Gas prices continue to tank across the nation
Prasher
Jones
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Gasoline prices rose at this Washington station last summer, and ended up hitting a national record $5 per gallon. They have dropped significantly since.
From left, Crystal Simmons, director of CDBG/HOME, Ginny Phillips, HOME program manager, and Natasha Balazick, program associate.
Gasoline, incredibly, continues to be a bigger and better bargain for consumers in these inflationary times.
The national average for a gallon of unleaded self-serve plummeted again in the past week to $3.26, a 14-cent decrease from the week before, according to Pittsburgh-based AAA East Central. That nationwide figure was 52 cents lower than it was around Thanksgiving, and six cents less than a year ago. More than 30 states now have a lower average price than in December 2021.
This precipitous descent has occurred over a mere six months, which followed a months-long increase that pumped the U.S. average to a record $5 per gallon.
AAA attributes this nosedive to Americans driving less and oil prices remaining lower. Citing data from the Energy Information Administration, the agency said gas demand remains low at 8.36 million barrels per day, about 605,000 barrels lower than a year ago, while domestic gasoline stocks “rose significantly by 5.3 million barrels to 219.1 million barrels.”
Price declines also continued across the Keystone State, which has one of the highest gas taxes in the U.S. The statewide average is $3.759.
Western Pennsylvania’s figure dropped 6.5 cents from the previous week to $3.867. That average is 30.9 cents higher than it was the week of Dec. 13, 2021 ($3.558).
AAA East Central lists average prices from 23 towns and cities across Western Pennsylvania. The greater Washington area had the fourth-lowest regional figure at $3.803. Uniontown ($3.895) had the seventh-highest average.
Regional prices ranged from $3.581 in Brookville to $3.947 in Latrobe.
Housing Repair Program
Greene County is getting a $750,000 grant to support affordable housing.
County commissioners recently announced the award, which was made through the Pennsylvania HOME Investment Partnerships Program. A total of $10.3 million will be disbursed to 16 counties.
“Pennsylvanians deserve safe, up-to-code and accessible spaces to call home,” Gov. Tom Wolf said in a statement. “The HOME funding approved will help provide access to these spaces to individuals across the commonwealth, while also revitalizing communities through renter and new homeowner opportunities.”
HOME, a federally funded program, provides grant and loan assistance to municipalities to expand and preserve decent and affordable housing for low- and very low-income Pennsylvanians. Funding will be used to address repairs such as roof issues; safety and health issues; updates to major systems, including furnaces and outdated electric or plumbing systems; and other needs.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development distributes funds to the state Department of Community and Economic Development through an annual entitlement appropriation process.
For more information, contact Crystal Simmons, CDBG/HOME director, at csimmons@co.greene.pa.us or 724-852-5260.
Steel Nation
Adam Jones has become a bigger player with a corporation that is a big player in the energy industry.
Jones has been promoted to chief financial officer at Steel Nation, a leading designer and builder of transmission, storage and compression facilities for midstream and transmission oil and gas operators.
He joined the Southpointe-based company as controller in 2018 then, according to a corporate news release, assumed additional responsibilities, including cash management, business development, strategic initiatives, management of information technology and human resources.
Mark Dorsey, executive vice president of the company, said in a statement: “Steel Nation has achieved success by carefully selecting the proper team members to drive our four divisions: Steel Nation Buildings, Steel Nation Engineering, Steel Nation Environmental and Steel Nation Facility Services.”
Penn Highlands
Sanjay Prasher, MD, a board-certified cardio and electrophysiologist, has joined the medical staff at medical staff at Penn Highlands Healthcare Mon Valley.
He is with the team at Penn Highlands Cardiology at 1290 Chess St., Suite 101, in Carroll Township.
Prasher, according to a news release from the health-care system, “specializes in the study of the electrical activity of the heart to find where an arrhythmia, or abnormal heartbeat, is occurring. These results can help determine” the form of treatment: medication, a pacemaker, an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, a cardiac ablation procedure or surgery.
Prasher previously was director of the electrophysiology labs at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville, N.C.; Frye Regional Medical Center in Hickory, N.C.; and St. Francis Medical Center in Pittsburgh.