Posted inNeighborhood Salem

Let’s make Salem more gnarly and less smooth

"Gnarly." A great word. Also, an admirable quality. For people, like you and me. For a town, like Salem, Oregon, where I live. Some of the meanings of gnarly are powerful, misshapen, difficult, outstanding.  My Tai Chi instructor used the word in telling a story about what happened after he asked a martial arts acquaintance he hadn't seen for quite a while to demonstrate his Yang Long Form. "Oh, no, you don't want to see it," the guy replied. "My form is gnarly, man, not pretty at all."  Which meant, his Tai Chi had evolved into a practical fighting art,…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Salem

Anti and pro Joe Arpaio rallies showed two sides of Salem

OK, let's leave aside the politics of immigration reform (including the lack thereof, so far). What I found most fascinating about the twin Sheriff Joe Arpaio rallies at the Capitol yesterday -- a pro-rally on the Capitol steps, and a counter anti-rally right across the street -- was the differing "vibes" of each.   A video I made from my iPhone footage focuses on the counter rally, where I spent most of my time. Now, I realize that some of the people at each rally were from out of town. But many, perhaps most, were from the Salem area. I…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Salem

Hot time! Saturday counter-rally against anti-immigrant Arizona Sheriff Arpaio

If you're going to be baking in the heat here in Salem next Saturday afternoon, why not do it for a good cause? The Oregon Republican Party has brought anti-immigrant Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio to town for a fund-raising rally on the Capitol steps. There will be a counter-rally across the street at the Capitol water fountain at 2:30 pm.   Check out the counter-rally Facebook page.  Courtney Garcia says in her post: There are two ways for you to take action! 1. Join the counter-rally!On Saturday, June 27th at 2:30PM, we will gather at the Oregon State Capitol Fountain (near 900…
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Posted inSalem

More public restrooms needed in Salem… and everywhere

Kudos to the Salem women who are working to get portable toilets with an artistic flair installed in the downtown area. A story by Helen Caswell in the June 11 issue of Salem Weekly, "Let's get the pottie started!" tells the got-to-go tale. A diverse group of women have an inspired solution to the problem of public defecation in the downtown Salem core. Their goal is to involve the community in a positive way and provide portable toilets, “arta potties,” decorated with unique Salem-inspired art, in the seven blocks of downtown. They believe this approach, unique to the US, could…
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Posted inSalem

Top five reasons Salem needs an Urban Tree Commission

Today the Statesman Journal ran a front page story, "Salem considers Urban Tree Commission to protect street trees."  Download Salem considers Urban Tree Commission to protect street treesI liked the ending of Brandon Southward's piece. The council appeared paralyzed about the issue at its June 8 meeting; councilors declined to vote on the creation of an Urban Tree Commission. Instead, they set a tentative September date for a public hearing. In the interim, city staff will begin a public outreach campaign, which will include meeting with neighborhood associations. The public might not need much outreach, as numerous citizens expressed support…
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Posted inSalem

Belatedly, Statesman Journal follows in my Strange Up Salem footsteps

Welcome aboard the S.S. Salem Strange, Statesman Journal newspaper. You're late to the cruise, but it's good to see the paper finally sailing along with me and the many others who want to see this town set a course for Cool. Embedded in a story by Tom Rastrelli, "What are Salem residents called? Governor, do you know?," we learned that Rastrelli will be writing regularly on a Keep Salem Weirder theme. Download What are Salem residents called? Governor, do you know? "Keep Salem Weirder" will explore the unique culture of Salem and the Mid-Valley. If you know of a quirky…
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Posted inSalem

Salem Hospital construction likely kills majestic White Oak

So, when will Salem's War on Trees end? This is a town where City officials allow trees to be killed for no good reason. And where private organizations, knowing this, push tree-destruction to the legal limit and beyond. The most recent victim of Salem's horrific tree policies is a majestic White Oak that was supposed to be the centerpiece of Salem Hospital's new parking lot.  Here it is, being cut down. This photo comes from the Facebook page of Elwood's Tree Service. Elwood runs a great company. He cares deeply about this town's trees. He wouldn't cut down a tree…
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Posted inSalem

