Is a Christmas Miracle on the Horizon in Hoover? Will residents finally get truthful answers on the forensic audit?
Has anyone considered putting the mayor, councilors, and city staff under oath before each Hoover City Council meeting? Having reviewed months of meeting videos and statements related to the forensic audit, the number of inconsistencies seemingly worsens every time it’s discussed. Residents may get honest answers anyway. Kroll has promised the city council they’ll answer questions, but that will also depend on the city’s gatekeepers. The city solicited questions about the audit via the city clerk’s office, with the window of submissions closing yesterday. Now we wait for a Christmas Miracle: Complete and honest answers. Kroll Forensic Audit Questions Please send questions regarding the Kroll Forensic Audit to the Office of the City Clerk at cityclerk@hooveralabama.gov. Questions will be forwarded to Kroll after December 5, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. Before Thanksgiving, Mayor Frank Brocato addressed the City Council, saying, “I felt compelled to get up tonight as the mayor. I want to reaffirm my commitment to taking responsibility and addressing the challenges that our city faces head-on. We’ve had a number over the last years.” He said, “It could have been very easy for me to address the challenges in our accounting department internally. I chose not to do that.” While the mayor’s delivery may have been an award-worthy performance, facts dispute much of what he said. All evidence indicates that the mayor has known about and ignored deficiencies and problems in the accounting department from his earliest years in office, from staffing shortages to the need for software upgrades and many other issues addressed in the Kroll report. Brocato could have asked the council in any one of his previous budgets to fully fund new positions that would have brought stability to the office, but he didn’t, and the City Council failed to exercise the checks and balances needed to hold him publicly accountable for it. Worse than twisting the truth to use his failures as a sign of leadership, the mayor’s remarks included a series of statements that appear to contradict earlier public statements made by him, his CFO, and others. It’s no wonder city leadership has resorted to deleting videos and skimping on the details of meeting minutes in recent years. In his comments, the mayor stated that his door is open to every resident; the question is, can they trust what he tells them when they enter? Will he continue to deflect responsibility, blaming those who report on the problems and those who care enough to reach out or show up to ask about them? As mentioned above, the city clerk was accepting questions, but how will those questions be filtered to Kroll if at all. What about questions directed toward the city council, staff, and officials? Will they answer honestly or hide behind attorney/client privilege Sources tell me that the city clerk is honest, hard-working, and trustworthy but has had her hands tied by superiors, including the mayor and the city attorney. This is the same city clerk whose meeting minutes for the council barely scratch the surface of what is discussed or said, leaving out nearly all discussions and deliberations between council members and giving no context to what is said during public comment. The same City Clerk who produced a public records request that didn’t include any relevant public records after a three-month wait. The mayor and city leadership have repeatedly shown through their words and actions that they want concerned residents to sit down, shut up, and be grateful that we’ve had any answers, but here’s to hoping for a Christmas miracle.
