www.pe.com 03/04/2003 By MICHAEL FISHER THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE

FUEL: The price of unleaded has risen by 43 percent since last year in the two-county region.

Skyrocketing gas prices forced Anthony Frias to downsize.

The Lake Elsinore construction worker was spending nearly $80 per week commuting to jobs in Los Angeles and Orange counties before he traded his new Dodge Ram last week for a smaller used pickup.

"I needed something more economical," Frias said Monday. "The gas prices were killing me."

The cost of unleaded gas in Riverside and San Bernardino counties has jumped nearly 18 percent since last month, and more than 43 percent since last year, according to the American Automobile Association.

In response, some Inland motorists say they are changing their spending habits, canceling trips and going out less to save money.

Blame spread around

Factors driving the nine-week rise in gasoline prices include war fears, lower crude oil imports, severe winter storms in the eastern U. S. and the switch from winter- to summer-formula gas, the Automobile Club of Southern California reported.

The American Petroleum Institute blames the rising crude oil costs on refiners, saying the increases are being fueled by plunging oil exports from Venezuela. That country struggled through a two-month labor strike that reduced its oil exports to a trickle.

Peter Phun/The Press-Enterprise Jackie Arzate pumps gas in Hemet. She said higher pump prices mean she makes fewer trips to visit her grandchildren in Lakeview.

William Robinson of Perris isn't buying the explanations, and is furious at the gasoline industry.

"My opinion is that our biggest terrorists are the oil companies. They're hurting a . . . lot of people." said Robinson, who dismissed the Bush administration's response to spiking gas costs.

"Bush won't do a . . . thing about it," he said.

Standing at a Hemet gas station, Nacho Ortega filled the pickup truck he uses in his gardening and landscaping business and said the increasing prices were just part of life.

"What are you going to do? Every year it goes up and it goes down," he said.

Conservation urged

Experts say there are simple steps drivers can take to squeeze every last mile out of their gas tanks.

Properly inflated tires, well-maintained spark plugs and a clean air filter can all boost a vehicle's mileage, Auto Club spokeswoman Elaine Beno said.

"You ought to use the most energy-conserving vehicle you own as much as possible," Beno said. Ride-sharing and using public transportation can also help, she said.

So far, the rising prices have not affected sales of new cars or sport utility vehicles, said Jay Gorman, executive vice president of the 1,400-member California Motor Car Dealers Association.

"People buy vehicles generally without regards to the mileage but based upon their needs," he said. "If you've got a family with five or six kids, a compact car isn't going to help you a bit."

People "have to get to work, so what are the options? You re-adjust your discretionary income," Gorman said.

Doing less, spending more

Jackie Arzate said higher gas prices have forced her to cut back on visits to her grandchildren and great-grandchild in Lakeview.

"I've had to stay home a lot more," the Hemet retiree said as she pumped $10 worth of gas into her Chevrolet Camaro.

At Costco in Temecula, motorists lined up three-deep Monday to save a few cents per gallon.

Michele Popiela of Wildomar says higher gas prices have forced her to cut down on dinner out with her husband.

"It's scary, because you don't know how high the prices will go," said Popiela, who commutes three days a week to San Diego. "We're going to have to cut back on things we never used to think about."

Moreno Valley's Charlie Perry said he is trimming his personal trips, because his work requires daily drives to Temecula. He said he may park his late-model Infinity in favor of a compact car that gets better mileage with cheaper gas.

County impacts

San Bernardino County buys its fuel at bulk rates for its 22 fueling sites, Roger Weaver, the county's fleet-management director, said. While the county pays below market prices, its prices have increased, he said.

The county has not enacted measures to counter the price hikes, Weaver said, but given the expected state budget cuts, county agencies are working on plans to trim spending.

The escalating gas costs won't keep Riverside County from conducting its normal business, spokesman Raymond Smith said. It might cost more, but "we can't stop patrolling and we can't stop checking on child welfare cases," Smith said.

The biggest consumer of gas is probably the Sheriff's Department, Smith said. Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Shelley Kennedy-Smith said most deputies gas up at county pumps and don't worry about prices at regular stations.

Reach Michael Fisher at (909) 368-9470 or mfisher@pe.com

Staff writers Marlowe Churchill, Imran Ghori, Rocky Salmon, Rich Saskal and Bradley Weaver contributed to this report.

www.marinij.com244071217138,00.html By Michael Howerton, IJ reporter

Motorists lined up at the Arco gas station in Mill Valley yesterday, waiting to buy gas at one of the few stations in Marin where it was still less than $2 a gallon.

The station, at 789 Redwood Highway, was charging $1.95 for a gallon of regular unleaded. Five weeks ago, a gallon at the station cost $1.59.

