Austin, TX

After Texas banned puberty blockers and hormones for trans kids, adults lost care, too

Published

2 years ago

December 4, 2024

After Texas banned puberty blockers and hormones for trans kids, adults lost care, too

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When the Texas Legislature moved to ban puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors in 2023, Colin Zicko worried about trans teens.

Zicko, 22 at the time, knew what it was like to be a teenager seemingly trapped in the wrong body, desperate to stop the gendered changes brought on by puberty and better align his physical features to the person inside.

He also knew what it was like to be denied that option. Assigned female at birth, Zicko came out as trans when he was a teen. Without his parents’ permission, he couldn’t begin puberty blockers or hormone therapy, ushering in what he calls the “tunnel years,” when darkness closed in, his mental health plummeted and he contemplated suicide.

When he finally started hormone therapy as an adult, it felt like he could breathe again, the constant noise in his head about his body and gender presentation quieting enough to allow him to think. Zicko was angry that legislators were trying to take that peace from teens whose parents supported their transition.

And then he got a call from his doctor.

“The nurse, her voice was broken up and she was trying not to cry,” he remembers. “She said, ‘I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to stop caring for you.’”

Even though he was an adult, Zicko’s doctor was at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin. In May 2023, all the providers suddenly left the clinic after Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation, citing a video sting by Project Veritas, a right-wing activist group, that claimed the practice provided certain gender-affirming care to patients as young as eight.

Zicko had two months of hormones left. Everywhere he called had monthslong wait lists. As an adult, there is no law preventing Zicko from accessing hormone therapy. But as he and other trans adults are learning, the state’s hostility toward trans-related health care for minors has sharply curtailed their ability to access care as well.

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“An attack on any trans person, regardless of their age, is an attack on the entire community,” said Laura Terrill, CEO of Planned Parenthood South Texas, which provides transition care to adults. “While the bans have been focused on minors, which is heart wrenching, the impact that it’s having on adults, trans adults is in shame and stigma, and questions of whether or not they’re going to be able to continue to access the health care that they need and deserve.”

Escaping the tunnel

As a young kid in rural Louisiana, Zicko didn’t think much about gender. All the kids played together, had the same interests and dressed similarly.

Then he moved to suburban Texas to live with his dad.

“All of a sudden, I was told that I needed to wear a dress. If I wanted to wear jeans, it was only while I was playing. I had to wear pink,” he remembers. “And very immediately, it felt wrong.”

When Zicko was 14, he came out to his family as trans. Confused and frustrated, his dad made him sew and wear a dress to prove he was a girl. Without his dad’s permission to get on hormones, Zicko started binding his breasts, eating foods that he thought might boost his testosterone and rapidly losing weight to try to stave off puberty.

The more his body changed to look like a woman’s, the worse his gender dysphoria, the distress someone can feel when their body doesn’t match their gender identity, became. He started smoking marijuana and disassociated from reality as much as possible, unable to stomach living in a body that felt so foreign.

When he was 19, he finally went to see a gender-affirming gynecologist, who connected him with doctors at Dell Children’s. They offered not just transition-related care but a holistic experience — he met with a dietician who helped him after years of disordered eating, a phlebotomist who kept up with his blood work, and a wide range of other health care providers to help manage his chronic conditions.

Getting on testosterone changed his physical appearance. It also calmed the anxiety and gender-fixation that had plagued him for years. Things that had loomed so large for him, like what he perceived as girlish hands, receded to a normal-sized worry.

“Gender dysphoria is a lying little bitch,” he said.

After years stuck in the tunnel, Zicko came into the light and started living as the trans masculine person he always knew he was. He got a job, found a community and reconnected with his dad. He finally got his dad’s support by framing it as an issue of personal freedom from government oversight, which seemed to do the trick.

“I know people who are like, if somebody’s been transphobic to you before, never forgive them,” he said. “But I’m very, very forgiving with people who have changed. People are just ignorant. Ignorance isn’t a sin.”

Texas tackles trans issues

In the years since Zicko came out, being trans in Texas has gotten both easier and harder. More people are coming out, creating more community, connection and strength in numbers. But the backlash has been fierce, especially from conservative lawmakers in the Texas Legislature.

Texas, like most red states, has primarily focused on legislating what children can do. They’ve restricted what sports teams trans students can play on, tried to limit what they can be taught about gender and sexuality, and banned minors from medically transitioning. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state’s child welfare agency to investigate parents of trans kids, and Attorney General Ken Paxton brought investigations and lawsuits against doctors that offered these services.

Even though these efforts targeted trans children, the effects have rippled across age groups. Some doctors left Texas proactively, while others who were targeted for treating minors also treated adults, leaving those patients without providers.

Planned Parenthood South Texas provides gender-affirming care to adults at its clinics in San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley. Demand has quadrupled since 2018, as more people transition with fewer doctors to treat them.

“There’s so much misinformation from patients about what they are still able to access in Texas,” Terrill said. “So much of our work is providing patient reassurance and making sure our patients know their rights.”

When Zicko’s doctors suddenly left Texas in spring 2023, he had two months of testosterone left. He called clinics and gender-affirming gynecologists across the Austin area, each with a waitlist longer than the last. The soonest appointment he could get was October, six months away.

