West Seattle, Washington

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month : 05/2009 445 results

Countdown to Alki “Summer Streets” day: Plea for volunteers
May 28, 2009 10:18 pm
|    Comments Off on Countdown to Alki “Summer Streets” day: Plea for volunteers
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

If you’ve been on Alki tonight, you might have noticed a brightly colored flyer attached to many of the “no parking” signs that are up for the “Celebrate Seattle Summer Streets” event that’s closing Alki Ave (from Harbor/California Way to Alki/63rd) 9 am-5 pm Sunday. Take a closer look, and it’s a last-minute plea for volunteer help; we got a phone call about it while en route to Alki, where we subsequently saw the flyers. We asked the caller to send us the request so we could share it with you:

NEIGHBORS NEEDED TO VOLUNTEER ON ALKI THIS SUNDAY, MAY 31.
All Volunteers will receive a Summer Streets T Shirt and Eligible to WIN Free REI Gear and a BIG Prize.

Keep the streets safe by being a block watch and letting staff know of any emergencies while you enjoy the sun and meet your neighbors. You are needed for this event to happen.

BE A HERO, BE A NEIGHBOR! SHIFTS: 10:30 am – 2 pm and 1:30 pm to 5 pm.

Contact:
Kerry Bischoff
kerrybischoff@yahoo.com
425-248-9193

Here’s the city’s official page about the event; here’s our report from last night with more details on the activities and performances planned during the day, which kicks off with the first-ever West Seattle 5K Walk/Run (WSB sponsor; tomorrow’s your last chance to register online – but there’ll be registration in person Saturday and Sunday).

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Followup: End appears near for “Ivar’s house” in Upper Alki
May 28, 2009 9:50 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle history | West Seattle news

One month ago, we covered the training fires at the 59th SW (on the slope south of Admiral Way) house once owned by West Seattle’s legendary Ivar Haglund (yes, if you’re just joining us, THE Ivar). The owner had offered the house to the Seattle Fire Department because of its impending demolition. If you want one last look, time appears to be running out — it looks like the rest of the demolition work is not far away; we noticed the shown-above backhoe while driving by yesterday, and went back this evening for a photo (this is taken from the west side of the house). A new, larger house is planned for the property; here’s one more look at the photos sent to us last month by Seattle historian Paul Dorpat (first, the house in 2003; then, its official survey photo from the ’30s):

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Last call: Your ideas for West Seattle Summer Movies on the Wall
May 28, 2009 8:23 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle news | West Seattle Outdoor Movies

moviesonwall.jpg

We’re proud to be co-sponsoring the West Seattle Summer Outdoor Movies on the Wall series again this year – and part of that means helping gather suggestions for what movies will be shown during the six-week series (Saturday nights starting July 18th, in the courtyard between Dr. Wolff and Hotwire Coffee). The decisions will be made soon, so we’re putting out one more call for suggestions, if you haven’t already made one or more – family-friendly movies, but that doesn’t mean they have to be G-rated.Here’s our original call for suggestions, which includes links to lists of the movies shown the past two years, plus suggestions already made (you can also e-mail suggestions to westseattlemovies@gmail.com – or leave a comment here – plus we’ve put the call out on our WS Blog page on Facebook). The movie series’ official site is here. Deadline for suggestions – this Sunday night.

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New look for West Seattle HS website – student-designed!
May 28, 2009 7:23 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle online | West Seattle schools

Congratulations to Jacob Miller and Ross Monroe, from the West Seattle High School Class of ’09 and Damp Flame Design: Their redesign of the WSHS website has just gone live tonight — follow the link here to see it. Damp Flame has been in business since 2005, with other projects including redesigning the Husky Deli website. If you want to compare the new WSHS site with the old one, there’s a screengrab on the “About This Site” page on the new site, where you can read more about the project. Side note, Jacob is the son of veteran Seattle journalist Kathy Mulady, who has been reporting recently for WSB as well as for the Seattle PostGlobe.

