Salem News

Oregon’s unemployment rate rose to 4.4% in November from 4.1% in October, highest since October 2021 when the rate was 4.4%. In contrast, the U.S. unemployment rate has remained below 4%, as it was 3.7% in both October and November of 2022.

Governor Kate Brown today announced that she will use her executive clemency powers to commute the sentences of the 17 individuals on Oregon’s death row to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. "Today I am commuting all death sentences in Oregon to life without parole, so we no longer have anyone facing execution here."

For the first time since Feb. 23, the Oregon average for regular unleaded has dropped below $4 a gallon. Gas prices continue to fall in all 50 states again this week. Lower crude oil prices, lackluster demand for gas, and growing gasoline stocks are the major drivers.

Business travel is an essential business aspect. Traveling for business allows you to network with other industry professionals while meeting new people and connecting with prospective customers.

Last Thursday marked 42 years since John Lennon was killed. Many people, including me, lament his death and can recall where we were when we heard the heartbreaking news. This holiday season, we can heed John’s and Yoko Ono’s 1969 “Happy Xmas, War is Over, If You Want It” call by acting to end the horrendous war in Yemen.

Life carries on and forces us to think of what legacy we leave in it. Will we be destructive or productive? How much time do we spend to challenge destructive forces and how much to build? For me, the most rewarding is seeing positive change in eyes of children.

The historical and culturally based television series, The Sky Ahead of Us, in production for PBS distribution, explores climate change through the lens of several millennia of traditional aboriginal knowledge and wisdom (TKW). The series traces the historic migrations of peoples who would populate the vast land masses.

The Bonneville Power Administration is seeking tips about trespassing, vandalism and malicious damage of equipment at a substation in Clackamas, Oregon. “Someone clearly wanted to damage equipment and, possibly, cause a power outage,” said Transmission Vice President of Field Services John Lahti.

Significant dissent in China reared its head for the first time since the Tiananmen uprising in 1989. In many of China’s major cities, protesters joined hands to denounce the COVID restrictions and, though not in all cases, also denounce the Chinese Communist Party and its leader, Xi Jinping.

Since the day after Ballot Measure 114 passed in Oregon, guns and ammo have been selling like hotcakes. According to the Oregon State Police, the Firearms Instant Check System (FICS) unit has experienced unprecedented volumes of firearms transactions since November 8, 2022, as never seen before in the program’s 26-year history.