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.
Newsletter Signup
The Austin Monitor thanks its sponsors. Become one.
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
-
Discover News By District
Popular Whispers
Stories by Chad Swiatecki
Parks board delays SXSW fair pay action until June
The Parks and Recreation Board has signaled it will ask City Council to require fair pay standards to be included in all future contracts with South by Southwest, including its use of Auditorium Shores for free concerts for the public.…
Music & Entertainment • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 29, 2023
State police to supplement APD officers amid ongoing staffing problems
The city has entered into a partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety to supplement the Austin Police Department amid its ongoing staffing shortage and a public perception that the city has too few police officers. The partnership was…
Police • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 28, 2023
Council delays vote to expand e-scooter regulations, fines
City Council will wait until next month to begin the work that will bring more regulations and standards to the city’s bustling market for motorized scooters. Council voted on Thursday to delay action on a resolution that would direct city…
Transportation • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 24, 2023
Developers, planners explore racial equity goals for building Austin
Members of Austin’s real estate and development community considered plenty of questions and ideas Wednesday concerning how to improve and prioritize racial equity in building projects throughout fast-growing Austin. No all-encompassing answers or silver-bullet tactics were revealed by the panel…
Planning • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 23, 2023
Activists push to improve East Austin cultural spaces as city land heads for development
Arts stakeholders and local preservationists are pushing the city to make good on a 2021 resolution to improve and invest in a portion of East Austin known as the African American Cultural Heritage District. The group’s work, which is aimed…
Music & Entertainment • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 22, 2023
Project Connect scenarios balance budgets against potential size and ridership
Cost constraints facing Austin’s planned light rail line through downtown have resulted in five options that feature shorter routes and place tracks at street level with traffic, in a substantial departure from the initial plans approved by voters in 2020.…
Transit • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 21, 2023
Subscribe to our newsletter
New forecast modeling puts Austin homeless population near 4,600
New methods for counting and forecasting by one of Austin’s leading homelessness services organizations suggests nearly 4,600 people are experiencing homelessness in the city, far higher than previous estimates and counts using federal guidelines. The new figure was revealed at…
Public Health • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 20, 2023
Rally draws attention to criticism of SXSW artist pay
Union organizers for musicians took their criticism of South by Southwest’s artist payment practices to the street on Thursday, gathering outside the Austin Convention Center to rally and draw attention to their demand for increased compensation for the hundreds of…
Music & Entertainment • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 17, 2023
3D home printer opens $1M competition as 'affordability moonshot'
Austin-based 3D-printed home manufacturer Icon is looking for designers and college students from all over the world to propose advancements in architecture that could bring the cost of homes under $99,000. The company announced its Initiative 99 contest on Wednesday…
Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 16, 2023
Changes expected for city's minority business hiring ordinances
Proposed changes to the city’s procedures for hiring minority- and women-owned businesses will likely come before City Council this spring or early summer, with consultants and a working group recommending 21 adjustments or substantial revisions to the hiring practices. A…
City Council • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 14, 2023
Planning underway to bring hubs for music and arts to three cultural centers
The city’s three ethnic cultural centers are being considered to house hubs for music and other artistic endeavors that would provide members of the local Black, Latino and Asian American communities with more opportunities to explore and advance their creative…
Music & Entertainment • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 13, 2023
Transit leaders preparing new Project Connect scenarios for March open house
With a budget that no longer meets the vision approved by voters in 2020 for an ambitious mass transit system, leaders with the agency charged with carrying out the Project Connect plan say that work continues to decide what the…
