Local Residents Unfazed By Rising Gas Prices

For the time ever during the Christmas holiday, the average price for a gallon of gas has exceeded $3.

“Nothing surprises me anymore,” said Mark Cardinal, of Indio. “It goes up. It goes down. It goes up. It goes down.”

At the AM/PM Gas station in Thousand Palms, regular unleaded was $3.19. Although it is seven cents lower than the average in Riverside/San Bernardino counties, some local residents still are feeling the pain at the pumps.

“I sure have!” said George Urquidez, of Rancho Mirage. “And I told the wife a couple of weeks ago, it’s coming.”

Urquidez predicts prices will keep going up, and he may be on to something. The U.S. Labor Department says the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits for the first time fell by 3,000 this month. That type of optimistic economic news helps push oil prices higher.

“That’s how you move America: by petroleum,” said Jo Coddington, of Thousand Palms. “So, unless we do something different — like go to propane or natural gas –this is what we’re going to deal with.”