Commissioner Murman quoted in this NewsChannel 8 article on emergency communications:

 

Port of Tampa fire prompts review of citizen alert system

Posted: Aug 09, 2013 5:03 PM EDT Updated: Aug 09, 2013 5:36 PM EDT

By Lauren Mayk

NewsChannel 8

After a fire at the Port of Tampa led to a warning for people in parts of downtown to stay indoors, a Hillsborough county commissioner is calling for a review of the system to alert people of an emergency.

“I believe we can improve upon what we have and reach more people,” said Sandra Murman, who also sits on the board of the Port Authority.

Murman wants a review of the process involving the port, the county, city and emergency responders that kicks in when there is an incident. She said response to the fire and chemical fumes Thursday worked well, but raised questions about how to reach people in a more serious situation when authorities would use a siren to spread the word about an inhalation hazard.

“I don’t think people are taking serious when the horn blows, and I’m not sure they even know what it means,” Murman said.

The siren system is designed to be heard from a mile away and is used to alert people in surrounding areas about an inhalation hazard like ammonia, which is on site at the port.

Thursday’s incident didn’t require those sirens. It involved a fire at a tank that held sulfur and the release of sulfur dioxide. The blaze was extinguished using a fire suppression system in the tank.

“We responded with Tampa Fire Rescue to the scene to try to determine what impact it would have on the port, not only from a health and safety issue but from a traffic issue,” said Mark Dubina, vice president of security at the port. “We rely on that fire department at that point to tell us what the danger is and what our response should be.”

Ultimately, authorities put out word that people in areas on the south side of downtown Tampa should stay inside because of the chemical fumes that could cause eye and throat irritations.

In situations like that, an agency – in that case the fire rescue team – becomes the “incident commander,” Dubina said.

Port security officials and tenants train for incidents and also hold “after actions” to discuss what happened and any changes that need to be made for the future, he said. Those who handle ammonia at the port also meet monthly.

In Thursday’s incident, the city of Tampa sent out messages to those who signed up for the “Alert Tampa” system.

User can sign up on the city’s website. That system also has the ability to initiate reverse 911 calls, a Tampa city spokeswoman said.

 

 

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tribune article on the Family Justice Center:

 

Family Justice Center asks Hillsborough for emergency donation

By Mike Salinero | Tribune Staff
Published: August 7, 2013

TAMPA — Board members of the Family Justice Center asked Hillsborough County commissioners Wednesday to give them enough money to keep the center’s doors open until October.

Commissioners heard the agency’s supporters out but offered no solutions. Commissioner Sandy Murman, a long-time advocate for services that benefit women and children, said the commission won’t decide on whether to make the requested $170,000 donation until a thorough audit of the center has been completed.

“We’ve asked all our non-profits to do this: Show us you can stay in business,” Murman said after the meeting. “It’s a great, great program, but we have to be a good steward of the taxpayers’ dollars.”

The center acts as a clearinghouse for victims of domestic violence, offering counseling, assessing danger and connecting victims with organizations that offer shelter. The agency also helps 80 to 90 victims a month get protective injunctions against violent spouses or boyfriends, Executive Director Nikki Daniels said.

“We’re the only program like this in the county,” Daniels told commissioners. “Victims and survivors can come to one place where options are available to them to get help from multiple organizations.”

The Family Justice Center was rocked when its main donor, the Children’s Board of Hillsborough County, cut its annual support by half, to $300,000. The center draws its $950,000 annual budget from a variety of sources, typically raising $65,000 to $75,000 on its own from private donors. The county gave the center $100,000 this year.

Duane Bishoff, the center’s treasurer, said the cuts by the Children’s Board were not the result of anything the Family Justice Center did wrong. The agency is tightly managed with overhead of just 14 percent, and audits of the agency come back “clean and unqualified,” he said.

“Do what’s morally right and support this organization that saves countless lives every day,” Bishoff told commissioners.

Family Justice board member Michael Neely said he once counseled a woman who said she had gone to the Skyway Bridge to throw herself off but instead came to the family justice center.

Neely, a pastor at New Millennium Community Church, said the woman told him, “I told God I’m going to go to the Family Justice Center and meet with this pastor, and if I don’t get a word today, I’m going to come back to this bridge and end my life.”

