In response to skyrocketing gasoline prices, Nevada Senator Bob Beers (R-Las Vegas) created a tempest in a teapot by calling for a special legislative session to temporarily suspend the gasoline and diesel fuel tax. He said the money that would be saved by the tax cut could be made up by the state's rainy-day fund, not calling a halt to the road projects now under way.

After much ado, Governor Kenny Guinn said he will not use the rainy-day fund and neither will he call a special session of the Legislature to debate the idea. Guinn said, "There has been no positive responses to the plan."

In the meantime, in response to rising gasoline prices, a Southern Nevada taxicab surcharge rate will be become a month-to-month proposition. Currently a surcharge of 20 cents per mile is in effect.

School days are here again and two months into the fiscal year, the Clark County School District's fuel costs have increased by 16 percent. Contributing to the higher costs is a state statute requiring all school buses to operate on environmentally friendly alternative fuel sources. As the cost of bio-diesel used by the school buses soars, the District must also pay higher costs for the many food service supply trucks who transport meals and supplies to more than 300 schools.

While motorists are feeling the pinch due to higher gasoline prices, the cost of keeping airplanes in the air is rising rapidly. Pilots who gas up at local airports report they are forced to alter how they do business, charging clients more and risking a loss of customers who are unwilling to pay such high prices. Latest prices posted at Nevada airports ranged from $3.00 in Overton to $5.75 at McCarran.

The Conservation Fund, a national conservation group, met recently in Las Vegas. Members of the group are working on the premise that the Earth's climate is being changed by the massive amounts of carbon dioxide put into the earth's atmosphere and they have come up with a solution. To get rid of the emissions and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases going into the air the group has been planting hundreds of trees in the Mississippi Delta to soak up the carbon from the atmosphere. The area that the Las Vegas effort will benefit is home to the ivory-billed woodpecker, and other rare animals and birds.

Gasoline prices are not keeping people from visiting Las Vegas. Statistics indicate there are more cars pouring into town from California than ever. Tourists seem to be adjusting their budgets to compensate for higher fuel costs, according to Kelly Ford, vice president of marketing for Travelzoo, an Internet media company, "We've found that once gas hits a certain level, people adjust. Are you really going to cancel the vacation because it costs you an extra 30 or 40 bucks round trip?"

The Pacific Oil Conference was held at the Reno Hilton, Reno, Nevada, September 19-22 and was attended by an enthusiastic group. Two new staff members were introduced at the POC. Ross Hutchings is the new Executive Director and Robin Rinehardt has assumed the position of Sales, Marketing and Conference Manager for both POC and CIOMA.

The WPMA has a new Executive Director, Gene Inglesby. Gene has worked closely with Gerry Tedrow for many years and is looking forward to continuing the positive input Gerry has put into WPMA.

The 2006 Western Petroleum Marketers Convention and Convenience Store Expo will be held February 21-23, 2006 at the Mirage Convention Center, Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada. Watch your mail for registration materials. The 2006 theme is "Navigating with Confidence." The keynote speaker will be Michael Reagan and the Grand Finale Awards luncheon speaker will be Lynn Swann.

WPMA post- convention tours are always well attended and the 2006 travel adventure has just been announced. A 14-night cruise has been planned for March, 2006. A preliminary itinerary has been set up by Destinations Travel Agency. The adventure will begin on March 5, 2006 in sunny Buenos Aires, Argentina and end on March 19 on the Pacific side of the continent in Valparaiso, Chile. The group will be sailing on the ship, Infinity, a member of Celebrity Cruises' Millennium class of ships and has been voted in the top ten ships in the large ship category by Conde' Nast magazine readers for the last 3 years in a row.

If a shorter cruise is more to your taste, a WPMA cruise of seven nights is offered aboard the ship Century, August 25-September 2, 2006. For more info call Destinations, Inc. toll free at 1-800-748-4777.

Originally published in the October 2005 issue of the O&A Marketing News.
Copyright 2005 by KAL Publications Inc.