Listen
A state rule that was reinstated July 31 bans Delta-8 in Texas. Austin police say the packaging on some products could now establish probable cause for a felony arrest. But the department says cracking down on Delta-8 isn’t a “primary objective.” We’ve got more about that.
More than a million Texans are on something called a voter “suspense” list, including about 100,000 in Central Texas. It doesn’t mean you won’t be able to vote in the midterms, but there are things to know if you find yourself on it.
And the KUTX artist of the month for September is Grocery Bag. They’ve had a busy year so far and now they’re gearing up for ACL Fest and a new project.
Austin Signal is made possible by listeners like you. You can support our work by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org
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] A state rule that was reinstated July 31st bans Delta 8 in Texas. Austin police say the packaging on some products could now establish probable cause for felony arrests, but the department says cracking down on Delta 8 isn’t a primary objective. We’ve got more about that. And more than a million Texans are on something called a voter suspense list as of March. That includes about 100,000 folks here in central Texas. It doesn’t mean you won’t be able to vote in the midterms, but there are some things to know if you find yourself on the list. How to find out, coming up on today’s show.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:41] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:46] And the KUTX Artist of the Month for September is Grocery Bag. They’ve had a busy year so far, and now they’re gearing up for ACL Fest and a new project. We’ll tell you what we know. That’s up next on Austin Signal. Howdy out there, this is Austin Signal. I’m your host, Jerry Quijano. It is the 18th day of September. It is a Friday. Thank you for making us part of your day. We’ve got a lot to share with you today. So let’s get right in. Someone who bought Delta 8 gummies legally before July 31st of this year could now face a felony arrest here in Austin based solely on the packaging. And as KUT’s Nathan Bernier reports, that’s even before a lab can determine what is actually inside.
Nathan Bernier [00:01:40] Delta-8 is marketed as a less powerful form of Delta-9 THC, which is the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. So, Delta- 8 is often found in sleep gummies and other products intended for people seeking milder effects than the traditional high associated with cannabis. But on July 31, the Texas Department of State Health Services reinstated a rule, making possession of less than one gram of Delta 8 a state jail felony punishable by to two years behind bars. Figuring out whether something actually contains Delta-8 is not so easy without a lab test, so Austin Police say the label itself could give an officer probable cause to make an arrest. But police officers have some discretion over whether to arrest first and test later, or test first and arrest later.
Patrick Eastlick [00:02:29] So it’s case by case on whether or not that occurs.
Nathan Bernier [00:02:32] Patrick Eastlick is an Austin police lieutenant who oversees drug enforcement.
Patrick Eastlick [00:02:35] And then it’ll be a determination of the detective that it gets assigned to as well as the DA’s office on whether charges will proceed and testing would proceed to verify that the substance did contain Delta A.
Nathan Bernier [00:02:48] The Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza says his office is already busy. They’re on track to receive 18,000 felony cases this year, and they have about 100 prosecutors on staff.
Jose Garza [00:02:58] Our priority at the Travis County District Attorney’s Office is to hold people accountable who commit acts of violence, who commit harm in our community, who commit acts gun violence, and that is where we are focusing our limited resources and attention and clogging up the system with sleep gummies is not good for our public safety and it is not for the administration of justice.
Nathan Bernier [00:03:22] But for those arrested on felony drug charges in Travis County, there is a new diversion program. It’s called Restore, and it gives people a chance to enter drug treatment and have their cases dismissed and records cleared. But that doesn’t mean everyone is guaranteed a slot. And as far as the packaging is concerned, the words on the label can also cut the other way. Austin police say a package showing that cannabis flower or concentrate contains no more than 0.3% Delta-9 could help establish that product is legal hemp. In which case it would not be seized. I’m Nathan Bernier in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:04] The University of Austin, that is the private, currently unaccredited liberal arts college that launched five years ago, announced this week it’s planning to open a law school with an aim of launching that program in 2028. But what the school will not be aiming for is accreditation from the American Bar Association, the professional organization that acts as the accreditor for legal education. Lily Kepner reported on this story for the Austin American Statesman, where she covers higher ed and she is joining us now. Welcome back, Lily.
Lily Kepner [00:04:36] Thanks for having me.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:37] Okay, so tell us first, what does it mean for a school to have this accreditation from the American Bar Association?
