A popular stretch of road in Sunnyvale is getting a long-awaited upgrade. The City Council recently approved a $2.56 million contract with a South San Francisco-based graving and paving company to resurface Wolfe Road from Homestead Road to El Camino Real, part of a 2019 initiative to update the old pavement. “The city and contractor will be notifying residents in advance about the work and any construction-related impacts,” city spokesperson Jennifer Garnett said in a statement. “We’ll know specifics after we’ve met with the contractor and determined the schedule and construction plan.” The r ..read more

Harnessing the body’s own cells to fight disease, long a medical dream, is finally a reality. Now comes the bill. Last month, Stanford became the first hospital in the nation to use a new $515,000 cell therapy to treat a patient with advanced melanoma. A related approach, costing $420,000 to $475,000, is offering hope to patients with lethal blood cancers. Meanwhile, cells fixed by gene therapy can slow, even stop, the progression of intractable diseases like sickle cell or beta thalassemia — for the extraordinary price of $2.1 million to $4.25 million each. Stanford cell therapy technologist ..read more

Moon is new city attorney The Sunnyvale City Council unanimously appointed Rebecca Moon as the new Sunnyvale city attorney, effective May 12. She has worked for the city for more than 22 years and has been serving as interim city attorney since January. After a national recruitment, she is replacing John Nagel, who retired Jan. 19 after eight years as city attorney. Before coming to Sunnyvale, Moon worked at a civil litigation law firm in San Jose for seven years. She joined the Sunnyvale city attorney’s office in May 2001. She has particular experience in state housing and environmental laws ..read more

As California’s residential utility rates soared to second-highest in the nation, the state’s utility regulators Thursday approved a fixed-fee billing plan for customers of PG&E and two other utility behemoths aimed at shielding the poorest consumers while promoting electric car and appliance use to meet climate goals. Related Articles Economy | Letters: Busy roads | Expanded solar | Alternative technologies Economy | Use solar power, kill a tortoise? Climate change solution carries environmental costs Economy | As Californians mitigate wildfire threats, why is there still an insurance ..read more

With a previously projected $250 million deficit, Santa Clara County’s fiscal forecast looked rather bleak for the coming year. But after making reductions and pulling revenues from its various departments, the county managed to bridge the gap in its newly released $12.4 billion budget. The recommended budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year is the first overseen by County Executive James Williams, who took the helm last July as the county worked to close a $120 million deficit on its $11.3 billion budget. Since then, the fiscal uncertainty has continued with officials warning that the gr ..read more

Our intrepid readers have traveled all over this last year, sharing their adventures and travel tips from Alaskan glaciers to the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro. But this one may take the cake. A Sunnyvale reader has just returned from Pitcairn Island. Read on for details, then find more travel inspiration at www.mercurynews.com/tag/wish-you-were-here/. Wish You Were Here BRITISH OVERSEAS TERRITORIES: Sunnyvale resident Laura Lorman just got back from “an adventure to Pitcairn Island, one of the remotest places on earth and made famous by the mutiny on the HMS Bounty. It takes about four days in tr ..read more

The pandemic exposed cracks in the local food system that for years were festering as inequality in Silicon Valley grew. In 2021, Santa Clara County responded by approving the Food Systems Work Plan Report: a strategy to build a stronger food economy in the region, tackle food insecurity and increase agricultural opportunities for local farmers, among other goals. In December 2023, the county hired Cayce Hill as its first ever food systems manager to oversee the growing body of work. Before coming to the county, Hill served as the executive director for Veggielution — an East San Jose nonprofi ..read more

SUNNYVALE — A driver was arrested early Sunday on suspicion of driving under the influence after she hit a woman walking on Highway 101 in the aftermath of another crash moments earlier, according to the California Highway Patrol. The deadly collision was first reported at 1:27 a.m. Sunday in the southbound lanes past Mathilda Avenue in Sunnyvale. CHP Officer Ross Lee said a woman driving a gray Honda Civic rear-ended a Nissan Xterra, prompting both drivers to pull over to the center divider. The Honda driver at some point got out of her car and began walking south in the roadway between the l ..read more

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor. CalPERS’ responsibility is also to taxpayers Re: “Pension investments in fossil fuels are not only futile, but dangerous” (Page A6, May 2). Once again, the Mercury News has chosen to print an opinion piece from a CalPERS beneficiary demanding the pension fund divest from a disfavored corporation, in this case, ExxonMobil. As a taxpayer, I have these thoughts. If public employees had 401(k)s instead of taxpayer-guaranteed pensions, they could invest money as their conscience dictates. I support the transition from ..read more

SUNNYVALE — One person was killed in a multi-car collision on Highway 101 near Mathilda Avenue early Sunday, according to the California Highway Patrol. Related Articles Crashes and Disasters | Fourth deceased victim identified in Pleasanton electric vehicle crash Crashes and Disasters | Prosecutors file charges against Northern California man who left child in running truck that killed 2-year-old Crashes and Disasters | One dead, one injured in two-vehicle crash near Gilroy Crashes and Disasters | Man killed, three children injured in South San Jose crash Crashes and Disasters | Driver ..read more