Abbey McDonald
@abbeymcd.bsky.social
Journalist at Salem Reporter 📰 SPJ Oregon president, UO alum 🦆
ICYMI - Noteworthy move by the city of Salem.
City of Salem sues FEMA, DHS, citing federal overreach in disaster relief funding - Salem Reporter
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, the city of Salem said conditions within federal grants providing critical money to repair damages from the 2025 winter flood include unlawful terms limiting local diversit...
salemreporter.com
I'm honored that my series about Oregon's civil commitment system and the public death of Melinda Lou Kayser placed first at the @spjoregon.bsky.social Northwest Excellence in Journalism competition. I'm very grateful that Melinda's family was willing to share her story. It's an important one.
Salem Reporter wins regional journalism award for “Sentenced to the Sidewalk” series - Salem Reporter
Abbey McDonald’s investigative series on the death of an unsheltered woman in Salem won first place in the 2025 Northwest Excellence in Journalism competition. It is one of the most competitive region...
salemreporter.com
Hey, Oregon journos! Did you hear that the annual @spjoregon.bsky.social is going to be in Portland NEXT Friday, May 29 at McMenamins Kennedy School? Come eat, drink and be the first to learn who won SPJ awards. Get tickets here: www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticket...?
Sunshine in May fundraiser
Sunshine in May brings together journalists, students and supporters to strengthen ethical, independent reporting in Oregon. 🌤️Your registration helps fund our advocacy work at the Legislature and tra...
zeffy.com
Months ago, I watched a presentation from Marion County which described gruesome crimes in Salem's largest homeless encampment. It included a claim of buried bodies. That was a surprise to the police who work in the park, whose data was taken to make the slides. No paywall on this story.
Marion County officials suggest unsolved murders, buried victims mar Wallace Marine Park - Salem Reporter
Marion County officials pushed to shut down homeless camping in Wallace Marine Park by spooling out graphic accounts of crime. They cited an unknown witness to claim murder victims were buried in the ...
salemreporter.com
Federal agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security arrested two people inside the Marion County Courthouse on Thursday, March 26. buff.ly/17GSm3Q via @salemreporter.bsky.social
Federal agents arrest 2 at downtown Salem courthouse • Oregon Capital Chronicle
Salem Reporter first published this article. Federal agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security arrested two people inside the Marion County Courthouse on Thursday, March 26. One arrest was…
buff.ly
Getting a Section 8 housing voucher can take years. Once obtained, the clock starts: use it or lose it within 4 months. In Salem, around 60% of people are able to find a home in the first month. Others aren't so lucky. Meet Nicky and Ally, who have been in motels since October.
Common rental barriers are keeping a Salem family homeless - Salem Reporter
Despite having a federal housing voucher that guarantees they can pay rent, Misty Blades, her daughter and caregiver can’t get their foot in the door of a new home. They’re facing the same challenges ...
salemreporter.com
A bill is advancing in Salem that would blow a hole in the public's right to know, according to the top official who protects Oregonians’ public meetings law, Susan Myers. @SPJOregon, @OPB and others strongly oppose #orleg #orpol #foia
Bill could enable secret government talks, Oregon ethics chief warns
A section that would provide broad exceptions to the public meetings law 'gives me heartburn,' said Susan Myers, executive director of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission.
oregonlive.com
Few affordable apartments are vacant in Salem, unlike Portland via @abbeymcd.bsky.social www.salemreporter.com/2026/02/16/f...
Few affordable apartments are vacant in Salem, unlike Portland - Salem Reporter
In Portland, a mix of market and administrative factors meant that over 1,900 affordable apartments sat vacant as of December. Salem does not have that problem, according to data from the Salem Housin...
salemreporter.com
Oregon journos! Early bird pricing on the Region 10 contest expires at 9 p.m. SUNDAY (Feb. 15). Get your entries in by 8:59 p.m., and you're GOLD. That's $30 per entry for member pricing, $35 for nonmembers. After that, it's $35 per entry for SPJ members and $40 per entry for non-SPJ members.
If you aren't keeping up with my colleague @jomsiess.bsky.social 's reporting on the Salem City Council you're missing out on a master class. www.salemreporter.com/2025/11/03/m...
Months of private counseling between Julie Hoy and former city manager preceded his abrupt resignation - Salem Reporter
Documents obtained from the Oregon Government Ethics Commission showed that Council President Linda Nishioka told ethics investigators that Salem Mayor Julie Hoy desired former Salem City Manager Keit...
salemreporter.com
Salem Mayor Julie Hoy has joined a coalition of the state’s largest employers seeking to make it easier for cities and counties to remove homeless people and their belongings from public spaces. buff.ly/UwnAzsg by @abbeymcd.bsky.social of @salemreporter.bsky.social
Salem mayor leads effort to expand local ability to sweep homeless encampments • Oregon Capital Chronicle
A coalition of the state’s largest employers seek to make it easier for cities and counties to remove homeless people from public spaces.
buff.ly
What an honor! Thank you to the NPF for this opportunity, I'm so excited to learn how to better report on federal policy alongside all these skilled journalists.