After four sessions with Neely, the woman said she had decided to live.

“We are a beacon, we are a light house in this dark world of domestic violence,” Neely said.

Murman said she expected the county’s audit to be finished in a month.

msalinero@tampatrib.com

 

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Bay Times article on Amazon:

Hillsborough County Commission approves first of two incentives for Amazon

Bill Varian, Times Staff Writer

TAMPA — Hillsborough County commissioners officially added Amazon to their wish list Wednesday by approving the first of two financial incentives for the online retail giant to build a warehouse in Ruskin.

They can proceed to checkout when they take up the second and larger subsidy deal — a waiver of half the property taxes on the new distribution center for seven years — July 17.

Commissioners cast the decision as a no-brainer, likening Amazon curiously to a hurricane in terms of economic development, spinning off feeder bands of new construction in a part of the county hit hard by the recession.

“I’m a huge cheerleader for south county,” said Commissioner Sandy Murman, who represents the area where the warehouse would be built. “This is our time. We’re No. 1. This is going to be our time.”

County officials have said Amazon and its affiliates would spend $200 million to build a 1-million-square foot “fulfillment center” at the South Shore Corporate Park, a vacant expanse near Interstate 75 and State Road 674. The company says the park would employ 1,000 permanent employees, including 375 that pay at least 15 percent more than the average state wage, or $47,581.

In exchange for those 375 “well-paying” jobs, commissioners unanimously approved paying Amazon $600 for each, or a total of $225,000, in installments spread out over at least four years, starting in 2016. That represents the county’s match of an additional $2,400 for each of those jobs to be paid by the state, bringing the total cost of the subsidy to a little more than $1.1 million.

Commissioners said that’s a small price to pay for the number of jobs and the likelihood that landing Amazon will establish Hillsborough, and South Shore in particular, as ripe for business investment.

“It’s like having a perfect anchor come in and establish a store in your shopping center,” said Commissioner Victor Crist. “Now everyone else wants to co-locate to have the same address. So the potential for leveraging jobs and businesses and economic viability are endless here.

“I don’t see any downside here whatsoever.”

The Amazon distribution center would take up about 70 acres of the South Shore Corporate Park, which includes nearly 1,000 acres and capacity for nearly 5 million square feet of building space. It now houses a 90,000-square-foot warehouse that has sat empty since it was built in 2007.

Developers would be required to widen or extend a number of roads near the center that would lead from the park to other major roadways.

In addition to the subsidy approved Wednesday, commissioners will consider a second tax break next month. It would waive half of the county property tax bill on the warehouse and equipment inside it for the first seven years of operation.

That’s estimated to come to $913,680 a year, or about $6.4 million. The development also will likely qualify for an additional $2 million to $2.5 million in state incentives for the road work, county economic development director Ron Barton said Wednesday.

From the county’s standpoint, none of the money is paid until Amazon makes it capital investment and hires and retains the better-paid employees, Barton said.

“We’re giving away 50 percent of something we don’t have today,” he said. “It’s like giving a dollar to get $5.”

Barton has emphasized that Hillsborough is competing against other counties and said he expects Amazon could pick more than one site for distribution centers. The company’s decision is expected in about a month.

Amazon has discussed opening in time for either the 2014 or 2015 Christmas holiday season, Barton said.

Commission Chairman Ken Hagan, who proposed the property tax incentive approved by voters in 2010, credited the county’s aggressive business incentives program for putting South Shore in the hunt.

“It’s not a coincidence that Texas has led the nation in job creation and that the film industry has exploded in Louisiana. It’s called incentives,” Hagan said. “For a modest investment, we will receive a significant return on our investment.”

Bill Varian can be reached at varian@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3387.

 

Commissioner Murman quoted in this WUSF News story on Amazon.com coming to Hillsborough County:

 

Hillsborough County Approves Amazon Incentive

Yoselis Ramos, WUSF News

June 20, 2013

The huge Internet retailer Amazon is one step closer to building a fulfillment center in Ruskin. Hillsborough County Commissioners approved Wednesday a set of tax incentives to bring the company here.