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Seattle jail-site search: New information on “scoping” process
May 28, 2009 6:27 pm
|    Comments Off on Seattle jail-site search: New information on “scoping” process
 |   Highland Park | West Seattle jail sites | West Seattle news


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Haven’t heard much lately on the jail-site search – aside from the City Council asking the county to reopen the issue of whether they can keep handling the misdemeanor inmates for a few more years, therefore delaying the potential need for this jail – but the process continues, and a West Seattle site (Highland Park/West Marginal Way, Google Street View above) remains on the list of six sites under regional consideration. Just got an official update late today from Katherine Schubert-Knapp, noting that new information is now available in the “scoping” process – which identifies what the Environmental Impact Statement for the project will have to look at. The announcement notes that the timeline has slid:

Based on the feedback received during the EIS Scoping period, the NEC will be adding the following items to the scope of the EIS: air quality; populations and housing; and an analysis of the possible impact of a jail on property values and public safety. These additions, along with the complexity of some of the analyses, have impacted the EIS schedule. The NEC now plans to release the Draft EIS in early December 2009, and hold Public Meetings in January 2010. The NEC plans to release the final EIS in the second quarter of 2010.

Documents including the EIS Scoping Summary are now posted on the website set up for the jail-site-search project.

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Thursday notes: West Seattle on cruise cam, and more
May 28, 2009 3:42 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle businesses | WS culture/arts | WS miscellaneous

CRUISE CAM: Via Facebook, Marc points out the view of West Seattle from the aft end of the Pacific Princess, currently docked in Magnolia. Ever wonder which ship’s in when? The full schedule is here.

CAPERS CONSOLIDATING: It came up first in the WSB Forums. Then, Brian sent us this photo:

We finally got to stop in at Capers in The Junction today to ask what’s up. They’re not closing – they’re consolidating; after June 1st, the store will be in the southernmost (“lower”) level, including the spot that used to be its cafe. No word so far on what will take over the space Capers is vacating, but they tell us a wall will be put up to finish enclosing the shop’s resized space.

ANOTHER DEDICATION AT MORGAN COMMUNITY FESTIVAL: Not only will Morgan Junction Park itself be dedicated during the Morgan Community Festival on June 13, so will the new sidewalk art project, “Salon,” by SuttonBeresCuller (ceremony scheduled for 10 am that day, according to an invite just in from the city’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs). The festival also will feature the “Bite of Morgan” and entertainment including the famed Bubbleman. (We’ll be reporting “live” from the festival, so looking forward to seeing you there.)

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And another big wine tasting at SSCC, even sooner!
May 28, 2009 3:26 pm
|    Comments Off on And another big wine tasting at SSCC, even sooner!
 |   Puget Ridge | West Seattle schools | WS beverages

Thanks to Cathy for pointing out in comments on this story that South Seattle Community College has a wine-tasting event even sooner than the July event mentioned earlier – this one features the latest release of their own acclaimed wines – June 12-13. Here’s the full announcement:Read More

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Admiral church-turned-events-venue seeks landmark status
May 28, 2009 2:20 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle history | West Seattle news | West Seattle religion


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It was once the Sixth Church of Christ Scientist, built in 1929 at the corner of SW Lander and 42nd SW – what you see in the Google Street View image above is the south side, immediately across the street from Hiawatha (more photos in this Vintage Seattle post). Now, it’s an events venue called The Sanctuary at Admiral, and city landmarks coordinator Beth Chave confirms to WSB that the city has just accepted a nomination this week proposing Seattle landmark status, submitted by The Sanctuary’s owner (and months in the making), which means this is one of two West Seattle buildings currently under consideration — the other is the Seaview building at The Kenney (as noted in our coverage of the ongoing Design Review process for its proposed redevelopment). Landmark status can bring some economic benefits, like tax breaks, though it also brings restrictions – if the city Landmarks Board decides to designate the building as a landmark, that means that any changes to it (remodeling, etc.) would require their approval. Chave says neither this nomination nor that of the Seaview is listed on the city’s “current nominations” page because the applications are still being reviewed for completeness; once that’s determined, hearings will be scheduled for the board to review the proposal, and public comment will be part of the process (as explained here). You can find a list of West Seattle sites that already have landmark status by going here; meantime, here’s more on The Sanctuary’s history, from its website. The venue, by the way, hosted an event of worldwide note earlier this month – the International Food Bloggers’ Conference (podcasts available on the IFBC website).

