Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) has said he has waited his entire congressional career for an opportunity to participate in a sweeping infrastructure plan like the one President Biden has proposed. Blumenauer was a guest this week on Straight Talk...

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof writes about human rights, women's rights, and global affairs. He also has a unique perspective on his home state of Oregon and in Portland. In this episode of Straight Talk, La...

New York Times columnist and author Nicholas Kristof has been called the "Indiana Jones of journalists" for the dangerous places he's reported from around the world; genocide in Darfur, the massacre in China's Tiananmen Square, and war and human sufferin...

When the pandemic forced Portland Parks and Recreation to close community centers, swimming pools, and recreation programming, that also meant a hit to revenues. Portland voters came to the rescue in November 2020, passing a five-year operating levy. Por...

Three generations living together in a connected community, peers helping others experiencing homelessness, and grandmothers trained to offer counseling to people suffering from depression: from Portland to Zimbabwe nonprofits are innovating ways to deli...

Tax Day comes a month later than usual in 2021. The IRS extended the filing and payment deadline to May 17 to allow people more time because of difficulties posed by the pandemic. On Straight Talk, former Portland City Commissioner Steve Novick, economis...

Before 2001, a diagnosis of chronic myelogenous leukemia was almost certainly terminal. But a breakthrough drug pioneered by a doctor at OHSU changed that and made the rare cancer treatable, saving thousands of lives.  Dr. Brian Druker, chairman of OHSU'...

The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners has declared racism as a public health crisis, in an attempt to rebuild the county using a racial equity lens. Chair Deborah Kafoury and Multnomah County Interim Health Director Ebony Clarke were guests on this...

Even as Oregon and Washington have expanded vaccine eligibility to everyone older than 16, the number of COVID cases and hospitalizations are going up. The Oregon Health Authority said this week, those numbers in some counties are beginning to look like ...

Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio is king of the hill, at least Capitol Hill, when it comes to all things transportation and infrastructure. As the Chairman of the powerful House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, DeFazio is considered the exper...

A human rights expert for the United Nations has said anti-Muslim hatred has reached epidemic proportions. Now as Ramadan begins, Portland Muslim community leaders are calling for unity against Islamophobia and all forms of hate.

Four Asian American women who are community leaders in Oregon discuss recent anti-Asian violence and how to stop it on this week's episode of "Straight Talk."

Three women who helped lead Oregon through the COVID-19 pandemic reflect on the past year, lessons learned and what’s ahead.

The Portland Street Response Team, a non-police response to assist people in a behavioral or mental health crisis or experiencing homelessness, officially launched last month. Here's a look at how the program is going.

This week's Straight Talk episode takes a look back at the winter storm in February that left many without power for more than a week, and takes a look ahead to see how we can keep ourselves safe when natural disasters strike in the future. KGW’s Dan Hag...

The Port of Portland brings in nearly $6.5 billion a year to the region. Now, it’s looking to do some major overhauling through selling and repurposing properties to spread the wealth with people of color, the poor and marginalized. In this episode of St...

Now in office for six months, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt discusses his criminal justice policies, how they’ve been applied during the Portland protests and riots in 2020, why he supports getting rid of mandatory minimum sentences and...

This week's episode of "Straight Talk" examines the 2021 "State of the Economy" report with guests, Andrew Hoan, CEO of the Portland Business Alliance, John Tapogna, president of ECONorthwest, and Michelle Neiss, president of DHM research. "I would phras...

The pandemic has been difficult on everyone, but it has had a disproportionate impact on older adults. They're the most likely to contract COVID-19, to be hospitalized and to die.  According to the health policy group, KFF, adults 65 and older account fo...

The mayors of Gresham, Beaverton and West Linn all have something in common. They are first-term mayors who took office in January and are breaking barriers. Mayor Travis Stovall is the first Black mayor of Gresham, Oregon's fourth largest city. Mayor La...

In the bonus podcast episode, KGW's Dan Haggerty sits down for a one-on-one with Republican congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, who represents Southwest Washington, to talk about the impeachment of President Trump, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene being remo...

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of life. In the first segment this week, Jeff Carr, CEO of Albertina Kerr, discusses the impact the pandemic has had on youth mental health. In the second segment (14:30), Susannah Morgan, the CEO of the Or...

While many in Oregon and Washington eagerly await getting the COVID-19 vaccine, school leaders in both states are charting a course for schools to reopen even before everyone is vaccinated. The heads of public schools in Oregon and Washington believe it'...

Portland's two newest city commissioners, Mingus Mapps and Carmen Rubio, were sworn into office on Jan. 1 with big plans to move the city ahead in 2021. They discuss what they're working on and what they're hope to accomplish.

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) was on the Senate floor when members of a violent pro-Trump mob broke into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Wyden talked about the incident and called for President Donald Trump to be removed from office on this week's episode of ...