Calling themselves the SP3 – Southpaw Three – the trio of Lake Travis left-handed starting pitchers has effectively and consistently made opposing offenses pale.

Seniors Philip Orr and Derek Stevens, along with junior Daniel Castano, have been dominant this season for the Cavaliers squad heading to the regional semifinals to face Corpus Christi Moody for a three-game series starting Thursday.

Boasting unsightly numbers for the opposition, the three lefties have a combined 22-3 record for the Cavaliers (29-10 overall) and all sport an ERA under 2.00.

Orr leads the team with 87 strikeouts and 1.25 ERA in 67 innings pitched, Stevens is at 71 strikeouts in 61 innings with a 1.95 ERA and Castano has 62 whiffs in 55 innings with a 1.65 ERA.

“We spend all our time together because the hitters are off hitting all the time,” Orr said. “We’re always doing our workout together so we have pretty good chemistry there.”

Stevens and Orr attended Lake Travis Elementary School together and have been brothers in arms ever since. Castano joined the squad nearly two years ago now and the three have been surging forward since.

“We had the ‘high five’ last year, and the ‘southpaw three’ this year,” Castano said. “We’re best friends – we get along, we help each other out. When one of us is struggling we all know each other pretty well. We’ve been with each other two years so we know how to tell each other what we’re doing wrong and how to fix it.”

Stevens laughed when asked if the three had any secret rituals or hidden routines that helps them get ready.

All smiles standing together after a victory, the trio of lefties are very serious when it comes to their work on the mound, each reflecting the other.

“Not really, just the day-to-day stuff, the life of a pitcher,” Stevens said. “It’s awesome we’re all pretty close on and off the field, all working together and helping each other out. When one of us is struggling, if one of us has a bad game, bad inning, we know the other ones have our back – it’s just real great.”

Lake Travis has an ace closer ready to go as part of its well-rested bullpen, as the Cavs have taken their first three playoff series wins in just two games, winning all six contests by a combined score of 46-5 with four shutouts. Danny McIntyre stands ready to seal things up when called upon, with a 0.78 ERA in 27 innings and 27 strikeouts to just five walks.

“They’re all solid, all have a year of varsity experience and know what they have to do,” coach Roy Kinnan said. “They have great mental focus. It’s good to have three, most of the time those three would be No. 1’s on other peoples teams – we’re blessed having three of them.”

The three also stay in the strike zone, something the Cavalier hitters have come to know very well from scrimmaging during practice. All three are right around four strikeouts per every walk: Orr has a 87/21 split, Stevens is 71/18 and Castano is at 62/16.

Even the sizzling hot bats of Lake Travis have a hard time dealing with the dominant lefties.

“It sucks (facing them), I’ll tell you that,” said junior first baseman Baker Mayfield, who is hitting .360 with 26 RBIs. “

Mayfield said the defense can stay alert and effective with the way they work on the mound.

“It’s so much easier as a defense because hitters don’t realize – most pitchers don’t come in on you and our big three lefties – they do,” Mayfield said “It’s scary when they do it and can get their stuff down, so it makes it easy on us.”

Senior center fielder Dane Balazs, who leads the team with 16 stolen bases and is batting .333, agreed.

“It’s not fun, they know your weakness and what you can’t hit – it’s really tough to hit them,” he said. “It’s competition and they always want to strike you out.”

Numbers game

Through the season the Cavaliers have learned what type of depth they have.

The regular starting lineup, one-through-nine, are all hitting above .300 on the season with the season leaders spread around. Ryne Martinez has the team lead in batting average and is tied with Evan Yacek for most runs at 27, though four others have 20-plus runs scored.

Baker Mayfield leads the Cavs with 36 hits, just two more than Martinez and three more than Konner Frazier and Adam Yacek. The team lead in walks goes to Dane Balazs with 24 and Evan Yacek has 22. Mayfield has a club-high 14 doubles, Frazier has three triples to pace the team and four homeruns to lead the club as well. Balazs’ 16 stolen bases are one ahead of JD Wilhelm and Evan Yacek.

From the top-down, the numbers look like this through 39 games.

