Nina–write or wrong in Lakeway

In Lakeway 

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Trail of Lights

This beloved tradition of holiday lights continues every night through the end of the year, at City Hall.

New Year’s Swim Challenge

Lakeway Swim Center hosts a fun family event on Thursday, Dec. 30, 9am-noon, with snacks, hot drinks, music, plus a heated pool.  Registration deadline is Monday, Dec. 20. Contact the Lakeway Swim Center at (512) 261-3000 to register.

Lake Travis Community Library tech assistance is back

LTCL is again offering in-person assistance from their tech coaching team.  Just drop in Monday-Thursday, noon to 2pm, with your questions about smartphone, tablet or computer issues (including how to use the library’s Libby app to access materials).  This one-on-one tech assistance is on a first come/first served basis.  (Masks are requested.)

Lakeway Residents should be aware of coyotes in the area, taking steps to safeguard pets. 

The city’s Wildlife Advisory Committee included a discussion of coyotes on the agenda for its Dec. 9 meeting, in response to recent resident complaints about coyotes in the area and attacks on local pets. Some committee members attended Travis County’s Dec. 3 webinar, Co-Existing with Coyotes, and the consensus was that residents would benefit from the helpful information and coping strategies provided in that presentation, summarized below.  To watch the one hour presentation by Danielle Gay, City of Austin’s Wildlife Protection Officer, go here–https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=611647003620525

The Travis County Wildlife Protection Officer is Officer Gay’s colleague, Emery Sadkin: 512-978-0514  emery.sadkin@austintexas.gov  In addition to Lakeway PD, this is who Lakeway residents should contact about coyotes.

General coyote info:

–Most active at dusk and dawn.  But, coyotes are commonly seen in our area during the daytime.  This is NOT indicative of rabies.  It means they have habituated to the urban environment and find daytime a good time to hunt for food here. 

–Coyotes are NOT hunting people.  There is a bigger risk of a person getting bitten by a dog than being attacked by a coyote.

–Coyotes eat rodents, rabbits, insects, snakes, fruit, nuts, plants, etc.  They will kill unattended pets, as well as fawns and injured/sick deer.

–Size: 25-35 pounds (but their shaggy coats make them look bigger than they are).  Roughly 2’ tall and 4’ long, they are about the size of a Collie or German Shepherd.

–Howling exaggerates their number. Their vocalizations make a few animals sound like a dozen or more.

–Native to Texas.  There is plenty of food in the Hill Country, in rural and urban areas, plus no predators; wolves used to prey on coyotes, but there are no wolves left here.

–Life cycle: Jan.-March–they mate.  April-June—pups (usually 5-7) are born in dens.  July-Sept.–pups mostly remain in dens.  Oct.-Dec.—pups emerge from dens and soon are sent off on their own.

—Most complaints about coyotes come in the fall, largely due to juveniles newly out on their own.

–Clearing land and massive construction exposes coyotes who have been there all along.  Careless and messy humans supply a variety of bountiful food.

–Austin prohibits killing coyotes, instead handling them with public education.  Austin has had NO HUMAN ATTACKS.

It is illegal in Texas to trap and relocate coyotes.  State law prohibits relocation, because coyotes are a rabies vector species. 

Killing is not the answer.  Killing 1 or a few coyotes gives humans a false sense of security; other coyotes will soon replace them.  (Instead—change the situation that attracted coyotes to your area.) In a stable pack, ONLY the alpha pair mates and produces pups.  When a pack loses a member, it destabilizes.  Other coyotes join the pack.  More adults mate, producing extra pups.  As a result, there are more coyotes than ever.  Traps are inhumane, grievously harming wild animals, pets, and even kids.  Poisons kill indiscriminately.  Guns may NOT be discharged within City of Lakeway; this includes high-powered BB guns and pellet guns. (This was confirmed with Lakeway Police Officer Andrea Greig.)

Coyotes are a real danger to pets.  Coyotes will snatch small dogs as well as cats.  KEEP PETS INDOORS, day and night.  Build a secure catio to allow cats safe outside time.  Walk dogs on short leashes (4’-6’).  Extendable leashes let the dog get too far away for the owner to protect or control it.  Also, with a long or extendable leash, the coyote sees 2 smaller prey options instead of 1 larger opponent.  Be vigilant on walks; if you or your dog comes too close to a den, the adult coyote will stalk you out of the area, to protect the pups. Even if your backyard is fenced, accompany your dog when you let it outside.  Make your fence more secure by adding coyote rollers.

EXCLUDE coyotes by eliminating these attractions in your yard:

–Access to trash and recycling.

–Access to compost piles.

–Pet food left on porch or in yard. 

–Dirty BBQ grills.

–Fruit and nuts fallen on the ground (including birdseed).

–Brush piles (because they harbor rodents that coyotes will hunt).

–Open structures (sheds, decks, etc., where coyotes can shelter, especially sick or injured ones).

Actively DETER coyotes:

–Install motion sensors that produce light, sound and/or water when an animal passes.

–Add coyote rollers to the top of fences to make it harder for coyotes to get into backyards.

–Carry a security whistle when off your property.

–NEVER FEED COYOTES.

–HAZE them.

HAZING: Scare or intimidate coyotes so they leave.  Co-existence is NOT blind acceptance.  The goal is to share SPACE with coyotes but not TIME; they can be in the area when people are not around.  That is mostly at night, so discourage them from coming into your area during the day via hazing.

–Maintain eye contact.

–Make NOISE—whistle, airhorn, yelling, clanging pots and pans, etc.

–Wave your arms, whip a jacket over your head, etc. (to seem bigger).

–Spray a hose at the animal.

–Throw something (NOT food) toward the animal (don’t try to hit it, just unnerve it).

–Be erratic and unpredictable.

–Be aggressive.

–Be persistent.  Doing this once won’t be enough; do it every time you see the coyote.  Get the whole neighborhood involved.

–Do NOT haze pups, an adult who has pups along, animals around at night, or animals who are far away, cornered, or sick/injured.

–NEVER USE A GUN OF ANY KIND.  NEVER USE FIREWORKS TO HAZE AN ANIMAL.

Lakeway Council meets Monday, Dec. 20, 6:30pm at City Hall

UPDATE as of 12/19: Council’s 12/20 meeting CANCELLED.  Next meeting as of now set for Jan. 3.  I’ll add the city’s cancellation notice below.

As announced 12/19: The City Council meeting scheduled for Monday, Dec. 20, 2021 has been cancelled. The meeting will move to Monday, Jan. 3, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall (1102 Lohmans Crossing Road). The updated agenda will be posted on our city website. City Council no longer has a quorum due to health concerns. Additionally, some city staff members were recently exposed to COVID-19. With those details, and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our residents, elected officials and staff, the decision was made to move the meeting.

Consequential Agenda items include:

ITEM 6: The Consent Agenda includes a schedule for Council meetings in 2022.  It ONLY shows meetings on the 3^rd Monday, eliminating additional scheduled meetings on the first Monday of each month as have recently been held.

ITEM 9: Also in the Consent Agenda, ZAPCO meetings will be moved from the second Monday of the month to the first Wednesday of the month.  The reason is to better coordinate handling of issues first by ZAPCO and then by Council.

ITEM 11: Citizens Participation for items not on the agenda.

ITEM 14: Waste Connections has requested a 2-year extension of its solid waste collection, recycling and disposal services contract, at the current rate, plus discussion of composting programs.

ITEM 16: Lake Travis Film Festival requests $43,000 in Hotel Occupancy Tax Funding.

ITEM 17: Sweetwater Development Agreement. In July, Council repealed a 2008 ordinance and thereby captured within the city’s ETJ property on Hwy. 71 not already claimed by City of Bee Cave. This includes the ongoing Sweetwater residential development. This agreement states Sweetwater can continue construction under Travis County rules and oversight, and Lakeway will not impose its building code.

ITEM 18: Approval of final plat for Hillsong Planned Unit Development, 126 detached single family homes on 22.859 acres and a commercial component with park amenities on 3.09 acres of land, located at the intersection of Flint Rock Road and Wild Cherry Drive.

ITEM 20: Revising the ordinances as to permitting of non-residential fireworks displays.  This would bring the code up to date, require 10 days notice to the city, only allow aerial displays, limit displays to 10pm or earlier (except for 4^th of July and New Years celebrations), and set a $500 fine for violations.

ITEM 21: Revising the PUD ordinance to require an approved preliminary plan within 12 months or the PUD zoning reverts to the original zoning, and to allow a PUD for less than 8 acres if ZAPCO recommends this and Council approves it.

ITEM 22: Revising the code to make medical offices a permitted use by right in a commercial zoned space (C-1 or C-2).

ITEM 23: Revising the code to make R-5 (condominium) an active zoning designation.

ITEM 24: Revising the code to designate R-8 zoning  (multifamily residential, 12 units per acre maximum) as medium density, and to create R-9 zoning as high density multifamily residential (20 units per acre maximum).

ITEM 25: Discussion of communications strategy and social media use policy.

ITEMS 26-28: Executive sessions on “Legal Issues Relating to Former City Attorney,” police department, and economic development. Go here for the Agenda, Meeting Packet and Presentation— https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/archive.aspx

To send comments to Council beforehand (by 3pm Monday) about any agenda item, go here and create a Public Comment Form– https://lakeway-tx.civicweb.net/Portal/CitizenEngagement.aspx

Go here to watch the Council meeting online (live or later)— https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1062/Videos—Meetings-Events

Texas elections 

Two more candidates filed for the Governor’s race—a political novice and some guy named Rick Perry: 

—Former Austin public radio reporter Joy Diaz launches campaign for Texas governor 12/8/21 https://www.kvue.com/article/news/politics/vote-texas/joy-diaz-launches-campaign-for-texas-governor/269-b61b58d0-23fa-4d5c-bc20-6dd988521801

–A Rick Perry — no, not that Rick Perry — files to run for Texas governor 12/13/21 https://www.texastribune.org/2021/12/13/rick-perry-texas-governor-springtown/

One candidate withdrew from the Lt. Gov. race and another jumped in:

— Democrat Matthew Dowd ends campaign for Texas lieutenant governor, citing need for “greater diversity” 12/7/21https://www.texastribune.org/2021/12/07/matthew-dowd-texas-lieutenant-governor/

— President of Texas Democratic Party reportedly running for lieutenant governor 12/13/21 https://www.kvue.com/article/news/politics/vote-texas/carla-brailey-texas-democratic-party-lieutenant-governor/269-4959eecf-af46-4e00-a318-9bd51032109a

Paxton ran unopposed for AG in the 2018 primary. Not this time.  Republican primary for attorney general heats up, with challengers taking aim at Ken Paxton’s legal troubles 12/15/21https://www.texastribune.org/2021/12/15/texas-ken-paxton-republican-primary/

Daring Mighty Things 

NASA announced a new class of 10 astronauts, who will train to go to ISS and eventually the moon.  NASA Selects New Astronaut Recruits to Train for Future Missions  12/6/21  https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-new-astronaut-recruits-to-train-for-future-missions

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and his production assistant recently flew on a Russian rocket to become the first tourists to visit the International Space Station in over a decade.  During their 12-day stay, they will record daily life on the ISS.  In the future, Maezawa also plans to ride a SpaceX craft to visit the moon.  ‘Dream come true’: Japanese billionaire blasts off for ISS 12/8/21  https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/dec/08/dream-come-true-japanese-billionaire-blasts-off-for-iss

Back to me….  

Plan your holiday recovery now.  One way is with a whole month of FREE daily ONLINE YOGA, to do AT HOME and on your own schedule, with Austin’s Adriene Mishler and her very Zen doggie, Benji.  Sign up now for January’s MOVE program.  I have done this with her several years now, and it is a fabulous way to start the year!  https://do.yogawithadriene.com/move

My garage beautification project continues.  The ceiling, walls and storage all looked so great with fresh paint that I decided to tackle the floor.  Turns out that painting a concrete floor to withstand tire tread is NOT simple….  So far, half is painted navy blue, and I’m letting that cure for a week while I park my car on the unpainted side.  But, I’m determined to wrap this up before 2022.

Here are some recent photos of our deer, taken on my morning walks.

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The Coronavirus   

Worldwide, as of Dec.18 and according to the World Health Organization, Omicron has been detected in nearly 100 countries.  The new variant’s cases are doubling every 2-3 days.

Per research conducted to date, experts say Omicron is far more contagious than other variants, even Delta; when Omicron enters a community, the new case metric becomes a vertical line.  This means that the UNvaccinated are even more at risk than before, making it imperative to get vaccinated—and boosted—ASAP.  This also means, we are warned, that even the vaccinated are impacted by Omicron, with a sharp increase in breakthrough cases.  But, these breakthrough cases in vaccinated people tend to be mild, indicating that even against Omicron the vaccines are doing their most important job—guarding against serious disease and death.  The only goodish news about Omicron is that, so far, the disease it causes seems to be no more severe than what we get from other variants. The problem is—MANY more people will get Omicron than we experienced with other variants, and hospitals are already overwhelmed.

South Africa continues to report rapidly escalating numbers of Covid cases, both Delta and Omicron.  Its president has tested positive.  Africa as a whole is seeing a huge rise in cases, with Omicron spreading across most countries on the continent.

The UK is now seeing more new cases than ever before during the pandemic.  The government reinstituted restrictions; face masks are again required indoors in public places, and a vaccination pass must be shown to enter nightclubs, sports stadiums and other large venues.  The country has a strong genome sequencing program and reports Omicron cases doubling every 3 days; at that rate, half of its cases will soon be caused by Omicron.  (Scotland already reached that milestone.)  The UK started recording deaths from Omicron as of Dec. 13.

France closed night clubs for 4 weeks, hoping that other internal restrictions won’t be needed to stem its surge.  However, as of Dec. 18 it will allow entry by people (vaccinated or not) from the UK only for essential travel—not tourism or business purposes; those allowed in must provide a recent negative test and quarantine upon entry.

Denmark closed schools, restaurants, bars and nightclubs until after Christmas, to try to control its rapid Covid surge. Norway announced a massive rise in Covid cases, as well.  Both countries project Omicron becoming the primary variant within days.

Canada has urged its citizens not to travel internationally and reinstituted domestic Covid restrictions and border controls.

In the US, in the last 2 weeks, cases have increased 20%, hospitalizations are up 18%, and deaths increased 15%.  We are averaging 125,000 new cases per day.  68,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with Covid, and the death rate averages 1,300 people per day.

As of Dec. 14, the CDC announced Omicron is nationwide, and its infections are rapidly escalating.  Rates vary, but the percentage of Omicron cases is doubling every 2 days in the northeast; Omicron could take over from Delta as the dominant variant next week.  Experts predict a heavy winter surge hitting America soon, with booster shots the best defense.

The US instituted stricter rules for international travelers on Dec.6, requiring proof of a negative test no more than 1 day old.

The official tally of confirmed Covid cases in the US exceeded 50 million last week.

Another huge and awful milestone has been reached.  Covid has killed over 800,000 Americans.  The toll on our elderly has been horrific: 75% of the deaths (600,000 people) were age 65 or older.  Of that age group, 1 in 100 have died of Covid, so far.  We went from 700K to 800K deaths in just 71 days.

California has reinstated a state-wide mask requirement, for all indoor public spaces.

Michigan’s surge continues to worsen; the state is now reporting the most new cases and the most hospitalizations, of the entire pandemic.  Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Indiana are also experiencing a heavy Covid surge.

New York City last week reported a strong surge of cases, with its positivity rate tripling in 3 days.  Restaurants are closing due to sick staff. Theaters there just recently re-opened, but frequent Covid outbreaks have forced many Broadway productions to cancel shows (despite an industrywide vaccine mandate for audiences and workers and requiring patrons to wear masks).  The Radio City Rockettes cancelled all its shows through the end of the year.  The city’s recovery is further hampered by countless businesses indefinitely postponing the return of their workers to offices for in-person work; having a large segment of the workforce continue to work from home hurts a myriad of businesses that support office workers—everything from lunch counters to dry cleaners.  Plus, many companies are cancelling holiday parties, due to the winter surge. The latest triumph for Scrooge is that Saturday Night Live cancelled its live studio audience for tonight’s show.

New Jersey, Maine and Connecticut are also experiencing explosive Covid surges.

Sports leagues are postponing or cancelling games due to Covid outbreaks among players.  The NBA is considering having teams hire a roster of replacement players, in order to be able to play games as scheduled.

More and more, experts are suggesting people pay less attention to new case rates and instead watch HOSPITALIZATIONS in their area, in calibrate their Covid concern.  This is because—particularly among the vaccinated—cases are often mild and of little concern.  As a practical matter, with continued vaccine recalcitrance and repeated variants emerging, waves of cases seem to be our future.  On the other hand, hospitalization for Covid indicates serious disease; it also results in general medical mayhem, with staff and facilities not available for other health concerns from auto accidents to heart attacks to cancer treatment.

In Texas, the current positivity test rate is 11.5%, up from 9% as of 2 weeks ago. We are averaging 4,800 new cases and 63 deaths daily.  As of now, there are 3,700 Texans hospitalized for Covid-19.  In the last 2 weeks, cases have increased 22%, hospitalizations rose 5%, and deaths are down 12%. 

State authorities announced on Dec. 6 that the first Omicron case was found in Texas, in Harris County. The patient was a woman in her 40s who had not traveled recently, so Omicron was already passing via community spread.  

On Dec. 13, it was announced that Omicron was detected in at least 3 people in Travis County, specifically in the University of Texas community.  None had recently traveled, so they caught the variant via community spread.  By Dec. 16, UT was reporting a record number of new cases, 7 times the number reported just 1 week earlier.

Vaccinations–the safe path to herd immunity

Worldwide, 8.4 billion shots have been given, with nearly 46% of the planet’s population fully vaccinated. 

Austria announced plans to make vaccination compulsory for everyone age 14 and older.

Germany mandated vaccinations for health care workers, after projecting a winter surge worse than anything seen in the pandemic to date.

In the US, 61% of the entire population is fully vaccinated; 71% of adults are fully vaccinated.  We are averaging around 1,600,000 shots per day, including boosters.  About 58 million booster shots have been given.

As of Dec. 10, 200 million Americans were fully vaccinated.  That is amazing, considering the first shot was given less than 1 year back, on Dec. 14. 

While roughly 60% of the population is fully vaccinated, coverage varies wildly across the country.  Some counties (in the west and south and populated by Republicans) are less than 30% vaccinated, making those areas highly vulnerable to surges. 

The CDC now advises that Americans get the Phizer or Moderna vaccine, instead of the J&J vaccine.  This is due to the J&J vaccine being associated, in very rare cases, with a blood clot side effect.  (So, people should get a Phizer or Moderna booster, even if they originally had a J&J shot.)  Both the Phizer and Moderna vaccines are readily available nationwide.

New York City is requiring all private employees working in-person be vaccinated by Dec. 27.  About 90% of NYC adults are already vaccinated, but officials say this step is needed to combat a winter surge made worse by Omicron.

Philadelphia will require proof of vaccination for people to eat or drink at indoor public spaces, as of Jan. 3.

The Air Force gave an administrative discharge to a grand total of 27 members for refusing to get vaccinated; over 97% of its members are vaccinated.  The Army and Navy both report 98% vaccination and will be discharging the few holdouts soon.  Over 95% of Marines are vaccinated.

Kroger has removed benefits and imposed a surcharge on UNvaccinated workers.

Google is requiring all workers to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 18, or they will be put on leave and ultimately fired.  Many other large tech employers have issued similar mandates, including Uber and Facebook.

The NFL is experiencing a surge of cases among its players and as a result is mandating booster shots.

While numerous groups are trying to sue their way out of vaccine mandates, they are losing.  In a crucial development, the US Supreme Court on Dec. 13 refused to take a case by medical workers complaining that New York state’s mandate violated freedom of religion by not allowing a religious exemption.  Also, a federal appeals court upheld OSHA’s nation-wide mandate that companies with 100 or more workers require vaccination or regular testing.

Finally, Phizer announced its low-dose 2-shot trial for kids age 2-4 did not produce sufficient immunity.  It will start a trial for a 3-dose regimen.  The result is delay in getting vaccine ready for kids in this age group.

In Texas, only 56% of all residents and 67% of adults are fully vaccinated. 

Recent Covid articles I recommend…. 

