Article Last Updated: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 - 11:29:01 PM PST

www.dailynews.com209541237105,00.html By Evan Pondel Staff Writer

The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in Los Angeles hit a record $2.076 on Tuesday and industry experts said it will keep rising steadily toward a once-unimaginable $3 a gallon.

The price has easily cleared the old record of $2.034 reached May 25, 2001, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California. And several factors, including a supply shortage, are poised to send prices even higher.

"It's going up, up, up," said Bob van der Valk, a wholesaler with Cosby Oil in Santa Fe Springs. "If there is no relief, it wouldn't surprise me to see prices end up at $3 a gallon."

Los Angeles drivers are not alone in their woes at the wheel. The average price of regular gasoline in Southern California hit $2.085 Tuesday, up 36 cents from the Feb. 11 average of $1.725. San Francisco motorists are spending an average of $2.140 for a gallon of regular gasoline, a 24-cent increase from last month.

"OK, enough is enough already. I've never really cared about the price of gasoline, but how can you avoid those numbers? You can't," said D'Artagnan Figueroa, 32, squeezing off a few gallons for his jet black Chevy Tahoe. "Between my Tahoe, my Impala and my van ... yeah, I'd say I'm spending a lot of money right now."

Prices are being affected by fears of war, rising crude oil costs and a petroleum workers strike in Venezuela.

But California's boutique blend of gasoline is the No. 1 culprit, said Rob Schlichting, spokesman for the state's energy commission.

To produce what is known as Carbob, or California Air Resources Board Oxygenated Blend, refiners must mix a complex gasoline and ethanol concoction to cut down on emissions. Carbob coupled with a seasonal change from a winter to summer-grade gasoline blend have tightened supplies and therefore raised the price at the pump, Schlichting said.

The switch in fuel has been amplified by the prospect of war in Iraq, causing many refiners to keep a tight rein on supplies.

Van der Valk said profit margins are rising with hikes in gas prices.

As of March 10, refiners' cost and profit margin was about 55 cents for every gallon of gasoline valued at $2.08. Whereas on Jan. 6, refiners' cost and profit margin was 27 cents for every gallon of gasoline valued at $1.58.

But rising gasoline prices aren't only a boon for refiners, as state and local government treasuries also are taking in a share of the increased prices at the pump.

"It's the silver lining to the black clouds right now," said Dan Blake, a professor of economics at California State University, Northridge.

Both the state and city collect sales tax on gasoline, which registers at 8.25 percent in Los Angeles. A majority of the tax goes to the state coffers, while the city keeps a fraction for transportation.

In 2000, California generated about $2.6 billion in sales tax revenues from gasoline, on approximately 14.7 billion gallons.

"Rising gasoline prices is definitely a windfall for the state," said Ron Roach, spokesman for the California Taxpayers Association.

Factoring a 50-cent increase in gasoline prices since last year, the state has churned about $500 million more in sales tax revenues thus far, Blake said.

"I suppose, depending on the situation, that number could increase substantially," he said. "But it's not nearly enough to offset the state's ($34 billion) budget deficit."

