The Hamilton Spectator
HOLD YOUR HEARSES
Port Dover hosted a classic car show to die for on Saturday when nine antique hearses pulled into Powell Park for “Hearses, Hotrods and Hotdogs,” organized by the Black Widow Hearse Club. Story and more photos,
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`That's the cost of war'
A8 EXPERTS WARN OF LAYOFFS, SLOWDOWNS Hamilton was ground zero in the ongoing tariff battle between Canada and the United States — and the escalating war of words between Ontario's premier and U.S. President Donald Trump. Talks between the U.S. and...
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ACROSS THE CITY IN BLOOM
Hamilton grows more than 100,000 flowers a year at its Gage Park greenhouse to fill over 1,500 garden beds across the city — from showpiece plantings of vinca, coleus and blue salvia to the begonia standards and elephant ears that dress up traffic...
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SHE'S ONE OF CROSSFIT'S BEST
The World CrossFit Games weren't actually created by a cabal of sadistic gym owners who gathered in a dungeon somewhere and created a competition so nasty it would punish even the bestconditioned athletes in the world. Though they may as well have...
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Your back to school guide
Hamilton students head back to school on Sept. 8 after a late Labour Day and a bonus week of summer. A packed fall is ahead, with changes to how high school students are graded, potential labour strife as education unions negotiate expiring contracts...
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Tribunal orders Hamilton to grow urban boundary
Hamilton's urban area must expand by 1,600 hectares to handle expected residential growth over the next three decades, a provincial tribunal has ruled — all but overriding the city's strategy to freeze its boundary. The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT)...
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`IT JUST OOZES COOL'
Find a quiet corner of the Coppley Building, and the walls will start whispering stories. They've been collecting them for roughly 170 years. To put things in perspective, when construction began on the original portion of the property around 1856,...
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Police ready plan ahead of Dominion Society's `DomCon' event
Hamilton police say they are developing an operational plan to respond to any risks, disruptions or criminal activity associated with an upcoming contentious event called DomCon — a Canadian nationalist conference. DomCon, a ticketed event hosted by...
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A SUMMER FOR FLOWERS
Along with a sunflower maze, the Hanes farm on Highway 5 in Dundas has lots of animals to visit and a vast collection of zinnias of various colours attracting all kinds of pollinators as well as hummingbirds. For a list of fabulous flower spots in the...
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It was the perfect pitch for these parents
It's 90 minutes before first pitch and the Hamilton Cardinals' most committed fans are already set up on their folding chairs just beyond the outfield fence at Bernie Arbour Stadium. They're exactly 300 feet from home plate. And 4,200 kilometres from...
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`SCIENCE IS FOR EVERYONE'
Inside McMaster University's engineering building, campers cheered as they raced cardboard cars down ramps, crushed bits of chalk in a syringepowered hydraulic press and inspected a pile of patterned backpacks with digital microscopes. It's a flurry...
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Dream homes destroyed by flooding
Leann Dick opened the window in her living room, ripped out the screen and started screaming for help. The water filling the lower level of her sidesplit house along Mud Street East had reached chest height and she was panicking. “It's happening...
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Dundas turned into championship party
As he looked at the line of folks that snaked all the way across Dundas Driving Park and then hung a left so it ran the length of the baseball diamond — hundreds and hundreds of people who were waiting to get a photo with his son — tears formed in Len...
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SUMMER SWIRLS IN THE CITY
For Max Francis, the founder of True Hamiltonian, the reason for setting up a booth at the Festival of Friends wasn't complicated. “Everybody shows up here,” said Francis. “Hamilton loves this festival.” Francis has participated in the free August...
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AT WRITE TACKLE
Hamilton TigerCats defensive tackle Miles Fox is a 300pound behemoth on the field, but he is a published children's author off of it. His book, “Joyful Jamal,” is inspired by his brother's experience with autism. Find the story inside in Sports,
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VLAD TO BE HERE
Hordes of children and families flocked to a Hamilton youth baseball camp on Thursday, eager to meet Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The first baseman ran ground ball drills, signed autographs and took pictures with young camp attendees,...
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Two teens killed in Stoney Creek shooting
Hamilton police are investigating an earlymorning shooting at an Upper Stoney Creek townhouse complex that left two teens dead. Det. Sgt. Mike Ebert told reporters that the victims were among a group that travelled to the Tabby Town Housing Coop on...
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Hen ban ruffles feathers in Jerseyville
Heather Stoepker moved to rural Hamilton in 2023 with dreams of starting a family homestead. Now, faced with an order to get rid of her backyard hens, she's contemplating a move to greener pastures. Stoepker is one of a handful of Jerseyville...