–CDC recommends mRNA Covid vaccines over J&J shot amid blood clot risks 12/16/21 https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/16/cdc-covid-vaccine-johnson-525153

–Expecting a Surge–We look at the latest on Omicron 12/16/20 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/16/briefing/omicron-update-spread-vaccines.html

–‘A terrible tragedy’: US passes 800,000 Covid deaths – highest in the world 12/15/21 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/15/a-terrible-tragedy-us-tops-800000-covid-deaths-highest-in-the-world

–Covid’s deadly trade-offs, by the numbers: How each state has fared in the pandemic 12/15/21 https://www.politico.com/interactives/2021/covid-by-the-numbers-how-each-state-fared-on-our-pandemic-scorecard/

–As U.S. Nears 800,000 Virus Deaths, 1 of Every 100 Older Americans Has Perished 12/13/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/13/us/covid-deaths-elderly-americans.html

–A Scientist’s Guide to Understanding Omicron 12/12/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/12/opinion/covid-omicron-data.html

–The Coronavirus Attacks Fat Tissue, Scientists Find 12/8/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/08/health/covid-fat-obesity.html

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In Lakeway 

Trail of Lights

This beloved tradition opens with a special “Lights On!” Ceremony tonight–Saturday, December 4, 6pm, at City Hall.  After that, you can stroll through the light display every night.

Hanukkah Menorah Lighting

This brand new tradition continues tonight and tomorrow night (December 4 and 5) at sunset/5:15pm, at City Hall.

Holiday Singalong

There are 2 shows on Sunday, December 5, at 2pm and 4:30pm, at the Activity Center.  Admission is free, but please bring an unwrapped toy or a gift card, for local charities.

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

A short ceremony at 4pm on Tuesday, December 7, at the Lakeway Heritage Center (963 Lohmans Crossing) will honor our WWII veterans and the Americans killed 80 years ago, in the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. 

Train rides and a showing of The Polar Express

On Friday, December 10, Lakeway’s Parks and Rec committee is hosting trackless train rides, followed by an outdoor showing of the holiday film, The Polar Express, in the City Hall parking lot.  Train rides start at 6pm, and the movie starts at 6:15pm.  No charge!  Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, snacks, etc., for a magical evening under the stars. 

Local Holiday Giving Opportunities

The Activity Center makes it easy to be Santa.  Through December 15, you can drop off:

–Unwrapped toys and gifts to be donated to local charities:

–Non-perishable items for local food banks; and

–Pet food and other items for local animal shelters.

Lakeway Council’s Dec. 6 meeting was cancelled.

The next meeting will be on Dec. 20.

Coyotes

As happens from time to time in Lakeway, we are seeing a lot of active (and hungry) coyotes, day and night.  Omnivores, coyotes mostly eat rodents, but they will snatch and kill cats and or small dogs.  Lately, several residents have witnessed this happening to their pets.  Please, please, please do not let your cat outside at any time. Also, never let your dog out alone, even in a fenced yard as coyotes can scale most fences.  On walks, use a short leash (so you and your dog look like 1 large adversary instead of 2 smaller prey objects).  For protection, carry a security whistle.

If you want to make your back yard safer, aluminum rollers can be added to the top of a metal or wooden fence, to discourage coyotes from scaling the fence.  Check these fence company sites for photos and info–https://www.alliedfence.com/coyote-rollers https://coloradocoyoterollers.com

Texas elections 

Beto O’Rourke for Governor!

People stopped caring about this actor’s over-hyped decision long ago.  Matthew McConaughey says he won’t run for Texas governor 11/28/21  https://www.texastribune.org/2021/11/28/matthew-mcconaughey-texas-governor-2022/

As threatened, Rep. Louis Gohmert will challenge Ken Paxton in the crowded GOP Primary for Texas AG. Maybe this far-right oddball can’t compete for attention with the extreme Republican nutjobs in the US Congress these days….  U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert joins Texas Republicans running against Attorney General Ken Paxton 11/21/22 https://www.texastribune.org/2021/11/18/louie-gohmert-texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton/

And the crowded GOP primary race for AG got less crowded, when Matt Krause dropped out. Republican state Rep. Matt Krause drops out of attorney general’s race to run for Tarrant County district attorney 11/23/21   https://www.texastribune.org/2021/11/23/matt-krause-texas-attorney-general-tarrant-district-attorney/

Daring Mighty Things 

NASA is going all Armageddon on an asteroid.  On Nov. 24, it used a SpaceX rocket to launch its Double Redirection Test (DART) mission.  The plan is to travel 6 million miles and crash the 1,200LB refrigerator-sized Falcon 9 craft into Dimorphos, an asteroid the size of a football field that is harmlessly orbiting a larger asteroid. The point is target practice, in case we ever need to re-direct an asteroid heading toward Earth.  Due to the distance involved, the big crash won’t happen until next fall.  This has got to be one of the best uses of testosterone ever….  Nasa launches spacecraft in first ever mission to deflect asteroid 11/24/21 https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/nov/24/nasa-launches-dart-mission-to-deflect-asteroid-in-planetary-defence-test

Humanity’s litter orbiting Earth is not just messy—it’s dangerous.  International Space Station forced to swerve to avoid US space junk 12/3/21 https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/dec/03/international-space-station-forced-to-swerve-to-avoid-us-space-junk

Back to me….  

Got my Covid booster right before Thanksgiving.  Last spring, I got Pfizer shots so wanted to mix and match now for maximum effect.  I got a Moderna booster at HEB Lakeway–quick and easy!  Go here to create an appointment– https://vaccine.heb.com/scheduler

I read that, in Japan, older adults now use more diapers than babies do.  Just wanted other people have that bit of info in their brains that so I’m not the only one…. 

I’m painting my garage.  FYI—a garage is NOT a small room….  But, the ceiling and walls are done.  As soon as my neck and back resume normal operations, I’ll start on the cabinets, shelving, doors, windows, etc. 

Books I recently finished (available at Lake Travis Community Library):

State of Terror (2021), by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny—Well, I got through it, but around the middle it was a real slog.  I did appreciate the several Twin Pines Easter eggs saluting Penny’s stellar Gamache books.  Overall, the writing of this “thriller” was dumbed down, compared to Penny’s usual high-caliber work.  I’m sure it was a lucrative endeavor that increased her stature in the literary world, but I was disappointed when the ending clearly set up a possible sequel; I really hope she doesn’t spend more time on this project, at the expense of her Gamache series.  Clearly, THAT is her calling.

Peril (2021), by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa—The veteran journalist famous for exposing Watergate teamed up with one of today’s top political reporters to dive deep into Trump’s last year in office.  The title they chose rings true over and over as they detail the presidential campaign, Trump’s Covid failures, how generals evaded annihilating racial protests with military might, Biden’s resounding win that was re-branded a steal to save face, the resulting insurrection, and Trump’s second impeachment. 

Here are some recent photos of our deer, taken on my morning walks.

• 

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• 

• 

The Coronavirus   

Worldwide, Omicron is the latest threatening variant.  It was announced by authorities in South Africa on Nov. 25; they called it “a big jump in evolution.”  Initial examination found “a very unusual constellation of mutations,” including over 30 mutations in the spike protein alone.  The part of the new variant that creates the entry point for the virus to infect human cells has 10 mutations; Beta has three and Delta has two.  Originally, dozens of Omicron cases were identified in South Africa, Botswana, and nearby countries. Within a few days, cases were found throughout Europe (Belgium, Czech Republic, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Austria, France, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain), as well as in Hong Kong, Israel, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Korea, and USA.  Internationally, stock markets fell sharply due to the news. Some countries (including Japan, Israel and Morocco) closed their borders to ALL travelers. Many countries, including the US, have imposed travel restrictions against people coming from South Africa and neighboring countries, but obviously Omicron is already worldwide. 

More study is needed to determine the danger of Omicron, compared to the other Covid-19 strains. 1) Is this variant more transmissible?  2) Does it cause more serious disease?  3) Can it evade the current vaccines?  However, South Africa now reports Omicron is spreading there twice as quickly as Delta did, with cases doubling every 3 days.  In addition, Omicron is frequently infecting South Africans who previously had Covid, indicating that past infection provides no immunity to Omicron. 

Europe is now the epicenter of the pandemic, regardless of variant.  Many countries are experiencing more cases than ever, and restrictions are being re-instituted. The UK reverted to mask mandates in stores and for public transit.  France’s prime minister tested positive for a breakthrough case of Covid.

South Korea also reports a record number of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

In the US, in the last 2 weeks, cases have increased 13%, hospitalizations are up 18%, and deaths dropped 2%.  We are averaging 104,000 new cases per day.  58,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with Covid, and the death rate averages 1,100 people per day.

Authorities announced on Dec. 1 that the first case of the Omicron variant had been found in the US.  The patient, now in isolation, traveled from South Africa to San Francisco on Nov. 22, is fully vaccinated, and seems to have a mild case.  Since then, cases were found in Colorado, New York, Hawaii, Maryland, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, Utah, and Pennsylvania.

As of Nov. 20, the number of US Covid-19 deaths recorded in 2021 had surpassed the toll in 2020, according to federal data and Johns Hopkins University. The total number of reported US deaths linked to the disease now exceeds 780,000, which is more than twice 2020’s death toll of 385,343. And, this is despite the blessing we received of safe and effective vaccines being widely available in 2021. 

Michigan is experiencing its worst surge yet, with new daily cases doubling since early November.  During Thanksgiving week, 1 in 10 of new US cases were located in Michigan.

New Hampshire and Minnesota are also reporting surging cases.  Massachusetts is coping with a surge in Covid hospitalizations by stopping elective procedures. 

Upstate New York hospitals are overwhelmed with Covid patients.  The governor declared an emergency, and National Guard troops are being deployed to assist.

Many companies were planning to return workers to the office in January.  Now, Google and others are delaying that indefinitely, due to Omicron.

In Texas, the current positivity test rate is 9%, up from 7% 2 weeks ago. We are averaging 4,000 new cases and 70 deaths daily.  As of now, there are 3,500 Texans hospitalized for Covid-19.  In the last 2 weeks, cases have increased 14%, hospitalizations rose 6%, and deaths are down 14%. 

El Paso is experiencing a surge, with many ICUs full of unvaccinated Covid patients.  The Panhandle is also surging.

Vaccinations–the safe path to herd immunity

Worldwide, 7.8 billion shots have been given, with nearly 43% of the planet’s population fully vaccinated. 

Germany has locked down UNvaccinated people, banning them from non-essential travel, shopping, etc. 

Greece now bars UNvaccinated citizens from entry to all enclosed public spaces, including restaurants, bars, gyms, cinemas and museums.  The country’s death rate is twice the EU average.

EU leaders are considering a vaccine mandate, to combat the current surge raging throughout Europe.

In the US, 60% of the entire population is fully vaccinated; 70% of adults are fully vaccinated.  On average, we are averaging around 1,700,000 shots per day, including boosters.  About 44 million booster shots have been given.

The threat of the Omicron variant has strengthened the case for booster shots.  The CDC upgraded its November advisory from allowing them to urging Americans to get boosters right away.

Also, Omicron seems to have scared some reluctant people into getting vaccinated after all.  Shots were given last week at a high rate not seen since last May. On Dec. 2 alone, over 2.2 million shots went into arms.

The good—no, great—news is that fully vaccinated people are safe from serious illness and death.  However, age matters. Studies show that, in the rare cases of breakthrough infections, ZERO fully vaccinated people UNDER AGE 50 died in 2021.  For fully vaccinated people UNDER AGE 65, less than 1% died.  Now, people older than that—in their 70s and up—are more vulnerable, as are people of any age who are immune-compromised. 

As of the Nov. 22 deadline of Pres. Biden’s mandate, over 90% of federal workers received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.  The vast majority of the remaining workers have exemptions granted or in process.

More companies, large and small, are following Delta’s lead and charging UNvaccinated employees a hefty surcharge for health insurance.  This reflects the huge cost of Covid treatment and hospitalization.

In Texas, only 55% of all residents and 66% of adults are fully vaccinated. 

Recent Covid articles I recommend…. 

3 Questions We Must Answer About the Omicron Variant  11/27/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/27/opinion/omicron-variant-questions-coronavirus.html

South Africa detects a new variant 11/25/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/25/world/variant-south-africa-covid.html

The Latest Covid Surge 11/23/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/23/briefing/us-covid-surge-thanksgiving.html

In Lakeway 

Passing along some holiday news from the Lake Travis Community Library

Local families in need will get holiday cheer from Lake Travis Labor of Love’s Green Santa program. LTlov takes donations of NEW AND UNWRAPPED GIFTS for Lake Travis area children. Registered children range in age from infant to 17 years and are living at or below the poverty line. Suggested gifts include sports equipment, dolls, puzzles and games, gift cards, toddler toys, and art supplies. You can drop off your donations at the library; the deadline is Monday, November 29th. CASH donations are also encouraged; checks can be made out to LTlov or send funds via Venmo to @DonateLTlov.

LTCL has re-started its rotating ART EXHIBITS.  Through December, the photography of Beth Yoder and Caitlin Yoder can be seen in the meeting room during library hours.

Meet and Greet for Police Chief Glen Koen

On Thursday, December 2, between 5:30 and 7pm, stop by the Police Station (1941 Lohmans Crossing Road) to say hello to Chief Koen, along with other PD officers, and enjoy light snacks.

Trail of Lights

This beloved tradition opens with a special “Lights On!” Ceremony on Saturday, December 4, 6pm, at City Hall.  After that, you can stroll through the light display every night.

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Road work

Less fun that holiday activities, but much needed!  Asphalt overlay is scheduled for Nov. 22-24, as well as the week of Nov. 29 on these streets: Debba Drive, Cavalier Canyon Drive, Sparrow Lane, Knarr Street, Schooner Drive, Tallstar Drive, Dolphin Drive, Indian Bend Drive, Robin Dale Court, Robin Dale Drive, Cutlass, Bermuda Street, Dragon, Highlander Street, Flamingo, and Dart.

Lakeway Council met in Regular Session on Monday, Nov. 15

11/21/21 UPDATE: Per Mayor Kilgore on the 2-year deadline (Item 11) for extending Main Street and Lohmans Spur: “The clock started Nov. 16th when I signed the ordinance.”

Consequential Agenda items include these (RESULTS IN ALL CAPS):

ITEM 11–Lohmans Spur Road Phasing Agreement.  Pursuant to Council’s Oct.18 approval of the Square on Lohmans PUD, the developer agreed to begin the Main Street and Lohmans Spur extension within 1 year and complete these roads within 2 years.  This Item 11 agreement includes in the timeline the portion of Lohmans Spur that is contained within the developer’s Tuscan Village PUD.  PASSED UNANIMOUSLY [NOTE: per Mayor Kilgore, the agreement was signed Nov. 16, starting the clock.]

ITEM 13–Revise and consolidate the Preliminary Plans covering Phases 1, 2 and 3 of Legend’s Lakeway Highlands/Rough Hollow 1,555 acre development.  This item was heard at the Oct. 18 Council meeting but was TABLED due to needing info from LCRA and/or the city engineer on water quality issues.  Now, the staff report states that the city met with LRCA, with this result: “CBD is asking to move ahead with the approval of this revised and consolidated preliminary plan with the condition that a water quality treatment plan is approved by LCRA. Such plan could include a batch extended detention pond with an automatic shut-off valve and gabion wall.”  PASSED 6:0 (Council Member Kumar had stepped out and did not vote.)

ITEM 14—Second Reading for Amendment to Eastside Landing Development Agreement to eliminate the requirements for the developer to 1) construct Flint Rock Road and 2) subdivide the north side into R-1 lots.  Per the developer, the topography complicates road construction at this time, so it proposes dedication of the 100-foot wide right of way and making an agreed upon payment so the City takes on responsibility for the future extension of Flint Rock Road through the property. Also, the developer wants to transfer the north side as 1 single-family lot, instead of dividing that area into R-1 lots at this time. At the Nov. 1 Council meeting, staff instructed to continue working on the issues.  Now, the developer specifies payment of $160,707.50 to aid the City in the future development of Flint Rock Road.  Another change is that the parkland dedication will be up to 3 acres of land, with any additional obligation in the form of payment in lieu of land.  DENIED UNANIMOUSLY [This action retains the original development agreement, with staff instructed to work with the developer.]

ITEM 15–Zoning Eastside Landing property as R-1 and R-3. DEVELOPER WITHDREW THIS ITEM (due to the action immediately above).

ITEM 16—Sweetwater Development Agreement, FIRST Reading. In July, Council repealed a 2008 ordinance and thereby captured within the city’s ETJ property on Hwy. 71 not already captured by City of Bee Cave. This includes the ongoing Sweetwater development. This agreement states Sweetwater can continue construction under Travis County rules and oversight, and Lakeway will not impose its building code.  NO DECISION (as this was just the first reading).

ITEM 20—Zoning request for the Nightingale Project.  Owners of 7.76 acres on 620 at Nightingale Road want to build 248 apartment units in dense configuration with several variances.  It is proposed as a PUD, which allows the city considerable control. The land is now zoned as commercial and agricultural, yet nearby home owners are upset by this proposed residential use of the property.  Many local business owners support the project, as it would be workforce housing and should help with Lakeway’s long-time hiring problems. The matter was reviewed over the summer; ZAPCO denied approval, then the owner withdrew the item from Council review.  Now, the project is back; TXDOT’s assurance of a stop light is firmer, and the retention pond is under the park.  Several variances would be needed, including for density, parking spots, and park size and use. ZAPCO again denied approval on Nov. 8.  (Hence, a supermajority vote—three-quarters of Council–would be required to approve the request.) THE 3 REQUESTS WERE HANDLED IN 1 MOTION AND DENIED 4:3.

ITEM 21—Executive Session re: an economic development prospect. NO ACTION

ADJOURNED 11:36PM. 

Go here for the Agenda, Meeting Packet and Presentation— https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/archive.aspx  

Go here to watch the Council meeting online— https://lakewaytx.new.swagit.com/videos/148212

Texas Elections 

Finally, we have Beto!  “I’m running to serve the people of Texas, and I want to make sure that we have a governor that serves everyone, helps to bring this state together to do the really big things before us and get past the small, divisive politics and policies of Greg Abbott.  It is time for change.”  That is a tall order, but if anyone can do it now, it is Beto O’Rourke.  Beto O’Rourke says he’s running for Texas governor 11/15/21 https://www.texastribune.org/2021/11/15/beto-orourke-texas-governor-2022/

Plus, this lackluster maybe/maybe not candidate falters. Matthew McConaughey is hesitant about COVID-19 vaccines for young children. Experts urge otherwise. 11/11/21 https://news.yahoo.com/matthew-mcconaughey-hesitant-covid-19-140025217.html

Another Democrat entered the race for Lt. Governor, which already has Dems Matthew Dowd and Mike Collier challenging Republican incumbent Dan Patrick.  Michelle Beckley, one of the Texas House’s most liberal members, joins Democratic primary for lieutenant governor 11/16/21 https://www.texastribune.org/2021/11/16/texas-lieutenant-governor-2022-michelle-beckley/

So, where can this nutbar do the least amount of damage—US Congress or Texas AG’s office?  U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert exploring run against Attorney General Ken Paxton in increasingly crowded GOP primary 11/9/21 https://www.texastribune.org/2021/11/09/louie-gohmert-texas-attorney-general-2022/

Another Democrat will vie for Land Commissioner.  Jay Kleberg, an Austin-based conservationist whose family owns the King Ranch, wants to use the office (which handles the state’s mineral rights and 13M acres of land) to fight climate change, manage the state’s disaster recovery, and improve veterans’ benefits.  Three other Dems are also in the race, plus four Republicans, including Trump-endorsed state Sen. Dawn Buckingham of Lakeway.  Jay Kleberg of Texas’ King Ranch family is running for land commissioner as a Democrat  11/18/21 https://www.texastribune.org/2021/11/18/texas-land-commissioner-2022-democrats/

Daring Mighty Things 

Anyone interesting in astronomy should make a habit of clicking on this US government site: Astronomy Picture of the Day.  Every day, it offers a new and fascinating celestial image with professional explanation.  https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

See something in the night sky?  Here you go!

Russia’s surprise weapons-test destruction one of its old satellites on Nov. 15 forced the ISS crew of American and Russian astronauts to take shelter in their Dragon and Soyuz spacecraft, in case the station was damaged by debris and they had to make an emergency return to Earth.  While things are now back to normal on the space station, NASA estimates that over 1,500 new debris projectiles are orbiting the planet, posing hazards to the ISS, satellites and all spacecraft.  Satellite debris forces space station crew to take shelter; U.S. blames “reckless” Russian missile test 11/15/21  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/satellite-debris-space-station-crew-take-shelter/

One troubled NASA mission finally returned from ISS to Earth, the crew in diapers for the 8 hour flight due to a busted toilet.  SpaceX Carries NASA Astronaut Mission Home With Safe Water Landing 11/9/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/09/science/spacex-nasa-water-landing.html

Two days later, the next NASA mission blasted off for ISS, again via a SpaceX Dragon craft.  The new mission will last 6 months.  NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 Astronauts Headed to International Space Station 11/10/21  https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-spacex-crew-3-astronauts-headed-to-international-space-station

Commuting to the ISS is one thing, but going to the moon is something else.  NASA recently delayed by a year (at least) its timeline for returning to the moon, saying “The Trump administration’s ambitious goal was not grounded in technical feasibility.” NASA delays moon landing to ‘no earlier than 2025’ 11/9/21  https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/09/nasa-delays-moon-landing-2025-520468

Back to me….  

