What is going on in Lakeway?
Art Display at Lake Travis Community Library
Through October, local artist Georgia Hagan’s highly detailed and realistic animal portraits will be displayed in the meeting room.
Big Band Bash Visits Rough Hollow
The October dance party, held on Monday, Oct. 10 at 7-9PM, will relocate to the Rough Hollow Welcome Center (903 Highlands Boulevard).
Preventing Identity Theft
On Tuesday, Oct. 11, 10:30AM at Lake Travis Community Library, Sgt. Jason Brown of the Lakeway Police Department will discuss how residents can protect themselves against the growing problem of identity theft.
Garage Sale at Lakeway Activity Center
The next community garage sale is Saturday, Oct. 15, from 8AM to noon. (This is the LAST garage sale in 2022.) Admission is FREE, but in the LAC lobby you can drop off non-perishable or canned food items, to be donated to local food banks and charities. You can also donate new or gently used children’s books, for the Free Little Books bin at the entrance. Want to sell stuff? LAC members-$30 per booth; Non-Members-$35 per booth. Call 512-261-1010 to reserve a booth, space permitting.
Shred Day!
Lake Travis Senior Services hosts Shred Day 2022, on Tuesday, October 18, 9-11AM, at Lakeway Aquatic Physical Therapy Parking Lot (900 RR 620S). ATI Secure Docs will be onsite with trucks and locked bins to collect ONE BOX of your papers to take back to their secure warehouse for shredding. FREE, but donations are accepted to benefit the local non-profit LT Senior Services. Call 512-766-3658 for more info.
Saturday Night Concert Series
Hill Country Galleria hosts concerts on the Central Plaza Lawn every Saturday night through Oct. 22, 7-9PM. FREE, and dogs are welcome. Bring a blanket to lounge on the lawn. Go here for more info: https://www.hillcountrygalleria.com/event/Saturday-Night-Concert-Series-w-Vallejo/2145563721/
Public Safety Day
This FREE annual event takes place on Saturday, Oct. 20, 11AM-2:30PM, at Lake Travis Elementary School (15303 Kollmeyer Drive). Kids and adults can interact with first responders as well as their equipment. Central Texas agencies will attend with their helicopters, police cars, motorcycles, ambulances, fire trucks, rescue boats, ATVs, K-9’s, horses, fire mitigation equipment, incident command centers, SWAT apparatus, casualty tents and more.
Student Art Contest for Veterans Day Ceremony
City of Lakeway is now accepting student art entries for the City of Lakeway’s 2022 Veterans Day Ceremony, set for Nov. 11, 2022. Contest deadline is Oct. 21, 2022. The contest is open to students (K-12 grades) within Lake Travis ISD. Artwork must be original in design. Digital art is preferred, but hand-painted or physically displayed artwork is also accepted. The winning entry will be featured in the City’s Veterans Day Ceremony promotional materials and the event program. Email info@lakeway-tx.gov or go here for more info– https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/civicalerts.aspx?AID=1663
Witches Ride is back
This year’s Witches Ride happens Saturday, October 22. That night, residents will gather on bicycles, tricycles, unicycles, skates, scooters, wheelchairs, golf carts, wagons, and walking feet on Live Oak Golf Course’s Driving Range. Parks & Rec will provide decorations for the “flight” down Lakeway Drive. Decorate at 5:30PM, ride/roll/stroll at 6PM, then enjoy the carnival until 9PM. FREE for everyone. For more info, go here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1882/Witches-Ride
Band of the Hills Concert
This Arts in the Afternoon FREE concert will be held Sunday, October 23, 4PM, at the Hurst Creek Sculpture Garden, next to the Lakeway Justice Center (104 Cross Creek). Band of the Hills has entertained crowds around Central Texas for over 20 years, performing a variety of music from classical to seasonal favorites. Bring blankets, lawn chairs and snacks.