Amazon is promising 1,000 jobs for Hillsborough County, with 375 of those being higher wage positions making an average of more than $47,000.

Hillsborough County Commissioners decided the new jobs will be worth the incentive of $225,000.

Commissioner Sandra Murman likened the Amazon deal to a business hurricane. “It can really give us that long term that we need,” she said, “and this will be feeder bands, you know we talk a lot about hurricanes, this is our hurricane because the feeder bands that will come off of this will be unbelievable.”

If Amazon comes to Florida, residents of the Sunshine State will have to pay a six percent sales tax on all merchandise bought through the retailer.

Commissioner Ken Hagan says this deal is great for the region.

“We should be very proud that Hillsborough County has led the state job creation over the last year,” he said,  “and opportunities like Amazon are the reason why our employment rate is below the state’s.”

 

Commissioners will hold a public hearing in July to discuss cutting Amazon’s property taxes by 50 percent for seven years once the center is up and running.

 

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Tribune article on the Friendship Trail Bridge project:

 

Officials skeptical of TrailBridge plan

Mike Salinero, Tribune staff

June 19, 2013

TAMPA – Hillsborough County officials seemed to throw cold water Wednesday on a proposal to reconstruct the Friendship TrailBridge through a public-private partnership.

County Administrator Mike Merrill and several county commissioners expressed skepticism that a group of investors Could rebuild and operate the closed pedestrian walkway as a linear park, all without any county funding.

“It’s too big,” Merrill said. “You can’t get a decent return on investment and you can’t get a company to come in and take that kind of risk.”

A consultant hired by the county came to the same conclusion in a February report, Public Works Director Mike Williams told commissioners Wednesday.

But two leaders of the movement to save the bridge insist they have a group of investors who are interested in restoring and operating the bridge for a profit. The only money the county would have to contribute is the $5.2 million that Hillsborough and Pinellas County pooled to demolish the 57-year-old structure.

“The taxpayers don’t spend another dime on this project,” said Kevin Thurman, who along with architect Ken Cowart is trying to put the development group together.

Cowart told commissioners Wednesday he and Thurman are working with a team of developers, engineers and land planners who are interested in the project and want to bid on a request for proposals when the county issues one.

Williams, the public works director, said Monday the county hasn’t issued the request for proposals because he was worried that would jeopardize the low bid to demolish the bridge. Commissioners did not act on the bid a year ago, but the winning company has not rescinded it.

After checking with the county’s procurement department, Williams said he now feels confident the county can take bids on a public-private bridge restoration project. The county would have 60 days warning if the company that submitted the low bid to demolish the bridge decides to pull out.

Cowart and Thurman have asked the county for 90 more days to solidify the group that will bid on the project. Commissioners did not say no Wednesday, but they made it clear they don’t want the $5.2 million sitting around until next year.

 

“I’m not saying we can’t make this work if they give us a good plan,” said Commissioner Sandy Murman, who asked for the Wednesday update on the bridge.

 

Commissioner Murman quoted in this WTSP Channel 10 news story on Amazon.com:

 

Hillsborough County takes big step toward landing Amazon

3:29 PM, Jun 19, 2013   |

Eric Glasser

10 News: WTSP

Tampa, FL — You get the feeling if Amazon.com were single, the Hillsborough County Commission would be getting down on its knee to propose.

“I think what we are approving today is a very small dowry a potential great corporate community marriage,” said Commissioner Kevin Beckner.

Board chair Ken Hagan agreed. “This is an outstanding opportunity,” he said.

And County Commissioner Sandy Murman likened it it to a hurricane with Amazon’s feeder-bands attracting more businesses, creating a mega-storm of job growth for our region.

“This is fiscal responsibility,” said Murman.

On Wednesday commissioners started the ball rolling to turn an empty field in Ruskin into a mega-warehouse fulfillment center at the South Shore corporate park.

To do that, they voted unanimously to designate Amazon as a “Qualified Target Industry” or QTI.

They also offered generous tax incentives, but with strings attached.

“The company has to deliver on a promise before any payments are made by this county,” said Economic Development Director Ron Barton.

That promise? Amazon has vowed to create 1,000 jobs… 375 of which would be higher-wage, higher quality positions. In exchange, Amazon gets $225,000 spread out over four years.

