As staying fit on the road continues to be a top priority for business travelers, including busy meeting professionals planning events or attending industry conferences, the recent Mollie Tibbetts tragedy is a reminder that we must continue to keep our guard up while running and exercising.

Union hotel workers are set to strike at 30 properties in downtown Chicago September 1, 2018, following the expiration of the UNITE HERE Local 1 contract. Union members authorized a strike by a 97 percent vote August 16, 2018, and although spokespeople for the union are remaining tight-lipped leading up to the possible strike, its Twitter page has the appearance of an imminent labor action.

As Tropical Storm Lane continued to move away from the Hawaiian Islands over the past few days, life in the islands is quickly returning to normal, according to George D. Szigeti, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), with no major impact to the tourism infrastructure.

In response to the growing number of active shooter incidents, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) in May 2018 released “NFPA 3000,” a provisional standard created with insight from law enforcement, fire officials, EMS, medical providers, facility managers, the CIA, the FBI and other experts. The standard provides whole-community guidance on planning for, responding to and recovering from an active shooter incident and other hostile events.

MGM Resorts International opened Massachusetts’ first resort-casino, MGM Springfield, August 24. The property occupies three city blocks in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, and features a 125,000-square-foot casino floor with 2,550 slot machines, 120 gaming tables, a poker room and a high-limit VIP gaming lodge, according to MGM. The resort was reported to cost $960 million to build.

Hawaii's Hurricane Lane has been downgrated to Category 2 status.

Florida Governor Rick Scott announced the commitment of an additional $3 million to battle Florida's red tide mitigation efforts.

Several major airlines have waived change fees as Hurricane Lane is barreling toward the islands.

Hawaii is preparing for the worst as it begins seeing the first signs of Hurricane Lane Thursday, August 23, 2018, although reports indicate the storm will likely not have a direct hit on any of the islands. The category 4 storm is moving closer to the Hawaiian Islands with winds of 145 mph, and it is estimated that if the storm doesn’t make landfall, the islands will experience winds of 39 mph to 73 mph and rains of 5 inches to 15 inches.

The ways in which events are becoming sustainable, sometimes to the goal of zero waste, are increasingly innovative and exciting.