A jewelry store that has helped adorn Menlo Park shoppers since 1952 is closing, according to store staff.
Hirzel Fine Jewelry at 728 Santa Cruz Ave. in downtown Menlo Park doesn’t know yet exactly when the doors will shut, but does plan to hold a sale first.
“We’ve never done this before,” said a sales person who answered the phone on Nov. 21. “We’ve been in business so many years, and we just decided to close.” He declined to provide a full name.
Geron Corp. quits stem cell work
The Menlo Park-based biotechnology company Geron Corp. announced Nov. 14 that it was abandoning its stem cell research in favor of focusing on two cancer drugs.The motivation appears financial, according to a statement issued by the company.
“The decision to narrow Geron’s technology and therapeutic focus was made after a strategic review of the costs, value inflection timelines and clinical, manufacturing and regulatory complexities,” the company said.
As a result, 66 jobs — 38 percent of its workforce — will be eliminated, the company said.
The news came as a blow to those hoping to benefit from stem cell therapy, a field that held promise for those paralyzed by spinal cord injuries.
Stem cells possess the ability to become any other type of cell in the body, leading Geron’s scientists to explore how to grow the cells into replacement neurons that could reverse paralysis.
Tree lighting
O, Christmas tree! St. Patrick’s Seminary & University at 320 Middlefield Road in Menlo Park holds its third annual tree lighting ceremony on Monday, Nov. 28, at 5 p.m. Local artists will display creations for sale starting an hour earlier.
