KGW’s Straight Talk

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the U.S. fertility rate dropped to the lowest level on record last year. The news is sparking a lot of conversation — and a lot of questions. Is the decline driven by biology, culture or policy? What can be done? And what does this complex issue mean for Oregon, Washington and beyond?

Dr. Paula Amato and Dr. Ethan Sharygin were guests on this week's episode of Straight Talk to help break down some of the answers to those questions. 

Amato is a professor of OBGYN and division head of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at OHSU, as well as a specialist at Spring Fertility in Portland. Sharygin is the director of Portland State University's Population Research Center, with expertise in mortality and longevity forecasting, evaluating the quality of census data and the demographic consequences of disasters.

The U.S. birthrate in 2024 was 1.6 births per woman of reproductive age. The decline is part of a long-term trend, Sharygin said, first among teens and women in their 20s, and later among women at older ages. The Oregon rate used to be close to the national average, but has declined even faster in the past 15 years and is now about 1.4 — and even lower in urban areas like Portland.

It was a key promise on the campaign trail, and now President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration across the country is in full effect — but not without opposition, spawning an ongoing wave of legal challenges and protests.

This week on Straight Talk, two experts in the field of immigration try to detangle some of the misconceptions surrounding the president's efforts, aiming to peel back some of the layers of the debate over immigration, from legal battles to the Trump administration's tactics to what's driving voter sentiment about foreign citizens entering the country.

Professor Juliet Stumpf is a professor of law at Lewis and Clark Law School with expertise in both immigration law and the intersection of immigration and criminal law. Professor Alexander Sager is an associate professor of philosophy at Portland State University who specializes in political philosophy and the ethics of migration.

Oregon's 2025 legislative session wrapped up on June 27, a couple days before the deadline but without passing one of the top priorities: a comprehensive overhaul of the way the state funds its roads and bridges. The transportation package's failure dominated the final stretch, but there were plenty of other notable bills that did make it to the governor's desk.

Senate Deputy Majority Leader Wlnsvey Campos, D-Aloha, and Senate Republican Leader Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, joined this week's episode of "Straight Talk" to break down the highs and lows of the five-month session, which included a record-breaking number of bills and plenty of both accomplishments and failures to go around.

What happens when a city's restaurant scene reaches the pinnacle of culinary recognition — yet the chefs behind the accolades can barely keep their doors open?

Portland's food scene is experiencing a golden moment. The city that once parodied on "Portlandia" for obsessing over farm-to-table dining is now earning serious national respect. Oregon restaurants are sweeping James Beard nominations like never before, with establishments from intimate neighborhood spots to Willamette Valley gems collecting the industry's most prestigious honors.

But step inside these celebrated kitchens, and a different story emerges — one of razor-thin margins, impossible mathematics and owners contemplating closure even as the awards roll in.