Beam Release 2.45

[John Casey via dev]

Hi All,

I propose we cut 2.45 on January 18, and I nominate myself as the release
manager.
This is a week delayed from the Jan 11 schedule, but this would give the
2.44 release time to finish its processes, allowing 2.45 to pick up any
fixes in the 2.44 release.

Thanks,
John