www.ctnow.com March 12, 2003 By MATTHEW HAY BROWN, Courant Staff Writer SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- As the Bush administration presses for war with Iraq, the Caribbean is bracing for more hardship. Deeply dependent on the outside world for tourists, oil and other trade, and still recovering from the economic fallout of the attacks of 9/11, the region of mostly poor nations would be profoundly affected by hostilities in the Middle East. "The context is already a bad one," said Anthony Gonzales, director of the Institute of International Relations at the University of the West Indies. "If you impose a war on the current situation, you'll see how much worse it can get." Governments in the 30-odd island nations and territories have attempted to soften the anticipated blow by seeking price guarantees on oil and developing plans to boost travel promotion. But their ability to cushion the impact may be limited. "No one believes this war would be good for business," said Jean Holder, secretary-general of the Caribbean Tourism Organization. "We pray that it doesn't break out." The region is accustomed to buffeting by outside forces. Tourism has yet to recover fully from the terrorist attacks in the United States. The flow of oil from Venezuela remains uncertain. The European Community is phasing out preferential prices for bananas and sugar. Foreign investors continue to flee offshore banking. A U.S. attack on Iraq would strike directly at the Caribbean's largest industry. As many as 20 million visitors - more than half of them from the United States - pump billions of dollars into the region annually. That trade, which employs as much as three-quarters of the workforce on some islands, still is recovering from a 10 percent drop in arrivals since Sept. 11, 2001. But, as Edward Carrington, secretary-general of the Caribbean Community, said last month: "If there's a war, people don't go on holidays." During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, tourist visits to some islands fell by as much as 30 percent. Simon Suarez, president of the Caribbean Hotel Association, said a similar experience now would be "a terrific blow." "There are quite clear signs of recovery, but that could come to a sudden stop if this war actually goes and if it lasts a long time," said Suarez, an executive with Coral Hotels and Resorts in the Dominican Republic. "The long-term effect will be that there will be a gap in the growth pattern." Holder said the impact might not be as negative as feared. In 1991, some American vacationers who would otherwise have gone overseas to Europe visited the Caribbean instead. After the war, the region recovered more quickly than other parts of the world. Still, Holder said, any additional decline would further burden the struggling airline industry. United and US Airways already have declared bankruptcy, and analysts have speculated American Airlines - the leading carrier to the Caribbean - could follow suit. Reliance on fuel imports makes the Caribbean vulnerable to oil price hikes. The recent reduction in flow from Venezuela during the general strike against the government of President Hugo Chavez sparked walkouts by transportation workers in Guyana and Haiti and raised consumer prices on several islands. Oil-producing Trinidad and Tobago already told its neighbors it would not be able to hold prices to a "pre-Iraq war" level should hostilities commence. The nation imports half the petroleum it refines, and so is also vulnerable to world price fluctuations. "Our willingness to empathize is not supported by the realities of our own situation," Prime Minister Patrick Manning said. War plans are affecting the U.S. territories in another way. In Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, thousands of Army reservists and National Guardsmen are answering the call to service; in the case of Puerto Rico, those numbers are the largest in island history. While troops train with weapons and gas masks, the government has opened several family-support centers. At the governmental level, the region's leaders - with the exception of Cuba's Fidel Castro - have sounded a more measured ambivalence. In a communique last month, the heads of the Caribbean Community bloc of 15 nations called on the United States to exercise restraint while urging Iraq to cooperate fully with weapons inspectors. "These islands are economically dependent on the United States," said Ralph Premdas, a professor of public policy at the University of the West Indies. "I don't think you're going to find any place except for Cuba officially coming out against the war." Instead, leaders are preparing contingency plans. In Puerto Rico, for example, the government has pre-purchased 10 million barrels of petroleum at a fixed price, and invested in hedges - insurance to protect against fluctuations in fuel prices - for 2.7 million barrels more. The U.S. commonwealth has set aside $3.5 million for additional tourist promotion. The Caribbean Hotel Association has advised members on public relations messages - promoting, for example, perceptions of the region as safe and affordable - while urging them to establish more flexible cancellation policies for travelers stranded by events.

www.energypulse.net 3.12.03   Roger Anderson, Director, Energy Research, Columbia University Albert Boulanger, Snr Staff Assoc, LDEO, Columbia Univ. James Longbottom, Director of Ultra-Deepwater Research Initiative, TEES, Texas A&M University Ronald Oligney, Director of Engineering Research Development and Adjunct Professor, Cullen College of Engineering , University of Houston

Abstract Both the gas industry and United States government face tremendous challenges to deliver the supply required by the increasingly gas-dependent electricity demand in the United States of the 21st century. The U.S. will be hard pressed to build the large number of Liquid Natural Gas terminals that provide the only significant alternative to North American supply increases. Huge new reserves of gas must be brought to market to offset the natural exponential decline in known gas production from within the borders of the United States. We must explore, discover, appraise, develop, and exploit the vast new gas reserves discovered in waters deeper than 1500 meters in the ultra-deepwater Gulf of Mexico if we are to have any hope of meeting this demand increase. In addition, we must deliver to market new gas from deep and tight reservoirs on land, coal bed methane, and Alaska or we may have to ration gas between heating and power, particularly in the Northeast. No one wants to be responsible for such a choice.

www.frommers.com Author: David A. Lytle

With gas prices reaching all time highs across the country--over $2 a gallon in parts of the east coast, over $3 a gallon (what?!?) in parts of California--drivers need all the help they can get to squeeze out some savings at service station. Prices have been driven up by many factors: decreased oil production in Venezuela, the current threat of war in Iraq, the switch to summer weight gas for cars and simple greed on the part of manufacturers and suppliers. Fortunately, there's a useful grassroots tool we more than pleased to tell you about: a simple Web site called Gaspricewatch.com.

Its name says it all, really. Actual prices from gas stations across the United States and Canada are collected and submitted by "spotters," concerned cyber-citizens who track the cost-per-gallon at their local pumps and post them on the site. Currently, there are over 73,000 such spotters actively recording and submitting price data. And they're not paid; it's pure civic responsibility that drives the cause to find the lowest prices.

