A pilot program to make the Downtown Austin Community Court more accessible to those needing help clearing up misdemeanor offenses and receiving social services has been ruled a success, with organizers pushing to make the expansion permanent. A memo released last week from the DACC court administrator Robert Kingham recommends the city move forward with […]
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 inPlanning
City seeks input on area food plan that highlights fragility for farms, restaurants
The Office of Sustainability has published the draft of its long-in-development food plan for Austin and Travis County, which seeks to balance pressures of development and land use against the need to feed a fast-growing metro area. Released last month after more than a year of community input on priorities related to food availability and […]
Posted inEnvironment
Land acquisition, leaving Fayette power plant among environmentalists’ priorities for Council plan
With City Council set to consider a host of green infrastructure projects later this spring, environmental proponents want the city to commit to green space acquisition, curbing motorized vehicle use and converting all municipal energy generation away from carbon fuels. Wednesday’s public hearing at the Joint Sustainability Committee meeting featured more than a dozen speakers […]
Posted inWhispers
Disability committee requests city conduct first census of local disabled community
The city may move forward with conducting its first comprehensive census of the local disabled population, a move that disability advocates say will help to properly gauge the need for services and other resources for that community. At a special meeting held last week, the Mayor’s Committee for People With Disabilities passed a recommendation for […]
Posted inWhispers
Bullock offers discussions, workshops on April 8 solar eclipse
As the April 8 total solar eclipse draws closer, the Bullock Museum will host two programs exploring the science of eclipses and how to view them safely. Next Wednesday at noon, the museum will hold a discussion about the nature of eclipses and how to properly photograph them, featuring Rob Pettengill, NASA JPL solar system […]
Posted inPlanning
Report offers city, developers strategies to reduce parking downtown
A new report from public policy and real estate leaders in Austin recommends a variety of approaches the city can take to reduce the presence and impact of multilevel parking decks in new developments in the downtown core and beyond. The recently released technical assistance panel report from Urban Land Institute Austin was an attempt […]
Posted inPolice
Report finds mixed progress in APD’s work to implement police academy reforms
In assessing the latest analysis of the Austin Police Department’s Training Academy, members of City Council stressed the importance of a comprehensive audit system to ensure that years and money spent to improve the academy aren’t wasted. Concerns over the audits for the training process of each academy class, as well as the need for […]
Posted inCity Hall
City manager candidates talk public safety, homelessness, transparency in town hall Q&A
The two candidates for Austin’s city manager position each made their case to the public Monday for why they should be chosen for the job. Sara Hensley, the current city manager of Denton, Texas, and T.C. Broadnax, current but soon departing city manager of Dallas, fielded questions for about 30 minutes each in an interview […]
Posted inPreservation
Downtown Commission reviews plan for equitable historic preservation
Members of the Downtown Commission debated and mostly praised the draft version of the city’s Equity-Based Preservation Plan, which is open for public feedback through the end of May. At last week’s meeting, the commission looked beyond the scope of the downtown core to express concerns and hopes related to the plan, which is intended […]
Posted inPlanning
Incentive package for music venues, arts spaces headed for May public hearing
The city is working to make incentives for creative spaces available to individual sites and properties as well as larger cultural districts that have been proposed in city planning documents in recent years. Monday’s Arts Commission meeting included a presentation from Donald Jackson, a business process consultant in the Economic Development Department, on progress on […]
Posted inRoads
City seeking $191M state loan to cover costs of caps and stitch for I-35
The city will turn to a state loan program as a major source of the funding for the more than $500 million cost of constructing caps and a stitch over Interstate 35 after it is buried and expanded over the course of the next decade. At today’s meeting, City Council is expected to approve an […]
Posted inBudget
Parks Dept. looks to move forward with new, scaled-back Dougherty Arts Center
The replacement for the deteriorating Dougherty Arts Center will move forward in a phased approach, without the underground parking called for previously by City Council, in an attempt to dramatically reduce the cost of the new facility. During the Tuesday work session, Council heard a presentation from Parks and Recreation Department Director Kim McNeeley detailing […]