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“Austinites can apply for between $5,000 and $250,000 depending on the program. Money for the grants comes from hotel occupancy taxes.”
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“State law does not allow a city to enact or change its zoning by popular vote.” — City of Taylor, rejecting a citizen petition to put a data center ban on the ballot
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Reports circulating suggest Delta is launching an Austin to Paris nonstop, but there's been no announcement.
Delta spokesperson: "Delta is always evaluating opportunities to grow our network and better serve our customers, but we don't have anything to announce at this time." https://t.co/9m64HCDy96
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Austin City Council has been voting in secret for years on Austin Energy matters and no one knew because there’s no public record.
@MoseBuchele and I only found out by reviewing over 1,000 council meetings and challenging Austin Energy’s false claims.
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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:
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.”
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I-35 expansion forces P. Terry's to close flagship location at Capital Plaza
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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.
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
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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.
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Even though Texas hemp regulations are not legally 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.
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Austin's airport is heading into summer with more flights going to more nonstop destinations than this time last year.
But rising fuel costs are causing some airlines to pull back.
Meanwhile, ABIA's expansion is full speed ahead.
Lots o' updates:
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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
Update:
Audio version of the update:
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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.
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
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I learned more about this fire. After it happened, people assumed it was arson. AFD doesn't think so.
AFD radio communications and the fire incident report point to the fire starting in a battery charging room.
CapMetro hired a forensic investigator.
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I learned more about this fire. After it happened, people assumed it was arson. AFD doesn't think so.
AFD radio communications and the fire incident report point to the fire starting in a battery charging room.
CapMetro hired a forensic investigator.
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A 2021 court order that had allowed for the sale of Delta-8 THC products across Texas expires today at 5 p.m.
The state says it won't be taking any immediate action, but it's unclear what this means longer term for Delta-8.
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Whataburger is bringing back the A-frame design, @QSRmagazine reports.
https://t.co/5hSMoDWtvk
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NEW: TxDOT denies Austin request to keep certain street art including:
• Black Artists Matter mural on 11th • Pride crosswalk at 4th and Colorado • TEXAS mural on Guadalupe • "River" crosswalk on Lake Austin Boulevard
Pics in thread below.
Here's the letter TxDOT sent Austin Transportation and Public Works on Monday, May 18.
A TPW spokesperson confirmed receipt of the letter, but wouldn't release it until staff finished drafting a memo to the Mayor and City Council, expected by Thursday.
https://t.co/P3OcjwhAb0 https://t.co/J7hghYsrue
The Black Artists Matter mural was installed on 11th Street on June 18, 2020 by the city, Capitol View Arts and the Austin Justice Coalition. It was last touched up by the city in 2024.
📷 by KUT's Gabriel C. Pérez https://t.co/c2vqmJ88Ra
The Pride crosswalks at 4th and Colorado streets were installed in late 2021 to commemorate National Coming Out Day.
📷 by KUT's Gabriel C. Pérez https://t.co/m9uJa28q1H
UT Austin's "TEXAS" mural along Guadalupe Street was installed in August 2024 as the Texas Longhorns prepared for their debut in the Southeastern Conference. https://t.co/ttbZIXMjwx
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CapMetro says Rapid Routes 800 and 837 will arrive every 10 minutes starting June 7.
They've been on 20 minute frequencies since launching in Feb. 2025, a couple years late.
Also June 7: park-and-rides finally open at the end of each line at Goodnight Ranch and Expo Center. https://t.co/KvXqxRdhxo
The Goodnight Ranch Park-and-Ride on Slaughter Lane will have 64 parking spaces.
The Expo Center Park-and-Ride on Decker Lane will have 159 parking spaces.
Routes 18, 233, and 337 will also end at the Expo Center starting June 7.
Routes 318 and 333 will end at the Goodnight Ranch Park-and-Ride starting June 7.
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Lady Bird Lake under I-35 has been narrowed to a 75-foot-wide passage until about 2033.
The Austin Rowing Club says "keep out" buoys don't make clear where to go. The club requested more lighting and signs. TxDOT says they have no plans to add those.