Questions remain after Hoover CFO Jennifer Cornett reports on Finance Department corrective action plan
Last Monday, the City of Hoover held its regularly scheduled city council meeting, during which the city’s chief financial officer, Jennifer Cornett, spoke. In response to a request from Councilman Derrick Murphy, she presented an update and plan for remedying some of the concerns from the secretly commissioned forensic audit conducted by the nationally renowned firm Kroll. The presentation addressed some of the top issues but still left many questions. Residents have been asking these questions in earnest for months now at council meetings, as they’ve come across elected officials out locally and through petitions and phone calls. Yet, week after week, they’ve found that the mayor and council president rebuffs their concerns. Denying them answers or a venue to be provided answers. Three critical questions come to mind: first, why won’t city leadership create an open forum to address start to finish the legitimate questions that have been asked and ignored? This forum has been suggested not just by concerned residents but by Councilman Steve McClinton as well. Second, how can residents be sure these problems will be prevented in the future, not just in the Finance Department but also in other departments within the city? We know from the Kroll report and several former members of the council that the information was known to Hoover’s top, namely Mayor Frank Brocato and Council President John Lyda, yet worse than just being ignored, they were seemingly covered up and denied. Why did the checks and balances between the mayor’s office and the city council fail? How do voters prevent that failure in the future as well? Additionally, no one in the city has addressed the limitations described in the forensic audit, and if additional steps need to be taken to examine this administration and their financial dealings, departmental staffing beyond the Finance Department, and other issues brought to light through this process. Kroll described on Page 1 of their report, “In performing our forensic accounting and review and analysis of the Finance Department operations, we had certain limitations in our scope of review including a lack of accurate financial reports available from Munis and potentially thousands of electronic files that were deleted without any audit trail or definitive indication of who may have been responsible.” The Kroll report was 274 pages long. Cornett’s update included 7 PowerPoint slides. This leaves a lot of ground to be covered by city leadership, one would hope that would include those responsible. The sections in the Cornett report: Erroneous Financial Reporting Deleted, Missing and/or Destroyed Records Understaffed Finance Department Lack of Experience/Training in Payroll and General Ledger Division Lack of Training, Skills & Communication Lack of Formal Policies and Procedures MUNIS Accounting & Software Implementation Fluctuations in Finance Department Budget Budget Presentations Lack of Complete and Timely Reconciliations Unaddressed Payroll Issues Summary Cornett described four of the issues addressed in these sections as having been resolved through subsequent actions, marking them as “closed” in her presentation. Among the issues marked as “closed,” however, are the deletion of files that she and the mayor have said were reported to the State’s Attorney General. When asked, William Califf, a spokesman from Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office, said, “It is the longstanding policy of this office to neither confirm nor deny the possibility of an investigation.” The Hoover Channel, the local YouTube channel created by Robin Schultz and his grandson Jackson Schultz, loaded the video of her full update to its page as a part of its newest segment type, “The Week in Review.” You can also find within the description of the video all of the supporting and backup documents, including the detailed PowerPoint presentation that Cornett gave.
Hoover’s Tony Petelos is back in the game! A beloved mayor looks to reenter politics.
As first reported by The Homewood Star, Tony Petelos, the former Hoover mayor and county manager of Jefferson County, told The Homewood Star he would consider coming out of retirement on an interim basis to lay the groundwork for a permanent hire. “I’m a lifetime resident of Jefferson County and was able to set up a new form of government for Jefferson County, and would be able to do it for the City of Homewood,” he told The Star on Thursday, two days after voters approved the referendum authorizing the change in government. Homewood voters on Tuesday authorized the city to change its form of government from a mayor/council format to a city manager/council structure. As part of that transition, the council plans to hire an interim manager to initiate changes and prepare for a full-time hire to be made by the next council and mayor. New leadership will take over after city elections in 2025. Petelos, 71, retired from the county manager position of Jefferson County in 2021. Asked directly if he had talked to representatives from Homewood or interviewed for a role, Petelos declined to answer. He did tell The Star he would be happy to talk with Homewood’s City Council and learn more about their needs, and clarified he has no interest in the permanent city manager role. Petelos, 71, said he has no interest in the permanent city manager role but would consider coming out of retirement on an interim basis to lay the groundwork for a permanent hire. In April 2021, Petelos told the Hoover Sun, he thoroughly enjoyed being Hoover’s mayor and had a great leadership team surrounding him, particularly former Executive Director Allen Pate, who handled much of the day-to-day administration. He has a lot of great memories from his time of mayor. Those include Hoover native Taylor Hicks winning season five of the “American Idol” singing competition and