What is going on in Lakeway?
Trail of Lights
Stroll through Lakeway’s holiday light show any night, behind City Hall (located at Lohman’s Crossing and Sailmaster; park at City Hall or the adjacent Activity Center). Lights will be on through Jan. 2.
TexARTS Holiday Musical
Celebrate the holiday with the swinging cabaret, A Cool Yule 2022: The Final Fa La La. Final performances are Dec. 17 and 18, 7:30PM. The productionfeatures songs from Elvis, Andy Williams, Frank Sinatra, Sugarland, Michael Buble, Peggy Lee, and more favorites. The location is the Kam and James Morris Theatre (2300 Lohman’s Spur, Suite 160). Go here for more info and tickets: https://www.tex-arts.org/upcoming-productions/
Menorah Lighting
Starting Sunday, Dec. 18 and for 8 nights at 5:30PM, local Jewish families will light the menorah in front of City Hall. The community is welcome to attend. To participate in the lighting, email info@lakeway-tx.gov
Holiday Camps
Lakeway Activity Center offers kid camps in December. For info and to sign up, go here and look under the “Holiday Camps” tab: www.lakeway-tx.gov/classes
Polar Bar Plunge
Celebrate one year ending and another beginning at the Lakeway Swim Center (3103 Lakeway BLVD) on Dec. 30, 9-10AM. After taking the big slide into the leisure pool for a chilly dip, warm up with hot chocolate and snacks. The first 20 participants get a Lakeway towel. FREE and FUN event! Go here for info: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/2034/Polar-Bear-Plunge
A Night with the Austin Symphony Orchestra
CHRISTMAS GIFT ALERT! Tickets are on sale NOW.
On Saturday, April 1, 2023, members of the Austin Symphony Orchestra and students at Lake Travis High School will present a 3rd annual performance at the Lake Travis Performing Arts Center. Go here for details and tickets: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1960/A-Night-with-the-Austin-Symphony-Orchest
Art Exhibit at Lake Travis Community Library
Through December, Lake Travis Community Library’s meeting room will display award-winning entries and honorable mentions from the annual Teen Read Week Art Contest. Participants created original art inspired by personal reading experiences, and Friends of the Library provided cash prizes.
Suicide and Crisis Hotline
This isn’t specific to Lakeway—it is a free national resource that can save lives, and the number recently changed. Sure, the holidays are fun and full of joy, but they are also stressful and can trigger pain and depression. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at988lifeline.org
Mayor Kilgore’s Facebook Update
The mayor gave a live talk on Dec. 15, just a 9-minute update. Go here to watch: https://www.facebook.com/cityoflakeway/videos/487665573357368
Council Met on Dec. 5.
All members were present at this Workshop meeting, with Council Member Kumar attending via Zoom. RESULTS:
ITEM 5: Transportation Bond Update.
Jennifer Ritter of Specialized Public Finance gave a presentation on how and when would be best for the city to issue some or all of the $17.5M in transportation bonds that residents recently voted to approve. While NO ACTION WAS TAKEN, the consensus was that a partial bond will likely be offered next May, and Public Works suggested starting with culvert repair, some of the traffic lights, and resurfacing Lakeway Blvd. and Lakeway Drive.
ITEM 6: FY 2022 Budget Amendment.
Finance Director Aaron Daigle reviewed several instances where estimates (such as for Hotel Occupancy Tax deposits and parkland fees) need to be replaced with actual numbers. In addition, significant expenses planned for 2022 (some road work and several vehicle purchases) ended up being pushed to 2023. NO ACTION WAS TAKEN.
ITEM 7: Update on RM 620 overlay zoning district project (staff having completed Task 1 of 5 Tasks).
