KGW’s Straight Talk

Washington voters will cast their ballots next month to decide the fate of Initiative 645, a measure targeting the new "millionaires tax" passed by the state legislature in March and signed into law by Governor Bob Ferguson. The law imposes a 9.9% tax on income above $1 million beginning in 2028. The money generated — about $3 billion per year at the start — would fund childcare, K-12 education and free school meals.

I-645 would repeal that tax and also prevent the state or local governments from taxing individual income in the future. Supporters of the initiative say the new tax could open the door to a full-scale income tax in the future, something Washington has always eschewed. The repeal measure qualified for the ballot after supporters collected more than 500,000 signatures.

This week's episode of Straight Talk features three guests; AFL-CIO Washington State Labor Council president April Sims, a spokesperson for the campaign against I-645; former U.S. Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, a spokesperson for the Yes on 645 campaign; and Earth Finance founder Reuven Carlyle, whose previous career as a Washington lawmaker gives him a strong understanding of the state's finances.

What does success look like in year one?

For the Portland Fire, it starts with 19,000 people packing the Moda Center. Then it's the buzzer-beaters, the big nights and a fanbase that just keeps growing. The team's 17-27 record is the second best inaugural season for a WNBA expansion team since 2000 and put the Fire at ninth in the league, just shy of making the playoffs.

Even without a playoff berth, the Fire's future appears bright. Now, the challenge becomes how to sustain the momentum in order to build a franchise that lasts. Portland Fire President Clare Hamill was a guest on this week's episode of Straight Talk to discuss the team's inaugural season and the roadmap as the team gears up for the WNBA's expanded 2027 season.

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson talks Moda Center negotiations, why he won't endorse police abolitionists, and the city's homeless shelter crisis.

In just over six weeks, voters in Washington County will choose their next county chair in a runoff race, triggered after no candidate cleared the 50% threshold in May's primary.

Sitting commissioners Nafisa Fai and Pam Treece advanced to the runoff, and they each were a guest on this week's episode of Straight Talk as they make their cases to voters in an election where a booming tech-forward economy, immigration enforcement and land use issues are major topics in the county.

Portland Police Chief Bob Day came out of retirement nearly three years ago to take the helm of a police bureau and a city facing some significant challenges. Since then, Portland has seen progress in some key areas like crime and public safety, but the bureau continues to struggle with staffing, response times and other issues. Day was a guest on this week's episode of Straight Talk to discuss his priorities and how his tenure has gone so far.

For more than four decades, Metro has played a key role in how the Portland metro area grows and plans for the future. It’s the only directly elected regional government in the country, and its work crosses city and county lines.

Back in June, Metro Council President Juan Carlos Gonzalez told KGW’s Blair Best he wanted to get the region back on track, and a few months later, he was a guest on this week’s episode of Straight Talk to check in on how it’s going.

Gonzalez was first elected in 2018, becoming the first Latino and youngest person to serve on the Metro Council. This past May, voters elected him council president, and less than a month later, he was appointed to fill out the remainder of the former president's term.

A PSU political science professor breaks down why the five-month Iran war has stalled — and what it could take to finally bring it to an end.