ARC THRIFT STORES HAVE $2.3 BILLION ECONOMIC IMPACT

Arc Thrift Store is a chain of 30 stores across Colorado that takes in and sells secondhand clothing and household items. Since 2005, Arc has collected over one billion pounds of donated goods and the outlets receive over 100 million pounds of donations ever year. According to a study from Denver University's Daniels College of Business, Arc Thrift Stores have generated more than $2.3 billion economic impact in the state since 2005. The proceeds from Arc stores sales benefit The Arc of Colorado, a nonprofit organization that works to promote the well-being of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

DENVER MECUM CAR AUCTION SELLS 358 CARS FOR $10.2 MILLION

The Mecum auction came to the Colorado Convention Center on July 12-13, bringing hundreds of classic cars for sale. The Mecum auction in Denver sold 358 cars for a total of $10.2 million. The Mecum Auction Company has sales across the country, has its auctions on television and is the world leader of vintage car and motorcycle sales. In Denver, the top-selling car was a 1957 Ford Thunderbird that sold for $181,500.

DENVER-BASED WHITING OIL CUTS MORE THAN 250 POSITIONS

Denver-based Whiting Petroleum Corp. Wednesday announced that it has eliminated a third of its workforce, 254 positions, including 94 executive and corporate positions at its Denver headquarters. The oil and gas company said the restructuring should result in $50 million in annual cost savings. The company, which is primarily focused on drilling in North Dakota, attributed the layoffs to declines in revenues due to lower commodity prices.

FED CUTS RATES, NO MORE MOVES EXPECTED, MARKETS TUMBLE

The Federal Reserve Wednesday cut interest rates by a quarter-percentage point, its first reduction since 2008, in a pre-emptive move to cushion the economy from a global slowdown and continuing trade battles. In announcing the cut, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell gave an indication that no further cuts were planned and that rattled investors who sold off stocks. All major U.S. stock markets fell, with the S&P 500 down 32.80 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2980.38.

BLACK SUPERMOON RISES, WILL DIM PERSEID METEOR SHOW

Last night, July 31, a little past 9 p.m., the Black Supermoon rose. The Black Supermoon comes around about every two years and its timing this year means the Perseid meteor shower, which is active now through August 26, will be less visible. Normally, there are 70-80 meteors visible per hour during the Perseid show, but due to the light of the moon, probably only 10-20 per hour will be visible. For the best viewing opportunities, explore the night at some of the darkest locations possible around Colorado such as The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Horsetooth Reservoir, or The Paint Mines Interactive Park.

ART PIECE FROM AIRPORT MOVES TO EUREKA SCIENCE MUSEUM

The sculpture of a massive sandstone wall, created by late local artists Jac Kephart and Dave Davis, that was the visible greeting to travelers at the check-in area of the Grand Junction Regional Airport is moving to its new home at the Eureka! McConnell Science Museum. The 8-foot-by-16-foot, 500-pound sculpture will become a bird exhibit at the museum.

IT IS MOSQUITO TIME

Mesa County Public Health officials issued a warning Wednesday to remind residents that mosquito season is in full force and they should protect themselves for the next weeks. Last week, the Grand River Mosquito Control District trapped 2,374 Culex mosquitos in Mesa County, more than double the five-year average for the same time period. Culex mosquitos are the type of mosquitos that carry the West Nile Disease. Last year, there were two confirmed cases of West Nile virus in Mesa County.

HEMP IS BIG AG BUSINESS

More farmers in Montrose and Delta counties are converting corn and vegetable acreage to hemp-growing. According to the Colorado Department of Agriculture's current records, there are 108 hemp growers in Montrose County. That is approximately double what it was a year ago. Most of them are concentrated between Spring Creek Road and the north end of the Shavano Valley and Olathe. Delta County has roughly the same number of growers, with most concentrated in the Uncompaghre Valley, although there are some up in the North Fork part of the county. Each location of industrial hemp farming must be registered and everyone who is connected with the business must be identified.

MAJOR MAKEOVER FOR SILVERTHORNE

Demolition work has begun in Silverthorne as developer Milender White has started work on the Fourth Street Crossing, a 3.8-acre area between Third and Fourth streets in Silverthorne which is envisioned as the new pedestrian-friendly "town core" of the town. There will be 13 new buildings slated to be completed by 2020, including a 29,000-square-foot market hall, a 115-room hotel, 57 condominiums and apartments, retail space, a transit center and parking garage. The only existing building to remain on site is the Old Dillon Inn, the façade of which will remain and the market hall will be built on top of it.

WILDFIRES RAGE IN SIBERIA

Europe has been in the grips of an extreme heat wave, with all-time record high temperatures recorded in Paris, Belgium, Germany and the UK. Dry thunderstorms triggered a wildfire in Siberia where the forests were parched by temperatures above 85 degrees Fahrenheit. By Monday, over 7.9 million acres were on fire, more than double the size of the nation of Belgium. The fires were primarily in the vast regions of Yakutia in the north and Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk in Siberia. Russian authorities declared a national emergency and President Putin ordered the military to assist in the firefighting effort. The mobilization marks a reversal from the hands-off approach that allowed the fires to spread during a hot summer in which June temperatures in the affected regions were about 10 degrees Fahrenheit above the 30-year average from 1981 to 2010. The World Meteorological Organization warned the smoke particles from Siberia were contributing to snow melting on the Arctic.

BRITAIN'S 10 HOTTEST YEARS ALL OCCURRED SINCE 2002

On Monday, the UK’s national weather service (UK Met) confirmed that Britain’s highest ever temperature of 38.7 Celsius (101.7 Fahrenheit) occurred in Cambridge on July 25. The UK Met researching records back to 1884, reports the 10 hottest years have occurred since 2002:

1. 2014
2. 2006
3. 2011
4. 2007
5. 2017
6. 2003
7. 2018
8. 2004
9. 2002
10. 2005

• 1892 was the coldest in the series, with an average temperature of just over 7 degrees Celsius (44.6F)
• 2014, the warmest, had an average temperature approaching 10 degrees Celsius (50F)