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Mega-wine-tasting coming to South Seattle Community College
May 28, 2009 12:06 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Fun stuff to do | Puget Ridge | West Seattle news | WS beverages

Knowing how many people are wild about wine, this one seemed even bigger than the Announced page – a huge tasting event coming to South Seattle Community College in July, with 40 Zinfandel wineries conducting tastings at the event — read on for the details:Read More

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White Center Square groundbreaking: Good weather & feng shui
May 28, 2009 11:09 am
|    Comments Off on White Center Square groundbreaking: Good weather & feng shui
 |   White Center

The party is still going on at a long-vacant lot on 15th SW in White Center (map), where a blessing and a barbecue were part of the groundbreaking ceremony for White Center Square, a new shopping center that will be anchored by Vong’s Market. In addition to members of the Vong family, the ceremony included the contracting and architecture firms, the head of King County Economic Development (which helped procure a big loan for the project), a member of the family that owned the site for a century before the Vongs, and King County Council Chair Dow Constantine (whose district includes White Center). Co-owner Rika Vong told us that although construction won’t officially begin just yet – by the end of next month, if all goes well with the rest of the permitting — today was chosen for the ceremony because it has good feng shui for a groundbreaking. Tenants for the project haven’t all been announced yet, but a restaurant will be part of it too. We’ll have an expanded story shortly on our partner site White Center Now.

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Tour the West Seattle building that’s going to make solar history
May 28, 2009 10:03 am
|    Comments Off on Tour the West Seattle building that’s going to make solar history
 |   Environment | High Point | West Seattle news

You’ve seen the big green banner on Nucor – now, a closer look at the building that it’s touting, as it finishes taking shape. Early Wednesday morning, we joined a rare hard-hat tour of the construction site for the High Point Neighborhood Center, which will be — among other distinctions — the biggest solar-powered social-services building in the nation, with its roof holding the biggest solar array in our state. (Construction started with groundbreaking last August; here’s our coverage.) The solar panels on its roof are not the only aspects that have the $13 million Neighborhood Center angling for LEED Gold certification, however – it’s got a geothermal component too. Note the pipe in this photo, which is a LOT more than it seems:

Also in the photo, our tour guide, Ray Li from Neighborhood House, the Seattle-based nonprofit that’s building HPNC. He explained that pipe goes 300 feet underground – where the temperature is a constant 56 degrees — as part of a “ground-source heat pump” system to keep the building’s temperature equalized. So what else is making this building a model of environmentally minded construction? Read on, and we’ll show and tell you what we saw and heard:Read More

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Reminder to Metro riders: Saturday is schedule-change day
May 28, 2009 9:32 am
|    Comments Off on Reminder to Metro riders: Saturday is schedule-change day
 |   Transportation | West Seattle news

For the complete reminder from Metro of what’s changing this time around (including downtown bus-tunnel hours), read on:Read More

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Today/tonight: Politics, education, entertainment, crime-fighting
May 28, 2009 6:07 am
|    Comments Off on Today/tonight: Politics, education, entertainment, crime-fighting
 |   Crime | West Seattle politics | West Seattle schools | WS culture/arts

POLITICS: Before summer revs to fever pitch, time to keep examining your options in this year’s crowded elections. Next chance: 11:30 am today, West Seattle Democratic Women‘s monthly luncheon, West Seattle Golf Course, with a candidates’ forum on the program. RSVP for lunch by 10 am – contact info and more details here.

EDUCATION: College Night tonight at West Seattle’s higher-education institution, South Seattle Community College. Find out more about what SSCC has to offer, 5-7:30 pm in Brockey Center; more details here.

ENTERTAINMENT: Semi-finals of Alki Idol, Bamboo Bar and Grill, 9:30 pm.

CRIME-FIGHTING: South Delridge/White Center Community Safety Coalition meets 6 pm, St. James Place, 9421 18th SW (map).

ONE MORE CRIME-FIGHTING NOTE: If you’re in the Alki area, Ken Allen has set up a Facebook group to convene those concerned about crime. Go here to join “Alki Neighborhood Watch.”

More of today and tonight’s events — and tomorrow, and the days, weeks and months into the future – on the WSB Events calendar.

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Seattle Public Library rule changes win approval
May 28, 2009 1:57 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news

The rule-change proposal noted here last week won Library Board approval last night: The story’s up at the Seattle PostGlobe, the citywide online-news organization created by former P-I journalists after the newspaper’s print edition was discontinued (the site’s got a new look as of this week, by the way).

