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Victory for Haydee
Ward 4 restaurant wins with support from the community
by Tanya Snyder
Haydee Vanegas, owner of Haydee’s Restaurant on Georgia and Sheridan Streets, won a long-fought battle with some members of ANC 4B. Stunning community support helped Vanegas get what she wanted without saying a word.
Haydee’s sister restaurant is in Mount Pleasant. The conflict Vanegas had with the 4B commissioners echoed one she and other Mount Pleasant restaurant owners had with the Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Alliance last year. In both cases, Haydee’s wanted to blur the lines between restaurant and nightclub – and neighbors protested. In both cases, though, many more neighbors rushed to her defense.
Vanegas has always been a model business owner, according to both her allies and her adversaries. When neighbors of the Georgia Avenue establishment complained about noise, she hired a sound engineer and installed soundproofing insulation. She employs security guards to keep things orderly, she keeps the area in front of her restaurants tidy, and she makes darn good fajitas.
The conflict with ANC Commissioners Sara Green (4B-01) and Faith Wheeler (4B-02) started a year and a half ago, when Vanegas applied to change her license from a “CR” restaurant designation to a “CN” nightclub designation. At the time, she said she needed the “CN” license to build a stage. After some misunderstandings (Vanegas calls them “tricks”), she ended up with her old restaurant license with a stipulation allowing her to have a stage. They didn’t approve the change to a “CN” classification.
She went back to the ANC recently, asking again for a “CN” license. This time, she says, the reasons are economic. The restaurant license requires that 45% of the establishment’s sales receipts come from food. But Vanegas says due to the economic downturn, people are eating out less – though they still come in to drink. She says it’s getting harder and harder to meet that 45% threshold.
Vanegas says she loves serving food, and she claims to have no intention of stopping food service. She also says that even though the nightclub license would technically allow her to extend her hours, she’s not about to do that either.
Commissioner Green’s objection to Haydee’s becoming a “nightclub” may stem from other experiences. There is currently only one designated “nightclub” in all of Ward Four -- the Macombo Lounge on Georgia and Jefferson Streets, an adult bar with exotic dancers and a none-too-friendly relationship with the ANC.
When Vanegas’ request came before the ANC in June, Wheeler and Green were quickly shown up by the overwhelming community support. Residents stayed through a long and tortuous meeting, which went hours over its scheduled time, to speak out in support of Vanegas’ application to change her license. They testified about the excellent and respectful band that plays at Haydee’s, about the importance of keeping businesses open in Brightwood and not sending DC dollars to Silver Spring, about the diverse clientele that meets at Haydee’s, about her ten years as a model business owner, and, of course, about the delicious fajitas.
All the other ANC commissioners heartily agreed. The suggestions Wheeler and Green made to compromise – for example, suggesting that she apply for a “tavern” license, requiring 25% food sales – were quickly shot down.
The final ANC decision supported the change to a “CN” license but added a stipulation, which Vanegas agreed to, that Haydee’s still had to meet a 10% requirement for food sales. The ABC Board still has to approve the decision and agree to enforce it. The Board will meet in August to review the ANC’s conclusions.
Ward 1 Democrats Vote Yes on Gay Marriage Amid Internal Friction
by Mark F. Johnson
The Ward 1 Democrats organization popped the question to its registered voters. Should same sex couples be allowed to get married? And the vote in the straw poll in the city’s most diverse Ward? One hundred thirty-seven Democrats voted in favor of allowing same-sex unions in the District, while only four voted “no.“ With the early June vote, Ward 1 joined Wards 2 , 4, 6, and 8 in supporting the measure, by the largest margin of any of those Wards. Ward 5 voted on a marriage recognition bill instead of a measure to allow same-sex marriage. The initiative failed despite the support of Ward 5 Council member Harry Thomas, Jr. A vote is scheduled for all 8 Wards.
