Posted on by Nina Davis

April 26, 2025 Lakeway’s May 3 LOCAL ELECTION (7 Propositions and 3 School Board races), as well as all of our fun events, opportunities and meetings, plus cool space news and images, women’s rights update, new deer photos, Covid update, and more.

The LOCAL ELECTION is here and now, so this blog STARTS with that section.  Don’t worry—all the usual newsy items and Lakeway events are here, too, in the next section.  If you have already voted—CONGRATS!  And, scroll down for the other stuff.

May 3 LOCAL ELECTION

Lakeway has a local election coming up.    

  • Election Day: Saturday, May 3.
  • Early Voting: Ends April 29.
  • WHERE can I vote?  Lakeway Activity Center (105 Cross Creek); Bee Cave City Hall (4000 Galleria Parkway); Lake Travis ISD Educational Development Center (607 RR 620N at Kollmeyer); and any other polling place in Travis County.
  • HOURS are 7AM-7PM, except noon to 6PM on Sunday.
  • If you requested a Mail-In ballot but prefer to vote in person, BRING THE MAIL-IN BALLOT with you to the polls, so it can be cancelled. 
  • There is no election for Mayor or Council in Lakeway this year.
  • So, what’s on the ballot?  Lakeway’s ballot has 7 Propositions, as well as 3 LTISD Board races.  Below are sections with info on the Propositions and on the School Board races.

7 Propositions 

Propositions mean a lot of reading and trying to make sense of convoluted legal language that may seem designed to trick us.  As a poll worker, I know that voters often get frustrated trying to figure out propositions at the polling place, sometimes giving up and not voting at all on propositions.  We can do better….

Prop A continues a sales tax for road repair.  Props B-G are all proposed changes to Lakeway’s City Charter. 

My advice on the 7 Propositions is simple: Prop A is OK.  Keep Lakeway the BEST– Vote AGAINST all the REST.  Here is more information, so you can decide how to vote BEFORE you go to the polls.

PROP A: Reauthorize sales tax of one fourth of one percent to maintain Lakeway’s streets. 

This is the EASY one—VOTE YES.  It is nothing new; this use of a tiny sliver of sales tax has been in place for many years and helps Lakeway keep its streets repaired, which is good for everyone.  Vote YES/vote FOR Prop A.

There are SIX suggested Charter changes, Props B through G.  Having sat through MANY Council meetings on this, I think the 6 suggested changes range from dumb to dangerous.  Two of the changes FAILED to pass back in 2020, but Council is trying AGAIN. 

One proposition tells the story.  Prop F eliminates Lakeway’s Board of Ethics.  Not changing its members or how it functions—ELIMINATING it, by deleting all reference to it from the City Charter that has served Lakeway well for decades.  Because Lakeway suddenly doesn’t need ethical rules or a Board to enforce them?  Council says it will come up with an ethics ordinance later. Given how split Council is, it will likely just adopt State of Texas’ rules, which are the bare minimum.  So much for “Lakeway values.”  With a proposed Charter change this bad, can any of the others be trusted?

Briefly, here are all 6 propositions to change the Charter:

PROP B: Changes the Residency Requirement for City Manager, so that he/she can live within the LTISD area, NOT just within Lakeway city limits. 

Residents already voted NO on this, back in 2020.  Council added the “within LTISD boundaries” language to try to slip it through this time.  Our City Manager has immense power in Lakeway government, and a non-resident should not wield that power.  For instance, the City Manager sets the annual budget and proposes the property tax rate to finance it, for Council review. Our City Manager should pay LAKEWAY TAXES.  Our City Manager should deal with LAKEWAY TRAFFIC and abide by LAKEWAY ORDINANCES.  Someone living in Bee Cave, Hudson Bend, Briarcliff, Spicewood, Dripping Springs, etc. has none of those concerns.  VOTE NO/vote against Prop B.

PROP C: Eliminates the Office of City Treasurer.  

Maybe current city staff can handle Treasurer functions, but surely an extra set of expert eyes reviewing the city’s massive expenditures and revenues would be a benefit.  Also, this is one of several changes just too petty to go on the ballot.  Plus, residents voted this change DOWN in 2020, and Council should respect that.  VOTE NO/vote against Prop C.

