Colorado News is a feature column in the O&A Marketing News reporting on some of the latest information from the petroleum marketing, retailing, and energy industries in the state.

Written by Colorado native Joyce Trent, Colorado News offers a unique perspective on activites in the Rocky Mountain state.

Here are some recent highlights:

• February 2007:
  Storms Bring a Run on Gasoline; Snowmass Debates Closure of Its Only Gasoline Station; Two Arrested In Murder of 7-Eleven Clerk; Forest Oil Purchased; Man Files Suit Against Kerr-McGee; Court Date Set for Rifle Station Suspected Arson
• December 2006:
  Grocery Chains Found Guilty of Unfair Fuel Pricing; Chief Petroleum Opens Four Biodiesel Pumps; Colorado Springs Gasoline Price Falls Below National Average; Feather Petroleum Installs Biometric Payment System; Immigrant Law Hurting Carwashes; Three Men Shot At Carwash
• October 2006:
  Diesel Prices Rise As Shortages Continue; Summitt County Uses Soybean Biodiesel; Red Cliff To Add Convenience Store; Vail Amoco Site to Be Used For Ski Life; Thief Returns To Scene Of the Crime; Longmont Air Machine Thefts; Multi-Tasking At Edwards Station; Video Screens Added to Conway Oil Pumps
• September 2006:
  BP Prudhoe Shutdown Should Not Cause Colorado Shortages; Diesel Fuel Shortages and Rationing; Cortez Station to Return; Hub Car Wash and Diner Diversifies
• August 2006:
  Governor Owens Vetoes Price Control Legislation; Coloradans Traveling More Despite Fuel Prices; Boulder Gasoline Lines; "Green" Gasoline Station Planned; The Personal Side of the Texaco Brand Leaving Colorado; Car Wash Owner Competes With Himself
• June 2006:
  Colorado Legislature Passes Anti-Gouging Bill; Law Passed Banning Smoking in Public Places; High Fuel Prices Aren't Stopping Travelers; But They Are Helping Bike Sales; Front Range Energy Launches New Ethanol Plant; Colorado Promotes E85; 7-Eleven Stores Partner with Inca Products; Mini Mart Settles Sexual Harassment Suit; Best Car Wash Also Offers Dog Wash; Wallet Found; ATM Stolen By Thieves Who Drove Through the Wall; Gasoline Spill at Parachute Station
• April 2006:
  Western Gas & Convenience Stores Fined; Surge in Colorado Fuel Prices; Higher Fuel Prices Affecting Drivers: Loaf 'N' Jug Stores Changing Image; Third Colorado Biodiesel Refinery Opens; Teen Accused of Stabbing Diamond Shamrock Clerk
• February 2006:
  Cigarette Sales Fall 22 Percent After Tax Increase; Colorado Attorney General Finds No Evidence of Price-Fixing; Gasoline Prices Lead Sheriffs to Cut Back Patrols; Fuel Prices On the Rise; Eagle Convenience Store Moves from Taco Bell to Hawaiian Coffee; Coors Utilizes Beer Waste to Make Ethanol; BioEnergy Expanding; K & G Sings Supply Deal with McLane; TV Station Stings Carwashes
• December 2005:
  Drop in Fuel Prices Helps Local Gasoline Retailers; Feasibility Study Begins for Dove Creek Biodiesel Plant: Blue Sun Biodiesel Expands; Gasoline Theft Leads Station Owners to Move to Pre-pay; BP Sells Colorado Stations to K & G Petroleum; Hub Car Wash and Diner Celebrates Its Third Anniversary
• October 2005:
  Is There Price Gouging Going On?; Higher Prices Mean Lower Premium Fuel Sales; Cow Manure Fuels Methane Plant; Local Businesses Hit By Rising Fuel Costs; Looking Into the Gasoline Price Crystal Ball; Thieves Drilling Vehicle Gasoline Tanks to Steal Fuel
