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Despite month to month jumps in pump prices across Northern California, many regions of the Golden State are starting to see gas prices slowly drop, according to the latest AAA Northern California monthly gas survey.
California’s average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $4.17, up 11 cents since last month’s AAA report on February 12, 2013.
For perspective, gas prices today are 19 cents more expensive than California’s average price on this date last year. Among all 50 states, California has the second highest state average price for regular, unleaded gasoline. Hawaii is the highest at $4.40.
“The recent, rising gas price bubble has burst, as prices are starting to trickle down following a series of jumps at the pump that lasted for weeks,” said Robert Brown, AAA Northern California public affairs director. “This drop in prices is helped by a now completed switchover to summer-blend gasoline and the completion of refinery maintenance, which helped to push up prices.”
Northern California gas prices are now averaging $4.11, a change of 16 cents in price from last month’s report. In the San Francisco Bay Area, motorists can expect to pay an average price of $4.23, which is up 20 cents from last month.
Today’s national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.70. This price is four cents more expensive than one week ago, 12 cents more than one month ago and 10 cents more than the average price one year ago.
The recent spike in pump prices was a product of refinery maintenance and concerns, rather than more expensive crude oil.
These refinery issues pressured both wholesale and futures prices higher for gasoline, while crude oil prices only increased slightly during the same period.
The recent decline in the national average is partially due to cheaper crude oil but is more closely linked to sharply lower wholesale gasoline prices.
At the close of formal trading on the NYMEX yesterday, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices settled up 11 cents at $92.06 per barrel.
For comparison, on the nearest trading day in 2011 and 2012, WTI settled at $101.16 and $106.34, respectively.
These more expensive prices in recent years were driven by violence and geopolitical tensions overseas (Libya in 2011 and Iran in 2012).
Without similar concerns to begin 2013, crude oil prices have been less expensive and less volatile.
The least expensive average price in Northern California can be found in Modesto, Marysville, and Tracy where regular unleaded gasoline is $3.98 per gallon.
Of all the metro areas in Northern California, where gas prices are tracked by AAA, Eureka has the highest average price at $4.36.
The highest average price of gas, in the nation’s metro areas that AAA tracks, is in Wailuki, Hawaii. The price there is $4.57 per gallon.
The lowest is in Casper, Wyoming, where the price is $3.16 per gallon.
To get the best mileage possible, AAA recommends keeping tires at the proper pressure suggested by the vehicle manufacturer, performing routine maintenance and making sure fluids are clean and belts and hoses are in good repair. The way you drive can also impact fuel economy. Smooth driving to avoid sudden stops and starts, combining trips and lightening your load also helps conserve gasoline.
AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report is the most comprehensive retail gasoline survey available, with over 100,000 self-serve stations surveyed every day, nationwide. Data is provided in cooperation with OPIS Energy Group and Wright Express LLC.
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Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL) and Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA), both of the Ways & Means Committee, on Tuesday praised the inclusion of the Small Business Accounting and Tax Simplification Act in the House Ways and Means small business tax reform discussion draft.
The Schock-Thompson legislation, H.R. 947, would allow small businesses with up to $10 million in gross receipts to be eligible for a more simplified accounting and tax filing method with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Under current law, most businesses are required to use accrual accounting when filing their taxes with the IRS.
For many small businesses, the alternative cash-basis method offers more flexibility in tax planning, since cash accounting is a simplified method that more accurately reflects the way a business collects income and claims expenses for business purposes.
“With a bloated tax code, which stands at over 70,000 pages, small businesses are put at a disadvantage when it comes to dealing with the IRS,” said Schock. “By expanding the eligibility for small businesses to use cash accounting, we will provide them with a vital tool to save time and money, and allow these entrepreneurs to focus more on growing their business than complying with complex IRS regulations.”
