Misplaced Pages

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64-547: State Road 590 begins at US Alternate Route 19 in Clearwater , just as it did before US Alternate 19 was realigned during the early 21st Century. Throughout most of Clearwater, SR 590 runs along Drew Street, a four-lane undivided highway with few if any provisions for left-turns. Between North Berry Lane and North Hillcrest Avenue, it runs along the south edge of the Clearwater Country Club The few intersections where

128-526: A Superior Court and Sheriff (as an officer of the court ), both located in a designated "shire town". Bennington County, Vermont has two shire towns; the court for "North Shire" is in the shire town Manchester , and the Sheriff for the county and court for "South Shire" are in the shire town Bennington. In 2024, Connecticut , which had not defined their counties for anything but statistical, historical and weather warning purposes since 1960, along with ending

192-504: A "paramilitary operation by a terrorist group". The Church of Scientology targeted Cazares, attempting to entrap him in a sex scandal. Scientology also staged a phony hit-and-run accident with Cazares in an attempt to discredit him. Cazares and his wife sued the Church of Scientology for $ 1.5 million. The church settled with Cazares in 1986. Clearwater has city partnerships with the following cities: County seat A county seat

256-534: A bandstand stood at 405 Cleveland Street in Downtown Clearwater, where the community gathered to listen to music. The names of locals serving in World War I were etched on the wall of the adjacent Clearwater Sun building; this "Panel of Honor" was obscured when the original Capitol Theatre was built but uncovered when the newspaper building was torn down in 2013. The Capitol Theatre opened March 21, 1921. It

320-618: A county road that's almost as heavily traveled as US 19. From there the road enters Safety Harbor, Florida as Tenth Street South and narrows down to two lanes. Tenth Street makes a sharp left turn before reaching the Clearwater Subdivision again and becomes South 14th Street, then curves to the right again and becomes Fourth Street South. At the intersection with Tenth Avenue, SR 590 turns north again, and three blocks later intersects Main Street(CR 576), where it turns right, thus serving as

384-410: A county seat may be an independent city surrounded by, but not part of, the county of which it is the administrative center; for example, Fairfax City is both the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia and completely surrounded by Fairfax County, but the city is politically independent of the county. When the county seat is in the independent city, government offices such as the courthouse may be in

448-406: A crab trap. The aquarium is also home to other dolphins, otters, pelicans, nurse sharks, and turtles among several species of fish and other marine life. CMA also assists in animal strandings and other emergencies regarding sea life. Animals that have stranded are rehabilitated, and if possible, released back into the wild once they have made a full recovery. It has been featured as the main setting of

512-644: A four-year term. The council is responsible for setting policies and making decisions on local government issues including tax rates, annexations, property code variances and large contract awards. The city manager and city council are supported by the various city departments. Tampa International Airport serves Clearwater and the rest of the Tampa Bay Area as the primary means of air travel. St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport has also seen its usage increase. The city owns Clearwater Air Park . The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) bus service

576-565: Is an administrative center, seat of government , or capital city of a county or civil parish . The term is in use in five countries: Canada , China , Hungary , Romania , and the United States . An equivalent term, shire town , is used in the U.S. state of Vermont and in several other English-speaking jurisdictions. In Canada , the provinces of Ontario , Quebec , New Brunswick , Prince Edward Island , and Nova Scotia have counties as an administrative division of government below

640-597: Is currently Pinellas County's only general public transit. The service offers approximately 35 local routes, two express routes which cross Tampa Bay to the east, and a beach trolley that runs north and south along the county's roughly 25-mile-long (40 km) chain of barrier islands . The city was formerly served by Amtrak at Clearwater station . The Church of Scientology 's "spiritual headquarters" are located in downtown Clearwater. The Church refers to Clearwater as its "Flag Land Base". The Church of Scientology owns several historical landmark buildings including

704-409: Is known as the seat of its county. Generally, the county legislature, county courthouse, sheriff's department headquarters, hall of records, jail and correctional facility are located in the county seat, though some functions (such as highway maintenance, which usually requires a large garage for vehicles, along with asphalt and salt storage facilities) may also be located or conducted in other parts of