But the bigger incentive is a huge ad-valorem tax break for six years once the center opens in 2016.

The 50% reduction in property taxes is worth about a million dollars annually.

Critics question why small business aren’t offered such breaks and whether the incentives are really a good deal.

Amazon’s lower-paying jobs, they argue, could also increase reliance on subsidized housing and tax-payer funded social services.

“The board is starting down a slippery slope of giving tax benefits to a select few at the expense of the taxpayers of Hillsborough County,” said Elizabeth Belcher from Seffner.

But county officials say right now, the proposed site is just unimproved property generating almost no taxes. So they say even half of the estimated $1.8 million a year Amazon would pay is a welcome infusion for the county’s coffers.

“I don’t see any downside here whatsoever,” said Commissioner Victor Crist.

There will likely be more criticism for the proposed ad-valorem tax break when the public is invited to comment during a meeting on the proposal, Wednesday July 17.

 

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Tribune article on Amazon.com:

 

BY Mike Salinero

Tribune staff

Published: June 19, 2013

TAMPA – Hillsborough County commissioners voted unanimously today to give about $225,000 in financial incentives to Amazon.com to locate an assembly and distribution center in the Ruskin area.

The money will be the county’s share of the state’s Qualified Target Industry incentive program, which calls for the local government to pay 20 percent of the total incentive package.

Commissioner Sandy Murman said Amazon will “fuel our competiveness in the region” and “really give us that longer value we need.”

“This is our time. We’re going to be No. 1,” an ecstatic Murman said.

Commission Chairman Ken Hagan said the warehouse, which would create 1,000 jobs, would provide a needed economic boost for the depressed south county area.

“We’re going to energize the South Shore community that has been in desperate need of development,” Hagan said.

The commission will meet July 18 to consider a property tax break for Amazon that would lower the company’s taxes by half, to $910,000 a year for seven years.

Gov. Rick Scott announced last week he had reached a deal to bring the online retail giant to Florida where it seeks to invest $300 million and create 3,000 jobs. Hillsborough is in the running for one of Amazon’s warehouse sites. About a third of the 1,000 jobs are expected to pay well above Florida’s average wage.

 

COMMISSIONER MURMAN AWARDED LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR CHAMPIONING CHILDREN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  District 1 Commissioner Murman’s Office (813) 272-5470

Having made children’s issues the hallmark of her public service career, Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandra L. Murman received the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award for Children’s Advocacy from the Early Childhood Council of Hillsborough County (ECC).  The presentation took place at the annual statewide Early Childhood Conference on June 14 in the first floor ballroom of Embassy Suites Tampa, located at 3705 Spectrum Blvd in Tampa.

As a community advocate and policy leader, Commissioner Murman has been directly involved in more than 20 organizations that enhance the lives of children and families. Fulfilling her lifelong dream of bringing a children’s museum to Tampa Bay, Murman led the capital campaign to raise $16 million to build the new Glazer Children’s Museum and became Chair of the museum’s Board of Directors.  Commissioner Murman has also served on the Prepaid College Foundation Board, the Florida Taxwatch Commission on Education Performance and Accountability, Florida Healthy Kids Foundation, and the Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County.   As a civic leader, she has championed Junior Achievement, Hillsborough Kids, Inc., The Children’s Home, Healthy Start Coalition, Phoenix House, Mental Health Care Foundation and was founding director of LLT Charter School.

“Sandy has been on the frontline for a lot of causes for children and families,” said Stephen C. Martaus, executive director of the ECC. “She is absolutely deserving of this honor, and we are privileged to have such a strong supporter in the state and here in Tampa Bay.”

“I am deeply honored by this recognition of my passion and grateful to have partnered with so many leaders in the community to build valuable programs for youth.  However, we still have work to do in the community to provide all of our children with a solid foundation for success in life through health, education, the arts and activities,” stated Commissioner Murman.

The Early Childhood Conference provides education and professional development to early childhood specialists, case managers, child care personnel, psychologists, social workers, community leaders and others involved and interested in early childhood development.

