Lodi News-Sentinel
FAR SIDE OF THE MOON
The crew of Artemis II flew farther from Earth than any human in history, saw parts of the moon never seen before and spoke with President Donald Trump as they took a turn for their return flight home. “Today you’ve made history and made all America...
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Two Republicans vying to unseat Harder
Josh Harder hasn’t lost a campaign since he entered the political arena in 2018. Back then, he upset Republican incumbent Jeff Dehham to represent California’s 10th Congressional District. Several district shifts later, the Tracy-based Democrat is...
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‘We lost a truly good person and a loyal friend’
It took just three days for the community to pledge its full support for a little girl who lost her father to a motorcycle collision last month. Lodi resident Daniel Everett Bryant, 41, was killed in collision with a truck on Highway 88 in Amador...
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‘All about tradition’
A whirlwind three days of food, dancing, games and even a fashion show begins today in Lodi to celebrate Cambodian New Year. The Cambodian Buddhist temple, Wat Khmer, will open its doors through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Each day will start with a...
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Untold histories
Tejpaul Singh Bainiwal went to school just down the street from the nation’s first Sikh temple, or gurdwara — but he was never taught its history. Now, his job is to share the stories of Sikh American communities at the San Joaquin County Historical...
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Shovel-ready project
The community is invited to bring shovels to Legion Park this weekend as the city celebrates Arbor Day and plants dozens of new trees. Arbor Day is typically held on April 24, and millions of people get outside to plant trees, flora and various types...
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Garamendi faces crowded field in District 8
Four Solano County residents are vying for the 8th Congressional District seat this year, which will also include Rio Vista, Isleton and the northwestern and southwestern portions of Lodi. The incumbent, Rep. John Garamendi, has held the seat since...
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Better than the average campground
It’s no Boo-Boo. An online booking platform has named a Lodi campground as one of the best in the nation. The Campspot website released its 2026 campsite awards this week, and ranked Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort: Tower Park as no. 3 for the...
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Lodi, served fresh
Lodi has been a hub for festivals celebrating wine, beer, grapes and Italian heritage for years, and now its oldest tourism destination is offering a new event to recognize local culinary establishments. Appellation Lodi — Wine & Roses Resort and Spa...
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‘Such a need’
A knight in a shining car hopes to soon drive seniors across town. The ride service, called Knights of Care, launched on Wednesday. Founder Scott Sorenson said the operation is just waiting for a senior to dial their number. “All I need is a call and...
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Moon base, Mars helicopters among NASA’s future plans
NASA unveiled a new vision for its near-term future Tuesday, including construction of a complete moon base, a major increase in robotic missions and a nuclear-powered spacecraft to bring a slew of helicopters to Mars. NASA Administrator Jared...
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Lodi native Christopher Morita selected for prestigious delegation fostering U.S.-Japan ties
A Lodi native was recently given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit Japan and meet with business, political and academic leaders, among others. Christopher Morita was one of nearly a dozen Japanese Americans selected to participate in the 2026...
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Leaning into local legacies
When news of sex abuse allegations against civil rights icon César Chávez broke earlier this week, many nonprofits and local governments moved to change or cancel events named in his honor. One such nonprofit was the the Lodi Breakthrough Project for...
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Halstead hits high note as the 2026 Arts Honoree
For the last 15 years, Judy Halstead has been busy making sure the arts remain at the forefront of local culture as a member of the Lodi Community Concert Association’s board of directors. During that time, she has helped bring a number of musical...
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Shockwaves felt near and far after bombshell report
In the wake of allegations made against labor icon Cesar Chavez, a local nonprofit is changing the name of its annual dinner to award scholarships to high school seniors. The Breakthrough Project of Lodi’s Cesar Chavez Scholarship Dinner scheduled for...
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A $38 million boost
STOCKTON — San Joaquin County has been awarded more than $38,230,841 in Bond Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program funds for the second phase of its SJ BeWell Campus. The investment from the California Department of Health Care Services...
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No sharks in this tank
Ten entrepreneurs stared down a line of judges and an audience at Hutchins Street Square last Friday as they pitched their business ideas. At the event, hosted by local organization Open Innovation Centers, business ideas spanned everything from a...
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A LIFE WELL PLAYED
When Millard Fore began his teaching career at Lodi High School in 1959 the “West Campus” was brand new. Lodi’s population was about 22,000 then, having nearly doubled during the previous 10 years. Millard took time recently to share an outline of his...