Lily Kepner [00:04:43] Yeah, so since 1952, the ABA has been the legal school accreditor in the United States. That means that it’s in charge of setting the standards for all legal schools to make sure that there’s consistency in what a legal education is and what students who graduate know before they enter the practice. So ABA accreditation isn’t just a rubber stamp. It’s something that allows graduates from a school to take the bar exam, which they need to be a practicing lawyer. And right now in most states in the country, you have to graduate from a school with ABA certification in order to take that test. Texas recently changed the rules allowing the Texas Supreme Court to decide which schools reach that mark. I believe Florida did the same thing, but by and large, ABA accreditation is very the norm.
Jerry Quijano [00:05:38] So why is the University of Austin not pursuing this accreditation?
Lily Kepner [00:05:42] So the University of Austin has always had a rebellious motto that was their founding. They wanted to stand differently from higher education. And they have a lot of problems with the current system and specifically with the ABA. They think that the ABI’s requirements that full-time faculty teach these legal courses mean drives up the price of a legal education. They think some of the regulations don’t allow schools like themselves to innovate. And they believe that the ABA is ideological, specifically on the left. And if you look at the facts, it really traces a few diversity statements that ABA may have said. But They really believe that this is creating, you know, lawyers who are just liberal and they think that there needs to be more competition and other legal models. So they’re saying, we don’t need the ABA, we are going to start over.
Jerry Quijano [00:06:49] So how does their case fit in with recent criticisms of the ABA, particularly from some conservatives?
Lily Kepner [00:06:54] It fits in very well. They are one of the first universities to say, we are going to do this without the ABA, but we’ve seen, you know, lawyers write op-eds about why they’re giving up their ABA membership. We’ve seen the president of the United States criticize the ABa and threaten to take away their power to accredit universities. Now, you now, conservatives have come out and attacked higher education. At all different levels. They’ve attacked institutional creditors, they’ve attacked universities themselves. So the ABA isn’t unique in this. But the University of Austin’s argument is that they’re entering, you know, this moment at a time where they think it’ll be, while still difficult, easier than ever to be able to build a successful law school without the ABA.
Jerry Quijano [00:07:47] So since they’re gonna go away from the ABA, how do they plan to approach their law curriculum?
Lily Kepner [00:07:51] They plan to approach their law curriculum innovatively. They want to have a faster degree. They want it to be offered free of charge, just like their undergraduate degrees are. And they want to practicing federal judges and practitioners be the ones teaching students. In my interview, I didn’t get into the nitty gritties of what that curriculum would be, but the University of Austin would. Create the curriculum, and then the Federalist Society, which is a national organization that also arose while saying that the legal profession has become too liberal, would be a supporting partner and help provide some of the talent network to be a part of these students’ educational experience.
Jerry Quijano [00:08:40] Speaking of the students who would be going through that process, what would be the impact on their law program or their law education if it doesn’t come from ABA accreditation?
Lily Kepner [00:08:50] Yeah, so right now it would be a significant risk. A student who goes through this program now, if they graduate from a school without ABA accreditation, yes, in Texas or perhaps in Florida, though I don’t know Florida’s exact list of schools that are approved, they would be able to take the bar exam and become a practicing lawyer in the state. But most states would not let them take the Bar Exam, which means they would limited in where they could practice. But, when I talked to the University of Austin, they said, you know, we really think that, you know that won’t be as much of a hurdle in the future. You know, the president has talked about taking away ABA’s power. We’ve seen some states like Texas recently, you, know, move away from solely relying on the ABA. But right now it is kind of a gamble. But the University Of Austin said, we’ve taken risks before with setting up this their graduates. Curriculum in the first place and we think that this is the time to do this.
Jerry Quijano [00:09:50] Okay, we will have a link to Lily Kepner’s latest reporting on this story in today’s show notes. She is the higher ed reporter at the Austin American Statesman. Lily, thank you for your reporting.
Lily Kepner [00:09:58] Of course, thank you!
Jerry Quijano [00:10:05] If you haven’t registered to vote in the upcoming midterm elections, you still have a little more than two weeks to do so, but maybe you have been registered for several years and really haven’t thought about it twice. Well, there is still reason to check or maybe double check and make sure everything is set to go before you head to the polls. KUT’s Ben Philpott spoke with Hays County reporter Lee Walden about why.
