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Texas hemp businesses can keep selling their cannabis flower and concentrate products for now, after a Travis County judge blocked key parts of the state’s new hemp regulations while a lawsuit against those rules and increased fees plays out.
There was just one bidder for the contract to take operational control of three struggling Austin ISD middle schools. The move is being made in an effort to avoid a state takeover. Acacia Coronado, Austin Current’s education reporter, joins us to talk about this.
A new memoir from Austin-based writer Jo-Anne Berelowitz, “Somewhere I Belong,” is a reflection on home, family and her Jewish faith.
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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] Texas hemp businesses can keep selling their cannabis flour and concentrate products, at least for now. That’s after a Travis County judge blocked key parts of the state’s new hemp regulations, while a lawsuit against those rules and increased fees plays out. We’ve got the latest updates on the state hemp market, and there is just one bidder for the contract to take operational control of three Austin ISD middle schools. The move is being made in an effort to avoid a state takeover. We’re gonna talk about the significance of the sole bidder. That’s 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] Plus, a new memoir from an Austin-based author is a reflection on home, family, and her Jewish faith. We’re gonna have that conversation and a whole lot more. It’s all coming up next, and it’s right here on Austin Signal. Howdy out there, you are listening to Austin Signal. I’m your host, Jerry Econol. May the 4th it is. Thank you for tuning in and starting the week with community powered public radio. This is KUT News. Well, we’ve seen action this month on two separate cases regarding the sale and legality of hemp products here in Texas. In one, a Travis County judge granted a temporary injunction that would allow Texas retailers to continue selling smokeable hemp for the time being. Meanwhile, the Texas Supreme Court lifted a different temporary injunction against the Department of State Health Services, that move effectively clearing the way for the department to classify the psychoactive compound Delta-8-THC as a controlled substance. Confused by it all? Well, you’re not the only one out there. Luckily, KUT’s Nathan Bernier has been following all of these developments. He joins us now to explain. Welcome back to the show, Nathan.
Nathan Bernier [00:02:06] And thanks for having me, Jerry.
Jerry Quijano [00:02:07] Okay, first let’s get clear on the legality of hemp in the first place. Marijuana is still and has been illegal in Texas, so how are retailers able to sell these hemp products? The short answer is
Nathan Bernier [00:02:18] hemp and marijuana are just legal categories for cannabis. Texas legalized hemp in 2019 after the federal farm bill. So under Texas law, hemp is just cannabis with no more than 0.3% Delta 9 THC, which is the main psychoactive ingredient. Anything with more than zero point three percent Delta 9 is classified as marijuana. But cannabis contains lots of other compounds. Two important ones for our conversation, Jerry, are THCA and Delta 8. So THCA occurs naturally in cannabis and converts to Delta 9 when heated or smoked. That’s how Texas hemp shops have been able to sell flour and concentrates that are essentially cannabis. Delta 8 is different. It occurs naturally only in trace amounts, but businesses have been manufacturing Delta 8 products by converting hemp-derived CBD into something mind-altering. So both products grew out of the 2019 hemp law, but now they’re being treated differently by the courts.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:14] There have been a lot of developments in the Texas hemp market. Let’s talk about these most recent ones that happened on Friday. First with this Travis County court order, smokeable hemp products can continue to be sold in Texas. What did the judge have to say? What were her reasons for this injunction?
Nathan Bernier [00:03:28] Okay, so Judge Lytle granted a temporary injunction that blocks key parts of the new state hemp rules while the lawsuit plays out. The biggest thing she blocked, two things really, the state’s new total Delta-9 THC calculation and that formula counted THCA toward the legal THC limit. So, effectively banning smokable forms of hemp like flour and concentrate. Hemp businesses argued that went too far, that the agency exceeded its authority. And the judge also blocked, this was a big win for the Hemp businesses, sharply higher licensing and registration fees. And Judge Lytle blocked related transport restrictions and a daily penalty structure that treats each day of some violations as a separate violation. So she really gave the plaintiffs pretty much everything they were asking for. Her reasoning was that Hemp businesses did show a probable right to relief, which in plain English means she found they’re likely to show that the state exceeded its authority and violated rulemaking procedures and raised constitutional problems with these fees and penalties. And that order applies broadly across the whole hemp industry, not just to the plaintiffs that sued. But it also does not block all the new rules. There’s some consumer safety provisions that remain in place, like age restrictions and labeling requirements and a requirement for child-resistance.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:52] And packaging. The other development came from the Texas Supreme Court. They lifted a temporary injunction against the Department of State Health Services. Can you give us some background on that and what this move from the court effectively, what is it doing?