Evan Yacek .302, 27 R, 22 BB, 15 SB
Ryne Martinez .405, 27 R, 17 RBI, 13 SB
Grant Akroyd .333, 16 R, 22 RBI
Baker Mayfield .360, 24 R, 14 2B, 26 RBI, 9 SB
Ryan Lee .386, 17 R, 18 RBI
Adam Yacek .311, 25 R, 10 2B, 20 RBI, 13 SB
Konner Frazier .347, 3 3B, 4 HR, 26 RBI
JD Wilhelm .378, 23 R, 22 RBI, 15 SB
Dane Balazs .333, 26 R, 24 BB, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 16 SB

PHOTO BY DEVIN MONK

Lake Travis Fire Rescue firefighters contain a fire Tuesday night at a single-story house in the 4900 block of Julian Alps in Falconhead West that they believe started from a lighting strike. No injuries were reported, but investigators ruled the house a total loss at $350,000 in structural damages and $200,000 of contents damaged or destroyed.

By MEAGAN O’TOOLE-PITTS

Staff writer

Extreme drought, record heat waves and high winds from a tropical depression that made landfall in Louisiana came together to create the perfect fire storm in Central Texas last summer.

The dry season resulted in six major fires that consumed close to 7,000 acres and destroyed 57 homes in Travis County. In Bastrop County, more than 34,000 acres and 1,500 homes were destroyed.

Sept. 4, 2011, was recorded as the worst fire day in recent history for Central Texas.

The conditions this summer are expected to pose similar dangers, according to Jim Linardos, fire chief of Lake Travis Fire Rescue, also known as Emergency Services District No. 6, serving Lakeway, The Hills, Bee Cave and surrounding unincorporated areas of Travis County.

“We average about 10 acres a year for wildfires, but last year about 1,200-1,800 acres burned in this district alone,” Linardos said. “We lost 26 homes and damaged about 20 or 30, most of them in the Steiner Ranch area.”

Two months ago, a wildland fire consumed 20 acres in the 26800 block of Hamilton Pool Road, and the time to start preparing for emergency situations is now, he said.

After last summer’s wildfires, Travis County and Lake Travis Fire Rescue, along with other stakeholders, formed the Wild Land Taskforce to promote public education material that homeowners can use to protect themselves and their property. “Ready, Set, Go!,” a booklet created by the taskforce, gives guidance on how to protect property and steps to take to insure safety if an evacuation is ordered.

“You don’t realize how scary it is until you see your fire guys running down door-to-door in your neighborhood telling people to get out in 10 minutes,” said Steiner Ranch resident Kimberly McLaughlin, who attended an emergency services presentation at a Lake Travis Commercial Association of Dealmakers meeting May 9.

“Ready, Set, Go!” has a checklist for creating a family disaster plan, which should include meeting locations and communication plans and be rehearsed regularly, Linardos said.

Before a fire comes in close proximity, plans should be already put in place.

Some fires, such as the Bastrop blaze, don’t allow any reaction time and evacuation is an immediate necessity, he said.

“You don’t have any time,” Linardos said. “You get in the car and you get out with your life.”

“Ready, Set, Go!” includes information on how to create a buffer around homes using fire-resistant materials, reducing the chances that a fire will spread with airborne embers.

Replacing wood fencing with metal fencing is one of several ways to ensure fire safety, Linardos said.

In addition to the booklet, the Wild Land Task Force is also looking at other ways to disseminate information, such as developing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan and applying for grants to deal with fuel mitigation efforts.

“We learned a whole bunch of interesting things during the fires last year – No. 1 is we have to do a better job of letting you guys know what’s going on,” he said at the association’s meeting.

The Texas Forest Service developed an online wildfire risk assessment portal through which residents can determine their risk. According to the website, texaswildfirerisk.com, the risk in Bee Cave-Lakeway area ranges from moderate to very high, with the potential for 150-foot tall flames.

Travis County hired an information officer and agencies countywide are collaborating, Linardos said.

Although the district has the help of STAR Flight, an EMS helicopter service through the county, some residents complained that they didn’t see many aircrafts dropping water on fires last summer.

“I think Texas Forest Service needs to mobilize more aircrafts,” Linardos said. “I even had a chance to tell the governor how I felt about that during the Steiner Ranch fire.”

