Outdoor addition

New whirlpool ‘patio’ swirls onto popular South Austin hiking trail

The new Whirlpool Patio space provides a welcome resting spot after crawling through Whirlpool Cave.

City of Austin

Hanging out on the patio takes on an entirely different meaning at the new Whirlpool Patio outside Southwest Austin’s Whirlpool Cave.

The patio, installed by the Austin Urban Trails Program and the Hill Country Conservancy, serves as both a gathering place and an outdoor classroom. Every year, hundreds of students crawl through the cave during field trips.

The Whirlpool Patio design features a hardscape spiral design that gives a nod to the nearby Whirlpool Cave. Limestone and grout form contrasting colors in the spiral, and boulders surround the spiral to create a place for visitors to sit and enjoy the space. The patio and cave, situated along the Violet Crown Trail, are near the confluence of MoPac Expressway, Convict Hill Road, and Latta Drive.

Texas Cave Management Association oversees the Whirlpool Cave, one of 62 caves protected under the Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan. Nico Hauwert, a geoscientist and program manager for the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, has been leading field trips to the Whirlpool Cave for more than 30 years.

“The Whirlpool Cave is challenging and can be really scary for young kids who have never been underground,” Hauwert says in a March 19 release. “So it’s important that students know what to expect before we enter the cave. The Whirlpool Patio will help students feel more comfortable and excited about the adventure to come.”

Texas Cave Management Association says the Whirlpool Cave contains the largest room of any cave in Travis County.

“This is a crawly cave. You will be on your hands and knees most of the way, and on your elbows and stomach part of the way. You will get dusty, sweaty, dirty, and love it!” the association says.

Once completed, the Violet Crown Trail will be a 30-mile nature trail connecting Zilker Park to Hays County; it’ll be the first regional trail system in Central Texas. The Austin Urban Trails Program and Hill Country Conservancy are building portions of the trail through urban areas for use by cyclists, walkers, and runners.

parks nature

Worker Bee News

Amazon wants to hire 1,000 seasonal employees in Austin for holiday

Photo by Wallstplaybook.com

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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 1,000 openings in Austin.

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

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.