Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, August 02, 2006, Page 2, Image 2

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Impact of Mentally 111 in
Oregon Jails Measured
SOUL1
CELEBRATION
SUNDAY, AUGUST 13, 2006
Presented by
NW N a t u r a l
WHWBfWIÖU®
You are invited!
Join us to Celebrate our 25th
Anniversary of providing options
to the youth of our Community.
Sunday,
August 13, 2006
1:00 pm-6:00 pm
Unthank Park
Next to Center for Self Enhancement
3920 N. Kerby Portland, OR 97227-1255
50 3.249.1720
Cool Music from
Special Guests!
SOUL VACCINATION
2:00 pm-4:00 pm
A s ta te su rv e y sh o w s th a t
nearly nine p ercent o f inm ates in
O reg o n 's 30 co u n ty -ru n ja ils are
p erso n s w ith serio u s m ental ill­
nesses, and co n clu d es that both
the inm ates and ja ils w ould b en ­
efit from th eir d iv ersio n to other
ty p es o f program s.
"B y a n d la rg e , th e su rv e y
found that m any o f th ese people
have com m itted lesser crim es and
d o n 't pose sig n ifican t risk to the
p u b lic ,” said Bob N ikkei, m ental
health and ad d ictio n s ad m in is­ ported that inmates with serious
trato r in the O regon D epartm ent mental illness, defined as schizo­
o f H um an S ervices. "M ost w ould phrenia. severe depression and bi­
b enefit from treatm ent and do not polar or m anic-depressive disor­
belong in ja il."
der. have more trouble following
The jails reported that the typi­ sim ple rules, require more staff su­
cal cost for an inmate with mental pervision, spend more time in isola­
illness was a third greater than that tion cells and require more medical
for other inm ates, or about $ l(X) a attention than other inmates.
day com pared with less than $76, as
On any given day. the ja ils
a result o f more prescription drugs, h o u se ab o u t 6 ,1 0 0 in m ates o f
staff time and medical care.
w hom about 500 ex p erien ce se ri­
Nikkei said jail m anagers re- ous m ental illness.
LIV AND THE
WARFIELD PROJECT
4:30 pm-6:00 pm
• Complimentary BBQ
and beverages
• Kids Play Activities including
• Free Haircuts provided by
SEI Alumn Terrell Brandon's
Barber Shop
1:30 pm-3:30 pm
• Join Us at the Special
Alumni Balcony
• And More Fun for
Everyone!
Fun w ith the Jammin' 95
Street Team
KINK Radio
The Skanner Newspapers
Complimentary parking
and shuttle bus!
1:00 pm-6:30 pm
President Bush signs the reauthorization o f the Voting Rights Act as Reps. John Conyers and
James Sensenbrenner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Senators Harry Reid and Bill Frist
look on at a White House ceremony. (AP photo)
Park in the Legacy Emanuel lot
marked with SEI sign, located on N.
Graham Street between N. Williams
and N. Vancouver.
Now Comes Voting Rights Enforcement
to talk over how the Justice Parks, w ho was arrested in 1955 for
Bush pledges ers D epartm
ent will m onitor the en ­ refusing to give up her seat to a
forcem ent o f the act. "T oday’s white man on a city bus in M ont­
events represent a significant vic­ gomery, Ala.: Dorothy Height, the
to stand
tory for A frican-A m ericans, but a longtim e chairw om an o f the N a­
com plete victory it is not." Sharpton tional Council o f Negro W omen;
behind law
said.
Ju lian B ond, ch a irm an o f the
Parking available courtesy o f Legacy
Cmanuel Hospital
H
kAn-nE,
gasfïiÇM
NW N a tu r a l
The
PO W ER
Of
D i V e R I IT y
is evident in BLM— in its
lands and resources, programs, and
workforce.
D i V e R
T y
United States Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
www.or.blm.gov
<
(A P) — Civil rights leaders said
T hursday that P resident Bush's
signature to extend the 1960s civil
rights law against racist voting prac­
tices will be ju st a footnote in his­
tory if the governm ent fails to en ­
force it.
