Pools

Lifeguard shortages left some pools high and dry last season. The city hopes this year will be different.

A new audit suggests hundreds of applicants are getting declined when they shouldn't be.

Most City of Austin recreation centers will operate as cooling centers this weekend, and there are a number of public pools and splashpads open for those looking to escape the heat.

With triple-digit temperatures in the forecast the rest of the week, Austin and Travis County are opening up cooling centers for people trying to get out of the stifling heat.

The shortage — affecting about a third of U.S. public pools — has led some to reduce hours or close altogether. The pandemic and earlier rhetoric about work visas for foreigners led to the problem.

Though the Parks and Recreation Department has offered more pay and up to $1,250 in bonuses, the city has less than a third of the 750 lifeguards it needs to open all of its pools.

Zilker Café was set to get the go-ahead to sell alcohol. But the citizen-led Parks and Recreation Board voted the permit down. The issue could come up again, though.

The pool had been closed due to flooding.

A yearlong hiring freeze and capacity limits on training classes during the pandemic has led to a shortage of lifeguards to staff city pools.

Pools are among the facilities allowed to reopen Friday under Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s order loosening restrictions imposed to stop the spread of the…