Commercial air service at Salem-Willamette Valley Airport  The original story: Since Avelo Airlines ended its service across the West Coast last summer, including at the Salem-Willamette Valley Airport, efforts are ongoing to attract a new commercial airline to town. In October, the city council authorized the use of $300,000 of city money over a three-year period to subsidize a new airline, hoping to jumpstart interest and negotiations with prospective carriers. That would be added to $1.2 million raised by private groups making the total incentive program worth about $1.5 million.  The latest: Kara Kuh, the chief marketing officer for Travel Salem, told Salem Reporter talks with potential carriers remain ongoing, including “one that would provide daily service from SLE (Salem – Willamette Valley Airport) to two major West Coast hubs.”  City spokesman Jason Roberts said the city recently applied for a $950,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation that, if awarded, would expand the city’s pot of money it hopes to use to attract an airline to Salem to $2.4 million over three years. Should an airline materialize, getting service started up again could take several months and is dependent on the airline and the availability of Transportation Security Administration personnel, Roberts said.  Salem’s oldest tree to come down The original story: The city planned to cut down a gargantuan Oregon white oak at 1307 Marion St. N.E. on April 1, due to a fungus that will cause multi-ton branches to fall off,putting people and homes at risk. The tree is likely at least 380 years old, making it the oldest in Salem, as far as local arborists know. A second tree across the street, likely over 150 years old, was also slated for removal in April.  The latest: City arborists delayed the removal to conduct additional tests, including inspections by a third party, and assessing the wood’s strength using sonic tomography. The additional testing confirmed that both trees pose a high risk of falling, said city spokeswoman Kathy Ursprung. They will be removed later this summer or in the fall, but a date hasn’t been set yet. The removal will be gradual, Ursprung said, starting with big limbs.The Salem City Council and Northeast Neighborhood Association will get advanced notice before the removal begins, Ursprung said. They are still considering ways to study and memorialize the Northeast Marion Street tree, including at Willamette University and through art.  Security robots patrol downtown parking garage The original story: City officials began trialing security robots in the Pringle Parkade this spring in an effort to bring down criminal activity in the garage, located at 325 High St. S.E. The three toddler-sized robots – Auto, TARS and Billy – made by Daxbot, a Philomath robotics company, began their evening patrols in February. The trial was planned for two months and projected to cost around $11,000. Officials were mulling expanding the robot security patrols to other downtown garages, if the trial was successful.  The latest: Officials expanded the Daxbot trial through the end of April to gather more data on their efficacy. In that time, the Daxbots recorded license plates and photos of cars violating garage rules to provide to the Salem Police Department, police spokesman Sgt. Jon Hardy said in an email. The extra month cost the city $5,500.  Along with the robots, the city added speed humps and vertical posts to guide traffic in the parkade. Police also increased patrols in the garage.  “While it is difficult to definitively assess the individual impact of the Daxbots, the combination of these efforts contributed to a reduction in driving complaints and calls about activity at the parkade from neighboring areas,” Hardy said. The city hasn’t identified funding to continue using the robots at Pringle, Hardy said, though extra police patrols will continue to frequent the garage. Have a news tip? Contact reporter Hailey Cook: [email protected]. Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-575-1251. Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected].  SIGN UP: “Your work helps hold leaders accountable and gives citizens a voice.” Independent reporting gives Salem a stronger voice on issues from homelessness to health care. Be part of that work. Subscribe today. The post Updates on commercial air service, robot security guards, Salem’s oldest tree appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less