Senior Planner Charlie Sullivan reviewed staff’s completion of Task 1, summarizing the physical effects of the expansion on 620-facing property owners (as to parking, driveways, set-backs, monument signs, impervious cover, etc.) He noted 240 impacts, 147 being major ones that would normally be handled with requests to ZAPCO for special use permits or variances. Importantly, the city’s agreement with TXDOT requires the city to bear any cost to make properties code-compliant after the expansion, so it is in the city’s best interest to work with property owners. Suggestions included applying a 25’ set-back to all the properties (instead of the 40’ set-back that applies to most commercial land), as well as not revoking grandfathered status due to expansion-caused changes. It was stated that currently the best guess for TXDOT starting the 620 expansion is in 2025. NO ACTION WAS TAKEN, and staff will incorporate suggestions into the city’s overlay plan.
ITEM 8: Amendments to Tree Ordinance.
City Forester Richard Leon discussed creating a Tree Protection Ordinance that gathers all of the city’s rules on trees into 1 section. Classes of trees would be protected by location and species, with a Tree Fund established to take payments for removed trees; the city would use the funds to plant new trees or purchase land in order to preserve existing trees. He wants to get Lakeway designated as a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Association. Finally, he favors rescinding the current ban on planting Live Oaks, except in certified oak wilt areas. NO ACTION WAS TAKEN, but a proposed ordinance will be revised per the discussion and likely voted on at the next meeting.
ADJOURNED at 8:01PM.
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/190512
Council Will Meet on Monday, Dec. 19, 6PM at City Hall.
Consequential Agenda items include:
ITEM 10: Citizens Participation.
ITEM12: Financial Report.
ITEM 13: Request by TexARTS for $70,000 in Hotel Occupancy Tax funds.
ITEMS 14-17: Short Term Rental requests for 4 properties–151 World of Tennis, 113 Edgewater Cove, 209 Golf Crest Lane, and 819 Mariner.
ITEM 18: Preliminary Plan approval at 570 Rupen, for a development of 10 single family R-1 lots on 5.59 acres, with $45,000 to be paid to the city in lieu of parkland dedication.
ITEM 20: Amendments to Tree Ordinance.
ITEM 22: Executive Session re: Attorney General Ruling OR2022-35833 as to personnel records to be released or withheld per a public information request.
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 (live or later): https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1062/Videos—Meetings-Events
Daring Mighty Things
Wow—The Artemis mission’s amazing images include footage of the moon eclipsing Earth. Go here for a short video: https://www.space.com/artemis-1-orion-moon-eclipse-earth-video
The entire Artemis I mission was textbook, and it concluded with Orion’s perfect splashdown in the Pacific on Dec. 11. Crewed missions to the moon—first to orbit and later to land, explore, and inhabit–are planned starting in 2024. NASA’s Orion capsule blazes home from test flight to moon 12/11/22 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/11/nasa-orion-capsule-splashdown-moon-00073403
See the best images from the mission here: https://www.space.com/10-greatest-images-nasa-artemis-1-moon-mission
With liberty and justice for all … except women.
State legislatures across the country are gearing up to exploit the repeal of Roe, with extreme measures on the table as law-making sessions convene in 2023. Proposed laws range from total abortion bans to attempts at making abortion pills illegal. Currently, abortion is banned in 13 states. If Republican-controlled state legislatures get their way, that number will double in the next 6 months. With medication abortion now accounting for half the pregnancy terminations in the US, red states are determined to restrict telehealth consultations and ban the mailing of pills from other states and countries. The state of Texas has sued the FDA, demanding that abortion pills be banned on a federal basis. Onslaught of new abortion restrictions looms in reddest of states 12/13/22 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/13/abortion-restrictions-us-state-legislatures
On the other hand, the Dobbs decision and the fall of Roe moving the abortion fight from the federal level down to the 50 states has worked out in favor of the pro-choice side in some ways. In 4 states, abortion issues were on the November ballot; in all 4 cases, voters supported women’s rights and freedom of choice. Not all states allow ballot initiatives, but look for abortion to come up for popular vote in more states over the next 2 years. In addition, examining state constitutions closely has turned up existing language that may protect a woman’s right to abortion; courts will be construing language allowing citizens to control the shape of their families and to access the full panoply of health care options. Also, in some states, the fact that abortion is up for discussion helped Democrats win state seats and sent Republican candidates packing; this, in turn, helps the pro-choice side. This podcast is illuminating: The Unexpected Ways the left is Winning the Abortion Fight 12/14/22 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/14/podcasts/the-daily/abortion-rights-roe-v-wade-states.html
Back to me….
