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There’s the possibility of a CapMetro strike shutting down virtually all fixed-route bus service in Austin, but how much control does the agency have over negotiations?
Texas is banning Delta-8 THC and a broad class of similar cannabis compounds starting Friday. These products have been sold for years in Texas. More about what’s set to take effect.
The latest on Austin’s cyclospora cases as the search for a contamination source continues.
Austin City Council Woman Vanessa Fuentes returned to City Hall this week after pregnancy leave and announcing a cancer diagnosis. We talk with her about her journey.
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The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:08] There is the possibility of a cap metro strike shutting down virtually all fixed route bus service here in Austin, but how much control does the transit agency have over negotiations? We’re going to tell you more about that. And Texas is banning Delta 8THC and a broad class of similar cannabis compounds starting on Friday. These products have been sold for years in Texas. More about what’s set to take effect, plus the latest on Austin’s cyclospora cases as the search for a contamination source continues. Plenty more coming up on today’s show.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:39] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:44] District 2 Councilwoman Vanessa Fuentes returned to City Hall this week after pregnancy leave and announcing a cancer diagnosis. We’re going to chat about her journey. That is up next, and it is right here on Austin Signal. Howdy out there, this is Austin Signal, thank you for tuning in, I’m your host Jerry Keconnell, it is Tuesday, July 28th, we sure hope you’re keeping cool out there as this week of triple digit temperatures continues. Well the summer of cyclospora is going strong still, with reported cases of the intestinal illness continuing to climb nationwide. No deaths have yet been reported, but the parasite has so far sickened thousands across the US with severe gastrointestinal upsets, including an explosive phenomenon of sorts, local officials continue to monitor the situation, but how bad has the outbreak been locally compared to other regions? Here to tell us more is Olivia Aldridge. She is KUT’s health care reporter. She’s been keeping an eye on the latest. She’s here with us now. Hi, Olivia.
Olivia Aldridge [00:01:56] Hi, Jerry.
Jerry Quijano [00:01:57] So we’ve talked cyclospora before, so give us an update with the numbers. How many cases of cyclosporiasis have been detected here in Austin so far?
Olivia Aldridge [00:02:06] So as of yesterday, Austin Public Health had confirmed 41 cases. Statewide, there have been about 120, and these numbers are actually still in a fairly normal range. We tend to see some cyclospora most summers. It’s kind of the season for it. Temperature is a factor in that, travel is a factor in that. But what we’re seeing nationwide, experts say that’s definitely heightened. So CDC has confirmed more than 4,000 cases, there’s another 7,400 that have been reported but not yet confirmed. Lots of those cases are in this big hot spot in a cluster of Midwestern states.
Jerry Quijano [00:02:42] Okay, so it’s actually the number is normal. So this happens annually. It’s just that there’s in other parts of the region, or excuse me, that in other part of the country, it’s a little bit more intense. The big question that we are also asking is where is the outbreak coming from? We know it’s been linked to contaminated produce, but is there any more information beyond that?
Olivia Aldridge [00:03:03] Yeah, so to kind of clarify the normal number thing, I mean, locally authorities are not actually calling this an outbreak at this point here where we are. Part of that’s the numbers, but also, you know, state and local health authorities have not identified a specific or common source for these cases. So we don’t yet have any information that confirms like this specific herb or berry is causing dozens of people to get sick. But there’s a cluster of nine states where cases have been linked to iceberg lettuce from a company called Taylor Farms. You probably have heard about this. Specifically, it’s lettuce that was sourced from one of their farms in Mexico, and some of that ended up at Taco Bell in these states. These lettuce products have been recalled, but investigations here in Texas and in other states are still ongoing.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:50] Yeah, I’ve learned a lot about Taylor Farms, a lot more than I anticipated learning this year, that’s for sure, but Do you have any information as to why it’s been so difficult to trace this particular outbreak, at least from what you heard from maybe local officials?
Olivia Aldridge [00:04:02] Yeah, all the experts I’ve talked to agree that cyclospora is generally tough to trace because it can take weeks for symptoms like diarrhea to appear after you eat something that was contaminated.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:13] I’m just going to break in right now because somebody in our Slack channel the other day said I just ate a salad, it’s probably not, I think I would have been affected by now and you bugged in and said actually you need a couple of weeks to be able to tell that something even happened to you.