When his medication ran out, the old, familiar darkness returned. His period came back, his voice started to go high again and he felt his body changing, bringing with it crippling physical pain. He was often unable to get out of bed, unable to go to work, unable to imagine things ever getting better.

Desperate, he made another round of calls and was able to get a last-minute appointment with Planned Parenthood, where they refilled his testosterone and set him up with a new care team.

“And thank god, because I got to the point that I could not go another week,” he said. “I wanted to die, not because of my thoughts, but because I was hurting so much.”

Since then, he’s gotten a new job and moved in with his girlfriend. He’s living a life he never could have imagined when he was a teenager. He’s happy.

But he knows the fight isn’t over. Those months without care foreshadowed the pain and suffering trans people may experience if conservatives get their way, he said. The Texas Legislature will return in January, emboldened by incoming President Donald Trump, who has promised to enact an aggressive anti-trans agenda. Zicko knows more restrictions, more hostility, more debates over his right to live his life as he desires are on the horizon.

His dad offered to pay for him to move out of state so he can reliably access health care and maybe feel safer. He knows trans people who have left Texas, but he’s decided to stick it out.

“They want us to leave, because the more of us that leave, the less people there will be to fight,” he said, echoing a sentiment from his girlfriend. “But I want to stay. Because as long as there’s one trans person in Texas, then there are trans people in Texas.”

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Austin, TX

Apptronik opens robot training hub in Austin, Texas and debuts Apollo 2

Published

1 hour ago

July 1, 2026

Press Room

Apptronik opens robot training hub in Austin, Texas and debuts Apollo 2

US-based robotics company Apptronik has opened a newly expanded robot training centre in Austin, Texas, and launched Apollo 2, its latest humanoid robot, as part of efforts to advance real-world robot deployment.

Developed in collaboration with Google DeepMind, the Austin facility provides space for large-scale data collection and training of humanoid robots. This development is part of Apptronik’s strategy to move robots beyond pilot projects and into commercial production.

Apollo 2, made public at the opening of the facility, is available in both bipedal and wheeled-base designs.

According to Apptronik, this modularity enables data collection and training of robots in a range of environments, including logistics, manufacturing, and retail.

By deploying operational fleets of Apollo 2 robots at the Austin site and at customer and partner locations globally, the company is increasing the diversity and volume of data used to train robotics models.

The data collected is intended to support the advancement of Gemini Robotics, the foundational AI models for robotics being developed by Google DeepMind.

Through a mixture of teleoperation and autonomous operation, Apollo 2 robots gather data across customer sites, including at Apptronik’s research partner Google DeepMind, and at customers such as Mercedes-Benz and GXO.

Apptronik CEO and co-founder Jeff Cardenas said: “What we’re building is a continuous learning loop with the Google DeepMind Robotics team: robots working, collecting data, and improving with every cycle, in real environments, on real tasks.

“Robot Park enables the data collection that is fuel for that, and Apollo 2 is the machine that makes it possible. That’s how you move from early prototypes to real, deployable humanoid robots.”

Apptronik’s approach combines teleoperation, autonomous execution, and high-fidelity physics simulations. This allows its robots to learn from varied experiences and adapt as advances are made in the field of embodied AI.

Apptronik chief commercial officer Barry Phillips said: “By developing Apollo as a modular platform, we’re able to deploy the same core humanoid technology across different configurations, including wheeled robots that align with current industrial safety standards, and bipedal robots for maximum adaptability.

“This approach helps us build better robots for customers today while laying the groundwork for broad adoption of humanoid systems in the future.”

The company has stated that data and experience from Apollo 2 will inform the development of its next-generation humanoid robot, Apollo 3.

The Austin facility anchors a growing network of Apptronik Robot Parks at partner and customer sites worldwide, with plans for expansion into additional cities.

Earlier this year, Apptronik raised $520m in a Series A–X round, backed by existing investors such as B Capital, Google, Mercedes-Benz and PEAK6, alongside new participants including AT&T Ventures, John Deere and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). Prior to this, in March 2025, Apptronik completed its Series A funding round, securing $403m.

“Apptronik opens robot training hub in Austin, Texas and debuts Apollo 2” was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand.

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Austin, TX

Three of Texas’ 10 Most Wanted Sex Offenders arrested in Houston, Plano, and Hidalgo

Published

11 hours ago

June 30, 2026

Press Room

Three of Texas’ 10 Most Wanted Sex Offenders arrested in Houston, Plano, and Hidalgo

article

AUSTIN, Texas – Three fugitives who were on the Texas Department of Public Safety’s 10 Most Wanted Sex Offenders list were arrested in three separate operations throughout the state.

The arrests involve local agencies from Hidalgo, Plano and Houston, as well as state and federal law enforcement agencies, according to DPS officials.

3 Texas Most Wanted Sex Offenders Captured

Local perspective:

53-year-old Leroy Lewis Jr. was arrested June 22 at a residence in south Houston.

Leroy Lewis Jr. (Texas DPS)

DPS special agents assigned to the Texas Anti-Gang Center worked with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Houston Police Department and the Texas attorney general’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit to locate and arrest him.

