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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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.
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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.
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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.
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“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.
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.
Austin, TX
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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