Olivia Aldridge [00:04:28] It’s true, I swept in with the bad news. Bad news. Um, yeah, I mean, it can take a while and then if it’s been a couple of weeks, you may not even remember, you know, what it was that you ate that might’ve been the issue. So investigators have to interview lots of people and look for patterns to see, you know, like in Michigan, it was lots and lots of, people who got sick were reporting they’d eaten at Taco Bell and then they kind of narrowed it down to this lettuce. Um, that said, there are also public health experts who feel that some decisions by the Trump administration could have hampered the response to this. So specifically, there was a food safety rule that was slated to go into effect this year that would have stepped up tracing efforts by food suppliers, and that was postponed.
Jerry Quijano [00:05:09] So what have local health authorities told you about the severity of the outbreak, at least here locally, and how concerned are they and what are they recommending to folks out there?
Olivia Aldridge [00:05:19] Um, even though Austin Public Health hasn’t raised major alarm bells yet, um, cases have risen this month, so there are some things that you can do to be vigilant. I talked to an expert in Houston who said he tells people that when it comes to produce, boil it, peel it, cook it, or forget it. So that would include maybe buying a head of lettuce instead of a pre-made salad and peeling off those outer layers of the lettuce, for instance.
Jerry Quijano [00:05:44] All right, that is Olivia Aldridge. She is KUT’s healthcare reporter. We’re gonna have her latest reporting in today’s podcast, Show Notes. Olivia, always great to talk with you. You too. A CapMetro strike is still a real possibility and could shut down virtually all fixed route bus service here in Austin. As KUT’s Nathan Bernier tells us, one CapMeto board member is now calling for the agency to push harder to increase worker pay.
Nathan Bernier [00:06:18] About 1,400 bus drivers, mechanics and other workers are threatening to strike. They’re employed by the private contractor, Kiolis. The French company operates most of CapMetro’s bus service and one of the central disputes is around pay. The union wants a 14% pay increase over three years. Kiolis has offered 12% plus a one-time bonus of $1,000. Bus driver Tawana Andrew was among several employees who addressed CapMeto board members at their meeting on Monday.
Tawana Andrew [00:06:45] We need more money. We are beaten, jumped on, spit on, but we’re called essential workers. And those same people can ride the next day. Spit on a police officer, see what happen. Spit on an ambulance driver, see would happen.
Vanessa Fuentes [00:07:03] What do we want? Bear contract! When do we wa-
Nathan Bernier [00:07:07] Workers rallied outside Cap Metro headquarters and spoke to reporters. Cap Metro board member Zoe Cadry was there in support. He’s also on the Austin City Council. And Cadry said the transit agency could push for higher wages.
Cadry [00:07:19] I’ve had conversations with leadership and, you know, it seems like, you know, catametric could put their thumb on it a little bit firmer.
Nathan Bernier [00:07:31] That comment increased scrutiny on a central question in the labor dispute, which is, who’s pulling the strings? Cat Metro has characterized negotiations as a matter between Kiolis and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1091. Cat Metro does acknowledge that its contract with Kiolis sets the outer limits on what the company can offer, but says Kiolis has to operate within those limits. Kiolis Assistant General Manager Cynthia Rasko says that’s what they’re trying to do.
Cynthia Rasko [00:07:58] We are the contractor for Cap Metro, and there’s a certain financial parameter that they give us to be able to work within, not that they tell us how to do that, but there’s a certain financial parameter, that we do have to remain within.
Nathan Bernier [00:08:09] The CapMetro says it analyzed the pay at similar transit agencies. It then looked at its own budget, which is mostly funded with local sales tax revenue, and the transit agency concluded it cannot offer more money without reducing transit service. Union President Brent Payne says the union’s already rejected the best and last proposal from Kiolis, and no more negotiations are scheduled.
Brent Payne [00:08:31] A strike, a work stoppage is not what we want, it’s just what we have to do.
