evidence: Here we go again, the roller coaster of gas prices. And it’s not just in California. Since January, the national average price has increased 57 cents to $3.66 per gallon, almost a 20 percent increase. [...] California Gov. Gavin Newsom passed a first-in-the-nation law to increase transparency through extensive monitoring of oil refiners for excessive profit-making, and authorizing price caps as well as penalties for price gouging. California has the nation’s highest average gas prices at $5.41 per gallon, almost $2 higher than the national average. It requires a cleaner, more expensive fuel blend that only certain refineries can deliver, sometimes leading to production shortages. Californians value having cleaner air, but they pay a premium price for it. And so it goes. My conclusion? Gas prices come and go like the weather. Fortunately current prices are below last summer's prices, and well below the record high in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drove the national average to over $5 per gallon. So that’s progress.