Austin, TX
Age-friendly services require more funding, Austin Public Health says – Austin Monitor
Austin has fallen behind cities of a similar size when it comes to caring for its elders. It’s no longer in AARP’s top 10 cities to live in for older adults as of 2022. In fact, last year, it didn’t even make the top 25. That might not be top of mind, as the median age in Austin, TX is 34.5, and only about 10 percent of Austinites are over 65. But Austin’s status as Texas’ boomtown is slowing, and adults between the ages of 65 and 74 represented the fastest-growing age group between 2010 and 2020. By the time the tech bros reach middle age, it will be in their best interest to have quality senior services in place.
In June, City Council directed the city manager to look into improving those services. According to a October 14 memo from Austin Public Health Director Adrienne Sturrup to Council on its progress, that will require more funding.
“While significant progress has been made, the effective and ongoing implementation of these initiatives is dependent on identifying and securing additional resources and budget across various departments,” wrote Sturrup.
The Parks and Recreation Department already spends over $2.8 million on senior programming. In the memo this week, it cited a need for 18 full-time senior programmers and 4 new marketing staff to meet the need for new senior programming and ensure language access is adequate. That expansion would come at an annual cost of almost $2 million.
The history of Austin’s age-friendly services is relatively short. In 2016, Austin City Council adopted what they termed the “Age Friendly Action Plan” (AFAP), which was designed in partnership with AARP and more than 30 other organizations, to make Austin more supportive to its senior residents. But in 2022, a year after the first five-year update to the plan had been released, the city auditor did a survey of Austin’s older residents about how it was working and found large gaps.
One anonymous respondent who had worked with older adults for four years wrote that Austin seniors had been ”challenged by the pandemic and the increasing affordable housing crises.” The tech divide was another concern, one respondent noted with urgency: “Any older adult who is not on social media or uses email is highly in the dark about any city services.”
“Many of our seniors have moved to Williamson County due to cost of living,” said another respondent, echoing Austinites of all ages. “Housing costs are not affordable for someone who is on a fixed income.” Almost 70 percent said the city didn’t provide access to safe and affordable transportation options for older adults.
Even if the city did provide services, they were difficult to find. Almost 40 percent strongly disagreed with the statement that city services are findable for seniors “It’s virtually impossible to find and navigate this information,” said one of the respondents. “I can’t imagine that older adults are able to find the city programs and services pages at all. It is hard for me to navigate, and I know what I am looking for,” said another.
At the end of that audit report, the city auditor offered recommendations to establish a dedicated office for older adults (instead of one coordinator) and to provide better housing, senior centers, transportation, food, in-home care and fraud protection for that population. In 2022, Austin Public Health created a new department to carry out those goals, called Age-Friendly Austin (AFA), which is now in the process of recruiting older adults to participate in the update of the next plan for 2026-2030.
In response to the June City Council resolution, the city pledged to fund financial literacy services that help seniors navigate things like Social Security or Veterans Assistance, through an annual $103,686 agreement with Family Eldercare. As seniors are at higher risk for fraud, the Austin Police Office of Community Liaison is planning to launch a “Seniors Fraud Awareness Month” in March 2026. PARD has held 153 multigenerational events at community gardens and family yoga classes over the last year. CapMetro is promising to address older residents as a “vital stakeholder” in its update to its 10-year Transit Plan 2035. (It already provides discounted fares and shuttle routes that connect residential living facilities to essential locations like grocery stores.) Just this September, Council approved funding for a new Austin Geriatric Center, and programming at the Asian American Resource Center for culturally responsive aging-in-place services.
During budget hearings this summer, the parks department proposed that the temporary Gus Garcia Recreation Center Senior Wing project become a permanent expansion in order to address the need for more senior centers in Northeast Austin. The city has been considering this since 2023, as residents of District 4 noted then that it already acts as an overcrowded de facto senior center.
But most of these changes are competing for scarce funding from the city.
During the budget process this summer, Fuentes passed an amendment supporting Meals on Wheels Central Texas with $150,000 for home-delivered meals – contingent on the tax rate increase passing in the November election.
“Meals on Wheels has suffered some pretty serious federal cuts,” Council Member Vela said during budget hearings. “They have a really large and efficient operation, lots of volunteers, a great kitchen, just a really great institution – as the federal government steps away from supporting these kinds of institutions, if they’re going to survive, we’re going to, at least in the short term, have to have to step up and provide some support.” This week’s memo asks for $400,000 more in FY26-27 for Meals on Wheels, which would allow them to serve an estimated 290 more Austinites.
