This video of the Capitol mall cherry blossoms was shot Monday, March 15th 2010. The trees will only look like this for a few day so get down there to see them soon. This is one of my favorite things in town to get video of because it's a challenge to my phtography skills, getting angles that I...more haven't shot before. If you bring your camera down here and get some nice shots send them to me in an email so I can check them out. gcorridori@katu.com.

SALEM, Ore. - Brynn Tann, a junior at Lake Oswego's Lakeridge High School, won Oregon's 2010 Poetry Out Loud competition, held Sunday morning at Salem's new Kroc Center. For winning the competition, Tann will represent Oregon against 52 other contestants from different states - plus the District of...more Columbia, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico - at the national competition April 25 to April 27 at George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Oregon had 5,500 students at 24 high schools participating in Poetry Out Loud this year. All the state-level contestants prepared three poems from a 400-poem anthology provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. The criteria included accuracy, voice inflection, evidence of understanding, level of difficulty and eye contact. On her way to winning the competition, Tann recited "Inside Out" by Diane Wakoski, "Her Kind" by Anne Sexton and "The Canonization" by John Donne. Oregon has had a historically strong track record in the national

Photo caption: Women's varsity 8+ competing last season. (courtesy Willamette University)Rowers from Willamette University and Lewis & Clark College will take to the Willamette River on Saturday, March 13 for an exhibition regatta. The best viewing locations will be from Wallace Marine Park on the west side of the river and from the Riverfront Park on the east side of the river.For more details...

What: Book lovers can load arms and bags with low-cost reading and all the proceeds go to support special programs and projects at the Salem Public Library.When: March 12 through 14. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Get the best bargains on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. when shoppers can fill a bag...more for $3.Where: The sale takes place in Anderson Rooms A&B at the Salem Public Library at 585 Liberty Street S.E.Prices: Paperbacks and children’s books for 50 cents each; hardbacks for $1. A long list of AV items is available, including CDs, tapes, records, videos, posters and more, all for 25 cents each. Romance paperbacks are also 25 cents each.

PORTLAND, Ore. - McNary's solid start wasn't enough to derail the defending state champions Wednesday. The Celtics jumped to an early lead, but top-ranked and undefeated Oregon City responded with a key second quarter and went on to score a 77-47 win at the Rose Garden in the quarterfinals of the...more OSAA Class 6A girls basketball state tournament. The No. 8-ranked Celtics (18-6) got off to a hot start, going up 9-1 on a three-pointer by senior Megan Hingston. However, three straight turnovers turned into three consecutive baskets for the Pioneers as Oregon City (27-0) got back in the game. McNary held a slim 16-15 lead at the end of the first quarter and the Celtics never led again. The Pioneers outscored the Celtics 24-10 in the second quarter and held a 39-27 halftime lead. The Pioneers outscored the Celtics by seven points in the third quarter before the fourth quarter when Oregon City held a 16-6 scoring advantage. Thanks to McNary's hot shooting in the first quarter, the Celtics

Lum-Yuen is one of several restaurants profiled in our latest Restaurant Report Card where we check on health department scores to see how local restaurants are faring.Get the dish on more restaurants

SALEM, Ore. - A three-alarm fire at Salem's La Amapola Market was caused by an electrical failure due to the misuse of extension cords, fire investigators determined.The fire happened March 2 and caused an estimated loss of $400,000 to both the building, located at 3352 Silverton Road N.E., and its...more contents.According to fire investigators, the fire originated in a storage room.No one was injured in the blaze.

SALEM, Ore. - Multnomah County Chairman Ted Wheeler has accepted an offer to fill the State Treasurer position left vacant by the late Ben Westlund, Governor Kulongoski's office announced Tuesday. In a press release sent to media outlets, Governor Kulongoski said “Ted Wheeler brings the perfect...more balance of expertise from both the public and private sectors to this job with an impressive record managing the county’s budget to a working knowledge of the financial industry.” Wheeler was elected in landslide to the Multnomah County Chairman position in 2006 with 70 percent of the vote. “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the citizens of this great state and am well prepared for the challenges ahead,” Ted Wheeler said. Ben Westlund died March 7 after a long battle with cancer. He was 60 years old.

A Salem police officer was justified in shooting a man who fled police, a grand jury found. READ THE STORYPrevious CoverageMan, shot by police earlier, arrested againReport: Officer shoots person during traffic stopReport: Salem officer shoots person during traffic stop

SALEM, Ore. - An hours-long standoff in Salem where a wanted man barricaded himself inside an apartment ended when SWAT members busted down the suspect's door and took him into custody.The incident began around 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the Rosewood Lane Apartments in the 2200 block of Marine Drive...more N.W.According to Beth Anne Steele with the Portland FBI, it all began as a check at the apartment complex for a fugitive who was wanted on fraud and identity theft charges.The suspect, identified as 37-year-old Adam Williams, reportedly slammed the door and holed himself up inside his third-story apartment when the FBI showed up at his doorstep.Amanda Attleberger, who lives directly downstairs from Williams, told KATU there had been problems associated with his apartment, saying it had been noisy at all hours of the day and that the police were even called a couple of weeks ago because of the loudness."We think that he is intoxicated a lot of the time just because we can actually hear what