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Mustang `stampede' unites muscle car lovers
Odds are just one of the Mustang lovers at the polishedchrome and hoodpopping gathering in Flamborough ordered their car during a medical procedure. Then again, everyone who made the pilgrimage Sunday to the car communion that is the Golden...
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Glass house in need of saving from ravine
For nearly 70 years, a unique house in Westdale has perched close to the edge of a ravine — maybe too close. On the short culdesac of Mayfair Place, the tall glass walls and prominent white steel frame suggest “art gallery” more than threebedroom...
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Bad blood
Tension hung in the air as Tammy Allin stood behind the boards of a Burlington arena last summer, coaching her teenage daughter's lacrosse team. Just a few feet away stood a woman who sold Allin and other parents fake tickets for Taylor Swift shows in...
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Special Olympics take the court
Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky's aunt Ellen couldn't read or tell the time — but she knew what time to tune into the radio each day to hear how Wayne's team did. Ellen Gretzky had Down syndrome, and the Gretzky family's love for her is in part what...
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FROM N.Y.C. TO HAMILTON
It's a census year in Canada, so let the record show that our population is the richer by at least one Crash Test Dummy, Hamilton having reclaimed him from New York City. We find Brad Roberts deposited here, in the bank of our creative human capital,...
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SWAMPED AND WASHED OUT
A brief but powerful deluge prompted Hamilton police to close roads and help drivers in Upper Stoney Creek and Glanbrook due to flooding Tuesday afternoon. Environment Canada warned of stormy conditions throughout the day that could bring 110 km/h...
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Apartments, commercial space planned for the Gore Park gap
Developers are pursuing a new plan to fill a gap in the Gore Park streetscape where heritage buildings crumbled to the ground nearly two years ago. The Hughson Business Space Corporation aims to make its pitch for a 12storey rental building with...
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Burlington woman scammed of roughly $360,000, family says
Krystal Battistel had never known her mother to be so erratic, especially not with money. But according to Battistel, her 75yearold mother, Karen Wales, spent months unknowingly liaising with people Battistel flatly refers to as “scammers.” Over...
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Lifeline on front lines of women's homelessness
Elizabeth Schaub sits on the steps of YWCA Hamilton and waits with a clutch of other women for beds at an overnight dropin program on a muggy summer's day. Carole Anne's Place, a lifeline on MacNab Street South for women and genderdiverse people...
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They drive 1,400 kilometres for Ticats games
To find the quaint town of North East, Md. (population 4,000 or so), start in Baltimore and then head the direction the place suggests. Once the map says you've reached the topright corner of Maryland — just minutes before crossing into Delaware —...
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HAZE AND SMOKE ON THE WATER
Smoke from forest fires burning through northwestern Ontario blanketed Hamilton, causing some of the city's worst air quality conditions in the past decade. Wafting over Steeltown by early Wednesday, the thick smoke shuttered the city's pools, large...
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180 YEARS OF The Spectator
SINCE 1846, this newspaper has told the stories of our city. Stories, big and small, that inform, delight, inspire and shock. Stories that hold those in power to account. Stories that make a difference. Today, 180 years later, we continue to bring you...
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Where's the perch?
Where have all the perch gone? It's a pressing question in Port Dover, where the sweettasting Lake Erie fish is harder to find than a free patch of beach sand on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The Beach House and two other restaurants run by F.W....
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Embracing Simcoe's seasonal farm workers
Taj Coley could not hide his smile. For a few hours in a park west of Simcoe, the seasonal farm worker channelled his days as a Jamaica Premier League soccer player, scoring eight goals to lead his team from Sandy Shore Farms to the semifinals of a...
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Goalie making hockey history
Thwack. Thump. Thwack. Thump. It's Monday afternoon and 27 C outside. But in this Etobicoke arena, where an emptied bucket of pucks litters the ice, it could be any time, any season. But this netminder — who blocks one shot after another with...
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Business owner `beyond frustrated'
It may be tough to see through the scaffolding spanning the entrance, but Lorena Bachetti Rallis wants everyone to know Steve's Open Kitchen is most certainly open for business. For the better part of a year, a web of metal bars has crisscrossed the...
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A WILD SUMMER AWAITS
Alpacas, rabbits and goats … oh my! Those are just some of the many animals on display at Ancaster's Triple C Farm. The familyrun farm filled with rescue animals sits on a quiet, rural street at 500 Carluke Rd. W. and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5...
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`I think Hamilton will be a regular stop'
There's no question that Shai GilgeousAlexander was the star of the show over the past few days in Hamilton. Two international basketball games featuring our national men's team — with him at the centre of that — gave local fans a chance to see their...