Ben Philpott [00:10:28] Okay, Lee, don’t keep me in suspense. What’s this thing that’s going on with voter registration?
Leigh Walden [00:10:34] Okay, it’s called the voter suspense list and it’s this role of voters in the state of Texas who have for some reason or another had like a flag raised on their voter registration in the State. So it usually happens when the state thinks that they’ve moved and they haven’t been able to keep track of them and it doesn’t mean that they can’t vote but it might cause them extra problems when they go to vote in the polls.
Ben Philpott [00:10:57] So how does the state think, oh, this person might’ve moved?
Leigh Walden [00:11:01] Yeah, it can happen for a number of reasons. The primary one that I’ve seen as I’ve been researching this is that if a jury summons or some other official document is marked as undeliverable to a location, so it usually means that you’ve moved and you haven’t updated your voter registration. If anything like that happens and the state is made aware, like, hey, this person probably doesn’t live here anymore, you’ll probably end up on the suspense list.
Ben Philpott [00:11:27] Now it feels like this is something that happens to people who otherwise think that maybe they are still registered or I mean, I guess they are registered even on the suspense list, but they think everything’s gonna be perfectly fine and they’re ready to go in the fall. So what happens when they show up to the polls in the Fall and they find out, oh, I’m on the Suspense list?
Leigh Walden [00:11:45] Yeah, we should be super clear, those folks can still vote. So even if you’ve moved, even if you’ve switched counties, you should still be able to vote. Maybe you just had to vote early and go to an early voting location and submit a limited ballot, but you have to fill out an extra form. It might be a little bit more of a hassle. And on election day, going to the polls, it can be, you know, overwhelming enough. So to check on your registration, make sure you’re not on a suspense list, you don’t have to update your location, is all worth doing before you actually head to the polls.
Ben Philpott [00:12:15] So, okay, you go to the county website, you check, you see, oh my goodness, I am on the suspense list. Is there anything you can do ahead of time before you get to the polls?
Leigh Walden [00:12:23] Yeah, you can update your voter registration, and it shouldn’t be that difficult if most of your circumstances are still the same, but you do have to do it by October 5th. So there’s still a few weeks to do that before the November 3rd election, but it is worth doing and making sure that you’re not on any of these lists and you won’t have to have any extra hurdles to jump when it comes to the day.
Ben Philpott [00:12:42] And then how many people are we talking about in Central Texas that are on the list?
Leigh Walden [00:12:45] It’s a surprising number. So Texas as a whole, it’s over a million voters are on the suspense list. But within Travis County, it is like more than 70,000 and throughout central Texas, around 250,000 folks. So it’s not an insignificant number. It’s not the highest it’s ever been. And it’s. Not political by any means. It is kind of just a safeguard that the state has to make sure that the voting records are staying up to date and that people are voting in the live in.
Ben Philpott [00:13:15] Lee Walden is the Hayes County reporter for KUT News, and sometimes she checks in on voter registration stuff. Thanks, Lee. Thank you, Ben.
Jerry Quijano [00:13:24] Okay, the Austin Independent School District is making another effort to avoid a state takeover. A Texas Education Agency spokesperson confirmed today that district officials are appealing the F ratings for Burnett and Webb Middle Schools. This is the fifth consecutive F rating the two middle schools have received, opening the door to the state to appoint a new superintendent and board of managers. Burnett is one point away from a D and Webb is two points away. The TEA has until December to let the district know its final decision and when we know those decisions or when we have any more updates, we’re gonna bring them to you right here on Austin Signal. There’s plenty more from us at kut.org slash signal. And we got more coming up after the break, including hearing from the KUTX artists of the month. Grocery Bag, they’ve had a busy 2026. We’re gonna talk about their EP, Dead Vault and their plans for the rest of the year. That is up next! On Austin Signal. This is Austin Signal. Welcome back to the show. The KUTX Artist of the Month for September is Grocery Bag, the four-piece rock band who released their debut EP Dead Volt earlier this year. The band just wrapped up an appearance this month at Levitation, and they’re playing weekend one of this year’s ACL Fest. Bella Martinez is a guitarist and lead singer with Grocery Bag and she’s with us now. Thank you for your time.
