At the pump: Though the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas has shot up 8 cents over the past three weeks to $2.18, Baton Rouge reportedly has the lowest average price in the nation, at $1.82. Trilby Lundberg tells The Associated Press that the hike is partly due to crude oil prices edging up. The price at the pump has gone up 41 cents over the past nine weeks. Lundberg says that trend will likely continue as refiners make higher-cost summer blend gasoline in compliance with federal regulations. In the lower 48 states, the highest average price of regular gasoline was $2.79 per gallon in San Francisco. The U.S. average diesel price is $2.20 per gallon, up 3 cents from two weeks ago.
Paying up: Federal prosecutors say a Lafayette-based oil company has agreed to pay more than $700,000 in fines in connection with three crude oil spills in the Atchafalaya River basin. The Associated Press reports the U.S. Justice Department announced Friday it had entered a consent decree with ORB Exploration LLC. The company is accused of violating the Clean Water Act and other environmental laws when crude oil spilled from its facilities in Frog Lake and Crocodile Bayou. Prosecutors say the spills spewed more than 42,000 gallons of crude oil into the river basin. Officials say the biggest spill, in 2013, took more than 18 months to clean up. The agreement also requires ORB to take steps to prevent future spills.
The cost: It could soon get more expensive to be a Costco member. CNN Money reports a UBS analyst predicts the warehouse giant may be planning to increase the cost of becoming a member in 2017. Costco is a membership warehouse club, which requires consumers to pay an annual fee to shop in its stores. UBS analyst Michael Lasser suspects the the retailer will increase the annual fee for its basic Gold Star Membership to $60 from $55, and raise its Executive Membership price to $120 from $110. But the higher price tags aren’t set in stone. Costco opened a store near the intersection of Airline Highway and Interstate 12 in Baton Rouge in April 2014. Read the full story.