Emergency preparedness for individuals is important because not all efforts by firefighters will succeed, according to 1st Sgt. Dewayne Naumann, HHC Texas State Guard at Camp Mabry in Austin.

Naumann’s unit supported the flying missions during the Bastrop fire.

“The problem with that was the fire was so intense that water would evaporate before it would get to the ground or do any good,” he recalled. “That’s how hot it was.”

Money is at the source of many of the problems that plague Lake Travis Fire Rescue, which is staffed with only three firefighters per unit, Linardos said.

“As tight as dollars are, we’re going to try and go out there and make an impact on the key areas that we think are going to create a problem for us,” he said.

According to state law, four firefighters are required to enter a burning structure and contain the fire.

LTFR’s staffing is one firefighter short of that requirement. As firefighters wait for more units to arrive, their response times balloon by five to seven minutes, Linardos said.

“There’s an exception to the rule – if there’s a rescue to be performed we can go in,” he said.

LTFR does not have the funding to add a fourth firefighter to each unit because the tax rate is so low, Linardos said.

“Most fire departments are funded at 28 to 30 cents per $100 valuation,” Linardos said. “We’re capped at 10 cents – simple as that. That’s been the struggle since I got here.”

Funding is so low that the LTFR almost had to close a station, he said.

“We saved over $100 million in property last year,” Linardos said. “Really, we saved about 560 homes directly. That’s what this fire department saved. You want to run the math – that’s a good return on your investment.”

Many are opposed to a tax increase, he said, so other options must be explored.

“We’re looking at merging districts, we’re looking at merging with the city, we’re looking at adding other districts,” Linardos said. “We’ve got to fix this.”

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By MEAGAN O’TOOLE-PITTS
Staff writer

Just in time for summer, Whole Foods Market opened Wednesday in Bee Cave at the Hill Country Galleria.

The 38,000-square-foot store, which has about 200 employees, has everything everyone expects from a Whole Foods Market and some new surprises, said Rebecca Scofield, media and community relations specialist for the Austin-based natural and organic food retailer.

The store has kiosks which have printable recipes, allowing customers to shop healthy on the go.

“It will have recipes that go along with the product that’s stacked there,” Scofield said during a sneak peek for the media May 11. “There will be tons of (cook) books.”

The seafood section of the store, which does not sell species that are considered over fished, has a kiosk which makes cooking light a snap.

“Search for a recipe, search my ingredient, print it out and you’ve got your list ready to go,” she said.

For an added convenience, customers may select beans, grains, nuts, spices and dried fruits while shopping in the produce section of the store, which features locally made products.

“This is something we’ve been doing in the new stores – putting bulk right in with produce,” she said.

Whole Foods Market caters to those with allergies to wheat, gluten, salt, yeast, lactose and protein, such as nuts and oils. To get customers started on cooking for special diets, the store has a full-time healthy eating specialist available to answer questions.

“Each week they do a healthy-eating tour and then they do a version called ‘Health Eating on a Budget,’ which will really focus on those little things and buying what’s on sale, stocking up on things you can freeze,” Scofield said. “You can also bring your favorite grandma’s meatloaf recipe and we’ll try to help you make it healthier.”

Whole Foods products are free of artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, preservatives or hydrogenated fats, she said.

“It’s something that we’re passionate about – it’s not going away ever, it’s one of our core values – is healthy eating,” Scofield said.

The new store, which aims to become a community hub for good food and conversation, has an upstairs bar called “The Buzz,” which has beer and wine on tap, chef-prepared foods including pizza, tacos and barbecue, and patios with outdoor seating and a fire pit.

“The fire pit – it’s brilliant,” said Rebecca Beadle, seafood team member for Whole Foods. “I live out here and everyone has a fire pit, everyone’s always sitting around a campfire. It’s so cool.”

In an effort to keep business green, Whole Foods collects water for irrigating the landscape from a large rainwater collection unit, Scofield said.

In keeping with the eco-friendly fashion, Whole Foods sells green cleaning products and has complimentary electric vehicle charging stations.

To celebrate its opening, the store is hosting Community Giving Days to donate 1 percent of each day’s sales to these local nonprofits:

*Friday – Bee Cave Arts Foundation ;

*Saturday – KDRP Public Radio; and,

*Sunday – RED Arena.
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Lakeway police have called off their search in the Rough Hollow area after a motorcycle officer was injured attempting to pull two male suspects over for speeding Thursday.