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Countdown to almost-carless Alki on Sunday: Flyers, activities
May 27, 2009 11:52 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Transportation | West Seattle news

If your car is parked along Alki tonight, you’ll likely find a flyer like that on it by morning. SDOT tells WSB they’re being distributed tonight as part of the outreach to make sure everyone knows about the Seattle Summer Streets Spectacular – sequel to Car-Free Day – on Alki this Sunday. We reported “practical details” last night, including the impending arrival of the no-parking signs, which we confirmed tonight are up now:

A few other notes, counting down to Sunday’s 9 am-5 pm shutdown from Harbor Ave/California Way to Alki Ave/63rd SW:
–The day begins, of course, with the first-ever West Seattle 5K (WSB sponsor; you can still register online)
—Cascade Bicycle Club now has its full schedule of events for the day online (including kids’ bike parades at 1 and 3 pm); see the schedule here.
—Coastal has announced its “Rockin’ Surf Stage” lineup, with a mini skate ramp and live music; see the poster, with band names and times, here.
—CoolMom will have a booth offering face painting and a puppet show
—Sustainable West Seattle will be nearby, with bike-maintenance demos and more
—Full Tilt Ice Cream tells us they’ll have a special bike out and about – one of many small surprises we expect to see on shutdown day
–Informational displays are planned too – including the King County Wastewater Treatment Division planning a display near the site of the 53rd Avenue Pump Project, with updates on how that project is going (now in its second year and scheduled for completion this fall).

We’ll keep the daily updates going through Sunday, at which time we will of course report “live” from the shutdown zone as we did last year. If there’s information you’re looking for and not finding, please write a comment (or e-mail us: editor@westseattleblog.com) – after last night’s report, for example, there was a question about how those with disabilities would be accommodated – here’s the comment, followed by the reply we obtained from the city.

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West Seattle wildlife: Lincoln Park owl-family followup
May 27, 2009 10:59 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle parks | Wildlife

After we published Kim‘s photos last weekend of a barred-owl family in Lincoln Park, Minette wrote a comment with a link to her gallery of the same owls. Tonight, she’s sharing two more recent photos, along with word that, as of a couple nights ago, they were spotted again, doing well. The photo above is the male owl and the baby; below, the baby by itself:

Here’s what the Seattle Audubon website BirdWeb has to say about barred owls.

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Door-to-door alert, or Crime Watch? Arbor Heights sighting
May 27, 2009 10:10 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | Door-to-door alert | West Seattle news

From Arbor Heights, Suzanne e-mails to share this story – solicitor, or caser? Read on:Read More

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West Seattle scene: “Drive-by” preaching on Alki
May 27, 2009 9:31 pm
|      49 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle religion

Of all the Alki sights and sounds noted and discussed in recent weeks, this is the first report we’ve gotten of “drive-by” street preaching. Ben Hutchinson sent the photo and his account of what he saw from his apartment near Alki Bathhouse, so we’re sharing:

Just a couple minutes ago, there was this guy standing on the back of a pickup truck that went by. He was standing there with a microphone and big amplified speakers (like those used at a rock concert). And it sounded like he was preaching the Christian gospel. Now I’m a Christian myself, but I don’t think it’s right to be so disruptive. The pickup was driving slowly and holding up traffic.

Then he sent a second note, with the photo above:

Well, they came back again, so I was able to get a picture of them on their way back. This time I also was able to see a bit more too (they went right in front of my apartment this time). This time nobody was standing up (all were just sitting), and I was able to see 3 people in the back of the pickup truck this time (probably were there before, but I just had a better view this time, because it looked like only 1 the first time). When they were not preaching they were playing rap music.


Anybody know who this was?

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Wednesday links: More pizza; ReUsies on TV; low-tide gallery
May 27, 2009 5:18 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle businesses | White Center

MORE PIZZA: At partner site White Center Now, one of our fellow contributors, Ricardo from Cafe Rozella, breaks the news of more pizza heading this way: Proletariat Pizza, moving in across the street from Full Tilt Ice Cream, barely a block over the line from West Seattle. (P.S. More late-breaking White Center news: A groundbreaking ceremony is planned tomorrow for the White Center Square shopping-center development.)

REUSIES ON TV: You may have heard about ReUsies, cloth sandwich bags invented by West Seattle moms, now making a splash nationwide. KING5 has a story about them today – and the story notes that ReUsies are selling so well, they’ve “hired a manufacturer in Tukwila to help them keep up with demand.”

LOW-TIDE SIGHTS: Though the tide wasn’t as low today as yesterday, there were still sights to be seen, as evidenced by the Flickr gallery that Carrie e-mailed to share – check it out here. (She took her photos near the Alki Point lighthouse.)

