KGW’s Straight Talk

Portland's 2024 election is likely to be the busiest in recent memory. The city council is expanding from four commissioners to 12 councilors, and every one of those seats will be up for grabs at the same time. The mayor's office will be on the ballot as well, and whoever wins will become the first mayor under Portland's new system of government starting in January 2025. The first person to throw...

​U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden was a guest on this week's episode on Straight Talk to discuss the challenges facing Oregon, including his work on federal legislation to respond to wildfires and combat the spread of fentanyl, as well as his efforts to expand rural broadband internet access and boost opportunities for farmers in Eastern Oregon. Wyden also discussed how he expects the federal C.H.I.P.S. Act to...

Threats against the LGBTQ+ community have been increasing in recent years, both in the northwest and across the country. Law enforcement agencies are tracking a sharp increase in hate crimes, and meanwhile the Department of Homeland Security has issued warnings about the potential for attacks on LGBTQ-friendly events. And the recent Supreme Court decision has many worried about the potential for d...

Drivers crossing the Broadway Bridge have surely noticed it in the past few months: Nearly all of the former central post office area next to the bridge ramps has been demolished, wiping the 14-acre site clean and setting the stage for a massive redevelopment project right between downtown Portland's Pearl District and Old Town neighborhoods. The post office site is the centerpiece of the 34-acre...

Congressman Earl Blumenauer has represented Oregon's Third Congressional District since 1996, and he's become a fixture in Portland over the years, known both for his signature bowtie and for his passion for bikes and public transit in the Rose City. There's even a local bike and pedestrian bridge named after him. Rep. Blumenauer was a guest on this week's episode of Straight Talk to discuss the c...

Earlier this year, Mayor Ted Wheeler shook up the bureau assignments for city commissioners. Commissioner Carmen Rubio, then in charge of city parks, was placed across two of the city's most critical issues: building more affordable housing and helping Portland businesses to thrive. Rubio heads the city Housing Bureau, the Bureau of Development Services and the Bureau of Planning and Sustainabilit...

After Portland superstar Darcelle XV, also known as Walter Cole, passed away at the age of 92, Poison Waters and other fellow drag queens at Darcelle XV Showplace hosted a show in her honor, fulfilling Darcelle's wish that the show would go on after her death. Poison Waters, also known as Kevin Cook, is a local legend in her own right, having performed drag for 35 years, and she's set to serve as...

After Portland superstar Darcelle XV, also known as Walter Cole, passed away at the age of 92, Poison Waters and other fellow drag queens at Darcelle XV Showplace hosted a show in her honor, fulfilling Darcelle's wish that the show would go on after her death. Poison Waters, also known as Kevin Cook, is a local legend in her own right, having performed drag for 35 years, and she's set to serve as...

The murders of Vancouver mother Meshay Melendez her 7-year-old daughter Layla Stewart in March led to an outpouring of grief in the Vancouver community, along with anger and questions about whether more could have been done to protect them. This week's episode of Straight Talk discusses the Tiffany Hill law, why it might not have been used in the case of Meshay and Layla, and what actions can help...

The murders of Vancouver mother Meshay Melendez her 7-year-old daughter Layla Stewart in March led to an outpouring of grief in the Vancouver community, along with anger and questions about whether more could have been done to protect them. This week's episode of Straight Talk discusses the Tiffany Hill law, why it might not have been used in the case of Meshay and Layla, and what actions can help...

Republicans in the House of Representatives narrowly passed the "Parents Bill of Rights," while Democrats introduced their own competing bill. 

Current school board members and students say it's important to center the needs and voices of students.

Speaking on Straight Talk with Laural Porter, Governor Kotek says she plans to continue her listening tour of Oregon, and keep up the urgency around housing

Multnomah County notably lost population last year, but on the north side of the Columbia River, Vancouver is still experiencing rapid growth — and it's prompting local leaders to think big when planning for the future. Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle was a guest on this week's episode of Straight Talk to discuss how the city plans to maintain its momentum and tackle the challenges that come wi...

Oregon lawmakers passed $200 million funding package to address homelessness and affordable housing. The two bills now go to Oregon governor Tina Kotek.

Oregon's housing crisis has been front and center during this year's legislative session as the state and its new governor, Tina Kotek, struggle to tackle a problem that has been years in the making. The scale of the shortage makes it difficult for even aggressive solutions to produce quick improvements; it will take a long time to build the hundreds of thousands of housing units Oregon will need...

Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell joined KGW's Laural Porter for Straight Talk this week for a wide-ranging conversation that touched on issues like police staffing levels and body-worn cameras. He stuck around for a bonus episode to discuss police reform efforts, his working relationship with Mayor and Police Commissioner Ted Wheeler, and what will happen when Portland transitions to a new form...

Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell joined KGW's Laural Porter for Straight Talk this week for a wide-ranging conversation that touched on police staffing challenges, Portland's crime and homicide rates, the 2020 protests, gunshot detection technology and the implementation of body-worn cameras for police officers.

The rise in remote work during the Covid-19 pandemic hollowed out downtown Portland, which was heavily-reliant on office workers. Can anything be done to bring the core of Portland back to its former glory?

Data compiled by consulting firm EcoNorthwest shows that thousands of people are leaving Multnomah County, and taking hundreds of millions of dollars with them.

Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation officials Heidi Wallace and Carrie Bates were guests on Straight Talk to discuss how people can recognize when drinking has become a problem, where they can go for help to cut back, and the kinds of benefits that can come from reducing alcohol consumption.

 Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler reshuffled some of the city's biggest bureaus at the start of the year in what he described as an effort to consolidate groups related bureaus together under the same commissioners in preparation for the city's transition to a new form of government. One of those changes was to give control of the city's Housing Bureau to Commissioner Carmen Rubio. The previous housing...

Multnomah County's new chair, Jessica Vega Pederson and Oregon's new behavioral health director Ebony Clarke join KGW to talk about their plans for the homelessness and mental health care crises.

The societal challenges are showing up in the hallways of our public schools. Administrators say it'll take a community-wide effort to help the kids.