| Good Morning, With two weeks to go before the Louisiana Legislature convenes to rearrange the lines of election districts to fit population shifts and equalize the number of constituents, a key takeaway from the latest U.S. Census count is the statewide growth in Louisiana’s populations of Black people, Hispanic people, and Asian people. The numbers of Blacks and other minorities have grown so much that a second minority-majority congressional district is possible. At the same time populations in predominantly Black Louisiana House and state Senate districts have plummeted. And not just in north Louisiana and rural areas. The predominantly Black districts in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Shreveport, and Monroe will need significant infusions of people in order for all 105 House districts to represent roughly the same number of people. Overwhelmingly White districts in those same cities have more people than they need to make up a district. The Census shows that 70% of the 27 House districts represented by Black lawmakers will need more people. Ten of the top 11 House districts needing the most people are represented by Black legislators. Politicos give multiple reasons from Census undercounting of predominantly Black neighborhoods to young people moving into neighborhoods with grocery stores to gerrymandered maps from the past that segregated Black populations. Meanwhile, civil rights groups want to add another minority seat to the 11-member board state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Black students make up nearly half of the public-school enrollment, a third of the state’s population, but just 27% of BESE members. Coronavirus cases continue on a sky-high trajectory in Louisiana, even as scientists are seeing signs of a plateau in the omicron variant wave in some parts of the U.S. Hospitals are still filling up and deaths are escalating – at least among those who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19. At the same time, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled one effort by President Joe Biden to vaccinate more than roughly 84 million workers, but upheld requirements that health care workers get the shots. Federal officials sent the first installment of about $1 billion for bridge repairs, part of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure measure approved by Congress last year. This year’s allocation is $202.6 million and will include work in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas. Louisiana has the third-largest bridge infrastructure in the nation. The state owns 7,846 bridges, with 795 needing major repairs or replacement. Another 4,736 are locally owned, with 793 in need of upgrades or replacement. As always, check throughout the day for the latest Louisiana political news at theadvocate.com/politics or NOLA.com/politics and on Twitter at @MarkBallardCNB, @tegbridges, @samkarlin, @blakepater, @WillSentell. Here are a dozen articles, commentaries and editorials that will catch you up for the week to come. One last item: Thank you to our subscribers. Your support means a great deal to us. If you're not yet a subscriber, we’ve got a special offer you can check out here. – Mark Ballard | 