PROP D: Changes the approval process for Police Department policies and procedures so the City Manager is in charge.

This boils down to power and accountability, and Prop D would shift that from Council to the City Manager.  Police Department oversight is too important to slide onto the City Manager’s plate, and giving Council a look at things on an annual basis only is ridiculous.  VOTE NO/vote against Prop D.

PROP E: Changes the process so that the Mayor and each Council member nominates a person to ZAPCO for a one-year term.

The Charter says the Mayor appoints ZAPCO members, subject to Council approval, which has worked well for decades.  Currently, the Mayor reviews credentials of those in the volunteer pool and puts qualified people on ZAPCO, with differing views yet creating a balanced group.  But, certain Council members desperately want to put their pals or their political allies on ZAPCO, who will vote their way on development issues.  If you want ZAPCO members to review developments with the best interests of Lakeway in mind, VOTE NO/vote against Prop E.

PROP F: Eliminates the Board of Ethics.  

Lakeway should have a robust Ethics Code and a Board to enforce it, not a passing reference to state law with haphazard enforcement in county court. (See above for more on Prop F.)  VOTE NO/vote against Prop F.

PROP G: Eliminates the City Building Commission.  

Maybe CBC doesn’t have much to do now, but this is too petty to be put on the ballot.  VOTE NO/vote against Prop G.

More info here: 

Remember—leaving the ballot box blank does nothing.  Only FOR and AGAINST votes are counted.

LTISD BOARD RACES  

There are 3 school board races this year, for Place 3, Place 4 and Place 5 on the LTISD Board of Trustees. 

Candidate Forum

The LTISD Candidate Forum was held in Rough Hollow on April 2, and it was illuminating.  Five of the 6 candidates attended; Place 3’s incumbent, Erin Archer, had a conflict.  If you missed it, here is a link to watch in full:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUt4leTrYF4

I attended the April 2 forum.  Here is my take on the event:

PLACE 3: BOTH candidates are supported by groups I distrust.  At the Forum, Jessica Howard (We the People) wasn’t as bad as I had feared, and at least she showed up.  Her incumbent opponent, Erin Archer (Lake Travis Families PAC), had another commitment.  I’m voting for Archer, but UGH—what a nasty choice.

PLACE 4: John Severance frequently READ his answers to questions, which was a red flag for me.  He didn’t just consult notes to double-check dollar amounts or statistics; he read full paragraphs.  It betrayed a lack of passion and made me wonder who wrote the text in the first place.  His stated reasons for wanting to serve on the school board also struck me as odd; he has no training or experience in education, and his kids never attended LTISD.  It sounds to me like he retired, got bored, and happened on the school board as something to do with his free time.  Sorry, our schools deserve better.  That is why I’m voting for Jonathan BOVE in Place 4; his answers demonstrated deep knowledge, competence, and passion for our schools.  His education training PLUS his current work managing large numbers of people and handling big budgets will be valuable on school board.

PLACE 5: Craig Cancienne made the odd decision to STAND UP every time it was his turn to answer a question.  The other candidates remained seated together behind the big table in the front of the room, creating a nice ambiance of colleagues gathered to discuss the issues.  But, Cancienne broke the mood, over and over, standing up and announcing his views in a booming oratory style that did NOT suggest he would be effective as part of a working group.  Worse, just like in last year’s forum when he ran against Dr. Phillip Davis, Cancienne said nothing that told me he was qualified for school board or even explained WHY he wanted to be there.  So, I’m voting for Kris WOODCOCK in Place 5.  Her thoughtful answers were based on years of classroom experience as a teacher and demonstrated smart practicality that the school board really needs.  She knows what LTISD must do to excel; plus, she is devoted to the kids, while respecting both teachers and parents.

For Place 3, school board President Erin Archer faces challenger Jessica Howard. 

These candidates are both very conservative.  Neither one has training or experience in education. 