As the City streamlines its aging services ahead of the five-year update to the AFAP in July 2026, the Commission on Aging has now added some clarifying guidelines in the form of an amendment at its October 8 meeting. The commission recommends “clear, quantifiable” metrics to measure if the City is making progress on its goals, and to assess if that progress is equitable across all demographics of older Austinites. Those metrics will become more necessary as the cost of providing these services becomes a pressing concern for a cash-strapped Council.
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Austin, TX
Karmelo Anthony sentenced to 35 years in fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf at Frisco track meet | Houston Public Media
A Collin County jury sentenced 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony to 35 years in prison Tuesday for the murder of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a Frisco track meet last year.
It came just hours after Anthony was found guilty of murder in the fatal stabbing. He faced up to life in prison.
Jurors had the option of finding him guilty of manslaughter or murder if they didn’t find him not guilty. The two charges are distinguished by intent. Murder means the jury believed Anthony “knowingly” caused Metcalf’s death.
During the trial’s punishment phase, Anthony’s mother Kayla Hayes asked the jury for mercy.
“He’s my oldest, he’s my first born, he will always be my baby,” she said. “I love him very much.”
She was asked if she believed her son had any regrets.
“Yes, I know my son,” she said. “He’s very sorry for what he did.”
“Please have mercy on my son,” she added.
During closing arguments in the punishment phase, Anthony’s defense attorney Mike Howard acknowledged how difficult the decision was for the jury and asked them to consider sudden passion in determining their punishment. They don’t have to be sure, he said — they only need to believe Anthony felt terror in the moment.
“I can only ask you to consider both sides, to follow your hearts, and to follow the law,” he said.
Prosecutor attorney Bill Wirskye argued in response that sudden passion, by definition, “does not apply to this case and this set of facts.”
He asked the jury to consider a life sentence, telling jurors, “mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent.”
“Regardless of what you do today, plenty of life sentences have already been handed out in this case,” he said to the jury.
The decision comes after both sides rested their case Monday afternoon. Anthony’s defense lasted two days and ended without him taking the stand. Prosecutors argued the stabbing was an unjustified attack on Metcalf, while the defense said Anthony acted in self defense.
The case has drawn national attention and controversy over the race of both teens. Anthony is Black and victim was white. None of the jurors were Black.
Several schools were competing when Anthony sat under the Memorial High School tent that was perched in the bleachers. Metcalf and others had repeatedly told Anthony to leave, witnesses testified, leading to an escalating confrontation.
During the nearly weeklong trial, prosecutors said that Anthony provoked Metcalf, and witnesses have testified that Anthony was the aggressor.
Anthony at one point reached inside a bag and replied: “Touch me and see what happens,” according to a police report.
Metcalf pushed Anthony, according to witnesses, who said Anthony then pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest. The teens, both from Frisco, didn’t know each other.
The trial drew lines of spectators hoping to find seats in the gallery and unfolded amid heavy security at the Collin County courthouse. As police officers watched Tuesday, dozens of people stood outside the courthouse in 90 degree heat to await the verdict. There were wails of grief from one woman — “This isn’t real!” — when the result became known.
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Press Release | June 9, 2026
The Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association (CMRA) descends into Austin this Fourth of July weekend with the inaugural Moto-Texas Superbike Challenge.
This is a press release from CMRA…
Austin, TX (June 9, 2026) — The Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association (CMRA) descends into Austin this Fourth of July weekend with the inaugural Moto-Texas Superbike Challenge, the first-ever amateur sanctioned motorcycle road race event at the world-renowned Circuit of the Americas (COTA). Taking place July 3-5, 2026, the event combines high-speed superbike competition with family-friendly holiday weekend entertainment—all for a single $20 gate fee per person.
COTA, home to Formula One’s United States Grand Prix and MotoGP’s Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, provides one of the most thrilling motorcycle racing venues in the world. The 3.426-mile circuit—with its iconic sweeping corners and signature turn-one elevation change—will now host CMRA’s most prestigious race event to date.
“We are thrilled to bring CMRA’s biggest event yet to Circuit of the Americas,” said CMRA’s Dave Johnson. “COTA is a bucket-list track for any motorcycle racer, and this may be the only time amateur racers will have to compete on this world-class circuit. We can’t wait to see riders from across the country come in to compete for a share of the $25,000 purse.”