How does this benefit you? Two ways: the prices are searchable by zip code, so you can quickly find the lowest priced pump in your community. Simply go to www.gaspricewatch.com, click on either US Gas or Canada Gas, enter your zip code and submit. You'll get a roster of gas stations, their addresses, phone numbers and the last recorded prices for regular, plus, premium and diesel fuels. Since this is a volunteer organization, the prices may be somewhat outdated (up to a week or more in some cases we found), but the handy phone number will let you call to verify ahead. There is also a handy map feature so you can pinpoint the exact location of the station before you head out to fill up your tank. This is especially good when you're a planning long distance journey--you can pick your stations with maps ahead of time--saving you precious vacation dollars.

What's the second benefit? Simple economics. If everyone uses a service such as this and heads to the lowest priced pumps, those price gougers will have to change their tune.

Now, since you know about this wonderful site, please sign up to be a spotter. It's free, and just think of the amount of time you spend in your car waiting for a light to change next to a gas station. Take that time to jot down your local prices, and as soon as you're in front of your computer, login and enter the data. Secondly, e-mail this article (just click the blue "EMAIL" icon at the top of this page to get started) to everyone you know who drives. It's free information that will help everyone out.

Have you used Gaspricewatch.com before? How are the prices at the pumps in your hometown? Tell us about it in our Message Boards by clicking here.

kstatecollegian.com Published on Wednesday, March 12, 2003

Petra Sedlmajerova hits the ball in a match against Utah State at Cottonwood Raquet Club on Feb. 15. Sedlmajerova will play Baylor's Vida Mulec this weekend in Waco, Texas. She enters the tournament as K-State's No. 1 singles player, as well as the team's No. 2 doubles player with Paulina Castillejos. Evan Semon/Collegian

Wes Marfield Kansas State Collegian

When K-State (6-2, 2-1) travels to Waco, Texas, to face No. 42 Baylor (4-6, 3-0) at noon Saturday, freshman Jessica Simosa will look to build on her 7-1 record at No. 3 singles.

The Valencia, Venezuela, native started off the spring season 6-0 before suffering her first loss against Oklahoma on Saturday. Simosa also sports a 3-3 record in doubles competition along with her regular partner, sophomore Andrea Cooper.

Despite the fact that she's only a freshman, Simosa's quick start in singles play came as no surprise to Coach Steve Bietau.

"I wasn't surprised," Bietau said. "I got a fairly good look at Jessica during the recruiting process and felt she had the ability to do some really great things in college tennis."

Projected matchups

Singles

1. Petra Sedlmajerova, K-State vs. Vida Mulec, BU
2. Maria Rosenberg, K-State vs. Stephanie Balzert, BU
3. Jessica Simosa, K-State vs. Anna Moncolova, BU
4. Paulina Castillejos, K-State vs. Daria Potapova, BU
5. Hayley McIver, K-State vs. Izabela Mijic, BU
6. Andrea Cooper, K-State vs. Alison Bradley, BU

Doubles

1. Simosa/Cooper, K-State vs. Bradley/Potapova, BU
2. Sedlmajerova/Castillejos, K-State vs. Moncolova/Mulec, BU
3. Rosenberg/McIver, K-State vs. Balzert/Mijic, BU

For any athlete, the transition into collegiate athletics can be a tough step to take. Having to move to a new country, learn a new language and adapt to a new culture can add to the difficulty of that process.

Simosa, who grew up speaking Spanish, said having another native Venezuelan around has been helpful.

"English (has been difficult)," Simosa said. "I speak Spanish, so that's been difficult. Assistant coach Andres Gonzalez is from Venezuela, too, so that's been helpful."

Also helpful is the support Simosa has been recieving from teammates.

"I think she's adapting very well," Bietau said. "Jessica's a very likable person, and what you give out, you tend to get back."

As far as tennis goes, Simosa said the amount of training collegiate tennis players endure has been surprising to her.

"I used to train less," she said. "When i came here, the system was different and the way they train here was different."

In order to adapt to the differences, Simosa has had to put in some extra time practicing.

"Over Christmas break I stayed here and trained every single day after Dec. 24," Simosa said.

Along with her undefeated start this spring, Simosa said playing in the No. 3 singles spot has also been a highlight of her freshman campaign.

"Last semester I thought I was going to play No. 6, but I have improved and now I'm playing at No. 3 and I'm 7-1" Simosa said.

Simosa said she has one personal goal on her mind this year.

"I would like to win conference freshman of the year," she said.

The freshman also said she hopes to help her team move up in the Big 12 standings.

"We're No. 6 in the conference," Simosa said. "We would like to improve on that."

According to Bietau, Simosa has the ability to help her teammates both on and off the court.

"Jessica is a talanted young woman," Bietau said. "She's a good athlete, and she's someone who contributes in a lot of intangible ways. She's a very plesant person to be around, and when things get tough, everyone appreciates her sense of humor."