What is going on in Lakeway?
Good Time Scavenger Hunt
Celebrate the New Year by walking the lower level of Lakeway City Park (502 Hurst Creek Road), looking for 26 clocks along the trail. Each clock has a letter and number that corresponds to a hidden answer key. Solve the secret message and win a prize! FREE contest runs Dec. 31-Jan. 12. Go here for more info: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1950/Good-Time-Scavenger-Hunt
Drivers Beware: In 2023, more golf carts will be puttering along our already crowded and inadequate local streets.
Lakeway’s new golf cart ordinance takes effect on Jan. 1, allowing them on some local public roads having speed limits not exceeding 35 mph. Restrictions include:
–Golf carts must be equipped with safety equipment–headlamps, tail lamps, reflectors, a parking brake and rearview mirrors.
— Golf carts must display a reflective slow-moving emblem on the rear.
–Golf carts must display a state-issued license plate obtained from the Travis County Tax Office.
–NO UNDERAGE DRIVERS. Drivers must be of legal driving age, with a license.
—INSURANCE is required.
—Not allowed at night.
–Lap riding, standing passengers, towing equipment and driving on sidewalks/shared use paths are not permitted.
–Some local streets still do NOT allow golf carts, including Lakeway Drive (between Lakeway Boulevard & Cross Creek), Lohmans Spur (between RM 620 & Lohmans Crossing Road), Serene Hills Drive, Bee Creek Road, Flint Rock Road, SH 71 (including the right-of-way), and RM 620 (including the right-of-way).
Violation of golf cart rules is a misdemeanor, with fines up to $500. Email the city info@lakeway-tx.gov or go here for more info: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/2033/Golf-Cart-Use
Recycle your Christmas tree
City of Lakeway offers these options:
–Take the tree to Public Works (3303 Serene Hills Drive), weekdays 7AM-3:30PM, through Jan. 6. This option is ONLY for real trees. Remove all lights and decorations. Don’t block the gate or driveway entrance to Public Works.
–If you have solid waste services through Waste Connections, call (512) 314-7514 to schedule a pick-up time for your real OR artificial tree as part of the bulky waste program. Tree cannot be over 6’ tall.
Brush Recycling Offered 1st Thursday of Every Month
City of Lakeway offers free yard waste drop off for Lakeway residents the first Thursday of every month, at the Public Works Department (3303 Serene Hills Drive) 7AM-3:30PM. Limit is one pickup truck load of yard waste or up to one 8’X5′ pile. Go here for details, including what is accepted: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/civicalerts.aspx?AID=1584
OAK TRIMMING Season
If you plan to trim oaks, JANUARY IS THE LAST MONTH TO DO IT (until summer). Oak pruning is a violation of Lakeway ordinance February through June, due to higher likelihood then of spreading Oak Wilt. Trimming Oaks is allowed July-January. But, when trimming, pruning seal must be applied within 10 minutes to all cuts on all Oak trees. More info here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1059/Oak-Pruning-Schedule
History of Lakeway Bus Tours
Usually held in spring, these popular bus tours will be offered on Friday, January 20, 2023. Choose from 9:15AM, 11:15AM, and 1:15PM. Register NOW for this FREE event, which is expected to fill up quickly. More info and the registration link are here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1171/Heritage-Trail
GIVE BLOOD
The next community blood drive at Lakeway Activity Center is on Saturday, Jan. 21, 8AM-noon. The event is always well organized, clean 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! While walk-ins are welcome, those with appointments have priority. You can see upcoming dates and make an appointment to donate by entering your zip code here– https://weareblood.org/donor/schedule/
Lakeway is HIRING in 2023
Open positions include Bilingual Administrative Assistant (temporary, part-time), Multimedia Specialist, Assistant City Manager, and Police officer. Go here for info and to apply: https://tx-lakeway.civicplushrms.com/CareerPortal/Jobs.aspx
Council Met on Dec. 19.
Six members were present on the dais, with Vance absent. RESULTS:
ITEM 10: Citizens Participation–NONE.