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CAMPO’s executive director Ashby Johnson is retiring effective June 30. Here’s the press release that just went out.
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After a dizzying set of court developments this week, smokable hemp is still legal to sell in Texas at least till next Thursday, May 14, reports @Steve55Simpson.
@Steve55Simpson I learned more about this situation today and posted it in a thread here.
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A lot of confusion this week around the sale of smokable hemp in Texas. Basically, it remains legal for now, but there's no way to know for how long.
Here’s my best understanding after speaking with Amanda Taylor, an attorney for plaintiffs who specializes in appeals. 🧵 https://t.co/WdKxM5ivIV
First, the obligatory background.
Cannabis is the plant.
"Hemp" is a legal category of cannabis with no more than 0.3% Delta-9 THC, the main psychoactive ingredient. "Marijuana" has more than 0.3%.
APD says they can't tell the difference.
But cannabis contains THCA, which converts to Delta-9 when heated or smoked.
That's why last week's temporary injunction suspending a new state rule that counts THCA as 88% Delta-9 for the purposes of sales was so important to the industry.
Thursday, May 7: The 15th Court of Appeals restored the injunction, but only until it has more time to consider the issue.
The court asked the state to respond to the emergency motion by May 15. Then court will have to decide whether to leave the temporary injunction in place. https://t.co/ckE7Y0tuDW
How long will it take the 15th Court of Appeals to decide on the temporary injunction on the hemp case?
"Typically within the first couple weeks of an appeal being perfected," Taylor said. Perfecting an appeal means all the required docs are properly filed.
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When will Delta-8 gummies be banned in Texas now that SCOTX reversed a 2021 temporary injunction that had allowed for their sale?
I asked the Department of State Health Services.
The response I got 40 minutes ago was they're still reviewing the ruling.
I also asked if DSHS would order other products containing cannabinoids converted from CBD — such as THCP and HHC — be pulled from shelves. Apparently, that's also still under review.
Based on the Texas Supreme Court ruling from Friday, it seems plausible that DSHS could move to force hemp retailers to pull anything "manufactured" from CBD.
https://t.co/AC6Le1Gjy6 https://t.co/tbSNcxFHLC
@DIguanadon As I recall, DSHS is arguing Delta-8 converted from CBD is a “synthetic cannabinoid.” Other Schedule 1 drugs include heroin and fentanyl.
https://t.co/Q31IB7beRu https://t.co/5BrN4DDZ73
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if my close personal friends skrillex and charli insist on playing in the park, then i will go to the park
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"What is he thinking?!" Mayor Kirk Watson texted a staffer as ATP pursued a $32 million office lease at 100 Congress Ave.
AT KUT Fest, CM Paige Ellis agreed the plan was "tone-deaf," but said the dispute showed Project Connect oversight is working.
This is a valid point. I didn't realize it until now, because the image was so blurry, but Mayor Watson's senior policy strategist Max Lars sent Watson a copy of the @atx_data tweet below in a text message on April 11. https://t.co/7hVOwgOxNj
@ATX_Data The story has been updated to include that Watson reacted after being sent the @data_atx post.
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In this interview, @JasonSnellATX explains the July 27 date for the full trial on Texas hemp regulations is just a placeholder. The real timeline for the temporary injunction is much less certain.
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I interviewed the lead trial attorney in the smokable hemp lawsuit about the temporary restraining order in case you want to hear a 23 minute conversation about it.
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BREAKING: Smokable hemp can stay on store shelves across Texas after Travis County judge grants temporary injunction that also freezes sharply higher licensing and registration fees.
Jason Snell, attorney for the plaintiffs: "[Judge DeSeta Lyttle] issued a statewide injunction which prohibits what we believe are illegal rules from going into effect, which would cripple the hemp industry statewide."
Direct link to the order granting temporary injunction:
@TechSalesShark @DilapidatedChkn @saveaustintx Or at least the judge set the trial for July 27. The date could change.
