BREAKING: Delta to launch Austin's first nonstop flight to Paris on March 27, 2027.

kut.org/transportation… Delta to launch Austin's first nonstop flight to Paris in 2027 The nonstop flights will begin March 27, 2027, and will run daily through the end of October.

Ticket sales start Saturday.

Austin's Bikeshare service starts coming back Aug. 11 after a Memorial Day fire prompted CapMetro to pull its fleet of almost 500 bikes.

The estimated value of burned equipment was $159,000.

None of it was insured.

kut.org/transportation… Austin Bikeshare's slow return comes after $159,000 in damages from warehouse fire The fire in a battery charging room happened in May. A final report on the cause of the fire hasn't been released, but CapMetro acknowledges charging equipment wasn't insured.

I should have wrote Memorial Day *weekend fire. It was on Saturday, May 23.

Three hemp businesses, including Austin’s Happy Cactus Apothecary, are suing the state of Texas in federal court over the Delta-8 ban that took effect Friday, which makes it a felony to possess almost all hemp-derived THCs (except Delta-9).

Filing: https://t.co/tTCmyk1xmd https://t.co/blHO0Yuxab

Background on the ban:

kut.org/business/2026-… Texas will ban Delta-8 on July 31. Austin police say possession will be a felony The state's health department reissued the ban after the Texas Supreme Court overturned a temporary injunction that kept Delta-8 legal since 2021.

NEW: Removing Austin road art like the "Black Artists Matter" mural on 11th Street and the rainbow crosswalks downtown cost the city $41,298.

That doesn't include the cost of removing art on Joe Sayers Avenue, so the final total will be a bit higher.

kut.org/transportation… TxDOT denies Austin request to keep 'Black Artists Matter' mural, Pride crosswalk The state also rejected Austin's request to keep the giant "TEXAS" street painting near the University of Texas at Austin campus and gave the city until June 22 to submit a plan.

Our most recent story on the citywide artwork removal was by KUT's newest reporter, @gvelasquezn.

He was there as people mourned the loss of the rainbow crosswalks, a symbol of LGBTQ identity in a neighborhood long central to Austin's queer community.

kut.org/transportation… Austin's LGBTQ+ community holds vigil after removal of rainbow crosswalks Speakers at the event condemned the removal of the rainbow crosswalks, but they were also optimistic that queer culture will be preserved in downtown Austin.

Texas will ban Delta-8 on July 31.

Austin police say possession will be a felony.

kut.org/business/2026-… Texas will ban Delta-8 on July 31. Austin police say possession will be a felony The state's health department reissued the ban after the Texas Supreme Court overturned a temporary injunction that kept Delta-8 legal since 2021.

“Officers will treat substances identified as a Penalty Group 2 substance as a felony. To clarify, delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinols in Penalty Group 2 is different from marijuana. Delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinols identified under-Penalty Group 2 in the Texas Health and Safety Code 481.103 is resin extract, which is separate from delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinols,” APD spokesperson Clara Ash said in an email. “Marijuana, which is defined as the plant material, will be enforced based on APD General Orders and State law.”

Possession of less than one gram of a “Penalty Group 2” substance is a state jail felony, punishable by 180 days to 2 years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.

Prosecutors ultimately decide whether to file charges

Hemp drinks and gummies made from Delta-9 THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, remain legal. Hemp flower is not legal for sale but is still legal to possess, and out of state retailers might still sell to Texans.

kut.org/business/2026-… Texas' ban of smokable hemp takes effect, leaving out-of-state sales in legal gray area Texas says new rules banning sales of smokable hemp also apply to out-of-state companies. But cannabis lawyers question the rules and Austin police won't confiscate hemp if you have the packaging.

Most of you know this, but I always need to clarify:

Hemp is just a legal term for cannabis with not more than 0.3% Delta-9 THC by dry weight. It’s legal in Texas.

Marijuana is a legal term for cannabis with more than that. It’s illegal in Texas.