 

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Times article on Amazon coming to South County:

By Michael Van Sickler and Bill Varian,

 

Times/Herald Tallahasee Bureau

MICHAEL VAN SICKLERBILL VARIANTampa Bay Times

Thursday, June 13, 2013 9:07pm

 

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott and Amazon announced a deal Thursday in which the Internet retail giant would create 3,000 new jobs in Florida by 2016 — with about a third of those likely headed for a 1-million-square-foot warehouse in Ruskin, a part of Hillsborough County desperately needing an economic jolt.

But the good news comes with a catch: The new jobs in the state also mean consumers will be required to pay a 6 percent state sales tax on all the books, DVDs, CDs and other products they buy through Amazon.com.

The tax will kick in once the company opens its Florida operations centers, possibly next year

“Amazon’s commitment to create more than 3,000 new jobs in Florida is further proof that we’ve turned our economy around,” Scott said in a statement. “Amazon will continue to work with (state officials) on its ongoing projects which will include a return on any taxpayer investment, and we look forward to the company’s announcements as it chooses locations.”

Amazon officials couldn’t be reached Thursday, but details of the proposal were included in a packet of information provided to Hillsborough County commissioners.

As part of the agreement, Hills­borough officials will be asked next week to approve nearly $6.6 million in financial incentives for Amazon.

In exchange, Amazon would create 1,000 jobs in the South Shore area of Ruskin near State Road 674 and Interstate 75, and invest up to $200 million in a massive “state of the art facility.”

Of the 1,000 jobs, 375 would be “higher-wage quality jobs,” according to the county, with average annual pay of $47,581.

Commissioners reached late Thursday were practically giddy at the prospect.

“This is a grand slam for South Shore,” said commission Chairman Ken Hagan. “It’s an extraordinary opportunity for Hillsborough County.”

Commissioner Sandra Murman, who represents the area where the distribution center is being considered, said she’s “ecstatic.”

“This is the big silver bullet we’ve needed to kick off our economic development efforts,” Murman said.

The cost to the county would be spread out over seven years starting in 2016. Officials say it would be awarded to the company only if it builds the complex and creates jobs.

“From that point of view, it’s a really good value,” said county Administrator Mike Merrill. “And South County definitely needs jobs.”

Negotiations between Amazon and the state seemed dead last month after Scott signaled that he would not support a proposal that would include — essentially — a tax increase for many Floridians. But Scott spokeswoman Melissa Sellers said the deal announced Thursday was not a reversal of his earlier stance but a “culmination of ongoing discussions.”

When the facilities are operational, Amazon will begin collecting the 6 percent state sales tax as required under Florida law. A 1992 U.S. Supreme Court decision ruled that an Internet company collects sales taxes only in states where they are physically located, which would eventually include Florida.

“We haven’t had a chance to review the proposal,” said John Fleming, spokesman for the Florida Retail Federation, an association of 6,000 small and large retailers who are physically located in the state and must levy sales taxes on their transactions. “We’d like to have more details on the time line. There are a lot of questions about location and what type of facilities we’re talking about.”

The federation has long complained of the unfair advantages online companies like Amazon have. The Florida Retail Federation estimates that the state loses $450 million a year in online sales taxes, with Amazon accounting for about 10 percent to 20 percent of that total.

State officials said they could not provide any more specifics because negotiations were ongoing and confidential under Florida law.

“We are truly in the process of negotiations where it’s confidential,” said Melissa Medley, chief marketing officer with Enterprise Florida, the public-private economic partnership overseeing the discussions, which could include additional warehouses in other parts of the state.

Overall, the state says Amazon would invest $300 million in Florida.

“The company is very forthcoming in saying that they are making a commitment, but we haven’t progressed that far into the project to give any details,” Medley said.

Times/Herald staff writer Steve Bousquet contributed to this report. Michael Van Sickler can be reached at mvansickler@tampabay.com or (850) 224-7263.

 

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Times article on Homeless recount:

 

Richard Danielson, Tampa Bay Times

Friday, May 17, 2013 2:22pm

TAMPA — Advocates for the homeless found a total of 2,275 homeless people in Hillsborough County — about half the number from two years ago — in a count and recount this year.

The last count, in 2011, found 4,681 homeless people.

The good news: The drop suggests that several new efforts to address homelessness are making a dent in the number of people living on the streets, in emergency shelters, in transitional housing or in jail.