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Fire truck face-off Lodi’s new engine in the running for region’s top rig
Just as the voting window for America’s Favorite Small Town competition has closed, the Lodi Fire Department is asking the community to participate in another popularity contest next week. The department is competing in the 14th annual FLre TruFN...
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Spreading the love
The city’s annual day of volunteerism and beautification efforts is a month away, but Love Lodi organizers already have more than 30 projects scheduled. Now in its 11th year, more than 7,500 volunteers have participated in Love Lodi, representing a...
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Push and pushback
Not long after Steve Clarke found out there was a push to require voter ID at the polls, he began canvassing for signatures in Sacramento. Many of the residents he encountered were angry, Clarke said. He began volunteering for Reform California, the...
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Still seeking justice
August will mark 20 years since a Lodi resident was shot and killed outside of an apartment complex on West Lockeford Street, but Lodi police investigators are still no closer to making an arrest. The Lodi Police Department is hoping that local...
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Small ring, BIG CHARACTERS
Two wrestlers clad in neon windbreakers and leopard print pants climbed onto a square-shaped platform while a-ha’s hit “Take on Me” blared. A floodlight illuminated puffs of breath as they tangled with their opponents on a chilly February night. The...
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A park, a patio, a partnership
The American Legion Hall will expand its footprint in Lawrence Park, after a lease agreement was approved by the Lodi City Council at its Wednesday meeting. The building has already been under construction for months now, as the Legion works to revamp...
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Will Big Beautiful Bill deal big blow to budget?
San Joaquin County could be hit with as much as $76.9 million in increased spending if the “Big Beautiful Bill” takes effect after the 2026 midterms, officials said this week. The impacts, staff said, will stem from the potential loss of Medi-Cal and...
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Back in the spotlight
Salas Park started a brighter chapter on Tuesday, reopening with lighting improvements after six months of construction. The Lodi parks department spent $1.4 million on the project, installing 13 new light poles at the park.The update makes the fields...
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Two decades of hands-on learning
For two decades, the San Joaquin County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office has given more than 200,000 youngsters the opportunity to learn the basics of the region’s number one industry through hands-on educational programming. On Thursday, that...
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A roof over hope
Crews began placing a new roof on the permanent Lodi Access Center on Friday, taking the long-awaited project closer to completion. Construction is slated to be completed some time this year, with Outreach Ministries International to operate the...
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Funds flowing into local campaign coffers
Lodi City Councilman Cameron Bregman this week announced that he has raised more than $40,000 in campaign contributions to date for his 2026 run for re-election. Bregman, who represents Lodi’s third district on the council, is seeking his second...
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Major plot twist
Many Lodians thought the saga of the Sunset Theater sign had ended Monday, but a post-credits scene has given the story new life. The Historical Guild 209 announced Wednesday that an anonymous donor had put up the funds to save the 45-foot-tall sign...
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City of Lodi seeks community feedback after unveiling draft Downtown Specific Plan
Improving Hale Park, enhancing School Street and reimagining the city’s Eastside are just a few of the goals the community has laid out to help further promote Lodi as a destination city. The City of Lodi has released its draft Downtown Specific Plan,...
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Sunset signing off
One of the final pieces of the Sunset Theater was removed from its Lodi Avenue site Monday morning as crews removed the signature sign that towered above the building’s entrance. Marty Thorpe, the demolition expert overseeing work on the theater said...
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A campus left in the cold
STOCKTON — San Joaquin Delta College’s Stockton campus was closed once again this week after its heating system went out again, causing classes to move to virtual instruction for two days. Alex Breitler, the school’s director of marketing and...
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Alley flooding problem persists for many Lodi residents
After a rainstorm drenched Lodi this week, an alley just north of Eden Street became one giant puddle. Eric Patino lives along the alley and said it floods every time there’s heavy rain. Water has been seeping from the alley into his garage since he...
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Shadowing the mayor
Mayor Ramón Yepez rolled up to city hall in a dark blue Chevrolet and navy suit on a recent Wednesday morning. He was running about 15 minutes late, because his day started earlier than normal. Yepez is a night owl, not a morning person, he said. Most...
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Not the final chapter
Long-time patrons of Lodi’s last bookstore encountered a plot twist last week when its owner announced he was selling the business. Tom Kohlhepp posted on social media last Thursday that “the time has come” and that Tom’s Used Books was up for grabs...
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CSU objects to some new community college degrees, igniting debate over who can teach what
Constance Duffle, a paramedic in Siskiyou County at the Oregon border, serves a vast wilderness region woefully in need of health professionals. She has enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program in paramedicine, newly offered at College of the...
