Salem

Stereotypes: we're all prone to them. The worst kind are unknown to us, prejudices that aren't obvious because they seem so reasonable. I was looking for a place to park my Burgman scooter in downtown Salem yesterday. Heading for the Beanery, my favorite independent coffee house, I started to pull into a motorcycle parking slot across from the Salem Center Mall.Until I noticed that a guy who looked like a derelict was sitting a few yards away, his back against a building's wall, holding a cardboard sign that asked for help. A distressingly familiar sight these days.I kept going. Circled…

Today's Salem Statesman Journal reported that voters in my county, Marion, will have a chance to vastly improve our Board of Commissioners setup. Download County Commissioners articleMarion County voters in May will be asked if they want to increase the number of county commissioners to five from the current three and make the seats geographically based.The Marion County Clerk's office confirmed that the group "Have A Voice Everyone" collected enough valid signatures — 5,828 — to get the initiative, Measure 24-292, on the May 18 ballot.This is a great idea. Marion is the only county of its size in Oregon…

It's a tough job, being charitable. Yesterday I had to stand unmoving for a whole four minutes, leaving my vanilla latte unsipped for a while, as I video'd the Artemis Tribal Belly Dancers at a benefit for the Elizabeth Bowers Zambia Education Fund. Actually, I could have stood there for four hours. I love to watch belly dancing -- for all the right (and wrong, if there are any) reasons. And thanks to the troupe for only trying to entice females into attempting some moves at the end of their performance. I was ready to run for an exit, but…

Armed with a free entry pass, because I was going to participate in a Tai Chi demonstration, I headed off to the Oregon State Fair this morning on my Burgman scooter. What I found was pleasing variety and a fresh vibe that coexisted nicely with traditional fair offerings.Here's the photographic evidence. First off, I got a great parking spot right across the street from the entrance. Well, bicycles, motorcycles, and scooters should receive bonuses like this, being more sustainable alternatives to auto energy hogs. As soon as I enter the fair, I get an oh, yeah feeling. Whether six or…

This doesn't feel right. Like so much else that goes on in the unduly uptight and moralistic United States. Even pleasantly looser Oregon.The Marion County sheriff, Russ Isham, has admitted to an affair. He also has submitted his resignation. Why? The investigation determined that there was substantial evidence to support a charge of misconduct — a misdemeanor — based on the sheriff’s efforts to hide a personal impropriety, Green told the Statesman Journal."If convicted of this misdemeanor, a defendant likely would receive probation with time in jail," Green said. "There is no evidence the sheriff used his position for personal financial…

Yesterday I hopped on my beloved Suzuki Burgman scooter and two-wheeled to downtown Salem, wanting to check out the 2009 Summer in the City vibe. I'd read in the paper that Pepe and the Bottle Blondes were playing on one of the pavilion stages at 2 pm. And also that this year it was going to cost $7.50 to get in. But in to what? I was curious.Because this music and wine festival was being held on a couple of blocked-off streets. I guess my progressive politics has a libertarian side, because I wondered how it'd be possible to charge…

Reason #437,618 why Salem, Oregon's tribute to boring white bread living, sucks big time: Trader Joe's has chosen to open a store in Corvallis rather than here."It's really about the income of the community and the education level of the community. Those two points are really important in Trader Joe's world for analyzing a site," said Martin, who specializes in retail properties. Corvallis ranked a bit higher than Salem on both points, she said.Salem Mayor Janet Tayor has been lobbying hard to get a Trader Joe's in Salem. Great job, Mayor. Somehow her efforts were useless in convincing the company…

 A great weekend: I've fallen in love with my first high-end point and shoot digital camera, a Sony DSC-HX1 that I got last Friday (a three-month early birthday present from me to me, figuring that if I waited to give myself this gift, I'd miss a lot of summer photo opportunities).And I got to try out the camera at Salem's 2009 World Beat Festival, where I always have a good time. I went yesterday with Laurel, and returned today by myself -- wanting to apply some photo lessons that I'd learned my first time out and soak up more of…

Yesterday Laurel and I took a look at three of the 24 properties featured in the 2009 Salem Tour of Homes -- the two most expensive homes, and The Meridian condos. First stop was the $1,065,000 house built by Kaufman Homes at Sahelee Court, SE. (3,849 sq. ft.). Now, a million dollar home is no big deal in southern California. At least, it wasn't before the housing boom went bust down there.But up here in sleepy Salem, a million bucks should buy you some pretty damn impressive lodging. And from what we saw, it does. The kitchen was impressive. We…

Yesterday Salem engaged in a search for the area's cutest dog. June's First Wednesday downtown event featured canines of all shapes, sizes, and breeds, wandering the sidewalks, owners in tow.Download Salem Dog Days articleNaturally Serena and I took part, though as I say on my You Tube video of the event, we declined to enter the most adorable dog contest.Not that I doubted Serena's chances in a fair cuteness fight. Obviously she is the most beautiful dog in the world. I just figured that the little white fuzzy dog lobby would have biased the judges against 65 pound Shepherd/Lab mixes.Here's…