• September 2005:
  Mass Marketers Increase Their Colorado Gasoline Market Share; Three Carwashes To Open in Durango; NBA Star Dennis Rodman Gets In Trouble at Glenwood Springs Station; A $600 Oil Change; A New 24-Hour Kum & Go in Silverthorne; Parole Violator Shot at Diamond Shamrock Station; High Speed Police Chase Ends at Shell Station; The Saga of the Punkin Center Gasoline Station Shootout
• August 2005:
  7-Eleven to Sell Off Company-Owned Stores; BP to Leave Colorado Market; Valero Brand to Replace Diamond Shamrock Stations; High Gasoline Prices Mean Shorter Trips; Kwik Car Wash Opens in Littleton; Streamline-Moderne Gas Station to be Saved; Garfield County has 11 Hybrid Vehicles; Colorado Springs Students Make Biodiesel; Shootout at Lochbuie Station
• June 2005:
  Gasoline Prices in Colorado; Colorado Legislator Cloer Proposes Gasoline Tax Cut; Hyundai Dealer Gives Away Gasoline; Western Gas Resources Manager Sued Over Natural Gas Prices; New Copper Mountain Conoco; Breckenridge Kum # Go; Lotto Equipment Causes Headaches; C-store Crime
• April 2005:
  Roy Turner Testifies on Gasoline Prices; Drive-Offs Rise with Gasoline Prices; Interest in Ethanol Gaining; Station Owner Fined Almost $100,000; Grease Monkey Donates 2,000 Pounds of Food; Robbers Seek Cigarettes as Well as Cash; Wildernest C-Store Opens; Restaurant Critic Reviews 7-Eleven Fare; American Oil to Buy Tower Columbia
• February 2005:
  Parish Oil Charges City Market With Below-Cost Selling; Gasoline Prices Around Colorado; Pueblo Smokers Drive to New Mexico for Cigarettes; Ethanol Fuel Blends Cause Drivers Problems; Finish Line Carwash and Basalt Store Carwash Lower Water Use; Arrest Made In Station Attendant Murder; C & F Food Store Robber Indicted
• December 2004:
  Pit Stops of America Chief Sentenced for Fuel Tax Fraud; Second Fire Hits Frisco Station; Cigarette Tax Quadrupled; Hunting Season Boon to Carwashes; Grease Monkey and Highway Patrol Promote Safety; Blue Sun Promotes Biodiesel; Pair Kidnapped From Colorado Springs Gasoline Station
• October 2004:
  Frisco Explosion Injures Seven; Johnstown Board Protests Planned Ethanol Plant; Prospectors Visit Minturn Shop & Hop; Discount Service Station Planned for Avon; Lottery Tickets Lead to Thief"s Capture; Landmark Conoco May Be Updated; Man Charged with Gilcrest Station Murder
• August 2004:
  Aspen Stations Run Out of Fuel; Educating Consumers About E85 Alternative Fuel; Colorado Plans Fuel Cell Research Center; Colorado Springs Gasoline Prices; Geothermal Energy Project Begins in Frisco; Free Gasoline Voucher Program; Natural Gas Flares in Durango; Boulder Creek Inner Tube Sales as Profit Center; Firefighter Training for Hybrid-Electric Vehicles; Big Wave of Rain Shuts Big Wave Car Wash; Motor Scooter Use on the Rise; Front Range Sells New EPA-Mandated Fuel Blend; 80-Year-Old Gasoline Causes Hazard in Cripple Creek
• June 2004:
  Gasoline Crosses the $2.00 Mark; Blue Sun Adds Eight Biodiesel Stations; SUV Sales Stay Strong; Man In Drag Carjacks Vehicle; EPA Orders Use of Reformulated Gasoline in Denver Area
• April 2004:
  Farmers Grow Mustard for Biodiesel; Agro Makes Engine Lubricants from Canola Seeds; Penrose Couple Wins M & M Sweepstakes From Texaco Kwik Stop Snack; Gasoline Pricing Across Colorado; Wyoming Smokers Stock Up in Colorado Border Towns