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‘We need more compassion, more love’
Fear is intensifying among immigrant communities in Lodi as national enforcement operations escalate and local tensions rise. In response, several local nonprofit organizations are bolstering their services. Some of the offerings help directly with...
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A delicate balancing act
The region’s wine industry has been experiencing a downturn in the product’s popularity for about half a decade now, which in recent years has created an oversupply of grapes waiting to be crushed. But experts now say that glut could be greatly...
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‘Now we are together’
The Cambodian temple in Lodi, Wat Khmer, is planning to build a heritage center in a sweeping transformation of its grounds. The Stockton metro area is home to one of the largest Cambodian populations in the U.S., many of whom came as refugees in the...
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NorCal Science Festival: A hands-on extravaganza
Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or someone who’s curious about coding, forensics, virtual reality or anything science-related, Lodi High School will be the place for you next weekend. Thousands of students and adults will converge on the campus...
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Pulling the plug
Lodi Lake is looking more like a marsh than a lake lately after its annual draining. Each year, Woodbridge Irrigation District drains the lake for dam maintenance. It also gives time for the Lodi Parks and Recreation Department to check for and make...
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Incidents reported, but no arrests during protest
The Lodi Police Department said no arrests were made, and a handful of disturbance reports were received during a Thursday protest in which hundreds of students walked the city streets after leaving local campuses. Video circulated on social media...
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Hundreds of Lodi students stage walkout to protest ICE
When the bell rang to end first period at Lodi and Tokay high schools Thursday, scores of students decided not to move on to their next class. Instead, they walked off campus, Tigers heading north on Ham Lane and Flames heading south. “Be safe,...
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Cuts hit home(less)
STOCKTON — County officials, city leaders, homeless advocates, and affordable housing providers are concerned Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal will threaten the progress made to reduce homelessness in California. Newsom’s proposal includes...
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Double Lovable
Love is in the air, and more than two dozen wineries are preparing for the weekend when couples visit to sip, savor and celebrate their relationships. The Lodi Wine and Chocolate Weekend returns for its 29th outing on Valentine’s Day weekend, and...
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Extending the Outreach?
The City of Lodi may have finally found an organization to manage its access center and help reduce homelessness. The Lodi City Council on Wednesday will consider awarding a more than $1.8 million contract to Outreach Ministries International, Inc. to...
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The Wright Stuff
At 96, Bill Wright has been sweeping the same floors for over 90 years. He doesn’t remember the first time his mom took him to work. That’s because he was only three months old. “My mother would bring me down in a bassinet and put me on the counter...
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Play ball!
After five years of planning, Tokay High School is ready for umpires to finally call “Play Ball!” Lodi Unified School District staff officially opened the school’s new baseball and softball fields Thursday with a ribbon cutting and ceremonial first...
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Mokelume River salmon run highlights hatchery success
OAKLAND – The East Bay Municipal Utility District reported this week that more than 10,500 Chinook salmon have returned to the Mokelumne River to spawn during the 2025 fall run. The agency said the returns represent a healthy count for natural...
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Making it count
Through thick fog early Tuesday morning, several dozen volunteers spread out to count every unsheltered person in Lodi. At the last count in 2024, there were 262 unsheltered people living in Lodi, a 26% increase from the two years earlier. Though the...
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Has Lodi been touched by ICE crackdown?
As Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests increase and escalate nationally, advocates say Lodi is part of the trend. According to Bertha Castro, president of local nonprofit Unidos Progresando, two men were arrested by ICE while walking to work...
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Concerns raised about Measure L funding
The Measure L review committee wants to make changes. At its most recent meeting this month members of the Measure L Committee unanimously voted to recommend changes in the sales ordinance making it better match what voters were promised. Committee...
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Serving up Lodi
Starting today, over two dozen Lodi eateries will open their doors for the city’s first Restaurant Week. The “week” will actually last 10 days, until Feb. 1, featuring a variety of meal deals with ranging prices. “This is a big moment for our city,”...
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Making green by growing green
What does sustainability mean to you? At the annual meeting for the Lodi Rules sustainable winegrowing program on Wednesday morning, wine grape professionals answered the simple question. “Economics,” said Bruce Fry, a fifth-generation Lodi...
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Sparkling wine producer shuttering Lodi operations
One of the largest sparkling wine producers in the nation is closing its Lodi facility this year. Healdsburg-based Rack & Riddle announced a strategic facility realignment on Tuesday aimed at strengthening its long-term growth, increasing efficiency...
