Affluent Houston enclave is the richest small town in Texas for 2024

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Bunker Hill Village is a coveted address in the Houston area. Photo courtesy of Compass

An upscale Houston community is home to the richest residents in Texas: Bunker Hill Village, a historically affluent Memorial neighborhood, was crowned the richest small town in Texas in a 2024 report.

The analysis, by loan provider TitleMax, determined the richest small towns in all 50 states using median household income data from the U.S. Census Bureau. In Bunker Hill Village, the median household income is about $250,000, the report says.

In addition to being the wealthiest town in the Lone Star State, Bunker Hill Village ranked as the No. 8 wealthiest small town in America.

Of course, "small town" is a bit of a misnomer for Bunker Hill Village. Situated 13 miles west of downtown Houston, Bunker Hill joins five other communities – Hunters Creek, HiIlshire, Hedwig, Piney Point, and Spring Valley – to make up Houston's iconic Memorial Villages. In 2023, Bunker Hill was ranked the third-most expensive Houston neighborhood, with homes on the market for upwards of $2.7 million.

Notably, the area is home to Houston's only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house.

"We are very proud of our quiet, wooded environment, and as a community, we work hard to preserve it for future generations," the city's website says.

The study found that more than half (56.5 percent) of the 1,250-home community make over $200,000 a year, while the enclave's median household income amounts to $247,188.

To put that into perspective, TitleMax revealed that the national median household income is $67,521. The Census Bureau's 2023 American Community Survey estimates the median income of a household in Texas came out to $75,780 in 2023.

Bunker Hill joins the likes of Houston's Bellaire and West University Place as some of the most affluent suburbs in America.

The San Jose, California suburb of Monte Sereno took the No. 1 spot in the ranking for the wealthiest small town in America. Monte Sereno's median household income is more than $250,000, according to the report.

"While many people consider cities to be the epicenters of the rich, many retreat to small towns that offer safety, beauty, and privacy," the report's author wrote.

These are the top 10 wealthiest small towns in America, with their median household incomes:

  • No. 1 – Monte Sereno, California ($250,000-plus)
  • No. 2 – Cherry Hills Village, Colorado ($250,000-plus)
  • No. 3 – Mission Hills, Kansas ($250,000-plus)
  • No. 4 – Short Hills, New Jersey ($250,000-plus)
  • No. 5 – Scarsdale, New York ($250,000-plus)
  • No. 6 – Belle Meade, Tennessee ($250,000-plus)
  • No. 7 – Glencoe, Illinois ($248,851)
  • No. 8 – Bunker Hill Village, Texas ($247,188)
  • No. 9 – Clyde Hill, Washington ($238,958)
  • No. 10 – Chevy Chase Village, Maryland ($238,333)
The full report can be found on titlemax.com.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

The Ivy League of the South has done it once again. Photo via Rice University

Houston's Rice University tops new 2025 list of best colleges in Texas

report

The most prestigious higher education institution in Houston has done it again: Rice University has topped WalletHub's 2025 list of the best colleges and universities in Texas for 2025.

The just-released list analyzed more than 800 colleges and universities in the United States using 30 metrics to determine their rankings.

Rice claimed the No. 1 spot in Texas and in WalletHub's regional category of best universities in the South. The school also ranked as the No. 6 best college nationwide.

Rice earned first place in the category for the "best" (or lowest) on-campus crime rates, and ranked 13th for its gender and racial diversity. The school ranked No. 24 in the category for net cost. According to U.S. News and World Report, tuition and fees at Rice cost $60,709 per year. Rice also has an acceptance rate of eight percent, earning the university No. 27 in the category for admission rates.

Here's how WalletHub broke down the rest of Rice's ranking, where No. 1 is the best and No. 49 is the worst:

  • No. 26 – Student-faculty ratio
  • No. 43 – Graduation rate
  • No. 47 – Post-attendance median salary
Rice's recent accolades add to an ongoing winning streak of high rankings. In September, the private university ranked as the No. 1 best Texas college for 2025 by U.S. News, and ranked No. 18 nationally. Education information and review platform Niche also recently ranked Rice the 15th best college in the country and the No. 1 best in Texas for 2025. And Forbes named Rice No. 9 in its 2024-25 list of top U.S. colleges.In the spring, Rice's Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business ranked No. 2 in the national publication's ranking of the best graduate schools in Texas.