Hoover dancing instructor Fabian Sanchez appearing as a professional on “Dancing with the Stars,” not to mention all the SEC Baseball Tournaments, Regions Charity Classic golf tournaments, ribbon cuttings and groundbreakings. He very fondly remembers when President George W. Bush visited the Hoover Public Safety Center in 2007 to see the city’s program for using ethanol in city vehicles while in town for a fundraiser for Gov. Bob Riley. Petelos said Bush invited him to ride in his limousine with him to the fundraiser, and he remembers thinking how proud his mother would have been of him. Tuesday night, former Homewood mayoral candidate Chris Lane posted on Facebook that Petelos would be the choice to lead the transition. “I’ve had several people ask me (about his name being linked to the role on social media),” said Petelos, a UAB graduate whose career in politics also includes serving in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1986-97. “I said, ‘Well, you know, I don’t know.’ I need more information before I can make any statement (on whether he would officially apply for the ro Petelos would bring decades of experience to the role. He served as Hoover’s mayor from 2004-2011, leading the city through a period of dynamic growth. He then left to become Jefferson County’s first county manager in 2011, a move that stunned many observers considering the county was mired in controversy and lacking public trust after 22 county officials were imprisoned on corruption charges in the preceding years. “We inherited a mess,” Petelos told the Hoover Sun in 2021, just before his retirement. “It was a challenge.” “It was about as bad as I expected,” Petelos told The Sun, referring to the county’s condition when he came into the job. “The first six years were chaotic — issue after issue after issue.” But by the time he retired, the county had emerged from bankruptcy and was in a much better position financially, with more than $100 million in general fund reserves and another $16 million in a “catastrophic” contingency fund, Petelos said. Just several weeks ago, the City of Hoover underwent a forensic audit that shows that following Petelos’ term in office, the city went through a rough period with checks and balances failing to work the way they were intended, personal vendettas finding their way into meeting agendas, and squabbles between city councilors, the mayor, and the city attorney. If Petelo gets done in Homewood, he could go home and clean up the mess the current leadership has allowed to defile the pristine city hall he left. Could Petelos’ post-retirement include cleaning up a mess he worked hard to prevent.
AG Steve Marshall clears Hoover officer in fatal Thanksgiving mall shooting
A Hoover police officer was justified in the fatal shooting of Emantic Bradford Jr. at the Riverchase Galleria on Thanksgiving, the Alabama Attorney General’s office announced Tuesday. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation made the conclusion the officer did not commit a crime under Alabama law and thus will not be criminally charged for his actions. Marshall further noted it was his understanding that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had also reviewed the matter and found no evidence to initiate a case against the officer for civil rights violation(s). “After an extensive investigation and review, the Attorney General has determined Officer 1 did not commit a crime under Alabama law when he shot and killed E.J. Bradford and thus the Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct preclude presentation of this case to a grand jury,” the report reads. “The facts of this case demonstrate that Officer 1 reasonably exercised his official powers, duties, or functions when he shot E.J. Bradford,” the report continues. “Officer 1’s actions were reasonable under the circumstances and were consistent with his training and nationally-accepted standards for ‘active shooter’ scenarios.” Marshall also released surveillance video of the incident: Read the full report below:
Activists focusing on Alabama officials after mall shooting
Demonstrations that have targeted an Alabama city where police shot and killed a black man on Thanksgiving will be redirected toward state officials now investigating the shooting, organizers said Wednesday. Leaders speaking at a news conference said demonstrations targeting the Birmingham suburb of Hoover would now focus on state officials who are investigating the shooting death of Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. They promised protests at the homes and offices of Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and the head of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. A spokesman for Marshall, Alabama’s top law enforcement official, declined comment. The change follows a meeting in which protest spokesman Iva Williams said officials in the city of Hoover agreed to consider several requests made by demonstrators, including the addition of a citizens review board and a diversity officer. Protest leader Carlos Chaverst Jr. said demonstrations were being halted temporarily in the city “in expectation the city of Hoover will do the things they told us they would do” City officials did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. An officer fatally shot Bradford after hearing gunfire at Hoover’s Riverchase Galleria mall. Bradford had a gun and the officer shot after seeing it, but Bradford wasn’t responsible for a shooting that wounded two people, authorities said. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Alabama’s deadly shooting sends a chill through black gun owners