Nathan Bernier [00:08:38] A walkout would affect Cap Metro’s fixed-route bus service. Those are the busses that follow a set route at a specific time. Other transit services like rail, pickup and access are run by different contractors, and those workers are not threatening to strike. I’m Nathan Bernier in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:08:54] And Nathan has been busy, as always, keeping an eye not just on the roads and routes we take. He also had a story out this week about Austin’s transit expansion six years on. He’s also been following the journey Delta 8 has taken through the Texas legal system. Now starting this Friday, Texas is banning Delta 8 THC and a broad class of similar cannabis compounds, removing products that have been sold in smoke shops and gas stations for years now. And, as Nathan reports, even possessing Delta-8. Will become a felony.
Nathan Bernier [00:09:27] A lot of stores are already clearing out their Delta 8 products in anticipation of the band taking effect. Austin Vape and Smoke at a strip mall in South Austin had none left, but employee Robin Scoville said they’ve been moving away from Delta 8 for a while now in favor of products containing Delta 9, the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.
Robin Scoville [00:09:46] It does still have its market of people though, you know, people who prefer that. Specifically, it’s a little more mild. Lots of people tend to…
Nathan Bernier [00:09:54] To use it for like sleeping. That’s the weird reality of Texas cannabis laws. Drinks and edibles containing Delta 9 THC will remain legal, but Delta 8 and a range of other alternative cannabinoids are being put on a state list of controlled substances alongside heroin and powerful psychedelics like LSD and DMT. So possessing Delta 8 will be a state jail felony. That carries a sentence of between six months and two years in jail, along with a fine of up to $10,000. And that strange distinction between Delta-8 and Delta-9 comes down to how the products are made.
Supreme Court Hearing [00:10:31] Is delta-8 derived or extracted from the cannabis plant or seed?
Supreme Court Hearing [00:10:37] I don’t think it’s directly extracted from the hemp plant itself. It’s extracted from CBD, and I’d point.
Nathan Bernier [00:10:46] At the Texas Supreme Court back in January, a hearing over whether the temporary injunction that allowed Delta 8 sales should remain in effect. Lawyers for the state argued that the Texas Hemp Law only protected compounds that occur naturally in the plant. Delta 8 does appear in tiny amounts in cannabis, but most of what’s sold in stores is converted from a non-psychoactive cannabinoid called CBD. The Texas Supreme Court ultimately sided with the state. And that’s what cleared the way for the Department of State Health Services to ban Delta 8 effective this Friday.
Lucas Gilkey [00:11:16] You know, it’s death by a thousand.
Nathan Bernier [00:11:18] Lucas Gilkey is a co-founder of Hometown Hero, an Austin hemp company that brought the lawsuit. He sees the rescheduling of Delta-8 as part of a broader political program against consumable hemp products.
Lucas Gilkey [00:11:29] I think they’ve realized a whole ban is highly unlikely, but if they keep taking certain parts of the industry from us at some point, it is just going to wipe out a lot of the small shops. And these are stores that are owned by mom and pop Texans. And you know, we’re starting to see this become a much bigger political issue because now people are saying, despite having been a conservative my entire life, I’m no longer going to vote the party line on this because this is just absolutely ridiculous.
Nathan Bernier [00:11:54] Gilkey’s not sure if he’s going to continue this expensive legal battle, but he says other hemp businesses may pick up the fight. I’m Nathan Bernier in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:12:10] All right, coming up we have another story from Nathan. No, I’m just kidding, but that is enough from Nathan, he has plenty more reporting though over on the KUT app and online at KUT.org. We do have more Austin Signal coming up in just one moment, so stay with us. Do want to give you a heads up though, today here in Austin we are expecting a scorcher really for the next seven to 10 days perhaps. Today though in particular, sunny and hot, air temperature near 100. The feels like temperature though is gonna be up near 110 degrees and on Saturday we’re looking at a high of the air temperature at 103 degrees. It is gonna continue to be warm, stay hydrated, stay cool and keep an eye out for your neighbor out there. This is Austin Signal. This is Austin Signal, thank you for making us part of your Tuesday. Councilmember Vanessa Fuentes announced last week that she had been diagnosed with stage two breast cancer. This diagnosis happened while she was 37 weeks pregnant with her first child earlier this spring. Now, after returning from maternity leave, Councilmember Fuentes sat down with KUT’s Jennifer Staten at City Hall to talk about her experience and the importance of early detection.
Jennifer Stayton [00:13:26] What we want to start with is just hearing how you’re doing and how your daughter is doing.
