🌱 Capitol Mall Child Care Rally + Physicians Oppose HB 2002 Changes

Welcome back, Salem! I'm here in your inbox per usual to get you up to speed on everything you need to know about what's going on in town.

But first, your local weather:

• Wednesday: Partly sunny. High: 71 Low: 48.
• Thursday: Partly sunny and pleasant. High: 79 Low: 56.

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Here are the top three stories in Salem today:

1. On Monday, Jun. 12, a rally to increase funding for child care was held on the lawn of the Capitol Mall in Salem. Oregon parents, childcare providers, advocates and concerned legislators placed 1,000 pinwheels on the lawn to represent the families that will lose access to child care under the recently passed 2023-25 Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) budget. Family Forward Oregon Senior Political Director Courtney Veronneau said Oregon should not be making huge cuts to child care and early learning investments when the state has almost $2 billion in unexpected revenue. (The Chronicle Online)
2. Talks between Democrats and Republicans began over the weekend in Salem to end the month-long walkout and bring the Republican senators back to the Oregon House floor. About 150 physicians sent a letter to lawmakers asking them not to change the abortion provisions in House Bill 2002. Physicians from across the state said changing the bill to require parental consent could endanger children who have been sexually abused and prevent them from accessing the care they need quickly. The physicians also opposed the idea of appeasing Republicans by setting up judicial involvement for children under 15 years old. (Subscription: Salem Reporter)
3. The City of Salem has agreed to pay a $25,000 settlement in an excessive force lawsuit stemming from the 2021 protest outside Planned Parenthood. The lawsuit alleges the police shot Clifford Eiffler-Rodriguez of Salem with crowd control munitions, then tackled and arrested him during the protest near the North Lancaster neighborhood. According to Eiffler-Rodriguez, the "less than lethal" launchers and pepper balls used as crowd control were at close range and excessive. (Subscription: Salem Reporter)

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Today and tomorrow in Salem:

Wednesday, June 14

• Live Music Happy Hour with Dylan Santiago At Taproot Lounge & Cafe (4:00 PM)

Thursday, June 15

• Salem Service Day At Riverfront Park (11:00 AM)
• Live Music Happy Hour with Dylan Santiago At Taproot Lounge & Cafe (4:00 PM)

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From my notebook:

• Looking for something fun to do for Juneteenth in Salem? Check out In Freedom’s Footsteps – Community Walk from 10:00 a.m. to noon on Jun. 19 and Bush House Museum and Salem Art Association's new gallery named after America Waldo Bogle, an enslaved Black woman who was brought to Salem. The museum will also show two new paintings by Jeremy Okai Davis, an Oregon-based contemporary artist at 5:30 p.m. on Jun. 19. (Here Is Oregon)
• The Wednesday Chemeketa Market is open today (Jun. 14) from 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.! Located at Chemeketa Community College Agricultural Complex with free parking available for market customers in the college Red Lot. (Salem Community Markets via Twitter)
• The Oregon property tax generated $8.698 billion in FY 2022-2023! Learn more about Oregon’s biggest revenue source for local governments here. (Oregon Revenue Dept. via Twitter)

That's it for today! I'll be in your inbox soon with your next update.

— Nicole Fallon-Peek

About me: Nicole Fallon-Peek is a journalist and copywriter with a degree in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University. She has served as a freelance reporter, managing editor, copy editor, and editorial director for a variety of B2B news outlets. She currently co-owns and operates content creation agency Lightning Media Partners.