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BREAKING: Texas Supreme Court rules against Hometown Hero in Delta-8 case, overturning injunction that prevented the state from treating Delta-8 as a controlled substance.
https://t.co/FWnDDRoPXw https://t.co/kWc4TdzsYu
However, the Texas Supreme Court did clarify that the hemp businesses were allowed to bring the suit, saying they had standing because DSHS action caused real economic harm and they didn't have to "bet the farm" by violating the law to sue.
But the plaintiffs (Hometown Hero, Create a Cig Temple, Darrell Surif, David Walden) lost on claims that mattered for keeping the injunction.
Because those claims failed, the court ended the injunction that had blocked the state from treating manufactured D8 as controlled.
The Texas Supreme Court said naturally occuring trace Delta-8 in hemp is allowed. But manufactured D8 products converted from hemp-derived CBD are not.
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Texas hemp stores will have to stop selling smokable forms of cannabis Friday at 5 p.m. unless a judge issues a temporary injunction.
Today is the LAST DAY of that hearing.
I'm in the media room at the Travis County Civil & Family Courts Facility with a clean audio feed. 🧵 https://t.co/KS1gqAjno8
Some background in my story from yesterday.
Plaintiffs are challenging on four categories of the rules.
The defense (state health officials represented by the Texas Attorney General's Office) call their witness: Dr. Timothy Stevenson.
Stevenson specializes in public health and food safety. He's worked for 7.5 years with the Department of State Health Services. He's Deputy Commissioner for Consumer Protection.
Works with programs like EMS, radiation, dealing with asbestos/lead, food and drug, etc.
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A not widely reported detail in the lawsuit by Texas hemp companies: Texas medical marijuana company Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation filed a brief siding with the state. https://t.co/IKidZlnpdr
Late last year, Texas Original opened the largest medical marijuana grow house in the state.
The new 75,000-square-foot headquarters on FM 969 in Bastrop is almost ten times the size of their previous facility. https://t.co/cWdk4ghySO
In a statement to KUT News, Texas Original CEO Nico Richardson said, "Hemp dispensaries across the state are selling illegal marijuana products mislabeled as ‘hemp,’ with no medical oversight or safeguards." https://t.co/XAfQRhLJkP
You can read the Texas Original filling in the hemp case here.
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Texas hemp stores have less than 48 hours left before they have to stop selling flower, extract and smokable forms of cannabis.
That's unless a Travis County judge issues a temporary injunction.
Day two of the hearing was today. Last day is tomorrow.
Audio from today's proceedings:
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I'm at Travis County district court for DAY TWO of a hearing over the new Texas hemp regulations.
I'll be posting more updates below from the "media room" at Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility. I have a clean audio feed but can't see the courtroom. https://t.co/vGGAeqJ4S1
Some background on the hemp rules: https://t.co/Pzc1GJABFY
Some background on the lawsuit: https://t.co/0SrKGKxHTS
A story about a temporary restraining order that paused some of the rules: https://t.co/CmmDYBvGDm
Here's an audio story about the hearing I wrote yesterday that ran on NPR this morning.
Texas Hemp Business Council executive director Mark Bordas is now on the stand. He was a lobbyist for Anheuser-Busch for 20 years. Now his organization is suing the state to allow the continued sale of certain products that are often seen as competition to alcohol.
Bordas: Since the new state regulations, "there has definitely been a winnowing of the people that continue to participate in the industry because they believe they're reading the tea leaves and why would you invest further."
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Austin's airport says their flight map is "now fully live," allowing people to check nonstop and connecting flights in real time.
I haven't really explored it yet. Curious to know what you think. https://t.co/OwgxGp7kfu
Here's their press release on it:
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Here's five hours of audio from DAY ONE of the Texas hemp hearing yesterday.
The hemp industry is seeking a temporary injunction that would, among other things, allow for the sale of smokable cannabis products while their lawsuit plays out in court.
KUT News obtained court permission to record the hearing, which is not being live streamed by the court.
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Here's five hours of audio from DAY ONE of the Texas hemp hearing yesterday.
The hemp industry is seeking a temporary injunction that would, among other things, allow for the sale of smokable cannabis products while their lawsuit plays out in court.
KUT News obtained court permission to record the proceedings, which are not being live streamed by the court.