For several years, Archer has been supported by Gov. Abbott’s pro-voucher group, Lake Travis Families PAC.  Her election site is here: http://www.archerforlt.com/  

Howard is supported by the far-right group, We the People, and her campaign site is  https://votehowardltisd.com/  

Community Impact did its usual brief Q&A with the candidates.  Election Q&A: Meet the Lake Travis ISD board of trustees Place 3 candidates 3/5/25 https://communityimpact.com/austin/lake-travis-westlake/election/2025/03/05/election-qa-meet-the-lake-travis-isd-board-of-trustees-place-3-candidates/

For Place 4, Jonathan Bove faces John Severance, who is supported by We the People. 

Bove has a Master’s Degree in Higher Education, as well as kids attending LTISD schools.  Bove’s campaign site is here: https://www.votebove.com/   He also has an active Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1522465438450483  

Severance is an engineer, and his campaign site is here: https://www.voteseverance.com/

Election Q&A: Meet the Lake Travis ISD board of trustees Place 4 candidates 3/11/25 https://communityimpact.com/austin/lake-travis-westlake/election/2025/03/06/election-qa-meet-the-lake-travis-isd-board-of-trustees-place-4-candidates/

For Place 5, Kris Woodcock is an educator facing Craig Cancienne, who is supported by We the People. 

Woodcock is a certified teacher with over 10 years of classroom experience. Her campaign site is here: https://votekriswoodcock.com/  She also has an active Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573029882086&mc_cid=af516f228f&mc_eid=827a658cd3 

Cancienne is an engineer/consultant.  If his name is familiar, that is likely because he ran last year with huge support from the notorious Lake Travis Families PAC, and he lost to Dr. Phillip Davis.  His campaign page is here: https://craigcancienne.com/ 

Election Q&A: Meet the Lake Travis ISD board of trustees Place 5 candidates 3/11/25 https://communityimpact.com/austin/lake-travis-westlake/election/2025/03/07/election-qa-meet-the-lake-travis-isd-board-of-trustees-place-5-candidates/

(Image credits for portrait shots: Community Impact.)

More on the candidates. 

LT Voices for Progress is supporting Jonathan Bove for Place 4 and Kris Woodcock for Place 5.  They are the only educators in the election.  Read more here: https://ltvoicesforprogress.org/pages/2025-ltisd-school-board-election

V4P also created a series of new videos (just 2 minutes each).  They provide background on the school board as well as the 3 current races, including how Jennifer Fleck’s far-right group, We the People (which promoted book-banning for years), is running ultra-conservative candidates for school board in all 3 races–Howard, Severance and Cancienne, proudly marketing them as “DOGE Candidates.”  The videos also compare the candidates in Place 4 and Place 5 on qualifications, stances on transparency and book bans, dedication to fight bullying and promote teacher retention, and more.  They also compare the candidates with education credentials AND solid fiscal experience to those backed by money-wasting book banners and voucher supporters.  Here are the 4 videos:

Concluding…. 

Having met and spoken with both Jonathan Bove and Kris Woodcock, and after attending the Candidate Forum, I’m voting for Bove in Place 4, Woodcock in Place 5, and Archer, the slightly lesser evil in Place 3.

Here is what ELSE is happening in Lakeway.   

Fawn Season is HERE!  SLOW DOWN and WATCH for them.

The first newborn fawns were seen in Lakeway last week.  SLOW DOWN and DRIVE CAREFULLY, as these babies are tiny, fragile, and clueless about roads.

Want your own yard sign (see left) to protect fawns in your neighborhood?  Local artist Victoria Waite created these a while back and sells them for $20 each (to cover printing costs).  She will even deliver to your house, locally.  Contact her at  victoria.waite.art@gmail.com to get a sign. 

EARLY VOTING continues through April 29.

Election Day is May 3, but registered voters can VOTE EARLY through April 29.  Hours are 7AM-7PM (except noon to 6PM on Sunday).  As always, Lakeway Activity Center (105 Cross Creek) is our closest polling place.  Other area locations include Bee Cave City Hall (4000 Galleria Parkway) and Lake Travis ISD Educational Development Center (607 RR 620N at Kollmeyer).  If you requested a Mail-In ballot but prefer to vote in person, BRING THE MAIL-IN BALLOT with you to the polls, so it can be cancelled.  Lakeway voters have 7 Propositions and 3 School Board races on their ballots.  See the Local Election section above for FULL INFO. 