Officer Slade Fisher’s motorcycle slid out from under him on Highlands Boulevard as he attempted to pull their white Audi over at about 4:20 p.m..

He flew from the bike and collided with rock landscaping in a median, Lakeway Police Capt. David Crowder said.

At that point, the suspects reportedly stopped their vehicle on a side street in Rough Hollow and one of them exited the vehicle and fled on foot, Crowder said. The other suspect stayed in the Audi, and police took him into custody and are interviewing him.

Several agencies, including Travis County Sheriff’s Office, joined Lakeway police in searching a wooded area in Rough Hollow for the at-large suspect, but as darkness fell they called off the search.

“The investigation is ongoing,” he said. “We don’t believe there is any threat to the neighborhoods.”

Fisher was transported to University Medical Center-Brackenridge.

Seton hospital officials said he was admitted but was not in their system as a patient Friday afternoon, which would possibly indicate he was treated and released.

“We expect a full recovery, but obviously it was painful,” Crowder said.

He declined to comment on reports that police were responding to an initial kidnapping call that led to the police pursuit.

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Once he did, the Lake Travis bats did the rest in a commanding 8-2 win over Smithson Valley at Concordia’s Tornado Field to win Game 2 and the area round series Saturday, giving Lake Travis coach Roy Kinnan his 580^th career win.

“We played well, we did all the little things you have to do,” Kinnan said. “Daniel didn’t have his best stuff but he did a great job hanging in and taking care of business, and we played great defense.”

Lake Travis will now play Schertz Clemens in the regional quarterfinals after it beat Vista Ridge in three games, one of the Cavs’ District 25-4A foes.

The Cavs (27-10) were sharp in the field and limited any aggression on the base paths Smithson Valley wanted to have, with Dane Balazs in particular coming up with a few laser throws from center field.

Castano had trouble locating early on and the Rangers grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the second inning.

The Cavs got some help with three walks in the top of the fourth, and Adam Yacek’s two RBI single with two outs put the Cavaliers ahead for good at 3-2. Konner Frazier added an RBI double to score Yacek and make it 4-2 with back-to-back two-out hits.

“I was trying to get kind of excited, get some adrenaline going because I’m not used to pitching early, I’m used to pitching at night,” Castano said. “I was kind of nervous at the beginning – I wasn’t pitching my best and we weren’t hitting yet, but I knew we’d come around, we’re a great hitting team. I knew we’d put runs on the board no matter what, I just had to do my job and we would win. And we did.”

The Cavs got a little help from the Rangers in the win, as Smithson Valley pitchers hit five batters and walked another four. Lake Travis took advantage, though, staying aggressive on the bases and at the plate.

“We knew we’d have a good outing from Daniel,” Yacek said. “And on the turf field (at Concordia), we knew our defense could perform well on it, and we went out and took care of business. We’ve been hitting good the past three weeks now, we know we can hit one-through-nine, everybody. We can start a rally with our 7-8-9 or our  1-2-3, all the way through the lineup we’re confident.”

With the lead, Castano sent down the Rangers in order in the bottom of the fourth. The Cavs added a run in the fifth and Castano worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom half, with some help from the arm of Balazs in center field, who held a runner at third on a single. Balazs also nailed a runner trying to go first to third on a single in the third inning – and the runner was stealing second on the pitch and Balazs’ strong throw was still in plenty of time.

“Dane made a great throw,” said Kinnan, noting the team’s defense, pitching and two-out hitting. “We’re going to be aggressive. They know we’re going to run on them, we’re going to do some extra things, that’s going to happen. That’s good ballclub over there, that’s a solid ballclub – we beat a good team today.”

Lake Travis had its bench step up throughout the season and that was no different in the area round series, with TJ Keel, Travis Schoonmaker and others contributing.

The regional quarterfinal series will be split between Converse Judson and Burger Stadium.

The series will start Thursday, with Game 1 scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the DW Rutledge/Converse Judson Baseball Complex. The Judson school district lists the field address as 9150 FM 1516 N.
Converse, TX 78109.

