Posted inCity Council Illegal signs Political signs

Illegal signs have a Facebook fan. Will litter boosters follow?

I'm confident that most people in Salem consider illegal signs in the public right of way to be the abomination that they are. Ugly. Irritating. Trashy. Disrespectful of public property.  But after Salem Community Vision -- a group dedicated to improving the livability and vitality of our town -- praised the City Council for making a stronger commitment  to remove illegally placed temporary signs, and warned that Kelly's Home Center once again may be visually polluting Salem with lots of illegal signs this Labor Day weekend, some lovers of those signs popped up on Facebook. Notably, Ashlee Bell Wright, who…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem Political signs

“Illegal signs are trash.” Which is why they make Salem look trashy.

There was a lot of discussion about illegal temporary signs in the public right-of-way at last night's City Council meeting. Here's some great testimony by Kathleen Hill on changes to the City of Salem sign ordinance that go in the wrong direction when it comes to illegal signs. (See my previous post, "City Council needs to enforce ban against temporary signs in public right of way.") As Hill said, signs left on utility poles or stuck in the ground on the public right of way between sidewalk and street are indeed trash. And they make Salem look trashy, unappealing to…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem Political signs

City Council needs to enforce ban against temporary signs in public right of way

With all the problems in our country (and the world) right now, I understand why some people feel it is wrong to get upset about the many illegal signs littering the public right of way in Salem.  OK, I understand. But I heartily disagree that this isn't important. It is! Salem's quality of life -- along with our ability to project a positive image to visitors and people/businesses who might want to move here -- is diminished when illegal signs proliferate along our streets, making this town look like a perpetual garage sale. Lots of the signs are placed by…
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Posted inPolitical signs

My artistic critique of 2016 Salem political yard signs

In a previous post I criticized the proliferation of illegally-placed political yard signs around Salem by candidates who would go nameless if I hadn't named them as Chuck Bennett (running for Mayor) and Warren Bednarz (running for City Council). I now turn my attention from legalities to artistic impressions, following in the footsteps, or, rather, tire treads, of local blogger The Upright Cyclist. His 2014 "The Hidden Meanings in Campaign Signs" delved into "deep-seated archetypes from the land of Ur" which I am incapable of philosophically analyzing so cogently and entertainingly.  So here's my artistic critique of some signs being…
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Posted inPolitical signs

Illegal political “yard” signs blossom in Salem’s public right of way

Ah, Spring. The natural blooms are beautiful. But not the political "yard" signs that are blossoming all around Salem in the public right of way -- where they're prohibited by City ordinance 900.100: 900.100. Signs Installed Over or Within the Right-of-Way. No sign shall be erected over or within the public right-of-way unless the placement of the sign is first approved by the governmental unit having jurisdiction over the right-of-way. (Ord No. 4-12) [note: to my knowledge, approvals never are asked for, nor given] Jim Scheppke put up a Facebook post about this a few days ago, complete with incriminating photos.…
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