The Delta-8 ban taking effect Friday, July 31 makes possession a felony in Texas.

Here's a 22-minute chat with Amanda Taylor, lead counsel for those who challenged the ban including @HometownHeroATX.

This interview is also on YouTube: https://t.co/734sr2CNBM

@HometownHeroATX The story:

kut.org/business/2026-… Texas will ban Delta-8 on July 31. Austin police say possession will be a felony The state's health department reissued the ban after the Texas Supreme Court overturned a temporary injunction that kept Delta-8 legal since 2021.

LISTEN: Austin's City Council has been voting in secret for years, despite the city’s claims of transparency.

This audio story I made with @MoseBuchele is about ten minutes. https://t.co/DckOQMpDNf

@MoseBuchele The text version is here.

kut.org/politics/2026-… Austin City Council has been voting in secret for years, despite the city’s claims of transparency The City Council may have been voting on Austin Energy matters in closed-door meetings since 1999. The votes are kept so secret that public records do not even indicate that they happened at all.

EXCLUSIVE: Austin Energy says Austin City Council members have taken secret votes for years on matters involving the publicly owned utility, and that those votes don’t appear in any public record.

My first collab with KUT’s @MoseBuchele:

kut.org/politics/2026-… Austin City Council has been voting in secret for years, despite the city’s claims of transparency The City Council may have been voting on Austin Energy matters in closed-door meetings since 1999. The votes are kept so secret that public records do not even indicate that they happened at all.

The disclosure only came after KUT News reviewed more than 1,000 City Council meetings and challenged the utility’s claim that such votes “ARE indicated in council minutes.”

Smokable hemp technically is banned for sale in Texas again, after an appeals court ruling that lifted a lower court's injunction of new state rules.

The legal fight is far from over. Another court ruling could change things again.

kut.org/business/2026-… Texas rule targeting smokable hemp is back in effect The Texas Fifteenth Court of Appeals has cleared the way for new Department of State Health Services rules governing hemp products to take effect again, including higher fees for businesses and limits on the sale of THCA flower and concentrates.

Didn't make it in the story, but @lukasgilkey said the DSHS "Total THC" rule is pushing hemp manufacturing out of Texas.

"In a weird way, it sort of allows companies to operate outside the state without having to play by the same rules that companies in the state," Gilkey said. https://t.co/ziBrLijqDQ

@lukasgilkey

x.com/kutnathan/stat… Nathan Bernier (@KUTnathan) on X Even though some new Texas hemp regulations are not blocked by court order, the state health department doesn’t appear to be enforcing them at the moment. “DSHS is still determining how to proceed given that there is not a final disposition yet," spokesperson Lara Anton said.

CapMetro is shutting down Bikeshare service citywide after a fire at their Bikeshare facility (5315 E. Ben White Blvd) damaged batteries and charging infrastructure.

Statement from CapMetro: https://t.co/4moW0u8OXf

x.com/capmetroatx/st… CapMetro (@CapMetroATX) on X ATTN: Due to a disruption to service, Bikeshare will be unavailable beginning at 11 a.m. today, May 24. We know many customers rely on Bikeshare to get around, & we apologize for the inconvenience. We will continue to provide updates, as they are available, & when service is

Update:

kut.org/transportation… Investigators examine whether batteries sparked fire that shut down Austin's Bikeshare Almost 500 electric bikes have been pulled from Austin streets since Memorial Day weekend, with no timeline for their return.

Audio version of the update:

Austin's Bikeshare service has been shut down since a May 23 fire inside a battery charging room at a CapMetro facility on Ben White.

The same day, a Bikeshare bike caught fire on South Congress.

The role of batteries is being investigated in both.

kut.org/transportation… Investigators examine whether batteries sparked fire that shut down Austin's Bikeshare Almost 500 electric bikes have been pulled from Austin streets since Memorial Day weekend, with no timeline for their return.

For those tired of reading, the audio version of the story includes Austin Fire Department radio communications from the night of the fire. https://t.co/qr9jkfkitb