COVID-19 Update
The number of hospitalizations rose this past week, along with the number of cases in Travis County. There are 112 individuals hospitalized in our region with COVID-19, up from 89 reported last week. The number of daily hospitalizations on a seven-day average in our five-county area is sitting at about 23, up from close to 16 last week. Click here for more details on hospitalizations.

There have now been a total of 31,327 cumulative COVID-19 cases reported in Travis County. That number is up by 639 compared to this same time last week, 613 the week before that, and 499 the week before that one. It's estimated there are 840 active COVID-19 positive cases in the county, which is up from 781 reported last week. For the three zip codes associated with Lakeway (78734, 78738, 78669), there have been 684 cases identified to date, which is up by 28 compared to the same time last week, and up by 14 comparing with the week before that. Click here for more details and to view the tracking tool, which includes an interactive map to see cases by your zip code.

Travis County continues with Stage 3 guidelines, including keeping gatherings to no more than 10 individuals and wearing a face covering in public. Also, please continue to social/physical distance between individuals not in your household, and wash your hand regularly. Thank you for continuing to follow these guidelines during this difficult and unusual time.




October City Council Meeting Wrap
The regular Lakeway City Council meeting was this past Monday evening (October 19, 2020). Here are some of the highlights:

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:
The Economic Development Advisory Committee presented their research and recommendations to councilmembers. Of note, they recommended a modest approach to economic development with five objectives:
  1. Support local businesses to help ensure their success.
  2. Attract new businesses that serve Lakeway residents.
  3. Explore and launch a high quality event that would attract tourists and promote Lakeway as one of Austin's premier suburban communities.
  4. Shape the redevelopment of the RR 620 corridor.
  5. Expand and diversify Lakeway's tax base to make it more recession-resistant.
Click here to check out the entire presentation from the advisory committee.

HOT FUNDING: The Lake Travis Film Festival was unanimously approved to receive $50,000 from the Hotel Occupancy Tax Fund for registration, marketing and promotion of the arts for 2021.

TRANSPORTATION: City Council unanimously voted in favor of adopting the Thoroughfare Plan for the City, which is a key component for long-range planning by pursuing transportation strategies as identified by transportation studies and summarized by the 2020 Comprehensive Plan. Click here to view the plan and maps.

CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUNDS: Finally, City Council voted unanimously to allow the City Manager to move forward with signing an interlocal agreement with Travis County for administration of Coronavirus relief funding under the CARES Act.

Those are just some of the highlights. You can watch the full meeting (which is segmented by agenda item), by clicking here.
Drive Thru Boo! Event Next Week
Prepare your little goblins for this spook-tacular Drive Thru Boo! event next Friday evening (October 30, 2020) starting at 7 p.m. and running until 8:30 p.m. This event is free and open to Lakeway residents. You and your family will start the evening by pulling up to our special trick-or-treat drive thru service at the Lakeway Police Department, then heading over to the Activity Center, before wrapping up your journey at the Liebelt Cabin next to City Hall. Wear your best costume and mask, grab your candy bag, and bring your little trick-or-treaters out to this special drive thru service on Halloween Eve. Click here for more details, including a special map guiding you to the three city locations. Happy Halloween from the City of Lakeway!
NEW: Brush Recycling Saturday

Free brush recycling will be offered at the Public Works Department located at 3303 Serene Hills Drive tomorrow (Saturday, October 24) from 8 a.m. to noon. Individuals must show proof of residency through a trash bill or driver's license. One pick up truck load per resident. Contractors will not be able to deliver for residents. Oak trimmings, along with other tree trimmings, brush, shrubs, palm fronds, and leaves will be accepted. Lumber, pallets, scrap metal and construction materials or any other types of solid waste will not be accepted during this event. Click here for more information.
NEW: Last Blood Drive of 2020

The last Lakeway Community Blood Drive of 2020 will take place on Saturday, November 21 from 8 a.m. through Noon at the Lakeway Activity Center located at 105 Cross Creek. Individuals must make an appointment. Walk-ins will not be accepted at this event. As per the previous blood drives during the pandemic, enhanced health and safety protocols will be in place. If you are sick the morning of the event, please call ahead to open up appointments for those on the wait list. Click here to sign up and register, or you can email the organizers at lakewaycommunityblooddrive@gmail.com.

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY (Oct. 18 - Oct. 24)

  • 42 BC: Mark Antony and Octavian defeat Brutus's army in Liberators' civil war
  • 1633: The Ming dynasty defeats the Dutch Each India Company
  • 1789: John Jay is sworn in as first Chief Justice of the U.S.
  • 1803: The U.S. ratifies the Louisiana Purchase
  • 1818: The Convention of 1818 settles a majority of the U.S./Canada border
  • 1836: Sam Houston is inaugurated as the first President of the Republic of Texas
  • 1850: The first National Women's Rights Convention begins in Massachusetts
  • 1851: Two moons discovered orbiting Uranus
  • 1851: Herman Melville's Moby Dick first published as The Whale
  • 1861: The first transcontinental telegraph line across the U.S. is completed
  • 1867: The U.S. takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million
  • 1879: Thomas Edison applies for patent for his design of an incandescent light bulb
  • 1898: The U.S. takes possession of Puerto Rico from Spain
  • 1901: Annie Edson Taylor becomes first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel
  • 1926: Harry Houdini's last performance takes place in Detroit
  • 1929: "Black Thursday" is beginning of stock market crash leading to Great Depression
  • 1943: Researchers isolate Streptomycin, the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis
  • 1946: A camera aboard V-2 No. 13 rocket takes first photograph of earth from outer space
  • 1954: Texas Instruments announces first transistor radio
  • 1957: First U.S. casualties in the Vietnam War reported
  • 1963: Felicette, a Parisian stray cat, becomes first cat launched into space
  • 1966: The Supremes become first all-female music group to attain a No. 1 selling album
  • 1979: The FCC allows people to have home satellite earth stations without a federal license
  • 2008: "Bloody Friday" has many world stock exchanges seeing worst declines in history
  • 2015: Hurricane Patricia shows highest reliably-measured non-tornadic sustained winds
  • 2019: NASA astronauts Jessica Meir/Christina Koch take part in 1st all-female space walk

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