TexArts Productions

TexArts presents its 2025 productions at its NEW theater located in the heart of Lakeway at 1110 Ranch Road 620 South.  Go here for details and to buy tickets: https://www.tex-arts.org/upcoming-productions

  • April 26-May 4: Alice in Wonderland JR.
  • July 11-Aug. 10: Bye Bye Birdie

Enchanted Forest Walk

April 28-May 2, dawn to dusk, take a stroll through the Hurst Creek Sculpture Garden to find wee fairy and gnome homes scattered among magical trees and twinkling lights.  The Enchanted Forest Walk is self-guided and FREE. Parking is available at Hurst Creek Sculpture Garden (104 Cross Creek). Info here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1816/Enchanted-Forest-Walk

Looking for a way to help local families? Consider 12:31.

12:31 is a LOCAL, registered, 501(c)(3),with over 7,000 members serving students and families within LTISD. (Tax ID number–EIN: 88-2279325.)  This group helps with meals, school clothes, decent housing, getting a battered mom and her kids moved into a safe place, and much more–right here in our community.  Email  mike.dahlhauser@twelvethirtyone.org  or go here to join the Facebook group and see what you can do locally: https://www.facebook.com/groups/twelve31

Lake Travis Democrats 

 

  • April 28–Monthly Meeting, Social starts at 6PM, Meeting starts at 6:30PM, at Lakeway Activity Center (105 Cross Creek). Speaker: Zach Despart, an enterprise and investigative reporter focusing on state government for the Texas Tribune.
  • April 29–Banned Book Club, 6:30PM at Lake Travis Community Library (1938 Lohmans Crossing). Book: How We Learn to Be Brave by Mariann Edgar Budde. This book is an inspirational guide to the key junctures in life that, if navigated with faith and discernment, pave the way to become our most courageous selves.
  • May 4–Picnic in the Park, 2:00PM-3:30PM at Lakeway City Park. Come enjoy music, snacks, guest speakers and more.
  • Check here for more info: https://www.laketravisdemocrats.com/

MAY 3 is Election Day.

If you didn’t vote during Early Voting or by mail, remember to drop in at Lakeway Activity Center on Saturday, May 3, 7AM-7PM to cast your vote in the local election.  If you requested a Mail-In ballot but prefer to vote in person, BRING THE MAIL-IN BALLOT with you to the polls, so it can be cancelled.  Lakeway voters have 7 Propositions and 3 School Board races on their ballots.  See the Local Election section above for FULL INFO (including more polling places). 

Pecan Street Festival comes to Hill Country Galleria.

On May 3-4, due to problems with its usual downtown Austin venue, the 50th Annual Spring Pecan Street festival takes place at Hill Country Galleria.  With FREE parking and FREE admission, the festival features arts and crafts vendors, music, food, entertainment and more. Info here: https://pecanstreetfestival.org/event-info/

Lemonade Day

Lakeway kids interested in setting up lemonade stands are encouraged to sign up for the City’s first Lemonade Day, on Saturday, May 3.  Go here for info and to register your stand so the city can promote it: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/2228/Lemonade-Day

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo at LAC.

Head over to Lakeway Activity Center on Sunday, May 4 from 1-3PM for a celebration including tacos, a margarita machine, a live mariachi band, a piñata for the kids, and more.  Entry fee is $10, and the event is limited to the first 200 guests. Go here for more info and to REGISTER: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/2118/Cinco-de-Mayo

Commemorate Victory in Europe Day.

On May 8, at noon, come to Lakeway Heritage Park (963 Lohmans Crossing Rd.) for a special wreath-laying ceremony to mark the 80th Anniversary of Victory in Europe Day and the end of WWII.  More info here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/2238/WWII-Commemoration-Events

Donate at the Lakeway Community Blood Drive,

The next blood drive at Lakeway Activity Center is on Saturday, ­­­May 10, 8am-noon.  The event is well organized and friendly.  You will be done and out the door in under 30 minutes. It is an important cause and helps countless people. Plus—FREE JUICE AND COOKIES!

Walk-ins are welcome (until 11am). You can make an appointment to donate by entering your zip code here: https://weareblood.org/donor/schedule/

Meet the Artist at Library Reception.

