Officials still investigate gas price gouging

State officials are investigating over 1,500 complaints of gas price gouging. From that, officials have so far subpoenaed sales records of more than 150 gas stations.

Bill Cloud with the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs, says the range of prices has been all over the map:

"We did have some people that were above $6.00 a gallon, but then there were other people that were above the $4.50--$5.00 range".

Governor Sonny Perdue activated the state’s anti-gouging law September 12th soon after Hurricane Ike hit the Gulf Coast. But Cloud says complaint calls have still come in at a rate of about 25 a day.

He says it may be awhile before customers can get some money back.

"The stations have 30 days to respond to us. We have to review the responses, then we have to get them in here to negotiate a settlement. Certainly the first settlement we always try to negotiate is for restitution to the customers".

According to the AAA fuel gauge report, Georgia’s current average for a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.72. That’s 25 cents higher than the national average.

State officials investigate gas price gouging

State officials are beginning to investigate complaints of price gouging at numerous gas stations across Georgia. This comes in the wake of Hurricane Ike’s trek through the Gulf and Texas over the weekend.

Through late this morning, the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs says they had received 80 complaints of unreasonable spikes in prices since 7pm Friday. The calls have come in from all parts of the state, and about different companies’ stations.

Early Friday night, the Governor issued an executive order against price gouging. Its aim is to make sure the prices people are paying are in-line with what retailers pay. Over the weekend some drivers around the state saw spikes of over $5.00 a gallon at certain stations, along with some stations running out of gas.

According to the AAA fuel gauge report this morning , the average price in Georgia for a gallon of regular unleaded was $4.16--a rise of 16-cents from Sunday.

The brunt of Hurricane Ike missed the biggest concentration of oil and gas refineries in the Gulf, with damage not as severe as feared. Experts predict gas prices to stabilize this week.

Gas prices surge in Georgia

Gas prices in Georgia surged over the weekend, and again overnight as a direct effect of Hurricane Ike’s path through the Gulf into Texas. The statewide average for a gallon of regular unleaded this morning is $4.16--that stands above the national average of $3.84 a gallon. For a time late Friday, prices surged above $5.00 a gallon in some parts of Georgia before falling back in the $4.00 range.

On Friday, Governor Sonny Perdue activated the state’s price-gouging statute to protect Georgia consumers from unlawful and out-of-line price jumps.

A check of AAA South and its gas price report this morning shows Atlanta’s average is among the lowest around Georgia--$4.11 a gallon. Augusta is at the high end of the scale at $4.39 for a gallon of regular unleaded.

McCain call buoys Chambliss rally

Republican presidential nominee John McCain surprised rank & file Georgia Republicans calling into a re-election rally for U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss on Saturday.

McCain said he expected the election to be a hard-fought close contest. But he said he and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, "relish the underdog status."

He thanked the Georgia Republicans shouting his name for their enthusiasm, saying it inspired him.

McCain also said his thoughts and prayers are with victims of Hurricane Ike in Texas and encouraged donations to the relief efforts. The call lasted six minutes.

McCain's call came after Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue joked that Democrat Barack Obama was hurting the state's economy by moving paid staff from the state.

(The Associated Press)

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Keys residents weigh evacuation, Gulf Coast next?

NOAA satellite photo of Hurricane Ike, Sunday afternoon. Click on the image for the latest National Weather Service reports.

With powerful Hurricane Ike still hundreds of miles away and on an uncertain course, residents on these low-lying islands weighed evacuation orders Sunday, perhaps a hint that Gulf Coast residents as far away as Texas and New Orleans may not heed similar calls to leave.

Sunday's forecast had Ike crossing Cuba and headed into the Gulf of Mexico later this week. The Florida Keys were in an uncertain position, and Gulf Coast states even more so. In Texas and Louisiana, where people were just returning from the mass evacuation for a weaker-than-expected Gustav, officials already acknowledged that it may be difficult to get people mobilized again.

In Key West, many residents have their own formula for determining whether to leave. Even though evacuation orders became mandatory Sunday, traffic out of Key West was busy but not jammed.

Mike Tilson, 24, was in wait-and-see mode Sunday, stocking up his Key West houseboat with supplies.

"I got tarps and champagne," he said as he pushed a wheelbarrow of supplies including Heineken beer, ice and a loaf of bread down the dock.

He said if the storm tracks north of Cuba, he'd evacuate. Otherwise, he won't leave even if Key West is expecting a Category 3 (winds of 111-130 mph). "It's just a good party. I'll stay."

At 2 p.m. EDT Sunday, Ike was a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 135 mph, moving west at 13 mph. Hurricane force winds stretched 60 miles from the center. It was forecast to track over Cuba, re-emerging over the island's western coast Tuesday morning about 100 miles south of Key West as a Category 1.

Though forecasts suggested the storm was headed into the Gulf, historically, most major storms passing by Ike's position had curved northward. If it gets into the Gulf, it could head anywhere from Texas to the Florida Panhandle, and it likely would strengthen again.

President Bush declared a state of emergency for Florida because of Ike on Sunday and ordered federal money to supplement state and local response efforts.

More than 60 residents and nearly 90 people from a homeless shelter had arrived at a shelter at Florida International University in Miami by afternoon, but many others said they wanted to see what the storm does over Cuba and possibly reassess on Monday.

Key West Mayor Morgan McPherson had a warning for people not wanting to evacuate the area. He said anyone who thinks staying through a major hurricane is "champagne time is someone who hasn't thought it through clearly." He said emergency vehicles would be pulled off the road if the area gets tropical storm force winds.

McPherson said 15,000 tourists had already evacuated the region, and the Key West airport was set to close at 7 p.m. Sunday. Passengers bound for Key West from the Miami International Airport were being asked to show identification proving they lived there and only residents were being allowed on Key Westbound flights.

Among those planning to stay in the United States' southernmost city were Claudia Pennington, 61, director of the Key West Art and Historical Society, who said she's staying to care for the group's three buildings and their contents. Don Guess, 50, was putting up plywood on a friend's house Sunday and said he was sticking around because the storm didn't worry him.

(The Associated Press)

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