The Ward 1 Democrats came out of a long hibernation to take the temperature of the Ward’s democrats on the subject of gay marriage. The group had been inactive for about a year and no meetings had been called during that time, prompting some of the members to call for President Sedrick Muhammad to step down from the Ward 1 Democrats leadership post. In fact, because the organization had been inactive, the vote couldn’t officially be called a “vote,” so instead, they anointed it a straw poll. The Ward 1 Democrats organization is a part of the DC Democratic State Committee, which operates as the state democratic party. Each Ward has what, in most states, would amount to a local Democratic party organization
Marriage is a Basic Human Right
No one at the Reeves Center, at 14th and U, NW where the straw poll was conducted, seemed surprised at the outcome but almost everyone voting seemed oblivious to the internal fighting within the Ward 1 Democrats group. At a time when the fight for gay marriage is under attack around the nation, and certainly in the nation’s capital, supporters wanted to show their commitment to what they consider an equal rights issue. “I’m voting for marriage because it is a basic human right,” said Michelle Ross. “I’m not crazy about the fact that we have to vote for it but I’m willing to do what I have to, “ she added.
Long-time activist, Jerry Drew, a District resident since 1973 and a former board member of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said it is important to District residents to know how so many of their neighbors feel about gay marriage. “Each Ward is different, but certainly in Ward 1 there is a strong desire to do what is right.”
Nick McCoy, an organizer with DC For Marriage, a local group supporting the rights of same-gender couples to tie the knot, stated that DC residents overwhelmingly believe in equality for everybody. He has been going around the city, speaking at ANC meetings to introduce his group and to appeal to members of the community to support same-gender marriage.
An Unhappy Marriage For Ward 1 Democrats
Meanwhile, in Ward 1, the love has not been strong among the Ward 1 Democrats themselves. Members of the organization sent a letter to Muhammad weeks ago asking him to step down from the presidency, charging inaction and neglect. According to the letter, Muhammad has not called a meeting since he was elected to the presidency over a year ago. “The Democratic party in Ward 1 has been nonfunctioning,” said William Jordan, a DC Democratic Party State Committeeman. Jordan, also an ANC Commissioner, said, while he thinks Muhammad does a fine job of representing his constituents as ANC 1B03 Commissioner, he hasn’t brought the same commitment and enthusiasm to his role as President of Ward 1 Democrats. But shortly after the straw poll on same-sex marriage, Muhammad and the Ward 1 Democrats had a reconciliation of sorts. Calls for his resignation have been put on hold in exchange for his vow to get the organization re-engaged. Mohammed declined to make any comments on the matter.
However, the significance of the marriage vote taken at the Reeves Center was still in question. “By the organization not officially functioning, it in essence disenfranchised Ward 1 Democrats,” Jordan commented.
Going Gayly Down the Aisle in DC?
The DC Council recently passed a measure to recognize same-gender marriages from other states, with near unanimous approval. Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8), a former supporter of gay rights, was the only member to vote against the measure.
Some members of the Council have intimated that a bill to allow gay marriage in the District could be introduced in the very near future.
News Briefs
by Mark F. Johnson
It’s Official (we think): Room and Board is coming to 14th Street
While most of 14th Street has been blossoming beautifully over the past few years, there are two or three blocks that have come late to the party. But now, it looks like at least one of the slow-to develop-blocks is cracking through its ugly shell. That part of the strip known as “furniture row,” basically from U Street to the north and Rhode Island Avenue to the south, is about to become home to Minneapolis-based Room and Board. The company, originally scheduled to come to Washington last year, had a change of mind as the recession took a bite out of their bottom line.
But now that the company’s balance sheets are decked out in basic black, they are moving into the old Taylor Motors building at the corner of 14th and T Streets, NW, giving Washington’s contemporary furniture lovers even more to chose from. The building, formerly a church, has sat vacant for years. It was originally sold to be loft condominiums but the developer bailed out. While so many new businesses developed all around the building, many wondered whether or not there would ever be a renaissance for the beautiful, yet sad building on the corner. Apparently the next chapter is about to be written.
When the store finally opens it will probably quickly make itself at home on a block that already has three furniture stores. Its nearest neighbor is Hunted House, a store that sells mid-century modern and other vintage furniture, art and accessories, and contemporary stores, Muleh and Vastu across the street.
