Tagged: U.S. Census

Good morning! Here are some of today's starting headlines:

• Missouri Legislative leaders and Gov. Jay Nixon expect to receive population an demographic figures from the U.S. Census Bureau today. The data is important for state lawmakers to start developing new congressional districts. Missouri officials already know the state will drop from nine to eight congressional districts based upon statewide population figures released in December by the Census Bureau. State lawmakers will develop and approve the new boundaries for Missouri just like any other legislation. The Legislature plans hearing on redistricting in the state Capitol and across the state.

• The St. Louis Cardinals say pitcher Adam Wainwright could be lost for the season after being sent back to St. Louis for tests on his injured right elbow. Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says "things do not look encouraging" for the runnier-up in Cy Young voting last season.

• Missouri lawmakers are poised to make another run at outlawing some synthetic drugs. Missouri was among more than a dozen states last year that banned a synthetic form of marijuana known as K2, which is a concoction of dried herbs sprayed with chemicals. But before the law even took effect, alternatives were hitting the market that had made slight changes to the synthetic formula and thus got around the new law. Republican Rep. Ward Franz of West Plains is sponsoring legislation this year that would add more synthetic cannabinoids to the outlawed list. The bill also would outlaw a synthetic form of cocaine that is being sold as bath salts in some Missouri stores.

Good morning! Here are a few of today's starting headlines:

• Missouri lawmakers are preparing to start redrawing the state's congressional districts. Officials said Monday they expect to get more detailed population data from the U.S. Census Bureau this week. Missouri is losing one of its nine congressional districts, based on the statewide population figures released earlier. The new details of where people are living will hep the Legislature as it draws the eight new districts. The chairmen of the House and Senate  redistricting committees are planning to hold public hearings in several places around Missouri. They hope to complete the hearings in the next couple of weeks and will begin developing new congressional maps after that.
• The Missouri House is to begin debate soon on a plan to use $189 million of additional federal stimulus money for public schools. The House plan would use some of that money to offset shortfalls in casino tax revenues that were to go to schools. But most of the additional federal money would be used to offset state revenues already budgeted for schools this year  - allowing the state money to be saved and distributed to schools next year. House Majority Leader Tim Jones said the chamber could debate the legislation as soon as Tuesday. The House plan would maintain a more steady funding stream for schools than one originally proposed by Gov. Jay Nixon. His plan would have boosted school funding this year and cut it next year.
• According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Humane Society of Missouri has received custody of 74 dogs from a licensed breeder after investigators found the dogs malnourished and living in their own waste. State investigators found the Collies and Bichon Frises living in crates in a double-wide trailer on the breeder's Stone County property in southwest Missouri. One dog had to euthanized. The Post-Dispatch reports that examinations found several of the dogs suffered from dehydration, malnutrition, ear and respiratory infections, as well as internal parasites.

The number of black-owned businesses in Missouri increased sharply, by 47 percent, from 2002 to 2007, the St. Louis Business Journal reports.

Those numbers are according to data released this month from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2007 Survey of Business Owners.