For the whole month of May, local artist Gray Beinke’s work will be on display in the library meeting room of Lake Travis Community Library(1938 Lohmans Crossing).  Gray is a senior at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School.  On Saturday, May 10, 2-3PM, stop by for a reception and meet the artist.

Teen Court—10th-12th graders have until May 16 to apply to be jurors.

Lakeway Teen Court is a voluntary alternative sentencing program allowing Class C Misdemeanor defendants to handle their citation through community service and involvement in the judicial process. A volunteer jury of the defendant’s peers will assess a sentence of community service following the guidelines set by the Municipal Court.  Teens in grades 10-12 can apply to be jurors.  The DEADLINE is May 16.  More info and link to apply are here:  https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/2211/Teen-Court

ArtWALK

The ArtWALK eventtakes place May 16-18, showcasing art, music, community and culture in Lakeway.  Info here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/2129/ArtWALK

Masterpiece Concert at LAC

On Sunday, May 18, 4-5:30PM, Lakeway Activity Center (105 Cross Creek) hosts the next concert in the Masterpiece Series.  FREE event.  Performers include Sari Pearce (violin), Bruce Williams (viola), Andrew Pearce (cello) and Rick Rowley (piano).  A reception follows the performance.  More info here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1862/Sunday-Afternoon-Concert-Series

Aloha Day at the Swim Center

On Saturday, May 25, 5-7PM, head over to Lakeway Swim Center (3103 Lakeway Blvd.) for an Aloha Pool Party with music, games, fun and food.  Daily fees apply.  More info here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1835/Aloha-Pool-Party

Memorial Day Observance in Lakeway

City of Lakeway’s Memorial Day Ceremony will be held Monday, May 26, 11 AM, at Emmaus Catholic Church (1718 Lohmans Crossing), remembering and honoring military personnel who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.  More info to come here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/2141/Memorial-Day

Community Garage Sale

The next community garage sale is Saturday, May 31, from 8AM to noon, at Lakeway Activity Center.  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 can reserve a per booth ($30); non-members can reserve a booth starting April 29 ($35).  Call 512-261-1010 to reserve a booth, space permitting.

Need a RIDE?  Want to VOLUNTEER to drive seniors?

Chariot is a FREE service providing rides (for medical appointments and grocery shopping) to non-driving folks age 60 and over. Chariothas been operating across Central Texas (including Lakeway!) since 1988. Riders must be mobile to use the service; wheelchairs cannot be accommodated.  Mission statement: “Chariot enriches lives and communities by providing transportation and socialization to non-driving seniors, helping them to age in place.”  Volunteer drivers, who must be over 21 with a high school diploma or higher plus a valid driver’s license, are critical to Chariot’s success and use their own vehicles.  Click this link or call 512-445-5552 for info and to either set up a ride or volunteer as a driver: https://chariot.org/

FREE Notary Services at the library

Lake Travis Community Library has several certified public notaries on staff, offering FREE notary services at BOTH branches and via the Bookmobile. Call or email for more information and to confirm availability: Lakeway branch (512) 263-2885, West branch (512) 222-6366, librarian@laketravislibrary.org   

Wildfire Prevention begins at home.

Worried about wildfire risk here in Lakeway?  Lake Travis Fire and Rescue offers FREE risk assessment of your property.  An expert comes and walks the exterior of your home with you, discussing problem areas and solutions, then following up with a written assessment.  [I did this a few years back and found it very helpful.]  Sign up for your free assessment today by emailing wildfire@ltfr.org  In addition, City of Lakeway has a wildfire page with a lot of good info and resources to explore: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/235/Wildfire-Readiness

Protect yourself and your family–Get Emergency Alerts.

The Capital Area Council of Governments/CAPCOG provides an emergency notification system to residents of Central Texas. Registering with WarnCentralTexas allows local officials to contact you by phone, email and text in case of a disaster or public safety event.  As noted at the Feb. 3 Council meeting, this is how residents would be notified of evacuation routes from a wildfire, as well as provided with many other types of emergency information.  Sign up—FREE—for Warn Central Texas Alerts here: https://warncentraltexas.org/

Council Met April 21.

RESULTS: All 7 members attended the meeting, in person on the dais. 