I’m getting ready to tackle a new paint project—always exciting!  This time, I am re-painting the inside of my garage.  Somehow, I ended up with an extra 5 gallon bucket of Agreeable Gray after painting the house interior in 2018, so I may as well use it.

Good books I recently finished (available at Lake Travis Community Library):

Midnight in Washington (2021), by Adam Schiff—The good Congressman’s subtitle says it all—How we almost lost our democracy and still could.  Schiff spent the Covid lockdown writing this book, and he relates the behind the scenes details of the Trump presidency, including countless moral outrages, myriad legal entanglements, numerous Constitutional gaffes, TWO impeachments, and one insurrection.  Early on, it is clear that Schiff is on Trump’s most hated list—and why.  Not only is the material fascinating, but the book is very well written, something professional writers in the political field rarely attain.

A Death in the Small Hours (2012), by Charles Finch—This Charles Lenox mystery is new to LTCL’s holdings, and I enjoyed it even though the series has progressed considerably in recent years.  These books are among my favorite period detective tales, effortlessly conjuring up Victorian England in all its sordid glory.

Here are some recent photos of our deer, taken on my morning walks.

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The Coronavirus   

Worldwide, Europe continues to account for well over half the world’s Covid deaths, as it did in October.

Romania has the highest rate of death from Covid, in the entire world–7 times the death rate per capita in the US.  Officials blame rampant misinformation and scare tactics deployed by religious leaders and politicians, with fake news stoked by social media.  As a result, Romania has a vaccination rate of only 44% (among the lowest in Europe).

The Czech Republic is fighting a record-breaking surge by banning all UNvaccinated people from public events and services.

Austria tried to quell its worst Covid surge ever by implementing a nation-wide lockdown on all UNvaccinated people age 12 and up, confining them to their homes for 10 days.  When that failed to make the needed improvement in cases and hospitalizations, officials extended the lockdown to EVERYONE; the only exceptions are grocery stores and schools (where students and staff are regularly tested). 

Germany has been setting daily records for new cases, during its fourth wave.  Testing is again being done free of charge.  Proof of vaccination, recent Covid recovery or negative test are required to use public transit, go to work in person, or access entertainment venues.

Russia has exceeded 250,000 Covid deaths.  Only four other countries have officially surpassed the grim quarter-million milestone (US—760K; Brazil—610K; India—470K; and Mexico—290K).

Greece now prohibits UNvaccinated people from entering cinemas, theaters, museums and gymnasiums, even if they show a recent negative test.

The Netherlands last week initiated a lockdown to fight its fourth wave of Covid.  Rotterdam experienced “an orgy of violence” as a result, causing  police to fire warning shots and make arrests.

In the US, in the last 2 weeks, cases have increased 30%, hospitalizations are up 3%, and deaths dropped 6%.  We are averaging 93,000new cases per day.  49,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with Covid, and the death rate averages 1,100 people per day.

That 30% increase in cases is concentrated in the west, midwest and northeast.  A winter surge seems inevitable.

Minnesota is the current Covid hotspot, with confirmed cases rising over 50% in the last 2 weeks.  The state is experiencing hospitalizations and deaths on the same high level as last winter, and federal teams of medical personnel are being mobilized to assist. 

New Mexico is also experiencing a strong surge.  Some experts point to the fact the state has a high proportion of young children not yet vaccinated.  Others wonder if the state’s early success at vaccinations means more people’s protection is waning.

In Texas, the current positivity test rate is 7%, up from 5% 2 weeks ago. We are averaging 3,400 new cases and 82 deaths daily.  As of now, there are 3,300 Texans hospitalized for Covid-19.  In the last 2 weeks, cases have increased 6%, hospitalizations dropped 12%, and deaths are down 20%. 

Experts are concerned that the improvement Texas saw in the last few months slowed then started to turn in the other direction, and there are signs the state is heading for yet another surge.

To date, Texas has had 4.25 million confirmed Covid cases. Over 70,000 Texans have died—over 10% of the national death total.  Only California has suffered to a larger extent.  Now, Texas is on pace to surpass that more densely populated state and will soon have the shameful distinction of leading the country in confirmed cases and deaths.

Vaccinations–the safe path to herd immunity

Worldwide, 7.6 billion shots have been given, with 42% of the planet’s population fully vaccinated. 

India has given over 1 BILLION vaccine shots.

Cambodia, with 88% of its population vaccinated, has opened to fully vaccinated tourists.  Thailand and Vietnam are doing the same, although with some destination restrictions and interim testing.

Singapore’s government has stopped paying the cost of Covid care for people who choose not to be vaccinated.  Latvia has banned UNvaccinated lawmakers from voting in parliament.

Austria got a wave of shots in arms when it barred UNvaccinated people from restaurants, pubs, salons, gyms, and theaters.  But, its vax rate is still just 66%, one of the lowest in Europe.  A recent surge is being combated with a nationwide lockdown, and officials just announced a vaccine mandate, as of Feb. 1.  Austria is the first western democracy to mandate vaccination nationwide.

Switzerland has low vaccination rates, especially in its German-speaking region.  Along with neighbors Austria and Germany, Switzerland’s vaccination attitude has been politicized nearly to the extreme degree seen in America.

Israel credits widespread booster shots with rapidly bringing its summer surge under control. 

The Australian Open will require all players to be fully vaccinated, in order to participate in the January competition.

In the US, 59% of the entire population is fully vaccinated; 69% of adults are fully vaccinated.  On average, we are now giving around 1,500,000 shots per day, including boosters.  About 33 million booster shots have been given.

Roughly 100 million Americans have yet to receive a single dose of the coronavirus vaccine. 

In the first week of eligibility, over 1 million children age 5-11 got their first vaccination shots.  To date, nearly 10% of kids in this age group have gotten a shot.

On Nov. 19, the CDC approved booster shots for all adults.  Now, everyone is eligible for a booster 6 months after the second Phizer or Moderna jab and 2 months after a J&J shot, regardless of age or medical condition.  As before, mix and match is allowed; experts suggest getting a Moderna booster after 2 original Phizer shots, and vice versa, could provide maximum immunity.  This comes after numerous studies showed immunity fading over time.  In fact, several states (Colorado, California, New York, New Mexico, West Virginia, Arkansas, and Massachusetts) were already urging all adults to get booster shots, as they tried to curb growing caseloads.

NYC is planning to return this year to its usual New Years celebration in Times Square.  Proof of vaccination will be required in order to attend.

Disney Cruise Lines requires all passengers over age 5 to be fully vaccinated.

Not only do we now have a pandemic of the UNvaccinated, but we increasingly have a REPUBLICAN pandemic.  In October (and using 2020 election stats), 25 out of every 100,000 residents of heavily Trump counties died from Covid; that is over THREE TIMES HIGHER than the Covid death rate in heavily Biden counties (7.8 per 100,000). October continued the trend of this gap widening, month by month.  This correlates with the current stats showing 40% of Republican adults still not vaccinated, versus just 10% of Democratic adults.

The Biden’s administration’s OSHA rule that workplaces with over 100 employees require vaccination or frequent testing is moving through the federal court system, to be decided by the US Supreme Court, likely this winter.  First, several similar cases are being combined, to be heard by a randomly selected 6^th Circuit Court of Appeals.  6th Circuit Court ‘wins’ lottery to hear lawsuits against Biden’s vaccine rule  11/16/21 https://www.npr.org/2021/11/16/1056121842/biden-lawsuit-osha-vaccine-mandate-court-lottery

In Texas, only 54% of all residents and 64% of adults are fully vaccinated. 

Texans–GET VACCINATED.  Latest study of the 29K Texans who died of Covid in 2021 shows that 92% were NOT vaccinated.  ONLY 8% of the dead were vaccinated, and most of those were over age 75, making them the most vulnerable.

Recent Covid articles I recommend…. 

CDC chief approves Covid-19 boosters for all adults 11/19/21 https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/19/cdc-vaccine-advisors-endorse-boosters-for-all-adults-523058

Can Covid Winter Be Merry and Bright? We Asked the Experts. 11/17/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/17/opinion/covid-thanksgiving-holiday-risk.html

Why Don’t We Have a Covid Vaccine for Pets?  11/15/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/15/health/coronavirus-vaccine-cats-dogs-pets.html

Covid cases are surging in Europe. America is in denial about what lies in store for it 11/12/21 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/12/covid-cases-surging-europe-america-denial

Texas schools can again set their own face mask rules after federal judge overrules Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban 11/10/21https://www.texastribune.org/2021/11/10/texas-schools-mask-mandate-ban-overturned/

Ready to holiday? Before you gather with family and friends, think about COVID-19 safety 11/8/21 https://www.statesman.com/story/news/healthcare/2021/11/08/austin-covid-safety-holiday-season-how-gather-celebrate-lower-risk/6179753001/

U.S. Covid Deaths Get Even Redder 11/8/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/08/briefing/covid-death-toll-red-america.html

Unvaccinated Texans make up vast majority of COVID-19 cases and deaths this year, new state data shows 11/8/21https://www.texastribune.org/2021/11/08/texas-coronavirus-deaths-vaccinated/

Change for the better, getting back to normal, whistling in the dark—whatever….   

Don’t know about you, but I need a CHANGE.  So, considering that Texas’ latest surge has eased dramatically, I am moving Covid coverage to the END of the blog.  World, US and Texas pandemic news are all still covered, including vaccination updates.  (And there is a lot of Covid news this time, mostly good, so be sure to scroll on down to read it.)  But, I really want to get back to what this blog was supposed to be about, when I so cluelessly started playing around with it way back in early 2020, before Covid hijacked our attention, our lives and—to a large and nonsensical extent–our democracy. 

I always intended for the blog to showcase LAKEWAY, everything from our glorious deer to the doings of City Council–often less than glorious but always interesting and vital for every resident to monitor.

In Lakeway 

Our Veterans Day ceremony will be held on Thursday, Nov. 11, at 6 p.m.  Location is the Recital Hall in the Lake Travis ISD Annex Building, corner of RR 620 S. and Cavalier Drive.  The guest speaker will be Mr. Jim Young, U.S. Army.  Mayor Kilgore will offer remarks, and patriotic music will be performed by the Lake Travis ISD High School Band and Choir.

Our new Police Chief Glen Coen starts work on Nov. 22. A welcome event will be held at the Lakeway Police Department in early December (details still pending).  Info on the new chief is here– https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/civicalerts.aspx?AID=1518 

Lakeway has a new emergency alert system.  Residents can sign up to get notices by text or email.  It is free and simple to do.  Go here for info and to sign up– https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/civicalerts.aspx?AID=1519

Hope you voted in the Nov. 2 election.  All 8 constitutional amendments were approved, as was the LTISD “golden pennies” tax proposal on Lakeway ballots.

ZAPCO meets on Monday Nov. 8, 9am at City Hall

The noteworthy issue is Agenda Item 11, which is ANOTHER request to approve the Nightingale Project.  Owners of 7.76 on 620 at Nightingale Road want to build 248 apartment units in dense configuration that would require several variances.  The land is now zoned as commercial and agricultural, yet some nearby home owners are upset by this proposed residential use of the property.  Many local business owners support the project, as it would be workforce housing and should help with Lakeway’s long-time hiring problems. The matter was reviewed over the summer; ZAPCO denied approval, then the owners withdrew the item from Council review.  Now, the project is back, again proposed as a PUD, which allows the city considerable control.  TXDOT’s assurance of a stop light is firmer now.  Several variances would be needed, including for density, parking spots, and park size and use.

Go here and scroll down to find ZAPCO’s Meeting Packet and Presentation for Nov. 8—https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/archive.aspx

Go here to watch the meeting online (live or later)—https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1062/Videos—Meetings-Events

Lakeway Council met in Special Session on Monday, Nov. 1

RESULTS IN ALL CAPS.

Via Addendum, this was added to the Agenda: Affirming appointment of the Chief of Police.

APPOINTMENT OF GLEN KOEN WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.  He graduated from Round Rock High School and from University of Texas-Austin, then worked in the UT security system for 2 decades.  Most recently, he served as Assistant Chief of Police in Mukilteo, WA.

Item 3—Request for $100,000 in Hotel Occupancy Tax funding for the Special Olympics Texas Winter Games that will be held in the area during February of 2022. Funding would cover 50% of the advertising and participant lodging expenses, with City of Bee Cave matching the City of Lakeway’s contribution.  UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED

Item 4: Amendment to Eastside Landing Development Agreement to eliminate the requirements for the developer to 1) construct Flint Rock Road and 2) subdivide the north side into R-1 lots.  Per the developer, the topography complicates road construction at this time, so it proposes dedication of the 100-foot wide right of way and making an agreed upon payment so the City takes on responsibility for the future extension of Flint Rock Road through the property. Also, the developer wants to transfer the northern 24 acres as 1 single-family lot, instead of dividing that area into R-1 lots at this time. DISCUSSION OF PROS AND CONS, WITH STAFF INSTRUCTED TO CONTINUE WORKING ON THE ISSUES.  AS THIS WAS JUST THE FIRST READING OF THE MATTER, NO ACTION WAS TAKEN.

Item 5: Annexation into the city limits of 44 acres known as Eastside Landing.  The property is located at 17301 Flint Rock Road, north of Serene Hills.  UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED

Item 6: Zoning Eastside Landing property as R-1 (north 29 acres) and R-3 zoning (the remaining 15 acres). MOTION TO POSTPONE CONSIDERATION UNTIL Nov. 15 MEETING (when related item #4 will be decided) PASSED 5 : 2.

Item 7: Reviewing construction of the Hurst Creek Sculpture Garden Sidewalk and Pedestrian Bridge.  The result would be an ADA pathway from the Justice Center parking lot, through the sculpture garden, connecting to the pedestrian bridge crossing Hurst Creek and joining both the Hamilton and Smith Greenbelt Trails.  Of 5 options considered, the recommended one (Option 5) costs $150K, consisting of an 8’ wide trail and 30’ in length low water crossing bridge with pre-stressed concrete beams with low-profile timber rails on each side; it follows the natural terrain to the creek, would have minimal impact on the trees, and provides maximum walkway through the Garden.  (Other options cost from $106K to $460K.)  OPTION 5 (costing $150K with sod, dirt and irrigation) APPROVED 6 : 1.

Item 8: Executive session—Annual Review of City Manager.  EVALUATION, 3.5% RAISE AND $5K STIPEND UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED Go here for the Agenda, Meeting Packet and Presentation— https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/archive.aspx

Go here to watch the Council meeting online–https://lakewaytx.new.swagit.com/videos/147158

Lakeway Council will meet in Regular Session on Monday, Nov. 15, 6:30pm at City Hall

The Agenda should be available here by Nov. 9– https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/archive.aspx

Daring Mighty Things

America is slated to return to the moon in early 2022.  NASA stacks Orion capsule atop Artemis 1 as moon mission nears 10/29/21 https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/oct/29/nasa-stacks-orion-capsule-atop-artemis-1-as-moon-mission-nears

NASA is having a variety of pesky problems getting astronauts ferried back and forth to the International Space Station via SpaceX capsules and rockets.  Weather and health issues have delayed sending a new crew up to ISS.  Worse, the SpaceX capsule now parked at ISS that will bring home the current crew has a faulty toilet, requiring those lucky folks to wear absorbent undergarments during the trip, which is also waiting on good weather.  The astronauts of SpaceX’s Crew-2 mission talk toilet trouble in space and more, but when will they land?  11/5/21 https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-2-astronauts-toilet-trouble-landing

Texas elections

The 2022 races have started, with ads already appearing. Eva Guzman airs early ads in bid to stand out in crowded primary for attorney general 10/24/21 https://www.texastribune.org/2021/10/24/eva-guzman-texas-attorney-general/

Another Democrat is running for attorney general. Rochelle Garza, a former ACLU lawyer from the Rio Grande Valley, will face at least two other candidates in the March 1 primary–Joe Jaworski, Galveston’s former mayor, and Lee Merritt, Dallas civil rights attorney. Former ACLU lawyer Rochelle Garza decides to run for attorney general after redistricting upends congressional campaign 11/1/21 https://www.texastribune.org/2021/11/01/rochelle-garza-texas-attorney-general/

Not that anyone expected the Texas governor’s race to be a classy affair, but this doesn’t bode well….  Police called after GOP candidate Allen West admits to ‘flicking’ off someone’s mask  11/3/21 https://news.yahoo.com/police-called-gop-candidate-allen-222056507.html

Back to me….

Daylight Saving Time ends tonight, and I cannot wait.  Not only do I get an extra Sunday hour, but mornings start when they should.  I’m tired of prowling around in the dark on my walks.

This is a great ad, from an unexpected source–the United Nations.  We really do need to stop choosing extinction…. https://www.nbcnews.com/video/dinosaur-tells-u-n-extinction-is-bad-ahead-of-cop26-climate-conference-124809797969

Good books I recently finished (both available at Lake Travis Community Library):

There Is Nothing For You Here (2021), by Fiona Hill—Best known as the National Security Council’s Russia expert who testified against Trump in his first impeachment trial, Hill has an interesting backstory as a disadvantaged child growing up in Northern England’s economically devastated coal country. Some chapters are less engaging than others, but the second half of the book is well worth reading. She analyzes the last 30 years’ toll on the UK, Russia and America, explaining the political allure of strongmen and where the Trump era took us. 

God Rest Ye, Royal Gentlemen (2021), by Rhys Bowen—In the 16^th Royal Spyness mystery, Lady Georgiana spends Christmas of 1935 at Sandringham near the royals, solving crime and keeping an eye on the errant Prince of Wales at the Queen’s request as the King nears his own end and the British empire edges closer to both scandal and war.  This is my favorite escapist series, for the humor and delightful characters, carefully set within an historically accurate backdrop of Britain’s precarious monarchy pre-WWII.  This fun romp is best read after a few of the earlier titles but would also be enjoyed on its own.

So, I have 3 cats who I totally adore.  One is perfect in every way. (Thank you, Tulip!)  One (Peanut) is tubby and on strict vet’s orders to LOSE weight.  One (Maxie) is bony and on strict vet’s orders to GAIN weight.  Exactly how am I supposed to work THAT miracle?  Feeding time is like Goldilocks and the Three Bears….

Our deer herd is in full fall dress.  Coats are now rough and have turned gray-brown, so unlike the sleek honey gold of summer.  Fawns suddenly look all grown up, barely shorter and slighter than their moms.  With rut in full force, the bucks appear tired, while the does are beaming….  Here are some of my favorite recent photos.

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The Coronavirus   

Worldwide, the official Covid death toll has exceeded 5 million people. (This is widely considered to be an under-count, due to lack of Covid testing and questionable reporting in many parts of the world.)  The hardest hit countries are predominantly the most highly developed.  Experts explain this plague anomaly by pointing out that rich countries have higher populations of elderly, cancer survivors and nursing home residents—all especially vulnerable to Covid; poor countries have more children and young adults–who tolerate Covid better.

Currently, some countries are recovering from vicious summer surges, while other countries are now experiencing their worst bouts of Covid ever.

Europe’s case rate has more than doubled in the last month.  Just about every European country, from tiny Slovenia to populous Germany, is suffering a Covid surge.  Last week, Europe reported 60% of the new cases worldwide and half the world’s deaths. Cases and especially deaths are concentrated among the unvaccinated. 

The UK is going through yet another surge, after dropping all restrictions over the summer and declaring things back to normal.  The Netherlands has reinstituted mask restrictions after cases spiked.  Italy is experiencing isolated surges in areas with low vaccination rates. Ukraine reports a severe surge straining medical resources.

Russia is setting new records for daily deaths.  Several regions of the country have extended the 1-week shutdown that Pres. Putin ordered in late October.

China and South Korea also report new surges.  However, Japan, after a severe summer surge of Covid, is now seeing daily cases drop sharply.

In the US, in the last 2 weeks, cases have decreased 3%, hospitalizations are down 14%, and deaths dropped 20%.  We are averaging 71,000 new cases per day.  47,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with Covid, and the death rate averages 1,200 people per day.

States in the worst shape currently include Alaska, Idaho, Montana and other western states.  The biggest factor is probably not winter weather; it is vaccine skepticism rampant in those states. Idaho is the least vaccinated state, and its neighbors are doing little better. Colorado’s hospitals are being overwhelmed, with most cancelling non-emergency services and some close to rationing care.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki tested positive last week with a breakthrough infection, after family members tested positive.

On Nov. 8, international tourists are welcome back to the US, after an 18 month-long Covid ban.  Those entering must show proof of vaccination and a negative Covid test.

Pfizer reports that its Covid PILL prevented hospitalization and death in 89% of cases, during a trial.  Much like rival Merck’s antiviral pill that claims 50% success, Pfizer’s must be taken within 3-5 days of infection, before serious symptoms appear.  Both pills still need to be evaluated before approval for general use in the US (although Merck’s pill is already approved and being used in the UK).

