Ardeshir Tabrizian

Salem

Investigative journalist | justice and public safety @SalemReporter | Oregon Bar-Press-Broadcasters Council I formerly @Oregonian @eugeneweekly @MalheurNews

Featured in: Favicon

salemreporter.com Favicon

seattletimes.com Favicon

oregonlive.com Favicon

spokesman.com Favicon

koin.com

columbian.com Favicon

dailyemerald.com Favicon

eugeneweekly.com Favicon

keizertimes.com Favicon

malheurenterprise.com + 1 more

Articles

Keizer man accused of armed robbery at Flight Deck restaurant

Jan 16, 2025 | salemreporter.com | Ardeshir Tabrizian

A Keizer man is accused of robbing the Flight Deck Restaurant & Lounge in southeast Salem at gunpoint last month and stealing a “large amount of cash,” according to the Salem Police Department. Police said the robbery occurred the night of Dec. 10. The restaurant is located beside a runway of the Salem airport. Butch A. Knupp, 40, was arrested Thursday morning on accusations of first-degree robbery and unlawful use of a weapon.
Duo accused of stealing mail from five people in Salem, Keizer

Jan 15, 2025 | salemreporter.com | Ardeshir Tabrizian

Two Salem men were arrested on Tuesday and accused of stealing mail from five people, according to Marion County court records. Leobardo Bautista-Gonzalez, 36, and Jhan J. Cruz-Munoz, 26, were charged on Tuesday in Marion County Circuit Court with five counts of mail theft. Their arrests come after several others were accused last year of larger mail theft operations in Salem. Residents for years have shared concerns about their mailboxes being broken into.
Rising heat, dry land pose wildfire risk for Salem area, climate experts say

Jan 15, 2025 | salemreporter.com | Ardeshir Tabrizian

Temperatures are on the rise in the Salem area, with summer heat waves growing more frequent, prolonged and intense in recent years. Data from the National Weather Service shows Salem had a record seven days above 100 degrees last year. Since 2021, Salem has also averaged 34 days at or above 90 degrees per year, more than ever before. Salem also broke 11 daily heat records last year, four of which were in July, according to Larry O’Neill, Oregon’s state climatologist.
Salem man dies after driving off East Highway 22

Jan 13, 2025 | salemreporter.com | Ardeshir Tabrizian

A Salem man died in a collision on Jan. 8 after driving off a highway into an embankment in the Santiam Canyon, according to the Oregon State Police. The agency responded at 8:40 p.m. that Wednesday night to a single-vehicle crash on East Highway 22, east of Gates. Police determined that John H. Lambert, 60, was driving a Chevrolet Silverado east on the highway when he “left the roadway for unknown reasons, traveled down an embankment, struck a stump and rolled,” according to a news release.
Man charged with murder of Salem woman reported missing

Jan 10, 2025 | salemreporter.com | Ardeshir Tabrizian

Police on Thursday arrested a Salem man accused of shooting and killing a woman he knew who was reported missing last month. Erik M. Meza, 44, was charged on Friday in Marion County Circuit Court with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence in the death of Priscilla J. Aldana, 43, of Salem. He was accused of removing evidence of the killing. Meza and Aldana were in a domestic relationship, the Salem Police Department said in a news release Friday.
As Salem’s housing crisis persists, another affordable development signals hope

Jan 10, 2025 | salemreporter.com | Ardeshir Tabrizian

Evelyn McCoy-Harris knows what it’s like to be homeless as a single mom, unsure where she’s going to sleep on any given night. “I understand what it means to not have anybody to come alongside and say, ‘How can I help you?,’” said McCoy-Harris, chief operating officer of Seed of Faith Ministries.
BUILDING SALEM: Apartment complex slated to open south of downtown this fall

Jan 9, 2025 | salemreporter.com | Ardeshir Tabrizian

Building Salem is a regular feature from Salem Reporter intended to highlight planned building projects around the city. Is there a building going up or demolition underway you’re curious about? Let us know by emailing [email protected]. Name: The CartwrightProject type: New construction, residential, retailLocation: 1035 Commercial St. SE and 160 Bush St.Estimated completion: Fall 2025Cost: Property sold for $750,000 in December 2023; developer did not have construction cost estimate.
Downtown Salem Macy’s to close, ending 70-year department store history

Jan 7, 2025 | salemreporter.com | Rachel Alexander |Madeleine Moore |Ardeshir Tabrizian

As a boy growing up in rural Linn County, Kelly McDonald’s parents often took him to the bustling Meier & Frank department store in downtown Salem to get school supplies. That store, now Macy’s, will close this year after almost seven decades selling shoes, cookware and clothing. And McDonald, a Salem investor who’s part of a group that bought the building earlier this year, is part of shaping its future. It’s a major change for downtown Salem as the last remaining anchor store closes.
Your guide to Salem utility rate increases in 2025

Jan 6, 2025 | salemreporter.com | Ardeshir Tabrizian

Salem residents will pay more for water, garbage services and in most homes electricity in 2025. Rates are increasing for nearly every utility provider serving the Salem area. A typical household in Salem will spend about $17.50 per month more on utilities including power, natural gas and water, and about $15 more per year on garbage. This is what you can expect on your bills this year. Salem’s main electrical provider, Portland General Electric, raised its rates on Jan. 1.
No arrest in New Year’s Day shooting that wounded teen in NE Salem

Jan 6, 2025 | salemreporter.com | Ardeshir Tabrizian

Just 10 minutes into the new year, a shooting in the East Lancaster neighborhood left an 18-year-old woman wounded. The Salem Police Department has made no arrest five days later and is still investigating the shooting, according to agency spokeswoman Angela Hedrick. Police responded shortly after midnight on Jan. 1 to a call reporting a disturbance at a residence on Northeast Aguilas Court. They arrived to find a crowd dispersing, Hedrick said.