First off, if you're looking for a video that shows butterfly sex (and why wouldn't you be?) -- you've found it!Disclaimer: there is a human variety of "butterfly sex," and there is the authentic kind, what butterflies themselves do. This blog post is all about authenticity.Yesterday my wife and I took visiting relatives, my sister and brother-in-law, to a wonderful local attraction that we'd never been to before: Wings of Wonder in Independence, Oregon. If you love butterflies (and who doesn't?) this is a must-see if you're in the area.For us rural south Salemites, getting to Wings of Wonder was…

It's only about 28 miles from my house in rural south Salem to Silverton. But it seemed like light years yesterday, as we traveled from Oregon's stodgy conservative capital to a charming progressive small town.Amazingly, Laurel and I had never been to the Oregon Garden, which opened ten years ago. With my sister and brother-in-law visiting from California, we were finally drawn to check out Silverton's prime attraction. Well, let's say #2 attraction. Because Silverton's Stu Rasmussen is the first openly transgender mayor in the United States, and he's gotten a lot of attention since being elected last November.Including the…

Ah, I enjoy etiquette questions of this sort (especially when I get to both ask and answer it):Q. Mr. Manners, if an attractive young woman wears a low-cut top, showing off a rose tattoo nestled in her shapely cleavage, is it proper to admire this work of body art in an obvious fashion?A. Absolutely.That's my short answer. Here's the explanation, and some background.Recently I went into a Salem business and was approached by a twenty-something female employee. I was immediately distracted from my intended task by a more enjoyable activity. Namely, appreciating the sight of an artistic rose tattoo that…

Don't believe everything you read in the newspaper. Especially if it's a front page story in the Salem Statesman Journal with the headline, "Is Salem a tourist draw? Absolutely, bureau says."Download Salem, a tourist draw? I'm a long time Salem resident (I moved there 31 years ago, but now live about five miles south of the city limits). I know Salem well, obviously.When family or friends come to visit for the first time, Laurel and I start to panic. "What are we going to do? Where are we going to take them? There's nowhere interesting to go."So I guess we're…

It's Christmas Eve, so I need to get some Grinchiness out of my system before the clock strikes twelve and negativity becomes politically (and religiously) incorrect.First, a few personal positives about Oregon's biggest-ever December snowstorm.Our electricity never went off here in rural south Salem. None of our pipes froze and our heat pump kept working. We drove around fine with the aid of tire chains and all wheel drive. Today's rain has gotten our driveway clear.So we got through the storm better than lots of people, for which we're grateful. Friends in Turner (on the other side of I-5) haven't…

After having watched countless TV weatherperson explanations about why Portland and the Willamette Valley are locked in a record-breaking snow and ice spell ("worst storm since 1968...40 years!") the solution is obvious:Block off the goddamn Columbia Gorge.That's where the cold air keeps coming from. I wouldn't have needed to put on and take off tire chains several times this week if it weren't for the gap between western and eastern Oregon that keeps on funneling frigid winds into the Portland area, and thence down into the usually temperate central valley.Normally, as a card carrying 1000 Friends of Oregon member, I…

Usually we habitually bored Salemites feel inferior to the way cooler Portlanders to our north. But today I've been happy to gaze at our outdoor thermometer and watch it hover around 37 degrees -- where it is even now, at 6:30 pm.From watching Portland TV (but not KATU, curses be upon you) I know that most people in the metro area wish they could be less cool in a climatic sense at the moment. Those damn gorge winds are bringing you much more snowy and icy precipitation results compared to Salem and points south. Seemingly the tug of war between…

Depending on how the weather turns out tomorrow, my wife and I may be getting a We Saved Salem medal from the city fathers. Well, city mother -- since Janet Taylor is the mayor.Why? Because this afternoon we (actually, "me," since in our household sex role equality hasn't trickled down to putting chains on) got the Highlander Hybrid ready to tackle the six miles of icy south Salem roads separating us from essential winter storm supplies that we hadn't gotten on our first expedition.Like, organic coffee beans. I panicked when I made some pre-blogging coffee yesterday and realized that I…

The electricity is still on. Don't know for how long. Need to get this report out to the blogosphere while I still have a warm laptop. Things are desperate for us here in Salem. I just checked: there's an inch of snow on the ground! And it's twenty-six degrees! Pray for us, rest of the country. Because Oregon's Willamette Valley doesn't get much snow. So this storm is a shocker. Laurel and I are taking it seriously. Our lives -- or at least lifestyles -- are at stake. Panic started to set in yesterday. We'd been tuned in to the…

I'm all for raising money to fight muscular dystrophy. I just donated to the Muscular Dystrophy Association online. But not through the "Fill the Boot" program, which recently slowed down traffic in Salem (Oregon) at rush hour once again, as firefighters walked up to cars stopped at red lights, asking that donations be put into a firefighter's boot. I find this irritating and intrusive. I'm not alone, judging from some comments to a Texas newspaper story and what some friends said today when I asked them how they liked being asked to fill the boot. Last Friday I encountered the…