Game 2 will be 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Burger Center field back in Austin, and Game 3, if necessary, would be 2 p.m. Saturday back at the Converse Judson field.

Harris and Taylor secured somewhat comfortable leads in early voting and during today’s election, but Cokins made a serious push to bump Burns-Farrell from the third open seat.

Harris won 1,134 votes (25 percent) and Taylor drew 1,117 ballots (24 percent) while Burns-Farrell edged Cokins by 910 (19.75 percent) to 886 (19.23 percent), respectively. Sconci, a first-time candidate in Lakeway, collected 561 votes (12 percent).

The top three vote-getters are elected to Lakeway City Council.

The effort by the city of Lakeway to sell coves at Rebel and Sailfish parks to neighboring property owners failed to launch with 58 percent of voters casting ballots against both measures.

Mel Neese knocked Allan Hitchcock from his place on Lakeway Municipal Utility District’s board of directors Saturday as incumbents Kay Andrews and Tom Brewer maintained their tenures over challenger Don Paczkowski.

Neese secured 460 votes (24 percent) as Brewer earned three fewer ballots at 457. Andrews won 419 votes (21 percent), and Paczkowski collected 312 votes (16 percent) and Hitchcock tallied 311 (16 percent).

In Briarcliff’s aldermen election, Steven Autrey outpaced the pack with 208 votes (27 percent) to Kathy Crawford’s 163 votes and Kelly Patterson’s 162 (both 21 percent). Jean Dowdy drew 131 votes (17 percent) while Paul Eagan collected 116 votes (15 percent).

The top three vote-getters are elected to office in Briarcliff.

Jerri Lynn Ward and Jeff Roberts each earned 310 votes (37 percent) and 306 (36 percent), respectively, to defeat Rob Berry at 228 votes (27 percent) for two seats on West Travis County Water Control and Improvement District No. 17’s board.

Zelda Auslander and Steve Braasch will take their places on Bee Cave City Council at its May 22 meeting as Mike Murphy and Chad Bockius’ terms expire. Auslander and Braasch, who have both served on Bee Cave City Council, were unopposed in their bids for office.

Lake Travis ISD trustees Guy Clayton and Lisa Johnson retained their places on the school board in an uncontested election that the district canceled.

Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said the county’s Elections Division, which will compile and release voting results, estimated a 10 percent turnout of registered voters with participation evenly split between early voting and Election Day voting for all the races throughout the county.

About 23,400 Travis County voters cast ballots during early voting.

All results are unofficial until canvassed.

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By MEAGAN O’TOOLE-PITTS

Staff writer

The Hills resident Bill Dowd, an engineer whose career spanned nearly 40 years, was recently awarded by the American Society of Civil Engineers for his work on the Hoover Dam Bypass project, which bridges Arizona and Nevada over the Colorado River.

Representing HDR, an international firm that provides architecture, engineering, consulting and construction services, Dowd accepted the 2012 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award.

Since retiring from HDR in 2009, Dowd has served as a consultant to the company.

HDR began designing the Hoover Dam Bypass project in 2001 after contracting with the Federal Highway Administration, Dowd said.

As manager of the design team, Dowd oversaw the construction of the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which soars approximately 900 feet over the Colorado River, ensuring the security of the Hoover Dam by removing through traffic from U.S. Highway 93.

According to the ASCE, the bridge is the highest and longest arched concrete bridge in the Western Hemisphere and has the world’s tallest precast-concrete columns.

“The river bridge was actually a joint venture between T.Y. Lin International and HDR Engineering,” Dowd said. “Our two firms put personnel on to design the bridge.”

Several companies and agencies were involved in the delivery of the design, he said.

“My role was working directly with the Federal Highway Administration to make sure that we were delivering all of our contract requirements on time, within the budget and in accordance with quality standards,” Dowd said.

The design team carefully navigated environmental concerns that included protecting wildlife, he said.

“We had endangered species, especially the desert bighorn sheep,” Dowd said. “They had to be dealt with, and they had to be respected. We had to provide safe crossing through the alignment, under or over the top, for the bighorn sheep that migrated up and down the river.”

The design team aligned the fencing so desert bighorn sheep couldn’t cross the road.

