The ARCO station near the Soco coffeehouse in Santa Rosa was charging $3.26 for a gallon of super-premium gas on Monday night, as local media outlets revved up the ol’ engines on a tried-and-true story: “Residents Reflect Cheerily on Lower Gas Prices, and Hope They Go Even Lower.”
That was the gist of one happy-pants story Debriefer read in the Marin Independent Journal this week, the newspaper of record in a hyper-progressive county.
Wait a minute. Aren’t those people supposed to be supportive of higher gas prices as a way to get us out of cars and looking for non–fossil fuel solutions? What’s with you, Marin?
Which is to say: Why can’t the rest of Marin be more like Bolinas? That’s of course the West Marin poster-child town for utopic engagement with the petro-devil. The hippie freaks of Bolinas subsidize a whole commune’s worth of low-income downtown housing with sales from BoGas, where a gallon is still over $5, despite steep declines elsewhere.
Our friends at AAA report that the national average for a gallon of premium is now $3.34, down 30 cents from a month ago. In California, a gallon of high-test dropped from $3.88 to $3.50 over that same time. If you pay cash, the Santa Rosa Arco will sell you a gallon of regular for less than $3.
Here’s a thought for Marin County officials: Take a page from Bolinas, buy up all the gas stations in the county, jack the prices sky-high, and build some affordable housing with the proceeds as you nervously chuckle at the death threats. Otherwise, stop complaining that people are
living in their cars in Mill Valley.