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768-531: Is part of the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative which seeks to provide patrons with access to information and programs to benefit the community. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is a small non-profit aquarium . Opening in 1972 on Clearwater Beach, the aquarium is most famous for Winter the dolphin. Rescued as a calf in 2005, Winter was one of the first dolphins to have been fitted with a prosthetic tail after losing it due to entanglement in

832-455: Is the entrance to Philippe Park , the park for which this section of 590 is named. It then turns to the northwest at the broken alignment of Philippe Park Drive running much closer to the coast of Safety Harbor itself. After passing by a few more developments, SR 590 enters the Bridgeport section of Safety Harbor. It moves west off of Philippe Parkway as it crosses the Clearwater Subdivision for

896-748: Is with Old Coachman Road (unmarked CR 535), since it also includes a railroad crossing for the CSX Clearwater Subdivision, and the Ream Wilson Trail. Leaving the preserved land, the road is surrounded by residential development once again and then becomes a divided highway as it approaches a power-line right-of-way and later the U.S. Route 19 in Florida interchange. It then turns straight west and east again, passing by neighborhoods such as Orange Blossom Estates and Mission Hills until it divides again as it approaches County Road 611 (McMullen-Booth Road),

960-646: The 2020 census , the city had a population of 117,292. It is the smallest of the three principal cities in the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metropolitan area, most commonly referred to as the Tampa Bay area . Clearwater Beach is part of the city of Clearwater, but is separated from it by the Intracoastal Waterway . Cleveland Street is one of the city's historic avenues, and the city includes BayCare Ballpark and Coachman Park. The Church of Scientology owns

1024-550: The Belleview Hotel . Groundbreaking was December 6, 1920. The "New Capitol Theatre" was damaged in a storm on October 26, 1921 (so it had been completed). A theatre organ was installed in 1922, to accompany silent films with music. The organ was made and installed by the Robert Morton Organ Company . Donald Roebling was a frequent patron, having his own double seat installed at the theatre. The theatre

1088-595: The Fort Harrison Hotel and the Clearwater Bank Building. As of 2019, Scientology had purchased so much property in downtown Clearwater that it owned most of the commercial buildings in the downtown core, many of which remained vacant. According to an investigation by the Tampa Bay Times , "The [Church of Scientology], its members and companies they control now own 185 properties that cover 101 acres in

1152-526: The United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 39.2 square miles (101.6 km ), of which 25.6 square miles (66.2 km ) is land and 13.7 square miles (35.4 km ) (34.86%) is water. Clearwater's downtown has been undergoing major redevelopment in recent years. General beautification has been done along with completion of several high-rise condos and a large marina. New bars, restaurants, and other amenities are coming to

1216-519: The 1970s under the code-name Project Normandy , the Church of Scientology began targeting Clearwater in order to "establish area control" of the city and county. The operations were exposed in a Pulitzer Prize winning series of articles in the Clearwater Sun . Gabe Cazares , who was the mayor of Clearwater at the time, went so far as to call it "the occupation of Clearwater" and later characterized it as

1280-671: The American family movie series Dolphin Tale . BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater is the spring training home of Major League Baseball 's Philadelphia Phillies , as well as their Low-A affiliate, the Clearwater Threshers . Moccasin Lake Nature Park is a 51-acre nature preserve (21 ha) with a 5-acre lake (2.0 ha) owned and operated by the city. The preserve also features

1344-607: The City Commission for additional space. As a result of segregation , the Clearwater Public Library was for White patrons only from its founding in 1911 to the mid-twentieth century. In 1950, the City Commission agreed to the building of the North Greenwood library. Designed by Architect Eugene Beach, the new library allowed access for the city's African American population to many information sources. This library

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1408-618: The Clearwater Library Association opened a subscription library on the second floor of the local People's Bank. Its popularity and support led to the request of $ 10,000 from the Carnegie Foundation to build a public library . The building was designed by Tampa architect F.J. Kennard. In its first year, the library had over 1,277 visitors and 2,792 books borrowed. As a vacation town, the library provided free access to materials for all residents and winter visitors. During