“A lot of them get hit by cars right now, and [those accidents] kill seven to eight of them a year,” Dowd said. “So, we provided crossings underneath our alignment.”

The design team worked diligently to ensure desert bighorn sheep used the crossings as it also worked to preserve the species, he said.

“It was important for us to track them,” Dowd said. “We put monitors on sheep and made sure that they were migrating across, up and down the river.”

The project came in slightly under its $238 million budget despite laying 3.5 miles of road, bridging a canyon by way of a 2,000-foot span structure and foregoing cranes.

“A lot of people were amazed that it didn’t cost more than that because it’s a big project …,” Dowd said. “They had to use very unique techniques to construct the bridge.”

The project has received several awards from varying agencies, including the American Public Works Association, since its completion in 2009, he said.

Dowd, who served as the national director of transportation for HDR, said the Hoover Dam Bypass project was the most unique project of his career.

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COURTESY PHOTO

Daniela Pennycook, left, and Evan Cordiner hike Cerro Castillo, the highest peak in the central Patagonian Andes, while on a 90-day expedition to explore the southern-most regions of Chile and Argentina last year.

By MEAGAN O’TOOLE-PITTS
Staff writer

Daniela Pennycook, 18, recently completed a 75-day expedition in Patagonia to explore the southern-most regions of Chile and Argentina.

She gleaned more than photos to post on Facebook by learning insurmountable lessons about teamwork while trekking across snow-covered mountains.

Throughout the National Outdoor Leadership School expedition, which lasted from September to December 2011, Pennycook and a group of 17 students tackled activities including sea kayaking, ice climbing and mountaineering.

“The entire time we spent out in the wilderness was 75 days, but the entire time in Chile was 90 days,” said the one-time Lake Travis High School student.

They walked for nine hours nearly every day while carrying backpacks weighing 60-80 pounds, and physical rigors constantly tested the team.

“It was three months of constant living in the wilderness, sleeping in a tent and having to work so closely with so many people,” said Pennycook, who graduated early from Premier High School of Austin for the endeavor. “A lot of the time the relationships aren’t easy.”

Before embarking on the trip, the students spent a few days at a base camp learning CPR and other first-aid practices, becoming familiar with their equipment and weighing out food for the next three months.

The students earned their Wilderness First Aid certification, preparing them for medical emergencies in remote wilderness settings.

“There’s a lot of preparation that goes in before we go out,” Pennycook said.

After setting out from base camp, the group spent 30 days traveling in sea kayaks, learning technical skills such as rolling, surfing and ocean navigation. The group paddled from sunrise to sunset, devoting 17 days consecutive days to travel and covering more than 190 nautical miles between Puerto Aguirre, Chile, and Puerto Cisnes, Chile.

Pennycook, a Canada-born adventurer, said she had been preparing for the challenge all her life, spending up to 22 days at a time on canoe trips in Ontario since she was 12 years old.

But, she said, the experience changed her perspective.

“You really learn to appreciate the simple things in life like running water and a stove and a bed,” Pennycook said. “It makes me appreciate everything that we have so much more than I did before.”

After kayaking for a month, the group trekked across 105 kilometers of glacial terrain while climbing 6,200 meters in the National Reserve of Cerro Castillo, south of Coyhaique, Chile, over 32 days.

The students set up base camp below Pinon Glacier and spent the remaining days of the expedition divided into two groups – one group attempted to summit Mount Pinon and the other attempted to climb Mount Puntudo.

Pennycook said she formed lifelong friendships on the expedition.

“Everything takes so much time, and it’s hard work,” she said. “You just get so close to everyone you’re around. I still keep in touch with all of these people, and I know if any of them came to Austin they’re more than welcome at my house and if I ever went somewhere I would be more than welcome with them.”

During the expedition, Pennycook earned 16 credit hours in biology, environmental science, outdoor leadership, mountaineering and kayaking toward her degree in environmental science at Trent University in Peterborough, Oshawa, Ontario.

Pennycook started her first semester at Trent University this spring and said she plans to visit her family in Lakeway every summer.

After earning her baccalaureate, Pennycook said she hopes to study environmental law with the goal of bettering the world.

