Gas prices finally settle down

Frankly, there's no way of knowing whether this is a pause or a peak - the experts are split. For the moment, an average gallon of regular in the L.A. area is $4.245, up just a penny or so from last week, according to the government survey. Oil prices, which have been quite volatile, continue to trend upward, although there are other factors that go into the pricing of gasoline. There's also the political element: The Obama administration has formed a task force to look into potential illegal activity in the oil and gas markets (oy, another task force!), and members of Congress are getting into the act as well.