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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (115754)	9/11/2008 2:22:35 PM
From: GuinnessGuy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Mike, Time to run out and get that UPS? They've gotten fairly reasonably priced. craig

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (115754)	9/11/2008 7:42:29 PM
From: re3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

take good care, Mike...

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (115754)	9/11/2008 9:30:07 PM
From: Pogeu Mahone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Mike Be Well to you and mom. ========= Some gas stations in the Houston area are running out of fuel amid a spike of up to 40 percent in fill-ups as Hurricane Ike bears down on the Texas Gulf Coast. The spectacle of lines at gas stations — and nozzles at empty pumps covered with plastic bags — conjured memories of when Houston was drained dry amid the frenzied evacuation ahead of Hurricane Rita three years ago. Tanker trucks are filling up at gasoline terminals, but the surge in demand has caused a bottleneck that means it's taking longer than normal to restock gas stations, said Chris Newton, president of the Texas Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association. "We have gotten reports of spot outages, and everyone is doing their best to remedy those situations," Newton said. Glenda Tanner of Houston saw it firsthand. She saw only plastic bags covering nozzles at the pumps of a Chevron station at Echo Lane and the Katy Freeway in her second futile attempt to fill the tank of her Hummer H3. "It's not my day today, but I'll be OK," said Tanner, who noted her daughter in Spring told her gas was plentiful there, so she aimed to head north. Sun Coast Resources, one of the nation's largest fuel distributors, was working "triple time" today to ensure gas stations in the region were adequately supplied with gasoline and diesel fuel, said operations manager Bill Tilger. He reported no supply problems at stations served by the Houston-based company, though sales volumes are up. He said that in previous storms many Houston-area drivers waited until the last minute to fuel up vehicles, but that the response seems more measured this time. Link Smith, co-owner of Dickinson-based fuel distributor Bay Oil, which supplies about 140 stations in the Houston area, said the volume of gasoline purchased in the Houston area spiked by 30 percent to 40 percent ahead of Ike's arrival. At a Bay Oil-owned station in La Marque, customers bought 8,000 gallons of regular unleaded between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. today. Smith said that quantity typically lasts two days. He said some stations are out of fuel, but most stores in areas near the coast and in metro Houston remain supplied with premium gasoline if not regular. "So far, this is going a lot smoother than Rita," Smith said. But he said keeping stations supplied with fuel grew more difficult today. Smith said lines at fuel racks, where trucks obtain fuel for delivery to stations, were adding as much as two hours to turnaround times. And trucks returning from Galveston and other areas south of Houston faced heavy traffic, also slowing deliveries. "Normally, we can make four loads on one shift," Smith said. "Now, we're doing about two." Newton, of the marketers' association, said the bottleneck has caused delays up to four hours or more for tanker trucks to fill up at gasoline terminals. "It's taking longer to get the tanker trucks into the terminal and out of the terminal to retail stations," he said. He added that as refiners and terminals shut down before the storm reaches the Gulf Coast, other gasoline terminals in the state are ready to stock tanker trucks to bring fuel to the Houston area. Gasoline prices, which have moderated in the last few weeks, are now "going absolutely ballistic" as Ike heads for the largest refinery cluster anywhere, said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service in Wall, N.J. Prices of spot or wholesale gasoline — what refiners charge retailers — ranges anywhere from $4.25 to $5 a gallon along the Gulf Coast. Some other markets also are up sharply, Kloza said. That's up from about $3.30 a gallon on Wednesday, before forecasts had Ike making landfall near Freeport and threatening refinery-rich Southeast Texas with hurricane force winds. Smith said gas stations in the region saw their cost jump overnight by as much as 18 cents per gallon, yet retail prices probably will not be affected. "Retailers know they can't raise prices during a storm," he said. Kloza said such hikes in spot prices would normally translate to a retail price of $5 a gallon. But he said he doubts pump prices will leap that high immediately. Rather, some retailers may shut down after running out rather than immediately raise pump prices. "It's tough to raise prices by 25 or 50 cents a gallon or so, and it's tough to buy product if refiners raise prices, since distributors and retailers have credit limits that are based on much cheaper costs," Kloza said. L.M. Sixel contributed to this story.

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (115754)	9/13/2008 2:52:46 PM
From: LowtherAcademy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Hi Mike, Well, IKE has come and gone. Seeing some initial pics out of HOUSTON re storm and glass damage. Hope you and your Mon fared well and suffered no great pain or losses. Best wishes, Lew