Kurt Metzger was a guest on "Am I Right," a weekly program featuring hosts Rochelle Riley (Detroit Free Press) and Nolan Finley (Detroit News) discussing the week\'s top news stories. Metzger talked about the latest census data that show Detroit\'s population has fallen below 900,000 for the first time since 1920.

Kurt Metzger commented about Iowa's mass exodus of new college graduates to other job markets that offer more money and lifestyle amenities. \"A lot of these issues are long-term, and politicians feel they have to come up with a quick fix, something clever and unique that makes it look like they are making an effort to fix the problem,\" Metzger said.

An article about Detroit businessman Dave Bing joining forces with Bob Thompson, a Plymouth philanthropist who wants to donate $200 million toward a controversial proposal to establish 15 charter high schools in Detroit, mentioned a study by Wayne State that supports Bing\'s involvement. \"...Bing doesn\'t buy the argument that charters steal students from the public schools and the state funds that come with them. Detroit, he says, already is losing students through outward migration to the suburbs. And according to Wayne State University, 60 percent of the seventh-graders now enrolled in Detroit schools will never graduate.\"

An article about Detroit businessman Dave Bing joining forces with Bob Thompson, a Plymouth philanthropist who wants to donate $200 million toward a controversial proposal to establish 15 charter high schools in Detroit, mentioned a study by Wayne State that supports Bing\'s involvement. \"...Bing doesn\'t buy the argument that charters steal students from the public schools and the state funds that come with them. Detroit, he says, already is losing students through outward migration to the suburbs. And according to Wayne State University, 60 percent of the seventh-graders now enrolled in Detroit schools will never graduate.\"

Two members of the Wayne State University men\'s cross country team have earned USTCA - NCAA Division II national academic honors. A total of 80 men representing 48 institutions earned individual honors. Named to the team from Wayne State were sophomore Lance Jones (Saranac, Mich.), who is majoring in secondary education; and junior Justin Kessler (Ionia, Mich.), who is majoring in pre-med/biology.

Florine Mark, Chairman and CEO, The WW Group, was the featured guest on \"Leaders on Leadership\", the weekly series co-produced by Detroit Public Television and WSU School of Business Administration. Mark spoke about turning a personal challenge into a business opportunity that grew into a multi-national franchise group, and especially emphasized entrepreneurial leadership. The program host and the WSU student audience also learned about her extensive mentoring work with emerging executives.

The Trinity Lutheran Church on Van Dyke will hold a concert by the Concertante Chamber Orchestra of Wayne State University. Light refreshments will be served and the performance will begin at 3 p.m. on Feb. 27. The cost to attend is $5 for adults and kids 12 and younger get in free.

This article quotes a Wayne State professor for that discussed two mortgages that were held by Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick\'s Chief of Staff Christine Beatty. ...\'Although she was buying the second home without her husband, Beatty would be financially responsible for the mortgage on the first home and part-owner of the property unless Lou Beatty III got a mortgage in his name only and she gave up her interest, said real property expert John Mogk, a longtime professor at Wayne State University Law School.\'

This article on tax breaks to businesses cited data from of Wayne State\'s centers. ...\'Since 1985, tax breaks in the state have helped local communities create 193,000 jobs and retain 678,000 jobs, according to Wayne State University\'s State Policy Center.\'

This article on changes to Michigan\'s Merit Scholarship Program quotes a Wayne State student. ...Nedra Nicole Glover doesn\'t see it that way. \"I think a lot of scholarships favor upper income students,\" said Glover, a 21-year-old Wayne State senior from Detroit. Glover didn\'t score high enough on the MEAP to get a Merit Scholarship, but she is graduating from Wayne State in four years with a double-major. Granholm\'s proposed program would have given her $4,000 after her sophomore year, money she could have used to help repay student loans. \"A lot of my friends who got Merit Scholarships stopped and had to start working after two years (of college),\" Glover said. The proposed plan \"will encourage more to stay in school.\" But Glover is unhappy that the plan does more for the rich than the poor. \"A lot of poor kids don\'t qualify for the Merits now (by not scoring high enough on the MEAPs),\" Glover said. \"And now they\'re taking money away from them.\"

Edward C. Sylvester, 81, who held high-level positions in the Johnson administration, helped guide the 1972 presidential campaign of Sen. George S. McGovern and later was staff director of the House Committee on the District of Columbia, died Feb. 12 of respiratory failure at the Washington Home, a District nursing facility. Mr. Sylvester was in the first wave of African American professionals to step into national leadership positions during the ferment of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. He joined the Department of Labor under President John F. Kennedy in 1962 as deputy administrator of the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, helping formulate policies on international trade. Though he worked in policy and administration throughout his years in Washington, Mr. Sylvester was trained as an engineer in his native Detroit, where he graduated from Wayne State University. He served in the Army during World War II, rising from the rank of private to first lieutenant during service in Europe and the Pacific. From 1949 to 1957, he was a civil and structural engineer for the city of Detroit, supervising highway and water systems.

This article mentioned that Wayne State loss to Ashland 93-90 in overtime. Morris Hall scored a career-high 29 points for Wayne State (15-9, 9-5), and Darrell Evans dished out a school-record 15 assists.

An article in the health care special section on prostate cancer showed photos of the leaders in prostate-cancer treatment. Dr. Issac Powell, chief of urology for the Veterans Administration Hospital in Detroit and professor in the department of urology at Wayne State was featured. as was Dr. Jeffrey Forman, radiation oncologist at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute.

The second Walter Gibbs Lecture will be given by Wayne State Law School Professor Robert A. Sedler on Feb. 24, in the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium. The lecture titled "The Protection of Religious Freedom under the American Constitution" will address the constitutional protection of religious freedom under the establishment clause and the free exercise clause. A photo of Sedler is included.

The Federal Bar Association will present Eugene Driker with the Wade Hampton McCree, Jr. Award for the Advancement of Social Justice. His leadership in pivotal legal, civic and philanthropic undertakings includes serving Wayne State for more than 30 years. He helped create the Wade H. McCree Jr. Minority Scholarship Fund at the Law School.

The Society is hosting a bocce tournament, Friday, April 1, to benefit an Endowed Chair in Italian Studies at Wayne State University.

In a story about the demise of Black hospitals, a loss of 27 in Detroit, Wayne State's Walter P. Reuther Library is noted as an official repository location for the hospitals. Detroit was once among the cities with the highest number of Black hospitals, most of them owned and operated by African Americans.

An item In the college basketball roundup section mentioned that Wayne State loss to Ashland 93-90 in overtime. Morris Hall scored a career-high 29 points for Wayne State (15-9, 9-5), and Darrell Evans dished out a school-record 15 assists.

An item in the Area Sports Brief section mentioned that Wayne State signed running back Jimmie Freeman (Grand Rapids Community College), wide receiver Carlos Robinson (Grand Rapids CC) and safety Marcel Smith (Detroit Central).

An item in the Area Sports Brief section mentioned that The Wayne State men\'s swim team kept their lead with 274 points after the second day of the Great Lakes Conference championships at the Matthei Aquatic Center. Indianapolis was second with 246. The Indianapolis women had 319 points, followed by Grand Valley State with 273 and Wayne State with 203.