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Opinion: Cancer-drug shortage creates ‘death panels’ for patients like me

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:36 GMT

More than a decade ago, conservative Republicans led by Sarah Palin created a furor by falsely claiming that proposed federal legislation to provide end-of-life counseling would result in “death panels” that would “pull the plug on Grandma” to save money.Today, something resembling real death panels have sprung up at cancer-care centers across the country, not because of a government plot but because of a poorly regulated free market. A national scarcity of front-line chemotherapy drugs — especially cisplatin and carboplatin — has resulted in rationing the life-extending medications.Many cancer centers have drawn a line in the sand. They offer certain chemo drugs only to patients they think they can cure and withhold them from those they deem incurable, even if the drugs would extend their lives. I’m one of hundreds of thousands of cancer patients on the wrong side of that line and now deemed expendable.For more than five years, I’ve been under treatment for a rare cance...

Silicon Valley office vacancy climbs to “historic high” as tech retrenches

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:36 GMT

SAN JOSE — Silicon Valley’s office vacancy rate has ballooned to what experts describe as a “historic” high level, a fresh indicator of the economic fallout unleashed by the consolidation in the tech sector.The office vacancy rate in Silicon Valley, defined as Santa Clara County and Fremont, reached 21.6% in the April-through-June second quarter, according to a new report from Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate firm.“The Silicon Valley office vacancy rate increased significantly in the second quarter of 2023, finishing at a historic high of 21.6%,” Cushman & Wakefield reported.During the January-through-March first quarter of 2023, the office vacancy in Silicon Valley was 18.4%, according to the real estate firm.Several forbidding outposts contributed to the grim landscape of the Silicon Valley office market and its sky-high vacancy rates.Among the weakest markets in the South Bay, according to Cushman & Wakefield:— Sa...

Huge housing tower is eyed for one-time Sunset campus in Menlo Park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:36 GMT

MENLO PARK — The leafy, low-slung former headquarters of Sunset Magazine in Menlo Park could become the tallest high-rise in San Mateo County if a project on file with city planners comes to fruition.A sweeping redevelopment is being eyed at the one-time home of the lifestyle publication, which could include several hundred homes, office space for 1,000-plus workers, a hotel and a housing tower that could top 20 stories.80 Willow Road office campus near the corner of Willow Road and Middlefield Road in Menlo Park, shown with the outlines. Boundaries are approximate. (Google Maps)A review of plans on file with Menlo Park city planners shows the most prominent feature of the project at 80 Willow Road would be a residential tower that could soar 328 feet. If the floors were a conventional 12 feet, that could equate to 27 stories.The property owners — a group whose principal executives include the son of a former top government official with close ties to Russia’s...

Opinion: Shopping for AC? Why you should consider a heat pump instead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:36 GMT

The recent scorching heat wave is a reminder that our relentless march toward hotter temperatures with climate change continues.Heat waves have already grown in frequency substantially across the Bay Area with climate change, and our exposure will only grow in coming years. As temperatures rise, so will the health impacts. On the average “heat day,” Santa Clara County sees an average of 504 excess emergency room visits, according to a mapping tool from UCLA, and these impacts fall hardest on low-income communities and communities of color.As policymakers and the public prepare for heat waves to become more common, we must ensure that our homes, and especially homes in low-income communities, are climate-ready. While safe temperature levels can be achieved in many coastal regions through simple improvements such as shading, fans, and energy efficiency, in many California climates access to cooling can literally be life-saving.But not all cooling is created equal. In fact, our cooling...

Cop recounts actions of man accused of killing woman and teen girl in Vacaville

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:36 GMT

Human traffickers use romance to recruit a victim “and the violence soon follows,” said a Vacaville police corporal and former detective with the department’s vice unit.Officer Steven Gunderson’s statement came Wednesday morning as he testified in Solano County Superior Court during Day 6 of a preliminary hearing for Raymond Michael Weber, 31, of Sacramento, who is charged with the fatal 2021 shootings of two females, one of them a minor, in Vacaville.Gunderson’s statement also came some minutes after co-defense counsel Leslie Prince wondered if human trafficking occurred in the case when Deputy District Attorney Eric Charm was questioning the officer about his extensive background and training in human trafficking.Judge Jeffrey C. Kauffman, who is presiding over the case in Department 1, eventually overruled Prince’s objection, essentially accepting, for the time being, that Gunderson was an expert in human trafficking, a ruling, the judge noted, that could be appealed later.Raymon...

