Gasoline

As Congress adjourned on Wednesday for the summer, Republican Rep. David Dreier pushed fellow legislators to keep working on strategies to lower gasoline prices. Record-high oil prices in past weeks and a free-falling economy have complicated spending for many people living under the crunch of a financial system that some economists say is already in a recession. This week, the Automobile Assn. of America officials said gas prices dropped to $4.30 for regular unleaded. That figure is down more than 30 cents from record-high prices in June.

PASADENA — The trial of a Glendale man who police say set his foreclosed home on fire while his wife and two young daughters slept got underway this week, with an arson investigator testifying Tuesday that he smelled gasoline at the scene of the January 2008 blaze. Brian Walder, 46, is charged with three counts of attempted murder, child endangerment and arson for allegedly setting fire to his foreclosed home on the 1600 block of West Mountain Street on Jan. 24, 2008, while his wife and children were sleeping, police said.

PASADENA — Jury deliberations began Monday evening in the trial of a 46-year-old Glendale man accused of setting his foreclosed home on fire while his wife and two children slept inside. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Suzette Clover instructed jury members Monday that if they could not determine that Brian Walder committed arson with intent, he could not be found guilty of murder. Walder is charged with three counts of attempted murder, child endangerment, contempt of court and arson for allegedly setting fire to his patio on the 1600 block of West Mountain Street just after 3 a.m. Jan. 24, 2008, while his family slept inside.

Jerry Lane I suppose the most popular topic of conversation these days is the price of gasoline. Everyone is wondering how high it's going to go and how fast it's going to get there. The oil companies are predicting $2 a gallon and, from past experience, that prediction means they have already decided that we'll be paying at least that much for a gallon of gasoline before too long and $3 a gallon doesn't sound farfetched now. A few things about this situation don't set right with me. I have always heard that an increase of a dollar a barrel in the price of crude oil in Saudi Arabia increases the price of gasoline by two cents a gallon in California.

This is in reply to Greg McKay's letter that appeared in the Glendale News-Press on April 1. I don't know how avocados and strawberries got mixed up with oil and gas prices. When the prices of these two items become outrageously high, I shop around for better prices or I do without them completely. I can find suitable substitutes for just about any food item. There is no edible commodity I absolutely must have. If I were in the market for a home, I would consider the asking price very carefully.

Thieves take 4,300 gallons of gasoline More than 4,000 gallons of gasoline were stolen early Saturday morning from an Exxon station in Burbank, an unprecedented theft in the city at a time when gas prices continue to rise, police said Monday. Between midnight Friday and 5 a.m. Saturday at least one suspect driving a gasoline tanker-truck pumped about 4,300 gallons from the underground storage depot when the station, located at 2417 N. San Fernando Blvd., was closed, Lt. Armen Dermenjian said.

JERRY LANE "In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." That's what Benjamin Franklin wrote back in 1789. Had he lived another 150 years, he may have added "and the rising price of gasoline." Beginning on Jan. 1 of this year, we set up a program on our computer to record what we are paying in "silent taxes" -- those taxes that the Internal Revenue Service allows us a standard deduction for on our income tax without exacting a precise accounting.

GLENDALE ? Average unleaded fuel prices on Monday for the Los Angeles area continued to hover within a penny of the $3.62-per-gallon record set last week, and market analysts announced a new all-time inflation-adjusted high of $3.26 a gallon for the national average. The average cost for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Los Angeles was $3.61, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California, slightly less than the state average of $3.63. For premium gasoline, the regional average was $3.91 per gallon.

Glendale's water was well within statelimits for contaminants in 2011, but recent tests turned up a pollutant not detected in 2010, according to the city's water quality report released this week. “Everything's pretty consistent with what we've reported in the past,” said Dan Askenaizer, water quality manager for Glendale Water & Power. “Everything's in compliance.” But in 2011, Methyl Tertiary-butyl Ether, a chemical additive once used in gasoline, was found in north Glendale wells.

The most expensive year ever for gasoline purchases in the U.S. is heading to a close, but not without one last snatch at motorists' wallets. Pain levels at the pump are rising again in California and across the rest of the nation, assuring that 2011 will mark the second year in a row that prices have posted record December highs. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in California on Tuesday is $3.562, up 2.2 cents since last week, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report.

PASADENA — Jury deliberations began Monday evening in the trial of a 46-year-old Glendale man accused of setting his foreclosed home on fire while his wife and two children slept inside. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Suzette Clover instructed jury members Monday that if they could not determine that Brian Walder committed arson with intent, he could not be found guilty of murder. Walder is charged with three counts of attempted murder, child endangerment, contempt of court and arson for allegedly setting fire to his patio on the 1600 block of West Mountain Street just after 3 a.m. Jan. 24, 2008, while his family slept inside.

PASADENA — The trial of a Glendale man who police say set his foreclosed home on fire while his wife and two young daughters slept got underway this week, with an arson investigator testifying Tuesday that he smelled gasoline at the scene of the January 2008 blaze. Brian Walder, 46, is charged with three counts of attempted murder, child endangerment and arson for allegedly setting fire to his foreclosed home on the 1600 block of West Mountain Street on Jan. 24, 2008, while his wife and children were sleeping, police said.

As Congress adjourned on Wednesday for the summer, Republican Rep. David Dreier pushed fellow legislators to keep working on strategies to lower gasoline prices. Record-high oil prices in past weeks and a free-falling economy have complicated spending for many people living under the crunch of a financial system that some economists say is already in a recession. This week, the Automobile Assn. of America officials said gas prices dropped to $4.30 for regular unleaded. That figure is down more than 30 cents from record-high prices in June.

On June 13, Congressman David Dreier stopped by the La Crescenta First Baptist Church to discuss increasing gas prices, illegal immigration and how important the upcoming November election will be. He also took the time to listen to personal stories of how the economy, especially gas prices, are affecting community members. He told the audience that the country?s dependence of foreign oil is a warning drum that he has been banging his entire career in Congress. He cited opportunities that he felt needed to be explored like drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

LOS ANGELES ? Deputy Dist. Atty. John Monaghan told jurors during closing arguments Wednesday that Juan Manuel Alvarez never intended to commit suicide when he drove his SUV onto train tracks at Chevy Chase Drive, having instead perpetrated the 2005 Metrolink train derailment that killed 11 and injured more than 180 passengers as an attention grabbing . Alvarez is charged with 11 counts of murder with special circumstances and one count each...

Thieves take 4,300 gallons of gasoline More than 4,000 gallons of gasoline were stolen early Saturday morning from an Exxon station in Burbank, an unprecedented theft in the city at a time when gas prices continue to rise, police said Monday. Between midnight Friday and 5 a.m. Saturday at least one suspect driving a gasoline tanker-truck pumped about 4,300 gallons from the underground storage depot when the station, located at 2417 N. San Fernando Blvd., was closed, Lt. Armen Dermenjian said.

GLENDALE — Oil prices soared to more than $138 a barrel Friday, and analysts predicted that prices could hit $150 by July 4. The escalating price of oil has mirrored record increases in gas prices around Southern California and the state, causing more commuters to use public transportation. As of Friday, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Los Angeles County hit a record $4.37, a 22-cent increase from Monday and more than a dollar above last year’s mark, according to the American Automobile Assn.