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LTC bed crisis separates couple for years
It took four “cruel” years for David WaltonBall to be reunited with his wife after they ended up living in homes across the Mountain from one another. When the couple — who have been married for more than six decades — moved into retirement living at...
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HEARTBREAKING END
Canadian fans look on in dejection during secondhalf FIFA World Cup round of 16 soccer action as their team loses, 30, to Morocco, in Houston, Saturday. It was Canada's first time making it to the round of 16.
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Art Crawl at a crossroads
It's a beautiful latespring evening on James Street North — the kind of weather that feels like fresh citrus tastes. Sunlight dapples the busy sidewalks. Tree branches sway lazily in the breeze. Colourful bunting and strings of lights hang from...
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Mural honours Hamilton's NBA MVP
His baby daughter was just a month old when he got the call asking if he'd be interested in painting a giant mural of Shai GilgeousAlexander at TD Coliseum. Little Etta still hadn't figured out her sleeping schedule, so Kareem-Anthony Ferreira was...
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IT'S GOING TO BE A SUPIE SUMMER
Hamilton's Supie program returns to Hamilton's parks this summer at “full operations” for the first time since the COVID19 pandemic. From June 29 until Aug. 28, the cityrun Supie recreational pro gram offers free, staffsupervised dropin...
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GEARING UP FOR CANADA DAY
Top left, a furry friend looks out at a display of Canadian flags on Hamilton Mountain's Chesley Street. Top right, a Canadian flag hangs on Chesley Street. Could there be a more Canadian scene than a flag mounted on a hockey street drilled into a...
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Lewis Mallard is back, with big plans
The quack is back. Lewis Mallard, the psychedelic folk artist known for wandering the city in his giant, iconic duck suit, has landed back in Hamilton after a few years away from the city. But Mallard will be doing more than painting murals and...
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Pickleball bounced from Ancaster courts after noise complaints
Passersby wouldn't notice walking by, but a tennis — and formerly pickleball — court at an Ancaster park has lost some paint. The city removed the pickleball lines from the James Smith Park tennis court near Garner Road this week, following a notice...
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`This has been going on for a long time'
A rural Flamborough resort community has reportedly been operating without the benefit of clean, safe tap water for nearly a month. For fulltime Fernbrook Resort resident Mary Kovacs, who said she's been buying cases of water to keep up with...
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WATCHING THE BEAUTIFUL GAME
Hundreds of soccer fans take in the CanadaSwitzerland World Cup match on the videoboard at Hamilton Stadium Wednesday afternoon. Andy Lama with his sevenyearold son Drinchen and daughter Rigel, 3, wrapped themselves in a Canadian flag. Switzerland...
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`It was a magical place'
Elliott Raphael had never even heard of a stocking stuffer until a customer at his Concession Street discount store pointed out that his shop was full of them. SoLow Sales, once housed inside the building that now hosts the Hamilton Mountain Zarky's,...
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AN EXHIBIT MADE IN HAMILTON
One person's trash is another person's treasure. But if you look hard enough, you can sometimes find fascinating pieces of history. Such is the case with the new exhibition at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, “Made in Hamilton: The Glen Faulman...
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POTHOLE PATROL: Why your street might be waiting
If there's one thing Hamiltonians from across the city can agree on, it's a general disdain for potholes. The roadway nuisances come in a variety of sizes: from a small crack that's not noticeable to a crater that results in some serious damage to...
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Fire chief to ask for 64 new firefighters in 2027 budget
The city's fire chief is asking to hire 22 new firefighters now — and expects to request another 42 next year — to deal with both skyrocketing overtime costs and increased demand in Hamilton's fastgrowing suburbs. Meanwhile, the head of Hamilton's...
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Fire displaces family, leaves eight pets dead
A couple and their four grandchildren have been displaced after a fire tore through their home in north Hamilton on Wednesday night. While none of the family were home at the time, their two dogs and six cats were found dead in the blaze. Hamilton...
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Cootes Paradise showing some signs of recovery
For Claire Webber and her family, one of the biggest perks of their home in Westdale Village is its proximity to Cootes Paradise. Webber, who lives on the north side of the neighbourhood with her spouse and two young children, is no stranger to the...
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A NEW KIND OF MUSIC LESSON
At Adelaide Hoodless Elementary School, Raquel McIntosh's music lessons look much different now that she teaches from a mobile music cart. Here, she gives instruction to a group of Grade 7 and 8 students. For more on the program, see
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ROOFTOP WORLD CUP FEVER
Randy Davies lines up among the players he and his daughter created on the roof of the family's Sirente Drive garage this week to recognize the World Cup. Davies said he and his daughter searched local thrift stores for all the jerseys and some of the...
