About the Author
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.
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Most Popular Stories
- From Round Rock’s school board to City Hall, District 6 newcomer Krista Laine gives conservatives a run for their money
- Lost Creek neighborhood sues city over tax efforts
- Density proponents encouraged by HOME six-month progress report
- In 2025, Travis County Commissioner Ann Howard eyes building more supportive housing and strengthening climate resilience
- Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea urges local climate resilience initiatives to combat coming federal turn
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Stories by Chad Swiatecki
Tuition drop at Concordia University seen as move to increase access, enrollment
In a bid to bolster enrollment that has slipped since the Covid-19 pandemic, Concordia University will reduce its published tuition cost by 40 percent beginning next school year, to $23,500. The change is a reduction as well as an acknowledgement…
Education • By Chad Swiatecki • Nov 1, 2023
Mobility Committee laments state law curtailing city's power over driverless car companies
City Council members heard last week about the ongoing public safety concerns that the emerging autonomous vehicle industry has created in Austin. Last week’s Mobility Committee meeting saw a presentation from staff from the Transportation and Public Works Department as…
Transportation • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 30, 2023
Downtown church seeks community partners, not developers, in reimagining prime real estate
First Baptist Church of Austin has so far turned down tens of millions of dollars from developers looking to capitalize on the nearly 2 acres of downtown real estate it owns. Rather than cashing out and moving to the suburbs,…
Development • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 27, 2023
Following ACL Fest, parks board calls for close look at Zilker Park health
Amid concerns over the impact on Zilker Park from this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival, city parks staff said they have conducted the annual review of the festival and are beginning the work needed to replenish the park. The…
Parks • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 26, 2023
Artists decry delay in city grant payments, putting some projects and events at risk
Arts commissioners have joined local artists in criticizing the city for the prolonged rollout of one of its newer grant programs, which has left some recipients without funding ahead of events they’d organized with expectations of using the city funds.…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 25, 2023
Public, private measures seen as key to increasing resilience against extreme weather, natural disasters
Local developers and planning leaders learned recently about the impacts that increasingly severe weather and natural disasters will have on their projects, and how public and private efforts can work together to reduce the damage. Among the areas of focus…
Public Safety • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 24, 2023
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Tourism Commission wants more transparency on hotel tax funding decisions for arts groups
Members of the Tourism Commission have signaled they want more transparency from the Economic Development Department regarding how Hotel Occupancy Tax dollars allocated for music, cultural arts and historic preservation programs are used. At its most recent meeting, the commission…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 23, 2023
Council pushes for pause on I-35 expansion, citing air quality concerns
Citing concerns over possible environmental and air quality impacts, City Council wants to delay the start of the reconstruction of Interstate 35. By a 7-3 vote, Council approved a resolution Thursday that asked the Texas Department of Transportation and Capital…
Roads • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 20, 2023
Citing construction concerns, city indefinitely extends moratorium on new street events
The city has indefinitely extended a long-standing moratorium on street events in response to the large number of private development and infrastructure projects slated for downtown and beyond in the coming years. A memo released last week by José Roig,…
Music & Entertainment • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 19, 2023
Council considers timeline, partnerships ahead of vote on $1.2B contracts for convention center
City Council appears ready to move ahead with two major contracts that will officially kick off the process of demolishing and reconstructing the Austin Convention Center. On Thursday, contracts totaling nearly $1.27 billion could confirm LMN/Page as the design and…
City Council • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 18, 2023
Tourism Commission joins staff in push for agreement with short-term rental companies
The Tourism Commission appears ready to push the city to come to an agreement with short-term rental platforms that will allow some regulation of the industry and allow the collection of millions of dollars in Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue each…
Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 17, 2023
Hiring headache: $25B in mobility projects will require 10,000 new workers every year through 2040
With $25 billion in infrastructure and mobility projects on tap over the next two decades, the Austin area will have 10,000 new jobs in those sectors per year for the next 17 years. That total is one of the findings…
