For a long time - Beaufort County residents have been paying an excessive amout for gas and diesel. Compared to just about any other location in SC - prices here have been in excess of 20 cents more per gallon. What is happening now is an outright criminal act.

Head south to Florida. Prices there for the same unleaded are at $4 for premium. Diesel can be had for $4.05. And Florida has at least a 20 cent higher state tax then SC and to add to that, many communities in Florida charge and extra 5 cents local tax.

Can we expect anything out of the governor? Don't hold your breath. Sanford has proven in the past to be the gouging suspects best buddy. He has never ever acted and there is no reason for him to now. He'll talk big, but nothing will be done.

Why? Because Sanford is a far left environmentalist that actually wants gas prices as high as possible. His motivation - he doesn't want people driving.

In the end, Mark Sanford has writtern in the Washington Post that he absolutrely agrees with Al Gore on man-made global warming and you and I are the cause with our cars. This concept has been so discredited that it is amazing that anyone ecept the farthest left wing no growther is left to cling to its discredited theories.

Sanford is proving that all the way to his last days in office - he is no friend to Beaufort. Expect the gouging done by his friends to continue and Sanford to do zero.

How can you justify oil prices going DOWN and gas prices going UP? Supply and Demand? How about GREED? Don't forget to check your tire pressure,

The Enmark on Boundary is not my favorite. Their prices are much higher than most other stations right now. Also, it has been a couple years, but twice in a row I got gas there and then my car had problems starting. Went back to Shell and no problems after that. Is/was Enmark watering their gas?

Hey I see everyone complianing here and I agree with the price gouging issuse but lets all flood the attorny generals office with our emails concerning this MAYBE you voice will be heard but don't let your voice DIE here thank you

So, for all of you incensed about the gouging in town, next time, instead of paying for your gas at the pump go inside find out who the owner is at stations who really overreacted. Then promise that person that will never shop at thier establishment again.

Then, you need to KEEP that promise no matter how convenient or how cheap they make their gas to get customers back.

If you do that, and if the station owners hear it, and it gets around town, and then these places go belly up, next time, owners will think twice about doing it since it means certain business death.

Laws do not work.

Regulations do not work.

Litigation does not work.

Gazette articles will not work.

The ONLY thing that will work is the marketplace. Thats it. If an owner knows for certain that jacking up a price and gouging may mean short term profit and long term disaster.

But if you go back there and buy gas and sundries because he is two cents a gallon cheaper than the guy down the street, you lose in the long run. The only way to get rid of poor business practices is to not do business with people like that.

Gasoline has NO value if no one is willing to buy it. You can't eat it, you can't heat with it and you can't cook with it or build a house with it.

You know that is a good idea BUT most of the gas stations in beaufort are not owned localy enmark I know is ran out of GA it post that on the credit card reciept... BUT me personally I would like to let the attorny general prosocute there thieving hides and then watch the pay fines out the rear just posting the names won't do a thing just email the PROPER people and watch ation get done (I HOPE) LOL

People can boycott a station, have "no gas" days where they don't buy fuel, have "gas tax holidays" gas tax complain about gouging and cry "drill here, drill now" but the price of oil will not go down long term. It's determined by what the local and global markets will bear.

Based on what a station manager told me, the local price fluctuations are determined by the "big dog in the neighborhood". When the big company stations raise the prices, the little guys follow.

I believe additional exploration is a good thing, as long as we move to reduce our dependence on petroleum products wherever possible through increased efficiency, alternative energy and usage reduction.

The issue I have with present calls for drilling is that there will be nothing in the proposal to stop US oil from being sold overseas on the world market. If we want to decrease usage of foreign oil by use of US resources, "What's produced in the US stays in the US" and not sold to China, Korea and others on the world market.

In the past five years, however, U.S. crude exports have increased 2.6 times. Although the amount is small relative to total US consumption, the trend is a telling sign that oil companies will sell our oil out from under us once they are producing from offshore and ANWAR reserves. See U.S. Department of energy figures at http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_wkly_dc_nus-z00_mbblpd_w.htm

You'll also note in the DOE figures that despite our increasing dependence, the export of petroleum products has increased 1.53 times in five years to approximately 1,474,000 barrels/day. Petroleum products is defined there as including heating oils; gasoline, diesel and jet fuels; lubricants; asphalt; ethane, propane, and butane; and many other products used for their energy or chemical content.

Of course there are those who believe that the oil folks are only making a profit of 5 cents a gallon, and who trust them to not take our Gulf, California, North Slope and ANWAR oil and ship it overseas. I'm not one of those.

Day before Ike, ENMARK on Parris Island Gateway had unleaded regular for $3.55. The net day ENMARK on Boundary was charging $4.68 for the same. I, for one, am BOYCOTTING ALL ENMARKS. And I DID send my observations to Atty General.