The meeting began with several introductions, recognitions and proclamations.  That included honoring outgoing Council Member Gretchen Vance for 6 years of service.  In addition, it was announced that Lakeway is officially a Purple Heart City, honoring its wartime heroes.

ITEM 10: Financial Report: Half way through the fiscal year, city finances are $1.2MIL to the good.

ITEM 11: Citizens Participation for Items NOT on the Agenda: No residents spoke.

ITEM 12: Presentation by Central Texas Water Coalition (with discussion and possible action by Council): Shannon Hamilton opened with there really being no good news as to our water problem.  Current inflows are very low.  Hotter and drier weather than usual is predicted this summer.  Likely, all MUDs will stop outdoor watering completely by July.  All communities must conserve water.  Her group is trying to get legislation passed to allow homeowners to use drought tolerant landscaping, harvest rainwater and let grass go brown, without HOA penalty or interference.  They are also pushing for a protected water reserve (covering 6 or even 12 months of use) that water utilities could not use for new contracts.  (This is the only way to stop approval of new housing developments based on water availability, but it is unlikely to pass in Texas, for political reasons.)  She had a lot more to say; those interested should listen to Item 12 on the recording. NO ACTION TAKEN by Council.

ITEM 13:  Discussion and possible action on establishing a Group Meeting Incentive Fund (funded with $200,000 from the city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue, for the first year), a program to promote business development in Lakeway: PASSED 6:1 (Forton), with Council to review the program in 1 year.

ITEM 14: Discussion and possible action as to Tuscan Village 2 PUD, specifically handling of the developer’s request to build an unspecified drive-through restaurant at the corner of Lohmans Crossing and Bella Toscana, and whether a future renewal of this request with a named restaurant should be handled as a PUD amendment or a special use permit (SUP) request.  Staff suggested the SUP process would be preferable, allowing consideration of a specified restaurant later on as well as a traffic impact report; to do this, Council now just needs to postpone indefinitely the previously requested unspecified drive-through restaurant as a PUD amendment, and this PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.  

ITEM 15: Discussion of possible ordinance limiting withdrawal of zoning applications by developers: PASSED UNANIMOUSLY that ZAPCO’s next Agenda would include drafting an ordinance to restrict withdrawal of zoning applications while remaining legally compliant.

ITEM 16: Discussion and possible action on update from Highlands Boulevard Safety Town Hall.  Based on public feedback, the transportation engineering consultant has offered the following recommendations:

  • Implementing the raised crosswalks with flashing beacons.
  • Striping the median extension at Lakeway and Highlands.
  • Performing a detailed traffic analysis to model the right-sizing project to determine all possible impacts to traffic from reducing the number of through lanes, before making any changes.
  • TOTAL COST of all these measures would exceed $600,000.

After considerable discussion of priority areas to address and timing (now or later) of any remediation work, a motion was made for staff to look in more detail at 3 areas (the roundabout, the Tavish Trail/Highlands intersection and the Highlands/Lakeway Blvd. intersection), refine costs, and investigate funding options, by the May Council meeting; this PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

ITEM 17: Discussion and possible action on the city supporting and opposing various bills in the current Texas Legislative Session: After considerable (but disjointed, inconclusive, and difficult to follow) discussion, it was moved to approve the list of bills to be supported/opposed, as edited tonight, and this PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.  (Those interested should listen to Item 17 on the recording.)

ITEMS 18, 19 and 20: Executive Sessions on West Austin Business Park legal intervention, legal issues related to City Center, and potential litigation risks: NO ACTION TAKEN.

ADJOURNED at 11:28PM. View the Agenda, Meeting Packet, and/or Presentation (scrolling down to City Council documents) here:  https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/archive.aspx   Go here to watch the Council meeting online:  https://lakewaytx.new.swagit.com/videos/340663

Daring Mighty Things                              

The above image shows the Orion Nebula, teeming with young stars, hot gas and dark dust.  A combination of long-range instruments produced this glorious image, using 4 colors of infrared light plus 3 colors of visible light. (Image Credit: Infrared–NASA, Spitzer Space Telescope; Visible—Oliver Czernetz, Siding Springs Observatory.) Located 1,500 light years from Earth, the nebula measures 40 light years across and is nestled in the same arm of the Milky Way as our Sun.  https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250420.html

