The price of a bbl of oil last night.

Average retail price for a gallon of unleaded regular, in this state,
is now $3.35. That's up 85-cents from the same time last year. Premium
typically runs about 30 cents more. The annual spring price gouge we
have endured each of the last several years should be getting underway
very soon, as the
refiners all claim to be passing along the costs of converting from
winter to summer formulations.

The challenge for boaters who don't care and say, "We can afford to
pay for fuel, regardless of the cost", will be the disappearing
infrastructure.

When the working man has to give up boating because he can't afford to
fuel up for a weekend's outing, it guts the infrastructure that
everybody depends on. Without the critical mass of the small boaters,
many of the service businesses and retailers upon which the entire
boating community relies cannot remain in business. There is less
justification for the state to set aside marine parks or otherwise
prioritize boating recreation.

I wish I had a solution. I don't. But when poor families are facing a
"heat or eat" decision every week while BIGOILCO makes $40-billion
profits
it's possible to see the human tragedy in play, even without being
able to identify a solution.