1. NEVADA COUNTY APPROVES PERMITS AND DECLARES EMERGENCY FOR AREA 51 EVENTS: Lincoln County in Nevada has signed a declaration of emergency as it braces for an influx of visitors for two events celebrating Area 51. The county approved permits for the Alienstock festival, taking place September 20-22 in the town of Rachel, and the UFology Expo, taking place September 20-21 at the Alien Research Center. The planned events, which were inspired from a Facebook event that jokingly invited people to storm Area 51, could bring as many as 40,000 people to the county, which has around 5,000 residents. Las Vegas Review-Journal: “Lincoln County officials have been in contact with emergency and law enforcement in neighboring counties, Clark, White Pine, and Nye, and the Nevada Highway Patrol. The permits approved for the events are conditional upon each group behind the events coming forward with their complete plans at the September 3 commission meeting, Lincoln County Commission Chairman Varlin Higbee said.”
2. DAVID BECKHAM’S PROPOSED MIAMI STADIUM SITE HAS POLLUTED SOIL: A proposed site for David Beckham’s Major League Soccer stadium and mall in Miami has arsenic contamination levels twice the legal limit, according to an environmental analysis. The future of the $1 billion complex, which host home games for Beckham’s Inter Miami team, is potentially in jeopardy due to significant, shallow soil pollution underneath the grass. Miami Herald: “A separate series of tests by the county Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) yielded similarly grimy results, showing high concentrations of lead in the soil at the site. … It also wasn’t immediately clear whether the cost of fixing the problem would make the plans for a stadium and commercial complex unfeasible. Inter Miami officials have in the past estimated the cleanup would cost in the range of $35 million, a number repeatedly offered by the team’s local managing partner, MasTec chairman Jorge Mas.”
3. U.S. OLYMPIC OFFICIALS WON’T PUNISH ATHLETES WHO PROTESTED: The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee on Tuesday reprimanded but didn’t punish two athletes who protested on the medal stand at the Pan American Games. Committee C.E.O. Sarah Hirshland wrote letters to fencer Race Imboden and hammer thrower Gwen Berry, deeming their protests admirable but that they have to adhere to rules of the games in the future. USA Today: “She wrote that the two athletes were considered to be in ‘a probationary period for the next 12 months. This means you could face more serious sanctions for any additional breach of our code of conduct than might otherwise be levied for an athlete in good standing.’ The letters, obtained by USA Today Sports, were most notable for what they did not do: prohibit either athlete from any competitions, practices or similar activities, now or in the future.”