The House and Senate Governmental Affairs Committees both approved new Congressional district maps similar to the current one, which means just one majority-minority district. Slidell Senator Sharon Hewitt says, based on the 2020 Census data, she doesn’t believe a second majority-Black district can be drawn and pass legal muster. She says proposals that DID do that would actually reduce the chances of a Black candidate being elected…:

CUT 13(12)      “…majority-minority district.”

In the House Committee, New Orleans Representative Royce Duplessis was not happy with a bill moved forward that has only one majority black district. He questions bill sponsor, Speaker Clay Schexnayder, about fairness…:

CUT 15(13)      “…they want.”

The maps passed by the committees next face debate on the House & Senate floors.

COVID. The state Health Department reports today that there are 70 fewer people hospitalized with the virus than yesterday. By number, that’s 1821. About 70-percent of those still in hospital beds are not fully vaxxed. Just over 7000 new cases reported today; mostly the Omicron variant. This leads to hope the pandemic may winding down.

Crawfish season is typically associated with spring and summer backyard boils, but the season actually begins in January. David Grubb tells us why it’s not too early to start grabbing some mudbugs…:

CUT 01(30)      “…David Grubb.”