With gas prices well over $4 a gallon here in Los Angeles, a lot of us are limiting the short drives to the store and other impulse runs we used to make. (And you can now count me among the increased numbers of commuters taking mass transit.) Maybe the higher cost of getting behind the wheel will be a boon for the “buy local” movement. The Associated Press reports that merchants in rural towns are seeing an increase in business, because residents aren’t driving long distances to regional shopping centers.

If you’re interested in telling your story about how high gas prices are affecting you, let us know. We might use the information in a future story.

Oh, and after a couple stays of steep declinesoil prices were back up again today.