“I’m really passionate about issues like the scarcity of fresh water, and I’m thinking in the next 10 years there are going to be some serious environmental issues,” she said.

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COURTESY PHOTO

The Fabulous Thunderbirds featuring Kim Wilson will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at The Rooftop Over Lake Travis at Uncle Billy’s Brew & Que at Oasis, Texas.

The Rooftop Over Lake Travis (The Rooftop) upstairs at Uncle Billy’s Brew & Que at Oasis, Texas has announced its spring and summer lineup filled with local music legends, legends-in-the-making and national acts.

Music will play most every night this summer, whether free or paid performances.

Austin’s and the Hill Country’s dynamic new music venue opened this past March with a standing-room-only performance from ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and an all-star band. The Rooftop is situated on the cliffs overlooking the Lake Travis views, next to The Oasis at Lake Travis.

The next big act on the bill at The Rooftop feature blues-rock legends, The Fabulous Thunderbirds featuring Kim Wilson, at 8 p.m. Saturday. Advance general admission tickets are $25; $30 day of show. VIP seated section tickets at $45 recently sold out.

But The Rooftop will continue to heat up the lake when it hosts KGSR-FM’s Lakeside Live complimentary shows from 5-8 p.m. Sundays for 12 weeks featuring local favorites such as Latin rockers Del Castillo, blues guitarist and singer Carolyn Wonderland and Grammy nominated singer/songwriter James McMurtry.

Austin’s powerful roots act, Guy Forsyth, performs this Sunday.

KLBJ-FM will host KLBJ “Rocks the Lake” at The Rooftop from 8-11 p.m. Thursdays from May 24 through Labor Day.

The majority of the shows will be free, except for the occasional national act.

A double bill of power pop band The Romantics, whose hit, “That’s What I Like About You” has consistently been listed on the best 100 rock songs of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine, and English Ska band The English Beat will hit the stage June 14.

According to Marsha Milam, producer of The Rooftop’s live music schedule, “This retro MTV evening is going to be one of the coolest shows Austin will see this summer.”

Uncle Billy’s Brew and Que and Oasis Texas brought in Texas music and events producer Marsha Milam of Marsha Milam Music to produce a robust schedule of live music offerings to showcase this distinctive new live music space in Central Texas.

“The Rooftop is a one-of-a-kind venue surrounded by the Texas Hill Country, overlooking Lake Travis,” Milam said. “And our stage backdrop is the Texas sunset followed by the evening sky. When combined with outstanding musical talent – it becomes magical.”

Milam is also booking a Sunday Gospel Brunch series to run every Sunday this summer which will be free of charge. The series starts May 27.

Austin-based Milam has carved out a niche in free live music series throughout Texas, starting with the still-popular KGSR’s “Unplugged at the Grove.” Her long-running music series have become eagerly anticipated seasonal events bringing free live music to more than 100,000 fans a season.

For music lineup, tickets and information, go to unclebillysrooftop.com or call 1-855-276-6386.

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PHOTO BY DEVIN MONK

State Sen. Troy Fraser addresses Central Texas Water Coalition members at their meeting April 26 at Rough Hollow Pavilion in Lakeway.

State Sen. Troy Fraser’s thoughts on preserving water resources for Lake Travis residents flowed freely at a Central Texas Water Coalition meeting April 26 at Rough Hollow Pavilion.

Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, is running unopposed for the new District 24 that includes Lakeway and Lake Travis.

“I’m hoping that after you see the way I govern, you will like it, because I’m a serious water guy,” said the state senator who has been in the Texas Legislature since 1988 and the Texas Senate since 1997.

Before the Legislature’s last session, he switched roles from chairman of Senate Committee on Business and Commerce to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources.

Eight years ago, however, he dived into natural resources oversight when he led the charge by filing a bill for an audit of Lower Colorado River Authority.

“Don’t clap too quickly; they killed my bill!” he told the audience, adding that he filed the bill four times in four sessions. “[LCRA] is a very worthy opponent, but I’m going to file a bill this year.”

He likened the water and electric provider to another Central Texas utility whose management came under public scrutiny.

“This is not unlike Pedernales Electric [Cooperative] where you have things going on and nobody is paying attention or no one is watching,” Fraser said. “Maybe the LCRA is fine, but I think the public has a right to see what they are doing.”

