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
- Cap Metro to shelve 46 new electric buses for a year after manufacturer bankruptcy
- Mobility Committee hears public concern regarding expansion of MoPac
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sues nonprofit that serves homeless in South Austin
- Red River music proponents see city funding as sign of support, progress
- Austin Energy proposes gas peaker units, not larger combined cycle plant
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Discover News By District
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Stories by Chad Swiatecki
Tovo considers changes and challenges after 11 years on Council
After more than a decade on Austin City Council, Kathie Tovo’s view on the nature of elected life is that plenty of day-one priorities and worries for new Council members are likely to remain top concerns for years to come.…
City Council • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 28, 2022
In D5, Ryan Alter hopes to bring momentum to city operations
Ryan Alter will bring a state-level perspective to City Hall next year when he takes over representing District 5 from Ann Kitchen, the two-term City Council member who was term-limited and unable to run in November. As a policy analyst…
City Council • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 27, 2022
Harper-Madison looks to spark D1 civic involvement in 2023
After completing her fourth year in office, City Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison wishes she’d known from her first day roughly as much as she knows now about the workings of city government. Her thinking: There should be an apparatus that…
City Council • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 22, 2022
Ethics commission sends Ellis letter on campaign finance violations
The city’s Ethics Review Commission has issued a letter of notification to City Council Member Paige Ellis, documenting a handful of campaign contributions that exceeded campaign finance rules and were not returned to donors in a timely fashion. Last week…
Elections • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 21, 2022
City moving forward with new floodplain maps from Atlas 14 rainfall study
The city is moving forward with its effort to update its floodplain maps, in anticipation of an expected increase in dramatic rainfall and flooding events caused by climate change over the next decade. Earlier this month, the Watershed Protection Department…
Land Development Code • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 20, 2022
Development leaders see public-private partnerships as cure for 'lazy' public dirt
State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt created a new branding term for proponents of public-private partnerships at Urban Land Institute Austin’s monthly breakfast panel last week. “Something I’ve discovered after 20 years in local government is governments have a tendency to have…
Development • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 19, 2022
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Qadri credits focus on housing in win for D9 seat
Political newcomer Zohaib “Zo” Qadri will represent City Council District 9 beginning in January, defeating challenger Linda Guerrero by 352 votes, according to unofficial totals reported Tuesday night. The final vote for the two-candidate runoff according to Travis County elections…
Elections • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 13, 2022
Council backs senior center plan for Nash Hernandez building
The city will move forward with plans to convert the long-idle Nash Hernandez building in East Austin into a senior activity center that could also offer programs for area schoolchildren. Last week, City Council approved on its consent agenda an…
City Council • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 13, 2022
Zilker Park plan brings worries over parking, ecology, athletic fields
Concerns about athletic fields, ecological impacts, and plans for major accessibility and transportation infrastructure were among the issues discussed during a recent feedback session with planners working on the future of Zilker Park. Last month the city unveiled its draft…
Parks • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 12, 2022
Council members irked at low appraisal of parkland for Oracle expansion
City Council members pushed back against some of the steps taken by staff over the past year to work out a complex swap of city parkland approved by voters last year. During Tuesday’s work session, Mayor Pro Tem Alison Alter…
City Council • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 8, 2022
Millennium Youth complex among first sites considered for creative space bond funds
The Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex may be one of the first two sites to receive some of the city’s $12 million in bond funding for creative space preservation. On Thursday, City Council will vote on a request from the Austin…
Music & Entertainment • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 7, 2022
Austin deals with growing pains of being rare real estate 'supernova'
If the last decade of booming real estate growth has earned Austin the designation of being one of four “supernova” markets, according to the national Urban Land Institute (Nashville, Raleigh/Durham and Charlotte being the others), then the onset of an…