1472-613: The Depression, the Clearwater Public Library faced many of the same threats seen at other libraries seen throughout the United States. This includes increased patron usage and dwindling budget. In the 1940s, the Clearwater library increased its staff from three assistants to five assistants. The library's collection also grew from 18,047 to over 100,000. To account for this increase, the Librarian and Board President Traver Bayly made an appeal to

1536-563: The Moccasin Lake Environmental Education Center, which offers environmental education classes, programs and camps. The Center features live rehabilitated birds of prey, reptiles, amphibians and aquatic wildlife. It opened in 1982. The City of Clearwater contains five pools: Ross Norton, North Greenwood, Morningside, the Long Center, and Clearwater Beach. Swim lessons are offered throughout the year to patrons, and

1600-879: The United States, followed by Towson , the county seat of Baltimore County, Maryland . Likewise, some county seats may not be incorporated in their own right, but are located within incorporated municipalities. For example, Cape May Court House, New Jersey , though unincorporated, is a section of Middle Township , an incorporated municipality. In some states, often those that were among the original Thirteen Colonies , county seats include or formerly included "Court House" as part of their name, such as Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia . Most counties have only one county seat. However, some counties in Alabama , Arkansas , Georgia , Iowa , Kentucky , Massachusetts , Mississippi , Missouri , New Hampshire , New York , and Vermont have two or more county seats, usually located on opposite sides of

1664-410: The area was known as Clear Water Harbor. The name "Clear Water" is thought to have come from a fresh water spring flowing from near where the old City Hall building was located. There were many other freshwater springs that dotted the bluff, many in the bay or harbor itself. Originally part of Hillsborough County , the first road joining Clearwater and Tampa was built in 1849, which dramatically reduced

1728-459: The area, renamed the "Cleveland Street District". Royalty Theatre is also slated to be renovated. Clearwater has a humid subtropical climate . Clearwater is far enough south that it lies in the broad transition zone from subtropical to tropical climates. As such, Clearwater is mostly warm to hot year round, with few nights of frost. Most of the annual rainfall comes in the wet season (June through September), when daily thundershowers erupt due to

1792-520: The bay, replacing the former drawbridge ; the connecting road is part of State Road 60 and is called Clearwater Memorial Causeway . During World War II , Clearwater became a major training base for US troops destined for Europe and the Pacific. Virtually every hotel in the area, including the Belleview Biltmore and the Fort Harrison Hotel , was used as a barracks for new recruits. Vehicle traffic

1856-427: The center of downtown. Half the properties were bought since January 2017. ...Seventy-three percent of the property is [now] tax-exempt for religious purposes." By 2024, the count was up to 210 parcels purchased since 2017, including the office tower where city government offices were located, and leaving only seven remaining commercial property owners who are not associated with Scientology or government. Beginning in

1920-517: The counties after his unification, there were about 1,000. Under the Eastern Han dynasty , the number of counties increased to above 1,000. About 1400 existed when the Sui dynasty abolished the commandery level (郡 jùn), which was the level just above counties, and demoted some commanderies to counties. In Imperial China, the county was a significant administrative unit because it marked the lowest level of

1984-418: The county, especially if it is geographically large. A county seat is usually an incorporated municipality . The exceptions include the county seats of counties that have no incorporated municipalities within their borders, such as Arlington County, Virginia , where the county seat is the entire county. Ellicott City , the county seat of Howard County, Maryland , is the largest unincorporated county seat in

Florida State Road 590 - Misplaced Pages Continue

2048-420: The county. Examples include Harrison County, Mississippi , which has both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats, and Hinds County, Mississippi , which has both Raymond and the state capital of Jackson . The practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days when travel was difficult. There have been few efforts to eliminate the two-seat arrangement, since a county seat is a source of civic pride for

2112-438: The first mayor. The area's popularity as a vacation destination grew after railroad magnate Henry B. Plant built a sprawling Victorian resort hotel named Belleview Biltmore just south of Clearwater in 1897. By the early 1900s, Clearwater's population had grown to around 400, ballooning to nearly 1,000 in the winter. Clearwater's oldest existing newspaper, the Clearwater Sun , was first published on March 14, 1914. Clearwater

