$4.50 Gasoline In Los Angeles -- December 2, 2015

The Los Angeles Times is reporting:

Much of the nation is paying $2 or less for a gallon of regular gasoline for the first time since spring 2009.

But in California, drivers are shelling out significantly more — and the price gap has gotten wider in recent weeks.

The Los Angeles area has been hit particularly hard.

L.A. motorists are paying an average price that is 75 cents a gallon more than the national average, compared with a 30-cent difference a year earlier. Fuel experts attribute the increased disparity largely to refinery outages.

California gasoline typically costs more than in the rest of the country because of higher taxes and fees as well as a unique state-mandated blend that produces less pollution. But this year the gap has widened into more of a gulf.

Some California service stations are selling gas for more than twice the national average price, which was $2.038 a gallon Tuesday, according to AAA's daily price survey. For instance, the Shell gas station at Olympic Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles had regular gas as high as $4.50 a gallon in recent days.

We drive right by that service station every time we drive to Farmer's Market, about a mile farther north. A lot of great memories.