Wow, in just a matter of weeks I've watched several new drilling rigs and pumps springing up at the intersection to Hwy 119, Taft to Bakersfield. The high demand for oil and the high prices per barrel ($138) is creating a flurry of activity all over Kern County. I expect to wake up any morning now to an oil drill greedily digging outside my bedroom window!

Prices today average $4.20/gal in Taft, and $4.30 in Bakersfield. I hear and read arguments of how spoiled we are as a nation, having had some of the lowest per gallon prices for years, and what we spend on gas is a small % of our discretionary budget, but the sticker shock seemed to happen almost overnite, leaving us to rethink our personal budgets in a hurry.

"Republicans in Congress are now demanding that President Bush investigate whether the oil companies are engaged in price gouging. Putting the White House in charge of investigating oil companies. That's like putting Dick Cheney in charge of gun safety." --Jay Leno