Household Hazardous Waste Drop Off
On Wednesday, Oct. 26, 9:30AM to 12:30PM, there will be a FREE DROP OFF of household hazardous waste at Lake Travis Regional Reuse & Recycling Center (3207 Neidhardt Dr.). This is ONLY for residents of Lakeway, Bee Cave and The Hills/customers of WCID 17, Hurst Creek MUD, and Lakeway MUD. Bring a picture ID or water bill for proof of residency. Reservations are REQUIRED, and only specified items will be accepted (for instance—batteries and paint: YES; light bulbs and tires: NO). Call Lakeway Solid Waste at (512)314-7514 or email solidwasteclerk@lakeway-tx.gov for info. Or, go here to see the list of accepted items and make a reservation: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c44aca728a1f4c07-household4
Prescription Take-Back
Lakeway participates in the National Take-Back Initiative, allowing the public to surrender for destruction any expired/unwanted/unused controlled pharmaceuticals and over the counter medications. Drop off items on Saturday, Oct. 29, 10AM-2PM, at the Lakeway Police Department parking lot (1941 Lohmans Crossing Road). This is FREE, anonymous, and open to the public, with no reservation needed. Call Lakeway PD at 512-261-2800 for more info.
Nosferatu—A Symphony of Horror
On Saturday, Oct. 29 at 7PM, celebrate Halloween and support the LTHS Music Department by attending this special showing of the classic 1922 black and white silent film, enhanced by a LIVE ORCHESTRA. Our own Lake Travis High School Chamber Orchestra will perform. Dress up, as prizes will be given for Best Vampire and more. Call 512-261-1010 or go here for more info and to buy $5 tickets: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/calendar.aspx?eid=4340
Lights Out, Texas!
Audubon Texas urges Texans to turn off exterior lights where possible during the fall bird migration, 11PM-6AM, Aug. 15-Nov. 30.
As they say: “Each year during fall and spring migrations, nearly two billion birds travel through Texas in one of the planet’s greatest wildlife spectacles. This fall, one in every three birds migrating through the U.S. will pass through Texas from August 15 through November 30.” Go here for more: https://tx.audubon.org/urbanconservation/lights-out-texas
Pedernales Electric Cooperative is changing street lighting.
PEC and partner Pike Electric Corporation will be doing inventory, inspections, and upgrades of roadway lighting in this area. The new LED lights being installed are designed to report their own outages, and they are Dark-Sky Friendly. The project should be completed by the end of 2022. Call 888-554-4732 for more info.
Lakeway Transportation Bond–$17,500,000–on Nov. 8 Election Ballot.
The city made a pretty cool explainer video that in under 4 minutes highlights how the bond money will be used. Go here to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc_uOhlHjRI
Lakeway residents can vote up or down Proposition A, the city’s $17,500,000 (maximum amount) transportation bond, on the Nov. 8 ballot. Funds will be used “for the purpose of designing, acquiring, constructing, renovating, improving, upgrading, updating, and equipping streets, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, pathways, bike and pedestrian system improvements, demolition, repair, and rebuilding of existing streets and other transportation facilities.”
Next Council Meeting is on Monday, Oct. 17.
The meeting will start at the NEW EARLY time of 6:00PM. The Agenda will be posted around Oct.12, here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/archive.aspx
Daring Mighty Things
On Sept. 28, astronauts at the International Space Station watched from orbit as Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida. Expedition 68 astronaut Bob Hines took the above photo.
Above is a satellite image of something else recently happening here on Earth—natural gas bubbling up to the surface after leaking into the Baltic Sea from one of the damaged Nord Stream pipelines. This was likely caused by Russian sabotage.
Artemis 1’s moon mission now has a launch window of Nov. 12-27. Hurricane Ian pushes Artemis 1 moon launch to mid-November 10/1/22 https://www.space.com/nasa-artemis-1-moon-mission-november-launch?utm_campaign=58E4DE65-C57F-4CD3-9A5A-609994E2C5A9 Watch for updates here: https://www.nasa.gov/
NASA experimented with saving the planet from a killer asteroid. It went well. Known as the DART project, an unmanned space craft traveled 7 million miles and then, moving at 14,000 mph, plowed into a small asteroid, with the goal of shifting its established orbit around a larger asteroid; the point was gathering data on deflecting a future body headed toward Earth. Bam! NASA spacecraft crashes into asteroid in defense test 9/26/22 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/26/nasa-spacecraft-asteroid-crash-defense-00058942
With liberty and justice for all … except women.
