I have no idea what the three stations down the block are selling gas for, but I bet when I see them tomorrow, they'll be at or near $3.99, too.This morning, I drove past them on the way to work and they were all at $3.99. I'd have won the bet.
I wish I'd bet that WXYZ would have covered the story today, too. They usually take a couple of days to catch up with WOOD-TV on gas prices, so that would have been something to expect. That's exactly what happened, beginning with Gas Prices On The Rise In Metro Detroit from the morning newscast.
Nima Shaffe live shot from 5:30am on June 3rd.
This segment didn't explain why gas prices are so high, just reported the high prices and added in "man-on-the-street" reactions. The evening newcast's segment, Sky high gas prices in Michigan, did a much better job of analysis, both of the causes and the effects.
Gas prices have blown past $4.00 a gallon in Michigan
The reasons are exactly what Patrick DeHaan of GasBuddy.com described a couple of days ago to WOOD-TV--refinery issues. What WXYZ added to WOOD-TV's report was the perspective that Michigan has the highest gas prices of any state on the U.S. mainland; only Hawaii has higher prices.
The report also pointed out the economic effects of higher gas prices; they suck down money that could be spent on other things. On top of that, high gas prices really put a crimp in people's way of life. That's exactly the point I make to my students at the end of every semester. Once again, reality provides another teachable moment.
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