"It's ridiculous," said Kurt Delacampa, 37, while he pumped gas at the Mill Valley Arco on his way to Muir Beach from his home in Vacaville. "Two dollars a gallon is terrible. We have to pay because they want to go over there and play war."

Delacampa said he mostly gets around on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle these days, trying to use his car less because fuel prices are rising.

Mark Rizzo, 60, a Marin resident, said he fills up his tank twice a week for his daily commute to Sonoma County.

"There's too much fluctuation in the gas prices," Rizzo said. "There is no basis for the price of oil to fluctuate this much. It's not the war. I hope they determine this is price gouging. There needs to be an investigation."

Mario Lopez, 33, said he uses about a half-tank of gas a day driving to the various sites where he works on construction.

"I don't have a choice," he said. "I live in Vallejo and have to drive to San Rafael and Santa Rosa for work. It's a lot of money."

Marin motorists didn't have many kind words for the ever-rising gasoline prices, but most were resigned to paying more. Some blamed the looming war in Iraq, the oil strike in Venezuela or the greed of gasoline companies for lightening their wallets, but most treated the increase with a shrug, saying they have not felt the pinch too sharply.

"You don't have any control over it," said Darlene Riley, 53, of San Rafael as she filled her tank at Gateway Gas in Terra Linda. "I'm not pleased, but there is not a lot to do about it. But I do make a point of coming here where the gas is cheaper, so I guess I do care about it."

Gateway gas was selling a gallon of regular unleaded for $1.95 yesterday. The station marks down all gas five cents a gallon on Sundays.

"They like cheap prices so on Sundays they come," said Eddie de Leon, clerk at Gateway Gas. "Gas is too expensive now."

"What are you going to do?" asked Mitch Bishop, 46, of San Rafael, as he filled his tank at Gateway Gas yesterday. "It's still the cheapest gas in the world."

A Shell gas station on Irwin Street in downtown San Rafael was charging $2.23 for a gallon of regular unleaded yesterday.

Amy Brody, 30, of Mill Valley, pulled into the station on the way to a friend's house. She usually fills up at a cheaper station, she said, but was worried she would run out.

"The prices are way too high," she said. "It's a big deal. It's annoying and it makes me mad."

Jim Deichen, 49, of Kentfield, filling up at the Irwin Street Shell, said he doesn't compare prices when he needs gas. He just pulls into the most convenient station.

"I don't shop," Deichen said. "Not yet anyway. It's not worth my time. I notice it, but I haven't changed my behavior."

The prices at the pump are changing the way people shop for cars, said Sabrina Crilly, sales person at Honda of Corte Madera. The higher gas prices climb, the more inquiries the dealership receives about the Honda Hybrid, a gas-electric car which gets almost 50 miles a gallon.

"People always ask about the mileage now," Crilly said. "They are more conscious about it."

Randy Lakritz, sales manager at Novato Toyota, said that with the rising gas prices, he has seen a growing interest in the Prius, a hybrid car which gets about 52 miles a gallon.

"(High gas prices) have definitely affected sales," he said. "People buy them for the good gas mileage and also because they are politically correct, less dependent on oil with the situation in the Middle East."

But the popularity of the gas-guzzling sports utility vehicles shows no sign of waning, Lakritz said.

"You'd be surprised how many people ask about the miles per gallon on the SUVs, but when they are told they get about 18 miles per gallon, they just shrug their shoulders and move ahead with the purchase," he said.

Lakritz, a Novato resident, said higher gas prices haven't persuaded him to give up the demonstration SUV he uses to drive to work.

"It guzzles gas," he said. "So I'm guilty too. But at least I have a short commute."

Contact Michael Howerton via e-mail at mhowerton@marinij.com

www.quicken.com Tuesday, March 4, 2003 02:07 AM ET  Printer-friendly version (From The Wall Street Journal)

Schlumberger Ltd.'s (SLB, news) chief executive said international oil companies aren't likely to invest big dollars to pump up a postwar Iraqi oil industry in the first few years, and he predicted Iraq could only modestly increase production without developing new fields.

Andrew Gould, who last month took over as chairman and CEO of the oil-services company, based in New York, said that any postwar government in Iraq isn't likely to be "sufficiently stable" in the short term to allow the private international oil industry to invest in Iraq. Big oil companies would require " all sorts of guarantees" before investing in the first phase of a postwar Iraq, he said.

Mr. Gould, addressing analysts in New York, also laid out plans for the company to shave its debt by one-third this year through asset sales and tighter control of spending. The announcements came after the 4 p.m. close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Iraq can increase its oil production by only 500,000 barrels a day above its peak production in the past two years of about two million barrels a day, Mr. Gould said. That increase assumes that Iraq can upgrade 90% of the country's 3, 000 wells. To take production to an even higher level will require developing new fields, which would take three to five more years, Mr. Gould said.

