We all know that what is happening in Ukraine is wrong.
In 2022, the world should be better than this.
Also, watching the news coverage, I’m struck by all the beloved pets in jeopardy along with their owners. It really brings the situation home, when TV coverage shows a Ukrainian fleeing with a dog on a leash or a cat in a carrier, while leaving behind keepsakes and essentials. Painful as it is, I can’t help but identify with that. I say an extra prayer that they find refuge. This notice from Poland is comforting.
In Lakeway
Nina4Lakeway!
The deadline to file for a slot on the ballot has passed, and there are 6 candidates running for 3 seats. Voters can choose up to 3 candidates. These are open seats, so the 3 people getting the most votes will win.
Interesting tidbit: On Monday, Feb. 28, the City Secretary will draw candidate names out of a bag, to determine the order we appear on the ballot.
People are already asking me how they should vote. Well, VOTE FOR ME, of course! Beyond that, I suggest researching ALL the candidates.
Here’s my take: The 3 other women running are new to city government and would face a STEEP learning curve if elected. And, at least 2 of them are SINGLE-ISSUE candidates; I worry they don’t have the interest or desire to handle ALL the important city issues. Plus, Lakeway politics must stay LOCAL and not be diverted into some EXTREME AND DIVISIVE NATIONAL AGENDA, so please keep that in mind as you evaluate them. Finally, the 2 men on the ballot have been on Council the last 4 years, so my advice is to consider exactly what they have done in that time to take care of Lakeway and improve your quality of life; if nothing much comes to mind, maybe it is time for a change.
Starting in March and heating up in April, there will be question/answer surveys published, from League of Women Voters and Impact Magazine. Groups will also sponsor forums (in person, I hope, and not just via Zoom). These will be publicized here and on my campaign’s Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/Nina4Lakeway
And, if YOU would like to host a small gathering, I would be happy to come and talk about Lakeway’s current issues, things coming up for review by the city, and more. Just let me know!
Here is an item from my Policies page:
Sidewalks are good, and Lakeway should have more of them.
Residential streets without sidewalks can be dangerous. I walk a couple hours every morning, and I get all over Old Lakeway. We have groups walking for their health, joggers wearing earbuds who cannot hear oncoming traffic, folks with dogs on leashes, parents pushing strollers, kids going to school or bus stops, and more. I have seen many close calls. Maybe it was fine decades ago when Lakeway got started, but now it is a problem for pedestrians to be sharing our tight and twisty roads with cars.
At a recent Council meeting, I suggested during Citizens Participation that the code be amended to require sidewalks in all new residential developments.
I also asked the city to look into fixing some of our existing streets that need sidewalks the most. Start by seeking input from residents on what roads really need sidewalks and then have Public Works assess options for those streets. Only one side of the street is fine, and it doesn’t have to be the entire street—just where walking on the street is dangerous. All of Lakeway’s residential streets can’t be fixed, obviously; retrofit is difficult and expensive. But, to the extent some sidewalks are installed where really needed, Lakeway will be a better place to live.
Keep an eye on the Policies page, as MUCH MORE will be added soon. https://www.nina4lakeway.com/about-4 Be warned, I go into detail, not only stating my position but demonstrating how I got there. I believe in showing my work. Personally, I’m disappointed when candidates point at a problem, offer platitudes, and then act like they have accomplished something.
Follow my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Nina4Lakeway If you want a yard sign delivered, let me know. nina4lakeway@gmail.com Donations are gratefully accepted; they will help me win a seat in this crowded election. –Venmo: @Nina4Lakeway –PayPal: There is a PayPal button on the campaign website (link above). –Check: Make it out to Nina Davis Campaign Fund and contact me for the mailing address or to have it picked up.
Let’s Make Lakeway Even Better!
Garage Sale
Lakeway’s next city-wide indoor garage sale happens on Saturday, March 5, 2022. It runs 8AM to noon, at the Activity Center on Cross Creek.
POSTPONED–Fun Run/Walk for Animals
Texas Animal Fund’s Fun Run/Walk at Lakeway City Park was scheduled for Feb. 26. Bad weather forced postponement until Saturday, March 5. Funds raised will benefit a spay/neuter program in the Rio Grande Valley, where the level of unaltered cats and dogs is critical. Go here for details and to register to participate or sign up as a volunteer: https://www.texasanimalfund.org
Lakeway Council met Tuesday, Feb. 22.