In Texas, the current positivity test rate is 5%, down from 7% 2 weeks ago. We are averaging 3,200 new cases and 103 deaths daily.  As of now, there are 3,800 Texans hospitalized for Covid-19.  In the last 2 weeks, cases have decreased 27%, hospitalizations dropped 30%, and deaths are down 44%. 

Vaccinations–the safe path to herd immunity

Worldwide, 7.2 billion shots have been given, with 40% of the planet’s population fully vaccinated. 

New Zealand is requiring a large segment of workers to be vaccinated.  The mandate covers those working in restaurants, gyms, bars and hair salons; these businesses already require customers to be vaccinated.

Germany’s parliament members wear colored wristbands proclaiming vaccine status.

Latvia’s Parliament enacted a law allowing businesses to fire workers refusing vaccination.

In the US, 58% of the entire population is fully vaccinated; 68% of adults are fully vaccinated.  On average, we are now giving around 1,280,000 shots per day, including boosters.  About 22 million booster shots have been given.

The U.S. is the least vaccinated affluent country, behind Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and many others. The result of less vaccination is a higher death rate in America.

The FDA and CDC last week authorized Pfizer’s Covid vaccinations for kids age 5-11.  They will get 2 shots, each at 1/3 the adult dosage, spaced 3 weeks apart.  This makes another 28 million Americans eligible for vaccination.

Boosters are being given for all 3 brands of vaccines.  The CDC added depression and schizophrenia to its list of health conditions putting people at risk of severe Covid.  So, people with those mental conditions are eligible for Pfizer and Moderna booster shots.

America’s highest vaccination rate is in Puerto Rico, where over 73% of the population is fully vaccinated.  Authorities say people there are open to shots in part due to widespread concern that local medical facilities—already seen as deficient—not be over-taxed by the pandemic.  In addition, Covid has not been politicized there, as it has been in mainland America.

After Tyson Foods’ August vaccine mandate, over 60K workers got shots. The result is that 96% of the workforce is now vaccinated. 

New York City’s vaccine mandate for all city workers has resulted in 92% compliance (up from 70% when the mandate was announced).  Last week, 9,000 unvaccinated workers (including 2,500 in the police department) were placed on unpaid leave.

The US military is 88% fully vaccinated, after its vaccine mandate was announced 2 months ago.  The Air Force is 97% vaccinated.

Citigroup became the first big bank in the US to require all workers to be vaccinated.

The Biden administration’s OSHA mandate allows until Jan. 4 for companies with 100 or more workers to get everyone fully vaccinated OR submit to weekly testing and mandatory masking.  An estimated 84 million workers are affected.

Job listings, particularly for higher-paying positions, more and more feature a new requirement: proof of vaccination against Covid.

In Texas, only 54% of all residents and 64% of adults are fully vaccinated. 

Recent Covid articles I recommend….

Pfizer pill significantly cuts risk of COVID-19 death, company says 11/5/21 https://www.politico.eu/article/pfizers-antiviral-significantly-cut-risk-of-covid-19-deaths-in-study-plans-us-filing/

Frequently Asked Questions About the Biden Administration’s Vaccine Mandate 11/4/21 https://www.nytimes.com/article/vaccine-mandate-biden-osha.html

C.D.C. Recommends Covid Vaccine for Younger Children 11/2/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/02/health/covid-vaccine-children-cdc.html

Vaccination offers more protection against Covid than prior infection, a C.D.C. study suggests 10/29/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/29/health/cdc-covid-vaccine-protection.html

Should I Mix or Match My Booster Shot? 10/28/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/27/well/live/covid-booster-shot-mix-and-match.html

How Will We Live if Covid Is Here to Stay? 10/27/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/27/opinion/covid-forever-endemic-plans.html

Yes, You’ll Want to Vaccinate Your Kids Against Covid. An Expert Explains Why. 10/26/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/26/opinion/covid-vaccine-kids.html

Worst of US pandemic likely behind us but we can’t drop our guard, experts say 10/25/21 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/25/us-covid-coronavirus-pandemic-experts

The Coronavirus   

Worldwide, there is renewed concern about the newish variant, Delta Plus (also known as AY.4.2).  Found in the UK (and already seen in America), it seems to be 10% more transmissible than Delta, but so far there is no evidence it is deadlier or more resistant to the vaccines.

Russia is having record-breaking numbers of new infections (over 35,000 per day) and deaths (over 1,000 per day), on a regular basis now.  President Putin demanded that people “be responsible” and get vaccinated, as he ordered work places to close for at least a week.  The mayor of Moscow was more explicit, locking the city down.  Vaccine hesitancy is rife in Russia, fueled by government distrust.  Despite free and available shots, only 30% of the country is vaccinated. 

Deaths from Covid are at record levels in Ukraine, which has the lowest vaccination rate in all of Europe.  Twin problems there are deep vaccine hesitancy and a glut of fake Covid credentials used use to evade restrictions.

Bulgaria, Hungary and the Czech Republic are also experiencing Covid surges.   All 3 countries have very low vaccination rates.

Singapore’s latest surge caused extension of restrictions another month and is straining hospitals.

The UK is experiencing yet another Covid surge, which experts blame on an abrupt end to restrictions over the summer, plus kids too young to be vaccinated now attending school unmasked.

Africa is sometimes seen as having escaped the worst of the pandemic, with relatively little publicity of hard numbers.  The World Health Organization notes that the continent largely lacks medical facilities, has little Covid testing, and doesn’t officially report deaths—making Covid untracked and therefore invisible to the rest of the world. 

In Brazil, a congressional panel has recommended President Jair Bolsonaro and several aides be charged with crimes against humanity, for intentionally allowing the coronavirus to devastate the country and kill hundreds of thousands unnecessarily.  Originally, the panel suggested mass homicide and genocide charges.

In the US, in the last 2 weeks, US cases have decreased 25%, hospitalizations are down 19%, and deaths dropped 15%.  We are averaging 74,000new cases per day.  56,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with Covid, and the death rate averages 1,500 people per day.

Cases in the U.S. have fallen 50 percent since Sept 1.  But, we are still seeing 5 times the number of case as in June (pre-Delta).  Covid is far from finished.

Covid has gone north.  As the southern part of the country is in better shape every day, the five states with the most new daily cases per capita are Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and Idaho. The five states with the fastest rising caseloads are Vermont, Colorado, New Hampshire, Michigan and Minnesota.  Experts note the northern surge is likely due to cold temperatures driving people indoors, where infection spreads best.

Hospitals throughout Minnesota are at capacity, as Covid numbers on infections, hospitalizations and deaths pass totals not seen since last winter.  National Guard troops are being used to provide health care services.

In Texas, the current positivity test rate is 7%, down from 9% 2 weeks ago. We are averaging 4,500 new cases and 185 deaths daily.  As of now, there are 5,500 Texans hospitalized for Covid-19.  In the last 2 weeks, cases have decreased 43%, hospitalizations dropped 33%, and deaths are down 29%. 

Vaccinations–the safe path to herd immunity

Worldwide, 6.8 billion shots have been given, with 37% of the planet’s population fully vaccinated. 

India has vaccinated over 1 billion people.  Still, only 30% of its eligible population is fully vaccinated.

Canada has adopted national vaccination credentials, after confusion from various provinces promoting different systems.  As of Oct. 30, Canada requires everyone age 12 and older traveling by air, rail or cruise ship to be fully vaccinated.

Italy has become the first nation to require its entire workforce, private as well as public, to be vaccinated or provide proof of a negative test or recent recovery from Covid-19.  The Green Pass, a government-issued certificate generally provided as a phone app, is intended to move the country beyond the pandemic and hasten economic recovery. Non-complying workers go on unpaid leave.  Officials consider the Green Pass a success, with over 500,000 people vaccinated since it was announced.  Italy now has over 80% of its adults vaccinated.

Egypt is requiring all government employees and university students to get vaccinated.

Kuwait has lifted all Covid-19 restrictions for vaccinated people.  Israel will allow vaccinated tourists to enter as of Nov. 1.

In the US, 57% of the entire population is fully vaccinated; 67% of adults are fully vaccinated.  On average, we are now giving around 770,000 shots per day, but that includes boosters.  About 12 million booster shots have been given.

On Oct. 22, the CDC and FDA agreed to authorize boosters for Moderna and J&J recipients along the same lines as previously done for Pfizer recipients.  Six months after the 2^nd dose of Moderna, people 65 years and older as well as younger adults at higher risk due to underlying conditions or work setting can get a half-dose booster.  As for J&J recipients, ALL adults can get a second shot starting two months after their first dose.  Those eligible can choose the brand of booster desired; mixing vaccine brands is allowed though not specifically recommended.

Vaccination for kids age 5-11 are likely to be approved in the next few weeks, and states are gearing up for that process.

Boeing is requiring all US employees to be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8.  Delta is the only major US-based airline NOT mandating vaccination for employees.  Instead, the Georgia-based company is relying on a $200 health insurance surcharge for unvaccinated employees, going into effect in November, to increase compliance.  Currently, Delta reports 84% of workers are vaccinated, compared to 99% of workers at rival companies.

Other big companies requiring workers get vaccinated include IBM, GE, Union Pacific and Raytheon.

NYC is requiring all city workers, including police officers and prison guards, to be vaccinated.

After 19 months, the US will lift its travel ban at the Canadian and Mexican borders on November 8, allowing fully vaccinated visitors to enter.  Restrictions are also lifting on vaccinated air travelers. 

In Texas, only 53% of all residents and 64% of adults are fully vaccinated. 

Recent Covid articles I recommend….

The C.D.C. endorses Moderna and J.&J. boosters for millions of Americans 10/21/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/21/health/cdc-mix-match-booster-shot.html

The Unvaccinated May Not Be Who You Think 10/15/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/15/opinion/covid-vaccines-unvaccinated.html

‘Lurching Between Crisis and Complacency’: Was This Our Last Covid Surge? 10/14/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/14/health/coronavirus-delta-surge.html

What the Future May Hold for the Coronavirus and Us 10/12/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/12/health/coronavirus-mutation-variants.html

If You’ve Had Covid, Do You Need the Vaccine?  [YES, you do.] 10/12/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/12/health/if-youve-had-covid-do-you-need-the-vaccine.html

Should Passengers Be Vaccinated or Tested to Fly Within the U.S.?  10/12/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/12/travel/vaccine-testing-airlines.html

Do I Still Need a Pulse Oximeter? [YES, it can save your life.] 10/5/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/05/well/live/covid-pulse-oximeter.html

Daring Mighty Things

Last week, NASA launched a robot ship on a 6-year trip to Jupiter to study gigantic asteroids trapped in its orbit since basically forever, looking for info on how the solar system originated and other mysteries of life.  The ship is named Lucy, for the famous ancient skeleton (which in turn was named for the Beatles song). Why NASA Is Launching a Robotic Archaeologist Named Lucy 10/15/21 https://www.nytimes.com/article/nasa-lucy-trojans-asteroids.html

The International Space Station went for a spin—AGAIN–last week, thanks to “unexpected” thrusters firing on a Russian craft.  Stop doing that!  Surprise Russian Thruster Firing Prompts Space Station Emergency 10/15/21  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/15/science/international-space-station-russia.html

Texas elections

Have you voted?  The election is on Nov. 2; early voting ends Oct. 29.   No candidates are on the ballot, but there are several propositions to vote up or down.

Lake Travis ISD has Proposition A on local ballots.  It is asking to move revenue from 1 part of the existing tax rate structure to another with the result that $3 million STAYS LOCAL and is not recaptured by the state’s funding formula.  Pass or fail, this proposition will NOT change your tax bill.  (Unfortunately, the blurb appearing on the ballot makes it sound like a tax increase, likely dooming it.)  Read more here: Lake Travis school district tax rate election gives voters the option to keep dollars local 10/7/21 https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/lake-travis-view/2021/10/07/lake-travis-school-district-what-to-know-tax-rate-election-2021/6006770001/

In addition, there are 8 constitutional amendments on the ballot.  Read this to decide yes or no:  8 statewide propositions on Texans’ November 2021 ballot and what they mean 9/24/21 https://communityimpact.com/houston/conroe-montgomery/election/2021/09/24/8-statewide-propositions-on-texans-november-2021-ballot-and-what-they-mean/

Republican Allen West is challenging Abbott in the GOP primary for governor in 2022.  On Oct. 10, West announced he had Covid-19; he was hospitalized with complications but was since discharged.  Of course, he assured his MAGA faithful that he is NOT vaccinated and IS taking ivermectin.  Well, at least he’s been dewormed.  Allen West, unvaccinated Republican running for governor in Texas, has Covid  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/10/allen-west-unvaccinated-republican-governor-texas-covid

Ugh, someone being a BAD influence on Greg Abbott really is the worst of all worlds.  “Extremely influential” or “delusional ideas of grandeur”? GOP primary foe Don Huffines sees impact as Gov. Greg Abbott pushes rightward  10/14/21 https://www.texastribune.org/2021/10/14/greg-abbott-2022-don-huffines/

That noxious pall recently lifting was the Texas legislature adjourning.  May they stay gone a long time, so we can try to recover from the damage done in 2021’s 3 sessions.  Happily, Abbott failed to get them to validate his outrageous ban on vaccine mandates by privately owned businesses.  Texas bill to block COVID-19 vaccine mandates for employers failed in Legislature after business groups rallied against it 10/18/21 https://www.texastribune.org/2021/10/18/texas-covid19-vaccine-mandates-bill

In Lakeway  (I’m starting with the GOOD news…. )

Lakeway’s got some new deer in town.

If you haven’t stopped by the Sculpture Garden (on Lohmans, in front of the Justice Center, across from the Activity Center) lately, do so and meet some new friends.  I went last weekend, and I actually froze a ways off and quietly pulled out my camera, for fear of spooking the gorgeous family of deer–a proud buck watching over his doe and twin fawns.  I’m told the deer were donated by Van and Katherine Leigh.  Much appreciated!  Thanks to the Arts Committee, as well.  These pieces are a wonderful addition to Lakeway’s eclectic sculpture collection.

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GO VOTE! 

Early voting ends Oct. 29.  Election is Nov. 2.  See the info and links in the Texas elections area above to decide yes or no.

ZAPCO met on Oct. 12. 

Lucky item 13 on the agenda was The Square on Lohmans, Legend’s zombie town-center proposal. The request was a zoning change from residential/commercial/GUI to PUD for 69 acres (including a segment of Main Street).  They voted 5/2 to APPROVE the town-center type proposal, sending it on to Council for final decision (as far as anything is EVER final with Legend).  So–322 residences (SF homes, townhomes and rental apartments) plus extensive retail/restaurants/office space, a hotel, amphitheater and much more.  Plus, a pedestrian-centric Main Street instead of the efficient vehicle corridor we sorely need.

ZAPCO did try to plug a few holes in the proposal sent on to Council (although, as several commissioners noted at the meeting, this is just a drop in the bucket on a project this complex):

–Minimum of 50% of each commercial building’s frontage provides minimum 6′ shade, to make it useable in summer;  

–Restaurant/bar/concert use of the roof-top gardens on the commercial buildings will require special use permits;

–No on-street parking will be allowed in the residential areas; and

–Council will specify dates certain for construction start and completion of 4-lane Main Street. 

Council met on Oct. 18.  (And, the result is that our Main Street connection is at least TWO YEARS away.  And, that is ONLY if we get very, very lucky AND Legend delivers on its promises.  So, plan accordingly….)

RESULTS in ALL CAPS. (Council approved The Square on Lohmans at Item 19.)

ITEM 11—Citizens Participation for items NOT on the Agenda.  NONE

ITEM 14—Revise and consolidate the Preliminary Plans covering Phases 1, 2 and 3 of Legend’s Lakeway Highlands/Rough Hollow 1,555 acre development.  TABLED UNTIL NOV. 15 MEETING (need info from LCRA and/or engineer on water quality issue)

ITEMS 15/16—Annexation/zoning of 48 acres at 17301 Flintrock Road, as R-1 and R-3 for Eastside Landings development. TABLED UNTIL NOV. 1 MEETING (due to a notification issue)

ITEM 17—Amending the Future Land Use Map as to 4 specified locations. APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY

ITEM 18—Zoning change for 3602 Wild Cherry, a 1 acre lot, from residential to commercial. APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY

ITEM 19—The Square on Lohmans: zoning change for 69 acres from residential/commercial/GUI to PUD (including a segment of Main Street). 

APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY WITH THESE CONDITIONS:

–all roads to be STARTED within 12 months of agreement’s approval date and COMPLETED within 24 months of agreement’s approval date;

–this PUD agreement is contingent on approval of an agreement at the Nov. 1 Council meeting, re: completion of the Lohman’s Spur segment passing through the Tuscan Village PUD tract;

–vertical construction traffic limited to Lohman’s Spur;

–installation of pop-up bollards to close roads to vehicle traffic;

–removing Rolling Green connection from the PUD map;

–on-street parking allowed in townhome area;

–5% of the rental apartments committed to Travis County’s affordable housing program, if applicable/if it can be worked out;

–rooftop gardens on commercial buildings required to get special use permits;

–commercial building fronts must have a minimum of 50% shade;

–as to the requirement that 65% of exteriors be masonry, no more than 20% of that amount can be stucco; and

–removing language allowing pervious concrete/asphalt (due to its maintenance issues).

ITEM 20—Executive Session on employee matters, including annual review of the City Manager and update on the hiring process for a new Police Chief.  NO PUBLIC DISCUSSION, NO ACTION Go here to watch the Council meeting https://lakewaytx.new.swagit.com/videos/141827

Go here for the Agenda, Meeting Packet and Presentation— https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/archive.aspx

Back to me….

Still loving the free time.  I thought it was just me, but apparently “the great resignation” is quite the trend nationwide.  No idea what the other people are doing, but I’m experimenting with NOT doing certain things, and being comfortable with it.  Obviously, it is great to have freedom to do the things we want to do.  The reverse is also vital—being free to decline doing things we are expected to do or just are in the habit of doing, but that really aren’t positive, needed or desired now.  It is not as easy as it sounds….

Good books I recently finished (available at Lake Travis Community Library):

Wildland—The Making of America’s Fury (2021), by Evan Osnos—This excellent overview of 3 disparate American communities through the last 20 years makes a good case for how we got to today’s ugly, divided and dangerous crossroads.  (SPOILER—Trump is just a degenerate, fetid, pus-oozing symptom—not the cause.)  Whether the answer helps us improve things now is another matter.

The Heron’s Cry (2021), by Ann Cleeves—This is the second book in her Two Rivers series.  Detective Venn is definitely no Vera Stanhope, and Cleeves’ Shetland Island mysteries are my favorites.  But, the author is adept at immersing the reader in her distinctive settings, and this is a good escapist read.

Please DRIVE CAREFULLY.  The deer are deep into rut season.

Here are some of my favorite photos, recently taken on my early morning walks, showcasing our fabulous fawns who are growing up way too fast.

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The Coronavirus   

Worldwide, new cases dropped more than 30 percent since Sept. 1.  Experts credit increasing vaccination rates in many countries, as well as exhaustion of the Delta variant.

After 560 days, Norway lifted pandemic restrictions.  Nepal re-opened to tourists.  India is seeing relief after months of crushing disease, with current new case and death totals lower than seen since early spring.

However, Jordan’s Crown Prince of Jordan tested positive for Covid-19.  War-torn Syria is struggling with a Covid surge and hospitals with no supplies or equipment to help patients; less than 2% of its population is vaccinated.

In the US, new daily cases dropped 35% since Sept. 1, as the Delta wave ebbed in hard-hit southern states.

In the last 2 weeks, US cases have decreased 20%, and hospitalizations are down 21%.  Finally, deaths are decreasing; the rate dropped 14% in the last 2 weeks.  We are averaging 98,000new cases per day.  70,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with Covid, and the death rate averages 1,700 people per day.

Midwestern states (Minnesota, Michigan, Wyoming, N. Dakota, and others) are now in trouble, with Covid infections and hospitalizations rising sharply.  Hospitals state-wide in Alaska and Idaho remain so overwhelmed with unvaccinated Covid patients that they are still forced to ration care, treating only those most likely to survive.

Big pharma’s Merck announced that its new antiviral pill, molnupiravir, was shown in a clinical trial to cut in half the risk of hospitalization or death when given to high-risk people early in their Covid-19 infections. This efficacy is lower than that the 75-80% success rate of the monoclonal antibody treatments now available; antibodies were originally administered as a time-consuming infusion, but recently hospitals have changed to a single injection method. The federal government has placed advance orders for Merck’s drug.  It still has to go through submission and review before FDA approval.

Over 120,000 children in the US lost a parent or caregiver due to Covid-19, so far.

