About Todd Hower

When you want to crack your dessert …

Choose a cup-like crepe, croissant, or brownie pastry shell. Pipe in your choice of pastry creams and top it off with a spherical chocolate shell that is filled with house coulis (a sauce made from fruit or vegetable puree) and meant to be cracked like an egg. FoliePop’s opens in the Hill Country Galleria in spring 2020.

When you have a favorite …

What does Austin have in common with Charlotte, Portland, Oklahoma City, and Milwaukee? According to ClassPass’ 2019 fitness trends, those cities share the most popular form of group exercise class: yoga.

When you’re in, or you’re out …

With the end of the regular season for high school football this weekend, let’s take a look at all of our area districts and see which teams are in contention for a playoff berth.

When you’re not accepted …

The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s 2045 Regional Arterials Study was renamed and heavily critiqued by the Transportation Policy Board on Monday. The $1.5 million study is a big-picture transportation modeling exercise that was intended to serve as a kind of connectivity wish list for local governments across the region. The study is particularly attractive for smaller jurisdictions (think Lakeway) that don’t have the resources to create a transportation plan of their own. Austin Mayor Steve Adler also proposed changing the meeting language to reflect that the board “received” rather than “accepted” the briefing on what would now be known as the Regional Arterials Inventory.

When you’re a cut through …

Lakeway residents are very concerned about the prospect of quiet neighborhood streets — like Rolling Green and Clara Van — being opened for connectivity traffic.

When you live in a tinderbox …

River Place and several communities nearby face some of the highest risk of catastrophic wildfires in the Austin area. And the city of Austin released an audit in late October indicating the city isn’t doing enough to prepare.

When someone says you’re overvalued …

Austin’s housing market is “overvalued,” according to CoreLogic. The area ranks in the top 5 nationally for new home sales, but the metro still doesn’t have enough starter homes to meet demand.

When you vote …

Voters across southwestern Travis County approved the Travis County Groundwater Conservation District’s Proposition A, clearing the way for members of the district’s board to regulate groundwater across a wide swath of land in southern and western Travis County.

When Halloween is over …

Merry Christmas, Lake Travis! Uhm, er, well… it’s not technically Christmas, but you know how the holiday time warp goes after Halloween. But no need to panic, because the Lake Travis area will be chock-full of shopping & decor options, just in time for the holidays.

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When you’re breaking a different record …

Today is the coldest Halloween in Austin since 1991.

When you’re crushing on Halloween candy in Texas …

According to Candy Store’s Top Halloween Candy State-by-State, you’ve probably purchased or consumed pounds of these three candies if you live in Texas. Thank goodness we don’t live in Arizona.

When you can’t touch the bottom …

The University Interscholastic League recently approved water polo as a pilot program beginning in 2021. Water polo has been a club sport in a smattering of Texas high schools for years — including Vandegrift — but this move by the UIL has created a buzz throughout the state. Texas will spend the next two years trying to organize the sport and becomes just the seventh state in the nation to sanction the game.

When you have what it takes …

Lake Travis quarterback Hudson Card received his honorary Under Armour All-America game jersey and is one of the top 100 players in the nation that will compete in Orlando on January 2, 2020.

When the ‘burbs are booming …

Austin Business Journal recently listed the 20 Austin suburbs where home values have skyrocketed over the past ten years.

When you aren’t out of your league …

You’re in it. By early 2020, The League Kitchen & Tavern will be occupying this primo spot in the Lake Travis area. And burger lovers in the Cedar Park area will enjoy the Hopdoddy Burger Bar opening on November 4. Free burgers for a year will be offered to the first 100 guests in line at the grand opening party on November 9 from 3-6 pm.

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When you’re ready to try oblong pizza …

A St. Louis-based pizzeria is preparing to bring its pies to the Lake Travis area. ’Zza is planning to open in November at Colinas Crossing in Bee Cave.

When you send it back …

Lakeway City Council decided to send the zoning decision on the last big tract of land in Lakeway — AKA The Square — back to the Zoning & Planning Commission.

When the bucks get frisky …

That means it’s deer rutting season, so pay close attention to your surroundings when driving in the Lake Travis area.

When you believe predictions can double your money in a decade …

Austin Business Journal reached out to local Realtors to forecast where home values will climb fastest in the next decade.

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When you do a double-take at your water bill …

More than 100 customers in and around Steiner Ranch have reached out to Travis County Water District #17 in search of answers regarding what appears to be a considerable increase in their water bills. What does WCID #17 say? You should check for a leak, and there are 35 days in the September billing cycle. Many water users are skeptical about the utility’s response.

When you like kiting and kickback schemes …

On September 25, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against the Lakeway Regional Medical Center and several of its founding investors/administrators, charging that the group defrauded the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in a mortgage loan transaction that eventually cost HUD $172 million. Hopefully, American taxpayers won’t be left with the bill.

When you’re referred to as a cedar chopper …

The Westlake area has been educating students since 1872 when Robert Eanes established and built the first schoolhouse, now known as Eanes Elementary. And before there was anything — roads, stores, electricity — there was a school.

When you think you’re a tough guy …

You make verbal threats and inappropriate gestures toward elementary students. And then you get arrested.

When you like ketchup packets and syrup dispensers …

IHOP and Chick-Fil-A are headed to Four Points. On Wednesday, LTL’s Cathy Hale shared a rundown of the new businesses headed to The Center at Four Points.

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When September is hotter than July …

It’s fall in Texas. And this has been the hottest September on record. Daily high temperatures this month have averaged 100.3 degrees, and you have seen more 100 degree days this September than ever before. Is a cold front on the way?

When sometimes you see it, sometimes you don’t …

With its all but barren, grassy sands and the odd chunk of concrete, Sometimes Island has a hardly desirable reputation. And yet, people report having gone there … even taking their children for the day. How did Lake Travis’ Sometimes Islands get their name?

When you drove across the top of Mansfield Dam …

Those were the good ole days and likely that you didn’t see this coming. Plans are in the works to tackle traffic woes along the 19-mile corridor of 620. But based on growth, the proposed improvements to six lanes will be rendered obsolete when complete. Will ten lanes do the trick?

When you can run fast …

Vandegrift senior Anthony Monte has quickly grasped big meet cross country and is excelling at it. He ran a 14:14.50 to finish in third place behind two of the hottest runners in the nation in the Newbury Park HS, (Ca) duo of Nico Young and Jace Aschbrenner.

When the Lakeway Police need your help …

Be on the lookout for this creep, driving a white Ford pickup truck.

When you like to bake cakes for your dog …

On Wednesday, LTL’s Cathy Hale gave you a look at the posh new Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming pet boutique in the Gateway to Falconhead.

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