ITEM 12: Financial Report. Two months into the fiscal year, revenue is $242K BELOW projections (due to the county’s late mailing of property tax bills, which delayed funds coming in), and expenditures are $275K BELOW projections.
ITEM 13: Request by TexARTS for $70,000 in Hotel Occupancy Tax funds. UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.
ITEMS 14-17: Short Term Rental requests for 151 World of Tennis, 113 Edgewater Cove, 209 Golf Crest Lane, and 819 Mariner. All four: UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED, with 819 Mariner restricted to 3 parked vehicles.
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. UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.
ITEM 20: Amendments to Tree Ordinance. UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.
ITEM 22: Executive Session re: Attorney General Ruling OR2022-35833 as to personnel records to be released or withheld per a public information request. Motion to OPPOSE Attorney General Ruling OR2022-35833 was UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.
Additional Item A-1: Executive Session re: sale, lease or exchange of real property. NO ACTION.
ADJOURNED at 7:39PM.
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/191516
NEXT Council Meeting
City Calendar shows the next Council meeting on TUESDAY, Jan. 17, at 6:30PM.
ZAPCO Meets Jan. 4, 9AM at City Hall.
Understanding Council issues starts with attending ZAPCO (Zoning and Planning) meetings. They meet the first Wednesday of the month at 9AM in City Hall Chambers. View the Agenda, Meeting Packet, and/or Presentation (scrolling down to ZAPCO documents) here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/archive.aspx
Daring Mighty Things
The Orion capsule arrived back on Earth on Dec. 13 in a dramatic splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Duly recovered by the USS Portland, it has since been making its way from San Diego back to Florida’s Kennedy Space Center in a more prosaic fashion–via truck. Scheduled to arrive by end of 2022, Kennedy’s technicians will then open the hatch and unload several payloads (including three mannequins, living yeast samples, a Snoopy plush doll, Shaun the Sheep, Lego figurines, and a space version of Amazon’s Alexa–all studded with data-gathering sensors), with analysis of many experiments finally beginning.
There is a problem on the International Space Station. On Dec. 15, a Soyuz spacecraft arrived, delivering 2 Russian cosmonauts and 1 NASA astronaut for a 4-month mission on ISS, despite the craft developing a severe coolant leak on the way there. Now, the question is whether the Soyuz is safe for the return trip home, scheduled for March. Options include Russia sending a rescue Soyuz up to ISS, or SpaceX stepping up to ferry the personnel back to Earth. In the meantime, ISS is in the difficult situation of having more personnel on board than could be safely evacuated and returned to Earth, should an emergency develop at the orbiting station. NASA ponders SpaceX astronaut rescue as backup after Soyuz leak: report 12/29/22 https://www.space.com/nasa-spacex-dragon-rescue-spacecraft-soyuz-leak
With liberty and justice for all … except women.
On Dec. 23, the FDA released guidance clarifying that “morning after pills” (Plan B One-Step) are NOT abortion pills. Previously, the product was touted with this nonscientific marketing language: “works by preventing a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus.” The FDA has mandated this correction: “works before release of an egg from the ovary.” The product package will also state this: “The pill will not work if you’re already pregnant, and will not affect an existing pregnancy.” Since the product acts before fertilization–not after–it is not an abortion pill. Of course, with abortion pills now under fire by red state legislatures, it is important to properly distinguish contraception products (although women’s right to contraception may well come under scrutiny soon by the radically conservative Supreme Court). The F.D.A. Now Says It Plainly: Morning-After Pills Are Not Abortion Pills 12/23/22 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/23/health/morning-after-pills-abortion-fda.html
Back to me….
After several brutal years of pandemic, disappointment and upheaval, all I want from 2023 is a year that just leaves me the hell alone.
But, in honor of New Years, here is my list of 12 pithy resolutions/things to remember. Some are original, others I gleefully stole.
–Drink more water.
–The best way to make a tough decision: Does it light me up?
–Massage your feet.
–In your closet and your life, subtract whenever you add.
–Stretch everything, from head to toe.
