Only three communities succeeded in getting their annual estimate adjusted. On paper, the Census Bureau restored 2,546 people to their homes in Kent, giving the city a population of about 28,326 in 1999. We had nothing happen to contribute to that kind of loss,'' said Gary Locke, plans administrator for the Community Development Department. Also, the city didn't appear to be getting full credit for the resident population of Kent State University. The 2000 census information released yesterday puts the new population count at 27,906, showing Kent experienced a 3.2 percent loss in the past decade.
Officials say they're thinking about appealing.
But in the 1970s and the 1980s, the nickname might better have described a disappearing act as the old industrial town suffered from plant closings. The new census indicates Barberton has applied the brakes to that trend. As in other cities, the nationwide economic boom of the 1990s spurred new residential developments in Barberton. Hundreds of new homes were added, mostly to the east side. The Barberton Neighborhood Conservation Services has focused on fixing up the community's older housing stock and building on formerly vacant lots.