2176-424: The imperial bureaucratic structure; in other words, it was the lowest level that the government reached. Government below the county level was often undertaken through informal non-bureaucratic means, varying between dynasties. The head of a county was the magistrate , who oversaw both the day-to-day operations of the county as well as civil and criminal cases. The current number of counties mostly resembled that of

2240-572: The increase of Han Chinese population in Taiwan, the number of counties also grew by time. By the end of Qing era, there were 11 counties in Taiwan. Protestant missionaries in China first romanized the term as hien . When Taiwan became a Japanese colony in 1895, the hierarchy of divisions also incorporated into the Japanese system in the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. By September 1945, Taiwan

2304-611: The independent city under an agreement, such as in Albemarle , or may in be enclaves of the county surrounded by the independent city, such as in Fairfax . Others, such as Prince William , have the courthouse in an enclave surrounded by the independent city and have the county government, the Board of Supervisors, in a different part of the county, far from the county seat. The following counties have their county seat in an independent city: Bedford

2368-597: The last time as it divides the Bridgeport and La Playa Estates sections of Safety Harbor and then turns north to finally terminate at State Road 580 just west of the bridges over the Tarpon Canal and Moccasin Creek leading to Oldsmar, Florida . The entire route is in Pinellas County . State Road 590A ( SR 590A ) was a former suffixed alternate route of SR 590 along Coachman Road between Drew Street and US 19. At

2432-732: The later years of the Qing dynasty . Changes of location and names of counties in Chinese history have been a major field of research in Chinese historical geography, especially from the 1960s to the 1980s. There are 1,355 counties in Mainland China out of a total of 2,851 county-level divisions. In Taiwan , the first counties were first established in 1661 by the Kingdom of Tungning . The later ruler Qing empire inherited this type of administrative divisions. With

2496-677: The majority of property in the Clearwater downtown core district. Present-day Clearwater was originally the home of the Tocobaga people. Around 1835, the United States Army began construction of Fort Harrison , named after William Henry Harrison , as an outpost during the Seminole Wars . The fort was located on a bluff overlooking Clearwater Harbor, which later became part of an early 20th-century residential development called Harbor Oaks. University of South Florida archaeologists excavated

2560-517: The median household income for Clearwater was $ 50,335, which is below the average for both the United States as well as the state of Florida. In 2012, the city was listed among the 10 best places to retire in the U.S. by CBS Money Watch. The Clearwater Public Art and Design Program, adopted by City Council in 2005, is funded through a 1% allocation on all city capital improvement projects valued at more than $ 500,000. The program commissions an average of 2–3 new projects per year. Pre-Capitol Theatre,

2624-409: The median income for a household in the city was $ 47,070, and the median income for a family was $ 46,228. 15.9% of the population fell below the poverty line. As of the 2010 United States census , there were 107,685 people, 46,264 households, and 26,317 families residing in the city. As of 2000, speakers of English as their first language were 84.43% of residents, Spanish as a mother tongue

Florida State Road 590 - Misplaced Pages Continue

2688-540: The pools have both a recreation summer pool league and the Clearwater Aquatics Team. These pools have participated in the World's Largest Swim Lesson. The City of Clearwater is administered by a council-manager form of government, and the city manager serves as the chief executive and administrative officer of the city. The Clearwater City Council comprises the mayor and four council members, each of whom serves

2752-564: The prior day-long commute between the cities. During the American Civil War , Union gunboats repeatedly raided the community's supplies, as most of the able-bodied men were away fighting for the Confederate Army . The town began developing in the late nineteenth century, prompted by Peter Demens ' completion of the first passenger railroad line into the city in 1888. Clearwater was incorporated in 1891, with James E. Crane becoming

2816-752: The provincial level, and thus county seats. In the provinces of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia the term "shire town" is used in place of county seat. County seats in China are the administrative centers of the counties in the People's Republic of China . Xian have existed since the Warring States period and were set up nationwide by the Qin dynasty . The number of counties in China proper gradually increased from dynasty to dynasty. As Qin Shi Huang reorganized