RESULTS are in ALL CAPS. Councilmember Trecker was absent.
ITEM 12: Feb. 25, 2022, was DESIGNATED AS Jerry Hietpas Day.
ITEM 13: Police Chief Glen Koen was SWORN INTO OFFICE.
ITEM 14: Citizens Participation for items NOT on the Agenda. 3 PEOPLE SPOKE
ITEM 16: Creating an Aviation District Study Committee (with 6 members), and appointing Mayor Kilgore, Councilmember Vance, and Assistant City Manager Molis as the city’s 3 members. Instead of a study committee, Council decided to create a REGULAR COMMITTEE OF 7 RESIDENT VOLUNTEERS, WITH EACH COUNCIL MEMBER TO NOMINATE SOMEONE AT THE MARCH 21 COUNCIL MEETING.
ITEM 17: Update from the Wildlife Advisory Committee. COUNCIL ACCEPTED THE COMMITTEE’S RECOMMENDATION THAT NO ACTION BE TAKEN TO CONTROL THE DEER HERD, AS THE RECENT SURVEY FOUND IT TO BE STABLE IN SIZE AS WELL AS HEALTHY, SUGGESTING CONTINUED DATA COLLECTION AND PUBLIC EDUCATION AS TO DEER AND OTHER WILDLIFE INCLUDING COYOTES.
ITEM 18: Special Use Permit for a medical lab [TABLED from the previous meeting]. UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED
ITEM 20: Replat of 1303 Teck Circle, in the ETJ. APPROVED 5:1
ITEMS 21 and 22: Second Reading of requests to approve changes to the Eastside Landings Development Agreement and grant R-1 and R-1* zoning for 43 acres at 17301 Flint Rock Road. The development changes (Item 21) were APPROVED 4:2. The zoning changes (Item 22) were UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.
Addendum item A.1 Memorial Day. COUNCIL AGREED TO MOVE THE CITY’S MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCE FROM THE TRADITIONAL FRIDAY TO THAT MONDAY.
Executive Sessions:
–ITEMS 25 and 26: Executive Sessions to consider matters relating to the Police Department and a Lakeway MUD property request.
–Addendum items A.2 Executive Session on litigation (new lawsuit, King vs. City of Lakeway) and A.3 Executive Session on security issues of city officials.
NO ACTION TAKE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION OR LATER AS OF ANY OF THE 4 ITEMS.
ADJOURNED 12:59am
Go here to watch the Council meeting online: https://lakewaytx.new.swagit.com/videos/155043 Go here for the Agenda, Meeting Packet and Presentation: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/archive.aspx
Texas elections
March 1 primary election
Early voting is over for the March 1 PRIMARY RACES. If you haven’t voted, be sure to do so on Tuesday, March 1. Lakeway’s polling place on Election Day is the Activity Center.
As of today, Feb. 26, only 7% of the registered voters in Texas had cast a ballot.
Go here to see your ballot and get answers to all your election questions: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/01/17/texas-primary-election-2022-voter-guide/?mc_cid=96c4eebded&mc_eid=fc281ae7cc
Go here to see how redistricting changed voting districts for you in the various races. https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2021/texas-redistricting-map/
The League of Women Voters has published its guide, with detailed profiles on all the candidates. Given redistricting changes and especially with some of the down ballot races that have gotten less publicity, this guide provides info to help you make your decisions. Here is the link: https://lwvaustin.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=334869&module_id=474680
May 7 municipal election
VOTE FOR NINA VOTE FOR NINA VOTE FOR NINA VOTE FOR NINA VOTE FOR NINA
Actually, I covered the who-to-vote-for thing at the top of this blog…. Do your research!
The May 7 election will include 2 state-wide propositions related to property taxes going to school districts. One would reduce property taxes paid to public schools by elderly and disabled Texans. The other would raise Texas’ homestead exemption from $25,000 to $40,000 for school district property taxes. Texas voters will decide whether to lower some property tax bills in May election 2/17/22 https://www.texastribune.org/2022/02/16/texas-school-property-tax-school-election/
Daring Mighty Things
After a full year, the mini chopper called Ginny is still flying high. 1 year later, Ingenuity helicopter still going strong on Mars 2/17/22 https://www.space.com/nasa-ingenuity-mars-helicopter-one-year-anniversary
Back to me….