The official death toll in the US passed 700,000 last week.  Recent deaths are 99% unvaccinated, concentrated in the south, and include people younger than ever.  Twice the number of rural residents are now dying of Covid-19, compared to city dwellers. With vaccines available to all adults since the spring, the last 200,000 deaths were preventable (some say VOLUNTARY).  200,000 AMERICANS DIED BECAUSE THEY REFUSED TO GET VACCINATED.

Covid has reduced life expectancy worldwide.  Out of everyone, US males lost the most time– 2.2 years relative to 2019 levels.  Losses of this magnitude haven’t been seen since WWII.

US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh tested positive on Oct. 1, despite being vaccinated in January.  He reported no symptoms from the breakthrough case but had to miss Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s investiture ceremony and participate remotely for in-person arguments that started last week after 18 months of only phone communications. 

Covid certainly isn’t over.  Costco recently instituted new buying limits on toilet paper, water and other essential items, due to continued high volume purchasing, as well as port delays, labor shortages and supply chain issues—all because of the pandemic.

We have seen wave after wave of high Covid-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths.  The big question is: Will the Delta surge, now ebbing, be the LAST SURGE?  Are we done riding the pandemic rollercoaster?  Experts are divided.  Some say the worst is over, due to the ever-increasing rate of vaccinations.  Others point out that cold weather and major holidays (with associated gatherings and travel) are just ahead, all of which increase spread.  Plus, a variant even more contagious than Delta or resistant to our vaccines could emerge at any time.

In Texas, things are definitely improving.  The current positivity test rate is 9%, down from 13% 2 weeks ago. We are averaging 7,800 new cases and 250 deaths daily.  As of now, there are 8,600 Texans hospitalized for Covid-19.  In the last 2 weeks, cases have decreased 35%, hospitalizations dropped 29%, and deaths finally reversed trend–down 14%. 

Vaccinations–the safe path to herd immunity

Worldwide, 6.4 billion shots have been given, with 35% of the population fully vaccinated. 

Portugal has fully vaccinated 98% of its eligible population.

Much of Asia is having great success with vaccinations.  South Korea, Japan and Malaysia are vaccinating their populations at a higher rate than the US; their current cases, hospitalizations and deaths are low.  Asians tend to prize community good over personal freedom, and the culture does not encourage misinformation or conspiracy theories.

Australia and New Zealand are relaxing travel restrictions, but ONLY for vaccinated people. 

Africa still lags on vaccinations, with only 9 countries having vaccinated even 10% of the population. Overall, just 4% of Africa is vaccinated.

The Vatican is requiring all employees and visitors to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative test. (Interestingly, there is no “religious beliefs” exemption.) 

Canada announced that all air and rail passengers must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 12.  Also, all federal employees, the military, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers must be vaccinated by Oct. 29.

France is encouraging shots by providing free testing to people who are vaccinated.

Jair Bolsonaro, the president of Brazil, has long raged against Covid and vaccines; his wife got vaccinated recently while in New York City for the UN General Assembly.

The US is donating ANOTHER 500 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to countries not able to vaccinate their own populations.  This brings the total to more than 1.1 billion doses donated by America.

In the US, 56% of the entire population is fully vaccinated; 65% of adults are fully vaccinated.  On average, we are now giving around 950,000 shots per day, but that includes boosters. 

60 million Americans are covered by the CDC’s September Pfizer booster ruling, with 20 million eligible now.

RED COVID.  This is how a recent NY Times article summed up the current situation.  Vaccine hesitancy started out based on many factors, but most have been resolved in recent months.  The one that remains is party affiliation; 86% of Democratic voters are vaccinated, compared to only 60% of Republican voters.  Since the unvaccinated account for very nearly all deaths now, Republicans are dying in droves, compared to Democrats.  Odd that GOP politicians are unconcerned about voter deaths, if only for practical purposes….

Last summer saw a spike in vaccinations in Hispanics.  Now, 73% of Hispanic adults are vaccinated, exceeding 72% of white adults who are vaccinated.

Vaccine mandates are working across the country.  Businesses and government entities are reporting big jumps in vaccination rates, as workers meet deadlines.  The NYC public school system reports 96% of teachers are vaccinated, along with 99% of principals; over 43,000 shots were given to this group since the mandate was announced in August.  New York reported the vaccination rate of its health care workers jumped from 75% to 92% as over 100,000 workers got a shot.  United reported that 99% of its workforce is vaccinated, per its mandate.  Tyson Foods reported its mandate increased vaccinated workers from under 50% to over 90% of the workforce, with 1 month left in the grace period.

AT&T is requiring its workers to be vaccinated.  American Airlines, Southwest, JetBlue and AlaskaAir are following United’s lead and requiring employees to be vaccinated.  The San Diego school district is requiring all staff and students (age 16 and up) to be vaccinated. City of Los Angeles will, as of Nov. 4, require people to provide proof of full vaccination in order to enter most indoor businesses, including bars and restaurants, salons, gyms, museums, and movie theaters.  Those not vaxed due to medical condition or religious objection can instead provide proof of a recent negative test.

The NBA has a vax rate of 95% of players and staff.  It recently announced that unvaccinated players won’t be paid if they miss a game due to local laws requiring vaccination to enter large public gatherings. Louisiana’s largest nonprofit health insurer, Ochsner Health, announced it would charge an additional $200 per month, for anyone NOT vaccinated.  This reflects the high cost of hospital care for Covid-19. Covid-19 is now the leading cause of death for law enforcement officers.  A large segment remains unvaccinated, with their unions fighting vaccine mandates.

YouTube recently announced it has banned videos pushing mis-information on vaccines and is closing the accounts of notorious anti-vaccine activists.

In Texas, only 52% of all residents and 62% of adults are fully vaccinated. 

Recent Covid articles I recommend….

The Covid Fable 10/8/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/08/briefing/covid-restrictions-delta-caseload.html

How to Use Rapid Home Tests (Once You Find Them) 10/7/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/07/well/live/covid-rapid-at-home-test.html

Pfizer Asks F.D.A. to Authorize Its Covid-19 Vaccine for Children 5 to 11  10/7/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/07/us/politics/pfizer-fda-authorization-children-5-11.html

A Guide for Covid-19 Risk in Your County 10/3/21 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-risk-map.html

U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Surpasses 700,000 Despite Wide Availability of Vaccines  10/1/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/01/us/us-covid-deaths-700k.html

Merck says a trial shows it has produced the first effective antiviral pill for Covid 10/1/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/01/us/merck-antiviral-pill-covid.html

Red Covid 9/27/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/27/briefing/covid-red-states-vaccinations.html

Answers to Your Questions About Covid Booster Shots  9/24/21 https://www.nytimes.com/article/booster-shots-questions-answers.html

Daring Mighty Things

Captain Kirk is going into space.  Sort of.  Actor Bill Shatner is scheduled to leave the planet as Jeff Bezos’ guest on Blue Origin’s Oct. 12 flight.  He will be 1 of 4 passengers, shooting 60 miles up for a few minutes of weightlessness and a nice view into the inky darkness of space beyond.  If things go as planned, Shatner at age 90 will become the oldest human to do so.  (But, he won’t be the first Enterprise member to leave Earth; the ashes of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and Scotty portrayer James Doohan blasted into deep space years ago.) William Shatner will fly to space aboard Blue Origin rocket 10/4/21) https://apnews.com/article/william-shatner-star-trek-blue-origin-space-jeff-bezos-e10877d624a4cc0be9385585c2647cdd

Speaking of theatrics, a Russian film crew (director, actress and astronaut advisor) is on the International Space Station now for a 2-week stay, shooting the first feature-length film in space.  A Russian Film Crew Has Boarded the Space Station  10/5/21  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/05/science/russia-space-launch.html

Texas elections

Texas has an election coming up on November 2.  Early voting runs from Oct. 18-29.   No candidates are on the ballot, but there are several propositions to vote up or down.

Lake Travis ISD has Proposition A on local ballots.  It is asking to move revenue from 1 part of the existing tax rate to another, with the result that $3 million STAYS LOCAL and is not recaptured by the state’s funding formula.  Pass or fail, this proposition will NOT change your tax bill.  Unfortunately, the blurb appearing on the ballot makes it sound like a tax increase, likely dooming it.  Read more here: Lake Travis school district tax rate election gives voters the option to keep dollars local 10/7/21 https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/lake-travis-view/2021/10/07/lake-travis-school-district-what-to-know-tax-rate-election-2021/6006770001/

In addition, there are 8 constitutional amendments on the ballot.  Read this to decide yes or no:  8 statewide propositions on Texans’ November 2021 ballot and what they mean 9/24/21 https://communityimpact.com/houston/conroe-montgomery/election/2021/09/24/8-statewide-propositions-on-texans-november-2021-ballot-and-what-they-mean/

Matt Dowd for Texas Lt. Governor!  Finally—someone enters the 2022 Texas elections who I can vote for proudly.  Matthew Dowd, former George W. Bush strategist, to run as Democrat for Texas lieutenant governor 9/29/21 https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/29/matthew-dowd-texas-lieutenant-governor/

What about Matthew McConaughey for Governor?  In a podcast with Kara Swisher, he refuses to answer the salient questions.  He is very entertaining, even charming.  Well, of course he is—THAT is his thing.  But, he shows nothing to indicate he has the intelligence, dedication or tenacity necessary to be Governor of Texas, particularly now when we face so many dire crises.  From his rather annoyingly lofty comments, he is still “measuring” whether politics is where he can do the most good.  Re: party affiliation, all his middle of the road talk sounds like he sees himself as decidedly centrist and an Independent.  Bottom line, this gifted actor acted interested in the possibility of running.  Is Texas Ready for Matthew McConaughey? 10/7/21  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/07/opinion/sway-kara-swisher-matthew-mcconaughey.html

In Lakeway

Council hasn’t had a meeting since my last blog, and it doesn’t meet until Oct. 18.

ZAPCO meets on Oct. 12, 9am at City Hall.  Lucky item 13 is The Square on Lohmans, Legend’s zombie town-center proposal. For background, go here to watch item 10 of the Sept. 13 joint session that Council and ZAPCO had, including a Legend presentation and officials discussing this– https://lakewaytx.new.swagit.com/videos/139436

Legend’s request is to change zoning from residential and commercial to PUD for 69 acres (up from 57 acres in September) on Lohmans.  This is the very dense town center development proposed in lieu of the 130 single-family homes Council approved there in 2019.  Legend never moved forward on that, and its portion of Main Street has not been started.  Now, it wants to build 322 residences (single family, multifamily and rentals above commercial space), as well as much, much more on the tract, all geared toward walkability. The result looks like a Main Street so cluttered, choked and congested that it completely fails to provide the efficient connector road we so desperately need.  ZAPCO will review the project and either approve or disapprove it; Council will then decide the matter.

Go here (and scroll down to ZAPCO) to find the Meeting Packet, which has a raft of materials—a lot being new info, drawings, etc.–on the current version of the proposed development (starting about half-way through the voluminous document)—https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/archive.aspx

You can speak for 3 minutes at the meeting.  (Unfortunately, since Monday is a holiday, the deadline for submitting written comments was 3pm Friday, Oct. 8).  Go here to watch the ZAPCO meeting online (live or later)—https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1062/Videos—Meetings-Events

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GO VOTE!  There is a proposition-only election on Nov. 2.  Early voting runs from Oct. 18-29.   See the info and links in the Texas elections area above to decide yes or no.

Back to me….

So, free time … what a concept!  Not sure if this is early retirement or just an in-between-jobs phase, but I’m really enjoying it. 

Good books I recently finished (available at Lake Travis Community Library):

—Madam Speaker (2021), by Susan Page—This meticulously researched book covers Nancy Pelosi from her parents’ political path all the way through the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.  Overall fascinating, it really grabs attention when she finally enters national politics herself at age 46, then shoots quickly to the top of Democratic leadership where she has wielded power for over 30 years.

—The Boy from the Woods (2020), by Harlan Coben—This is a good read, but I expected more from the debut of a new protagonist set in Coben’s richly drawn world.  Even with back-up from supporting characters well-known from the Myron Bolitar series, the eponymous Wilde is disappointingly cardboard.  The only real surprise, for me at least, was on the very last page. 

Please DRIVE CAREFULLY.  The deer are doing their fall thing.  My morning walks follow pretty much the same pattern, but I see far fewer deer than in the summer. 

For photos here, this time I’m showcasing the lovely does in our herd, starting with Clarice, a mature doe who generally hangs out on upper Vanguard.  For nearly 2 years, she was increasingly hobbled by a big shard of PVC pipe embedded above her right front hoof.  (No, I don’t usually name deer; I got tired of referring to her as the gimpy doe, so I named her after Rudolf’s sweetheart in the Christmas classic.)  Last summer, Clarice was barely mobile and clearly in severe pain.  Now, after state-approved intervention, she is recovered and running with the herd; she sometimes limps very slightly but overall it is hard to identify her now–except, I swear she grins at those of us who helped her.  I would love to give credit where credit is due, but the pros involved required me to sign an NDA. But, I can send a HUGE thank you to CAFA for paying a big chunk of the cost of helping this sweet doe get back to normal.

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The Coronavirus   

Worldwide, countries are in completely different phases, as far as Covid-19.

South Africa is easing restrictions as cases decline.  Australia plans to lift its tight international travel restrictions by year-end.   At the UN General Assembly last week, Brazil’s health minister tested positive for the coronavirus. South Korea’s new cases are at record levels, after a long holiday weekend featuring travel and gatherings. Russia is experiencing higher daily death rates than ever before in the pandemic, blaming vaccine hesitancy.

In the US, 1 in 8 Americans has been infected with Covid. 

The surge is slowly weakening.  In the last 2 weeks, US cases have decreased 16%, and hospitalizations are down 14%, but deaths are up 26%.  We are averaging over 123,000 new cases per day.   More than 87,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with Covid, and the death rate averages over 2,000 people per day.

The US recently passed several grim milestones as far as deaths from Covid.

–One in 500 Americans has died from coronavirus. 

–More Americans have died from Covid-19 so far than died of the 1918/19 influenza epidemic.

–An exhibit of 650,000 white flags, representing Americans who have died of COVID-19, opened Sept. 17 in Washington, DC.  Covering more than 20 acres of the National Mall, the flags have messages painted on them memorializing lost loved ones.

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The surge states in the south are seeing fewer cases, but cases are rising in the northeast, mountain west, and the upper midwest.  Hospitalizations are still high, with 25% of ICUs full nationwide.  Idaho’s hospital crisis now extends across the entire state, with ALL hospitals now rationing care to those most likely to survive.  In addition, Idaho’s woes have spilled over to neighboring Washington state; Covid patients are crossing the border, forcing Washington’s hospitals to delay non-critical care for its own residents.  Alaska became the second state to institute rationed care (helping only those patients most likely to survive), due to a crushing tide of unvaccinated patients.

On Sept. 20, an NYT newsletter aptly summed up America’s current Covid situation as: “slowly getting less terrible.”  Deaths are still rising, but new cases are dropping slightly, as are hospitalizations is some areas (though many facilities remain overwhelmed with severe cases).  Experts say the improvement MIGHT be due to Delta’s pattern in other countries of booming for a couple months and then subsiding (for reasons not really understood).  On the other hand, kids going back to school in-person, and a return to large-scale travel, sports and entertainment this fall could well cause another surge.  The kicker is the looming return of cold weather, sending everyone inside where Covid spreads most easily.  No one wants to predict where Covid is going.  So, GET VACCINATED.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints now requires masks be worn by all visitors and workers in the temples.

In Texas, we are averaging 12,000 new cases and 300 deaths daily.  As of now, there are 12,000 Texans hospitalized for Covid-19.  The current positivity test rate is 13%.  In the last 2 weeks, cases have decreased 33%, hospitalizations dropped 15%, and deaths are up 19%. 

Vaccinations–the safe path to herd immunity

Worldwide, 6.1 billion shots have been given, with 33% of the population fully vaccinated. 

Cuba developed vaccines of its own and is giving shots to kids as young as 2 years.  The UAE and China are vaccinating kids age 3 and up. Cambodia is vaccinating kids as young as age 6. Ireland has vaccinated 90% of adults, the highest rate in Europe.  China has vaccinated 71% of its population—1 billion people. Denmark (76% vaccinated) lifted the last of its Covid restrictions (which had included travel restrictions and vaccine passports to enter crowded venues), citing the success of its vaccination program.  Italy is extending its “health pass” requirement to all workers, roughly 23 million people; vaccination or a recent test will be required as of mid-October. Pope Francis has urged everyone to get vaccinated for the common good and because “humanity has a history of friendship with vaccines.”

In the US, 55% of the entire population is fully vaccinated.  On average, we are now giving around 750,000 shots per day. 

Pfizer booster shots were recently approved for people vaccinated 6 months previously and in 4 groups: 1) 65 and older; 2) living in institutional settings like nursing homes; 3) with underlying medical conditions putting them at risk for severe Covid; and 4) frontline workers with occupational exposure including health care workers, first responders and educators.  This rather complicated result blends conflicting recommendations from the FDA and the CDC, covering a large swath of Americans but not the entire population. (This is ONLY for Pfizer; Moderna and J&J submitted booster shot requests and supporting data later, but similar rulings are expected soon.)

US has the lowest vaccination rate in the Group of 7 wealthy democracies (lower than Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan).  We had long been near the bottom, but Japan’s recent vax surge overtook America, dumping us in last place.

In the US, the younger age groups have the lowest vaccination rate, while the oldest have the highest rate.  The difference is vast—from roughly 40% to 80%. 

Pfizer announced that shots should be approved for kids age 5-11 later this fall.

West Virginia had early vaccination success, but that waned and now the state has one of the lowest vaccination rates.  New cases and hospitalizations are now at record high levels.

As of Oct. 1, vaccination is mandatory for new immigrants to the US.  Seattle is requiring vaccination or recent testing for indoor activities.  Whirlpool is offering employees $1,000 to be vaccinated

The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee is requiring all athletes (as well as all staff and others using its facilities) to be fully vaccinated in order to participate in the Winter Games, to be held in Beijing in February of 2022.  The rule will be applied to all future Games, as well.

In Texas, only 51% of all residents are fully vaccinated. 

Recent Covid articles I recommend….

–C.D.C. Chief Overrules Agency Panel and Recommends Pfizer-BioNTech Boosters for Health Care Workers, Teachers and Other Workers at Risk  9/24/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/24/world/covid-boosters-vaccine-cdc-director.html

–US children aged 5 to 11 on track to receive Pfizer vaccine by Halloween 9/20/21 https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/20/pfizer-covid-vaccine-children-5-to-11-trial

–CDC study finds Moderna vaccine is best at preventing Covid-19 hospitalization 9/17/21 https://www.politico.com/news/2021/09/17/cdc-study-finds-moderna-vaccine-is-best-at-preventing-covid-19-hospitalization-51256

–The J.&J. Conundrum  (Everything you need to know if you got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine) 9/13/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/13/briefing/johnson-and-johnson-boosters-explainer.html

Daring Mighty Things

On Sept. 15, SpaceX launched the first all-tourist crew into orbit.  A billionaire covered the trip’s $220 million tab. The 4 non-professional astronauts spent 3 days in high orbit, up to 360 miles above Earth’s surface; that is 150 miles higher than the orbit of the International Space Station, and dwarfs last summer’s 60 mile high slingshot flights.  The craft was flown autonomously, with no pilot on board; the passengers had no flight duties.  So, this amounts to a giant leap for space tourism.  In addition, the project raised over $200 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. On Sept. 18, the craft splashed down off the Florida coast.

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Texas state elections

Now, THIS could get interesting…. Expect a formal announcement soon.  Beto O’Rourke Draws Closer to Entering Texas Governor’s Race 9/19/21  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/19/us/texas-beto-governors-race.html

Poor Ken Paxton; even his pals stab him in the back.  House Freedom Caucus member Matt Krause challenges Ken Paxton for Texas attorney general 9/16/21  https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/15/matt-krause-texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton/

This is a good overview of the 2022 GOP primary, centering on calls for Paxton (who re-defines “embattled” thanks to his many personal legal woes) to resign.  As one challenger says, Paxton has shot himself in the foot repeatedly yet still wants to lead everybody out onto the battlefield.  Attorney General Ken Paxton’s three Republican challengers criticize his legal problems — and pitch themselves as the best GOP nominee  9/23/21 https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/23/ken-paxton-attorney-general-republican-primary-2022/

In Lakeway

Mayor Kilgore gave an update of several city issues (search for new police chief, the dangers of feeding the deer, proposed mega-development of Main Street area AGAIN, 2022 budget and tax rate, and Constitution Week) via Facebook on Sept. 16.  https://www.facebook.com/cityoflakeway/videos/377146457206173

Lakeway Council met in Special Joint Session with Zoning and Planning on Monday, Sept. 13, 6:30pm, in-person, at City Hall.

Consequential Agenda items include:

–Item 3—Moment of silence honoring Bill Snider, recently deceased, who was a senior building inspector for the city.

