This is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month — set aside by presidential proclamation to recognize one of the nation’s most diverse and fastest growing population groups. The 2000 Census counted more than 10-million Asian or Pacific Islanders. While the group is about 3.8 percent of the country’s total population, its members represent a rich variety of backgrounds. Americans of Chinese ancestry are the largest number, at nearly 2.5-million, followed by Filipinos and Asian Indians at over 1.5-million each. There are just over a million Koreans and nearly 800-thousand Japanese. Recent projections show that by the year 2050, this group will grow more than 200 percent and top 33-million. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau on the Web at www.census.gov.