County Gas Prices 36 Cents Higher Than a Year Ago

Average Price of Gasoline

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in San Diego County was unchanged Thursday at $3.724 .

The average price is 3.4 cents more than one week ago, 13.7 cents higher than one month ago and 36.7 cents greater than a year ago, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.

The average price has increased 19 of the past 20 days, including three- tenths of a cent on Wednesday.

Former San Diego Councilman Injured in Robbery

Police Thursday investigated a home-invasion robbery in University City in which a former San Diego city councilman was pistol-whipped after harmlessly firing a handgun at one of three assailants.

The robbery in the 5600 block of Sanburg Avenue was reported about 9:15 p.m. Wednesday, said San Diego police Lt. David Rohowits.

Neighbors identified the victim as former San Diego city councilman and current Metropolitan Transit System Board chairman Harry Mathis, KFMB reported. Police did not immediately confirm the victim's identity but said a 78-year-old man returned home and parked his vehicle inside his garage, then got out and was confronted by one of the three men.

The robber was armed with a handgun and demanded cash from the victim, who was carrying a concealed handgun and fired off two shots, Rohowits said in a statement. Neither shot struck the suspect.

The gunman wrestled control of the victim's handgun and used it to pistol-whip him in the head, then ordered him inside the house, Rohowits said. In the house, the victim's wife and a neighbor were being held by two masked men

The three suspects demanded cash from all three victims, then locked them in a bathroom and searched inside the house for money, Rohowits said.

How much they stole was not immediately clear.

"That will be determined after more thorough interviews are conducted with the victims," Rohowits said.

As the robbers fled, they set fire to the victim's car inside the garage. The fire was quickly put out, Rohowits said.

The victim was taken to a hospital for a head injury he suffered when he was pistol-whipped. His wife and neighbor were uninjured, Rohowits said.

Detailed descriptions of the suspects were not immediately released.

Anyone with information about the home invasion was urged to call SDPD's Robbery Unit at (619) 531-2299.

$1B Express Lanes Project Complete

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled Thursday for the final four miles of a project to create express lanes on Interstate 15 between state route 78 in Escondido and state Route 163 in San Diego.

The 20-mile project, which cost more than $1 billion, was funded in part by the TransNet half-cent sales tax and was completed on time and under budget, according to the San Diego Association of Governments.

The express lanes were built in three sections -- the middle through Rancho Penasquitos, Carmel Mountain Ranch and Rancho Bernardo was done first, the southern section near Mira Mesa and MCAS was second and the last part was in Escondido.

The lanes are for use by carpools, vanpools, buses, motorcycles, some clean-air vehicles, and solo drivers who pay a fee via FasTrak, according to SANDAG.