End of Summer Bummer

San Antonio shutters all parks over Labor Day weekend to curb COVID-19

Brackenridge Park is among those closed for Labor Day.

Planning a Labor Day picnic? Prepping for family fun in the park? Time to rethink those end-of-summer celebrations.

The City of San Antonio and Bexar County announced on August 25 that all city- and county-operated parks will be closed for the Labor Day weekend, echoing similar policies enacted over the Memorial Day and Fourth of July holidays.

City parks will close beginning Friday, September 4, at 11:59 pm through Tuesday, September 8, at 5 am. All county parks will be closed to the public effective Friday, September 4, at 9 pm until Tuesday, September 8, at 9 am.

During the closure, all parks, including amenities, golf courses, tennis and basketball courts, playgrounds, barbecue pits and pavilions, and other facilities, will be closed to the public. Among them are Hemisfair Park, King Park, Brackenridge Park, Pearsall Park, and Southside Lions Park. A map of city parks can be found here.

Bexar County parks affected by the closure include Mission County Park, Bullis County Park, Comanche County Park, and South San Civic Center. See a list of county-operated parks here.

Popular parks and amenities may be closed, but the city's Greenway trail system will remain open through the holiday weekend. County trails will be closed, unless a city Greenway trail runs through a county park, which will remain open.

Confused? Let us explain.

The Howard W. Peak Greenway Trail System will remain open for walking, hiking, and biking (at a six-foot distance, of course) through the holiday weekend. At points during its meandering 80-mile loop around the Alamo City, Greenway trails cut through county parks. Despite closing for Labor Day, those county parks will remain open only where the trails cut through.

City leaders say the closures will help curb the spread of COVID-19. San Antonio had a rough summer battling the novel coronavirus, and by the end of July it was among the hottest of the nation's "hot spots." As of press time, the City of San Antonio's COVID-19 dashboard has the threat listed as moderate — and would like to keep it that way.

"While we're seeing a slight improvement in our health indicators and metrics, we must stay the course and continue to follow the guidance of our health professionals," said Homer Garcia III, director of San Antonio Parks and Recreation, in a news alert. "Temporarily closing parks encourages the community to stay home, wear face coverings, and practice physical distancing."

To date, San Antonio-Bexar County has 45,364 positive cases of COVID-19 and 725 confirmed deaths.

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Part-Time Job News

Amazon posts help wanted for 2,000 holiday workers in San Antonio

Photo courtesy of Amazon

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As the 2024 holiday shopping season approaches, Amazon is doing its annual round of holiday hiring, seeking to fill 250,000 full-time, part-time, and seasonal roles across the U.S., including 18,000 positions in Texas — including 2,000 openings in San Antonio.

The bulk of the open positions in Texas are in Dallas-Fort Worth, but they're also hiring in Houston and Austin.

Seasonal Amazon jobs offer competitive pay, flexible schedules, and, as a release so eloquently puts it, "the opportunity to be part of the bustling retail industry during its busiest time of year." LOL. Many of these seasonal roles also come with the potential to transition into regular, full-time employment after the holidays.

The release does not specify which positions are open but one can assume packing and delivering boxes are involved.

Interested applicants can go to amazon.com/localjobs or text NEWJOB to 31432 to sign up for job alerts. Open roles are posted throughout the holiday season.

Pay and Benefits
All seasonal employees earn at least $18 per hour, and have access to comprehensive benefits like health care coverage from their first day of employment.

Approximately one-third of seasonal employees stay on year after year.

Seasonal employees who stay at the company can see an average pay increase of 15 percent over their first three years.

Amazon perks include career advancement opportunities; access to earned pay at any time; health, vision, and dental insurance from the first day on the job; a 401(k) with company match; and up to 20 weeks of paid pregnancy/parental leave for birth parents (six weeks for eligible supporting parents).

They also get Amazon Prime employee discount, and Amazon’s Resources for Living program, a free benefit offering mental health and financial services and support for employees, their families, and their households.

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