2880-492: The road becomes a two-lane divided highway, except at the intersections of Marshall and Salem Streets, and Irwin Street, where the divider is interrupted to provide left-turn lanes. The divider is interrupted again between Parkside Lane and Avon Drive, and ends permanently shortly after the previously mentioned intersection. It is revived again after Pinellas Avenue, but does not extend to CR 102 (Enterprise Road East). Just north of here

2944-801: The road divides is at CR 1 (North Keene Road), a major north-south county road that spans from St. Petersburg to Palm Harbor . After this the road runs Just south of the Clearwater Air Park . The road divides once again at the intersection with Hercules Avenue (unmarked CR 425), and after this SR 590 shifts onto Northeast Coachman Road, while the rest of Drew Street continues east becoming an undivided highway as it heads toward Bright House Field . Along Northeast Coachman Road, SR 590 runs northeast as it intersects another major county road known as CR 501 (Belcher Road), which runs from Gulfport to Tarpon Springs . A less important but nevertheless unique intersection within some preserved land along Alligator Creek

3008-538: The site in 1962 after Mark Wyllie discovered an underground ammunition bunker while planting a tree in his yard. The area's population grew after the Federal Armed Occupation Act of 1842 offered 160 acres (0.65 km ) to anyone who would bear arms and cultivate the land. Early settlers included the Stevens, Stevenson, Sever and McMullen families, who claimed and farmed large tracts of land. Prior to 1906,

3072-764: The state's area, has no borough government or borough seat. One borough, the Lake and Peninsula Borough , has its borough seat located in another borough, namely King Salmon in Bristol Bay Borough . In Louisiana , which is divided into parishes rather than counties, county seats are referred to as "parish seats". In New England , counties have served mainly as dividing lines for the states' judicial systems. Rhode Island has no county level of government and thus no county seats, and Massachusetts has dissolved many but not all of its county governments. In Vermont , Massachusetts , and Maine county government consists only of

3136-535: The strong solar heating. The dry season starts in October and runs through May, at which time the weather is sunny, dry, and there is little change in daily weather. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 117,292 people, 48,211 households, and 27,233 families residing in the city. In 2019, the city's population was spread out, with 18.7% under the age of 18, 59.4% between the age of 18 and 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. Between 2014 and 2018,

3200-503: The terminus of CR 576. SR 590 then crosses the Clearwater Subdivision again, the same railroad line it tried to avoid as Tenth Street and Fourth Street. At the end of Main Street, SR 590 turns north onto Philippe Parkway, a road that begins a block south at South Bayshore Boulevard and the City Marina, then runs close to the west shore of Old Tampa Bay . North of the blinker-light intersections with Washington Drive and Grand Central Avenue,

3264-595: The theatre with film classics and reduced prices. However, the theatre closed its doors on October 28, 1980. Royalty Theater Company signed leases with the Taylor family in February 1981, when it then became known as the Royalty Theater (Clearwater, Florida). The building was renovated with Ron Winter of Winter Associates as the contractor and Scott Musheff as the architect. During the renovations, Bill Neville's murdered body

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3328-519: The time of its designation, SR 590 continued east along Drew Street. Established in January 1976, it was replaced by 1983 as a part of SR 590. Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city and the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida , United States, west of Tampa and north of St. Petersburg . To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay . As of

3392-416: The towns involved, along with providing employment opportunities. There are 33 counties with multiple county seats in 11 states: Alaska is divided into boroughs rather than counties; the county seat in these case is referred to as the "borough seat"; this includes six consolidated city-borough governments (one of which is styled as a "municipality"). The Unorganized Borough, Alaska , which covers 49% of

3456-538: The use of county seats in particular, will fully transition with the permission of the United States Census Bureau to a system of councils of government for the purposes of boundary definition and as county equivalents. Two counties in South Dakota , Oglala Lakota and Todd , have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county. Their county-level services are provided by Fall River County and Tripp County , respectively. In Virginia ,