Just another practical consequence of SCOTUS killing off Roe: For women who can find a way to get an abortion now, the cost is much higher–including travel expenses, lost work days, and childcare fees. Since half those looking to get abortions are at or below the poverty level, some charities are stepping up to help cover the extra costs. What It Costs to Get an Abortion Now 9/28/22 https://news.yahoo.com/costs-abortion-now-184145760.html
Texas November Election
Voter registration ends Oct. 11. Early voting is Oct. 24-Nov. 4. Election Day is Nov. 8.
Last chance! Candidate yard signs are available, FREE–including delivery within Lakeway.
As Dem Chair for precinct 375 in Lakeway, I’m part of Western Travis Dems. We have a PAC that got donations to buy Dem candidate signs in bulk, and we are distributing them all over the area. Here are the top candidates (some signs are in VERY short supply): Beto O’Rourke (Governor); Mike Collier (Lt. Governor); Rochelle Garza (Attorney General); and Pam Baggett (HD19 Representative).
Email me at macwestie99@gmail.com I just need to know your address and which signs you want.
Did you miss the Beto/Abbott debate on Sept. 30? Beto won, of course, but the well-run event showcased the platforms and philosophies of both candidates very well. Go here to watch the fast-paced and quite entertaining 55-minute debate (there is also a handy synopsis): https://www.reformaustin.org/elections/missed-beto-abbotts-debate-watch-it-here/
This in-depth account covers ALL the Texas races. Just add your address, and it fills in the local races on your ballot. Here’s your ballot for the Nov. 8 Texas midterm elections 8/23/22 https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2022/texas-ballot-2022-midterm-election-nov-8/
Candidates aside, Lake Travis ISD will ask voters to approve $703 million in bonds, during the November election. There are 3 separate bond issues to vote yes or no on–for new facilities, district technology and athletic facilities. Go here for details: https://communityimpact.com/austin/lake-travis-westlake/education/2022/08/18/lake-travis-isd-to-hold-703-million-bond-election-in-november/
Back to me….
I’m still transitioning to a good little vampire, working the night shift.
Scientists predict that NEXT MONTH, by Nov. 15, 2022, the Earth will host 8 billion people. That is twice as many people on the planet just 50 years ago. No wonder everything is so screwed up….
Hope everyone is conserving water, especially here in the parched Hill Country. The above image (the Sept. 26 entry on NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day site https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html ), illustrates how little water is present on Earth. And, the amount of fresh/drinkable water is even smaller. As the image was captioned by NASA: Although oceans of water cover about 70 percent of Earth’s surface, these oceans are shallow compared to the Earth’s radius. The illustration shows what would happen if all of the water on or near the surface of the Earth were bunched up into a ball. The radius of this ball would be only about 700 kilometers, less than half the radius of the Earth’s moon, but slightly larger than Saturn’s moon Rhea which, like many moons in our outer Solar System, is mostly water ice. The next smallest ball depicts all of Earth’s liquid fresh water, while the tiniest ball shows the volume of all of Earth’s fresh-water lakes and rivers.
With rut season starting up, our awesome bucks are front and center, not to mention sassy. PLEASE DRIVE CAREFULLY. Here are recent photos I took of our herd.
The Coronavirus
Worldwide, 12.8 billion shots have been given, with 63.6% of the planet’s population fully vaccinated.
In China, the government’s stubborn zero Covid attitude continues. People are becoming accustomed to living with long-term lockdowns, mandatory testing, closures, health checkpoints, and seemingly arbitrary rules about everything. Coping tactics include buying extra refrigerators and freezers to store food in case of sudden quarantine, as well as learning the tricks of the various testing sites and QR-coded institutions.
A recent study in the UK showed recent new cases at the end of September increasing by 30% over the previous week. As of Oct. 7, 2% percent of the population of England had Covid, while infections continued to rise across all parts of the nation. Experts say this indicates the usual fall surge is starting there. In the past, surges in the UK presaged surges in the US. GET THE NEW BIVALENT BOOSTER, to be protected this winter.