The only other Houston university to earn a spot in WalletHub's report was the University of Houston, earning No. 12 in Texas and No. 288 nationally.

The top five universities that outranked Rice in the national rankings were Princeton University (No. 1), Yale University (No. 2), Harvard University (No. 3), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (No. 4), and Dartmouth College (No. 5).

The top 10 colleges and universities in Texas are:

  • No. 1 – Rice University
  • No. 2 – The University of Texas at Austin
  • No. 3 – Trinity University
  • No. 4 – Texas A&M University-College Station
  • No. 5 – Southwestern University
  • No. 6 – Texas Christian University
  • No. 7 – Austin College
  • No. 8 – Texas A&M International University
  • No. 9 – University of Dallas
  • No. 10 – Southern Methodist University
The full report can be found on wallethub.com

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

Texas has the 29th best public school system in the U.S., according to WalletHub. Photo via Pexels

Texas flunks out in new ranking of America's best school systems

report card

Texans may think everything here is bigger and better, but the Lone Star State has fallen behind many other states in America when it comes to ensuring the academic success of its children, according to a new report by personal finance website WalletHub.

Texas landed a middling rank as No. 29 in WalletHub's annual "States with the Best and Worst School Systems (2024)" report, earning a score of 49.86 out of 100 total possible points.

The report examined all 50 states and the District of Columbia to determine the quality and safety of each state's public school system. Thirty-two metrics were considered in the study, including school graduation/dropout rates, standardized test scores, SAT/ACT scores, the number of school shootings, youth incarceration rates, and more.

Massachusetts is home to the No. 1 best public school system in the nation, earning a score of 74.36 points.

According to the study's findings, Texas has the sixth highest rate of bullying, and the eighth highest dropout rate in the nation. The state ranked No. 34 for its median ACT scores, and No. 40 in the nationwide ranking of median SAT scores.

Here's how WalletHub broke down Texas' ranking in other educational categories:

  • No. 1 – Existence of Digital Learning Plan
  • No. 18 – Math test scores
  • No. 29 – Percentage of licensed/certified public K-12 teachers
  • No. 31 – Pupil-teacher ratio
  • No. 40 – Percentage of threatened/injured high school students
  • No. 42 – Reading test scores
Moreover, Texas ranked No. 46 nationally for its spending on its public school system, the sixth lowest out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. For context, New York spends the most on its public schools, and the state ranked No. 8 in the overall ranking of best public school systems.Source: WalletHub


While securing enough public school funding is important for students' education, WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe warns that "simply having more money doesn’t guarantee success." What school districts do with that money is what matters.

"How funds are applied also plays a big role in how good a school system is, as does the quality of educators, other professionals and the curriculum," Happe said in the report. "In addition, schools need to focus not just on test scores but also on making sure that students feel safe, comfortable and cared for.”

Despite Texas' bleak state ranking, two distinguished Houston high schools were ranked among the best high schools in the country earlier in 2024. Twenty-two other Houston schools were included on the list of top 100 schools in Texas.

The top 10 states with the best public school systems are:

  • No. 1 – Massachusetts
  • No. 2 – Connecticut
  • No. 3 – Maryland
  • No. 4 – New Jersey
  • No. 5 – Wisconsin
  • No. 6 – New Hampshire
  • No. 7 – Nebraska
  • No. 8 – New York
  • No. 9 – Virginia
  • No. 10 – North Dakota
The full report and its methodology can be found on wallethub.com.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

Missouri City is the No. 4 most livable small city in Texas, and ranked No. 77 nationwide. Photo Courtesy Missouri City

Houston neighbor ranks as one of America's most livable small cities

mo city

Some Houston suburbs stick out from the rest thanks to their affluent residents, and now Missouri City is getting time in the spotlight, thanks to its new ranking as the No. 77 most livable small city in the country.

The tiny but mighty Houston neighbor, located less than 20 miles southwest of Houston, was among six Texas cities that earned a top-100 ranking in SmartAsset's 2024 " Most Livable Small Cities" report. It compared 281 U.S. cities with populations between 65,000 and 100,000 residents across eight metrics, such as a resident's housing costs as a percentage of household income, the city's average commute times, and the proportions of entertainment, food service, and healthcare establishments.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Missouri City has an estimated population of over 76,000 residents, whose median household income comes out to $97,211. SmartAsset calculated that a Missouri City household's annual housing costs only take up 19.4 percent of that household's income. Additionally, the study found only six percent of the town's population live below the poverty level.

Here's how Missouri City performed in two other metrics in the study:

  • 1.4 percent – The proportion of arts, entertainment, and recreation businesses as a percentage of all businesses
  • 29.9 minutes – Worker's average commute time

But income and housing aren't the only things that make Missouri City one of the most livable small cities in Texas. Residents benefit from its proximity from central Houston, but the town mainly prides itself on its spacious park system, playgrounds, and other recreational activities.

Missouri City, Texas

Missouri City residents have plenty of parkland to enjoy. www.missouricitytx.gov

The Missouri City Parks and Recreation Departmen meticulously maintains 21 parks spanning just over 515 acres of land, an additional 500 acres of undeveloped parkland, and 14.4 miles of trails throughout the town, according to the city's website."Small cities may offer cost benefits for residents looking to stretch their income while enjoying a comfortable – and more spacious – lifestyle," the report's author wrote. "While livability is a subjective concept that may take on different definitions for different people, some elements of a community can come close to being universally beneficial."

Missouri City is also home to Fort Bend Town Square, a massive mixed-use development at the intersection of TX 6 and the Fort Bend Parkway. It offers apartments, shopping, and restaurants, including a rumored location of Trill Burgers.

Other Houston-area cities that earned a spot in the report include

Spring (No. 227) and Baytown (No. 254).The five remaining Texas cities that were among the top 100 most livable small cities in the U.S. include Flower Mound (No. 29), Leander (No. 60), Mansfield (No. 69), Pflugerville (No. 78), and Cedar Park (No. 85).

The top 10 most livable small cities in the U.S. are:

  • No. 1 – Troy, Michigan
  • No. 2 – Rochester Hills, Michigan
  • No. 3 – Eau Claire, Wisconsin
  • No. 4 – Franklin, Tennessee
  • No. 5 – Redmond, Washington
  • No. 6 – Appleton, Wisconsin
  • No. 7 – Apex, North Carolina
  • No. 8 – Plymouth, Minnesota
  • No. 9 – Livonia, Michigan
  • No. 10 – Oshkosh, Wisconsin

The report examined data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2022 1-year American Community Survey and the 2021 County Business Patterns Survey to determine its rankings.The report and its methodology can be found on

smartasset.com

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

Chick-fil-A has partnered with Faction, a California-based company that develops autonomous fleets. Photo courtesy of Faction

Houston's busiest Chick-fil-A flies solo with new driverless delivery

This article was written by CultureMap Columnist Ken Hoffman and originally appeared on CultureMap's Hoffman's Houston editorial series.

Next time you order “curbside delivery” from the Chick-fil-A on Kirby Drive and the Southwest Freeway, one of the top performing Chick-fil-A’s in the country, don’t be surprised if your Spicy Chicken Sandwich and waffle fries are delivered by a driverless three-wheeled electric vehicle that looks like a cross between a Big Wheels kiddie car and the Mars Rover.

It’s a first in Houston. Chick-fil-A has partnered with Faction, a California-based company that develops autonomous (driverless) fleets. Earlier this week I met with Ain McKendrick, the founder and CEO of Faction, who explained how Chick-fil-A’s futuristic curbside delivery system works.

The key word is curbside. Unlike popular food deliverers like DoorDash and UberEats, Faction’s robotic vehicles don’t involve a human driver who will bring the food to your door, with the expectation of receiving a tip.

When a Faction vehicle delivers your food, you will get a text that the vehicle has arrived, and you’ll walk to the curb and pick up your food from the car that’s parked in front of your house. Throw some clothes on, please. The neighbors may see you.

When you order from the Kirby/Southwest Chick-fil-A on the Chick-fil-A app, and click on delivery, you’ll be given a choice of how you want your food brought to your house. You can still request DoorDash or another service. If you choose “curbside delivery,” watch for a Faction vehicle pulling up in front of your house. You’ll pop open the storage door, open the separate boxes that keep your sandwiches and fries toasty and your soft drinks cold, and run back into your house to dig in.

Right now, the Kirby/Southwest Freeway Chick-fil-A is using two Faction vehicles to supplement the regular delivery cars during crush time. Faction promises (they couch the claim by saying “estimates”) you’ll get your food within 30 minutes. Currently human “supervisors” are doing ride-alongs while the vehicles are mapping out the restaurant’s four-mile delivery area. Faction follows its vehicles’ progress on a video board at home base making sure each delivery goes right.

The electric vehicles are licensed and insured and can do 75 miles-per-hour on highways. But because of Houston’s notorious traffic, Faction has programmed the vehicles to stay on surface streets and below the speed limit. That’s how I get around, too. I got tired of that inexplicable traffic jam on the Southwest Freeway when it bends toward downtown.

McKendrick said the driverless vehicles will have memorized Houston streets well enough by August to operate without human supervisors.

Will customers be OK with their Chick-fil-A food delivered by driverless vehicles? So far it’s not a problem. In fact, McKendrick said some customers wait outside with their phone cameras ready so they can share photos of the delivery. Sharing their waffle fries is a different story.

I’m a skeptic when it comes to electric and driverless vehicles. I asked McKendrick …

What happens if a dog runs in front of a Faction vehicle? He said it will automatically stop for the pooch.

What if there’s a children’s birthday party on my block and there’s no parking space in front of my house? He said the vehicle will pull to the side and flash warning lights until the customer picks up their food.

So what’s in it for Chick-fil-A to partner with Faction? Kirby/Southwest Freeway Chick-fil-A owner Jesse Chaluh said it’s a more efficient way of offering delivery service to his customers. He thinks that his restaurant eventually will require five or more Faction vehicles to handle the demand.

While each vehicle currently delivers one order to one customer per run, eventually the technology will improve where each vehicle will be able to make several deliveries with each foray onto the streets of Houston.

The Woodlands ranked No. 24 out of 343 U.S. cities. Photo via thewoodlands.com

Houston suburb clocks in among best job markets in America

by the numbers

In a surprising turn of events, it's not Houston proper that's earning recognition for its job market, but The Woodlands. The north Houston suburb boasts the No. 24 best job market in the nation, according to a new report by SmartAsset.

The study examined 343 U.S. cities across six main data points from 2021 and 2022, for which the most recent data is available: A city's unemployment rates; median income to housing payment ratio, commute times, the percentage of remote workers, the percentage of employed residents with health insurance, and income growth between 2019-2022.

The report discovered that The Woodlands has a 4.8 percent unemployment rate, and its residents' median earnings landed at $73,079 annually. The average housing costs in The Woodlands make up 28.7 percent of an individual's yearly income, which can be estimated at about $1,750 per month.

Remote-work flexibility was another major consideration in the study. Working from home means no real commute time, as long as you don't count the time it takes to get out of bed and walk into the home office. Unfortunately for The Woodlands, a majority of workers are commuting to their jobs, and only 24.5 percent of employees work remotely.

For those who do need to drive to-and-from work, a separate SmartAsset study on remote workforces discovered the average commute time in The Woodlands is about 27 minutes long.

Houston fell far behind in the report, landing at No. 272 out of 343 total U.S. cities. The city's unemployment rate is only 5.9 percent, but its residents' median earnings barely tip over $38,000 a year. Only 11.5 percent of Houstonians work from home, and their housing costs account for 39.4 percent of their total income.

Houston ranked outside the top 20 best cities for tech workers earlier in 2024, further highlighting a significant downward shift in the employment atmosphere for the region.

"With costs of living skyrocketing in recent years and the demand for different skill sets changing, job seekers must be resourceful to find opportunities that best suit them," the report said. "This could mean relocating for higher income, an improved work-life balance, growth potential or benefits."

Other Houston-area cities that made it in the top 200 in the report are:

  • No. 99 – Sugar Land
  • No. 113 – Pearland
  • No. 172 – League City
The full report and its methodology can be found on smartasset.com.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Houston startup debuts bio-based 'leather' fashion collection in Milan

sustainable fashion

Earlier this month, Houston-based Rheom Materials and India’s conscious design studio Econock unveiled a collaborative capsule collection that signaled more than just a product launch.

Hosted at Lineapelle—long considered the global epicenter of the world's premier leather supply chain—in the vaulted exhibition halls of Rho-Fiera Milano, the collection centered around Rheom’s 91 percent bio-based leather alternative, Shorai.

It was a bold move, one that shifted sustainability from a concept discussed in panel sessions to garments that buyers could touch and wear.

The collection featured a bomber-style jacket, an asymmetrical skirt and a suite of accessories—all fabricated from Shorai.

The standout piece, a sculptural jacket featuring a funnel neck and dual-zip closure, was designed for movement, challenging assumptions about performance limitations in bio-based materials. The design of the asymmetrical skirt was drawn from Indian armored warrior traditions, according to Rheom, with biodegradable corozo fasteners.

Built as a modular wardrobe rather than isolated pieces, the collection reflects a shared belief between Rheom and Econock in designing objects that adapt to daily life, according to the companies.

The collection was born out of a new partnership between Rheom and Econock, focused on bringing biobased materials to the market. According to Rheom, the partnership solves a problem that has stalled the adoption of many next-gen textiles: supply chain friction.

While Rheom focuses on engineering scalable bio-based materials, New Delhi-based Econock brings the complementary design and manufacturing ecosystem that integrates artisans, circular materials and production expertise to translate the innovative material into finished goods.

"This partnership removes one of the biggest barriers brands face when adopting next-generation materials,” Megan Beck, Rheom’s director of product, shared in a news release. “By reducing friction across the supply chain, Rheom can connect brands directly with manufacturers who already know how to work with Shorai, making the transition to more sustainable materials far more accessible.”

Sanyam Kapur, advisor of growth and impact at Econock, added: “Our partnership with Rheom Materials represents the benchmark of responsible design where next-gen materials meet craft, creativity, and real-world scalability.”

Rheom, formerly known as Bucha Bio, has developed Shorai, a sustainable leather alternative that can be used for apparel, accessories, car interiors and more; and Benree, an alternative to plastic without the carbon footprint. In 2025, Rheom was a finalist for Startup of the Year in the Houston Innovation Awards.

Shorai is already used by fashion lines like Wuxly and LuckyNelly, according to Rheom. The company scaled production of the sugar-based material last year and says it is now produced in rolls that brands can take to market with the right manufacturer.

Houston startup debuts leather alternative fashion collection in Milan

Houston clean energy co. secures $100M to deploy tech on global scale

Going Global

Houston-based Utility Global has raised $100 million in an ongoing Series D round to globally deploy its decarbonization technology at an industrial scale.

The round was led by Ara Partners and APG Asset, according to a news release. Utility plans to use the funding to expand manufacturing, grow its teams and support its commercial developments and partnerships.

“This financing marks a critical step in Utility’s transition from a proven technology to full-scale global commercial execution,” Parker Meeks, CEO and president of Utility Global, said in the release. “Industrial customers are no longer looking for pilots or promises; they need deployable solutions that work within existing assets and deliver true economic industrial decarbonization today that is operationally reliable and highly scalable. Utility’s technology produces both economic clean hydrogen and capture-ready CO2 streams, and this capital enables us to scale and deploy that impact globally with speed, discipline, and rigor.”

Utility Global's H2Gen technology produces low-cost, clean hydrogen from water and industrial off-gases without requiring electricity. It's designed to integrate into existing industrial infrastructure in hard-to-abate assets in the steel, refining, petrochemical, chemical, low-carbon fuels, and upstream oil and gas sectors.

“Utility is tackling one of the most difficult challenges in the energy transition: decarbonizing hard‑to‑abate industrial sectors,” Cory Steffek, partner at Ara Partners and Utility Global board chair, said in the release. “What sets Utility apart is its ability to compete head‑to‑head with conventional fossil‑based solutions on cost and reliability, even as it materially reduces emissions. With this new funding, Utility is well-positioned for its next chapter of commercial growth while maintaining the technical excellence and capital discipline that have defined its development to date.”

Utility Global reached several major milestones in 2025. After closing a $53 million Series C, the company agreed to develop at least one decarbonization facility at an ArcelorMittal steel plant in Brazil. It also signed a strategic partnership with California-based Kyocera International Inc. to scale global manufacturing of its H2Gen electrochemical cells.

The company also partnered with Maas Energy Works, another California company, to develop a commercial project integrating Maas’ dairy biogas systems with H2Gen to produce economical, clean hydrogen.

"These projects were never intended to stand alone. They anchor a deep and growing pipeline of commercial projects now in development globally across steel, refining, chemicals, biogas and other hard-to-abate sectors worldwide, Meeks shared in a 2025 year-in-review note. He added that 2026 would be a year of "focused acceleration to scale."

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This article originally appeared on EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

Houston Methodist awarded $4M grant to recruit head of Neal Cancer Center

new hire

Armed with a $4 million state grant, the Houston Methodist Academic Institute has recruited a renowned expert in ovarian and endometrial cancer research to lead the Dr. Mary and Ron Neal Cancer Center.

The grant, provided by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, enabled the institute to lure Dr. Daniela Matei away from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. There, she is the Diana Princess of Wales Professor in Cancer Research and chief of the Division of Reproductive Science in Medicine.

Matei will succeed Dr. Jenny Chang, who was hired last year to run the Houston Methodist Academic Institute.

At the Neal Cancer Center, located in the Texas Medical Center complex, oncologists work on innovations in cancer research, treatment, and technology. The center opened in 2021 after the Neals donated $25 million to expand Houston Methodist’s cancer research capabilities. It handles about 7,000 new cases each year involving more than two dozen types of cancer.

U.S. News & World Report puts Houston Methodist Hospital at No. 19 among the country’s best hospitals for cancer care, two spots below Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston sits at No. 1 on the list.

Matei’s research related to ovarian and endometrial cancer holds the potential to benefit tens of thousands of American women. The American Cancer Society estimates:

  • 21,010 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and 12,450 women will die from it.
  • 68,270 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with endometrial cancer, and 14,450 women will die from it.

Matei is leaving Northwestern in the wake of widespread cuts in federal funding for medical research. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has canceled or frozen tens of millions of dollars in grants for Northwestern, the Wall Street Journal reports, and the university has been plugging the gaps with its own money.

“The university is totally keeping us on life support,” Matei told the newspaper last year. “The big question is for how long they can do this.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, Matei’s $5 million NIH grant supporting 69 cancer trials has been caught up in the federal funding chaos, so Northwestern stepped in to cover trial expenses such as nurses’ salaries and diagnostic procedures.

Trial participants include some patients with rare, incurable tumors who are undergoing experimental treatments aligned with the genetics of their condition, the newspaper says.

“It’s certainly a life-and-death situation for cancer patients on these trials,” Matei said in 2025.

Matei is among the beneficiaries of more than $15 million in grants approved February 18 by CPRIT’s board. The grants went toward recruiting five cancer researchers to institutions in Texas.

One of those grants, totaling $1.5 million, went to the University of Houston to recruit Akash Gupta, a research scientist at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. The remaining grants went to recruit scientists to The University of Texas at Dallas and The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
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