“No matter which side of the aisle you’re on, we should all be able to agree that simplifying taxes for small businesses is good policy,” said Thompson. “That’s what our bill is about. It will save small businesses time, paperwork and headaches during tax season by expanding cash accounting, allowing them to focus their efforts on what they do best – growing their business – not on complicated accounting practices.”
“One key provision included in today’s discussion draft is based on a provision championed by Congressmen Schock and Thompson that is aimed at simplifying and expanding the use of cash accounting for small businesses. Allowing businesses with $10 million or less in gross receipts to use cash accounting can simplify their tax compliance efforts so that they can use their time, energy and resources in a more effective way – toward growing their business. Aaron and Mike’s commonsense proposal will ease the burden that too many face as they struggle with today’s broken tax code and is a step toward the fairness and simplicity that small businesses need and want,” said Chairman Camp.
According to the National Federation of Independent Business small businesses spend annually between 1.7 billion and 1.8 billion hours on tax compliance and $18 billion to $19 billion on compliance costs.
The result is that 88 percent of small business owners hire a paid tax preparer to complete their returns.
“This expansion of the availability of cash accounting for tax purposes will help simplify tax filing and reduce the paperwork burden for many small businesses,” said Dan Danner, president and CEO of the National Federation of Independent Business. “NFIB and its members would like to thank Congressmen Schock and Thompson for this common-sense approach to helping job creators operate as efficiently as possible during this time of economic recovery. It will certainly help make it easier for many small businesses to grow and create jobs.”
As part of the Ways and Means committee’s broader effort on comprehensive tax reform, Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) on Tuesday released the small business tax reform discussion draft. Reforming the tax code for small business will be a significant part of any tax reform package.
Eight out of 10 businesses file their taxes as individuals, not as corporations and the pass-through model of small businesses (Sole proprietorships, S-corps, LLCs and Partnerships) has tripled from 10.9 to 30 million over the past 30 years. These pass-through businesses should be afforded flexible tax and accounting rules that reflect their needs for current cash flow to finance operations.
“One key provision included in today’s discussion draft is based on a provision championed by Congressmen Schock and Thompson that is aimed at simplifying and expanding the use of cash accounting for small businesses. Allowing businesses with $10 million or less in gross receipts to use cash accounting can simplify their tax compliance efforts so that they can use their time, energy and resources in a more effective way – toward growing their business. Aaron and Mike’s commonsense proposal will ease the burden that too many face as they struggle with today’s broken tax code and is a step toward the fairness and simplicity that small businesses need and want,” said Chairman Dave Camp.
“Employers who pay their business taxes as individuals account for 54 percent of all private sector employment in the U.S. Our country’s ability to put people back to work is proportional to how we treat small businesses under the tax code and how we provide employers with the flexibility they need to focus on building a business’s versus dealing with a burdensome tax system. This discussion draft will allow the committee to continue its work toward creating a fairer tax system that doesn’t penalize success and will help grow our economy at the same time,” added Schock.
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KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – While chilly temperatures are a reminder that summer is still a few months away, a new wine-oriented promotion invites adults to experience “Summertime in a Glass.”
The Lake County Winegrape Commission is working closely with Bryan Dias, a marketing consultant with Dias Associates Consulting, to launch the marketing campaign focusing on the Sauvignon Blanc varietal.
Dias obtained a Specialty Crop Block Grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture to help fund activities of a newly formed advocacy organization entitled “Summertime in a Glass.”
The group was founded with the idea of a campaign to raise awareness for California’s Sauvignon Blanc winegrapes, he said.
“Increased competition from foreign producers, such as Chile and New Zealand, coupled with a competitive price point from these areas, has caused strain on California Sauvignon Blanc,” Dias wrote in the grant proposal. “It’s a misunderstood varietal by consumers, often perceived as a ‘food-only’ wine and not a ‘porch’ or ‘cocktail’ wine. Similarly, outside of a few local regions, it is not seen as popular or economically competitive or desirable by wineries. This project seeks to address these issues through education and awareness for California Sauvignon Blanc.”
