Gas gets a little cheaper

Deepa Bharath

It turns out gas prices can actually go below $2.

Area residents were ecstatic Friday as the price per gallon for

regular unleaded gasoline fell a few cents below the $2 mark -- at

least in Costa Mesa.

The average price per gallon in the rest of Orange County for

Friday was about $2.08, said Carol Thorp, spokeswoman for the

Automobile Club of Southern California.

“On Thursday, the average in Orange County was $2.10 and a year

ago, it was $1.64,” she said.

Prices hit $2 in early March and, much to public dismay, continued

a steep climb that lasted through last week. Many areas hit $2.20 or

higher.

Thorp said she expects the prices to dip farther.

“We don’t know how much it’ll go down by,” she said. “But it does

look like it will go down.”

Thorp said there were several reasons for skyrocketing gas prices

over the last few months, including the war with Iraq, labor unrest

in Nigeria and Venezuela and several refineries closing down.

“It was not just the war,” she said. “It was caused by a

combination of things happening around the world.”

Residents said they are optimistic about the price decline.

Roseanne Alviso of Costa Mesa said she was happy with Friday’s

prices.

“I have to be. I drive a V8, and it guzzles a lot of gas,” she

said. “But I hope it goes down more. It probably will, but then it

may go back up in the summer when people start traveling.”

Alviso said that, like many California residents, she does not

understand why drivers in the Golden State must pay more for gas.

“We drive more than people in any other state,” she said. “It

should be cheaper here. Doesn’t make much sense.”

Costa Mesa resident Hans Weyer said he has struggled with the

recent high prices as others have.

“It’s hard especially when you have a fixed income,” he said. “I’m

hoping the drop in prices will continue once they establish peace in

Iraq.”