April 20, 2006 gas prices

I can't say that I'm terribly sympathetic to these folks. Last week, it cost me $51.57 to fill my Camry's gas tank with the cheapest grade fuel at a relatively inexpensive service station in my neighborhood. It still cost me $3.099 a gallon.

Rising Gas Prices Equal Rising Crime: Drive-Offs, Siphoning Reported Around Omaha
OMAHA, Neb. -- Rising gas prices have spawned a new round of crime in Omaha and elsewhere, as desperate drivers leave the pump without paying or siphon gas from unattended vehicles.

Last Thursday, the Kwik Trip on 42nd and L streets in Omaha was the scene of one of five drive-offs reported to police that day. Station owners said even one drive-off is a major problem because it hurts their bottom line. Sinclair employee Clarence Anderson said drive-offs cost him personally.
'That comes out of my pocket. Not the gas company or the pumping station. It just comes out of my pocket and it's not going to happen anymore because I won't authorize it,' Anderson said.

Many station have gone to a pre-pay policy as a result, and one local chain offers customers a membership card that allows them to pump before they pay.
Eagle's Nest Worship Center, at 5775 Sorenson Parkway, reported that gas was stolen from vehicles parked on the church's lot three different times. Administrative pastor Peter Henson said he never expected gas to be stolen in that fashion, and after the second time the church's vehicles were hit, he took some precautions.
'We bought some locking gas caps,' Henson said.

But the thieves broke the caps off, prompting a fresh solution.

"What we decided to do in the short run is to park them together so close that no human being could get in between them and have access to the gas cap," Henson said. "The Bible tells us that it rains on the just and the unjust, so there's no reason to expect that we would have the same kind of problems."

AAA said on Monday that the average price for a gallon of self-serve regular in Omaha was $2.80.