PaEcA2____________________ II"|.Inrtla«h ©bscrtier CcIcbrrttlHfl ' O í \'C /* 5 í Í J / _______________ August2 .2006 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.