Gasapocalypse Now

Californians, welcome to your nightmare:

“What are they doing to us?” said Marilyn Tucker, a FedEx employee, as she stopped pumping at a central Los Angeles gas station at $37, well before the tank of her sedan was full. “It’s just ridiculous.”

Prices had been rising for several days, making California the most expensive state for gasoline. On Friday, Californians paid an average of $4.49 a gallon for regular — 70 cents above the national average. Nationally, gas prices have risen less than half a penny a gallon over the last week, with prices now easing in many states.
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California typically has substantially higher gasoline prices than most of the country because of its tough environmental regulations and high taxes. Gasoline supplies are traditionally tight this time of year as refiners do maintenance work to switch from summer to fall gasoline blends mandated by the California pollution-reduction regulations. But this year, energy experts say, the local gasoline market is particularly chaotic because of the refinery shutdowns.

Of course, the taxes and regulations aren't helping...