With the always wholesome Pressplay Salem publishing The Anti-Racist Ally’s Holiday Gift Guide, we are reminded that many locally owned businesses are struggling. If you are looking for takeout, or a holiday gift, why not support local?! Here are some neighborhood options: Plants and flowers 13th Street Nursery – 1298 13th St SE – 13thstreetnursery.net […]
Category: Our City
Get rid of those leaves
When traversing the historic SESNA neighborhood, one of the things standing out are the many and diverse trees lining the streets. These tall companions provide shade on hot days, a respite from harsh winds, cover and living space for all kinds of small animals, color the neighborhood green in summer and colorful in fall… But […]
Re-discovering history
In 2010, after years of close partnership and shared vision, Mission Mill Museum (established 1964) and the Marion County Historical Society (established 1950) merged to form the Willamette Heritage Center. Today the Center connects generations by preserving and interpreting the history of the Mid-Willamette Valley.
All of us are part of a neighborhood, a city, a culture… a community. The fact that you choose to read this, probably means you want that community to be strong and healthy. The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has launched a new campaign website ‘Safe + Strong‘ that provides community resources on how to deal […]
The City of Salem is updating its Stormwater Master Plan to guide how the Salem community should address the many challenges associated with urban stormwater runoff. The draft plan: Contains goals, objectives, and policies to guide decisions regarding stormwater programs and projects Provides direction on how to invest to best meet current and future demands on […]
Summer activities risk

This writing was supposed to be about Salem’s iconic Saturday Market and how to walk there from our neighborhood, while seeing interesting things on the way. Sadly enough, reality has caught up to us, with rising numbers of COVID-19 infections. Promoting such a public gathering did no longer seem appropriate. Does this mean, we should […]
Shape the Future of Geer Park

The City of Salem is preparing to further develop Geer Park, a 44-acre community park located at 241 Geer Drive NE and State St., on the edge of SESNA. As a first step, neighbours can provide input on potential new uses and their location within the park.

There is no way around it; Oregon has a terrible history when it comes to racism. Up till 1928, Native American children were stolen from their families and put into christian-run boarding schools, to be forcibly indoctrinated into ‘civilized’ culture. At the onset of USA involvement in World War II in 1942, American-born US citizens […]
Hate crimes, even today
A neighbor recently reported seeing individuals with white supremacist/neo-Nazi tattoos and related symbols right here in Salem, in the vicinity of 12th Street and Hines. Hate groups have been expanding nationally and in Oregon in recent years. What can we do about this growing problem? The extent of the problem Despite Oregon’s reputation as a […]
At the September 25, 2018 SESNA Board meeting, SESNA approved a statement of concern and formal recommendation to Mayor and Council regarding the stakeholder advisory committee for the “Our Salem” comprehensive plan update process. The text of the letter can be found below. A pdf of the document is available for download here. The current […]