Business & Real Estate

If you are a senior on Medicare, you may be subject to higher premiums next year due to an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA). That’s because parts of Medicare insurance are means-tested. In other words, the more you earn, the more you have to pay. And while only approximately 7% of seniors are subject to IRMAA, understanding the structure of Medicare and your taxes can help you to plan for ways to keep those extra costs down.

Los Altos

1030 Crooked Creek Drive, Hopiak-Knourek Family Trust to L. & A. Cohen for $3,260,000

1072 Echo Drive, Maddox Trust to M. & A. Huang for $3,105,000

Courtesy of Greg Hartwell

Telehealth allows patients to receive a variety of health-related services remotely over the internet.

The Affordable Care Act was signed into law a decade ago, ushering in what many hoped would be a transformation of health-care delivery in the U.S. For a variety of reasons, while the law did expand access to health care, it didn’t spawn a great deal of innovation in a sector of our economy that badly needs it. Government regulations, bureaucracy and entrenched business interests continued to prevent ingenuity and creativity from revolutionizing – or evolutionizing – health care for the benefit of consumers.

Courtesy of Filoli

Filoli estate in Woodside has reopened, though the estate house and the Quail’s Nest Cafe remain closed, as do picnic areas.

The Filoli estate in Woodside is back in business.

Los Altos

5100 El Camino Real No. 102, Conklin Trust to D. & O. Dajani for $1,400,000

1661 Jolly Court, S. & J. Read to S. & H. Menon for $3,450,000

Megan V. Winslow/Town Crier

Some Los Altos merchants were more prepared than others to shift to a virtual operation model. Specialty gift store Present, above, sold local goods online before the pandemic hit.

Retail shops deemed “nonessential” in Los Altos were prohibited from operating out of their storefronts for nearly 10 weeks due to the pandemic. When the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department allowed them to reopen Friday (May 22), they did so under several conditions.

But after months of declining sales and shipping frustrations, many merchants are excited to unlock their front doors, prepare their curbside pickup stations and get to work.