Nathan Bernier [00:05:04] Yeah, so this was a separate case about Delta 8 THC, not to be confused with Delta 9. Delta 8 is typically a little less psychoactive, it’s sometimes referred to as diet weed for that reason. And so back in 2021, Department of State Health Services said Delta 8THC in any concentration was a Schedule 1 controlled substance. Delta 8 businesses sued, among the plaintiffs is Austin-based hometown hero, and they got a temporary injunction that allowed Delta 8 sales to continue while that case worked its way through the courts. Well, on Friday, the Texas Supreme Court reversed that injunction. And it said that the DSHS commissioner does have broad authority over the civil schedules of these controlled substances. But the justices drew a distinction here that I think is important. They drew a between trace naturally occurring Delta 8 in the hemp plant and manufacture Delta 8 products with higher Delta 8 levels. The court said the hemp law does not clearly legalize manufactured Delta 8 from hemp-derived CBD. But the justices said naturally occurring Delta 8 in these very trace amounts, it is lawful. And so that’s an important nuance. Another thing to understand about the case is the Texas Supreme Court did say these businesses have standing to sue and said they did not have to, the quote is, bet the farm. By violating the law and risking severe penalties before going to court. But the standing just means that they can bring the lawsuit. So that can move forward, but the injunction protecting Delta 8 sales is gone. And that could also apply to other manufactured cannabinoids like THCP, which is very potent, among others.
Jerry Quijano [00:06:46] On the surface, Nathan, it seems to me that these actions are sort of contradictory, maybe possibly even canceling each other out. It seems pretty indicative of the up and down nature of the hemp market right now in Texas. What have you heard from hemp businesses out there? Where do they stand and what comes next?
Nathan Bernier [00:07:02] Well yeah, I mean these rulings on the surface do seem contradictory, but they involve different products and different legal questions. So the Travis County ruling is about things and factors including THCA, which occurs naturally in cannabis and converts to Delta 9 when heated. The Texas Supreme Court ruling is a about manufactured Delta 8 products. Some call them synthesized or semi-synthesized Delta 8, which are typically made by chemically converting CBD into a more concentrated Delta 8. So where things stand right now… THCA flour and concentrates can remain on shelves because of that Travis County injunction, which is likely to be appealed by the state. Manufactured Delta-8 products are on much shakier ground because the Texas Supreme Court removed the injunction that had protected those sales.
Jerry Quijano [00:07:48] That’s KUT’s Nathan Bernier. We’re gonna have a link to his latest reporting in today’s show notes. Nathan, thank you for explaining all of this.
Nathan Bernier [00:07:55] Thank you so much, Jerry.
Jerry Quijano [00:08:07] The Austin Independent School District relinquished controls of three failing middle schools as a move to avoid state takeover of the entire school district. So what does the future look like for these three Austin middle schools? Joining us now to talk more is Acacia Coronado, education reporter for Austin Current. Acacia, welcome back to Austin Signal. Thanks for having me. So let’s go back and talk a little bit of background for those who might not be familiar. Or why is the Austin School District looking? For someone to take over, so to speak, these schools.
Acacia Coronado [00:08:39] Yeah, so they’re going to give operational control to Texas Council for International Studies because the three schools have had four quote unquote failing accountability ratings under the state’s accountability rating system for academics. And so if they reach a fifth failing accountability rating, then state law says that the education commissioner could either close the schools or a point of. Appoint a board of managers to lead the school district instead of the elected school board.
Jerry Quijano [00:09:13] And this process has been playing out over the course of the school year. When is the deadline for the Austin School District to sort of hand over these schools?
Acacia Coronado [00:09:22] So they already voted to enter into a contract with Texas Council for International Studies. And then from there, they submitted an application to the TEA for benefits under the SB 1882 program, which would then pause that accountability rating for two years if approved as one of the benefits and allow that vendor to improve the academic rating of the schools over the next to school years. And that partnership would begin to take effect in the coming school year.
Jerry Quijano [00:09:55] Okay, so I believe a bidding for that vendor position has opened up and you’ve been reporting on that at Austin current. What have you found?
Acacia Coronado [00:10:03] So in January, we requested to know who had proposed a bid to have the operational control of these schools. We were under the impression that that call for quality schools had already closed in October. And so we submitted a request to know, who had bid. We were denied that request and sent to the Texas Attorney General for ruling because the school district said that they were still taking bids and TEA let us know in a statement at the time that it’s kind of up to the school district how and when they take the bids to determine who can take operational control of a school when they’re seeking this kind of partnership. So we waited for the attorney general to rule on whether or not this was releasable and that ruling came a couple of weeks ago. And so this actually comes after the school district had already voted to give that operational control to Texas Council for International Studies.