The “Local” Makes a stop at 14th Street
While many think of 14th Street as “furniture row” the case could just as well be made for calling it restaurant row as well. The building next door to the new Room and Board has been vacant for a long time too. About a year ago, the owner of Dupont Italian Kitchen bought it, hoping to rent the space to a restaurant. It has taken awhile, but he finally landed Aman Ayoubi, owner of Local 16 near the corner U Street and New Hampshire Ave. Ayoubi plans to open a new place tentatively called Local 14, to be distinguished from Local 11, in the works in North Columbia Heights on 11th Street, near Monroe. Chef Eric McKaney, formerly of Etruca, will take the reins at the 14th Street restaurant and plans a menu of farm-fresh American cuisine. The restaurant will have three levels with outdoor seating on the street and also an enclosed deck facing toward 15th Street and overlooking the alley and some cool rooftop decks along Swann Street.
“I know the Shaw/Columbia Heights area well and that’s why I want to be here,” said Ayoubi. ‘Fifty percent of our employees and 75% of our clientele are neighborhood folk, Ayoubi noted, basing those figures in part on Local 16. Speaking of Local 16, watch for some menu changes he said. Back in the winter, restaurant and night club Policy opened just up the street from Local 14. Other restaurants are slated for opening on 14th Street in the next several months, as well. As for Local 14, Ayoubi says he’s looking at a February or March opening.
Renovated Park at 14th and Girard Scheduled To Open Mid-July
The park at the corner of 14th and Girard Streets has undergone a makeover and will soon reveal its newly remade look. According to the Department of Parks and Recreation, new or improved amenities to the park will include seat walls, landscaping, game tables, lighting, basketball court with rubberized play surface, play fountain, site fencing, benches and two bathrooms.
There has been considerable concern among some in the neighborhood that the park attracts loiterers and gang members from other parts of the community. They say that family members and other citizens are discouraged from using the park because of the criminal element. The DC government says part of the goal of the renovations is to better serve the “shifting needs of the community” that surrounds it.
A park opening celebration replete with “fun, food and music” is planned for Saturday, July 11 from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Disputes Over Dogs and People in Eastern Shaw
by Amanda Abrams
What could be simpler than creating an open space where dogs can run free?
That’s what a number of eastern Shaw residents thought when they proposed transforming a weedy parking lot behind Bundy School on the 400 block of P Street into an official dog park.
But realizing the idea has been a lot more complicated. Not everyone, it turns out, thinks giving dogs an enclosure of their own would be the best use of the space.
Located on a quiet block that doesn’t get much foot traffic, Bundy School sits next to an athletic field that once served as an unofficial roaming area for dogs. Nowadays, though, it’s busy with students from nearby Scott Montgomery Elementary School and adult sports teams.
Enter the dog park concept. In May, a number of dog-owning residents organized themselves into a group called Friends of Bundy Park and collected 100 signatures in support of the idea.
Tom Petty is one of the group’s leaders. “Dogs need a place to play; there’s no other place in that area for them,” he said, adding that the space would benefit two-legged creatures, too. “It’s a place for the community to come together. It puts plenty of eyes and ears on the street, and will bring people at any hour.”
It seemed like a slam-dunk. The Department of Parks and Recreation, which is in charge of dog parks in the District, has signaled its openness to creating new sites. Scott Montgomery school was in favor of having a park nearby, Kevin Chapple—the area’s ANC commissioner—was behind it, and organizers of the proposal said the police and the mayor both supported it.
But in late June, the group received a letter from the director of the Office of Property Management. She pointed out that the land was federal property, and if it was transferred to the District, it would have to remain a parking lot.
The nonprofit agency moving into Bundy School, Safe Shores, also claims it needs the parking lot, which can accommodate approximately 100 cars. The site will be a one-stop shop for abused children, clustering representatives from a number of city agencies. When the organization moves in this October, it will house about 60 full-time employees who work with roughly 800 kids annually—all of whom require on-site parking.
Not everyone is disappointed about the loss of the site as a dog park. Discussions about the park enlivened neighborhood listservs for weeks; while most writers supported the proposal, some, like ANC commissioner Theresa Sule, who represents a nearby neighborhood, claimed that many residents opposed the park. They just weren’t writing emails about it.
In late June, Anthony Shepherd was walking towards his home at 3rd and P streets. Asked about his views on a potential dog park, Shepherd was open minded about developing the area. “But make it an area where we can get together,” he said. “I’d rather they do something for us on this side of town where all people can go.”