Gun-rights advocates like to say, “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.” Some black gun owners, though, are not so sure it’s a wise idea for them to try to be the good guy and pull out a weapon in public. Twice in the span of 11 days last month, a black man who drew a gun in response to a crime in the U.S. was shot to death by a white police officer after apparently being mistaken for the bad guy. Some African-Americans who are licensed to carry weapons say cases like those make them hesitant to step in to protect others. “I’m not an advocate of open-carry if you’re black,” said the Rev. Kenn Blanchard, a Second Amendment activist and host of the YouTube program “Black Man With a Gun TV,” a gun advocacy show. “We still have racism. … We still scare people. The psychology of fear, it’s bigger than the Second Amendment.” The recent shootings of Jemel Roberson and Emantic Bradford Jr. amplified long-held fears that bad things can happen when a black man is seen with a gun. Roberson was working security at a Robbins, Illinois, bar when he was killed Nov. 11 while holding at gunpoint a man involved in a shooting. Witnesses said the officer ordered the 26-year-old Roberson to drop his gun before opening fire. But witnesses also reportedly shouted that Roberson, who had a firearms permit, was a guard. And a fellow guard said Roberson was wearing a knit hat and sweatshirt that were emblazoned “Security.” Bradford, 21, was killed Thanksgiving night by an officer responding to a report of gunfire at a shopping mall in Hoover, Alabama. Police initially identified Bradford as the gunman but later backtracked and arrested another suspect. Ben Crump, a lawyer for the dead man’s family, said witnesses claimed Bradford was trying to wave people away from the shooting. Crump said Bradford was licensed to carry a weapon but was presumably seen as a threat because he was a black man. The two shootings have brought up some of the same questions about racist assumptions and subconscious fears that were asked after the killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. Trevor Noah, host of “The Daily Show,” lamented Bradford’s death. “That’s what they always say, right? ‘The good guy with a gun stops the crime,’” Noah said. “But then if the good guy with a gun turns out to be a black good guy with a gun, they don’t get any of the benefits.” In some other cases involving black men killed by police: Philando Castile was shot in a car in 2016 in Minnesota, seconds after informing the officer he had a gun. The officer was acquitted of manslaughter. And John Crawford III was shot in a Walmart in Ohio in 2014 while holding a BB gun he had picked up in the sporting goods section. Security footage showed he never pointed it at anyone. According to the advocacy group Mapping Police Violence, 1,147 people were killed by police in 2017, 92 percent of them in shootings. While blacks made up 13 percent of the U.S. population, they accounted for 27 percent of those killed by police, 35 percent of those killed by police while unarmed, and 34 percent of those killed while unarmed and not attacking, the organization said. Andre Blount of Tomball, Texas, once pulled out his shotgun to help a neighbor who was being attacked by an armed white man. The police eventually arrived and defused the situation, he said. “For me, being a legally registered owner and having a concealed weapon permit, I feel like I have to be more careful than the next person,” Blount said. “Because if not, the only thing anyone sees is a black man with a gun.” Blount said he tells younger black gun owners to really consider whether it’s worth risking their lives in coming to someone’s aid with a weapon. “You want your kids to help someone, but you don’t want them to be shot trying to help someone,” he said. “It’s a sad thing.” Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Protests erupt during Monday night’s emergency Hoover City Council meeting
Monday night’s emergency City Council meeting in Hoover City ended abruptly after protests broke out over Emantic “E.J.” Bradford Jr.‘s untimely Thanksgiving-day death. Bradford Jr. was killed at the Riverchase Galleria by an officer responding to the report of a mall shooting. Police said Bradford had a gun, and they initially blamed him for opening fire. They later retracted that allegation. The Council had hoped to unify the city, in light of the tragic mistake, reading the following statement aloud during the meeting: The Hoover City Council wants to publicly extend sympathy to the family of E.J. Bradford, Jr. and will continue to support them through prayer. We also pray for those injured or in any other way affected. The Council wants to formally express their regret for the misinformation provided to the public that later implicated E.J. Bradford, Jr. as the shooter in the November 22nd incident of violence. As leaders in our City, the council members re-affirm our commitment to public safety, fair and equitable treatment of all people, and respect for the law. We ask for patience and peace as the ongoing investigation of this incident is conducted by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and promise to do all in our power to encourage unity over division. In the words of Mother Teresa, “There is a light in this world, a healing spirit more powerful than any darkness we may encounter.” We, as the Hoover City Council, believe that God’s light can and will overcome the darkness of this tragedy if we all seek it together. But the meeting was adjourned early after protestors failed to follow the rules for public comment, shouting as a group to the councilors. Protestors are now threatening to release the name of the police officer who shot Bradford Jr, should the city not do so by noon on Tuesday. “You have until 12 o’clock noon to release the officer’s name. It’s not a threat, it’s a promise,” activist Carlos Chaverst told city councilors. Monday night’s council meeting was not the first time protestors demanded justice for Bradford Jr. In less than 48 hours after his death, more than 200 protesters marched through the Galleria chanting in protest of what happened to Bradford. There, they chanted “E.J.” and “no justice, no peace, no racist police,” holding signs that read “Emantic’s Life Matters.”
