Jackson County\'s population continued to grow in 2004 but at a slower rate than in recent years. The county had 162,973 residents in July 2004, up 0.3 percent from July 2003, the U.S. Census Bureau reports. Statewide, communities with the biggest change in population were those located outside the state\'s largest cities, including Detroit, Flint and Grand Rapids. \"Our urban centers keep losing population, and our people keep moving farther and farther out,\" said Kurt Metzger, a demographer at Wayne State University. \"It\'s kind of a redistribution of the population. We don\'t renew Michigan\'s population, we just redistribute what we\'ve got.\"

Detroit-trained choreographer Garth Fagan, a graduate of WSU in the 1960s, brings his high-spirited dance company back to the city of his youth. The 14-member Garth Fagan Dance performs tonight and Saturday at Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts. Winner for the 1998 Tony Award for \"The Lion King,\" Fagan's company will celebrate its 35th anniversary in November.

When the rent on his East Lansing apartment is due, Mark Herberholz logs onto an Internet poker site for a few hands. He says the income from his winnings helps to pay the bills and pass the time. The Michigan State senior says he spends about four hours a day playing computer games, instant messaging with friends and surfing the Internet. But he spends only about six hours a week on the computer doing his homework. Herberholz is one of a growing number of college students spending hours a day at their computers for fun. But educators say the growing recreational use can interfere with studies and affect health and social development. Although alcohol is often blamed for low grades on campus, it ranked last in a 2004 survey by the American College Health Association of the top 10 impediments to academic performance. Only 8 percent of students on 74 campuses said alcohol got in the way of their studies, compared to 13 percent who reported computer gaming and Internet surfing as a problem. That\'s a jump from 9 percent in 2000, when the ACHA began recognizing it as a problem.

This article focused on WSU's "E2 Entrepreneur Day," which combined a daylong conference featuring top-name national speakers with a business plan contest. The April 18 event was sponsored by the Technology Transfer Office. The issue also features three brief items on other events involving Wayne State: an Undergraduate Arts Exhibition, April 15-May 13, in the Community Arts Gallery, the gala at which actress Phylicia Rashad will receive the Apple Award on April 26, and an April 20 memorial event for the late poet Robert Creeley at the Welcome Center.

Columnist Robert Delaney reviews the Hilberry Theatre's production of George Bernard Shaw's comedy "Misalliance." In giving the play generally high marks for acting, set design and costuming, he urges readers not to miss "this chance to see a group of fine Hilberry actors in their farewell roles. The production continues in repertory through May 14 on the WSU campus.

This article on the growth in Livingston and Washtenaw counties quoted extensively Wayne State\'s Kurt Metzger and his census-based population growth report.

Wayne County continues to sustain some of the nation\'s worst population losses, while Livingston and Macomb counties set the pace for growth, according to U.S. Census numbers provided by Kurt Metzger, research director with WSU\'s Center for Urban Studies. "The story continues to be one of sprawl in a region that really isn't growing," he said. \"We\'re building houses faster than our population requires."

From 2003 to 2004, Macomb County\'s population increased by more than 7,000 -- the biggest numerical increase in any of the state\'s 83 counties, according to U.S. Census figures. Oakland County is second with an increase of more than 5,000 residents. Kurt Metzger, research director in the Center for Urban Studies, said the immigration of ethnic groups is one reason for the increase. He added that some Oakland County residents are moving to central Macomb County to avoid higher taxes. Meanwhile, Wayne was the only county in Michigan to lose more than 1,000 residents. But it still has the highest population of any county in the state.

Members of minority groups often do not get the latest medical drugs and interventions, according to a study released by the American Heart Association. There are many theories as to why, but most experts agree that it is up to doctors and the health care establishment to lead the effort to break down walls that make people distrust physicians. \"We can\'t care for patients until they understand you care about them,\" says Dr. John Flack, professor and associate chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, where he is training the next generation of heart specialists. He tells students to answer patients with \"yes, sir\" and \"yes, ma\'am\" and \"to convey to people (that) we\'d care for them like a member of their family.\"

The article speculates about who the next state superintendent of schools will be. Writer Michael McGuinness points up some irony in the departure of former superintendent Tom Watkins, who is "off at Wayne State University doing some online course or something like that." It is noted that Gov. Jennifer Granholm "wanted previously-popular . . . Tom Watkins gone, so he ultimately was shown the door." However, "Watkins was highly regarded by many educators and political figures. . ."

An article about the success of a Ferndale Schools team in the FIRST Robotics regional competition last month mentions that the competition was held at Wayne State University.

Researchers from General Motors, Wayne State University and Henry Ford Hospital are researching brain activity in humans while driving. The research, shared at the SAE World Congress on Monday, was conducted in 2003 and 2004 and is believed to be the first that addresses driver distraction by using brain imaging to examine driving-like behaviors in a laboratory setting.

An article mentioning that veteran White House columnist Helen Thomas will deliver the commencement address at Northern Kentucky University notes that she graduated from Wayne State University before eventually going to Washington to work for the UPI wire service.

A survey done for Canton Township Leisure Services shows that residents believe recreation programs build community, raise property values and decrease crime. Leisure Services worked with Wayne State University to write the questions and randomly select residences to receive the survey.

The Wayne State men's hockey team has announced that senior goalie Matt Kelly and senior defenseman Greg Poupard of Jackson will be co-captains of the 2005-06 team. Senior defenseman Steve Kovalchik, junior forward Jason Bloomingburg and junior forward Mark Cannon were named assistant captains.

The area between Detroit and Lansing is experiencing the largest population growth in the state, while the UP continues to lose population. "The 'edge suburban' counties - Livingston, Ottawa, Allegan, Monroe and St. Clair - continue to attract residents from the more heavily built-up core counties, while 'urban core' counties - Oakland, Kent, Washtenaw, Genessee and particularly, Wayne - continue to send more residents to other areas than they attract," said Kurt Metzger, research director at the Center for Urban Studies at Wayne State University.

WSU's "E2 Entrepreneur Day" on Monday, April 18, combined a daylong conference with a business plan contest.

Wayne State University's Hilberry Theatre rounds out its 2004-5 season with a very impressive production of George Bernard Shaw's "Misalliance."

A feature story on Madison Heights Bishop Folly High School baseball coach Angelo Gust mentions that he was the baseball coach at Wayne State for nine years is a member of the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame.

People of Arab descent are at significantly greater risk of diabetes than the general population and use tobacco at high rates, especially younger people, according to findings of the first studies of Arab-Americans\' health published in the medical journal Ethnicity & Disease. The studies were compiled by the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services in cooperation with Wayne State University. Some of the studies were based on information culled from Arab-Americans in metropolitan Detroit as part of a series of health conferences sponsored by ACCESS. Other studies were undertaken by researchers at Wayne State University and the University of Michigan.