The ongoing decrease in the number of people smoking in California is a major public health achievement. With California adults smoking 25 percent less than the rest of the nation, our state continues to benefit from lower rates of tobacco-related illnesses.

The ongoing task of debt management for the federal government will clearly be very different in the years ahead than it has been in the past, when debt was rapidly increasing, ... With $3.6 trillion in debt outstanding, even a 3 basis point (0.03 percentage point) reduction in federal borrowing costs will ultimately produce savings of more than $1 billion per year.

The online travel and lodging industry clearly needs to improve its reliability. Simply put, when your site is unavailable to consumers you lose business. Marriott sets the standard for site reliability and responsiveness in the lodging industry. It is very rare for one site to top our rankings in both these areas, so clearly Marriott is the site to model after from a technical standpoint.

The only clear picture we have from the job cut numbers this year is that employers appear to be confused about the direction this economy is taking, ... Companies are experiencing increased business, but they are also seeing their costs soar due to higher fuel prices, inflation in supplier prices and a weaker dollar, which makes it more expensive to buy foreign parts.

The only difference is that television is such a predominant medium. ... Radio used to have sitcoms and doctor shows and cop shows and game shows and all the different genres, and television wrestled that primary entertainment away from it. But I think in terms of its impact on the medium of radio, yes, this is going to be a very big deal.