3520-477: Was 8.55%, Greek accounted for 1.16%, French made up 1.00% of speakers, German at 0.97%, and Italian speakers comprised 0.85% of the population. Clearwater's economy employs nearly 50,400 people. Major employers include Morton Plant Hospital , Tech Data , and Honeywell . Employment in Clearwater grew 1.84% from 2015 to 2016 with 50,345 people in the workforce. The most common job groups include Service, Sales & Office, Science, and Business. As of 2020,

3584-783: Was built by Senator-elect John Stansel Taylor . The theater's architect was Lester Avery and the contractor was John D. Phillipoff. Avery is known for his architecture in Miami . Philipoff also built the Coachman Building (1916), the Donald Roebling Estate in Belleair (added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979), the old Pinellas County Courthouse (added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992), other historical homes which have been saved, and did work at

3648-568: Was divided into 8 prefectures ( 州 and 廳 ), which remained after the Republic of China took over. There are 13 county seats in Taiwan, which function as county-administered cities , urban townships , or rural townships . In most of the United States , a county is an administrative or political subdivision of a state that consists of a geographic area with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The city, town, or populated place that houses county government

3712-491: Was found in the balcony. The theatre remained in the Taylor family estate until it was sold in 1996. In July 2008, the building went into foreclosure. In January 2009, the City of Clearwater and Ruth Eckerd Hall joined forces to purchase the theatre (renamed Capitol Theatre) as well as the neighboring Pat Lokey building as part of a renovation and revitalization of the historic Capitol Theater . Fowler Associates Architects, Inc.

3776-572: Was made possible by the Greater Clearwater Public Library Foundation, Inc. which formed in 1984. As a part of the library's Centennial Celebration, a project is commencing to add makerspaces to the libraries. The Main library's makerspace is the "Studios at Main" and targets creative arts making. The Clearwater Public Library System is a contributor to the Pinellas Memory Project. This system of libraries

3840-532: Was managed by various movie companies (EJ Sparks, Paramount, ABC-Southeastern Theatres, and Plitt Southern) and played the most recent movies of the day. The theatre also offered vaudeville on Friday nights in the 1930s. Headliners included Sally Rand , Fred Stone and his daughter, and Lum and Abner (of radio). The theatre was renovated in 1962. The Morton theatre organ was most likely removed during this renovation. When Plitt Southern did not renew their contract in 1979, Bill Neville and Jerry Strain tried to save

3904-482: Was regularly stopped for companies of soldiers marching through downtown, and nighttime blackouts to confuse potential enemy bombers were common practice. Pre-development Sand Key was used as a target by U.S. Army Air Corps fighter-bombers for strafing and bombing practice. The approximate coordinate for the City of Clearwater is located at 27°58′25″N 82°45′51″W  /  27.973644°N 82.764271°W  / 27.973644; -82.764271 . According to

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3968-484: Was reincorporated, this time as a city, on May 27, 1915, and was designated the county seat for Pinellas County, which broke from Hillsborough County in 1912. In 1915, a bridge was built across Clearwater Harbor, joining the city with Clearwater Beach to the west. Clearwater Beach, although located on a separate barrier island, belongs to the city of Clearwater and fronts the Gulf of Mexico. A new, much higher bridge now arcs over

4032-653: Was renovated in 1984. The new Main library was rebuilt beginning in 2000. It opened in May 2004. As the population continued to increase throughout the late twentieth century, the library system continued to grow. The Clearwater Public Library System now includes five libraries: Clearwater Main, Countryside, North Greenwood, Beach, and East. In recent years, the Clearwater Public Library System has become increasingly digital, providing patrons with access to computers, online databases, and an online library catalog. This

4096-526: Was selected for the renovation of the Capitol Theatre. The $ 10 million renovation and expansion began in 2012 and was completed in 2013. In 2019, a $ 2.5 million donation renamed the building the Nancy and David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre. In 1911, the city of Clearwater witnessed a vast population increase as well as acquiring telephones, electricity, paved streets and an ice factory. It is during this time that

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