Bella Martinez [00:15:04] Yeah, thank you for having me.
Jerry Quijano [00:15:05] So you are one member of this four-piece band, so tell us a little bit about your bandmates. Thank you so much.
Bella Martinez [00:15:11] So we got, yeah, four members. We got Jimmy Mercado, Logan Kerman, and Dylan Itala. You know, if I didn’t have them, I don’t know where I would be right now.
Jerry Quijano [00:15:20] How did you run into like how did y’all make each other’s acquaintance?
Bella Martinez [00:15:23] I met Jimmy I think it was like early 2020, end of 2019. I was doing a live streaming group doing photography and his band at the time was playing and so I didn’t know who he was and I was like you’re a cool dude and I was living in San Antonio at the same time too so I was driving back and forth and we started talking really shared like the love for music together and I was like, it would be sick for us to be in a band together. And then he introduced me to Logan and Dylan afterwards, and we would just all like hang out since then, you know? And so we’ve kind of just been best friends all first, and then we’re like, oh, let’s just put a band together.
Jerry Quijano [00:16:17] That’s I think always a start of something good is when you’re friends first and then you get into whatever you get in to. I did wanna ask about your upbringing in San Antonio because I am also from San Antonio and I think there are two groups of people. There are the people who are scared of their parents like me and never go to Austin and only stay in San Antonia and then there’s the actual cool kids who get to go back and forth. Like how early did you start coming to Austin to see music or how early did you just start coming to Austin to experience the city?
Bella Martinez [00:16:43] Yeah, it’s, I think the turning point for me was, I think it was like 2015 South by Southwest came out and, you know, I was very into like everything that Jack White was doing and he had a pop-up with Third Man Records and then there was all these other musicians playing that I had no clue what this was besides that. And so I think that was a thing that like made me fall in love with Austin. And I was like, Oh my God, I just, I don’t know. This is just another like thing to me that I didn’t have that in San Antonio. And so it was very eye-opening to me, but I wanna say once I got into high school, I was coming out here a lot with my parents because I did not have a license at the time. And so they were kind enough to drag me to all the shows and like, you know, chauffeur me, but they also loved every single band that I was into. So they were very supportive of everything and were like, oh yeah, this band’s playing? Okay, yeah, I’ll take you. And I’m like, okay, perfect. But yeah, going to shows, I was probably going like two or three times a week and still having to go back to school the next morning and take a test. But yeah, I think that that was kind of like the thing that drew me to Austin and wanting to come out here and start a life over here.
Jerry Quijano [00:17:58] Yeah, when did you start your official life here as an Austinite?
Bella Martinez [00:18:02] I moved out when I was like 18 or 19 for college and so that’s roughly when and I’m 23 now
Jerry Quijano [00:18:09] Okay, okay, so let me ask you, you know, Austin has a great music scene, obviously. What did you feel drawn to whenever you spent time here in Austin? Obviously the bands got you here in the first place, but what was it about the music scene or the city here that you really felt like, I have to be a part of this and I have be official.
Bella Martinez [00:18:27] Yeah, it was a lot of friends bands that were actually like performing out here and they were opening up for a bunch of artists that I really loved. And I was like, that’s insane that there was like… Well, the place that I used to go to a lot was Electric Church and R.I.P. They would always host some of the amazing shows and I was lucky enough to be able to get into that venue and not have to have an ID for it. So it wasn’t 21 and up all times. But Yeah I think it was just like the DIY-ness of everything and how much everyone supports each other out here. It was very refreshing and I just felt like this is where I needed to be.
Grocery Bag [00:19:27] I’ll do, stop calling me out
Jerry Quijano [00:19:31] What has been the most rewarding thing of this? It’s been a pretty busy year. Your EP came out in May, and now you are the Artist of the Month. You’re performing at ACL. What has a rewarding thing that you’ve learned or you’ve experienced through your music this year?
