More Pain At the Pump: Maryland Gas Prices Jumped 16 Cents This Week

Gas prices across the state and the country are continuing their climb towards the $4 mark.

Gas prices across the state and country continue to climb, with the average price for a gallon of gas in Maryland rising 16 cents this week, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic. In Maryland, the average price for a gallon of gas was $3.78 Friday, rising from $3.62 a week ago and $3.38 a month ago, according to AAA. Maryland’s gas prices were on par with the national average of $3.78 a gallon, up 14 cents from a week ago. Prices were higher in Maryland's Washington, DC suburbs, with an average tank running $3.84, up from $3.65 a week ago. Gas prices have climbed for the past 36 days, according to AAA, with a run-up in gas prices beginning earlier this year compared to other years. “State and local gas prices continue to rise from coast to coast …

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Gas Prices Decline in Time for Independence Day

Your trip to the beach for the Fourth may not cost as much in gas as you expect.

As you prepare to take your summer vacation or Fourth of July trip, you’re probably bracing yourself for how much your drive to the beach will cost. The good news is it may not be as much as you expect -- or at least not as much as it used to be.  According to AAA’s daily fuel gauge report, the average national cost of gas was about $3.53 per gallon, the Maryland state average was $3.32 and the average for the D.C. suburbs was $3.35 as of early this morning.  These costs have been steadily declining since the nation experienced a peak average price in April at $3.94 per gallon, AAA Mid-Atlantic says. In addition, the national average has decreased by $0.19 per gallon, the Maryland state average has decreased by $0.26 per gallon and the …

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Maryland Gas Average Hits $4

It’s even higher than that East Montgomery County.

New data shows that the average price of gas in Maryland, as of Wednesday night, has hit $4 a gallon--three days before Easter, typically a high travel holiday. In the 20904 zip code, regular gas averages $4.045 per gallon. In Burtonsville, regular gas is about $4.054, both according to AAA.  Officials at AAA Mid-Atlantic said they don’t anticipate travel to lag during the holiday despite the high gas prices, as data has shown drivers have been hitting the road more than a year ago due to nice weather. “For the short term, consumers can still expect more incremental increases in the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel until summer fully arrives,” said Ragina C. Averella, a AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesperson. She said the pattern would likely …

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Gas Prices (and Contentious Debates) on the Rise

Americans pay an average of $3.831 for a gallon of regular gas. In East County, the average is more like $3.920.

Prices at the pump are once again the water cooler topic du jour. Here in East Montgomery County, motorists are paying just shy of $4 per gallon, almost 50 cents more than last year’s average, according to AAA.  The reason, also according to AAA, is a little bit complicated. Signs that the American and global economies were on the mend made oil prices rise last week, the company explains in a briefing on its website. There are also less people demanding oil in the world’s second largest oil consuming nation, China. Foreign economic depression makes our money more valuable and, since oil futures are priced in American dollars, the price of oil rises. Today, Americans will pay an average of $3.831 for a gallon of regular gas. That’s a whole …

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O’Malley Wants 6 Percent Sales Tax Added to Gasoline

The governor's plan would raise gas prices in Maryland about 7 cents per year for the next three years.

5 Things You Need to Know Today: Aug. 1

Top of the month to you, Silver Spring! Here are five things you need to know on this first day of August.

Good Morning! What five things do you need to know to stay up-to-date about what’s going on in the community? Patch has you covered this Monday: 1. Expect a high temperature of 96 degrees throughout your day, according to the National Weather Service. During the afternoon and into evening there may be scattered rain and thunderstorms mainly before 8 p.m.  2. Need to brush up on your computer skills? The Mac Recycle Clinic based out of the Marvin Memorial United Methodist Church is offering an evening computer class to residents from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The class will help answer any Mac and/or Apple II/III related questions and help individuals and families maintain their computer(s) that are no longer supported by the manufacturer. Donations…

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Maryland Travelers on Memorial Day: Cheaper Gas, 90-Degree Days, 'Off They Go'

Marylanders to hit the road this holiday weekend.

Here’s a first: Gas prices are falling in Maryland as Memorial Day Weekend approaches.  “In all of my years with AAA, this is the first time we’ve had a Memorial Day where they’re dropping drastically,” said Lon Anderson, director of public and government relations at AAA Mid-Atlantic. He’s been with AAA for 17 years. Of course, gas prices in the area have risen more than a dollar per gallon in the past six months, according to AAA. But in the past seven days, they’ve dropped about 11 cents per gallon. In Colesville, regular gas averaged $3.94 on May 24, according to AAA. This time last year, regular gas was $2.81. “In all my years,” Anderson said, “always, gas prices have peaked on Memorial Day or they were on their way up and peaked in …

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Frugal Family: Where to Find the Cheapest Gas

Each week, Frugal Family will bring you deals on things you can use.

Unless you’re lucky enough to walk to work (and to school, and to the grocery store and everywhere else), you’ve probably noticed the increase in gas prices. They’re not your imagination. Crude oil is trading at over $100 a barrel, the first time it’s done that since 2008, when hurricanes along the Gulf Coast hit gas pipelines that supplied the product to the East Coast, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration. Now, the EIA reports that the average retail price per gallon was $3.38 on Feb. 28, the most recent data available. That’s nearly a quarter more per gallon than the national average just two weeks prior, when we were paying about $3.14 per gallon on Feb. 14. While we can’t control gas prices, we can…

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