Jerry Quijano [00:11:00] Did you find that there were any other bidders besides Texas Council for International Studies?
Acacia Coronado [00:11:05] According to the paperwork that we received, there were no other bidders to take operational control of the three schools.
Jerry Quijano [00:11:11] And why is that significant?
Acacia Coronado [00:11:14] So according to education experts, it is really difficult to find an outside operator that is willing to take on a school for academic improvement because of the tight turnaround deadline and the fact that they only have two years to get the school to a passing accountability rating to avoid the possibility of a takeover again.
Jerry Quijano [00:11:38] Okay, so as you mentioned, the school has already voted. So once these middle schools actually are taken over control of, what if anything is actually gonna change in the hallways of those schools?
Acacia Coronado [00:11:48] So as far as we know, the operational control means that they’re gonna have a say on staffing, they’re going to have a stay on the principal, they’re to have us say on the academics of the school while the school district still does some of the day-to-day things like busses and food service and things like that.
Jerry Quijano [00:12:06] And do we know when that is going to actually begin?
Acacia Coronado [00:12:09] Texas Council for International Studies is set to take the operational control of the three schools by next school year.
Jerry Quijano [00:12:15] All right, we have been speaking with Acacia Coronado. She is the education reporter for Austin Current, a partner with KUT News and Austin Signal in the coverage of the city of Austin. Acacia, always great to talk with you.
Acacia Coronado [00:12:27] Thanks so much.
Jerry Quijano [00:12:29] And thank you for spending part of your sunny Monday here with KUT News and with Austin Signal. No rain to start the week here in the Austin area, but the National Weather Service is giving us some rain chances beginning late tomorrow night into Wednesday and all the way through Friday, maybe even a shower on the weekend. We’ll keep you updated on the latest right here on Austin Signal, we’ll be back after a moment. This is Austin’s Signal, welcome back. When Joanne Borelowitz was 10, her father told her that they would have to leave their home in South Africa because Jews did not belong. South Africa couldn’t ever be home for them. Borelowitz grew up anxious about the meaning of home, and she reflects on that anxiety in her new memoir, Somewhere I Belong, a story of country, family, home, Jewish identity. These days, Joanne is an art historian who calls Austin home. And she spoke with Texas standards David Brown about her memoir.
David Brown [00:13:33] Tell us a little bit more about your family’s eventual departure from South Africa. You were considerably older than ten, but that stuck with you.
Jo-anne Berelowitz [00:13:42] Well, we all left separately, actually. The first to leave was my youngest sister, who moved to the UK. Let’s see, I moved next. I married and came to California with my husband. I’d been accepted into Stanford, and he’d had a job offer. And then my parents and my youngest brother left next. They all went to Israel. And the one who remained in South Africa was the first of my two brothers, the first born. He was finishing his medical training and then he also moved to Israel.
David Brown [00:14:17] You felt that it was necessary to move, and I’m wondering if you can say more about that.
Jo-anne Berelowitz [00:14:23] From about the 1960s onward, liberal inclined South Africans left South Africa. We could see the writing on, yeah. The writing was on the wall. It wasn’t going to get any better. There was going to be some kind of revolution. There’d been overthrows of colonial governments along to our north in various parts of Africa. So. We made plans to leave. I mean, plans take a long time to implement. My father had a business, my grandparents were still alive, so things took a while, but eventually, over the course of the 70s, we all left.
David Brown [00:15:03] I wanted you to dig in a little bit deeper about why your father said what he did and how, what sort of mark that left on you and your siblings.
Jo-anne Berelowitz [00:15:14] Well, you know, I think Jews are kind of sensitive to threats of imminent danger, particularly since, you, know, what happened in Nazi Germany, and some Jews didn’t leave, just kind of ignored the signs on the wall. And my father was always someone, he loved history, he consumed history books, and he was sure there was going to be a bloody revolution. There actually wasn’t. You know, my father had a kind of apocalyptic bent. He dreaded the cataclysm. So he was determined to get us out. And there was a fairly large exodus around the 70s, particularly after the riots in Sharpeville when police mowed down children and the racial tensions in South Africa became more acute and to deal with them, the apartheid government clamped down even more. Rigorously on the racial laws, thinking that more oppression would kill things and in fact of course that is not what happens.
David Brown [00:16:17] You moved to California, as you say, with your husband in the 1970s, and I would imagine there would be a considerable amount of culture shock.