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Morgan Junction graffiti case not being prosecuted as hate crime
May 27, 2009 3:27 pm
|      20 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

As promised, we followed up with the City Attorney’s Office regarding the status of Ryan Joshua Cox, the 31-year-old man arrested last week in connection with the anti-gay graffiti that had appeared in several spots around West Seattle, most notably and repeatedly a Morgan Junction couple’s garage door. Assistant city attorney Beth Gappert, who prosecutes cases in this area from her base at the Southwest Precinct, confirms that Cox is charged with six misdemeanor cases of property destruction-graffiti. He will not be prosecuted for malicious harassment, the felony that would indicate a hate crime; Gappert tells WSB, “The detective assigned to the case and I reviewed the evidence that was gathered as part of this incident. Based upon that, we determined the evidence was insufficient to prove that Mr. Cox acted ‘because of his perception of the victim’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or mental, physical, or sensory handicap’ per RCW 9A.36.080 (the Malicious Harassment statute).” So the case was not referred to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Cox is still jailed in lieu of $5,000 bail (upped last week, as reported here), according to the King County Jail Register. The Municipal Court website indicates another hearing is scheduled in his case tomorrow.

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West Seattle gets another Alaskan Way Viaduct/Tunnel meeting
May 27, 2009 2:55 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Alaskan Way Viaduct | Transportation | West Seattle news

If you want to know more about what’s happening with the Alaskan Way Viaduct/Tunnel project – and/or if you’ve got something to say about the way things are going – mark June 10th on your calendar. That’s just been announced as the date for the next “scoping” meeting for the project in West Seattle, 6-8 pm 6/10 at the Madison Middle School commons. The specific purpose of the meeting is explained as follows: “(Y)ou will be able to ask questions and share your thoughts on what environmental elements and mitigation measures should be studied in the supplemental draft environmental impact statement on the proposed bored tunnel alternative.” If you can’t go, SDEIS2ScopingComments@wsdot.wa.gov is the place to e-mail your comments.

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Delridge playground designs unveiled: 3 to choose from
May 27, 2009 2:48 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

Betsy Hoffmeister from the North Delridge Neighborhood Council has just shared these three designs from which the new Delridge Community Center playground (recent WSB coverage here) will be chosen. She also says community fundraising that’s needed for the project only has $350 to go. Here’s the full specs for the design above; here are the full specs for the design below:

And here are the specs for this next one:

We’re checking on the proper pathway for public feedback; meantime, feel free to comment here for starters! And remember there’s a plant-sale fundraiser for the playground project at Delridge Day, Youngstown Arts Center this Saturday (WSB story here – by the way, we’ll be reporting live from Delridge Day throughout the event, so hope to see you there!). ADDED 9:09 PM: More info on what happens next, sent by Holli:

Cast your design vote – you can e-mail helpdelridgeplay@gmail.com with your pick, or attend a public meeting at the Delridge Community Center on Monday, June 1 from 7:30pm-8:30pm. The designs will also be on display this Saturday, at Youngstown Arts Center as part of Delridge Day which runs from 11 am-5 pm.

We’re looking for all the help we can get to build the playground on July 17th. We’ll have the equipment, breakfast, lunch, water and free exercise! Registration starts at 7:45 am, building begins at 8:30 am and ends around 2:30 pm for some fun.

Anyone interested in being a Build Captain on Build Day needs to attend an orientation on Prep Day, July 15th. All are welcome to help on Prep Day.

Food Committee: We also need someone to lead the Food Committee! A few volunteers are doing double-duty on the Food Committee and have done some preparations, but we need a leader.

To volunteer contact Chris via email at helpdelridgeplay@gmail.com or call (206) 499-3733.

Also, we’d love to put the spotlight on some local musical talent to entertain our volunteers at a closing ceremony that afternoon around 3pm, and at a grand opening the following week. Please contact Holli Margell via e-mail at holli.margell@gmail.com if you would like to perform.

Design note: We can only chose from these three designs. Changing any element is no longer an option – it is too far along in the process.

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Safe Routes to School Month winds up with Sanislo kids’ cleanup
May 27, 2009 2:13 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | Health | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Thanks to Feet First for sharing photos from this morning’s trash pickup involving Sanislo Elementary School students who gathered at the Southwest Precinct for a special-mission walk to school – part of the Go! Project, a Safe Routes to School Program funded by the state Department of Transportation and facilitated by Feet First. We took you along earlier this month during another special Safe Routes to School event with Sanislo families (here’s our coverage) and they’ve been doing something special every week all month long.

Lisa Quinn from Feet First tells WSB they picked up 20 pounds of trash this morning!

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