The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Lutz since 1964 and Pasco since 1981.
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Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

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Thanksgiving traveling like it’s 2009

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It’s just five years ago, but 2009 is not too hard to remember. The Black Eyed Peas had a hit in “Boom Boom Pow.” At movie theaters, “Avatar” was breaking every record imaginable. And at the gas pump, drivers were paying less than $2.70 at the pump.

Hit songs and blockbuster movies from five years ago will likely stay there, but cheap gas? It’s back, as the national average for a galling of regular unleaded gas was $2.82 heading into the busy Thanksgiving week.

“Travelers are thankful to have more money  in their pockets due to falling gas prices,” said AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins, in a release. “The good news is gas should continue falling through the rest of the year. Cheaper gasoline has helped boost disposable income and consumer spending, which encourages more people to travel.”

The state average in Florida Sunday matched the national average at $2.82, down 6 cents from a week ago, and off 64 cents a gallon from the $3.46 prices the state saw just over Thanksgiving weekend a year ago. State prices also are down 27 cents from a month ago.

The best prices in Land O’ Lakes over the weekend were found as usual at two stations on Land O’ Lakes Boulevard and State Road 52 — Both the RaceTrac and Hess station there reported $2.65 on Sunday, according to GasBuddy. The most expensive gas, on the other hand, was $2.83 reported at the Sunoco at Land O’ Lakes and Causeway boulevards.

Lutz drivers also found $2.65 gas at the Circle K on Van Dyke and Old Tobacco roads. The most expensive in that area was $2.89 at the Shell station on North Dale Mabry Highway and Van Dyke.

Six different gas stations in Wesley Chapel advertised prices of $2.69 over the weekend, competing for the cheapest gas there, while the most expensive was reported to be $2.79 at the Shell station on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard near State Road 56, as well as the BP station on Willow Oaks Drive and State Road 56.

In Zephyrhills, gas prices ranged from $2.69 at the Marathon on Eiland Boulevard and Geiger Road, as well as the Murphy USA on Gall Boulevard, to $2.76 at the Sunoco on County Road 54 and Wire Road. Dade City’s cheapest gas was $2.63 at both the Clark on U.S. 301 near Long Avenue, and D&D on U.S. 98 and U.S. 301.

 

No bottom yet in sight for falling gas prices

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Cheaper gas is probably something everyone can get used to. But how long will gas hover around the $2.75 mark or lower? Only time will tell.

The national average for regular unleaded gasoline fell to its lowest point since December 2010, dropping below $3 per gallon. Right now, more than 60 percent of American gas stations are selling gas below that mark, according to AAA, and 23 states have averages also below that mark.

In fact, Florida — where the gas average price is $2.96 — is ranked 20th in the nation, and is part of a region of the country where gas is at its lowest.

“Gas prices are still falling,” said AAA spokesman Josh Carrasco, in a release. “There is still room for the price at the pump to drop in the short term. We could see prices side another 5 to 15 cents by the end of the year.”

Gas prices dropped 33 cents in October, the steepest single-month decline since 2008. A lot of that can be attributed to the cheapening of crude oil, according to the AAA, which accounts for a vast majority of gasoline’s cost. West Texas Intermediate, for example, has dropped more than $25 per barrel since this year’s peak price of $107.73 on June 20. The current price for WTI closed at $80.54 on Friday, down slightly from the previous week’s close of $81.27.

“Abundant oil supplies, winter-blend fuels and low demand continue to place downward pressure on gas prices,” Carrasco said. “Crude oil prices seem to be leveling out, which may put the brakes on significant drops in gasoline prices. But we haven’t hit the bottom yet.”

The price for gas in Florida dropped 8 cents from the previous week to $2.96. It’s down 37 cents from a month ago, and 29 cents from a year ago.

Taking a look at where gras prices are locally, the cheapest gas in Land O’ Lakes is at the RaceTrac on State Road 52 and Silver Palm Boulevard, where prices were reported Sunday at $2.76, according to GasBuddy. The priciest is at the Shell located on State Road 54 and State Road 56, where prices were set at $2.97 over the weekend.

In Lutz, prices ranged from $2.84 at the Circle K at Van Dyke and Old Tobacco roads, to $2.99 at two Shell stations on Dale Mabry Highway.

Motorists were finding the best gas prices in Wesley Chapel at the Sam’s Club at State Road 56 near Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, where prices were set at $2.82. The most expensive there was at Shell just nearby at $2.93.

In Zephyrhills, the cheapest gas was reported at the Shell station at Paul S. Buchman Highway and Central Avenue at $2.84. The high was found at $2.95 at the Citgo, located at Gall Boulevard and Chancey Road.