Bella Martinez [00:19:47] I think it’s just been getting to meet so many other people around the world and like especially on tours and hearing that oh I saw you guys over here or I flew out to come see you guys today we had a few people on our last tour that they were like I traveled a couple hours away from over here and I was like we were just in that city why don’t you go and they’re like well I couldn’t make it and I’m like oh well thank you for the dedication to and like support but like yeah I think just like hearing how how well the name has gone around and like it’s gotten good rep for it and that we’re inspiring others honestly it’s it’s been really rewarding hearing that and just getting to like use our talent to explore different things and see different cultures and meet new people and i’ve met some of my like closest friends now through all that.
Jerry Quijano [00:20:57] Yeah, and on the flip side of that, what has been the most challenging thing? Because it sounds like this is you always wanted to be in the Austin music scene and now you have a band and you’re making successful music and you getting your name out there. What’s been a challenging aspect of this year, something that you feel like you kind of learned from?
Bella Martinez [00:21:13] Definitely having more support in like, I guess getting our music out there is kind of been a struggle in finding the right people that want to support you the right way and not take over and take advantage of you. So that’s the thing that we’re kind of, you know, we’re going through that right now and it’s starting to get to that level where it’s getting more serious that you kind of have to double check everything and. You know, ask for help whenever you need it, but luckily there’s been a lot of people that are willing to kick in for us, so.
Jerry Quijano [00:21:44] Let’s talk now about your your EP dead vaults and six tracks. How long has this been in the works?
Bella Martinez [00:21:49] Uh, I think we just talked about this yesterday. I think it took us about like a year to work on these songs, just because, you know, after Break You and Static Mirage too, we kind of had a lot of time in between and we really weren’t doing much. And, uh, I. We were trying to take that time to solidify everything more and make sure that it was going to be our best work and we just keep topping it. I mean, we’re already on album two now and that came together way faster. So. I think it was just figuring out how we wanted everything to sound. Cause we were replaying all these songs for a good bit too and touring them, but we just never actually sat down and we’re like, let’s record these or figure out which ones from the pile of music we’re gonna go together. And so I think that EP came together really well.
Jerry Quijano [00:22:39] So you’re already working on the next one? Yep. What can you tell us about it?
Bella Martinez [00:22:43] It’s gonna be very different. But also a little bit more genre mixing. There’s a mix of all of us doing multiple things. We’re gonna have to figure out how we’re gonna play these songs live, but it’s probably one of my favorite things we’ve done, and I just love the production on it, and it really shows that we pushed a lot of boundaries on this record. Experimented with everything. So we didn’t stay in this like little, you know, genre of we’re a psych rock garage band. So we kind of broke it a little bit, but still it has that grocery bag sound to it. And so I’m very excited for everyone to hear it. We’ve been playing some of the songs live now too. And so, I’m excited for them to actually be out, hopefully soon. This man has caused me some drama I’m not fighting
Grocery Bag [00:23:49] Yeah
Jerry Quijano [00:23:50] So tell us, I wanted to ask about the production aspect. One more thing about that. On Bandcamp, I believe you’re credited as the designer of the album cover. How important is that, or do you, how much do you enjoy doing that work in addition to making the music and doing all that? How much do enjoy that aspect of it?
Bella Martinez [00:24:09] I like doing it because it just feels like rewarding being like, Oh my God, we did this and like, you know, not really having to get too many people involved and keeping it to ourselves and making it like, oh, this is my thing that I can share and take credit for at least. But yeah, the whole like EP, Jimmy recorded it, Logan also helped, like he took over the recording aspect of it. And so I think keeping it all to us like working on some stuff is just like It feels nice, but you know what I’ll say, I did that afterwards, you know?
Jerry Quijano [00:24:40] All right, we’ll make sure you go out and check them out. They are Grocery Bag. We have been chatting with Bella Martinez. Grocerie Bag is KUTX’s Artist of the Month for September. We’re gonna have a link to their full Studio 1A session in today’s show notes. Bella, thank you for your time.
Bella Martinez [00:24:55] Yeah, thank you for having me.
Jerry Quijano [00:24:56] Thank you out there for tuning in on this Friday afternoon and for being with us all week long here on Austin signal That’s it for us, but we have more at kut org Signal and in the podcast show notes Renee Chavez is our technical director Alexander Hart is our producer Kristen Cabrera is our managing producer and Jimmy Moss is our showrunner I’m your host Jerry Kikano. We will be back with you on Monday. Have a great weekend
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