Event Highlights
- World-class venue: Race on the same track that hosts MotoGP and Formula One
- $25,000 total prize purse distributed across multiple classes. Restrictions apply.
- Double-header sprint races Saturday and Sunday (July 4th and 5th)
- Friday, July 3rd dedicated to practice and qualifying
- Spectator gate fee of just $25 per person for the entire weekend — Friday through Sunday
- On-site karting and amusement park for families
- Garages equipped with electrical hookups, compressed air, and shared restrooms
About the Competition
The Moto-Texas Superbike Challenge is open to licensed road racers from any recognized road race organization in the United States. All competitors are required to hold a current American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) membership, as the event is sanctioned by the AMA.
Sprint races of 6 and 8 laps will be held on both Saturday and Sunday, with multiple class entries available at discounted additional-entry pricing.
Pre-entries are open now at cmraracing.com, with a 20% deposit required to secure a spot. The full balance is due by June 30, 2026.
Entry fees start at $525 for Friday practice and qualifying, with sprint race entries beginning at $195.
A Family Destination on the Fourth of July
While competitors chase the checkered flag, families can enjoy COTA’s adjacent entertainment complex, featuring a karting track and amusement rides. With the $20 gate fee covering all three days, the Moto-Texas Superbike Challenge offers one of the most affordable motorsport experiences in the region — a perfect Fourth of July outing for Austin and Central Texas families.
Spectator & Competitor Information
- Event Dates: July 3–5, 2026 (Friday–Sunday)
- Venue: Circuit of the Americas, 9201 Circuit of the Americas Blvd, Austin, TX 78617
- Spectator Gate Fee: $25 (one-time fee per person, covers all days)
- Competitor Pre-Entry: Open now at cmraracing.com — deadline June 30, 2026
For more information, visit cmraracing.com
After weeks of back-and-forth court rulings over the future of the Texas hemp market, state regulators may again be able to enforce new rules targeting smokable hemp products and charging sharply higher fees on retailers and manufacturers.
The Texas Fifteenth Court of Appeals on Friday denied the hemp industry’s emergency request to keep a temporary injunction in place.
That temporary injunction, issued May 1, had blocked the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) from enforcing major portions of new consumable hemp regulations while the lawsuit against them plays out.
The appeals court’s order puts the case in a temporary holding pattern. The two sentence decision doesn’t decide whether the rules are legal. But for now, it pauses the lower court order that had allowed hemp businesses to keep selling hemp flower and concentrate.
Hemp is a legal category of cannabis that contains no more than 0.3% Delta-9 THC, the plant’s main psychoactive ingredient. Marijuana is cannabis with more than 0.3% Delta-9.
But cannabis can contain other mind-altering compounds including THCA, which converts to Delta-9 when heated or smoked. Hemp stores have been selling smokable cannabis with high levels of THCA, similar to the cannabis sold in states where marijuana is legal.
The state’s new “Total THC Rule,” which had been put on hold by the lower court, counts THCA as 88% Delta-9 when it comes to selling and manufacturing hemp products. The appeals court’s decision now means that rule is back in effect.
“I know it’s been a lot of crazy back and forth and the lawyers are doing their best to push this forward and keep this going,” said Lukas Gilkey, CEO of Hometown Hero, an Austin-based retailer and manufacturer of consumable hemp products. Gilkey helped set up the Texas Hemp Business Council, which is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit seeking to block some of the state’s new hemp rules.
“This is really going to impact the small stores,” he said. “If they have flower that qualifies under the rules, then they’re allowed to sell it. If they don’t, then theoretically, yes, they would have to stop.”
Smokable hemp products account for well over half the market in Texas, according to estimates by Portland-based Whitney Economics and Robin Goldstein, director of the Cannabis Economics Group at UC Davis.
The temporary injunction had also frozen the state’s new fee schedule for hemp businesses. Retailers’ annual registration fee had increased from $150 to $5,000 per location. Manufacturing fees increased from $250 a year to $10,000 annually.
KUT News has reached out to DSHS to ask whether the agency plans to enforce the Total THC Rule or the new fee schedule,
Possession of THCA products is still not explicitly prohibited under state law, which uses the Delta-9 metric to differentiate between hemp and marijuana. Austin police have advised people carrying smokable hemp products to keep the packaging with them to avoid having the flower or concentrate confiscated by an officer.
The case continues before the Fifteenth Court of Appeals. A final trial in Travis County had been set for July 27, but the date was seen as more of a placeholder, and this appeal could affect that timeline.
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