Stories by Chad Swiatecki
Tuesday, July 28, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Austin
City moving forward with plans for $12M to acquire space for artists, musicians
This week City Council is expected to consider an agreement with the Texas Facilities Commission that will begin the process of acquiring creative spaces around the city using a $12 million bond approved in 2018. The interlocal agreement would approve…
Monday, July 27, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Budget
Music Commission eyes police dollars instead of hotel tax to support Black music fund
Included in the Music Commission’s request to create a Black Live Music Fund may be a suggestion that the city look for money outside of the Hotel Occupancy Tax – including funds intended for law enforcement – to rebuild the…
Thursday, July 23, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Austin
Austin music venues seek $20 million from city to prevent closures
Austin’s Music Venue Alliance plans to ask the city to provide $20 million in aid specifically for music venues that have been closed since mid-March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Music Venue Preservation Fund request was discussed at Wednesday’s…
Tuesday, July 21, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
City Charter
Push for 2021 charter amendments could make Austin a ‘strong mayor’ city
A new group of community activists and political insiders intends to push for amendments to the city charter that could bring about a change to a “strong mayor” form of government, along with other changes focused on increasing voter turnout…
Monday, July 20, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Housing
Housing department seeks to move unused home repair funds toward homelessness
The city will likely redirect a $2.6 million unused Community Development Block Grant intended for home repairs to create more housing for the homeless in the next budget year. Last week the Community Development Commission voted 9-2 to approve the…
Wednesday, July 15, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Elections
Garza captures county attorney post, with plans to reform criminal cases
Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza will take over the position of Travis County attorney after defeating longtime city and county attorney Laurie Eiserloh in Tuesday’s primary election. Garza captured 56.7 percent of the more than 113,000 votes cast and tabulated…
Tuesday, July 14, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Police
Commission wants more detail and authority behind police oversight findings
The Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities has signed on to a resolution passed by the Human Rights Commission that asks the Austin Police Department to investigate all complaints recommended for investigation by the Office of Police Oversight. The committee…
Monday, July 13, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Entertainment & Events
Music Commission looks at Black cultural district, music fund based on equity
Turning its attention to equity issues facing the city’s music and creative communities, the Music Commission plans to meet every two weeks for the foreseeable future to address those concerns. The commission voted unanimously at last week’s meeting to create a…
Wednesday, July 8, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Austin
Survey predicts 90 percent of Austin live music venues to close by Halloween
A survey of Austin businesses impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic finds that 90 percent of the city’s live music venues are likely to permanently close by this fall. That forecast was one of the conclusions of a June survey conducted…
Tuesday, July 7, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Politics
Political vets line up to take on City Hall, educate Austinites on transit and other key issues
A new nonprofit group appears ready to oppose ongoing City Council actions concerning mass transit, public safety, land use and city finances, promising a targeted education campaign in the coming months. The group Voices of Austin, a 501(c)(4) organized earlier…
Monday, July 6, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Bonds & Propositions
Parks advocates push $750M bond proposal to add sidewalks, trails throughout city
Parks and transportation advocates hope to put a $750 million bond proposal on the November ballot that would fund many construction projects centered around “active transportation” found in the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan. The effort, led by the group Austin…
Thursday, July 2, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Parks
No ACL Fest means delays to parks projects, millions lost for parks foundation
Improvement projects at parks throughout the city will be delayed for up to 18 months as a result of the official cancellation of the Austin City Limits Festival. Organizers of the two-weekend event, which was set to take place in…
Tuesday, June 30, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Entertainment & Events
City moving forward with improvements to Red River district
The city’s long-planned improvements to the streetscape of the Red River Cultural District will move forward through the summer with planning and budgeting for construction projects to improve the sidewalks and other features of the area. A recent city memo…
Monday, June 29, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Budget
Arts Commission shifts deepest funding cuts away from minority groups
Racial minority groups will be spared the deepest cuts in Cultural Arts contract funding in the next budget, if the recent recommendation of the Arts Commission is supported by City Council. On Friday the commission approved a funding matrix for…
Thursday, June 25, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Austin
Arts Commission to decide on next year’s funding, with deep cuts for all
Arts groups that have received contracts from the city’s Cultural Arts office in recent years will likely see significant decreases next year, with some groups in line to lose more than half of the funding they received in their most…
Monday, June 22, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Austin
New working group eyes town centers to solve affordability pressures
A new working group from four of the city’s commissions hopes to identify ways that the town center planning concept spelled out in Imagine Austin could be used to combat affordability issues driving veterans, artists and other vulnerable populations out…
Tuesday, June 16, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Entertainment & Events
Music leaders eye city creation of Black Live Music Fund
The vice chair of the Music Commission has called for the city to create a Black Live Music Fund that would support the business interests of black musicians, possibly with money from the recently created Live Music Fund. In a…
Monday, June 15, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Austin
Tourism leaders see multiyear hit to tourism business and hotel tax from Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic is expected to cause a drop in local tourism and events business for at least five years, with a decline of at least 25 percent in hotel business this year and an ongoing drag on the city’s…
Monday, June 8, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
Austin
HAAM seeks city help to offset expected $1M shortfall
The Health Alliance for Austin Musicians is forecasting a $1 million shortfall by the end of 2020, which could mean cutting health care services for around 1,000 local musicians next year. Leaders of the nonprofit, which currently provides health care…
Friday, June 5, 2020 by Chad Swiatecki
City Council
Council boosts direct economic aid in spending plan for federal Covid-19 money
The city will move more of its federal aid for Covid-19 relief toward direct assistance for residents, with a total of $70 million now dedicated to rental relief, food aid and direct payments to individuals. City Council approved a resolution…