At a bill signing cerem ony at the
W hite House to extend provisions
of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Bush
pledged to stand behind the law
that opened polls to millions of
black Americans.
"Today, we renew a bill that
helped bring a com m unity on the
margins into the life o f American
dem ocracy," Bush said. "My ad­
ministration will vigorously enforce
the provisions o f this law, and we
will defend it in court."
Noting the president's w ords on
enforcement, civil rights activist Al
Sharpton said: "You can bet we'll
make sure that he keeps his pledge."
Sharpton called on Bush to meet
imm ediately with civil rights lead-
Civil rights activists accuse the
Bush adm inistration o f politicizing
the Justice Department's civil rights
division, and say it has turned a
blind eye to voter suppression tac­
tics, such as photo identification
provisions and citizenship require­
ments, in states across the nation.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson said
Bush rightly talked o f "enforce­
ment" and how the "work fo ra more
perfect union is never ending." But
he said civil rights leaders must be
assured that the adm inistration will
protect the law against efforts in
the courts to underm ine it.
"I think he should be proud o f
signing it, but the D epartm ent of
Justice must be vigorous in enforc­
ing it," Jackson said.
G uests at the bill signing read
like a who's who o f black leaders
and veterans o f the civil rights
movement. A m ong the estim ated
600 in the audience were:
Representatives o f the late Rosa
N A A C P , re la tiv e s o f the late
C oretta Scott King, a prominent
civil rights activist and the widow
o f slain civil rights leader Martin
Luther King Jr.; and Rep. John
Lewis, D-Ga., who was part of the
historic 1965 march from Selma to
M ontgom ery, Ala., to support vot­
ing rights for blacks.
"President Bush must make a
moral and legal com m itm ent to the
civil rights leaders gathered for the
signing that he is interested in more
than an election-year photo-op,”
said Ralph Neas, president of the
liberal People for the American
Way. "He ow es it to all Americans
that the Voting Rights Act is en­
forced. Unfortunately, that is not
the record o f this adm inistration -
by a long shot."
The bill passed the Senate by a
vote o f 98-0 and the House 390-33
- overw helm ing majorities that be­
lied the difficulties in getting the
bills passed.
Chicago Orders Wal-Mart to Pay More
Living wage set
at $10 plus $3
in benefits
(A P )--B rushing aside w arnings
from W al-M art Stores Inc., the
Chicago City Council approved an
ordinance that makes Chicago the
biggest city in the nation to require
big-box retailers to pay a "living
wage."
"It's trying to get the largest
com panies in America to pay d e­
cent wages," said Alderman Toni
Preckwinkle.
The ordinance passed July 26 on
a 35-14 vote after three hours of
impassioned debate.
The measure requires mega-re-
tailers with more than $1 billion in
annual sales and stores o f at least
9O.( X X) square feet to pay w orkers at
least $10 an hour in wages plus $3
in fringe benefits by m id-2010. The
current minimum wage in Illinois is
$6.50 an hour and the federal m ini­
mum is $ 5 .15.
M ayor Richard M. Daley and
others warned the living wage pro­
posal would drive jo b s and desper­
ately needed developm ent from
some of the city's poorest neigh-
borhtxxls and lead giants like Wal-
Supporters o f a Chicago city ordinance that would force "big box"
stores such as Wal-Mart and Target to pay workers more money
cheer during arguments in favor o f the measure. (AP photo)
Mart to abandon the city.
O ther cities with living-w age
laws include Santa Fe and A lbu­
querque in New Mexico: San Fran­
cisco; and W ashington.
The first W al-M art in Chicago
itself is set to open in Septem ber.
The A rkansas-based com pany has
more than 40 other stores within 50
miles o f the city.
W al-M art said that its average
hourly wage is almost $ 1 1 an hour
in the Chicago area and that the
lowest wage that will be paid at the
new Chicago store will be $7.25 an
hour.