The James Webb Space Telescope may have just discovered life on another planet.  It found chemical signatures that, here on Earth, come from living microbes in our oceans. The gases found by WEBB seem to be either dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide, or some combination of the two. On Earth, these gasses are only produced by life, particularly by marine microbes.  It is all complex and tentative.  But, it is also very intriguing. (Image credit: artist illustration by A. Smith, N. Madhusudhan/Univ. of Cambridge.)  Is this a hint of life on another world, or just a lot of hot air? 4/16/25 https://www.npr.org/2025/04/16/nx-s1-5364805/signs-life-alien-planet-biosignatures-exoplanet

The above stunning image of our Moon had the terminators (where the dark and light sides meet) digitally removed.  Without extreme contrasts, the lesser shadows are emphasized.  (Image credit: Rich Addis.)  https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250422.html

With liberty and justice for all … except women.  

In Alabama, a federal court has held that the state’s attorney general cannot prosecute people and groups who help Alabama residents travel to other states I order to obtain abortions.  The judge held that any such prosecutions would violate both the First Amendment and a person’s right to travel.  Alabama can’t prosecute groups who help women travel to get an abortion, federal judge says 3/31/25 https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/01/us/alabama-abortion-groups-ruling/index.html

In Idaho, a state court judge ruled that abortion is allowed if pregnancy complications could cause a woman’s death, even if that death “is neither imminent nor assured.”  Idaho’s near-total ban currently makes performing an abortion a felony at any stage of pregnancy unless it is “necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman.” Several women sued, asking for clarification for clarification as to the exemption for serious pregnancy complications.  Critics were disappointed that lethal fetal conditions were not addressed; a woman in Idaho carrying a doomed fetus still cannot abort unless her life is also at risk. Strict Idaho abortion ban loosened by judge’s ruling on medical exemptions 4/11/25 https://apnews.com/article/idaho-abortion-ban-emergency-pregnancy-dangerous-lawsuit-75853544de6d9e4a8a0981dace046e2c

Back to me….    

                                   

For the last 3 years and as long as it takes.   

Local SUPPORT UKRAINE rallies have expanded to protesting DOGE, tariffs, the dismantling of Social Security, the US suddenly disappearing people, and so much more mayhem the current administration is causing—as well as supporting Ukraine.  Rallies continue in Lakeway, roughly once a week.  If you want to participate, message me for details.

Our Maxie is much missed, but Tulip and Peanut carry on.

FAWN SEASON IS HERE.  The first newborn fawns were spotted in Lakeway last week (not by me).  SLOW DOWN and CAREFULLY, as these babies are tiny, fragile, and clueless about roads.

Remember—the vast majority of fawns you see in Lakeway are FINE, just parked in a safe spot and waiting for Mama to return to feed/clean/move the baby to another safe parking spot. 

If the fawn’s ears are curled (see photo above) or its bottom is dirty, Mom has been gone too long, and it needs help.  Our closest expert is Leanne Dupay, permitted wildlife rehabilitator with Texas Parks & Wildlife 512-694-1811. (She lives in The Hills.)    

Lots more info (and really cute photos from past years) are on the Fawn page of my blog.  It also has several local contacts if you find a fawn (or other wildlife) truly in distress. https://ninawriteorwronginlakeway.com/parked-fawns-injured-deer/

City of Lakeway has good deer information on its site.  (I helped set that up a few years back, so it borrows some text and photos from my Fawn page.)  https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1728/Lakeways-White-Tail-Deer-Herd

Due to working the polls for Early Voting, I haven’t been able to go for many morning walks.  But here are a few new wildlife photos.  I’m looking forward to getting out there and spotting some new fawns—soon!

Coronavirus Update                                             

Covid-19 activity seems to be low-level and stable.  But, the latest table published by the CDC shows data as of 4/19 (testing and deaths), 4/12 (ER visits) and 4/5 (hospitalizations), so it isn’t current or even uniform.  https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home

As of April 19, wastewater viral activity remained at LOW levels, nationally.  In Texas viral activity increased, from LOW to MODERATE.  https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/index.html

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