Governor candidate who will fight climate change

If you're an Oregonian who cares about fighting climate change, there's only one Governor candidate who deserves your vote: Tina Kotek, a Democrat. The other candidates -- Republican Christine Drazan and unaffiliated Betsy Johnson -- oppose what Oregon is doing now to combat the global warming that's causing hotter weather, more intense wildfires, and other nasty effects in our state. So says a well-researched OPB story, "Oregon governor's race will dictate the state's direction on battling climate change," that I learned about via Twitter.  Here's some excerpts from the story.  In the last decade, Oregon has sought to position itself…
No Comments
Posted inHumor LGBTQ issues Political correctness

Bill Maher wrongly makes fun of Portland schools “wokeness”

I've watched Bill Maher for many years, most recently via his Real Time show on HBO. Generally I enjoy Maher's blend of political humor and observations, but sometimes his tendency to criticize perceived liberal excesses rubs me the wrong way. Not because I object to Maher making fun of extreme left-wing stances, which indeed can be deserving of ridicule now and then. Rather, I don't like it when Maher oversimplifies a complex issue just for the sake of making it a more convenient object of scorn on his show. Yesterday Maher had a bit in his New Rules segment where…
2
Posted inCity of Salem Public Safety

Fire showed emergency message system needs improvements

Last Friday, September 9, the Vitae Springs fire in south Salem caused lots of people to search for information about how rapidly the wildfire was spreading, where evacuations were taking place, and what the chances were of the fire reaching areas further away. Like, my neighborhood, Spring Lake Estates, that adjoins the Ankeny Wildlife Refuge. Friday evening I'd seen a report that a Level 1 (Be Ready) evacuation notice had been issued for areas four to six miles from where the Vitae Springs fire had started. I found via Google Maps that our house was about 7.6 miles from the…
1
Posted in2022 election City Council City of Salem

Wasteful use of fire trucks called out by 350 Salem OR

Sending a giant fire engine out to respond to a medical emergency is like having an Amazon package delivered by a semi-trailer truck. In each case, almost always there's no need for such vehicle overkill.  But even though just 2% of calls to the Salem Fire Department involved fires, the department is asking for $26 million in the $300 million bond levy on the November ballot to replace worn-out fire trucks.  The reason, pretty obviously, is that those trucks are being used inappropriately. If a right-sized vehicle was used for medical emergencies, fire trucks would be used for their intended…
1
Posted in2022 election Oregon politics

Deb Patterson and Raquel Moore-Green debate at City Club

Today it was pleasant to watch a polite substantive Salem City Club debate between the candidates for Oregon's Senate District 10, Democrat Deb Patterson (the incumbent) and Republican Raquel Moore-Green, who holds the District 19 seat in the Oregon House. Deb Patterson (D) and Raquel Moore-Green (R)  This was the first in-person meeting for the City Club in what seems like forever, but actually is just since Covid struck in early 2020. It felt great to be in the Willamette Heritage Center Dye House in physical reality, rather than watching the program via Zoom. (That reality included made-to-order lunches by…
No Comments
Posted inCoronavirus

Not wearing a mask in a pharmacy is selfish

I got my third Covid booster today at a Walgreens pharmacy. It was the new dual action booster that protects against original Covid and the newish Omicron variant that's highly contagious. It's been over five months since my last booster, so I was due for an antibody rejuvenation. Overdue, actually, since the newest booster is recommended for anyone who got their previous  booster or initial two shots at least two months ago. I also got a flu shot at the same time.  So today's pharmacy visit worked out well. Laurel, my wife, was scheduled to get her Covid booster yesterday,…
No Comments
Posted inCity of Salem Police reform

Oregonian editor criticizes Marion County DA and Salem Police secrecy

Officials at the City of Salem, including the Police Department, along with the Marion County District Attorney's Office, are getting some well-deserved bad press. After the Salem Reporter editor criticized the City of Salem and Marion County DA for a coverup following a public records request by his publication concerning a suspicious $53,500 payment to former deputy police chief Steve Bellshaw, today the Sunday Oregonian had a letter from the editor that makes similar criticisms. Here's the letter from Therese Bottomly. It makes for interesting reading, especially for those of us concerned about government transparency and public accountability. In decades…
No Comments
Posted inSalem-Keizer school district

Three Salem-Keizer school board members targeted for recall

Thanks to the Salem Reporter, which scooped the Statesman Journal on this important story, we know that an effort is underway to recall three progressive Salem-Keizer school board members elected in 2021. Here's how the story by Rachel Alexander starts off. A Salem parent is seeking to recall three members of the Salem-Keizer School Board, alleging they have been dismissive of parents with differing political views and failed to prioritize the education of students. Casity Troutt filed petitions to recall board Chair Ashley Carson Cottingham, former Chair Osvaldo Avila, and Second Vice Chair Karina Guzmán Ortiz with the Marion County…
2