Salem Mayor gets irked at me for telling the truth

In case you missed my Strange Up Salem Facebook post about Mayor Anna Peterson's irritated reaction to my oh-so-truthful testimony about the disgraceful 2013 U.S. Bank tree removals, here's a video of yesterday's City Council meeting.  (If you're a Facebooker, give Strange Up Salem a "like" if you want to get my marvelous observations about this town.) My testimony during the public comment starts at about 32:25 minutes in and continues to about the 45 minute mark. (Click here to go to the You Tube video and have it start at that point. I only got three minutes to speak; questions…
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Posted inSalem

“Salem needs an Urban Tree Commission,” I tell the City Council

Here's testimony about the Urban Tree Commission agenda item for tomorrow's Salem City Council meeting that I just emailed to the Mayor and City Council. A few days ago I wrote another blog post on this subject, "Tell the Salem City Council we need an Urban Tree Commission." Well, I've followed my advice. I owe it to the beautiful U.S. Bank Trees, which were cut down for no good reason. Dear Mayor and City Councilors, In addition to the emailed testimony I sent you on behalf of Salem Community Vision supporting an Urban Tree Commission and bringing forward to a…
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Posted inSalem

Tell the Salem City Council: “We need an Urban Tree Commission”

Salem's citizens love their trees. But many people, including me, have been deeply disturbed by how City officials have removed large, healthy, beautiful downtown trees for no good reason. Meaning, against the advice of independent expert arborists and even the City's own urban forester. I documented the debacle of the needless 2013 destruction of five Japanese Zelkovas on State Street in a tell-all report, "Outrage: Salem's U.S. Bank tree killings." Download Outrage Report It was deeply disturbing for tree lovers to see this... Turned into this... The tree removals happened because a City ordinance allowed one person to make the…
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Posted inHome life Salem

Les Schwab can sell you ANY brand of tires. Who knew? (Not me)

Like many other Oregonians, I'm a big fan of the Les Schwab Tire Center chain. Their customer service is superb, as I talked about in a 2005 post, "I love Les Schwab." I’ve got a thing going with Les Schwab. Not with the man—my tofuish sensibilities don’t mesh with Les’ “Free Beef” mentality—but with the chain of tire stores that he founded.  Yesterday I bought four tires for our Prius at the south Salem Les Schwab Tire Center and, per usual, my experience with the company was exemplary. ...When I called Les Schwab to get a quote on some Toyos I told…
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Posted inSalem

Critic yes, but I’m also a cheerleader for Salem

Because I've written a lot of blog posts about Salem, quite a few of them critical, among some people I've got an undeserved reputation as a Salem-hater. Actually, I love this town.  Below I've shared recent emails I've gotten from two people interested in possibly relocating to Oregon, along with my reply. You can see that I'm positive about Salem -- which fits with me having happily lived in and near Salem for 37 years. My attitude is similar to how I felt when told in the 1960's "Love it or leave it, hippie!" I'd think, "Hey, I can not…
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Posted inHome life Salem

Lured with biscuit incentives, our dog buys a car at Capitol Toyota

Salem's Capitol Toyota dealership has a well-deserved reputation for dog friendliness. It paid off yesterday, when our dog ZuZu was cajoled into leasing a 2015 Chevy Volt. (She wanted to get another Volt now that the lease on our 2012 Volt is about up. Liking the folks at Capitol Toyota, the deal was done through them; Capitol Chevrolet is right next door.) On the drive to the dealership I'd warned ZuZu to focus on price and options. "Get the car you really want," I advised. "Don't be swayed by irrelevant incentives and salesmanship." Ignoring me, ZuZu headed right to the dog…
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Posted inSalem