Finally, drivers in Dade City looking for the best prices should look up either the Clark station on U.S. 301 and Long Avenue, or D&D at U.S. 98 and U.S. 301, where prices were set at $2.83. The most expensive in that area was found at the BP station on U.S. 98, where gas was priced at $2.99.

 

Mariano to BP: Settle oil spill lawsuit

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Jack Mariano has one thing to say to BP: Enough is enough.

In a letter addressed to the British petroleum conglomerate, the Pasco County Commission chairman is urging company officials to drop its appeal of a potentially $18 billion verdict in a federal Clean Water Act lawsuit. Instead, Mariano pled BP to finalize claims from Pasco businesses, and allow all involved to finally move forward.

“The Tampa Bay region and Pasco County cannot afford a further delay in its recovery efforts,” Mariano wrote. “BP’s decision to appeal the ruling, and thus continue to delay the outcome of the trial, will result in yet another time delay in correcting and addressing the damage that occurred because of the spill.”

The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico near Louisiana on April 20, 2010. Oil continued to spill into the water for nearly three months, in what the government estimated was 4.9 million barrels making its way into the ecosystem before the well was officially sealed in September 2010.

BP reportedly settled billions of dollars worth of claims, including $6.6 million worth in Pasco, according to The Legal Examiner. However, that’s just based on nearly 70 claims while a total of more than 1,100 exist in the county, demanding $105 million.

BP did not return a request by The Laker/Lutz News for comment, but released a statement last month saying it disagreed with the court decision that the company was grossly negligent for what happened on the Deepwater Horizon, and that evidence at the trial did not support the judge’s conclusion.

“The law is clear that proving gross negligence is a very high bar that was not met in this case,” BP said in its statement. “BP believes that an impartial view of the record does not support the erroneous conclusion reached by the district court.”

In the meantime, people and wildlife that call the Gulf home continue to suffer from the spill, Mariano said. He cited a University of South Florida study that found “injurious fish skin lesions” on animal life, which he said resulted from the spill.

“For a region that relies on its natural resources to help drive its tourism industry, such delays can have disastrous effects for us in the Tampa Bay region,” he said.

Gas prices fall in Zephyrhills, Dade City

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Gas prices have now dropped for six weeks in a row. And those prices could fall even lower yet, especially after the price of oil is at its lowest point since May 2013.

“Motorists should continue to see a discount at the pump,” said AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins, in a release. “High domestic oil supplies, a decrease in global demand, and the easing of geopolitical tensions in Libya and Iraq are keeping downward pressure on gasoline prices.”

Beginning Monday, refineries will no longer need to sell summer-blend gasoline, Jenkins said. Winter-blend is cheaper to produce, which will help push prices even lower in the coming months.

The price for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel in Florida was $3.32 on Sunday, compared to $3.36 a week ago. That’s down 16 cents a gallon from a year ago.

The price for a barrel of oil settled at $92.27 on Friday, down a little more than a dollar from the previous week. It’s at its cheapest level in four months.

The price drop came as the International Energy Agency decreased its 2015 oil demand forecast late last week, where it estimated that global demand will rise just 1.3 percent next year.

“The bottom fell out of oil prices this week,” Jenkins said. “U.S. domestic oil production is set to hit a 45-year high by next year. Barring a major weather event in the Gulf, or overseas geopolitical tensions, we should continue to see oil prices fall.”

In Zephyrhills, gas is cheaper than most other places in the county, with six gas stations checking in at $3.15. Yet, the Citgo at Gall Boulevard and Chancey Road reported prices of $3.34. Dade City saw a range of $3.15 at the RaceWay on U.S. 301 and McDonald Road, to $3.29 at a BP station at the U.S. 98 Bypass.

Four locations in Land O’ Lakes offered gas at $3.19 on Sunday, according to GasBuddy.com. They included the RaceTrac on Land O’ Lakes Boulevard near Lake Patience Road and on State Road 52 near Silver Palm Boulevard, as well as the Citgo station on Land O’ Lakes Boulevard near Lake Patience Road as well, and the Mobil station on State Road 52 near the Suncoast Parkway.

The most expensive reported was $3.30 at a Sunoco station on Land O’ Lakes Boulevard near Causeway Boulevard.

In Lutz, gas prices Sunday ranged from $3.21 at the Circle K on Van Dyke and Old Tobacco roads, to $3.39 at two Shell stations near Van Dyke.