–Item 5-8–Consent Agenda, which includes: additions/change to city staff paid holidays; and appointments to Capitol Area Council of Government, Arts Committee and Heritage Committee.  PASSED UNANIMOUSLY AND IN FULL

–Item 9—Fiscal Year 2022 Budget.  Procedural and tax rate details are here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/501/Budgets-and-Tax-Rate  Fiscal details are here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/36844/FY22-DRAFT-PROPOSED-BUDGET

This was a PROCEDURAL REVIEW of the tax rate and budget adopted previously.  City Manager Oakley stated the only substantive change since last month’s meeting was an additional expense of $18,000 to replace the security camera system at City Hall.  The tax rate and 2022 budget will be finalized at the Sept. 20 Council meeting.

–Item 10—Joint Work Session for ZAPCO and Council on THE SQUARE AT LOHMANS.  In 2019, Legend Communities was given approval for commercial and single-family residential development of 57 acres.  The tract includes 1 of 2 missing segments of road needed to connect Main Street to Lohmans.  Legend never moved forward with the 2019 plan and now wants to change to a PUD based around “commercial, mixed-use, and single-family residential uses for these properties, focused around a town square and main-street concept.”  This looks a lot like the extremely dense City Center plan that residents largely hated and Council rejected in 2019, instead adopting what was touted as a compromise plan.  And, it sounds like Legend is now holding Main Street hostage, to get approval for even more favorable terms.  How many bites of the apple does Legend get?  Here we go again….  Here are 2 images from the Presentation (and why isn’t the approved 2019 proposal shown in the comparison list?)

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At the meeting, Legend made a lengthy PRESENTATION on yet another proposal for this Main Street development, with questions from ZAPCO and Council members, ending with discussion of the pros and cons.  The developer will make some changes based on the meeting and then this will be reviewed by ZAPCO, then Council.

Legend is holding a Town Hall on this, Sept. 28 at 6pm, at the Rough Hollow Welcome Center.

Go here for the Agenda, Meeting Packet, and Presentation— https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/archive.aspx Go here to watch the video– https://lakewaytx.new.swagit.com/videos/139436

Lakeway Council had a regular meeting on Monday, Sept. 20.

Consequential Agenda items include:

Item 12—Adopting FY 2022 Budget (as discussed at previous meetings, with voluminous details in the Meeting Packet)  UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED BY RECORD VOTE

Item 13—Approval of 2021 property tax rate of 0.1545  UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED BY RECORD VOTE  [This is per $100 of valuation.  A full penny less than the previous year’s rate, it is the lowest tax rate in the city’s history.]

Item 14—Final Plat for an HEB to be built on 21 acres at Hwy. 71 and Serene Hills Drive  UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED

Item 17—Preliminary Plan for Hillsong, a development on 25 acres at Flint Rock Road and Wild Cherry Drive, to include 126 detached single-family homes plus a commercial and park component.  NOTE: ZAPCO’s recent approval was conditioned on issues with the right-in, right-out design at Flint Rock Road being resolved by Council.  UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED with specification that a raised barrier be used to prevent left turns in and out except for emergency vehicles

Item 21—Interlocal Agreement for Victim Services, allowing Lakeway and Bee Cave to share the services of a victim services coordinator and associated volunteers  UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED

Item 22—Report on Community Services Coordination by Mayor Kilgore. Consensus was reached that the city would take steps to organize a directory of available support services in the area, to be used by first responders assisting residents as well as published on the city’s site.

Go here to watch the meeting— https://lakewaytx.new.swagit.com/videos/139805

Back to me….

Talk about perspective!  Recently, Jupiter exhibited a burst of light that experts think was from impact of debris, likely the size of a bus, that broke off a passing comet or meteor and crashed into the planet.  That kind of thing can really ruin one’s day….

Our deer are gearing up for fall.  Their coats are roughing up, most of the fawns are tall and nearly spotless, and the smaller groups of summer are joining up into larger ones.  Looks like rut season started early this year; maybe Mother Nature is as screwed up as the rest of us.  Bucks are sparring already, and they are busy scraping the velvet off their antlers.  DRIVE CAREFULLY.  During rut, the deer have other things on their minds than you….

Here are some photos I took of our magnificent bucks the past few months.  They are in chronological order, July to now.  In the bottom one (taken last week), the buck industriously scraped his antlers raw on vegetation as I watched, cheerfully exposing the blood vessels that had nourished the velvet for months.

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The Coronavirus   

Worldwide, the World Health Organization has recognized a new Covid-19 “variant of interest” because preliminary evidence shows it may evade antibodies.  First found in Columbia months ago, it is called “Mu” but is formally known as B.1.621.

Vietnam, with only 3% of the population vaccinated, extended Covid restrictions through September, color-coding Hanoi neighborhoods based on infection levels.  Also, a court there sentenced a man to 5 years in prison for violating Covid travel restrictions and spreading the virus to several others, one of whom died. In the Philippines, where new cases are at a record high level, nurses are threatening mass resignations due to the crushing caseload of Covid patients. 

In the US, we are now averaging over 145,000 new cases per day.   More than 100,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with Covid, and the death rate averages over 1,600 people per day. In the last 2 weeks, US cases have decreased 7%, hospitalizations are unchanged, and deaths are up 29%. 

Total reported cases in the US have exceeded 40 million; that is more people than live in California, and amounts to 20% of all cases worldwide.  Over Labor Day weekend this year, 3 times the number of people were hospitalized for Covid, compared to that holiday weekend in 2020.  Delta is now causing 99% of cases. 

More pediatric cases—over 250,000—were recorded in the first week of September, than at any time in the pandemic.

In Idaho, hospitals are so over-crowded they are officially rationing care, giving ICU beds to those most likely to survive; others get palliative care to minimize suffering until death.  Tennessee has set new hospitalization records every day of September.  Several counties in Oregon requested refrigerated trucks to hold the bodies of Covid victims, until overwhelmed local mortuaries can accept them (just as many southern states did in August). A federal surge team of medical personnel was dispatched to Children’s Hospital New Orleans, to assist in caring for the overwhelming number of very young patients with severe Covid, including infants and many children on ventilators. Hawaii is experiencing more cases and hospitalizations that at any other time in the pandemic.  Tourists are discouraged from coming to the islands, and 95% of those hospitalized are unvaccinated local residents.  Also, hospitals across Hawaii’s island chain are low on oxygen due to demand increasing by 250% in the last month, and getting more is difficult; liquid oxygen is too flammable to be safely flown in, and cargo ships take a month to arrive. 

Native American tribes across the country are using their sovereign powers to declare mask mandates in schools within their territory; this includes the Navaho Nation’s 133 schools with students from preschool to 12th grade, operating in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.  Pennsylvania’s governor issued a mask mandate for all schools, public and private, covering teachers, staff, students and visitors. Arizona, whose governor has banned mask mandates, has thousands of teachers and students in quarantine.

Google delayed its return to offices yet again—this time, until January of 2022.  Countless companies are following suit, many leaving things open-ended and not bothering to specify dates at this point. Kansas sent state workers back home to work remotely.

In Texas, we are averaging 18,000 new cases and 250 deaths daily.  As of now, there are over 14,000 Texans hospitalized for Covid-19.  The current positivity test rate is 17%.  In the last 2 weeks, cases have increased 10%, hospitalizations remain the same, and deaths are up 36%. 

Covid hospitalizations in total may be leveling off, just under the high mark set last winter.  However, more children are severely ill and hospitalized with Covid than ever before; this seems to be coming from spread at in-person schools.  Experts fear a general resurgence from Labor Day holiday celebrations and travel.

Over 5,000 Texans died in the last month.  On Sept. 8 alone, Austin Public Health reported 23 Travis County deaths from Covid-19, a record high daily count. 

On Sept. 6, there were no ICU beds available in Central Texas, for the first time ever during the pandemic.

Vaccinations–the safe path to herd immunity

Worldwide, 5.6 billion shots have been given, with 29% of the population fully vaccinated. 

Scotland is requiring proof of vaccination for entry to crowded public areas including nightclubs, music festivals, soccer grounds, live events and anything expected to draw more than 10,000 people.

Vaccination progress in several Asian countries (Singapore, South Korea, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Hong Kong) has leaders relaxing restrictions or at least planning to do so soon.

In the US, 54% of the entire population is fully vaccinated, while roughly 70 million eligible Americans remain unvaccinated.  On average, we are now giving 723,000 shots per day. 

Infection rates are clearly determined by vaccination rates in states across the country.  Massachusetts has a very high vaccination rate and a low infection rate.  States like South Carolina and Mississippi have low vaccination rates and high infection rates. 

Studies have confirmed that unvaccinated people are 5 times more likely to get infected, 10 times more likely to be hospitalized and 11 times more likely to die, compared to vaccinated people. 

Last week, President Biden issued several executive orders designed to push the remaining 70M/20% of eligible but unvaccinated Americans to do the right thing.  As he said: “We’ve been patient.  But our patience is wearing thin, and the refusal has cost all of us.”  Truer words were never spoken.  He also referred to Republican governors who have banned attempts to mandate masks or require vaccines.

“If those governors won’t help us beat the pandemic,” he said, “I will use my power as president to get them out of the way.”  Bravo!  The new mandates focus on the American workforce, applying to about 2/3 of all workers.  OSHA will require all businesses with 100 or more workers to get vaccinated or undergo weekly testing.  All federal employees and contractors must be vaccinated.  All hospitals and other health care facilities that receive Medicare/Medicaid payments (and they ALL get these funds) must get their 17 million employees vaccinated.  Private companies will provide paid time off for workers to get vaccinated.  President Biden also requested that large entertainment venues require proof of vaccination or a negative test for entrance, and he asked doctors to prioritize urging all their patients to get vaccinated.

Amtrack is requiring all workers to get vaccinated or undergo regular testing.  In NYC, Broadway has returned with 2 productions, lighting up theaters that went dark in March of 2020; masks and proof of vaccination are required.

Los Angeles, the nation’s second largest school system, became the first major district to require vaccination of students age 12 and older (being nearly half a million kids in the district), in order to attend in-person classes.  Unvaccinated students will be served via online learning.

Colleges and universities across the country are switching from vaccination incentives to mandates.  Many are banning the unvaccinated from classes; others are denying them campus housing, WIFI, and other perks or assessing hefty daily or weekly fines.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be back in full force this year, requiring all participants and staff to be vaccinated and masked.

In Texas, only 48% of all residents are fully vaccinated. 

Recent Covid articles I recommend….

Biden Is Right: Vaccine Refusal ‘Has Cost All of Us’ 9/10/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/10/opinion/biden-covid-vaccine.html

Unvaccinated People are 11 Times More Likely to Die of COVID-19, New Research Finds 9/10/21 https://www.npr.org/2021/09/10/1036023973/covid-19-unvaccinated-deaths-11-times-more-likely

Inside an Oregon hospital amid an absolutely stunning’ Covid surge 9/9/21 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/09/oregon-hospital-coronavirus-unvaccinated

Why We Can’t Turn the Corner on Covid 9/6/21 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/09/06/why-we-cant-turn-the-corner-on-covid-509349

The W.H.O. lists Mu as a ‘variant of interest.’ 9/2/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/02/world/americas/mu-variant-who.html

Worried About Breakthrough Infections? Here’s How to Navigate This Phase of the Pandemic. 9/2/21 https://www.nytimes.com/article/breakthrough-infections-covid-19-coronavirus.html

We Work at the A.C.L.U. Here’s What We Think About Vaccine Mandates 9/2/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/02/opinion/covid-vaccine-mandates-civil-liberties.html

Why This Covid Chapter Might Be the Hardest of All 9/2/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/02/opinion/covid-guidelines-masking.html

The Hard Covid-19 Questions We’re Not Asking 8/30/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/30/opinion/us-covid-policy.html

DARING MIGHTY THINGS

Mini-chopper Intrepid is helping NASA plot the best course for rover Perseverance to explore on Mars.  Helicopter Sees Potential Rover Road Aheadhttps://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/my-favorite-martian-image-helicopter-sees-potential-rover-road-ahead

And, Perseverance is now on a rock-sampling tour of Mars.  NASA’s Perseverance Rover Stashes First Mars Rock Sample 9/7/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/07/science/nasa-mars-rock-sample.html

Oops, turns out that Richard Branson’s July rollercoaster ride to the edge of space veered off course.  The FAA is now investigating allegations the pilots’ decisions in flight were made to avoid bad publicity rather than ensure safety.  Unity is grounded until this is resolved.  FAA grounds Virgin Galactic’s core spaceship pending probe into Richard Branson’s flight  9/2/21 https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/2/22654516/spaceshiptwo-richard-branson-faa-virgin-galactic

Texas state elections

Why does the dumbest and cruelest stuff erupt out of Texas on a regular basis?  Ludicrous legislation, the wackiest conspiracy theories, duplicitous officials, deranged candidates—we have the worst of the worst, and we are inflicting them on the entire country.  It’s embarrassing….

This includes the latest Constitutional attack by the Texas GOP.  (Gov. Abbott hopes it helps him get re-elected—always his gold standard.)  Want to understand the insane Texas bounty hunter law that just ended women’s Constitutional right to abortion in Texas, with a craven assist from the Republican-appointed majority on the US Supreme Court?  Listen to this podcast— https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/03/podcasts/the-daily/texas-abortion-law-supreme-court-roe-v-wade.html?rref=vanity

Will Joe Straus challenge Abbott or Patrick?   Republican state lawmaker urges former Speaker Joe Straus to challenge Abbott or Patrick  9/3/21 https://www.caller.com/story/news/local/texas/state-bureau/2021/09/03/why-moderate-texas-republican-wants-joe-straus-run-2022/5718000001/

Abbott continues to use the legislature as his re-election pre-show, calling a THIRD Special Session.  Hasn’t the Texas Legislature done ENOUGH damage?  The agenda includes harassing transgender student athletes, banning vaccine mandates and redistricting Texas to favor GOP candidates even more than currently.    Gov. Greg Abbott calls special legislative session for redistricting, other conservative priorities starting Sept. 20 9/7/21 https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/07/texas-special-session-redistricting/

This article is worth including if only for the headline.  But, don’t be fooled—Abbott will take a bite out of dogs, cats and any other Texas resident if he calculates it will garner him re-election votes.  And, his refusing to sign Senate Bill 474 last May resulted in the suffering and death of countless dogs left outside in the Texas summer heat.  This belated backtracking doesn’t remove that shame.  Analysis: Man bites dog, tries to make amends 9/8/21  https://texasnewstoday.com/analysis-man-bites-a-dog-and-tries-to-make-amends/450754/

In Lakeway

Wildlife Advisory Committee

The reconstituted Wildlife Advisory Committee (WAC) had its first meeting last week.  (The old WAC last met in Feb. of 2020.)  Committee members: Ted Windecker, Chair; Pam Bunn; Mike Burke; Nina Davis; Julie Martenson; Ted McKnight; and Georgia Migliuri.

At last week’s meeting, the chairman reviewed Lakeway’s decades-long history of action against the deer, as well as the results of recent professional surveys showing a herd that appears stable and healthy, despite no culling being done since 2017.  A subcommittee was formed to develop citizen educational materials and events regarding living with deer and our other wildlife.  Also, Council will be asked to approve an annual deer survey to be done in late fall so we can continue to monitor the herd. 

Lakeway Council meets in Special Joint Session with Zoning and Planning on Monday, Sept. 13, 6:30pm, in-person, at City Hall. 

Consequential Agenda items include:

–Item 3—Moment of silence honoring Bill Snider, recently deceased, who was a senior building inspector for the city.

–Item 5-8–Consent Agenda, which includes: additions/change to city staff paid holidays; and appointments to Capitol Area Council of Government, Arts Committee and Heritage Committee. –Item 9—Fiscal Year 2022 Budget.  Procedural and tax rate details are here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/501/Budgets-and-Tax-Rate  Fiscal details are here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/36844/FY22-DRAFT-PROPOSED-BUDGET

–Item 10—Joint Work Session for ZAPCO and Council on THE SQUARE AT LOHMANS.  In 2019, Legend Communities was given approval for commercial and single-family residential development of 57 acres.  The tract includes 1 of 2 missing segments of road needed to connect Main Street to Lohmans.  Legends never moved forward with the 2019 plan and now wants to change to a PUD based around “commercial, mixed-use, and single-family residential uses for these properties, focused around a town square and main-street concept.”  To me, this looks a lot like the extremely dense City Center plan that residents largely hated and Council rejected in 2019, instead adopting what was touted as a compromise plan.  And, it sounds like Legends is now holding Main Street hostage, to get approval for even more favorable terms.  How many bites of the apple does Legends get?  Here we go again….  (See the Meeting Packet for maps.  See the Presentation for project details.)  Here are 2 images from the Presentation (and why isn’t the approved 2019 proposal shown in the comparison list?):

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Go here for the Agenda, Meeting Packet and Presentation— https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/archive.aspx 

To send comments to Council beforehand (by 3pm Monday) about any agenda item, go here and create a Public Comment Form–https://lakeway-tx.civicweb.net/Portal/CitizenEngagement.aspx 

Go here to watch the Council meeting online (live or after the fact)—https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1062/Videos—Meetings-Events

Back to me….

Every year, I hate it when September arrives and then the 11^th rolls around.  Now, 20 years later, I can’t forget, but I really don’t want to remember that awful time in detail.  Just too painful, still.

Some now say that 9/11 was a test; if so, America failed, spectacularly.  I read somewhere that 9/11 incited a nervous breakdown in America, even drove it mad.  Maybe so. Instead of rising to the challenge or the occasion or even above the muck, we sank lower than imaginable.  A conservative columnist I very rarely agree with captured how I regard 9/11 now: “Less like an unimaginable tragedy, and more like a harbinger of a bad century to come.”  The next twenty years brought so much bedlam and death–endless wars, economic meltdown, Covid-19, hateful division, insurrection, threats to democracy that no one would have believed possible 2 decades back, and climate change becoming our inescapable present as opposed to a murky distant possibility.  Looking back, Sept. 11, 2001 seems like the beginning of the end. 

Good books I recently finished (available at Lake Travis Community Library):

—The Madness of Crowds (2021) by Louise Penny—Number 17 in the series, this one returns Chief Inspector Gamache to Three Pines with its oddball denizens and spectacular Canadian scenery.  Sure, there’s a murder or two to solve, but the real story explores all the established characters.  For them, the pandemic is blessedly in the past, yet so much has changed. 

—Never Ask Me (2020), by Jeff Abbott—This stand-alone thriller by a local author is good escapist fare.  It is set in posh Lakehaven, located just went of Austin, so there are many fun local references.

The deer continue to amaze me on my morning rambles.  I heard that a fawn was born August 20 on Vanguard but didn’t really believe it since our fawns tend to arrive April to June.  Then, I saw the baby—the size of a cat but happy and healthy, suckling from its mama.  

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May God bless our troops.

The Coronavirus   

Worldwide, Russia reports a large uptick in new cases and deaths.  Israel is suffering a surge, despite achieving a high vaccination rate early on; experts say this points to vaccine efficacy fading with time.  Iran is having its worst surge yet.  Malaysia is battling a massive jump in cases, blamed on a low vaccination rate; responding to public anger over mismanagement of the crisis, the Prime Minister and his entire Cabinet resigned. Japan’s surge has worsened, with ICUs in Tokyo full.  Australia, with a record number of new cases, extended its Sydney lockdown and curfew another month. In the Philippines, Manila’s lockdown has also been extended; Manila’s largest hospital closed its ER last week due to the entire facility being overwhelmed with Covid cases.  Long-term surges in many African countries seem to be plateauing.

In the US, we are now averaging over 150,000 new cases per day.   More than 98,000 Americans are now hospitalized with Covid, and the death rate averages over 1,200 people per day. In the last 2 weeks, US cases have increased 21%, hospitalizations are up 28%, and deaths are up 95%.  While stats are all still climbing, the rate is slowing for new cases and hospitalizations.

On Aug. 26, nearly 100K people were hospitalized for Covid, a level not seen since early January–before vaccinations were available.  Over 95% of patients are unvaccinated.  Nearly all the cases are caused by the Delta variant.

US hospitals are increasingly overwhelmed.  Currently, 25% of all ICUs nationwide are full.  Florida last week had more cases, hospitalizations and deaths THAN EVER BEFORE IN THE PANDEMIC.  Residents of Orlando and other areas were asked to stop watering lawns and conserve water; the liquid oxygen that some purification systems use is now needed by hospitals.  Mississippi’s surge continues; the state’s hub hospital in Jackson opened its SECOND tent facility in a garage, to provide more ICU beds for Covid patients.  Hospitals throughout the south have buckled—in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and more—swamped with far more Covid patients than staff can handle and therefore unable to care for accident victims, stroke/heart attack patients or the chronically ill that habitually occupy hospital beds.  Refrigerated trucks are being used in Florida, Alabama and Texas to store corpses until overwhelmed funeral homes can take them.