It’s a concept shared by other residents. A young woman who lives just a few feet from the parking lot but declined to give her name said she doesn’t support the proposal. “They shouldn’t make it into a dog park—they should make it into a people park, and let dogs go there.”
But the park’s supporters are continuing to fight for the space, claiming that the last thing the community needs is a vast empty area that’s desolate at night. At this point, however, it seems that the only way it can become a romping ground for neighborhood canines is through the intervention of high-level politicians.
Citizens Press for Prettier Places in Ward Two
by Amanda Abrams
Ward Two is about to become prettier. In mid-July, neighbors and officials will be celebrating the groundbreaking of an empty lot on 10th Street that will become a landscaped park. A few blocks to the east, a park on the 600 block of N Street has been fenced off and is slated to be the target of a community design process next month.
But neither event happened on its own: both transformations are the result of residents’ hard work, along with that of local politicians.
On 10th Street, a sliver of land between L and M streets was left over after a condo building rose on an empty lot, and neighbors were determined to use it productively. They began organizing two years ago, establishing a group that eventually became an incorporated nonprofit which worked closely with Mayor Fenty and Councilman Jack Evans.
This spring, representatives for the group began talking with a park planner from the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), who developed a design for the space and invited the community’s comments. Once the groundbreaking occurs in July, a landscape architect will be selected to turn the designs into firm blueprints.
“We’re hoping construction starts soon after the first of the year,” said Jim Loucks, who helped lead the drive to transform the space. “By next year at this time, we could have a completed park.”
The park on N street will soon undergo a very similar process—and not a moment too soon, according to the president of the Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association, Cary Silverman. With overgrown grassy areas and tennis courts that lack lines or nets, the space was the site of at least one murder and was finally closed after ongoing complaints from neighbors.
“What’s obvious is that the park can’t stay in its current condition—it’s been all but abandoned by the DC government. It’s a magnet for crime,” said Silverman.
A DPR spokesperson said that the department will host a community presentation in July about its efforts to turn the site into a family-friendly space.
Foot Patrols and Vigilance It’s Summer in the City
by Amanda Abrams
Summer in DC usually brings an uptick in crime, and Shaw residents are worried. But District police say they’re in control—even without extra tools.
In response to community anxieties about crime, City Councilman Jack Evans introduced an emergency bill in June to combat gang activity. While the bill—which was supported by Shaw’s ANC2C, as well as neighborhood associations—passed, it didn’t include the anti-gang legislation in its final form.
“I’m disappointed my colleagues didn’t support it,” said Councilman Evans, pointing out that the next line of defense against criminal activity would be “tried and tested tactics of police presence.”
Police say they are working proactively. At a Shaw ANC meeting on June 3, DC Chief of Police Cathy Lanier presented plans to increase police foot patrols and make more arrests. She also exhorted citizens to carefully watch their neighborhoods. “Small things happen in your neighborhood that you know is not what normally goes on there,” she said. “Communicate that directly with [Third District Commander Kucik], give him information.”
Efforts appear to be working. By the end of June, Commander Kucik claimed that Shaw’s area, PSA 308, had experienced a 40 percent reduction in violent crime over the prior 30 days. Foot patrols and citizen vigilance were working; in a case in early June, an individual who fired a gun was immediately arrested. The quick action, he said, was the result of a citizen’s tip combined with increased officer presence.
African Drummers Hold Court In Meridian Hill Park After 40 Years
by Mark F. Johnson
Maybe you didn’t know that Washington’s real movers and shakers get together every Sunday at one of the highest points in town, right out in the open. With the White House, the Capitol and the Monument as a backdrop, they come together at Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park and for several hours they dance to the beat of the African drummers. These percussionists, who specialize in African and Afro-Cuban rhythms, have been jamming in the Park for nearly 40 years. And the beat goes on!
The sound of the drums is a part of life fort anyone who lives in South Columbia Heights, the northern edge of Dupont Circle or the western fringe of Adams-Morgan. but people come from all parts of the city and even from outside the city to be apart of this experience. Nowhere in Washington, DC on any given Sunday afternoon, will you find a more diverse crowd of people.
