The popularity of socially responsible investing is on the rise. Forbes magazine reports that $1 of every $9 under professional management in the U.S. is an SRI investment. A recent survey by Merrill Lynch shows that 29 percent of young adults support values-based investing.

For every article I write, I start research on my subject of choice and find I’m always learning something new, or I find the research to be very interesting. This week I’ve been forced to study up on a subject that I didn’t know much about, but only because it was something I was just diagnosed with: multiple myeloma. This is a cancer of the plasma cells which is growing in my bone marrow.

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. This has particular meaning to me because 11 years ago when I married my dear wife Beth, I gained not only an incredible wife but also an equally incredible Down syndrome brother-in-law named Danny. Coincidentally, Danny had been a patient of mine in urgent care for a number of years before I met Beth. I always enjoyed seeing him back then as I had a special affection for those with this genetic disorder.

McCown graduates from Cal Poly

- Katherine Rose Johnson was born at 11:25 a.m. Sept. 26, 2013 to Stephanie Alexandra and Richard Donald Johnson of Scotts Valley. She weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz.