Is online bridge a good option? Let the numbers tell the tale. A random look one morning showed nearly 25,000 players at 5,000 tables on Bridge Base Online, numbers that repeat themselves daily. Many of the games help support your local clubs so check with your club director about how and when you can participate. In most instances, partnership "desks" can find you an appropriate partner as needed.
Our area lost a legendary bridge player and all-round wonderful person to Covid 19 this past month.
Bobbie Gomer is already missed, as noted in a number of submissions this month. Her husband, too, died of Covid one day later. May they rest in peace.
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Questions? Comments? Concerns?
Contact your District 4 board members.
PRESIDENT
Meyer Kotkin
guymath@comcast.net
VICE PRESIDENT
Jeanne Gehret
jeannegehret@comcast.net
SECRETARY
Bill Bauer
william.baueriii@verizon.net
TREASURER
Pat Civale
pat@csa-accounting.com
DISTRICT DIRECTOR
Joann Glasson
joannglasson@msn.com
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I hope that all of you and your families, friends and acquaintances are staying safe and healthy during these trying times. With deep sadness, I report the untimely passing from COVID-19 complications of my friend, Platinum Life Master Bobbie Gomer, a Unit 141 (
U141) and District 4 (
D4) asset, teacher and tournament player for more than three decades. Bobbie was voted in to the Philadelphia Contract Bridge Hall of Fame (U141) for her playing achievements and unparalleled contributions as a teacher and U141 and D4 Board member for more than 30 years.
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Hundreds of new players that Bobbie taught and mentored have used her widely acclaimed Bobbie’s Beginners Bridge Packet (say that 10 times fast) and you can still buy the book
here
. I can’t even imagine a U141 or D4 tournament without Bobbie’s smiling face and her patient understanding with the constant questions of current and former students. She watched over her “babies” with the pride of a mother and was always rooting them on in U141 and D4 tournaments. Rest in peace, Bobbie.
Normally, I would be writing this month about the Philadelphia Regional at Valley Forge and its new venue, the Valley Forge Casino Resort. Every time I play on-line, someone will ask me about the status of our D4 tournaments. D4 cancelled the Wilmington, Philadelphia and Syracuse Regionals and we have not yet made a decision about Lancaster. I have called a virtual D4 Board meeting for June 26, and I am sure that the Lancaster and 2021 Regionals will be a large part of the discussion.
A shout out to Mark Bolotin (U141) who is maintaining the list of “virtual” clubs in D4 along with their schedules
here
. If you are a club owner and you want to add or change your information on the Virtual Club List, please contact Mark. Surprisingly, we seem to be the only (as far as I know) District with such a list on its website so everyone who uses the list should send a big thank you to Mark.
It is nice to see many D4 players on BBO and even nicer to see a lot of support for the virtual clubs in D4. When there are no face-to-face tournaments, the District and Units have very few recurring expenses. D4 pays a monthly storage bill to a storage and shipping company where we keep our tournament equipment and supplies including, but not limited to, boards, Bridgemates, bidding boxes and tables. Even in the absence of face-to-face tournaments, D4 and its Units are not in any imminent financial distress. On the other hand, the ACBL and our bridge clubs are facing a financial crisis of unparalleled proportion. Virtual games are helping clubs meet some of their fixed recurring expenses (think rent and salaries) but for most clubs this still might not be enough to keep them going for an extended period without face-to face playing and teaching. The ACBL depends on face-to-face tournament and club sanction fees for income, and with no face-to-face sanction income and club sanction fess down, the ACBL reluctantly laid off a lot of employees and directors and those not laid off are working extra hours at reduced salaries. Many pundits on BridgeWinners.com and throughout the bridge community will have opinions about the future of Bridge but without the ACBL surviving, I don’t know that there is any future for the game.
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The ACBL ran a Virtual Regional last month and the afternoon sessions averaged about 1,000 tables and evening sessions about 700 tables. While the ACBL made a large profit from the large virtual Regional, the profit doesn’t come close to the normal profit from a month of face-to-face tournament sanction fees. Consider that there were 51 Sectionals and 12 Regionals scheduled for June 2020 that the Districts and Units throughout the ACBL canceled. Many more tables than the virtual Regional produced. In response to that, an ACBL Board member proposed that the ACBL allow all Districts and Units to run virtual tournaments with the ACBL taking a 25% cut of the top, and Districts and Units paying for Directors and normal sanction fees. Our D4 Director, Joann Glasson, who is working double time as Chair of the ACBL Finance Committee, asked for my opinion and I wrote that I was strongly against this proposal. There were several reasons but the most important reasons dealt with the strain on our volunteer resources to learn about virtual tournaments and the competition with the virtual club games. 51 Sectionals and 12 Regionals in a month will surely impact virtual club attendance. As an alternative, I proposed that the ACBL get to run one nationwide Regional bimonthly and one nationwide Sectional in the alternate months so that players have an opportunity for rank advancement. Sections in those events can be by Unit or District for the Sectional and Regional, respectively. I doubt this will pass but as long as we are forced to play virtually we have to balance the opportunities between the two most important keys to the future of bridge: the ACBL and the Clubs.
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D4 will have its first virtual Board meeting on June 28. It is a bring your own dinner and bottle meeting and in preparation I have stocked up on Tito’s vodka – the choice of chick magnets worldwide. One good feature of a virtual meeting is that I will be in control of the mute button. I can’t tell you how many meetings I have chaired where I would have liked either a mute or flight eject button and I will not be shy with the mute button. This really could be fun. Please talk to your Unit representatives if you would like any topics discussed at the Board meeting.
Speaking of chick magnets, if you watched Jeopardy on May 28, there were two categories next to each other: “I’m a Chick” and “Magnet.” Apparently, I am becoming an “influencer” even though I am not sure what that is.
Finally, as we celebrate Memorial Day by honoring and remembering those who died defending our country, let us also include in our thoughts and prayers those front line doctors, nurses, firefighters, EMTs, police and National Guard who have lost their lives caring for us during this pandemic. The National Guard motto, “Always Ready … Always There” applies to all of these groups of dedicated and selfless professionals.
Please stay safe and healthy. America Strong!
As always, I welcome all comments and suggestions on any D4 matters and issues. My e-mail is
guymath@comcast.net and my cell is 856.986.5109
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From the District Director
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ACBL Special Board Meeting
The Board of Directors held a series of special Board Meetings last week to consider management's business plan for the ACBL for the remainder of 2020. Management presented a plan that includes running a special event each month in order to replace some of the income that has been lost because of the corona virus. The second online regional tournament will be held June 25 to June 28. Watch for notices in your email.
The financial projections at this time predict that the ACBL will lose about $1MM in 2020 because of the effect of the pandemic on our game. In an effort to remain solvent, the ACBL has furloughed about 40% of their staff while maintaining their health insurance.
Virtual online bridge clubs have been very successul, expecting to reach 100,000 tables in the month of May. The Silver Lining Club games that were held last week had as many as 6,000 tables in one day. It is impossible to predict when we will be able to enjoy face-to-face bridge again, but many think it will require a vaccine that is widely available to make that a reality. Let's hope that date is sooner rather than later.
Another motion considered at the special meeting was a plan that would allow units and districts to hold sectionals and regionals online. Although this might be a concept considered post-pandemic, at this time the primary consideration must be to keep our clubs operating and to keep the ACBL solvent. Units and Districts do not have extraordinary expenses during the pandemic and will be able to return to normal functions when it is safe to play face-to-face bridge again. The motion failed 20-5.
Two motions were also passed that established a special online Ethical Oversight Committee to deal with cases of online cheating. BBO has an algorithm that discovers unusual player actions and there is a recorder system in place for players to report unusual actions against them. Jess Stuart from our district has been helping review some of the reported deals. The Appeals and Charges committee has already reviewed three cases of cheating online that resulted in suspensions and probations for the pairs involved.
Stay well
.
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Because of COVID-19 related uncertainties about when tournaments can safely resume, please check the ACBL calendar listings.
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The 4Spot features fantastic contributors, on a regular rotation:
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Larry's Learning Center by Larry Cohen:
January, April, July, October
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For Novices Only by Marti Ronemus:
February, May, August, November
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The ABC of Bridge by Dave Wachsman:
March, June, September, December
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Are you up on your suit preference signals? Is your partner? Why not take this month to work together on this important communication tool. Thanks, Dave!
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The ABC of Bridge
Virtually all the ABC articles have focused on
C
ounting,
C
ommunicating, and
C
uriosity. The
C
ommunicating pillar entails both bidding and defense. A review of defensive carding or signaling is the topic of today’s ABC article. Signaling involves deciding which of the following three factors are relevant: Attitude, Count, or Suit Preference. Attitude communicates whether a suit is “liked” or “disliked.” Count communicates whether a holding in a suit contains an even or odd number of cards. Suit Preference communicates whether a higher or lower ranking suit is preferred. A typical situation is explored below.
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South leads the 5
♦
out of respect for his partner’s overcall of 1
♦
. South, who holds the A♠, examines the dummy and begins to wonder where his partner’s strength is that justifies an overcall holding a suit headed by the QJ (assumed by South). Wouldn’t it be nice if North can say to his partner, South, that he has a top H honor (hand a) or a top C honor (hand b). Suit preference to the rescue. With hand a) North should play the Q
♦
to signal interest in the higher ranking relevant suit (ie hearts). With hand b), North should play the 2
♦
to signal interest in the lower ranking relevant suit (ie clubs).
Note that Attitude regarding the suit led, diamonds, is irrelevant and that Count is also irrelevant. Hence Suit preference prevails. What if North held neither the K
♥
nor the A♣, what diamond should he play at trick one? The answer is a middle diamond (eg 10
♦
) and South knows not to play North for either card. Perhaps North had the Q
♥
or the Q♣ for his marginal overcall. In any event South is forewarned to avoid getting busy in hearts and clubs.
The other common Suit preference situation occurs when you are giving your partner a ruff. By playing the lowest card for your partner to ruff, you are strongly suggesting that you would like the lower relevant suit returned. A high card that you play for partner to ruff would show your preference for the return of the higher ranking relevant suit.
Since we tend to defend 50% of the time, a partnership’s understanding and use of defensive carding can dramatically improve their performance at the bridge table. So remember to apply all the ABCs of bridge.
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Moderator: Nick Straguzzi
Isn't life grand? Well it is when you can get to a grand -- but can you? Do you have the tools, and when is it best to settle for a small slam? How would you bid the hand below?
Now see what our experts have to say.
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News from Around the Units
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Unit 112: Central New York
Pat Stadelmaier
pstad145@aol.co
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CONGRATULATIONS
Unit 112 members on your rank achievements*
Club Master – Vendla Clark, Pittsford
Sectional Master – David Peterson
Regional Master – Peggie Bonnie, Syracuse
Advanced NABC Master – Carol Richardson, Fairport
Bronze Life Master – Holli Mast, Corning
Silver Life Master – Roy Caldwell, Canton
Ruby Life Master – Barbara Hanna, Fairport
Stephen Pope, Ithaca
*
Note to players – when you advance your rank check your email from our secretary (sandjack) for a free play!
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Betty Burns
–
Correction on last month’s article on Betty
. The article stated that Betty had learned to play bridge during WWI and it should have said WWII. My apologies!
Betty, a Sapphire Life Master, before the pandemic was playing bridge three times a week in Cicero and will be celebrating her 99
th
birthday June 19.
Have you ever thought about how the deck of cards
And yearly calendar correlate?
52 cards in the deck and 52 weeks in the year;
12 court cards and 12 months,
4 suits and 4 seasons;
13 cards in each suit and 13 weeks in each season.
Each day of the year is associated with a specific card.
The card that governs your birthday is your Birth Card.
Betty’s birth card is the Jack of Clubs!
Most people born under this influence have a constant influx of ideas. They are gracious and kind and enjoy social interactions.
Cards of Destiny – Sharon Jeffers
Happy 99
th
Birthday Betty!
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I hope many of you are taking advantage of the Virtual Club Games to keep our great game alive! Thanks to ACBL, BBO and The Common Game for making these games possible.
Take Care and Stay Healthy!
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Unit 120: Northeastern Pennsylvania
Doreese Torrey
doreeset@gmail.com
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Hello Unit 120!! Hoping you are all staying safe.
There have been some great accomplishments recently. Let's all virtually give a standing ovation to the following achievements.
New Silver Life Master Lynn E Gonchar, Naples FL
New Life Master Harold Soskin, Scranton PA
New Regional Masters Stephen R Brickel, Clarks Summit, PA
Robert S Wojack, Pittston, PA
New Club Masters Edna Friedberg, Clarks Summit, PA
Jay Steinberger, Tobyhanna, PA
New Junior Master Tara Wagner, Kingston, PA
Congratulations to all!
Just a reminder that the Unit tournament that was scheduled to be held June 5-7 has been canceled due to the pandemic.
Finally, news with a heavy heart, George Marcy has passed away recently. He was truly a great, long time player, director, mentor, teacher, partner and friend. He will be deeply missed by all.
Please remember to check out online bridge game times and dates. There are many points being awarded. Take advantage of your time at home. Play!!!
Here is a link
to District 4's current posting of virtual club games.
Praying you all stay safe and hoping to see you soon at the bridge tables.
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Unit 121: Berks Montgomery
Brian C Snyder
4spadesdoubled@gmail.com
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Sue Wessner will host a bridge cruise November 9-20, 2020.
CLICK HERE
for more information.
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Unit 133: Lehigh Valley
Lois Fuini
lafuini@yahoo.com
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Happy Memorial Day
Remembering and Honoring Our Heroes!
Unit 133 recognizes and honors the sacrifices of those who serve
our country now and those who came before. We’re celebrating
our heroes, past and present, who have served and those who
continue to serve during these unprecedented times.
New Rank Advancements
Congratulations!
New Junior Master
Ellen Myers
New Sectional Master
E J Krall
Virtual Club Games
It’s hard to believe in one short month’s time we have expanded our Virtual Club from one game per week to eleven games per week. And, more than half our active members are playing online on a regular basis. We thank ACBL and BBO for providing our members the opportunity to continue playing and advancing their bridge skills. And, even more importantly, in these isolated times, providing a way for members to keep in touch with their bridge "family."
We are grateful to Betsy Cutler, Unit 133 Vice President, for her commitment to making our Virtual Club a viable option for our players. In addition to scheduling games and directors, she has encouraged people to play, walked them through the process, and followed up with them if they needed additional help. Thank you, Betsy!
Unit 133 Virtual Club Game Schedule
Monday - 12:30pm - 0-750
Monday - 7:15pm - Open
Tuesday - 10:05am - 0-100
Tuesday - 1:10pm - Open
Wednesday - 10:05am - 0-300
Wednesday - 1:10pm - Open
Thursday - 10:05am - 0-500 NLM
Thursday - 7:15pm - Open
Friday - 12:30pm - 0-2000
Saturday - 12:30pm - 0-500 NLM
Saturday - 12:30 - Open
This schedule is subject to change. Please check our website for the most current list of games.
The Longest Day 2020
When: Saturday, June 20, 2020
Where: Unit 133 Virtual Club Games
Time: Open and Limited Games at 12:30pm
Fee: $6
This year marks the 8th year of partnership between bridge clubs and the Alzheimer’s Association. So far, bridge players have raised more than 6 million dollars. ACBL will donate all sanction fees and Unit 133 will donate all proceeds, after expenses, to the Alzheimer’s Association. If you wish to make an additional donation, please mail your check, payable to the Alzheimer’s Association, to Betsy Cutler, 1383 Deerfield Drive, Allentown PA 18104. Thank you for playing and donating to this very worthwhile cause that touches so many of our lives in so many ways.
Stay Safe! Play in Place!
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Unit 141: Philadelphia
Howard Kahlenberg
howard.kahlenberg@gmail.com
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I am heartbroken to report that Bobbie Gomer, one of the great people in bridge, died earlier this month.
It seems highly unlikely that there are any of you who didn’t know Bobbie. If you did know Bobbie, you know she was a wonderful person, and a unique asset in the Philadelphia bridge scene.
While it’s not the case that Bobbie taught everyone in the Unit how to play, it does seem that way sometimes. And when you were one of Bobbie’s students, you were one for life. I never saw her turn away someone wanting to ask her a bridge question. At the table, she managed the impossible task of helping out advancing players by pointing out an issue from the bidding or play without appearing to be offering unsolicited advice. I have no doubt that this was possible because she was so universally respected and beloved by her students.
However, as great a teacher as Bobbie was, Bobbie the bridge teacher pales in comparison to Bobbie the person. Her kindness to former students was just a subset of her kindness to people in general; always a smile, always a hug, always a “How you doing, doll.” Bobbie’s warmth was recognized by people outside the Unit and District, as well. She would frequently email questions to Eddie Kantar, who was happy to answer them because, well, Bobbie.
I am lucky that I was able to experience another great Bobbie trait firsthand: Great partner. She is the only one for whom I was willing to sit East, which tells you something. She was interested in talking about the hand, although not in an accusatory way, but an inquisitive one. And what a great halo effect to sit down and benefit from the effect of Bobbie’s being at the table on the opponents’ mood.
There is one recurring issue in our partnership, though. We do play Reverse Rosencrantz, but one of us (I won’t name names, but it rhymes with Moward) would always mess it up. And I do mean always. In all the many years we played together, I never, ever got it right, until literally that last session we played together, when I somehow didn’t mess up.
So I’m glad that I got it right the last time. But I am really sad that I will never have the chance to start another streak of messing it up.
On a much, much happier note – Congratulations to the newest Unit 141 Life Masters
- Jack Hoffrichter of Warwick, Dianne Meyer of Villanova, and Christine Sgro of Phoenixville.
Other Unit 141 Members achieving new ranks:
New Sapphire Life Master (3500 points) – Harriet Kleiman
New Ruby Life Masters (1,500 points) – Maxine Goodman and Virginia Haley
New Silver Life Master (1,000 points) – Matilde Davidson and Steve King
New Bronze Life Masters (750 points) – Ellen Berkowitz and Margot Lebovitz
New Advanced NABC Masters (300 points) - Lynn Dealy
New NABC Masters (200 points) - Janet Chaiken, Catherine Chicos, Frank Feng, and Kathy Vogel
New Regional Masters (100 points) – Sally Berg, William Hankin, J. Hausladen, Becky Levinson, and Sandra Miller
New Sectional Masters (50 points) – Joanne Cooper, Deborah Cutler, Nancy Goldstein, Melinda Justi, Emily Losciuto, J. Nailos, Sandra Stickel, Paula Szabo, Leslie Tolles, Rosalyn Weinstein, George Wiemann, and Ann Vaneerden
New Club Masters (20 points) – Don Adams, Marilouise Berdow, Meta A Bets, Karen Cerefice, Robin Collier, Gloria Drosdick, Hinda Haskell, Dianne McCarthy, Mary Beth Perisho, Ray Perisho, Sheila Peyton, Shelley Schwartz, Kathy Sullivan, Carole Swartz, and Dennis Swartz
New Junior Masters (5 points) - Inayat Ali, Lisa Barker, Jane Bonenberger, Evelyn Doyle, Karen Hoffman, Osman C Lake, Janis S Nadler, Albert Ness, Darren D Noble, Kimberly Oneill, Charles Penza, Jayant Prasad, Francine Rebhun, Paul Ruth, Jane Schultz, Seth D Shapiro, Barbara Summers, and James Walker
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Unit 168: Central Pennsylvania
Jeanne Gehret
jeannegehret@comcast.net
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Please check back next month for an update on Unit 168. Stay safe!
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Unit 190: Delaware
Ala Hamilton-Day
alabridge@gmail.com
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The Unit 190 BBO Teams
Would you like to play with
CJ and the Bills
? How about forming a team, since there’s
Double Trouble
? Or
perhaps try your luck on the
Bridge over Troubled Water
? Maybe you still
Feel the Bern
?
In conjunction and coordination with Unit 190 Club games, there is also team play, where the competition is focused on fun, learning, and community. For further information see the webpage tab of “BBO with Unit 190” at
bridgewebs.com/unit190acbl
.
PLAYER ADVANCEMENTS
SILVER LIFE MASTER:
Anne Priebe
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UNINSTALL 2020!
It has a virus.
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ACBL Stay-at-Home Regional
April 30 – May 3
Unit 190 Masterpoint Winners
1. 10.09 Richard Popper
2. 7.08 Ala Hamilton-Day
3. 5.15 Mary Reilly
4. 5.15 Marilyn Haskins
5. 4.97 Judith Cronin
6. 4.97 Debbie Schenkel
7. 4.54 Mark Nehra
8. 4.54 Donald Pyne
9. 3.79 Anne Taylor
10. 3.03 Sally Humphrey
11. 2.44 Phyllis Lochiatto
12. 1.41 Pamela Folz
13. 1.28 Francis Taylor, Jr.
14. 1.21 Duke Lohr
15. 0.59 Stuart Nemser
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Due to the Corona Virus, I am self-isolating.
NO ONE May Enter
Except for Brad Pitt and Ryan Reynolds.
And Thor.
Oh, and those firefighters holding puppies on that calendar.
They can come in.
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For news and information about the great things happening on BBO in Unit 190, with club games, both limited and Open, and Team games, check out the May
Dummy
and the Unit 190 website.
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Unit 217: Susquehanna
Jim McKeown
jcm@psu.edu
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Please check back next month for an update on Unit 217. Stay well!
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