Lewis had been wanted since March on a Harris County warrant charging him with failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements.

According to DPS, Lewis was convicted in the 1990s of murder, aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping. Authorities said the kidnapping involved a 20-year-old woman whom Lewis intended to sexually abuse. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison, paroled in 2012 and required to register as a sex offender.

Tip leads to capture of Plano fugitive

Dig deeper:

64-year-old Kenneth Wayne Patterson was arrested on June 24 at a Plano apartment complex after investigators followed up on a tip.

Kenneth Wayne Patterson (Texas DPS)

DPS special agents, Plano police officers and members of the U.S. Marshals North Texas Fugitive Task Force made the arrest. Patterson had been wanted since December 2025 on a Dallas County warrant alleging failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements.

Patterson was convicted in Dallas County in 1989 of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl and sentenced to eight years in prison, according to DPS. Authorities said he has a history of failing to comply with sex offender registration requirements.

Hidalgo border arrest

What’s next:

32-year-old Eduardo Quinones Fuentes was arrested on June 22 at the McAllen-Hidalgo International Bridge, after U.S. authorities took him into custody upon his return from Mexico.

Eduardo Quinones Fuentes (Texas DPS)

DPS identified Fuentes as a documented Tango Valluco gang member who had absconded to Mexico. Fuentes had been wanted since October 2025 on parole violation and obstruction warrants. A Hidalgo County warrant charging him with failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements was issued in November 2025.

Since 2016, Fuentes has been convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, sexual assault, assault, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and human smuggling, according to DPS.

Rewards and 2026 Arrest Stats

What they’re saying:

DPS said 44 fugitives on its 10 Most Wanted lists have been arrested so far this year, including 32 sex offenders and eight documented gang members. The agency said $61,500 in Crime Stoppers rewards has been paid in connection with those arrests.

Texas Crime Stoppers offers rewards for information leading to the arrest of fugitives on the state’s 10 Most Wanted lists.

The Source: Information in this article was provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Crime and Public SafetyTexasHoustonU.S. Border Security

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Austin, TX

Home Automation Austin Brings Personalized, Full-Service Home Automation to Homeowners in Austin

Published

21 hours ago

June 30, 2026

Press Room

Home Automation Austin Brings Personalized, Full-Service Home Automation to Homeowners in Austin

A Smart Home Partner for Every Stage of the Project

AUSTIN, Texas, June 30, 2026 (Newswire.com)
–
Home Automation Austin, a premier smart home installation company, is helping homeowners rethink the way they live by delivering customized home automation in Austin that unites lighting, audio, video, climate and security into a single, easy-to-use system.

For more than 18 years, the company has designed and installed integrated technology systems that let clients control their homes from any networked device, whether they are across the room or across the globe. From whole-house audio and video distribution to motorized shades, energy management and home theaters, Home Automation Austin builds each system around a client’s lifestyle rather than a one-size-fits-all template. A typical installation lets homeowners dim individual lights, monitor security cameras, adjust the thermostat and stream music to outdoor speakers, all from a single app.

Demand for home automation in Austin continues to climb as new construction and remodeling projects across Central Texas increasingly include smart technology. The company works directly with homeowners, builders and designers from the earliest planning stages, holding project kickoff meetings to keep systems on time and on budget.

“Home automation in Austin has moved from a luxury to an expectation, and our clients want technology that simply works without a learning curve,” said Adam Besetzny, CEO of Home Automation Austin. “We design every system around the way a family actually lives, so controlling lights, music, climate and security feels effortless from day one.”

Unlike many providers that rely on subcontractors, Home Automation Austin employs its own technicians and designers, a distinction the company says ensures accountability and consistent quality. The firm is a certified dealer and integrator for respected brands including Control4, Crestron, Lutron, Savant, Sonos and Sonance, and it backs its work with what it calls the best warranty in the industry.

The company also emphasizes long-term support, a point of difference in an industry where service often ends once installation is complete. Home Automation Austin offers 24/7 service and support plans, keeping clients connected long after the final device is mounted.

“Most companies disappear the moment the job is finished, but that is when the relationship should really begin,” Besetzny said. “We stay involved, we answer the phone and we make sure the technology keeps performing for years, not just on installation day.”

Home Automation Austin serves Austin and surrounding communities, including Georgetown, Leander, Lakeway, Cedar Park, Round Rock, Dripping Springs and San Marcos. The company is fully licensed and insured and holds a Google five-star rating along with multiple industry credentials.

Homeowners interested in home automation in Austin can schedule a design consultation by calling 512-515-3456 or visiting https://homeautomationaustin.com/.

About Home Automation Austin

Home Automation Austin is a premier smart home installation company in Austin, TX, specializing in design, installation, and support of advanced home automation, audio and video, and lighting control systems. With more than 18 years of experience and partnerships with top-tier brands, the company delivers personalized solutions that combine innovation, performance, and long-term reliability.

Media Contact:
Adam Besetzny, CEO
512-851-6474
adamb@capitoltechnologygroup.com

SOURCE: Home Automation Austin

Source: Home Automation Austin

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