"The key trigger here is not the U.S. invading Iraq; it is when the United Nations embargo is lifted," he said.

Mr. Gould said Venezuela has lost 10% to 15% of its production permanently because of a lockout by workers at its state oil company. Restoring oil production there will depend on whether the government of President Hugo Chavez extends a moratorium on the firing of trained professionals from Petroleos de Venezuela, the state oil company, and whether he can lure them back to work. Mr. Chavez has fired about a third of

PdVSA's 38,000 employees since the strike began.

World crude-oil prices have risen more than a third in the past three months because of fears of a war with Iraq and because of the supply shortfall caused by the Venezuelan oil strike. Venezuela is operating at only about half of its prestrike level of three million barrels a day.

"They no longer have the technical staff inside PdVSA that can build activity back up," Mr. Gould said.

Mr. Gould said Schlumberger expects to cut its debt below $4 billion this year, from $6.03 billion, through assets sales of $1.4 billion and more capital discipline, including giving regional managers more motivation to share capital across the company.

Schlumberger has struggled amid a poor seismic-testing climate and a depressed market for information technology, and has been criticized for mediocre results from its 2001 acquisition of software firm Sema PLC for $5.2 billion. Mr. Gould acknowledged that the Sema acquisition had reduced the company's financial flexibility. He reiterated the push, announced in December, to reorganize the unit to focus on developing Schlumberger's core oil-field-service business.

Write to Alexei Barrionuevo at Alexei.Barrionuevo@wsj.com.

www.avionnewspaper.com Crystal Schneider Staff Reporter

The name of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University echoed in the Halls of Harvard University as delegates from the ERAU Model UN team received awards among over 2,500 of the best Political Science, Pre-Law and International Relations majors in the world.

Last weekend, the Model United Nations team led by Dr. Glenn Dorn, participated and excelled in one of the world’s largest, most difficult and prestigious academic competitions, the Model United Nations conferences at Harvard University.

ERAU Students represented the nation of Armenia and were among the strongest delegates in they eyes of judges. Most of ERAU’s delegates held positions within the General Assembly.

Thomas Tanner III and Mark Smalley, debating arms reduction of tactical nuclear weapons in the Disarmament and International Security council, a very difficult committee and controversial issue, were active in drafting several resolutions and critiquing weaker ones.

Denny Henry and Kevin Feather discussed globalization and cultural imperialism in the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural committee. Kevin worked hard to bring consensus on one of the most controversial issues being debated in the world community today. He was a key player in the drafting of a resolution and brought the entire committee to consensus and success in resolving the issue.

Stephanie Phelps, examining state sponsored terrorism in the Special Political and Decolonization committee, showed outstanding leadership, not only in her committee but while working with newer members in their committees as well. Andrew Wittstrom also participated and excelled in this committee.

Judy Nash, in the Legal Committee debated the topic of illicit global financial activity. She was active and contributed significantly in the nuanced language of a resolution in a committee that demands precision.

First time member Brian Smith performed well on the topic of infectious disease within the World Health Organization. With only two weeks to prepare for this conference, it was immediately evident that he would be an asset to the team after only a short time.

In the specialized agencies, Head Delegate Jessica Johnson dealt with the crisis of corruption of Asia in the Economic and Social commission for Asia and the Pacific. Jessica is one of the strongest delegates from ERAU and at only her second conference was delivering excellent speeches and providing leadership and guidance to her committee.

Crystal Schneider aided in bridging the digital divide in the World Summit on the Information Society.

“Dominating her committee,” Dorn said, “Crystal had an all around exceptional performance, creating a strong resolution and exposing the flaws in others. Every speech was strong and well delivered.”

Her winning of an Outstanding Delegate award at Harvard National Model United Nations, after only having participated in one other college level conference was proof that this was one of the strongest delegations the school has ever sent to competition.

“I can’t underestimate the significance of an Embry-Riddle student winning an award in this conference. Two people that won this award when I was in college are now 3rd and 4th level state department officials at the age of 35. The best at this competition are the best in the country and among the finest in the world,” said Dr. Dorn in response to the team winning this award.

Preparation for this event includes months and in some cases even years of an intensive study regime of in-depth research on the policy, current events and history of every nation in the world. The participants go through rigorous training on political debate and parliamentary procedure.

All of this paid off however, as students from Embry-Riddle did as well as, and in many cases outperformed some of the top schools in the field. Among these were schools such as Yale University, West Point Military Academy, University of Pennsylvania, Pace University, Brown University, Dartmouth College, Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the United States Coast Guard Academy, and George Washington University. Schools participating from outside the United States included universities from countries such as China, Venezuela, England, Canada, Mexico and Denmark.