Two weeks after the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in S. Dakota, which featured 700K visiting bikers (the majority defiantly unmasked and unvaccinated), active Covid cases in the state jumped 450% since early August.  In that time, the positive test rate increased from 10% to 40%.  Looks like Sturgis 2021 was a super-spreader event, just like Sturgis 2020 was.

More companies are delaying workers coming back to the office, due to the surge.  PWC bumped its return date to November.  Charles Schwab and Apple employees won’t return to the office until 2022. NYC’s planned re-opening has been stunted by Delta; IBM temporarily closed its NYC offices, many other businesses have delayed re-opening, trade shows and other big events are being cancelled, and tourism remains scant.

Illinois now has a state-wide mask mandate for indoor public places.  Boston is requiring masks indoors in public places.  On the other hand, Tennessee’s Republican governor ordered that parents can opt out of school mask mandates.  This is despite the state having its highest surge of cases since January and being very poorly vaccinated.

The war over mask mandates in school has a new participant—the federal Department of Education.  With bans on masks in school existing in 8 states (Florida, Texas, Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah–all now hosting Covid surges), Pres. Biden announced Aug. 18 that the federal education agency would treat mask bans as a bar to students’ right to a safe education, triggering its civil rights enforcement authority.  In addition, Pres. Biden pleaded with certain red-state governors to put the safety and uninterrupted education of kids ahead of their own political gain, noting that federal funds are available to pay any fines or lost salaries by school districts for requiring masks against state law.

In Texas, we are averaging 16K new cases and 184 deaths daily.  As of now, there are 14K Texans hospitalized for Covid-19.  The current positivity test rate is 16%.  In the last 2 weeks, cases have increased 17%, hospitalizations are up 27%, and deaths are up 110%.  As with national numbers, the stats are still climbing but not as steeply as in early August.

Gov. Abbott tested positive on Aug. 17, the day after attending an indoor mask-free fund-raising event.  He got infected despite his advantages of daily Covid testing and having had THREE vaccination shots; he also started monoclonal antibody therapy immediately, despite saying he was asymptomatic.

Rice University in Houston delayed its fall start date and moved all classes online for at least 2 weeks.  University of Texas responded to Covid cases on campus and the state’s ban on mask mandates by giving professors permission to move classes online for the first part of the semester; hundreds of faculty, staff and graduate students have signed petitions demanding mask and vaccine mandates.

The number of nursing homes with at least 1 Covid case among residents or staff has shot up nearly 800% in the past month. Roughly 76% of nursing home residents in Texas are fully vaccinated against the virus, but only 56% of nursing home staff members are fully vaccinated.

The school mask mandate wars in Texas are increasingly confusing, with school districts and local judges issuing mask rules faster than GOP-controlled courts can strike them down.  As of now, Texas Education Agency (TEA) is not enforcing Abbott’s mask mandate ban due to all the pending court challenges; TEA is encouraging school boards to consult local authorities in deciding what to do and REQUIRING notice to parents of any positive COVID test in a classroom or extracurricular activity.  Texas Supreme Court temporarily allows school mask mandates to remain 8/19/21https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/19/texas-drops-mask-mandate-ban-schools-506339

The National Rifle Association cancelled its annual meeting, scheduled for early September in Houston, due to the Covid surge.

Last week in San Antonio, 26 minutes went by with no ambulances available to respond to 911 calls from the city’s 1.5 million residents.  In Austin, ambulances frequently sit unused because paramedics are so understaffed and overworked.  Also in Austin, Covid-19 hospitalizations reached 720 on Aug. 20, the highest EVER since the pandemic began.  Across the state, hospitals routinely report ZERO beds available in their ICUs.

On Aug. 25, Texas hit a record low for the number of available staffed intensive care unit beds–just 306 beds available for more than 29 million people.  (Within the state, Travis County was in the very worst shape, with only 4 ICU beds available for over 3 million residents.)

The state asked the federal government for five mortuary trailers in anticipation of a potential spike in deaths.

Travis County last week exceeded 100K total Covid cases, with 943 deaths.  The current number of people (over 630 patients) hospitalized locally for Covid is a new high, as is the number of patients on ventilators.

Vaccinations–the safe path to herd immunity

Worldwide, slightly more than 5 billion shots have been given, over 80% in high and middle income countries.  Africa has the lowest vaccination rate of any continent, with efforts not even begun in many countries because no vaccines are available.

Greece is pushing vaccination by barring the unvaccinated from restaurants, cafes, clubs and sporting events. In Moscow, free cars are given to lucky vaccinated people in weekly drawings.  Vaccinated Indonesians get a free (live) chicken, while vaccinated Romanians get a free sausage sandwich.

In the US, roughly 80 million eligible Americans remain unvaccinated.  52% of the entire population is fully vaccinated, as are 63% of adults and 82% of those 65 and older.  The vaccination rate is up lately (whether due to mandates or fear of Delta).  On average, we are now giving 876,000 shots per day.  

The FDA on Aug. 23 granted full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for those age 16 and up.  That long-awaited move will trigger an avalanche of vaccine mandates by businesses and government entities.  Full approvals for Pfizer as to age 12-15 and for the Moderna and J&J vaccines are expected soon.

The Pentagon has ordered all 1.4M active service members to get vaccinated.

Companies requiring all workers to get vaccinated include: United Airlines, CVS, Chevron, Disney, and Goldman Sachs. Delta Airlines has a raft of carrots and sticks to encourage workers to get vaccinated; the latest is that unvaccinated workers will have to pay $200 additional per month for health insurance, reflecting the high cost of Covid hospitalizations for Delta employees—all unvaccinated to date.

Ohio State University is requiring all students, faculty and staff (100K total) to be vaccinated for the fall term.  Others doing much the same include Louisiana State and University of Minnesota.

The Atlanta Falcons on Aug. 16 announced it is the first NFL team to vaccinate 100% of its players and coaches.  Within the NFL, 92% of players are vaccinated; unvaccinated players face loss of eligibility and paychecks if they cause an outbreak.

Chicago is requiring all city workers to be vaccinated.  In New York state, all health care workers, public and private and including nursing home workers, must have at least 1 shot by Sept. 27.

Pres. Biden announced Aug. 18 that nursing home/long-term care workers in contact with Medicare/Medicaid patients must be vaccinated (or facilities lose federal funds).

Illinois is requiring all school staff and eligible students to be vaccinated.  New York City is requiring all school staff (150K people) to be vaccinated by Sept. 27, without the option of testing.  In addition, NYC is requiring high school student athletes participating this fall in high-risk sports to be vaccinated in order to play.  Oregon is requiring teachers and school staff to be vaccinated. New Jersey is also requiring school staff to be vaccinated, including those at private and charter schools. 

Pfizer/Moderna booster shots will be available to all this fall.  The time-table was originally announced as 8 months after the last shot, but that will likely shift to 6 months after the last shot.  This is due to growing evidence that the vaccines become less protective against infection as time goes on. This shows the dramatic effect of a booster shot, as far as increasing immunity:

In Texas, only 47% of all residents are fully vaccinated.  58% of adults and 78% of those 65 and older are fully vaccinated. 

San Antonio ISD became the first school district in Texas to mandate vaccinations for all teachers and staff. 

State-supported colleges and universities are forbidden by Gov. Abbott to require vaccines on campus, so instead they are bribing students and staff to get shots.  Prizes run from free parking and concert tickets to chances at free tuition.

Willie Nelson’s Aug. 22 concert required attendees to show proof of full vaccination or a recent negative test. The Austin City Limits Music Festival (Oct. 1-10) will require all patrons to provide proof of full vaccination or a recent negative test.

Harris County last week started giving $100 gift cards to people getting a first vaccination shot.  The vaccination rate there shot up by 700%.

Travis County is giving 2 additional days of paid leave to all workers showing proof of vaccination. 

Recent Covid articles I recommend….

Show Me the Data!  8/27/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/27/opinion/covid-data-vaccines.html

The F.D.A. grants full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. 8/23/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/23/us/politics/fda-approval-pfizer-vaccine.html

Desperate Texas doctors turn to antibody treatments to slow down surging COVID-19 hospitalizations 8/23/21 https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/23/coronavirus-texas-antibody-treatment-regeneron-doctors/

More people hospitalized, on ventilators for COVID-19 in Austin area than ever before 8/21/21 https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2021/08/10/texas-travis-county-covid-tracker-latest-case-trends-hospital-data/5551871001/

The Quiet Rage of the Responsible 8/19/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/19/opinion/covid-masks-vaccine-mandates.html

Ready for a COVID-19 vaccine booster? Your questions answered about getting a third dose.  8/18/21 https://www.statesman.com/story/news/healthcare/2021/08/18/covid-booster-vaccine-symptoms-pfizer-moderna-third-dose-johnson-johnson/8184202002/

Troubling CDC vaccine data convinced Biden team to back booster shots 8/17/21 https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/17/cdc-data-booster-shots-505637

Texas state elections

As far as Ken Paxton, this headline says it all.  Embattled Texas AG Ken Paxton releases anonymous internal investigation clearing himself. 8/24/21 https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Embattled-Texas-AG-Ken-Paxton-releases-anonymous-16408398.php Unfortunately, that article is behind a paywall, but you can go here for more. Scandal-plagued Texas AG says he’s been cleared by his own office 8/25/21  https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/scandal-plagued-texas-ag-says-he-s-been-cleared-his-n1277606?cid=eml_mra_20210825&user_email=6ed7408ec573645e45ac2a65b61d1e1e6ab1b9effbafc1d30d0a407afca1b325

Ted Cruz also thrust himself into the news, resulting in another self-explanatory headline.  Ted Cruz says he’d be a “disloyal jackass” if he didn’t vote for Greg Abbott for governor in Republican primary 8/19/21  https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/19/greg-abbott-reelection-ted-cruz/

One of the Republicans challenging Abbott in 2022 relied on his spouse for headlines.  Allen West, GOP candidate for governor, calls wife’s DWI arrest in Dallas “insidious” 8/21/21  https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/21/texas-candidate-allen-west-police/

Dan Patrick shoved an entire shoe rack in his mouth to grab his own shameful headline.  Dan Patrick said the unvaccinated Black community is driving the COVID surge. We fact-checked him. 8/27/21  https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/politifact/2021/08/27/no-covid-surge-cant-pinned-black-population/5601748001/

In Lakeway

Council met in Regular Session on Monday, Aug. 16, 6:30pm, in-person, at City Hall.  Also, the proposed FY2022 budget has been posted on the city’s site (see link below).  Meeting RESULTS in ALL CAPS. (Most of the meeting was held with 6 members in attendance; Council Member Vance arrived at 7:25 for the start of item 20.)

Mayor Kilgore kicked things off by noting that the 2020 Census has Lakeway population at 19,189.  (That tabulation is over a year old, so we’re likely over 20K strong now.)

–The Consent Agenda (items 4-12) includes appointment of members to the Board of Ethics, Parks and Recreation Committee, and Wildlife Advisory Committee (names are in the Meeting Packet), as well as awarding contracts after bidding solicited for civil engineering services and street striping (details in Meeting Packet).  ALL ITEMS WERE APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY, AFTER 1 NAME WAS SWAPPED OUT FOR WAC.

–Item 13 is Citizens Participation (for items not on the Consent Agenda).  ONE PERSON SPOKE

–Item 14 is the Financial Report. REVENUE IS $1M OVER AND EXPENDITURES ARE $450K UNDER THE SCHEDULED AMOUNTS.

–Item 15 is a request by Tex Arts for $50K of Hotel Occupancy Tax funds. APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY

–Item 16 is an increase in trash and recycling fees from $22.14 to $22.33 per month for each household (subsequent to the provider’s rate increase request being approved last month).  APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY

–Item 17 deals with the city’s franchise agreement with Austin Energy, maintaining the payment amount of 3% gross electric revenues from customers within Lakeway and extending the term for three years (instead of the requested 10 years and in order to coordinate with PEC’s franchise agreement, which now has a 2% rate with Lakeway—all to facilitate renegotiations with BOTH companies in 3 years).  APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY

–Item 18 is a law enforcement interlocal agreement between the city and LTISD (which recently created its own police department; this standard agreement allows the 2 forces to work together in overlapping jurisdictions, with Lakeway PD taking the lead for any serious crimes happening on campus).  APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY

–Item 19 is a special use permit for short-term rental (STR, less than 30 days) at 1819 Lakeway Boulevard.  A few negative citizen comments demonstrated common misunderstandings about short-term rentals.  So, take note: 1) City officials do NOT have legal authority to forbid the practice of short-term rentals in Lakeway, since the courts and Texas law hold that people have the right to use their residential property in this way. 2) Cities are allowed to regulate the practice in some ways; Lakeway limits STR to 25 single family homes AND requires at least 1,000’ distance between them.  Currently, we only have 15 STR permits out for single family homes (mostly due to the 1,000’ limit).  3) There is no number or distance limit for condos (World of Tennis, Casa Verde, etc.).  4) We used to be able to limit the number of occupants and the number of cars parked, but that is no longer allowed by state law.  5) There is no limit to the number of times a property can be rented per year.  6) City staff does keep track of any complaints (such as for noise) neighbors make to the police department, and repeat offenses will get permits revoked. (Only 1 complaint–for noise–is on record for all STR properties over the last several months.)  APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY

–Item 20 is a trio of requests relating to the proposed Nightingale Project, on 7.76 acres at 309 Ranch Road 620 North.  Considerable info is in the Meeting Packet, pages 87-248.  The current proposal is 248 rental units of Workforce housing (reduced rent for those making 60% or less of the area median income), with a parking garage and a privately-maintained one acre park, accessible to the public, to be built with several variances.  To allow this project via PUD (Planned Unit Development), applicant is asking for 3 things: change the property’s future land use map designation from commercial to residential; reduce the minimum PUD district size from 8 acres, as stated in the Code of Ordinances, to 7.76 acres; and change zoning from the current C-1 (Office/Retail) and AG (Agricultural) to PUD.  Many local businesses support this project, as it would provide lower cost housing to help staff our struggling businesses.  Residential neighbors insist it is too dense and lacks parking (despite a lot of improvement in both areas since ZAPCO’s May meeting, plus access from 620 will be via a stop light at Nightingale); people really cannot expect that land to remain undeveloped, and I doubt they will be happy with commercial use, either.  At the meeting, questions were raised as to whether TXDOT was committed to a traffic signal at 620 and Nightingale, as stipulated by the developer at the last ZAPCO meeting.  The developer suggested tabling Council’s decision until the September meeting so this could be clarified.  Council noted that ZAPCO assumed the traffic light was a given but still voted down the proposed development. So, Council declined to table the issue.  DEVELOPER WITHDREW THE APPLICATION, ENDING THE MATTER.

–Item 21 is approval of the FY 2022 budget and proposal of 2021 property tax rate.   The proposed budget was posted on the city’s site 8-13-21 https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/36734/FY-22-General-Fund-Draft-Budget City Manager Oakley reviewed budget several items:

–Lakeway’s tax base increased by 12%, from $5.1 billion last year to $5.7 billion this year. 

–Average taxable home value in Lakeway increased from $559K in 2020 to $661K in 2021.

–When residents pay their property tax bill, only 7% of the total goes to City of Lakeway; the city’s average tax levy is $945. 

–The “no new tax rate” would be 0.1547; she says 0.1545 will result in $16.3 million of balanced revenue and expenditures.  (Previous tax rate was 0.1645, a full penny more per $100 valuation.)

–This budget allows the usual transfer of $350K to the Capital Reserve Fund and provides a healthy 33% Fund Balance Ratio.

–As for expenditures, the big increases are a 5% increase for personnel (COLA and merit raises for staff) and an 80% increase in Capitol Outlay largely due to needing to purchase 5 vehicles.

–On Sept. 13, there will be a public hearing on the issue.  The Sept. 20 meeting is the deadline to adopt a budget and tax rate.

Tax rate of 0.1545 per $100 valuation–APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY (which means the rate cannot be increased)

–Addendum #1: Increase of Lakeway’s over age 65 homestead property tax exemption.  Per the City Manager, 2,404 homes (23% of properties on the tax roll) now qualify for the current $5K exemption; the exempted value is roughly $12M and it saves $19T in taxes/$8 per 65+ homeowner.  Increasing the exemption to $15K would save $57T in taxes/$24 per 65+ homeowner (shifting the $38T difference to other owners, residential and commercial, at roughly $7/each).  APPROVED 5/0 (with 2 abstentions)

–Addendum #2: Review of a Nov. 16, 2020 ordinance re: Stratus and The Oaks’ development and setting a date certain for beginning its portion of the Main Street extension.

As the Mayor pointed out, the start date in the ordinance has passed.  Despite multiple attempts at outreach by the city, Stratus has failed to respond with any plans.  After discussion, Council AGREED the Mayor should communicate to Stratus that the city needs a proposal by Council’s next meeting on Main Street or a vote will be taken to enforce the ordinance.

–Items 22, 23, and 24 are Executive Sessions, where Council will consider (behind closed doors) a Lakeway MUD property request, police department matters, and legal advice relating to certain developments in the ETJ. EXECUTIVE SESSIONS STARTED 8:14PM; COUNCIL BACK IN OPEN SESSION 8:53PM.

–Item 25 is action, if any, on items discussed in the Executive Sessions.

City Attorney reported that, as to Item 24, because the Lazy 9 MUDs (located in the ETJ area south of 71 that was captured at the July meeting) are in advance stages, Lakeway should decline imposing its ordinances on them, assuming they proceed to obtain all Travis County and LCRA approvals as planned.  The City Manager needs authorization to sign a memorandum of understanding detailing this.  APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY

—Item 2: ADJOURNED 8:56PM.

Go here to watch this meeting— https://lakewaytx.new.swagit.com/videos/130514

Back to me….

I’m thinking that America is doomed, as far as an adequate response to Covid.  It has been 18 months, and we are still wallowing in it.  As a nation, we are 1) too stupid to comprehend the complex science involved; 2) too paranoid to accept that science evolves and expert guidance changes when dealing with a “novel” virus; and 3) too stubborn to just shut up and do as we are told by the few of us who have grasped points 1 and 2.  I mean, gulping down livestock doses of ivermectin—really??? 

SPACs (special-purpose acquisition companies) have long been on my (extensive) list of Things I Do Not Understand.  I finally get them. They allow unlikely/shady people to raise money for unspecified purposes with little to no transparency or regulation; as the article says—the only reason for doing a SPAC is to lure money in from ill-informed and greedy suckers desperate for a deal.  SPACs are bad.  Move on.  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/21/business/dealbook/spac-market-future.html

Good books I recently finished (available at Lake Travis Community Library):

—I Alone Can Fix It (2021) by Carol Lennig and Philip Rucker—Three books came out in July on Trump’s disastrous final year in office, and I’m glad I saved this one for last; it is far and away the best-sourced and most complete.  And, yes—I can still be shocked and nauseated by what Trump says and does.  These Washington Post journalists covered it ALL—campaign, pandemic, election loss/Big Lie, insurrection, pardons and impeachment #2.  Among the many revelations I haven’t seen elsewhere are numerous comments from military leaders—Generals Estes, Millay, McCarthy and more—often deeply concerned about Trump’s mental capacity and how far he would go to stay in office; no surprise there, except their concerns explain why there was zero military presence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, despite the desperate need for it and even after VP Pence begged for help. The book also details how the adults on the White House staff gradually faded away after Nov. 3 and then deserted in droves after Jan. 6, leaving Trump to be managed by Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and on-and-off-again lawyer Giuliani, both of whom opened the gates to their even smarmier cohorts.  Just as he did with the other authors, Trump insisted on hosting Lennig and Rucker at Mar-a-Lago for a final Q&A among the retirees waiting for the buffet to open.  There, Trump shared his one big regret—that he did not crush BLM protests with military might.  Because, he’s still convinced he handled Covid-19 perfectly. 

—Transient Desires (2021), by Donna Leon—This series is like a vacation in Venice with knowledgeable locals guiding the way.  In the 30th installment, the remarkably well-read Commissario Guido Brunetti solves crimes along the city’s scenic canals and despite endemic local corruption at every level.  It is the perfect antidote to Covid concerns and political mayhem.

Still seeing sweet fawns on my morning walks, but their spots are fading and they are growing up fast.