Jo-anne Berelowitz [00:16:27] Oh yeah, for me it was enormous. My ex-husband had lived in California, so he already loved it, but I was terribly lonely. I knew nobody, had no family, I was pregnant. So even my body was very different to me. Even driving on the different side of the road in a behemoth vehicle when I’d had a little Volkswagen bug in South Africa, everything was like shocking.
David Brown [00:16:56] That’s a big part of your book, Finding Home in Your Faith. What was that process like and how deliberate and deliberative was it? I’m thinking of people who may be listening and may not be feeling at home with any faith or may be feeling very much out of sync with where they find themselves now in Texas, for example.
Jo-anne Berelowitz [00:17:20] Well, I grew up in a very secular Jewish family. I would say that my father was almost rabidly anti-religious, but because everyone in South Africa was kind of forced into their ghetto, there was a tremendous amount of anti-Semitism in my hometown of Durban, a kind of polite anti-semitism from the Anglo community. So we moved mainly with Jewish people, So we were Jewish, but… Very, very secular. My parents have never been religious, but I’m not sure if it was partly in rebellion against my father, but I began to be attracted to the rich history of my people. And the more I got into it, the more wanted to get into it. So it was some conflict with my parents. My mother would ask me, are you becoming from, which means like ultra-orthodox, don’t wear a shaital, which you know is a wig, to cover your hair. And so, you know, I sort of had that to contend with, but there are so many shades and so many ways of being Jewish. So, you now, I love my community here. I study Torah. I’m actually enrolled to start in the summer and at the Spurs Institute to do a master’s degree in Jewish studies. It’s not that I need another degree, but I love to study. And this is a subject that is so dear to my heart.
David Brown [00:18:48] There’s a sense of place that many of us have and for many folks that’s perfectly sufficient. We can spend our lifetimes finding that place that feels like home and I think that that’s something that this book will really bring to a lot of people is that, you know, that ongoing search for home and the meaning of home. But for you a big dimension of that it seems is your own personal journey into understanding What it means to be Jewish and I’m curious if you can say more about about that
Jo-anne Berelowitz [00:19:23] You know, I think all of us from, you know, the middle of the 20th century on through now have a sense of alienation from the world, which is very different from when people felt that the world was very ordered and they had a place in the world and they knew their place. We’re all deracinated, we’re all uprooted in various ways. I mean, people lose connection to their families and so on. So I think everybody has some kind of longing for home. Now, home can be a physical place. I learned very early on in my life that the place that I thought was home, a physical was not home. So, the places where I have felt most that I could breathe a huge sigh of relief and feel connection have been in two synagogues that I have been a part of. I just feel connected back through all the history to… Way, way, way back when, I feel a sense of relief, like, yes, this is my place.
David Brown [00:20:26] It sounds like this was cathartic though, and I’m curious as you think about people reading your memoir, what are you hoping that they…
Jo-anne Berelowitz [00:20:35] Of course, I hope people will think about where they’re at home. You know, one of the important things about writing a memoir is that you get to write your own narrative. You don’t get to be scripted by somebody else. So I think some of my fumbling towards my truth comes through in my memoir. I hope that people will be prompted to reflect on their own stories and how they might like to tell it, even if they don’t write a memoir. But, um, just think about their own stories in different ways.
Jerry Quijano [00:21:08] That was Austin-based author Joanne Burelowitz talking with Texas standards David Brown about her new memoir, Somewhere I Belong, a story of country, family, home, and Jewish identity. We’re going to have a link to more from that conversation in today’s show notes. And that is it for us today on Austin Signal. Thank you for making us part of your Monday. But before we let you get out of here, KUT wrapped up the first ever KUT Festival this weekend. My, what a success it was. Thanks to all of you who came out. We had a great time. Hopefully you were able to make it out there to the east side, but if you weren’t, if you had other plans, don’t worry. We have tons of coverage from the fest over at kut.org. And of course on the KUT app and hopefully in the future we’ll be bringing you some of the audio from some of the panels that were featured there at the fest. Lots to share with you from that. And taking a little peek into tomorrow’s show. Right now, the simple text off air is the only thing on the InfoWars website. KUT’s government accountability reporter Andrew Weber will be joining us with the latest updates of what is going on with Alex Jones and Info Wars. Plus KUT’s Art Beat brings us the story of Shakespearean troops’ search for a new home as one of the few Elizabethan theaters left in the country is shuttered. A whole lot more coming tomorrow, maybe I’ll be able to talk properly tomorrow, who knows? You’re going to have to tune in to find out because this is live radio, this is Austin Signal. Thank you for tuning in, we’ll be back at the same time tomorrow and we’ll talk to you then.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
