{"id":171127,"date":"2026-02-27T06:02:58","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T06:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/171127\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T06:02:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T06:02:58","slug":"around-town-pinellas-county-news-briefs-pinellas-county-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/171127\/","title":{"rendered":"Around town: Pinellas County news briefs | Pinellas County"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>                                Tripadvisor: Pinellas beaches among best in U.S. and world<\/p>\n<p>St. Pete-Clearwater\u2019s award-winning sugar-white sand and local experiences \u2014 yet again \u2014 continue to garner nationwide and global recognition, this time making a significant presence in the 2026 Tripadvisor Travelers\u2019 Choice \u201cBest of the Best\u201d Awards.<\/p>\n<p>The Tripadvisor Travelers\u2019 Choice Best of the Best takes into account the quality and quantity of traveler reviews and ratings, and ranks the very best accommodations, destinations, beaches, restaurants, and things to do in specific categories and geographic areas, as rated and reviewed by travelers. Travelers\u2019 Choice Best of the Best award winners are among the top 1% of listings on Tripadvisor.<\/p>\n<p>Clearwater Beach was honored as one of the Best Beaches in the World \u2014 the only Florida beach and one of only three in the entire country to land on the prestigious list \u2014 while also securing a top spot for the Best Beach in the U.S. behind only La Jolla, California.<\/p>\n<p>Honeymoon Island State Park was ranked as among the Top 10 Best Beaches in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>Lifeguards needed for 2026 beach season<\/p>\n<p>Pinellas County is seeking seasonal lifeguards to be stationed at Fort De Soto and Sand Key Park beaches from April to September.<\/p>\n<p>Positions are available for full-time or part-time seasonal employment. Pay starts at $20.50 per hour for new lifeguards and up to $23.22 per hour for returning senior lifeguards. Lifeguards with Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification and returning senior lifeguards with EMT certification can make even more per hour. Lifeguards may work 10-hour shifts.<\/p>\n<p>To apply, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/pinellas.gov\/careers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">pinellas.gov\/careers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Applicants should meet the following requirements:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Hold an American Red Cross lifeguarding certification, or an equivalent combination of education, training and\/or experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Hold a current CPR\/AED and first aid certification.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Must complete 500-meter (550 yards) swim under 10 minutes and half-mile run under four minutes.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Must be able to complete the 40-hours of training provided by Pinellas County Beach Patrol program.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Must be at least 18 years old on the first day of employment.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Ability to work at county beach parks as schedule and staffing demands change.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Ability to work a variety of schedules, including weekends and holidays and compulsory work periods in special, emergency and\/or disaster situations.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Must possess a valid U.S. driver\u2019s license.<\/p>\n<p>Highly desirable qualifications include:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Current first responder, EMT or paramedic certification.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 At least three months of responsible lifeguarding experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tripadvisor: Pinellas beaches among best in U.S. and world St. Pete-Clearwater\u2019s award-winning sugar-white sand and local experiences \u2014&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2598,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[3127,596,81411,202,204,203,58782,199,201,200,81410],"class_list":["post-171127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-clearwater-beach","tag-pinellas-county","tag-sand-key-park","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-pete-clearwater","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news","tag-trip-advisor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}