The New Era - All about Sweet Home since 1929

By Dr. Caleb Fuller “Economics,” wrote Henry Hazlitt, “is haunted by more fallacies than any other study known to man.” True. No epoch is immune to the scourge of economic illiteracy. Yet, we find ourselves in a moment of especially...

Many rural Oregonians have DNA that includes a streak of “don’t tread on me” and that’s certainly true in Sweet Home. But, as we’ve seen from the deliberations emanating from City Hall, “live and let live” sometimes must needs have limi...

By Therese Bottomly Ever heard of Pappy Van Winkle before this past month? Me, neither. But lots of people apparently covet the high-end bourbon, including some managers of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission. Their insider scheme came to...

Creating a solution for Sweet Home’s homeless problem has been a long road, which is still leading us to new places for our community. It’s a relief that the Family Assistance Resource Center was finally able to get all the boxes checked that...

The title above might seem self-serving, but it reflects an increasing concern in Oregon, and not just for newspaper publishers. I’ve heard from readers, from government officials, from businesses who are worried about where the state’s...

Editor’s note: Although we are a nonpartisan newspaper, we think this “open letter,” written by the chair of the Oregon Republican Party, highlights concerns shared by Linn County’s rural residents, so we’re giving it some space. Dear Gov....

If you got the feeling, as you opened your newspaper this week, that it is a little smaller than last week, you’re correct. This is the latest chapter in the 90-plus-year history of The New Era, in which a lot of recent adjustments have been...

Editor’s note: As letter writers (and those who read the guidelines in the gray box below) are well aware, we nearly always require writers to identify themselves for publication on The New Era’s opinion page. However, given the situation...

Wow, hard to believe it’s already that time of year. Light displays, colorful decorations, evergreen boughs and trees, delicious treats, the Christmas spirit. I particularly enjoy hearing some of the old Christmas carols at this time of the...

I consider myself very well-versed in dealing with moving vehicles. I’ve been a runner for 40-plus years – though a bit slower now – and I’ve shared the road with cars all over the world. When I was a kid, I lived in Japan, where I delivered...

If last weekend was any indication, we feel pretty safe in saying that Sweet Home is really moving on from those two years of COVID experience. The Singing Christmas Tree pulled off three successful performances, for the first time in as many years....

By Rich Lowry New York Gov. Kathy Hochul delivered one of the most memorable lines of the midterm debates when she said she didn’t know why her Republican oppo-nent, Lee Zeldin, cared so much about locking up criminals. Hochul’s highhandedness en... Full story

The 400th anniversary of what is generally considered the birth of our Thanksgiving holiday actually took place last year. But a lot of us were still fighting our way out of the COVID pandemic then and, well, we kind of missed that moment. Fact is, i...

We’ve just finished an election in which campaigning, at least by some candidates, has seemed particularly mean-spirited and less-than-truthful than even what we’re used to in these affairs. So now that the votes are in, what’s next? How about...

This is a big election year for Oregonians, an indicator of which is the frequency and viciousness of the attack commercials this time around. Since 2012, both houses of the Legislature and the Governor’s Office have been controlled by Democrats....

Editor: The election for Linn County Sheriff is of utmost importance to our community and I urge all voters to take the time to educate yourselves and make an informed vote. I generally sit on the sidelines and quietly cast my vote in an election,...

So, coming into a very significant election in Oregon’s history, let’s talk about … electric-powered vehicles. It’s no secret that electric-powered powered cars are a hot commodity right now, particularly amidst the current global-warming...

By Ken Paulson There was a period in the late ‘60s when the Beach Boys, desperate for a hipper identity, reportedly considered shortening their name to “Beach.” Of course, the Backstreet Boys may perform into their 80s, but there’s no...

A lot of thoughts went through my head last week as I watched smoke wisp upward during a smudging ceremony conducted by local Native Americans to celebrate the transfer of Cascadia Park from state to local control by the Linn County Parks...

By Rich Lowry Joe Biden and Donald Trump are proving that even sworn enemies can cooperate to promote one another’s political interests. President Biden, with his criticism, and his Department of Justice, with its search of Mar-a-Lago and related...

The last couple of months have proved interesting as we’ve adjusted to a new printer, which we told you about in late June. As could be expected, there have been some ups and downs in the process as the Herald and News newspaper in Klamath Falls ha...

By Rich Lowry Does Attorney General Merrick Gar-land know that he is investigating the man most likely to be the opponent of the president he serves? Does he realize that the intense political pressure campaign that he’s under to indict that man...

All of us, but particularly anyone who’s lived, done business, or simply spent time in the general area of the Pleasant Valley bridge just north of Highway 20, should feel some satisfaction at the news that the city is moving forward with...

Perhaps the best decision Joe Biden could make as president is to stand down. It would be a welcome act of statesmanship and self-awareness if the 79-year-old president dropped the insistence that he’s running for a second term, and instead announc...

Normally, at this time of year, we’re writing an editorial welcoming visitors to Sweet Home. We’d be writing about how much we appreciate the revenue and the attention that Oregon Jamboree patrons bring to Sweet Home, extolling the benefits of...