While the drummers drum (the numbers vary, but on average there about 10), people in the park soak up the music as they dance, picnic, toss Frisbees, play with their dogs or just sit and read.
The African drummers started their weekly jam sessions back in the early 1970’s by most accounts, long before the neighborhood was as diverse as it is today. “When we first started playing here, “ said Willie Posey who has lived in the neighborhood since the late 1960’s and started drumming in the park in 1975, “this was a predominantly black community,” recalling the time when DC was known proudly by many as “Chocolate City.”
It was not too long after the 1968 riots and there was a sense of solidarity in the area, Posey said. “At that time, we used to drum on the 15th Street side of the park, right at the intersection of Chapin Street. We were there for years and years.” Then recently, as the community got more diverse, Posey points out, “and there wasn’t the same appreciation for our music” some of the neighbors on the 15th Street side started to complain. Posey said these folks wanted the drums silenced and the dancing stopped.
However, according to him and others, the drummers found an ally in Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) who brokered an arrangement that moved the drummers over to the 16th Street side of the park, across from Beekman Place and cut their percussion concert time down a bit. Now the drummers must stop at 9 p.m. But that still gives them a good six hours of playing time because they usually start around 3pm on Sunday afternoon. It is hard to imagine that anyone would have a problem with them these days. Pretty much every Sunday, families with baby strollers come in and out of the park as well as young couples and those who look as though their entire Adams-Morgan, Columbia Heights or Mt. Pleasant group house has come for a Sunday evening field trip.
Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park is perhaps the best-known and most popular DC venue for the African drummers, although they do sometimes perform in Dupont Circle in smaller numbers. However, according to percussionist Rob White, most major cities have a version of Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park where the drumbeat comes to life on Saturdays or Sundays in the afternoon. “I moved here from Pittsburgh where they did the same thing in Schenley Park 40 years ago,” he said. Over the years, some of the drummers in DC have become celebrities. One of the early drummers, William Barnett, just recently died. He was in his early 60’s and had played with Gil Scott Heron’s band, some of the old timers noted. “He used to be out here all the time,” Posey, who is nearly 70, reminisced.
To many in the park, the drummers are just background music. On a warm Sunday afternoon in summer, these folk come to the park to be out. “Being here makes me feel good,” said Steven Daye, who lives all the way over in Shaw. “I come for the atmosphere and to see all my neighbors,” said John Fanning, who works with DC Parks and Recreation. “It’s a park for all the people.”
Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park is located in Columbia Heights, between 15th and 16th Streets on the east and west and W Street and Euclid Street on the north and south. The closest metro stop is U Street on the Green Line. Other features of the park include statues of Joan of Arc, James Buchanan and Dante, and the dramatic 13-basin cascade fountain in the lower level of the park.
SPCA Elects New Board
Board members discuss initiatives and accompishments
by Tanya Snyder
The Shepherd Park Citizens’ Association elected a new board in June, just days before the SPCA’s annual picnic at the Lowell School. DC North interviewed four board members about their commitment to the group.
Cynthia Prather Incoming Board president
Prather says more than anything, what the SPCA means to her is “neighbors knowing neighbors.” She says community building to her is a way of making Shepherd Park “more than just a lot of houses.”
She moved to Shepherd Park in 1993, and before that she was president of the Hands Together Neighborhood Club where she lived before, on Buchanan Street in Petworth.
The SPCA holds several big community events each year: the picnic, the yard sale, the garden tour, the Halloween parade, and the winter potluck among others. Prather highlighted the garden tour as a special inspiration to the community. “It’s not a ‘we want you to clean up your yard,’” she says. “The gardens are so pretty; they're an inspiration!"
She says traffic is one of the big issues before the SPCA. The group is supporting police traffic calming and enforcement efforts on 16th Street. And she admits that she’d like to do more programs around recycling. She hasn’t talked to the board or thought it through yet, but the desire is there.
Beth Allaben Outgoing Board President
Allaben re-invigorated a flagging SPCA nearly a decade ago when her kids, now 13 and 14 years old, were small. She wanted to get to know other parents with small children in the neighborhood. So she walked up and down the blocks, looking for car seats in the cars parked in driveways, and gave out flyers advertising a gathering. That, she says, was the genesis of the list-serve for the SPCA, now a thousand names strong.