Authorities arrest suspect in Thanksgiving shooting at Hoover mall where police killed man they thought was shooter
The Latest on a Thanksgiving night shooting at a mall in Alabama (all times local): 11:30 p.m. Authorities say they have arrested a suspect in a Thanksgiving night shooting at an Alabama shopping mall where police killed a man they thought was the shooter. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency says 20-year-old Erron Martez Dequan Brown of Bessemer was charged with attempted murder in the Nov. 22 shooting at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover. Inspector Frank Lempka with the U.S. Marshals in Atlanta said Brown was arrested Thursday morning at a relative’s home in South Fulton, just outside of Atlanta. Lempka said Brown was taken to the Fulton County jail for an extradition hearing to be sent back to Alabama. Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. was killed by an officer responding to the report of a mall shooting. Police said Bradford had a gun, and they initially blamed him for opening fire. They later retracted that allegation. ___ 10 a.m. Leaders of an Alabama city that’s been the target of protests since police shot and killed a black man in a shopping mall are asking the state for permission to release more information about the killing. Hoover city officials made the request during an appearance Thursday. They say they’ll look at releasing information on their own if no response comes by noon Monday. Demonstrators and relatives of Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. have pushed authorities to release video and other evidence. Bradford was killed by an officer responding to a report of a mall shooting on Thanksgiving. The state is investigating and so far has refused to release video and other information about the killing. A spokesman for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Hoover city leaders meet following police shooting
Leaders of an Alabama city are meeting behind closed doors following the shooting death of a black man at a shopping mall. The Hoover City Council met publicly for about two minutes Tuesday before voting unanimously to go into executive session. Council President Gene Smith says the discussion is about the “legal ramifications” of impending litigation. Smith didn’t elaborate on any potential suit. But the session comes just five days after a Hoover police officer shot and killed a man inside Alabama’s largest shopping mall on Thanksgiving night. Relatives of the shooting victim, 21-year-old Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr., have been represented by a civil rights lawyer since his death. A town hall and prayer meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening at 16th Street Baptist Church. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
2 a.m. press statement signals change from Hoover PD after shooting outrage
In the wake of a Thanksgiving night shooting at Alabama’s largest mall, the City of Hoover and its police department issued a joint statement minutes before 2 a.m. Monday promising transparency in their ongoing investigation. The incident, which occurred at the Riverchase Galleria in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover, took place shortly before 10 p.m. CT. It left a gunman dead as well as two individuals wounded. The shooting left Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr. of Hueytown shot and killed. Hoover police had initially believed Bradford to be the shooter, with officers saying they saw him fleeing the scene while brandishing a handgun. But by Friday night, Hoover police issued a statement saying Bradford“likely did not fire the rounds” the injured the other two victims. They believe the actual gunman remains at large. On Saturday, more than 200 protesters marched through the Galleria chanting in protest of what happened to Bradford. There, they chanted “E.J.” and “no justice, no peace, no racist police,” holding signs that read “Emantic’s Life Matters.” Overnight the City of Hoover, in a joint statement with the Hoover Police Department, issued a statement addressing the ongoing investigation. “Our deepest sympathy and thoughts are extended to the families of those affected by the traumatic events surrounding the officer-involved shooting last Thursday evening, November 22, 2018. We extend sympathy to the family of Emantic J. Bradford of Hueytown, who was shot and killed during Hoover Police efforts to secure the scene in the seconds following the original altercation and shooting. The loss of human life is a tragedy under any circumstances,” read the statement. “Beginning today, we will provide weekly updates to news media each Monday by 10:30 a.m. Central time. We hope this helps keep the media and the public informed of what we know and are able to share without jeopardizing the investigation.” Read the full statement below: JOINT STATEMENT CITY OF HOOVER, ALABAMA AND THE HOOVER, ALABAMA POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING ON