December is eventful at my house, starting out with birthdays for all 3 of my cats. The big days are nicely spaced a week apart, and by the time the catnip has settled from all that hoopla, Christmas is here. So, I’ve been busy but will definitely get our tree decorated this weekend…. Here are Maxie, Tulip and Peanut celebrating.
With cold weather coming even to Texas, keep these foods in mind to help our birds withstand the winter.
Yoga with Adriene hosts its annual 30 DAYS OF FREE ONLINE YOGA this coming January. Adriene is based in Austin, so the program has a fun local flair. I have participated for the last 5 years, and it is always rewarding. Each day in January, you’ll get an email with a link to that day’s video session (15-30 minutes); participate per your own schedule. Again, it is FREE and a great way to start a new year. Get more info and sign up here: https://do.yogawithadriene.com/center?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2022-12-04%20Adriene%20Letter%20%2801GKC9W4BBTDWK9N9Y17D43FTP%29&_kx=60JQ6m0HDFiP_1cZURTRD_loCvvNys57I7HLRg4nj18%3D.RJFGiv
As usual for this time for year, the deer have become elusive. But here are the very few recent photos I was able to get of our herd.
The Coronavirus
The UK is having its usual winter Covid surge, with infection rates soaring, hospitals full, and the most vulnerable dying. Unlike the last 2 years, no one wants to take precautions of any kind. Now, people are expected to “keep calm and carry on.” Instead of even discussing the pandemic, society insists on moving on.
China’s zero-Covid policy is no more. After 3 years of the strictest Covid-19 restrictions in the world, Chine abruptly caved to debilitating economic losses and embarrassing social pressures, including the worst public protests since 1989’s Tiananmen Square. In what experts are calling “a messy pivot,” the government announced in early December that nearly all its repressive rules on testing, quarantine and protections were rescinded, based on the current Omicron variants being less deadly. The problem is—that isn’t true, certainly not for a nation like China with little immunity built up from past infections, due to the country spending the pandemic to date hermetically sealed. Plus, China has a low level of immunization, and its locally-created vaccine is far less effective than vaccines used in the rest of the world. Add in a limited medical system, isolated communities with no health care at all, widespread poverty, and a massive elder population–and the result inevitably will be high infection rates, overrun hospitals, and mass casualties. In addition to humanitarian concerns, there are others. China operates as the world’s factory; widespread infections could shut down production, causing world-wide ripples. From an epidemiological perspective, China’s gigantic unvaccinated population is a breeding found for new variants—some of which could cause deadlier disease and be less susceptible to our current vaccinations and treatments. Already, a Covid surge is sweeping across China. Beijing, in particular, looks like a city in lockdown, due to ill and afraid people isolating themselves.
In the US, in the last 2 weeks, new cases and hospitalizations rose sharply. This is the second recent big jump for these stats, echoing what happened after Thanksgiving. But, this time, the death rate soared, as well; over 400 Americans are dying of Covid each day. See the chart below for current stats. The national testing positivity rate rose to 12%.
The US government is again shipping COMPLETELY FREE Covid-19 test kits to households requesting them. You can call 1-800-232-0233 or go here to request 4 free test kits: https://www.covid.gov/tests?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20221215&instance_id=80229&nl=the-morning®i_id=122311001&segment_id=119595&te=1&user_id=85e9340cba19164d75f3915211a487be
If you have test kits on hand that show an old expiration date, know that in many cases the manufacturers provided the FDA with data to EXTEND these dates, with the kits still providing reliable results. Go here for a chart showing all the kits, with ACTUAL expiration dates: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/home-otc-covid-19-diagnostic-tests#list
Covid-19 hospitalization in the US increased 30% since Thanksgiving. With flu and RSV cases also soaring, hospital beds are scarce in many states.