Lake County has served as a pilot region for the “Summertime in a Glass” campaign, and the Winegrape Commission is committing in-kind support to the promotional effort.
“We are excited to be involved in this project,” said Lake County Winegrape Commission President Debra Sommerfield. “It promises to be beneficial to our Sauvignon Blanc winegrape growers as well as the wine industry as a whole. We are optimistic about the economic benefits to our region and to other California winegrape regions.”
Dias stated, “Though much of our initial focus will be centered on California and Lake County, in particular, it is hoped that the organization and campaign will grow to encompass, support and appeal to a broader world of Sauvignon Blanc.”
“Summertime in a Glass” appeals to both the industry and consumer sides of the product, he said. “We are looking to rebrand the varietal, to get it out there with events, social media, the Internet.”
The three- to five-year plan will use cost-effective marketing, education and outreach programs including electronic media, targeted events and a media campaign, Dias said.
“We will seek to educate consumers about the wine through interesting and useful content, such as wine reviews, food pairing tips and wine enthusiast tailored information about the varietal and its diversity,” Dias wrote in the grant application. “For the wine industry, we will educate wineries on promoting the varietal, differences in style and approach in winemaking and market/industry trends that can be used in business development, planning and strategy. We will also, eventually, seek to raise awareness in non-California wineries about the varietal in order to promote out-of-state sales of Sauvignon Blanc.”
To implement the plan, an advisory board will be formed.
Since Lake County is a primary partner in the project, potential board members are sought from the area, said Dias.
“We want to work with people who share the vision,” he said.
In addition, Dias seeks an intern to assist with the campaign’s promotional activities. A job description is available via the “Summertime in a Glass” Web site.
For more information about the campaign, visit the Web site, www.SummertimeInAGlass.org .
For additional information about the Lake County Winegrape Commission, visit the agency’s Web site at www.lakecountywinegrape.org or call the commission office, 707-279-2633.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Local branch offices of Fidelity National Title are reimagining how they can impact the local energy-grid in a positive manner.
Encouraging employees to rethink energy-wasting habits is a simple path to a healthier bottom-line and a cleaner environment.
Add some spirited competition amongst local offices and you’re left with the ability to positively impact your company, employees and local energy-grid.
Fidelity National Title partnered with GreenTraks to implement the Kill-a-Watt Quest, an energy reduction competition.
For three months, eight branch offices of Fidelity National Title in Napa, Sonoma and Lake counties competed against each other to see who could reduce their energy usage the most by implementing just simple employee behavior changes.
The offices were encouraged to have fun with the competition by creating team names, making theme days (e.g. Tight-Watt Tuesday), wearing “green” attire, and taunting each other to get the competitive juices flowing.
The winning branch office reduced its energy consumption by an impressive 24 percent over the three-month period, just by paying attention to daily habits.
As an added benefit, employees were able to take their new energy-saving habits home to help reduce their own family’s utility bills.
To insure the competition was fair and accurate, GreenTraks monitored and measured the branches energy data using analytics that made sure reductions were real and not due to weather or other anomalies.
“We are proud of our Fidelity Green Branch certification, which recognizes Fidelity operations making a difference for the environment, but we wanted to do something even bigger, to show other local businesses that they can make a difference too. Imagine if every local business engaged in a Kill-a-Watt Quest type campaign; collectively we could reduce a lot of demand from our local power-grid,” said John Hilvka, county manager for Fidelity National Title Company.
“We provided the education and data management, but the Fidelity employees really brought their “A” game and gave it their all. We have never seen results quite this high before and we were really proud to work with such a great organization as Fidelity National Title,” said Russell Marsan, National Sales Manager for GreenTraks.
With some healthy competition, offices like those of Fidelity National Title can make a significant positive impact on their local energy grid.
To find out more about this program and how energy management helps reduce energy usage and costs, please contact GreenTraks at