Vanessa Fuentes [00:13:32] Yeah, well, Vivian’s doing wonderful. She’s growing really fast. She is two feet long, so we’re very happy with her. And honestly, it’s been a blessing for our family. She’s my first child to have, and she’s been doing really great. As far as for me, I feel like today I’m back at City Hall. It’s like back to school day for me. First time back after a 12-week maternity leave. So it’s good seeing folks and kind of getting back into the swing of things.
Jennifer Stayton [00:14:03] So take us back to that moment when you first realized before you had visited a doctor or any of this journey started that something just didn’t feel quite right or seem quite right with your health. Kind of walk us through that stage of things.
Vanessa Fuentes [00:14:18] Yeah, so probably around seven months pregnant, I felt a lump in my breast, and at that point it was tiny. I mean, it was like a, I would say less than a great size of a lump. And I felt like, okay, this is weird. This is odd. Like this doesn’t feel right. I should do something about it. And it just so happened that because I was pregnant, and I had all of my prenatal lined up. So I flagged it at my next prenatal. And I said, hey, you know, I feel this lump in my breast. Can you take a look at it? Very quickly, they felt it. And I say, it’s probably nothing. You know, it could be a clogged milk duck. You know your body’s preparing for your baby. So it could a number of things. It’s probably not cancer, but just in case we’re gonna send you to take a ultrasound. And so from there, I scheduled an ultrasound and the earliest I could get in was three weeks later. And I go to my ultrasound, by then the lump had doubled in size. And so I already knew like, okay, this is, this is not good, but I did the ultrasound and the radiotech came in and said, you know, it really, it could go either way, but can you come back tomorrow for a biopsy? And I said, what do you mean like tomorrow? And he’s like, yeah, can you come at 7 30? We’re going to come in early. We’re gonna get you in for a bio. At that point. It’s not good news when they want you to come in with in less than 24 hours to have it actually tested and I had the biopsy the next day and within four days I found out that I had cancer and The hardest part of having cancer is waiting and having that Feeling on you and so it was really tough like just going through the uncertainty of like oh my gosh
Jennifer Stayton [00:16:08] Well, I know this is tough to talk about, and we appreciate your doing it, because I know you want other folks to learn from your experience. And you’ve shared with us that you’re 39 years old, so you are under the normal recommended time for a mammogram, but it was really that self-breast exam where you first flagged what was going on.
Vanessa Fuentes [00:16:33] Yeah, you know, now since I’ve been diagnosed, it’s been three months now, I think about just like how things could have been so different. And for me, for women, we’re not even, it’s not recommended until we’re hit 40 for us to get our mammogram. So I think if I hadn’t been pregnant and if I just felt the lump, I might’ve just said to myself, you know what, I’ll just schedule my mammogram when I hit 40 and we’ll take a look at it then. And how easy it would have been for me to have just. Delayed it and waited until that recommended age. But what I think is important, part of the reason why I went public in talking about my cancer diagnosis so early on while I’m still in treatment, is because truly that early detection does save lives. And because we were so quick in flagging it and knowing that I have such an aggressive form of breast cancer, my tumor doubled in size even before I got into chemo treatment in that time period. So. Time was of the essence, every single day mattered. And because we were able to detect it early, it gives me more options, options in how I treat cancer and how I fight it and options in how I have my surgery and then options that I eventually hope to have once I’m, you know, in survivorship, so.
Jennifer Stayton [00:17:49] You mentioned Vivian. Yes. Is your first child. Can you talk about what it was like to meet her, to bond with her over these past weeks and months while you were also navigating this cancer journey and beginning treatment? Yeah.