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Housing coalition dreams big with 5,000unit goal
The puzzle pieces of supportive housing and urban renewal continue to fall into place along what used to be a suffering stretch of east Hamilton streetscape. Indwell's fourstorey, 32unit building is rising on the Ottawa Street North lot at Cannon...
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Bryan Hayward admits to drugging, raping and sharing videos of seven victims
Bryan Hayward has admitted to drugging, raping and sharing videos he recorded of the graphic sexual assaults of seven women, some who were repeatedly targeted over months or years. Among the videos discovered by police, 22 were shared through his...
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Hamilton's home prices have dropped significantly. Who is being hit the hardest?
When Heather and Bryan Fontez bought their first home in central Hamilton back in October 2020, they hoped their investment would one day pay off. Despite rising prices and bidding wars, the Toronto couple managed to buy a “really lovely”...
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Amateur radio connects ship with world
From a small radio room in the bowels of the HMCS Haida, visitors can now connect with the world. The link was made possible by a new amateur radio station on board the decommissioned warship, set up by the Friends of HMCS Haida with the help of Parks...
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Learning and building memories
On a sunny June morning, Grade 8 students at Hess Street Elementary School in central Hamilton puttered around a makeshift parkinglot shop, measuring, marking, cutting. “I'm making a library for my Barbie house,” said 14yearold Adrina Jalalian. A...
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An extraordinarily costly bail breach
It has been a year since Lucy Li's mom was ordered to pay a staggering $1 million because of her daughter's “very selfish” bail breach. And with just days left before a May 2026 deadline, Hong Wei (Winnie) Liao paid in full, The Spectator has...
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`If I were mayor ...'
If I were mayor, my plan would be to paint the city and feed it at the same time. The oneline version: every vacant lot in Hamilton becomes a garden and every blank wall becomes a canvas. We can call it The Living Canvas, and it would make Hamilton...
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PADDOCK TO PLATE
Drew Spoelstra at his Binbrook farm on Guyatt Road where he raises beef cattle, dairy cows and Clydesdale horses. On June 13, visitors are invited there for breakfast and a behindthescenes look at where their food comes from. Learn about Breakfast on...
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Should city consider biweekly pickup?
Hamilton is now one of the last big cities in the province still picking up curbside trash every week, a new report shows. So with trash piling up in the city's last landfill, is it time to make the historically unpopular switch to biweekly...
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Farmers challenge penalty for axed trees
An Ancaster farming couple faces potential court fines in excess of $100,000 after the city charged them for cutting down 64 trees at their Book Road East property. The City of Hamilton separately charged Wendell and Faye Leytham in 2024 under the...
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One worker, 334 megapacks, 240,000 homes
At the height of construction, there were more than 300 people working at Hagersville Battery Energy Storage Park, a 300megawatt battery farm outside the town of Hagersville in Haldimand County. Today there is just one. The sole boots on the ground...
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`Fix the problem, don't move it'
For the uninitiated, Hamilton's Industrial Sector D — with its metallic air, dusty streets, roaring trucks and auto yards — can be an unforgiving landscape, but nestled next to the steel mills are blocks of modest homes. And the workingclass area...
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From ping pong to pro football
Among the unlikeliest origin stories for a future Hamilton TigerCat is the one that involves a giant German ping pong star who'd barely seen an American football game until stumbling on a Super Bowl on his TV in the middle of the night. “I wouldn't...
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WALKING WITH THE WEENIES
Yinze Xu walks her four dachshund pups, Limo, Vienna, Slipper and Louie, along Old Ancaster Road. The forecast calls for mainly sunny skies into the weekend, with daily highs around 20 C. For more details see the weather map,
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PICKETING ON UPPER PARADISE
More than 130 employees at Lynwood Charlton Centre are on strike as part of a provincewide push to boost funding in the sector. The local social services workers hit the picket lines for a second consecutive day Tuesday, joining some 4,000 people...
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TD Coliseum reopening a score for core restaurants
Downtown restaurateurs already seeing positive impacts from Hamilton's newly renovated TD Coliseum say they're anticipating a further bump from two new professional hockey teams. “It's been better than we'd even guessed,” said Matt Kershaw, executive...
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What happens when police seize a crime gun?
Acting Sgt. Kevin McComb carefully raises his service pistol and fires into a long metal container. It is filled with water that churns when the motor is activated, the water's resistance slowing the bullets' path so they stop about threequarters...
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`NO JUDGMENT. JUST LOVE'
She needs to do laundry. So, she locks her cat in another room, takes her naloxone from her nightstand, and calls the National Overdose Response Service (NORS). Jodi, in Hamilton, answers. “I need to clean and declutter, so I need to focus,” the...
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