National Press Foundation@nationalpress.bsky.social · last yr.Congrats to the 30 journalists covering 25 states chosen for NPF's "Federal Action, Local Impact" Journalism Fellowship to be held in Washington, D.C., Oct. 7-9! https://nationalpress.org/newsfeed/npf-names-30-journalists-for-2025-federal-action-local-impact-journalism-fellowship/
$6 million in U.S. taxpayer dollars went to this, per WaPo's reporting. Gift article link below. Read with care. wapo.st/3HbPOmE
‘Welcome to hell’: Inside the mega prison where the U.S. deported migrants
Interviews with 16 former detainees of El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center offer the most complete view yet of conditions inside the notorious prison.
wapo.st
BIG NEWS! 📰 We are excited to announce the winners of the 2024 SPJ Northwest Excellence in Journalism Contest. Congratulations to all who took home a prize and check out the full list of winners here: www.spjoregon.com/contest
Contest — SPJ Oregon
spjoregon.com
Just two days to go until our spring fundraiser! One of many reasons you should come: You'll get a sneak peek into who won the five-state Northwest Excellence in Journalism Contest. www.eventbrite.com/e/sunshine-i...
Sunshine in 2025: Fighting secrecy, protecting journalism
Come eat, drink and mingle with fellow journos and friends to promote open government and recognize some great journalism!
eventbrite.com
Hi, Bluesky! 👋 We're the Greater Oregon chapter of @spj-posts.bsky.social, training journalists and advocating for press freedom and open government in Oregon and southwest Washington. Looking forward to sharing exciting updates on awards and our work at the #orleg on this platform.
This is horribly sad news. The Malheur Enterprise punches far above its weight and in recent years has trained many talented young journalists, including several of the Salem Reporter crew across the hall. www.malheurenterprise.com/2025/05/06/m...
Malheur Enterprise closing after 115 years as owners retire - Malheur Enterprise
The Malheur Enterprise is ceasing publication after 115 years with the May 7 edition being the last printed version. Owners Les Zaitz and Scotta Callister are retiring after each spending more than 50...
malheurenterprise.com
I owe the Malheur Enterprise a lot. It's where I worked the summer after a Covid college graduation, which kept me in journalism. In honor of its closure, which makes me very sad, please enjoy some eclectic photos from my Vale summer, 2021. Feat. Dinah the office cat.
115-year-old Malheur Enterprise, punching FAR above its weight in east Oregon, to close. "Large newspaper groups no longer buy such independent newspapers, and the pool has shrunk of people who want to, as owners, both run a business and a news organization" www.malheurenterprise.com/2025/05/06/m...
Malheur Enterprise closing after 115 years as owners retire - Malheur Enterprise
The Malheur Enterprise is ceasing publication after 115 years with the May 7 edition being the last printed version. Owners Les Zaitz and Scotta Callister are retiring after each spending more than 50...
malheurenterprise.com
Catching up on @abbeymcd.bsky.social series today and it is a gut punch. Up until Jan., state training for investigators determining whether someone should be forced into mental health treatment, included advice that if a person can find discarded food in a dumpster, they can take care of themself.
Julia Shumway@jmshumway.bsky.social · last yr.Don't read this excellent in-depth report from @abbeymcd.bsky.social until you're in a place where you can cry. www.salemreporter.com/2025/04/14/c...
Don't read this excellent in-depth report from @abbeymcd.bsky.social until you're in a place where you can cry. www.salemreporter.com/2025/04/14/c...
SENTENCED TO THE SIDEWALK: One woman’s misery reveals flaws in Oregon commitments - Salem Reporter
Government officials considered whether Melinda Lou Kayser needed someone to care for her. They said no. She then died, nearly naked, on a Salem street.
salemreporter.com
I met Jessica for the first time last August. While we spoke at a local coffee shop, her mother was slowly dying on a sidewalk. Jessica was doing everything she could to save her. It wasn’t enough. Here's their story, which revealed the gaping holes in Oregon systems. Take care while reading.
SENTENCED TO THE SIDEWALK: One woman’s misery reveals flaws in Oregon commitments - Salem Reporter
Government officials considered whether Melinda Lou Kayser needed someone to care for her. They said no. She then died, nearly naked, on a Salem street.
salemreporter.com
Obsessed with the squishmallows @abbeymcd.bsky.social brought into our office for an adoption event. This is Erica, a fox who canonically teaches ballet to a local hockey team.
Cleansing your timeline with this story from Joe Siess about a wonderful local Chuck E. Cheese employee:
Meet Ben Xavier, the breakdancing arcade technician at Salem’s Chuck E. Cheese - Salem Reporter
For nearly 35 years Ben Xavier has kept the video games and arcade machines functioning and updated at the Chuck E. Cheese.
salemreporter.com