Running for office has its ups and downs, that’s for sure. Also, it is exhausting. But fun! Once the primary election has passed, attention will turn to the local races, and there are already some events planned. Exciting times to come!
Have a few minutes and need to clear your head? Name some colors. This site will show you a “new” color, and you can suggest a name for it—something that would be used on paint samples. The name has to be unique, so you’ll need to be creative to get a name accepted. Oddly soothing, or maybe just odd…. https://colornames.org/color/07c7a0
Here’s a good book I recently finished (available at Lake Travis Community Library):
Something to Hide (2022), by Elizabeth George—This isn’t an easy read, given the plot revolves around FGM, but as always the author beautifully writes a complex mystery for Lynley and Havers to solve in modern-day London.
Our deer are relieved that the annual survey results confirmed the herd is stable in size, as well as healthy. Plus, the ones I see regularly are happy and loving Lakeway, just like the rest of the residents. Here are a few recent photos.
The Coronavirus
Worldwide, countries fall into 2 wildly different categories: waving bye-bye to Covid or awash in the pandemic.
In the UK, it was announced on Feb. 20 that Queen Elizabeth, age 95, was ill with Covid-19. She has cancelled activities since then. Prince Charles contracted Covid-19 for the second time in mid-February, and his wife, Camilla, also tested positive; they had mild cases due to vaccination. At the same time, the UK ended nearly all its Covid restrictions.
Europe is moving on from Covid—or trying to do so. Many countries (Germany, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, Poland) are lifting restrictions currently or over the next 2 weeks. Italy will end restrictions March 31.
Per the World Health Organization, the subvariant of Omicron, BA.2 is now the dominant variant in China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines. BA.2 is even more contagious that Omicron.
Hong Kong is experiencing a fierce surge. Lines for testing circle soccer fields. Patients are overflowing hospitals out onto sidewalks and parking lots; the government retained 10,000 hotel rooms to use for patients. Officials there avoided mandates, trying to “live with Covid,” in part as rebellion against China’s rigid restrictions. The elderly In Hong Kong are at high risk, as that group is not well vaccinated. In an effort to control spread, the government announced that the entire 7.5 million population will be tested 3 times during the month of March.
South Korea on Feb. 18 reported over 100,000 new daily cases, for the first time in the pandemic.
Singapore is re-instituting restrictions, as another surge hits.
In the US, in the last 2 weeks, cases have decreased 63%, hospitalizations are down 44%, and deaths decreased 23%. We are averaging 68,000new cases per day. 55,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with Covid, and the death rate averages 1,800 people per day.
The continued high death rate remains disproportionately large in Republican areas of the country, due to the continued partisan slant on vaccination.
Omicron’s high death toll is surprising, given the early determination its infections were milder than other variants. It killed mainly unvaccinated people, which is no surprise. Most of the dead are in their 30s and 40s with no underlying health issue—and that is a huge surprise.
In January, more people caught Covid-19 WHILE HOSPITALIZED than ever before during the pandemic. Each week in January, over 3,000 patients hospitalized for other things caught Covid.
Washington, D.C., New Mexico and Maryland are relaxing mask rules. Washington state will end mask mandates in March. That will leave Hawaii as the only state mandating masks.
Virginia’s new Republican governor has banned masks requirements in schools and is limiting remote instruction.
Omicron is fading, and many businesses are yet again looking at return-to-office schedules. Microsoft is leading the pack, along with many national banks. Several such schedules have evaporated during the surges of the last 2 years.
On Feb. 25, the CDC issued new guidelines for countries to use in calculating risk factors of high, medium and low. This, in turn, allows the populace to know whether we should wear masks, avoid indoor spaces, and social distance. Vaccinated people only need to mask and follow other precautions in high-risk situations. Unvaccinated people need to do so all the time. To calculate the risk factor, counties consider new Covid hospitalizations, percentage of hospitalizations for Covid vs. other causes, and the rate of new Covid cases per 100K people during the last week. As a result, about 70% of the US population is now at low to medium risk and need not take precautions IF vaccinated. This does apply to schools, essentially cancelling mandatory masking in school. But, the federal rule requiring masks on public transportation, including on airplanes, is still in effect, though under review.
