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High gas prices don't curb SUVs

$2.95 a gallon was nice, wasn't it?

But like chivalry and the third generation iPod, that price may have been relegated to the pages of history, say energy officials who now predict gas prices will be well over $3 a gallon by summer.

In Danville, the inevitable already has come to pass. By Tuesday, gas was selling for $3.01 per gallon at the Hartz Avenue Chevron station, up 5 cents from the night before. The town currently boasts the highest average gas price in the Tri-Valley, at $2.97 per gallon, according to an online site that tracks fuel costs. The average prices in Blackhawk, San Ramon, Alamo and Pleasanton are hovering around $2.87, $2.94, $2.93 and $2.95 respectively.

A sales manager at the Chevron station said the gas prices there are "competitive."

"We're checking out everybody (else's) prices every hour or ...