In the US, in the last 2 weeks, the new case rate was down 26%, hospitalizations dropped 11%, and deaths decreased 11%. We are averaging 40,000 new cases per day. 27,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with Covid, and an average of 380 people die each day. The national testing positivity rate is 9%.
A recent study found that 5% of global Covid-19 survivors developed long-lasting taste and smell problems. Over 2 years into the pandemic, researchers found that an estimated 15 million people still have problems perceiving odors, while 12 million struggle with taste. With the early Covid variants (Alpha, Beta, Delta), up to 50% of patients reported loss or dire changes in taste and/or smell. But, with the current Omicron variants, only about 17% of patients have these symptoms. While most people recover normal taste and smell, 7.5%had not done so two years after their Covid-19 infection cleared. The loss tends to persist in women, those with severe existing nasal congestion, and those with greater initial severity of the taste or smell loss.
Doctors now say hair loss is a frequent symptom, though noticed AFTER having Covid. Over 20% of people hospitalized with Covid-19 report temporary hair loss. Even in milder cases, hair loss is frequently reported, along with better known symptoms including loss of smell, cognitive impairment and sexual dysfunction. Hair loss occurs in males and females of all ages, but it is usually temporary, lasting up to 6-9 months.
Paxlovid, the highly successful treatment for Covid, is still not being used nearly enough. Only 25% of those people eligible are taking Paxlovid, despite the fact that people NOT taking it are 4 times more likely to die. Experts recommend that anyone over age 50 OR with conditions making them susceptible to severe disease take the treatment as soon as they test positive. Widespread use of Paxlovid (or another treatment, which is monoclonal antibodies) could cut the Covid death rate from the current 400 per day to just 50 per day. Reasons for Paxlovid’s lack of popularity include media reports of side effects (the worst being a temporary metallic taste in the mouth) and rebound cases (which are statistically rare, very minor in severity, and do not detract from the drug’s success in reducing hospitalizations and saving lives). Crucially, the strongest predictor of fatal Covid cases is party affiliation, with general Covid skepticism still rife among Republicans; of the 20 states with the lowest use of Paxlovid now, 18 voted for Trump in 2020.
Experts are tracking several new variants that could take hold to cause the usual winter surge in Covid cases.
As for vaccinations in the US, 68% of the entire population is fully vaccinated (no change in the last 6 weeks). Nearly 110 million booster shots have been given, including 11.5 million shots of the new bivalent booster. Average shots administered per day rose to 633,000.
The NEW BIVALENT BOOSTER is available at area pharmacies. It protects against the hyper-contagious Omicron variants. Anyone 12 and over is eligible. In order to get maximum effect from the bivalent booster, people should wait 4-6 to six months after previous immunization OR getting Covid.
Seriously, GET THE NEW BIVALENT BOOSTER. The last time vaccines matched the circulating strain of Covid–early in the pandemic–they were 90 to 95 percent successful in preventing infections. That is what the new bivalent vaccine offers now. Plus, it will provide greater protection against future variants and may even help to prevent long Covid. Contact your local pharmacy or doctor’s office to schedule an appointment.
In Texas, the positivity test rate is 8%. In the last 2 weeks, new cases decreased 45%, hospitalizations dropped 22%, and deaths fell 32%. We are averaging 2,000 new daily cases, and an average of 15 Texans die each day. As of now, there are 1,800 Texans hospitalized for Covid-19.
Only 62% of all Texas residents are fully vaccinated.
Recent Covid Articles I Recommend
The Power of Paxlovid 10/7/22 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/07/briefing/covid-treatment-paxlovid.html
Long Covid: What science has learned about the loss of smell and taste 10/1/22 https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/01/health/long-covid-smell-taste-loss-wellness
What to Do if You’re Experiencing Hair Loss After Covid 9/30/22 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/30/well/live/hair-loss-covid.html
Half of Adults Have Heard Little or Nothing About New Covid Boosters, Survey Finds 9/30/22 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/30/health/omicron-booster-covid.html
Rising Covid-19 cases in the UK may be a warning for the US 9/27/22 https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/27/health/uk-fall-wave-covid-us