Storms are in the forecast

There is a 30 percent chance of scattered rain and thunderstorms tonight in the Pikes Peak region. Some of the storms could be severe and produce heavy rainfall.

Parts of Colorado including Elbert and Kit Carson counties were under a tornado watch this afternoon as several funnel clouds were being tracked by the National Weather service in Denver.

Wednesday there is a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. It will be partly cloudy, with a high near 82.

2 CONSTRUCTION WORKERS KILLED IN PARKER

PARKER (AP) — Two construction workers were killed Tuesday after a backhoe rolled backward over them, police said.

One worker for ALC LLC died at the scene, and one died at a hospital, police spokeswoman Sara Walla said. “It looks like it was a tragic accident,” she said.

Both were laying electrical wire in a ditch at a housing development around 9:20 a.m. when the backhoe rolled, Walla said.

Police were interviewing the backhoe driver. Early information indicated the driver was trying to operate the bucket when the machine went into gear and accelerated in the opposite direction than the driver intended, Walla said.

STOCKS ADVANCE BEFORE HOLIDAY

NEW YORK - Wall Street advanced Tuesday ahead of the July 4th holiday as investors drew confidence from a smaller-than-expected dip in factory orders and new merger-and-acquisition activity.

The market was relieved to hear from the Commerce Department that U.S. factories saw demand dip in May by just 0.5 percent; most analysts had predicted a decline of more than 1 percent.

The stock market closed early at 1 p.m. ahead of the Independence Day holiday. The market will be closed Wednesday and reopen on Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 41.9 points at 13,577.3.

FOURTH OF JULY CLOSURES

Banks and credit unions:

Most banks closed.

Buses (Metro Transit): Buses will run on a Sunday schedule.

Government offices: City, county, state and federal offices closed.

Libraries: All Pikes Peak District Library branches closed.

Post office: Offices closed and no mail service.

The Gazette: Closed.

The Citadel: Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Chapel Hills: Open regular hours. Most major grocery and department stores open regular hours.

COMING IN TOMORROW'S GAZETTE

Defense attorneys for two high school students charged with conspiracy to commit murder contend that their alleged

plot was nothing more than teen chatter. Prosecutors maintain the two ex-Harrison High School students plotted to

shoot students at a pep rally May 4.

Anti-tax crusader Douglas Bruce today filed a new proposed ballot initiative to stop the city's controversial stormwater fee. Bruce has until July 27 to collect 11,470 signatures from city voters in order to make it on November's ballot.

To paleontologists, Red Rock Canyon Open Space is a window to the Pikes Peak region from 70 million to 300 million

years ago. Dinosaur prints, array of marine fossils and more have been found there. A series of public meetings will be held to discuss the findings and how the city should use the research.

While Denver area residents have coughed and wheezed through several days of high ozone levels, smog in the

Pikes Peak region remains well below federal health standards. Officials say winds out of the southeast, blowing

steadily during the recent hot days, have pushed the smog to the north.

While some businesses use flags in their holiday ads, hang them in their stores and hand them out to customers, other businesses say waving the flag while attaching a company name to it is akin to turning it into a marketing prop. Read more about the controversy in Wednesday's Gazette.

City officials are hoping work can begin soon on completing some portions of the Midland Trail along the west side of Colorado Springs. Chris Lieber, a top trails official with Colorado Springs, said recently that the city has $1.5 million in Trails and Open Space (TOPS) funds and matching federal grants tucked away to complete the much-anticipated trail.

Hundreds of families in the Pikes Peak region clamor for slots in preschool programs each year. The reason: Early education experts say the fundamentals learned during playtime can lead to major payoffs later, socially and academically. Find out what to look for in Midweek.

HAPPENING TONIGHT

MUSIC PIKES PEAK MUSICIANS ASSOCIATION BAND: Patriotic music featuring soloist Amy Sue Hardy, 7 p.m., Bancroft Park, 2408 W. Colorado Ave., free; 264-6775.

SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDENT CHAMBER ENSEMBLE HONORS CONCERT: 7:30 p.m., Colorado College, Packard Hall, 5 W. Cache La Poudre St., free; 389-6606 or 389-6607.

SPORTS TONIGHT

SPORTS COLORADO ROCKIES/NEW YORK METS: 6:05 p.m., Coors Field, Denver. Tickets: Online at colorado.rockies.mlb.com or 1-800-388-ROCK.

INDEPENDENCE DAY EVENTS

BIG, BOOMING FOURTH: Memorial Park will once again host the Fabulous Fourth Celebration, featuring fireworks and a performance by the Colorado Springs Philharmonic that will take us all over America’s musical map, from big band to rock to patriotic favorites.

Local musical theater darling Amy Sue Hardy will sing, Chris Lawson will play trumpet solos and Thomas Wilson will conduct.

The concert will start at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

As always, the musicians will play Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture,” complete with booming cannons from a parade battery of six Howitzer cannons provided by Fort Carson’s 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

Then the fireworks display will fill the sky.

FOURTH FLASHBACK: A more old-fashioned Independence Day celebration is planned for Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site. There will be patriotic music and speeches, old-fashioned wagon rides, carnival games, costumed interpreters and more, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday at the site, off 30th Street across from Garden of the Gods.

Admission is $2-$6.

FOURTH IN TRI-LAKES: Tri-Lakes will celebrate Independence Day with its Fourth of July parade and street fair starting with the parade at 9:30 a.m. in downtown Monument. It will finish with fireworks at dusk over Palmer Lake.