County Gas Prices 39 Cents Higher Than a Year Ago

Gas Prices

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in San Diego County rose six-tenths of a cent Sunday to $3.738, its highest amount since Nov. 23.

The average price is 1.4 cents more than one week ago, 20.6 cents higher than one month ago and 39 cents greater than a year ago, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.

The average price had not changed by more than three-tenths of a cent for 11 consecutive days before today. Gasoline prices typically either stabilize or decline in January because of lower demand than during other parts of the year, according to Jeffrey Spring of the Automobile Club of Southern California.

Katrina Relief

The 37th group of volunteers from International Relief Teams to help repair damage from Hurricane Katrina is scheduled to depart San Diego for Mississippi Sunday.

This will be the second-to-last team to head to the Gulf Coast, six years after the storm system inflicted massive damage on Louisiana and Mississippi. The last group is scheduled to go in two months.

According to IRT, 559 volunteers have repaired 210 homes since March 2006.

"Six years on there are still displaced families," said Barry La Forgia, the IRT executive director. "Many are poor and elderly living on low and fixed incomes. They cannot afford to repair or rebuild their homes without help."

The 16-person team of carpenters, handymen and drywall specialists who are leaving today will work in Pascagoula, Ocean Springs, Moss Point and Gautier, on the east side of the state.

More than 20,000 homes in Mississippi were destroyed or heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Fatal Accident

A fatal accident involving a motorcycle and three other vehicles on Camino Del Rey east of Oceanside has occurred, the California Highway Patrol reported.

According to the CHP, the motorcyclist was weaving in and out of vehicles on Camino Del Rey just west of Old Highway 395 when the crash occurred at 5:38 p.m. Saturday.

It's not yet clear who was killed in the crash, and CHP dispatchers said there was no available information regarding the deceased.

Camino Del Rey was shut down for several hours for clean-up and the death investigation.

There's no word yet regarding any other injuries.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the CHP.

-City News Service