Salem can’t afford a $50 million-plus Police Facility

Given the many unmet needs here in Salem, Oregon, it's easy to visualize lots of ways to spend $50 million. Which happens to be how much City officials have said a new police facility could cost (though they're now backing away from that estimate, probably because they want an even more lavish police facility). For example, I recently went on a bicycle tour of Portland's vaunted neighborhood greenways. These are streets that have been renovated in various ways to make them more biking and pedestrian friendly/safer. The cost per mile is about $250,000.  Salem currently has zero neighborhood greenways. Portland…
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Posted inSalem Salem, Open Your Eyes Science

Why being critical and contentious is a must for citizen activists

I've been called a "bomb thrower" by City officials and other members of the Powers-That-Be here in Salem, Oregon.  As I said in a blog post last year, I don't see this as an insult. Quite the reverse, in fact. I've been called a bomb-thrower by folks at City Hall. I guess this is supposed to be an insult. I consider it a compliment. I'm proud to speak out loud and powerfully when I see stuff going on in Salem that shouldn't be. My goal is to throw truth-bombs that open up minds and demolish barriers to seeing what is happening behind…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Salem

Salem Mayor disavows City of Salem press release

I didn't attend Mayor Anna Peterson's predictably-Pollyannaish "State of the City" address yesterday. I was worried that I'd suffer a massive overdose of sugary unreality.  Reading the beginning of a Statesman Journal story about the event made me feel good about my decision. The toughest question Salem Mayor Anna Peterson faced at her State of the City Address on Wednesday was what her favorite community activity to do in the city was. ...The atmosphere in the Santiam River Room at the Salem Convention Center was decidedly relaxed. The assembly of city officials, business leaders, educators and members of the police…
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Posted inBicycling Salem

Salem cyclists get a tour of Portland’s neighborhood greenways

"Now we want to move to Portland." I heard this from some people who had recently moved to Salem and, like me, had just finished a 10 mile tour of Portland's highly-acclaimed Neighborhood Greenways. They may not have been completely serious, but they sure sounded like it. Hopefully Salem's City officials and Chamber of Commerce types will take those words -- Now we want to move to Portland -- to heart. People of all ages are putting more importance on favoring towns that are walkable and bikeable when deciding where to move themselves or a business. So kudos to the…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Salem

Salem City Club talk: Media-inspired fear distorts reality

I hugely enjoyed today's Salem City Club speaker, David Altheide. His topic was "The Fear Factor Today: Media-inspired Politics of Fear in American Life." A sociologist, Altheide has done a lot of academic research on how fear is used to manipulate the citizenry in this country. Politicians and corporations do their share, furthering their special interests. The media help out by dramatizing risks that aren't really serious, while minimizing risks that are.  Altheide discussed numerous examples of this. For example, if you're old enough (as I am), you'll remember the pictures of missing children on milk cartons. Amber Alerts are…
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Posted inSalem

More beautiful trees in downtown Salem cut down for no good reason

Another sad day for tree lovers here in Salem, Oregon -- the city that hangs a new Tree City USA banner in its city council chambers one day a year, then trashes trees the rest of the time.  Today these beautiful trees on High Street, just south of the Elsinore Theatre, were chopped down. The area in front of the DaVinci restaurant and Croissant & Co. now looks like this: I have no idea why the owner of the Ira's Alley building would want to uglify the streetscape by cutting down trees for no good reason. I can use those…
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Posted inSalem

Earthquake readiness: will the Salem City Council choose to save lives?

Why would anyone not want to save lives of people who are at Salem's City Hall and Library when (not if) the "Big One" earthquake hits? Great question.  Citizens need to keep asking it, now that Salem Mayor Anna Peterson's hand-picked Blue Ribbon Task Force on the Police Facility has recommended that seismic upgrades to the Civic Center aren't necessary to pursue right now.  Maybe mañana. Or the day, year, decade, or whatever after that. After all, it's just precious human lives at stake here.  Many thousands of lives have been lost in Nepal recently after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake…
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