Wesley Chapel prices were the lowest at Sam’s Club at State Road 56 near Bruce B. Downs Boulevard at $3.16, and reportedly the most expensive at a Shell station nearby, where gas sold for $3.29.

Gas higher for summer, but not for long term

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Drivers probably were not happy to see gas prices jumping up just ahead of the Labor Day holiday, as they typically do when demand is higher, but they should be happy that it was still the cheapest Labor Day weekend gas in four years.

More than 29.7 million families gassed yup for a road trip on the weekend, according to AAA, with average prices nearly 19 cents cheaper than last year in Florida.

“There’s no doubt that low gas prices helped convince many Americans, who were on the fence about traveling, to take a trip during the holiday weekend,” said Mark Jenkins, a AAA spokesman, in a release. “Prices may get even cheaper in the coming months.”

That will come because of a mixture of higher domestic production in the fall, and lower demand, Jenkins said. In fact, he is expecting to see gas prices fall to below $3 a gallon before the end of the year. However, things that could spoil that would be refinery outages, or a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico.

Barrels of oil were trading at $97.88 at the beginning of August, but finished the month at $93.86, helping to push the national average gasoline pieces down 9 cents. That included a 6-cent drop in Florida, as well as 8 cents in Georgia and 7 cents in Tennessee.

Right now, Florida is averaging $3.37 per gallon, 3 cents more than last week, but down a nickel from a month ago.

As of Monday, the cheapest gas in Land O’ Lakes, according to GasBuddy.com, was at the Mobil station at State Road 52 near the Suncoast Parkway, where regular unleaded was listed at $3.19. The most expensive was at a Shell station on the corner of State Roads 54 and 56, with a price of $3.37.

In Wesley Chapel, gas prices ranged from $3.18 at Sam’s Club on State Road 56 near Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, to $3.38 at a Shell station at State Road 54 and Oakley Boulevard. Lutz saw prices as low as $3.26 at a Sunoco in State Road 54 and Collier Parkway, and as high as $3.39 at the Shell station at Van Dyke Road and Lakeshore Drive.

The cheapest gas in Zephyrhills as of Monday was at the Marathon at Eiland Boulevard and Geiger Road at a cost of $3.25. The most expensive was reported at Citgo at Wire and Otis Allen roads at $3.40. Dade City gas prices ranged from $3.26 at the RaceWay at U.S. 301 and McDonald Road, to a cash price of $3.39 at the BP station on U.S. 98 Bypass and Church Street.

 

Gas prices starting to stabilize despite declines

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The winning streak for gas customers has now continued into its 40th consecutive day as the price for a gallon of regular unleaded continues to drop in Florida.

But with oil prices finally starting to stabilize, it might not be long before those prices halt their free fall.

The price of oil dropped just 23 cents last week, compared to more than $4 the week before, according to a new report from AAA’s The Auto Club Group. That put the price of barrel at $97.65, which would suggest that gas prices should stabilize, too. But that hasn’t been happening.

“Prices are falling at about a half-cent a day, and aren’t showing signs of slowing down,” said AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins, in a release. “It’s unusual to see prices steadily decline in the late summer months, but increases in domestic oil supply are helping to offset fluctuations in demand during the busy summer travel season.

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Florida was $3.37 Sunday, down from $3.41 a week ago, and $3.58 a month ago. It’s also well below the $3.54 Floridians were paying on average at the gas pump during this time in 2013.

The national average continues to drop as well, settling in at $3.48 compared to $3.50 just a week ago. That’s from a cost of $3.64 in July.

Gas prices late Sunday ranged from $3.19 at the Hess station on the corner of U.S. 41 and State Road 52 to $3.39 at the Shell station near the intersection of State Road 54 and State Road 56 in the Land O’ Lakes area, according to GasBuddy.com.

The Sam’s Club on State Road 56 near Bruce B. Downs Boulevard was the cheapest in the Wesley Chapel area at $3.18, while a Mobil station on County Road 54 near Oakley Boulevard checked in at $3.41. Gas in Lutz was slightly higher with $3.20 reported at the Citgo on U.S. 41 and Crenshaw Lake Road, with the high of $3.49 at the Shell station on North Dale Mabry Highway near Van Dyke Road.

East Pasco County continues to have some of the highest gas prices. Zephyrhills reported $3.29 at a Marathon station on the corner of Eiland Boulevard and Geiger Road, while the 7-Eleven in downtown Zephyrhills was selling gas at $3.38.

Dade City was even higher, the Shell station at Cortez Boulevard and U.S. 301 charging $3.26 on the low end Sunday, while a BP station on the U.S. 98 Bypass offered gas at $3.41.