According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, more than one in five school-aged children (21%) speak a language other than English at home.  That number of bilingual speakers is projected to increase in the coming years.  Yet many school systems and society, as a whole, seem hesitant to encourage and/or develop language-immersion programs.

By SAMANTHA MASUNAGA, Los Angeles Times

E-cigarettes seem to be everywhere these days. You’ve probably noticed Vapor stores popping up on street corners and in strip malls, advertisements and celebrity endorsements. While cities like L.A. have started banning e-cigarettes in workplaces and public spaces, it comes after explosive growth and popularity. Within three years of entering the marketplace in 2007, Bloomberg reports that e-cigarettes had grown to a $1.5 billion industry. Between 2010 and 2011, the market continued to escalate as the number of smokers trying e-cigarettes doubled, according to the CDC, from 10% to 21%.

Do you have a smart phone?

Chances are, it will very soon become essential in better managing your healthcare and ensuring better health outcomes. Looking back in recent history, smartphones have transformed humanity in a remarkable manner.  With now more than 5 billion mobile phone connections and almost 2 billion smartphone users (approximately 70% of the world’s population) around the world, we have become an interconnected, mobile, smart society.  In the United States, statistics show that approximately 90% of adults own a cellular telephone, 55% posses a smartphone and 50% regularly download apps.  

In my office is a tall figurine of my favorite super hero:  Wonder Woman.  My staff members gave it to me as a birthday gift.  When I received it, one of them said, "No one can see that cape you have on, but we truly admire how you balance it all".