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5 things you need to know for Thursday, July 22

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Good morning southern Colorado and here's what you need to know on your

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Get your latest First Alert 5 Weather forecast

Get ready for some classic summer heat and mountain thunderstorms today and tonight!

We're going to see highs soar into the 90s and a few triple digits across the plains with 80s in the mountains. Clouds will help shield us from heat at the end of the day, but mostly in and around the mountains.

Storm chances today are highest west of I-25 over the mountains. There exists a small chance of an isolated storm in El Paso and Fremont counties, but the mountains are much more likely to see rain today. Flooding concerns are highest in the La Garitas and San Juans.

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Colorado's latest vaccine incentives: $100 Walmart gift cards, scholarships for community college

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday announced two new incentive programs the state hopes will push the 10-15% of Coloradans who have not been vaccinated yet but might still want to be to get their shot.

The state will start giving away $100 Walmart gift cards to Coloradans who get their first or second shots at certain state-operated vaccine sites across the state – some of which will start offering the incentive starting Thursday.

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Earn to Learn Program aims to help solve shortage of early childcare workers in El Paso County

Just like many industries, early childcare is facing a massive shortage of workers. However, there's a plan in place in El Paso County to get more people trained and hired.

The new initiative is called Earn to Learn, and it's a program to get more people working at entry-level jobs in early childcare, while they get paid, continue their education and pursue it as a career.

Diane Price, the president and CEO of Early Connections Learning Centers, says prior to the pandemic, there were fewer and fewer people applying for early childhood jobs. Meanwhile, during the pandemic, local daycares shut down and many people left the field altogether.

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Commission hopes to cut emissions by reducing commuters

he Colorado Air Quality Control Commission wants to lower greenhouse gas emissions in our state by reducing the number of people commuting to work alone in gas-powered vehicles.

A proposed rule would ask large employers with a workforce of more than 100 people in the Denver area to voluntarily create an Employer Traffic Reduction Program (ETRP.) Participating employers would strive to reach a reduction in single-occupant vehicles (SOV) to less than 60 percent of their staff.

That initial proposal drew strong opposition from the business community who saw the move as government overreach.

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Eddy Alvarez, Sue Bird to serve as US flag bearers in Opening Ceremony at Tokyo Olympics

Team USA has announced the athletes who serve as flag bearers at the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics on Friday: basketball player Sue Bird and baseball player Eddy Alvarez.

Bird and Alvarez are the first duo to share the honor of leading the U.S. delegation into the Opening Ceremony for the Olympics. They were chosen by a vote of fellow Team USA athletes.

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