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A collective experience
When PJ Rhae was in the 10th grade, she witnessed racial injustice at her school. Although she said she was young at the time, Rhae knew it was wrong. She soon organized a peaceful protest in her community modeled after the principles espoused by Dr....
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Routine, structure, visual support
On an overcast November day at Vinewood Elementary, Stephanie Kermgard’s eyes darted back and forth as she watched her students dash across the playground. Though her class had just begun, she could tell it was going to be an eventful day. A boy with...
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A Sikh celebration
On a chilly dark night, hundreds of people found warmth around a bonfire and from the community at Lodi’s Sikh temple. They gathered there this Tuesday for Lohri, a Punjabi festival celebrating harvest and winter’s end. As the sun began to set,...
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Homeless plans scrapped
Citing increased costs for a proposed “monitored” homeless camp in North Stockton, county officials decided to scrap plans for the project and possibly sell the property. The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved...
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Coming attraction
A Lodi landmark may soon be no more. The city’s Site Plan and Architectural Review Committee will consider approving a 44-unit senior townhome project at 1100 W. Lodi Ave. during next Wednesday’s meeting. The 2.93-acre project site consists of five...
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Hatching young minds
Lodi Unified School District students this week participated in the first step to hatch salmon and return them to the Mokelumne River. Representatives from East Bay Municipal Utilities District visited more than 80 classrooms throughout the region...
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Newsom’s final year in office begins with $18B deficit
In 2019, first-year Gov. Gavin Newsom inherited a state flush with cash. With a $21.4 billion budget surplus to play with, an ambitious Newsom invested billions in affordable housing, child care and health care expansion while paying down the state’s...
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Water rescue at Dry Creek
Five people were treated for dehydration and hypothermia Monday after being rescued from flood waters in the northern part of the county. San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the report of a group of homeless individuals trapped...
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Lodi City Council will discuss selling park, which has been considered before
Once a location of concern due to homelessness, a city park may find itself in the hands of a local contractor. The Lodi City Council will discuss selling Lawrence Park to Diede Construction during closed session before it meeting Wednesday. Because...
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Lodi’s Second Act of 2025
The News-Sentinel is looking back at the top local stories of 2025. Part 2 covers July through December. The dates listed are when the stories appeared in the NewsSentinel, followed by the headline that accompanied the respective stories and a brief...
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A look back at Lodi’s headline grabbers
The News-Sentinel is looking back at the top local stories of 2025. Part 1 covers January through June. The dates listed are when the stories appeared in the NewsSentinel, followed by the headline that accompanied the respective stories and a brief...
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Police investigating Lodi’s first homicide of 2025
Lodi Police Department detectives are investigating the motives behind two shootings over the weekend that injured one person and left another dead. Officers responded to the report of of two explosions — possibly gunshots — on the 800 block of West...
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Storms compromised Lodi Access Center structure
The Lodi Access Center’s 46 clients weathered this week’s storms by spending two nights at the Salvation Army as a safety precaution, officials said. Access center director Johnny Coughran said while the structure at 710 N. Sacramento Street suffered...
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How about s’more kindness?
It’s been 10 years since Pastor Robert T. Schlipp launched the A Community Transformed — or ACT — Project, aimed at encouraging Lodi youngsters to identify real needs in the lives of others and finding solutions to them through an essay...
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Tamal in the family
Stacks of corn husks and big bowls of masa and meat fill the tables. Family fills the house and steam fills the air. That’s how you know it’s a tamalada, a Christmastime gathering to make tamales for Christmas Eve. Every family’s style of tamales is...
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Database reveals violations at Lodi Memorial
A Bay Area newspaper has created an online tool for the public to see if their local health care facilities have state regulatory violations in the last three years, and a local hospital has been cited for more than a dozen. Using AI to gather...
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A Dip in the Numbers
Though the Mokelumne River Hatchery is teeming with eggs right now, its salmon spawning season ended this week with a lower number of returning Chinook than the past two years. “We came off of two years of record-setting runs, and we were expecting to...
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A vision of hope
He’s been screamed at, cursed at, and his life has been threatened. Yet, he accepts the verbal abuse and ungracious attitudes as a part of the job of director at the Lodi Access Center. It comes with the line of work he’s in. He says it’s a...
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Intersection of concern
Another intersection with a history of safety concerns may soon receive traffic calming measures. The Lodi City Council during a special meeting Monday directed staff to return with safety recommendations for the Crescent Avenue and Oak Street...
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