–When there is something bothering you, ask yourself: “Will this STILL be an issue in one week or in one month?” If the answer is no, let it go.
–Just because you CAN do something doesn’t mean that you have to do it, or that it’s good for you.
–Take a breath. Breathing is good, and the pause it affords in a crisis will calm you; it will also keep you from saying something regrettable, making you look good instead.
–Keep moving.
–Do it now, instead of later.
–Try to be nice.
–Spend more time with your cat (or dog or kid or whoever you love spending time with….).
LAST CHANCE—Sign up for FREE yoga online to ease into the New Year with some grace! Yoga with Adriene hosts its annual 30 DAYS OF FREE ONLINE YOGA this coming January. Adriene Mishler 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 usually happens this time of year, our deer are making themselves scarce. I don’t have any recent photos, so here is a BEST OF 2022 gallery.
Best BUCK
Best DOE: a 3-way tie
Best HERD
Best FAWN–Newborn (single and twins)
Best FAWN–Juvenile: a tie
Best MOM AND BABY: another 3-way tie (I’m really bad at this.)
Just Too Cute to Leave Out
The Coronavirus
In China, the Covid surge resulting from sudden withdrawal of restrictions hit factories hard, as economists predicted. In major cities including Beijing, worker shortage levels are increasing daily. Pharmacies have run out of drug stock; with people isolating at home out of fear of catching Covid, blood banks are depleted. Mid-December, China’s top health authority estimated that 37 million people are being infected daily, making this outbreak the world’s largest by far. With low vaccination rates, experts warn that 60% of China’s massive population could soon be infected. (That amounts to one-tenth of the WORLD’s population.) Hospitals are overrun in some areas. So are morgues and crematoriums; reportedly, deaths are being intentionally undercounted by officials, in order to downplay the crisis. Nevertheless, China announced last week that, as of Jan. 8, travelers from overseas can enter the country without quarantine, just needing to show a recent negative Covid test.
Starting Jan, 5, air travelers arriving from China, including Hong Kong and Macau, will be required to present negative Covid-19 tests before entering the United States. This applies to people of all nationalities, those connecting from China via a third country, and regardless of vaccination status.
In the US, in the last 2 weeks, the official stats show new cases and deaths dropped, with hospitalizations pretty much flat. However, experts warn that this may well be due to reporting irregularities related to the holidays. See the chart below for current stats. The national testing positivity rate rose to 15%.
New York, New Jersey, and several southern states are currently having the worst Covid surges.
Dr. Anthony Fauci retired as of Dec. 31, after 54 years as a pioneer in public medicine and caring for America’s health. There will be a special place in Hell for people smearing him for political reasons. Excellent article on an amazing healer is here: ‘I had to fulfil my responsibility’: Fauci on his career, Covid and stepping down 12/25/22 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/25/fauci-interview-covid-trump-biden
Across America, people over age 65 are being admitted to hospitals at a rate 4 times that of younger patients. Experts say this is largely because only 36% of this vulnerable age group has gotten the new booster designed to fight the current Covid variants. As a result, those age 65 and older account for 95% of current Covid deaths.
A CDC study shows that the new bivalent booster reduces the risk of hospitalization by 50%. GET BOOSTED!
Feeling sick? This chart may help you figure out why.
In Texas, in the last 2 weeks, infections and deaths both rose 9%, while hospitalizations dropped 9%. See the chart below for current stats. The positivity test rate rose to 18%. (As noted above, stats tend to be less reliable over the holidays.)
Recent Covid Articles I Recommend
‘I had to fulfil my responsibility’: Fauci on his career, Covid and stepping down 12/25/22 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/25/fauci-interview-covid-trump-biden
As Covid Deaths Climb, Even Seniors Skip the Latest Booster 12/21/22 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/21/health/covid-bivalent-booster-elderly.html
China is on the brink of its first major Covid surge. How it copes will affect us all 12/21/22 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/21/china-covid-surge-vaccination-data-infected
New Covid Booster Shots Cut Risk of Hospitalization by Half, C.D.C. Reports 12/16/22 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/16/health/covid-boosters.html