In Texas, the current positivity test rate is 7%. In the last 2 weeks, cases decreased 65%, hospitalizations dropped 46%, and deaths fell 19%. We are averaging 5,800 new cases and 164 deaths daily. As of now, there are nearly 5,400 Texans hospitalized for Covid-19.
Travis County dropped to Stage 4 of the Austin Public Health risk-based guidelines last week due to a lower number of hospitalizations.
Vaccinations–the safe path to herd immunity
Worldwide, 10.7 billion shots have been given, with 56% of the planet’s population fully vaccinated.
Sweden advises people 80 and over get a second booster.
Two UK studies found that vaccinated people were less likely to develop LONG COVID (medium or long term fatigue, headache, weakness in the limbs, muscle pain, hair loss, dizziness, shortness of breath, loss of smell, lung scarring). Plus, people who already have long Covid often find symptoms ease after being vaccinated.
In Canada, the long-running anti-vax protests staged by truckers blockading numerous border crossings and occupying the nation’s capital city of Ottawa were finally countered by the government in the last week. After emergency measures were enacted, police made hundreds of arrests and hauled away vehicles. During the weeks of the siege, the movement morphed from vaccination complaints to more general anti-government rants. Many protesters wore body armor and were armed, some carrying assault rifles. Overall, it became Canada’s Jan. 6, sparking illegal activity and violence distinctly out of character for the Canadian populace, known as unfailingly nice and typically law-abiding.
Israel is opening up to unvaccinated tourists, as of March 1. Tourists must pass 2 PCR tests—before departure and after arrival.
In the US, 65% of the entire population is fully vaccinated. Average shots administered per day decreased to 372,000. 94 million booster shots have been given.
A new, two-shot Covid vaccine demonstrates 75% efficacy against moderate disease, and 100% efficacy against severe disease. It may be an effective booster for other vaccines. Created by European companies Sanofi and GSK, this is a traditional vaccine and not an mRNA product. The manufacturers received billions of dollars for development from Operation Warp Speed early I the pandemic, and they will apply for authorization for the vaccine from European and U.S. regulators.
On Feb. 14, New York City fired 1,400 workers (less than 1% of the city’s workforce), for failing to get vaccinated.
Tyson Foods is starting to relax is mask requirement for fully vaccinated workers.
Coachella and Stagecoach festivals announced there will be no mask or vaccination requirements for attendees this year, and no testing will be done.
In the US, a 4th booster is not planned in the foreseeable future, with experts saying adequate immunity will last months to years after 2 or 3 shots, particularly the T-cell response.
In Texas, only 60% of all residents are fully vaccinated.
Recent Covid articles I recommend….
CDC eases masking recommendations for 70% of country, including inside schools 2/25/22 https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cdc-eases-masking-recommendations-70-country-including-inside/story?id=83111596
Got a Covid Booster? You Probably Won’t Need Another for a Long Time 2/21/22 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/21/health/covid-vaccine-antibodies-t-cells.html
Who is dying of COVID amid omicron surge and widespread vaccine availability? 2/21/22 https://abcnews.go.com/Health/dying-covid-unvaccinated/story?id=82834971
Experts warn ‘not to get too cocky’ as US contemplates life after Covid 2/20/22 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/20/us-covid-coronavirus-mask-mandates-warning-experts
How Long Covid Exhausts the Body 2/19/22 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/02/19/science/long-covid-causes.html
Nowhere is safe: Record number of patients contracted Covid in the hospital in January 2/19/22 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/19/covid-hospitals-data-00010283
Red Covid, an Update 2/18/22 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/18/briefing/red-covid-partisan-deaths-vaccines.html
Vaccination reduces chance of getting long Covid, studies find 2/15/22 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/15/vaccination-reduces-chance-of-getting-long-covid-studies-find
Controlled studies ease worries of widespread long Covid in kids 2/14/22 https://www.statnews.com/2022/02/14/controlled-studies-ease-worries-widespread-long-covid-kids/