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Panda cub video update on Washington Zoo’s Xiao (AKA Biscuit) who turned ONE YEAR OLD on Aug. 21:

Giant Panda Xiao Qi Ji Celebrates His First Birthday at Smithsonian’s National Zoo 8/21/21 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDIbeZDfZgA

Giant panda’s big day–National Zoo’s cub turns 1  8/21/21 https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/dc/national-zoo-giant-panda-cub-turns-1/65-01c76d3f-c5b6-4a25-8037-4a3e07fbd109?fbclid=IwAR11pUNC5yRy_jbjmYdG-VdNEYHvlKhPMGWLxrdCMwOmJ9dgChB2baWDkbE

The Best (And Cutest) Moments From The Giant Panda Cub’s First Year At The Zoo 8/20/21 https://www.npr.org/local/305/2021/08/23/1030271834/the-best-and-cutest-moments-from-the-giant-panda-cub-s-first-year-at-the-zoo

The Coronavirus   

Worldwide, reported infections have exceeded 200 million.  Deaths are over 4 million.  Both numbers are thought to be far lower than reality due to minimal testing and poor reporting in many countries.

Iran is seeing out of control daily cases and deaths.  Australia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines are combating severe surges.  Martinique and Guadeloupe, 2 French territories in the Caribbean, are having their first Covid surges.

Japan reported an explosion of new cases and an “impending disaster” as the country set records for daily new case rates most of last week.  Over 400 infections were reported among the competitors and others while in Japan for the Olympics. 

In the US, the Delta variant is still winning the current battle of the war against Covid.  The country is averaging over 125,000 new cases per day.   More than 72,000 Americans are now hospitalized with Covid, and the average death rate is over 650 per day and rising sharply.

Louisiana and Florida spent the last couple weeks vying to lead the nation in new cases.  If they were independent countries, they would lead the world.  Indoor mask mandates were reinstated in Louisiana.  Florida lacks the leadership to take that measure; it has more Covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths now that at any point in the pandemic.

University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson has responded to the state’s surge (leaving the entire state without available ICU beds for a full week) by converting its garage to a field hospital for Covid patients.  It will be staffed by federal health care workers.

Missouri hospitals are still overwhelmed in most areas, though the surge may have crested there. Special ambulance squads are parked outside full hospitals to ferry patients to other facilities for care—often several counties away and even out of the state.

Oregon is experiencing a sudden surge in hospitalizations with a severe shortage of staff.  National Guard troops are being deployed to assist with care. Oregon is requiring masks be worn indoors, in public spaces, throughout the state. Of course, this is a terrible time for the new school year to be starting.  New Jersey and Virginia will require masks in schools. 

In Arkansas, parents went to court over the state’s BAN on mask mandates in schools; a judge blocked the ban, for now.  Arkansas judge temporarily blocks the state’s ban on mask mandates   https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/08/06/world/covid-delta-variant-vaccine?campaign_id=154&emc=edit_cb_20210806&instance_id=37362&nl=coronavirus-briefing&regi_id=122311001&segment_id=65629&te=1&user_id=85e9340cba19164d75f3915211a487be#arkansas-mask-mandate-asa-hutchinson

Concert tours were starting up again, but now many are being cancelled.  Stevie Nicks cancelled her entire 5-show 2021 tour (including her ACL Festival date). Other tour cancellations include Counting Crows and Limp Bizkit. Jason Isbell cancelled his Houston show; he only plays venues requiring proof of vaccination or a current negative test to attend.  Michael Bublé and Counting Crows have postponed tour dates.

Amazon, Wells Fargo, BlackRock, The New York Times, and countless smaller companies nationwide have delayed planned returns to in-person work due to the surge. 

In the last 2 weeks, US cases have increased 66%, hospitalizations are up 74%, and deaths are up 116%.

Experts now say the best-case long-term result with Covid is that we tame—not eliminate—it.  To get there, vaccination must become the norm.  Very nearly all adults are thus protected, and kids get vaccinated early on along with all the other usual shots.  Breakthrough cases will happen, but they are mild. Since everyone is protected from serious disease, hospitalization and death by vaccination, masking and other precautions are NOT needed.  Once we get to this point, Covid will—finally—be reduced to “just like the flu”—yukky but not dire.  The glaring exceptions will be among the unvaccinated, whose suffering and death should serve as a cautionary tale to others. To keep those exceptions from overwhelming hospitals and imploding the economy, we must get a lot more adults vaccinated AND get vaccines approved for even the youngest children.  BUT–how long until we get there, and how many more people will die needlessly?  Plus, of course, there’s no guarantee we ever convert that sunny scenario to reality.  It can be derailed in several ways, including continued vaccination failure, new variants emerging that are not blocked by the existing vaccines, or another ugly surprise from this aptly named “novel” virus. This one-hour podcast (there’s a link to a written transcript) with epidemiologist Dr. Céline Gounder is an excellent overview of Delta, where we are now, and what to expect; happily, she is overall optimistic.  The Good News and Bad News about the Delta Variant 8/6/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/06/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-celine-gounder.html

In Texas, in the last 2 weeks, cases have increased 58%, hospitalizations are up 86%, and deaths are up 150%. Over 75% of new cases in Texas are due to Delta.

Texas is reporting 14,000 new cases daily.  As of now, there are 11,261 Texans hospitalized for Covid-19.  The current positivity test rate is 19%.

Over 50 Texas hospitals had no available ICU capacity last week.  Houston hospitals erected tents for extra capacity; still, Covid patients are being transferred to hospitals out of the city and even out of the state.  The Austin metropolitan area (comprised of 11 counties, with over 3 million people) was down to 2 ICU beds off and on over the last several days.  Children and even infants are in ICUs and on ventilators, in high numbers not seen in previous surges.  Covid hospitalizations (over 95% are unvaccinated) are expected to exceed 15,000 later this month.

Large urban school districts, in light of the surge and increased hospitalization of children, are ignoring Gov. Abbott’s bizarre decree against mask mandates.  (As well they should, since his emergency powers are limited to measures protecting public safety; REQUIRING masks protects public health, but how can BANNING masks do so?)  State courts issued temporary injunctions last week against Abbott’s mask ban, specifically for Dallas and San Antonio schools.  School districts in Austin/Travis County and Houston, and more will require masks, as well.  (Fort Worth was also on that list, until 4 parents sued and got a judge to enter a restraining order, which may or may not stand.)  If Abbott dares to follow through with the threatened fines and loss of school funding, it will all end up in the courts.

Austin Community College has adopted a mask mandate.  University of Texas has NOT done so to date; as a state school, it is bowing to Abbott’s edict.

Vaccinations–the safe path to herd immunity

Worldwide, booster shots are becoming controversial.  Germany, France, Hungary and Russia are offering booster shots to high-risk people (the elderly and those with compromised immune systems).  The UK says it has purchased extra vaccines in case boosters are needed in the fall.  The companies making vaccines are VERY much in favor of boosters, for obvious reasons.  Others feel no one should be offered a third shot until some level of vaccination has been reached world-wide; this is not just altruistic, since the pandemic won’t be stopped until all countries have access to vaccines.  The World Health Organization recently called for a moratorium on boosters until late September, so that all countries have a chance to vaccinate at least 10% of their populations.  The US government position is that boosters GENERALLY are not now needed (though stock vaccine has been purchased), and the issue is being monitored. BUT, an extra shot for those whose immune system is compromised (such as organ transplant patients) was recently approved. The F.D.A. authorized a third dose of Covid vaccines for immunocompromised people 8/13/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/us/covid-vaccine-booster-pfizer-moderna.html

Germany has always provided free Covid testing.  Now, unvaccinated people have to pay for testing.

In the US, just over 50% of the entire population is FULLY vaccinated.  And, on Aug. 2 we reached the milestone of 70% of American adults getting at least 1 shot, a month after the hoped-for date of July 4.  Still, that leaves over 90 million eligible people unvaccinated.  The good news is that vaccinations are up; we are now averaging over 700K shots per day.

Vaccine mandates are proliferating.  This ruling helped, strongly indicating there is no legal impediment to mandates, even for emergency authorization vaccines.  The Supreme Court won’t block Indiana University’s vaccine mandate 8/12/21  https://apnews.com/article/health-courts-coronavirus-pandemic-us-supreme-court-c10f02b467c86e2b61c6743aedd4fc69

The New York Stock Exchange is requiring vaccinations to enter its trading floor.  Tyson Foods is requiring its entire workforce of over 120,000 people to be vaccinated.  Walmart, the country’s largest private employer, announced vaccine mandates for employees, BUT ONLY for the 17K people working at its headquarters and NOT for its 1.6 million store employees; for them, Walmart is increasing its cash incentive to get a shot, to $150.  Microsoft will require all employees and visitors be vaxxed by September.  BlackRock is requiring workers be vaccinated upon a delayed return to offices in October.  Amtrak is requiring all employees be vaccinated or test weekly.  CNN fired 3 workers who violated policy by returning to in-person work unvaccinated. 

San Francisco as of Aug. 20 will require FULL vaccination for patrons of indoor dining, bars, nightclubs, gyms, concerts, theaters and other events held inside; testing is not an option.  Workers in SF are being given until October to get vaccinated.  New York state will require public transport workers be vaccinated or tested weekly by September and is considering the same for other frontline workers including teachers, healthcare workers and nursing home workers. New York City will require proof of vaccination to access indoor spaces—including restaurants, gyms, movies, concerts, and other performances, starting in September. Virginia is requiring all state workers to be vaccinated. Washington, DC is requiring all public workers to be vaccinated.  Washington state is requiring state workers and heath care providers to be vaccinated.  Hawaii is requiring all public workers (including public school teachers) be vaccinated.  California is requiring all teachers and school staff (at public and private schools) to be vaccinated or face weekly testing. The nation’s largest teachers’ unions now support mandating vaccines for teachers.  LA and Chicago are requiring all teachers and school staff to be vaccinated.  Some Ohio judges are requiring vaccination for allowing prisoners probation. 

A study done in 10 US states found over 1 million doses were wasted from December, 2020-July, 2021.  Reasons include breakage, storage/transportation problems, expiration, and shots that were prepared but not used after people did not show up for appointments.  The highest loss rate found was 2% in a given state.  Extrapolating to all 50 states yields an estimated 5 million wasted doses so far.

The FDA plans to complete the process for FINAL approval (as opposed to the current emergency authorization) of the Pfizer vaccine in early September.

In Texas, of all state residents, only 44% are fully vaccinated, with 53% of those age 12 and up fully protected.  Both numbers are well below the national averages.

Recent Covid articles I recommend….

Texas Hospitals Are Already Overloaded. Doctors Are ‘Frightened by What Is Coming.’ 8/11/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/11/us/covid-texas-hospitalizations-icu.html

Austin warns of ‘catastrophe’ as Texas again becomes epicenter of pandemic  8/9/21 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/09/austin-catastrophe-epicenter-again-pandemic

Fears as more children falling ill in latest US Covid surge and school approaches 8/8/21 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/08/us-children-covid-delta-latest-surge

‘This Is Really Scary’: Kids Struggle With Long Covid 8/8/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/08/health/long-covid-kids.html

What to Do With Our Covid Rage 8/7/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/07/opinion/sunday/covid-unvaccinated-anger.html

The Good News and Bad News about the Delta Variant 8/6/21 (one hour podcast with link to a written transcript) https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/06/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-celine-gounder.html

Is the Future Just a Spike Protein Stamping on a Human Face, Forever?  8/5/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/05/opinion/covid-delta-vaccinated-flu.html

Should I Mask? Can I Travel? What About Hugs? How Delta Is Changing Advice for the Vaccinated  8/3/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/03/well/live/covid-delta-variant-vaccine-symptoms.html

Daring Mighty Things

There was an emergency in space, lasting an hour.  On July 29, the International Space Station–a complex and delicate network of modules, arrays, antennas and equipment that all together is larger than a football field—abruptly spun 1 and a half revolutions and stopped upside down, due to an accidental thruster firing by a newly docked Russian craft.  To correct orbital position, the ISS fired its own thrusters to forward flip 180 degrees, returning to normal.  There were seven astronauts on board.  All seems to be well, but the ISS was not built for gymnastic stunts, and nothing like this ever happened in its previous 22 years of existence.  It Was His Day Off. Then the Space Station Went for a Spin.  8/2/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/02/science/nasa-space-station-zebulon-scoville.html

Texas state elections

There wasn’t much election news recently, except for Gov. Abbott wreaking havoc as he feebly works his best Trump impression. 

So, the first special legislative session in Texas limped to an end on Aug. 6, and Gov. Abbott immediately called a second special session starting Aug. 7.  His pet priorities include the vote-restricting bill that nuked the previous session.  Gov. Greg Abbott announces special legislative session starting Saturday, covering elections, federal COVID-19 funding, quorum rules  8/5/21  https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/02/greg-abbott-texas-special-legislative-session/

With Congress on vacation, the AWOL Texas Democratic reps militating in DC for national voter registration protections are coming home.  The bad news is that the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court on Aug. 10 ruled the Dems can be arrested upon their return to Texas and forcibly returned to House chambers; just for practice, apparently, the House locked inside its less-than-quorum membership last week. Texas Supreme Court allows for arrest of Democrats who don’t show up to Legislature  8/10/21  https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/10/texas-greg-abbott-democrats-special-session/

The good news is that Abbott caved on his spiteful veto of all funding for the legislative branch when Dems first broke quorum over voting rights back in May. So, Capitol workers and government contractors will get paid.  After his veto didn’t lure Democrats back to work, Gov. Abbott extends funding for legislative branch 8/7/21  https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/state/2021/08/07/texas-gov-greg-abbott-restores-legislative-branch-funding-special-session/5514626001/

In Lakeway

Go here for Mayor Kilgore’s Aug. 11 video update on Covid, the police chief search and more– https://www.facebook.com/cityoflakeway

Lakeway Council meets in Regular Session on Monday, Aug. 16, 6:30pm, in-person, at City Hall. 

Also, the proposed FY2022 budget has been posted on the city’s site (see link below). 

Consequential Agenda items include:

–The Consent Agenda (items 4-12) includes appointment of members to the Board of Ethics, Parks and Recreation Committee, and Wildlife Advisory Committee (names are in the Meeting Packet), as well as awarding contracts after bidding solicited for civil engineering services and street striping (details in Meeting Packet).

–Item 13 is Citizens Participation (for items not on the Consent Agenda).

–Item 14 is the Financial Report.

–Item 15 is a request by Tex Arts for $50K of Hotel Occupancy Tax funds.

–Item 16 is an increase in trash and recycling fees from $22.14 to $22.33 per month for each household (subsequent to the provider’s rate increase request being approved last month).

–Item 17 deals with the city’s franchise agreement with Austin Energy, maintaining the payment amount of three percent gross electric revenues from customers within Lakeway and extending the term for three years (instead of the requested 10 years).

–Item 18 is a law enforcement interlocal agreement between the city and LTISD.

–Item 19 is a special use permit for short-term rental at 1819 Lakeway Boulevard. –Item 20 is a trio of requests relating to the proposed Nightingale Project, on 7.76 acres at 309 Ranch Road 620 North.  Considerable info is in the Meeting Packet, pages 87-248.  The current proposal is 248 rental units of Workforce housing (reduced rent for those making 60% or less of the area median income), with a parking garage and a privately-maintained one acre park, accessible to the public, to be built with several variances.  To allow this project via PUD (Planned Unit Development), applicant is asking for 3 things: change the property’s future land use map designation from commercial to residential; reduce the minimum PUD district size from 8 acres, as stated in the Code of Ordinances, to 7.76 acres; and change zoning from the current C-1 (Office/Retail) and AG (Agricultural) to PUD.  Many local businesses support this project, as it would provide lower cost housing to help staff our struggling businesses.  Residential neighbors insist it is too dense and lacks parking (despite a lot of improvement in both areas since ZAPCO’s May meeting, plus access from 620 will be via a stop light at Nightingale); people really cannot expect that land to remain undeveloped, and I doubt they will be happy with commercial use, either.  This project was voted down at the Aug. 9 ZAPCO meeting.  Go here to view discussion of item 9: https://lakewaytx.new.swagit.com/videos/130144

–Item 21 is approval of the FY 2022 budget and proposal of 2021 property tax rate.   The proposed budget was posted on the city’s site 8-13-21–https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/36734/FY-22-General-Fund-Draft-Budget

–Items 22, 23, and 24 are Executive Sessions, where Council will consider (behind closed doors) a Lakeway MUD property request, police department matters, and legal advice relating to certain developments in the ETJ.

–Item 25 is action, if any, on items discussed in the Executive Sessions.

–Addendum #1 adds this—possible increase of Lakeway’s over age 65 homestead property tax exemption.

–Addendum #2 adds this—review of a Nov. 16, 2020 ordinance re: The Oaks’ Main Street extension.

–Item 26—Adjourn. Go here for the Agenda (with Addendum 1 and Addendum 2) and the Meeting Packet— https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/archive.aspx

To send comments to Council beforehand (by 3pm Monday) about any agenda item, go here and create a Public Comment Form– https://lakeway-tx.civicweb.net/Portal/CitizenEngagement.aspx

Go here to watch the Council meeting online (live or after the fact)— https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1062/Videos—Meetings-Events

Back to me….

I’m pretty much staying home again, to avoid Delta.  Also staying off ladders, to avoid breaking a hip or something since hospitals are full….

So, I have plenty of time to read.  Good books I recently finished (available at Lake Travis Community Library):

—Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency (2021), by Michael Wolff—I don’t like the author’s writing style (and haven’t read his other Trump books), and for me the first half of this book chronicling the last stage of the 2020 campaign was just so-so.  But, his coverage of how White House insiders managed, manipulated and isolated Trump from election day through Jan. 6, the second impeachment, and trading the Oval Office for Mar-a-Lago’s lobby is riveting.  Plus, Wolff’s scoop on the 3 stooges who reluctantly appeared as Trump’s lawyers during the impeachment trial in the Senate is laugh-out-loud funny and explains SO MUCH of what happened (and didn’t happen) on camera.  Wolff demonstrates that the Trump who walked into office as President was exactly the same as the Trump who left 4 years later.  Despite countless failures, disasters and disgraces, he never changed or learned or grew or transformed; he never got better, and he was never ashamed.

—Frankly, We Did Win This Election (2021), by Michael C. Bender—This is a well-written account of Trump’s last year in office, by the Wall Street Journal reporter who covered him since the beginning.  Bender (who Trump condemns as overly harsh but still favors due to his “beautiful hair”) provides new details on the Lafayette Square/Bible debacle, the super-spreader Tulsa rally, Trump’s rabid hyena impression at the first debate, Trump’s own case of Covid, the shock of election night, Jan. 6 in all its glory, the odd Trump/Pence relationship, impeachment 2.0, and more.  Bender closes with an eerie portrait of Trump’s life post-presidency, holding court in the lobby of Mar-a-Lago among the other faded septuagenarians with their trophy wives, discussing the menu and golf every bit as seriously as politics, and preening in the adulation of the crowd—even if it is just applause as he enters the dining room for meatloaf.

I feel zero pity for Trump, but both these books make it crystal clear that he is damaged mentally and psychologically, to the point he should be confined for everyone’s protection.  Instead, his staff and political allies keep him propped up for their own benefit, and the purely transactional relationship he has with family members means they will do the same as long as cash and power dribble down to them.

—Forget the Alamo (2021), by Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, and Jason Stanford—Any book that sets Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s hair on fire goes on my must-read list, and this one did not disappoint.  For a history book, it is delightfully light and often downright funny; as the authors say—they don’t take themselves too seriously.  They do, however, slay several beloved Alamo myths and expose the truth that territorial Texas rebelled against Mexico back in 1836 to protect slavery.  Plus, the doomed heroes of the Alamo were slave owners.  (Not having grown up in Texas, I didn’t realize any of that was “news.”  I also didn’t realize Texas today requires kids be taught the Alamo defenders were “heroic.”)  The story didn’t end in 1836, of course, and the book covers the modern era of Alamo handling by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, University of Texas, General Land Office, and—oddly enough—British musician Phil Collins.

I had to replace my exercise bike (RIP, NordicTrack).  Amazon sent me a new one—in a VERY heavy box that was bigger than I am and filled with a sea of parts, bolt-thingees, and a teeny-tiny tool set.  It took 3 hours and ruined a Sunday, but I ended up with something that looks a lot like an exercise bike.  Every time I use it, I’m shocked that it works.

I’m seeing deer on my morning walks, but their location is very different than in previous summers.  Wonder why….  Here are some photos I took recently.

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Panda cub video update on Washington Zoo’s Xiao (AKA Biscuit) who turns ONE YEAR OLD on Aug. 21:

Fun and informative article by one of Xiao’s keepers: Caring for Giant Pandas: Stories from a Real-Life Zoo Guardian 8/8/21 https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/news/caring-for-giant-pandas-stories-real-life-zoo-guardian?fbclid=IwAR0GlmUYEKiLFFJaYtnKszM3sljiizHsAyLOlBISbDnwHWQeL4ZPvZs2Fmg

Xiao Qi Ji: A Memoir, With Love by Dr Q  8/12/21 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkNda53kwlA

Xiao Qi Ji and Mei Xaing  8/7/21 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-XS7K9_w0E

Xiao–Trotting Little Cutie Has Fun in the Yard  8/3/21 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHGYJM8Wg-U