Texas’ booming population is further challenging utility providers to keep up with the pace.

Fraser cited Texas Water Development Board figures that the state’s population is expected to grow 82 percent by 2060.

“Logic tells you that you have to have enough water to take care of those people,” he declared. “We do not have water resources to take care of them.”

The board’s 2012 State Water Plan, which would entail building 17 reservoirs and starting water conservation and desalination projects, is expected to cost $53 billion to fully implement.

“It’s a problem, and they put that on my back,” Fraser said. “They want me to find $53 billion, and that’s a challenge.”

As Lake Travis water levels have fallen, residents have turned their gaze to rice farmers in the Lower Colorado Basin where Fraser said they use more than three times the amount of water as do customers in the Upper Basin.

He cited figures that the rice farmers are paying $6 per acre foot of water to LCRA while firm water customers are paying $150 per acre foot of water. One acre foot equals 325,853 gallons.

“So, they take our water that we are paying for and sending it to them,” Fraser said, adding that the replacement cost of water in lakes Travis and Buchanan is three to four times what area residents are paying for it.. “We cannot continue to do that. We have to change the way we manage our resources.”

Some audience members called for Sunset Review of LCRA, but Fraser reminded them that it is not a state agency and is not subject to the process that often leads to abolishment unless legislation is enacted to continue them, according to the Sunset Advisory Commission’s website.

“We have to have LCRA manage their system differently than they are right now,” he said. “LCRA has this huge overhead that they have built up of bureaucracy. They have problems managing electricity and water in their system. They will manage through it, but it’s going to be a challenge for them.”

The LCRA board of directors recently approved a business plan for fiscal year 2013 that will trim $39.8 million in expenses and free up other money to pay for the development of new water supplies over the next five years.

The plan is based upon LCRA’s goals to develop 100,000 acre-feet of new water supplies by the end of fiscal year 2017 and hold the nonfuel rates it charges its 43 wholesale electric customers flat for the next four years.

“I’m very pleased that the LCRA board and staff are moving forward with a plan that expands the water supply and cuts cost,” board chairman Tim Timmerman said in a press release.

In January, the board set a goal to develop 100,000 acre-feet of water in the next five years.

Fraser questioned who would benefit from the project.

“If they can get 100,000 acre feet, more power to them, but I want to know where it is going to come from, who is going to get the water, are they going to sell it to someone else and what is the cost to the people of Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan because it does us no good if they build it downstream.”

Timmerman said the plan is more than a pipe dream.

“This business plan demonstrates that the commitment that LCRA has made toward finding new supplies of water for our region is far more than just talk,” he said. “We are moving forward with this important goal. This is a good news story.”

The plan authorizes 1,984 positions at the start of the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2012, which is down 314 from the number included in the FY 2012 Business Plan.

Most of those positions were eliminated through attrition or through a program that allowed employees to voluntarily leave LCRA in exchange for a severance package.

LCRA General Manager Becky Motal oversaw a reduction in force as part of a companywide reorganization.

When Motal moved into her job in July 2011, she eliminated approximately 60 unfilled positions and required that any new positions be approved by her.

In August, she announced a sweeping reorganization that dissolved five separate business units within the organization and restructured LCRA to focus on the product lines of water, generation of electricity and transmission of electricity.

The move came after 10 of LCRA’s 43 wholesale electric customers announced that they were leaving LCRA because electric rates were not competitive. Other customers announced that they were reducing the amount of electricity they were buying from LCRA.

Approximately 69 percent of LCRA’s revenues come from the sale of electricity.

“We absolutely had to cut costs to become more competitive,” Motal said in a press release. “The reorganization was aimed at making LCRA more nimble, improving communication and eliminating redundant management structure.”

The business plan calls for total revenues for LCRA of $1.22 billion, with $468 million of that going to the purchase of coal and natural gas used to generate electricity.

The board also approved a $609 million capital plan for the 2013 fiscal year. Of that, $547 million goes to pay for projects previously approved by the board which include a replacement for the Thomas C. Ferguson Power Plant in Horseshoe Bay and the Competitive Renewal Energy Zones transmission projects.

The 2013 business and capital plans are available at lcra.org.

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