Santa Cruz otter saga highlights human disturbances

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:36 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — The unusually aggressive sea otter swiping surfboards in Santa Cruz has had regional authorities hot on her flippers for weeks.But the less than ideal behavior isn’t limited to sea species.Curious kayakers and paddle boarders have been spotted in recent days getting too close to the charismatic ocean critters and experts warn that this can pose a serious risk both to the animal and its human counterparts.“This (past) weekend was off the charts,” said Mark Woodward, a Santa Cruz-based photographer who regularly visits the coastline on the Westside to snap pictures from the cliffs. “I mean every few minutes people were trying to get close to her and it’s really bad for the otter’s health.”International attentionWoodward took some of the original photos and videos of southern sea otter “841” – the name given to her after being born in captivity – who has made waves across the globe after she was seen aggressively wrestling surfboards away from oceangoers and ripping out ch...

Owner rejects workers' offer to buy Anchor Brewing Company

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:36 GMT

(KRON) -- Sapporo Breweries, who owns Anchor Brewing Company, has turned down their workers' offer to buy the San Francisco-based company.Sapporo said they would consider the deal if the workers had money lined up. Union representatives contacted Sapporo and requested the relevant financial information. According to the workers, Sapporo refused to give them access to the company's financial information, claiming it is too close to the day of when they would have to hand over control of their assets. Large fire burns in SF's Sunset District The union is now asking Sapporo to delay handing over control of their assets until September 2 so both sides could have time to work out a deal to keep the iconic brand alive. Sapporo released the following statement to KRON4:"We have made it clear since we announced the closure of the brewery on July 12 that its assets would be turned over to an Assignee for the Benefit of Creditors (liquidators) at the start of August. The brewery has no fle...

City council approves license plate reader cameras in Berkeley

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:36 GMT

(KRON) -- The City of Berkeley has approved the installation of over 50 automated license plate reader cameras throughout the city.The six-to-one vote moves forward a mass surveillance two-year trial. The city hopes this installation will crack down on car thefts and overall crime in the city by scanning every license plate that drives by the cameras. Owner rejects workers' offer to buy Anchor Brewing Company If the plate is registered to a stolen car or connected to a crime, police will be notified. The council will revisit the program at the end of the two years.

Biogen to bulk up rare disease treatments with $7 billion Reata acquisition

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:36 GMT

Biogen is spending more than $7 billion to buy Reata Pharmaceuticals and bolster its rare disease treatments.The Alzheimer’s treatment developer said Friday it will pay $172.50 in cash for each share of Reata in a deal it expects to close by the end of this year.Plano, Texas-based Reata focuses on developing treatments that regulate cellular metabolism and deal with inflammation in serious neurologic diseases. It makes Skyclarys, an FDA-approved treatment for the neurologic disorder Freidreich’s ataxia.Biogen puts an enterprise value of $7.3 billion on the acquisition, and said it would slightly dilute adjusted earnings per share this year, and be roughly neutral next year before becoming “significantly accretive” in 2025.Regulators and Reata shareholders still need to approve the deal.Biogen makes the multiple sclerosis treatments Techfidera and Tysabri as well as the spinal muscular atrophy treatment Spinraza. It also is partnering with Japanese drugmaker Eisai to sell the new Alz...

W.P. Carey: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:36 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — NEW YORK (AP) — W.P. Carey Inc. (WPC) on Friday reported a key measure of profitability in its second quarter.The real estate investment trust, based in New York, said it had funds from operations of $293.3 million, or $1.36 per share, in the period.Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the REIT industry. It takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization.The company said it had net income of $144.6 million, or 67 cents per share.The real estate investment trust, based in New York, posted revenue of $452.6 million in the period.W.P. Carey expects full-year funds from operations in the range of $5.32 to $5.38 per share._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on WPC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/WPCSource