Austin biz reporter leaves for San Antonio daily

Francisco Vara-Orta, a reporter at the Austin Business Journal, has left the American City Business Journals paper for a job at the San Antonio Express-News.

Vara-Orta, who covered retail, will start with the San Antonio daily on Monday, covering education.

“My experience at the ABJ was amazing,” Vara-Orta told Talking Biz News in an e-mail. “The time there helped me acquire more skills covering business that will only help in this new facet covering education during a large state budget shortfall that means deep cuts for the system.

“And it was a stable, positive environment which during the downturn and turmoil in the print industry, is a blessing in itself. We added retail and hospitality coverage and started blogging during my tenure and that will continue and was a very amicable transition.”

Vara-Orta, a graduate of St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, previously worked at  the Los Angeles Business Journal covering the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, trade and transportation issues, and manufacturing.

Before that, he worked at the Los Angeles Times.