The city of Bee Cave is making strides on a nearly $960,000 project to add pedestrian sidewalks and a new crossing to Bee Cave Parkway and Bee Caves Road.

The overview: A staff report delivered at a December Bee Cave Development Corporation meeting included updates on the project, which is a joint effort between the BCDC and the Texas Department of Transportation.

The project will add sidewalks along Bee Cave Parkway from Market Street to Bee Caves Road, as well as along the south side of Bee Caves Road from the H-E-B parking lot to Tennison Hill Drive, according to agenda documents.

Diving in deeper: The project totals $959,650, with the city's portion coming out to $376,000. Additional funding for the project is primarily from a TxDOT Highway Safety Improvement Program grant, according to agenda documents.

What's next? Following all preliminary work, the project must be designed by Dec. 1 so it can be put out for bid, then start construction.

Baylor Scott & White's care navigator program spans a variety of care areas and connects patients with a dedicated nurse to provide pre- and post-operative support. Lauren Monaghan, a spine surgery care navigator at BS&W's Lakeway campus, shared how she supports spinal patients through care coordination and continuity of support.

What does your role as care navigator look like?
I call the spine surgery patients one week before surgery and go over specific education before surgery. ... That's when the anxiety comes in, and they start thinking of all the things, so I give them an opportunity to ask questions. ... If there's anything they're needing specifically or wondering about prescription-wise or appointment-wise, I can kind of help clarify that for them. 

For patients unfamiliar with the program, what advice do you have on why they should take advantage of this?
I think it's that extra hand holding right before surgery, and then right after surgery. ... It's just kind of helping talk out the things that they aren't thinking about because they're in pain. 

All underground concrete work on the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority’s deep-water intake project is now complete, according to Aaron Archer, vice president of civil engineering firm Walker Partners.

Archer said it’s a significant milestone for the BCRUA. He gave updates on the project to the Leander City Council at its Dec. 18 meeting.

The details: Archer said that the mining and lining of the tunnels, shaft and suction chamber is complete.

He also said that construction of the pump station building, where water will be brought up from the underground tunnels, has begun.

The intake maintenance building is also under construction.

Once completed, the BCRUA’s Raw Water Intake project will be able to pump 145 million gallons of water from the lake per day.

Archer said that Phase 1D of the BCRUA project, which consists of expansions to the BCRUA water treatment plant, was substantially completed in November and will be officially completed in January.

A new U.S. Postal Service rule could impact when time-sensitive mail, such as tax forms and mail-in ballots, is considered officially sent.

The overview: Effective Dec. 24, mailed items are postmarked when the USPS processes them, rather than the date items are dropped in a mailbox. A postmark refers to the date and location stamped or printed on most mailed items, indicating when and where the USPS “accepted custody” of a mailpiece, per the federal agency.

Zooming in: According to the Texas comptroller’s office, the updated USPS guidance means items could be postmarked “several days” after they are dropped in a mailbox. This includes date-sensitive items sent by Texas residents and businesses, such as property tax payments, federal tax returns, mail-in ballots and required business reports.

To ensure that mail is postmarked on the day it is sent, customers can take mail into their local post office and request that the item be hand-stamped for free, according to the USPS. Texans can also pay property taxes and submit ballots in-person at county offices.