Feeling sick? This chart may help you figure out why.
With Covid’s winter surge, plus a tough flu and RSV season—things are especially dangerous for our elders and our kids. Masks protect against all 3 diseases, so it makes sense now to wear masks in crowded public areas like grocery stores, public transportation, meetings, etc. Also—test before attending holiday events and family gatherings, so you don’t pass along anything to loved ones.
In the US, currently, those age 65 and over account for 90% of new Covid deaths. This is despite 94% of that group being vaccinated. One problem is that only 34% of that group got boosters; crucially, only 14% of them got the new bivalent booster that protects against Omicron variants. Because the immune system weakens with age, vaccines in general are not as effective and the benefit doesn’t last as long with the elderly as with younger people. This makes boosters even more important for seniors.
According to a CDC review of death certificates filed Jan. 2020 through June 2022, long Covid contributed to nearly 4,000 American deaths.
A recent study found that vaccinations saved 3 million lives in the US. Over 1 million Americans have died from Covid, but without vaccines the total would have been over 4 million. In addition, vaccines slashed the number of hospitalizations and saved over $1 trillion in medical costs.
On Dec. 15, Congress passed a massive military spending bill. Republican Senators demanded that, despite Pres. Biden’s objection, it overturn the Pentagon’s 2021 mandate that troops receive the coronavirus vaccine. Along with the many other vaccinations required in the military, that requirement resulted in over 95% of military personnel being protected against Covid-19.
On Dec. 8,the FDA authorized the new bivalent booster shot for kids 6 months and older. It recommended children receive three shots of a Covid-19 vaccine — two doses of the original formulation and a bivalent dose at least two months following the second shot.
In Texas, in the last 2 weeks, infections jumped 69% and hospitalizations surged 57%. Deaths more than doubled. See the chart below for current stats. The positivity test rate rose to 16%.
Recent Covid Articles I Recommend
White House brings back free at-home COVID test orders as part of “winter preparedness plan” 12/15/22 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/free-covid-tests-at-home-order-online-white-house-winter-surge/
Covid vaccines averted 3 million deaths in U.S., according to new study 12/14/22 https://www.statnews.com/2022/12/13/covid-vaccines-prevented-3-million-deaths/
CDC says long Covid has contributed to thousands of U.S. deaths 12/14/22 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/14/cdc-long-covid-deaths-00073816
Without a plan in place to minimize infection, a moving on strategy leaves vulnerable people behind 12/13/11 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/13/britain-forget-covid-moving-on-vulnerable-economy
As Covid Spreads Fast, Beijing Isn’t in Lockdown. But It Feels Like It. 12/13/22 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/13/world/asia/china-covid-zero-beijing.html
Do You Have Covid, Flu or R.S.V.? 12/13/22 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/13/well/covid-flu-rsv-symptoms.html
The Covid Pandemic’s Hidden Casualties: Pregnant Women 12/12/22 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/08/health/pregnant-women-covid-flu-vaccine.html
‘The situation in the hospitals is grim’: States face brutal virus fallout 12/11/22 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/11/hospitals-states-virus-flu-covid-00073346
Masking could fight the ‘tripledemic’, experts say. Will anyone listen? 12/10/22 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/10/masks-tripledemic-covid-flu-rsv-us
FDA greenlights bivalent vaccines for children as young as 6 months old 12/8/22 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/08/fda-greenlights-bivalent-vaccines-for-children-00073006
‘Zero Covid,’ Once Ubiquitous, Vanishes in China’s Messy Pivot 12/8/22 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/08/world/asia/china-covid-rollback.html
Covid-19 Isn’t a Pandemic of the Unvaccinated Anymore 12/7/22 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/07/opinion/environment/covid-19-pandemic-elderly-deaths.html