Don Pitts will stay on as leader of Austin’s Music and Entertainment Division through the end of April. The city announced the consulting agreement late on Thursday, two days after Pitts submitted his letter resigning from his director position following a monthlong paid administrative leave and investigation into a staff disciplinary issue. Pitts had intended […]
Chad Swiatecki
Chad Swiatecki is a 20-year journalist who relocated to Austin from his home state of Michigan in 2008. He most enjoys covering the intersection of arts, business and local/state politics. He has written for Rolling Stone, Spin, New York Daily News, Texas Monthly, Austin American-Statesman and many other regional and national outlets.
Posted inCity Hall
When the music stops – Pitts speaks following resignation
The city will have to move forward with one of its most ambitious policy efforts ever for promoting local music without the executive who spent seven years working to shape that agenda. Don Pitts, who served as director of the city’s Music and Entertainment Division since 2010, announced his resignation from the position on Tuesday. […]
Posted inAustin
Middle-class job growth to be focus of Austin’s economic incentives revision
The city appears set to reform its economic incentives policies so they focus squarely on middle-class jobs that economists and local politicos worry aren’t growing fast enough. Last week, Mayor Steve Adler posted a draft resolution created with City Council members Ellen Troxclair, Ora Houston and Jimmy Flannigan that directs city staff to assemble a […]
Posted inAustin
More funding, policy work for Waller Creek in 2017
With work slated to begin later this year on the biggest of the park improvement projects along Waller Creek, there is expected to be a semi-regular drumbeat of news of new funding and collaboration throughout the rest of 2017. Peter Mullan, CEO of the Waller Creek Conservancy, which is overseeing an estimated $220 million in […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Theater group seeks city lease deal to stay in business
A nonprofit theater group hopes to tap into the city of Austin’s recent focus on preserving creative spaces within the city and get a new home for experimental fine arts in the process. Representatives of the Rude Mechanicals (or “Rude Mechs”) theater collective presented a request to the Music Commission on Monday, asking for that […]
Posted inAustin
Hotel tax increase would fund most aggressive convention center plan
A 2-percentage-point uptick in the city’s hotel occupancy tax appears to be the most favored method of expanding the Austin Convention Center and turning the area around it into a lifestyle and tourist epicenter. That financing option, which would be a key part of a possible $609 million expansion, was one of several discussed recently […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Music venues’ ‘agent of change’ proposal faces revisions ahead of spring vote
The city of Austin has concluded its series of public forums on a pair of proposed policy moves that would attempt to draw clear lines of responsibility between new residential developments and creative spaces that are increasingly co-mingling in the same neighborhoods as Austin’s population density increases. Throughout January, the city’s Economic Development Department took […]
Posted inPublic Health
Medical school outlines spending, outreach for care in eastern ‘Austin crescent’
With Travis County putting more scrutiny on one of the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas’ largest financial contributors – specifically Central Health and the $35 million in taxpayer dollars it provides the school annually – leaders of the still-new school issued an in-person community progress report on Monday that focused on its […]
Posted inAustin
Economic forecast puts focus on transit, housing, jobs for 2017
AngelouEconomics’ annual economic forecast for Austin sees the city’s economy slowing its growth somewhat in 2017 and 2018. But roughly 107,000 new residents in that timespan will add more pressure on the local cost of living and transportation systems. The forecast from local economist Angelos Angelou gathers data from throughout Austin and Texas as a […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Austin Monitor Radio: The City of Austin and its music policies
Austin Monitor freelancer Chad Swiatecki chats with guests Amy Lombardi and Rick Carney about the City of Austin’s live music policies. Post is embedded below: [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/305157272″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Posted inPreservation
For historic grants program, use-it-or-lose-it process leaves dollars unspent
Historic sites around Austin could be on the receiving end of money from the city’s fast-growing Hotel Occupancy Tax if the advisory body formed to examine how the tax revenue is allocated recommends that City Council relax the application process. At Tuesday’s meeting of the Visitor Impact Task Force, members learned that a portion of […]
Posted inWhispers
Austin Music Foundation unveils program to mentor young artists
Turns out that Mayor Steve Adler isn’t the only one trying to make Austin musicians more business savvy. The Austin Music Foundation, a nonprofit focused on creating opportunities for local musicians, has announced its new Artist Development Program, which will utilize the expertise of music industry professionals in a seven-month course to help young and […]