Though Beth is no longer president of the SPCA, she says she will still work on the newsletter. She’s also involved in Create Arts Center, which is based in Silver Spring but serves Shepherd Park kids too. The group offers arts classes and art therapy to kids and families.
Allaben appreciates the racial diversity of Shepherd Park. The group calls the neighborhood “a garden of diversity” (a pun on the streets named after trees and flowers.)
Charisse Brossard Outgoing Treasurer
Brossard is leaving the Board after serving two years as Treasurer – and doing such great work that the Board had to split her position into two in order to replace her.
She’s moving on to become president of the Shepherd Elementary PTA. She’s proud of the work the SPCA did to create more recreation opportunities for kids. She says since there’s no recreation center within the boundaries of Shepherd Park, the group has looked to improve facilities and programming at Caplan Park and the tot lot on lower Shepherd Field.
Brossard says Shepherd Elementary has come a long way in recent years. When she first started volunteering, she says, they had to focus on the basics of the physical plant: repairing bathrooms, replacing old windows. Not to mention the rapid turnover of principals.
She says she’s impressed with new principal Jamie Miles, who brought about initiatives like the Saturday Academy, a 12-week free academic and language enrichment program. Brossard says she likes that Miles “thinks outside the box.”
When asked what ailing DCPS schools can learn from Shepherd Elementary, which thrives despite the problems retaining a principal, she says parent involvement is the key.
Ed Savwoir
Continuing Board Member
Savwoir joined the SPCA board last year and has signed on for another year. He’s lived in Shepherd Park for five years.
He appreciates the group’s mission of creating a “spirit of community” and building relationships so that neighborhood residents can come together on the major issues that confront them.
He says of those “major issues,” the biggest is education. He highlights the support the SPCA has lent to the Shepherd Elementary community and to the new principal. He also stresses that care for elderly neighborhood residents is important to the group.
Spend a Hot July Night in Columbia Heights and See the Fireworks
by Mark F. Johnson
If Ward 1 were to put out its own tourist brochure, at the top of the list of reasons to visit would be its great views of the downtown skyline. “Visit Columbia Heights and see it all,” the slogan might go. Of all the areas in Washington from which to see the downtown view, Columbia Heights is the closest to the action. From this high vantage point north of U Street, one can see pretty much all of downtown, and even into Arlington and Alexandria. “Spend a hot summer night with us and you’ll see fireworks.” That could be the ad geared to the thousands of July 4 visitors from around the area who will be trying to figure out where to go to see the fireworks display on the National Mall.
For those who don’t have their own rooftop deck or know someone who does, it’s still possible to see the fire in the sky! And here are a few of the best vantage points:
Howard University Campus
Specifically, Oliver Otis Howard Hall, building number 33 on the campus, adjacent to Georgia Avenue. It’s the old Victorian mansion across from the Benjamin Banneker field that used to be the home of the Civil War General for whom Howard University is named. There is a walkway in front of the mansion that has a sweeping view of the Monument and downtown skyline.
Cardoza High School
At the southeast corner of 13th Street and Clifton is Cardoza High School. Also at that corner, you can see clearly the skyline of downtown, all the way to the Potomac River. There isn’t a lot of standing space on this corner but nevertheless, it gets pretty packed every 4th of July. It would be smart to get here long before 9 p.m to be in a good position to see the fireworks when they start. Also, one block west, on the southeast corner of 14th and Clifton adjacent to the Wardman apartment building, good views can be had, as well as one block east at the corner of 11th and Clifton.
Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park
Perhaps the best-known public views of the downtown skyline can be had at Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park, bounded by 15th and 16th Streets and Euclid and W Streets. The Park, in Italianate style, consists of two levels and the best views of the fireworks are from the wall of the upper level overlooking the lower level. You need to get there early though as neighborhood folk start arriving at around 6 p.m. for picnics and to claim a good spot. The African drummers, often out on July 4, provide a musical accompaniment to the pyrotechnic concert.
Sixteenth Street between Florida Avenue and Kalorama
Anywhere you stand on the Street of Presidents, as 16th Street is called, particularly the west side between Florida and Kalorama, you should be able to see the Monument and the fireworks pretty well.
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