The bad news: “The count is never going to find everyone,” said Maria Barcus, chief executive officer of the Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County.

Some homeless people weren’t counted because they refused to answer survey questions. Others might have been missed because the first count took place two days before the Gasparilla Pirate Fest. When the counters went to some known homeless camping spots, they didn’t find anyone, suggesting that Gasparilla preparations had displaced the regulars.

“I think that there has been progress, and I think that there was also some level of under-counting in January,” Barcus said Friday. “Unfortunately, we just can’t tell how much is one versus the other.”

The Jan. 24 count was so surprisingly low that organizers did a one-day recount last month. The recount confirmed that the original numbers were not so far off that they shouldn’t be used.

Of the 2,275 homeless people that the census found:

• 944 were on the street or places not meant for human habitation.

• 387 were in emergency shelters.

• 578 were in transitional housing.

• 366 were in jail and were homeless when they were booked. That’s 35 percent less than the 567 behind bars at the time of the last count in 2011.

There are other encouraging signs.

The number of children that the Hillsborough County School District reported as homeless — a group that mostly lives doubled-up with family or friends — dropped 20 percent from two years ago.

She said some non-profits had told the coalition that they have seen something of a decline, though nothing as dramatic as the county revealed.

At Metropolitan Ministries, “We’re not seeing any decrease,” president and chief operating officer Tim Marks said.

This week, Metropolitan Ministries’ outreach center saw 160 men and women come through seeking assistance in a single eight-hour period. That’s on a par with what the charity would expect in November and December around the holidays, or at the end of the month when people’s benefits start to run out.

Marks participated in the count himself this year and found some empty camps near Interstate 275 near Sulphur Springs and in North Tampa. And he’s seen more people being housed and local programs working together better.

“I do think, as a community, we’ve taken good steps,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that we’re done in any sense.”

The count’s surveys offer a demographic portrait of the homeless in Hillsborough County: Nearly two-thirds are men. About five of six are older than 18, but only one in 20 has reached 60. Nearly a fifth are veterans. More than half have disabilities (about equal numbers have physical or mental disabilities; slightly fewer suffer from addictions).

But while the number of people considered to be “literally homeless” fell, the number living in precarious circumstances rose from 10,419 in 2011 to 12,843 this year. This category includes people sleeping on someone’s couch as well as those in motels because they can’t afford to maintain housing of their own.

“I think that’s just the recession continuing to impact people,” Barcus said. “Even though the economy’s better, there’s still significant unemployment. The hope is that as the economy improves those people are going to be able to get their own places and not be doubled up anymore.”

The Homeless Coalition credited the decrease in the number of homeless people in jail to efforts by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and Tampa Police Department. Both have created homeless liaison positions to help homeless people re-connect with family, get services, look for work, apply for benefits, find housing and stay out of trouble.

In addition, the coalition said, more than 1,900 people were helped by three new federally funded programs that didn’t exist in 2011:

• A veterans homelessness prevention demonstration project.

• A program to provide support services to the families of veterans.

• A homeless prevention and rapid rehousing program. Before ending in 2012, the program provided financial assistance and other services to help homeless individuals and families move into permanent housing and stabilize their lives.

At the same time, a fourth program received 300 more vouchers to provide permanent housing to households with veterans.

In Hillsborough, the homeless count has taken place every two years, but organizers plan another count in 2014 to get more data and spot trends sooner. But there will be some changes. It will take place during the last 10 days of February, after Gasparilla. With the permission of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Hillsborough will use a shorter survey and homeless people will be counted even if they do not answer the survey.

“We’re going to do all of those things to try to get a better picture of who is really out there,” she said. Changing the counting methods might not result in a larger number, Barcus said, particularly if there are improvements in the economy and in programs to alleviate homelessness.

County Commissioner Sandra Murman said Barcus has worked hard to get a more reliable count, and that helps in the planning. In past discussions about homelessness, Murman said the numbers were daunting. She recalls thinking it would take “so many years” to help all those thousands of people.

Now the numbers seem more within reach, and that’s encouraging.

“We can now set realistic goals to provide housing and to provide services,” she said.

 

 
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