Local markets react to themselves, not to one 100 miles away. Service stations look at their competitors every day and the more competition that exists, the price is generally lower.

The people who come downtown to go to the repertory theater or the Aurora or Anna's Jazz Club are not doing more than eating in restaurants. Ross is a discount clothing chain, and it's the most visible store in the downtown area right now. We'd like to have more to offer.

Decisions made centrally, thousands of miles from the markets clients are operating in, will likely not be as attuned to local market realities.

And according to the Air Resources Board, demand is rising for gasoline and refining capacity is remaining constant.

National retail is Target and Wal-Mart, and we'll never have that kind of retail here, not that we'd turn them away, but because there is no place to put it. We'd have to rezone West Berkeley to accommodate that kind of store, and we won't do that. It's got to be relatively small shops, most likely independent.

We have the cleanest fuel in the country here.