Vanessa Fuentes [00:18:09] When I got the cancer diagnosis, I was 37 weeks pregnant, and I think I was in a state of shock. I didn’t really understand what I was about to go through. I was just focused on having my baby, making sure she was safe and that I could be with her. And the hardest part for me in thinking about the moment of bringing her into this world is I just remember I was pushing for hours and I could feel the tumor in my breast. Against my stomach and I was just thinking you know here I am like trying to bring life into this world and also like try I have this like deadly thing in my body and it’s really easy to take that and get really angry and frustrated and think why is this happening like this is supposed to be the best time of my life when I have my baby and this is like I just felt really upset that the time that I would have for her with her in those first few weeks would now be. Taken from me and that I would have to deal with this cancer diagnosis and so I went through a whole cycle of feeling just really angry and frustrated and then now when I look back on it I feel really grateful that I didn’t really understand what was about to happen how quickly we would be treating the cancer because then I wouldn’t really I wouldn’t like psych myself out because the hardest part is we didn’t know if it had spread. And I couldn’t do many of the tests for cancer, I couldn’t do because I was pregnant, so they were literally waiting for me at the hospital, wheeling me into the different floor of the hospital to go take the test. Because I was already in the hospital setting, we were able to do all of those tests while I was there, but if I had not been in the hospitals setting, that would be going back and forth, and taking the test and then just waiting for results and how hard that must be on folks. So once I knew that it was contained in that it was stage two and that we had a treatment plan. That point, all I cared about was I had her in my arms and that, we had to plan, we’re gonna take action, we’re going to treat it, and then I get to experience life with her. And the beautiful thing about being with her on maternity leave is that we’ve been surrounded by all of my family and close friends, and so she’s been kind of Enveloped into this bubble of love and so it’s been beautiful in that because of Me having cancer. We’ve had even more help and support and so, it really has just been really nice
Jennifer Stayton [00:20:50] So there are two parts of your story happening in parallel. You’re saying time was of the essence and that catching it when you did was so helpful because it gave you more options. And you’ve also described having to wait three weeks for the appointment and then having to wait. You know, you did get in for the biopsy quickly, but then having wait four more days. Can you talk a little bit more about that waiting for you?
Vanessa Fuentes [00:21:14] Yes. And this is so part of like the whole reason why I decided to run for council back in 2020 was on the health divide that we have in the city. So health access has always been the number one thing that has driven me as someone who wants to create change and pass policy and help improve people’s lives. And so before having my baby, I hadn’t really been in the hospital. And so this has been a whole new frontier that I’ve been learning to navigate. But I’ve known about it from an advocacy policy perspective of how health disparities show up. And I can tell you like health awareness is number one, first thing, base foundation step. The second thing is access, because awareness without access is nothing. And I think about just even me being able to go in the next day for the biopsy, the privilege that I have to be able. To have a ride to get there, to be able to drive myself, to be be able take time away from work.
Jennifer Stayton [00:22:15] Can you talk about programs either that the city has right now or that you would like the city to possibly create in the future that help with that access question and challenge?
Vanessa Fuentes [00:22:27] Yeah, so the thing that I’ve learned about Austin is that we have some incredible partners. So the Breast Cancer Research Center is incredible in that it offers resources and navigation type of services for survivors as well. For the city of Austin, what I’m thinking about, especially from a public health perspective, is how are we helping in those early detection screenings and checks and getting out information? I represent Dubb Springs, which is an area that has had significant health disparities and we just got our public health facility built and open last year. And so that is in the nucleus of our community as a central hub. And I wanna make sure that we have information provided there and that serves as a resource for people. You know, I think about how can we bring in health resources to all parts of our city.
Jennifer Stayton [00:23:20] You’ve been so open in sharing your story and your journey and we appreciate that. The final question I have for you, if you’re comfortable sharing this, what is your prognosis now going forward? What are doctors saying about your treatment plan and what is next for you?
Vanessa Fuentes [00:23:37] Yeah, so I’m halfway through treatment and I’ll be doing chemotherapy and immunotherapy through September. And at that point I’ll have surgery followed by radiation. So one thing I wanna say is the type of breast cancer I have is HER2 positive. It used to be HER2-positive used to be known as one of the worst ones to treat, but now because of the advancements it is treatable and worse.
Jennifer Stayton [00:24:03] Working through it We’ve been speaking with Austin City Council member Vanessa Fuentes here at Austin City Hall, Vanessa Thank you so much for speaking with austin signal and sharing your time and your story with us
Jerry Quijano [00:24:16] Thank you. And thank you out there for spending the Tuesday here with us. That is it for today’s show. You can find more about the stories we shared with you today in the podcast Show Notes. And we always have more from us at kut.org slash signal. Reyna Sevilla is our technical director. Alexandra Hart is our producer. And Kristen Cabrera is our managing producer. I’m your host Jerry Quijano, Austin Signal is gonna be back tomorrow, Miles Bloxton will be in the host chair, have a great day!
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