This group of motivated and driven students gave up five days out of busy engineering, pilot and ROTC schedules to compete in the arena of experts in a field opposite to their own. They spent 20 plus hours in committee sessions and countless more during lunch and late nights drafting resolutions and working papers or doing last minute research.

Dr. Dorn said, “Model United Nations is the training ground for future leaders of the world, students who will one day be running nations. Most of these students train for years and this conference is the proving ground for their careers.”

“It is a tribute to the students at Embry-Riddle that pilots and engineers can compete, let alone take home awards,” says Secretary General Jessica Johnson. Many of the delegates reported that almost everyone at the conference was surprised to see them there, let alone doing well at something they spend their college careers training for.

The attendance and performance would not have been possible but for the support and efforts of many. The ERAU Model U.N. thanks Chancellor Price, the Campus Council, and the Annual Fund for their financial support, which made it possible for ERAUMUN to represent Embry-Riddle at such a prestigious and internationally recognized event.

The team would also like to extend their appreciation for the efforts of Suzanne Spurgeon, Roderick Clark, and Dr. Glenn Dorn, without which the success of the delegation would not have been possible.

Finally, the hard work and countless hours of preparation put in by the delegates must be recognized.

“They truly performed above and beyond all hopes or expectations considering illness and injury.” Says Stephanie Phelps who single handedly organized and coordinated almost every stage of this trip.

In the words of the Under-Secretary General, Judy Nash: “We went, we learned a lot, and we kicked Yale’s butt (at least in Crystal’s committee).” And let no one forget, as Brian Smith pointed out: “We’re engineers!”

© 2002 The Avion Terms and Conditions

seattlepi.nwsource.com Tuesday, March 4, 2003 By PAUL NYHAN SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Gasoline prices continued to rise at pumps around Washington state, as the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded hit record levels in Olympia, Spokane, Tacoma, Seattle and other regions in recent days.

In the Seattle area, drivers paid, on average, $18.39 to fill 10-gallon gas tanks with regular unleaded gas on Friday, while they paid $12.14 a year ago, according to the most recent data from AAA.

Drivers have watched gas prices rise steadily over the past month. Local gas station owner Ric Kastner said the price he paid for a gallon of gas for his pumps in Magnolia jumped 41 cents in 24 days.    Phil H. Webber / P-I   Ric Kastner, who owns Ric's Automotive & Texaco Inc. in Magnolia, fills a gas tank at his station; his premium was selling for $2.15 9/10 a gallon yesterday. "I have never seen them (gas prices) go up this high this fast," he said.

"I have never seen them go up this high this fast," said Kastner, who owns Ric's Automotive & Texaco Inc. in Magnolia and has worked in the oil business for the past 34 years.

Industry officials blame some of the price run-up on tensions over an impending war with Iraq and the labor dispute in Venezuela, which is settled but continues to hamper supply.

"You do have speculation about the war with Iraq that does increase concern about future supply," Exxon Mobil Corp. spokeswoman Carolin Keith said.

But Washington state also lacks the level of competition found in other regions of the country, according to Tim Hamilton, executive director of the Automotive United Trades Association in Olympia.

"At the retail (level), there is a limited number of companies marketing it," Hamilton said. "The four big guys control a major amount of the retail market: BP Plc.'s Arco, ChevronTexaco Corp., Shell Oil Co. and ConocoPhillips, which owns the 76 brand."

Kastner said retailers are not profiting from the higher prices.

"If I was making all the money, I'd be smiling," Kastner said. "But the dealers aren't getting rich."

Keith said Exxon Mobil prices reflect the global market.

"It isn't an issue of gouging; it's an issue of market pressure," Keith said.

The reasons and level of profits behind the rise may be unclear, but the increases continued last week. After hitting a record level in Seattle, Bellevue and Everett on Wednesday, $1.77 a gallon, prices kept rising to $1.84 by the end of Friday, according to AAA.

In Olympia, the price for a gallon of regular unleaded also rose to $1.74, up sharply from $1.35 a month ago and $1.14 a year ago, the automobile association reported.

In Spokane, regular gas went for $1.72 a gallon, another record.

Nationwide, the price of gasoline also jumped. A gallon of regular unleaded gas cost, on average, $1.69 across the nation, a 21-month high, the Energy Department reported yesterday.

Oil-industry executives say the price of crude oil, which rose 60 percent over the past year, is the main culprit behind the increases.

Refiners also have been slow to begin raising production of gasoline, which normally occurs at this time of year, because they've focused on making heating oil during the cold winter in the Northeast.

Texaco station owner Kastner offered a little hope for beleaguered drivers. "This summer, I wouldn't be surprised if they (prices) dropped," he said.

This report includes information from Bloomberg News.