NOVEMBER 22, 2018 (November 26, 2018) We want everyone who lives in, works in, works for, or visits Hoover to know that we are a city that puts safety and respect in the highest regard for all citizens. We will be transparent throughout the course of this investigation. Beginning today, we will provide weekly updates to news media each Monday by 10:30 a.m. Central time. We hope this helps keep the media and the public informed of what we know and are able to share without jeopardizing the investigation. We will also keep the public informed of any developments through our website and the social media pages belonging to the City and to the Police Department. Should significant developments occur prior to any given regular Monday update, we will provide that news as soon as we can. Our deepest sympathy and thoughts are extended to the families of those affected by the traumatic events surrounding the officer-involved shooting last Thursday evening, November 22, 2018. We extend sympathy to the family of Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford, Jr., of Hueytown, who was shot and killed during Hoover Police efforts to secure the scene in the seconds following the original altercation and shooting. The loss of human life is a tragedy under any circumstances. We can say with certainty Mr. Bradford brandished a gun during the seconds following the gunshots, which instantly heightened the sense of threat to approaching police officers responding to the chaotic scene. Body camera video and other available video was immediately turned over to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department as part of the investigation. Now, all evidence has been handed over to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) to lead the investigation. Release of any video will be done as ALEA deems appropriate during the investigation. Our thoughts are also with the family of the 18-year-old young man who suffered gunshot wounds in the altercation between mall patrons, as well as the family of the 12-year-old girl who was an innocent bystander also wounded by gunfire in the initial shooting. These are just some of the many lives that were immediately impacted by an event so unnecessary on what should have been a peaceful Thanksgiving evening. We continue to support ALEA in its investigation of last Thursday’s tragic events, including pursuing the initial shooter who still remains at large. We have certain information about this individual and ask the public to provide ALEA with any available details that may hasten an arrest.
NYT highlights Homewood coach with heart for football and philanthropy
A Homewood Middle School football coach and teacher recently found himself in the national spotlight as his efforts to make an impact on local youth were highlighted by the New York Times (NYT). Steve Sills, “an evangelist for the gospel of encouragement, which he’s been preaching for 13 years at this economically and demographically diverse middle school in suburban Birmingham,” works hard to teach the middle school students he works with the importance of giving it your all. “Don’t matter if you are big or small, if you are fast or slow. If you give us the very best of you, together we can do great things,” Sills told the Homewood Patriots football team during a recent Monday night game according to the NYT. Sills, who envisioned a career in football after receiving a scholarship to play at Tennessee Tech and later played in the indoor Arena Football League, didn’t follow his expected life path. Instead he found himself teaching and coaching at Homewood Middle School. There, he teaches his students career and character where he endeavors to pass along his “look good, feel good, do good” mantra. But Sills takes his work beyond the classroom. Nine years ago, the educator founded the Homewood Trendsetters, a school club that according to the NYT, “combines sharp dressing with dozens of service projects, like feeding the homeless at local shelters or cheering on special needs students at athletic events. It now numbers more than 300, including more than 100 girls, and has logged thousands of volunteer hours and raised tens of thousands of dollars for the community.” When they NYT asked him to reduce his teaching philosophy to its core, he paraphrased the poet Maya Angelou: “These kids will forget what I said and did, but I hope they never forget how I made them feel.”
Hoover Council approves temporary moratorium on vape shops, payday lenders and more
The Hoover City Council on Monday approved a temporary moratorium on shops the Council feels does not present the city in the best light. By a 4-3 vote, the council agreed to stop issuing business licenses to vape shops, pawn shops, check cashing stores, and title or payday loans shops. Councilman Casey Middlebrooks first proposed the moratorium during a council meeting last month. Middlebrooks worried too many of these types of shops may drive away future business for the city. His fellow council members shared his concern.