• February 2004:
  Biodiesel Sales in Boulder; Gasoline Prices Sway During Holidays; Government Officials Say Market Is At Work with Gasoline Prices; New Carwash Ordinances; Teacher Murdered at Carwash; Thief Leaves Station By Bike
• December 2003:
  Shoco Oil Biodiesel Station; Voters Reject Colorado Water Referendum; BP Offers Alternative Energy; Accelerade Runner Travels from 7-Eleven to 7-Eleven; Gasoline Tax Increase Draws Fire; Local Paper Prints Gasoline Prices
• October 2003:
  The Granola Ayatollah of Canola; Tank Removal at Pueblo Sinclair; Is Self-Service Dangerous?; Man Charged with Fort Collins Station Robberies; Website Tracks Gasoline Prices
• August 2003:
  Johnson's Corner Station Moved; Lamar Station is 175 Million Years Old; Station Argument Turns Into Shooting; Suncor Buys ConocoPhillips Denver Assets; 7-Eleven Tests Remote Westec Security; Drought Hurts Carwash Business
• June 2003:
  Gasoline Prices Rise Before Memorial Day; More Grocery Stores Offering Gasoline; Sinclair Monitors Sites With Computers; Neighbors Unite to Keep Aurora Gas Stations, C-Stores and Carwashes; Gasamat Stays Competitive With Smoker Friendly; Drive-Off Leads to Meth Bust
• April 2003:
  Drive-Off Thefts Rise as Gasoline Prices Rise; 86-year-old Station Attendant Shot in Robbery; 7-Eleven Employee Cleans Out C-Store; Gas Pipeline Explosion; Senator Nighthorse Seeks Tribal Control of Energy Resources; Colorado Board Wants to Limit Grants to Counties Who Contribute to Fund; Natural Gas Prices Increase
• February 2003:
  Street Prices Jump; Driver Shot at Amoco Station; Montrose Consumer Oil Bookkeeper Arrested; Fuelmaker Refuels CNG at Home; Clean Cities Program
• December 2002:
  Major Mergers; Lunch at the Carwash; Woman Knocked Through Station Window; Attendant Finds Boys; Street Prices; Car Share Program
• September 2002:
  Colorado Refineries May Shut Due to Mergers; ExxonMobil Releases Water to Help Drought; Street Prices; Shell Donates to Forests; BP Rebrands Amoco Stations; Clerk Fights Off Thief
• June 2002:
  Acorn Sells E-85; Pilot Refuels at Conoco Station; Street Prices Stay Low; BP Solar Panels; Claim Jumper
• April 2002:
  Antique Gas Pumps; Colorado Lubrication Terminated by Jiffy Lube; Moose Helps Sell Gas; Cigarette Thief; Royalties; Gas Prices
• February 2002:
  Texaco is Leaving and Shell is Coming; Hypermarkets Opening in Parking Lots Across the State; Colorado Gasoline Prices Defy U.S. Trends; No Price Fixing Here; Sinclair Station Robbed
• December 2001:
  U-Pump-It Drops Below $1.00/Gallon; Polite Bandit, Hard-Boiled Bandit and Jawa Bandits; Bargains for Customers; Letter Carrier Stops Station Fire; Conoco Phillips Merger
• October 2001:
  Consumers Fear Sept. 11 Shortages; Gangs Shoot Girl at Total Station; Static Natural Gas Fire; Gas Rates Drop
• August 2001:
  Centerline Detailing; Street Prices and Mass Transit; Grease Monkey Buys Indy Lube
• June 2001:
  City of Denver gets Natural Gas Vehicles; Williams Wants to Reverse Pipeline; Gasoline Prices Break Record; Colorado Targets Tourism; 7-Eleven Robbed by Hatchet-Wielding Thieves
• April 2001:
  Western Convenience Store and the Texas Seven; Green Cabs are Gone; Gasoline Prices are Going Up
• October 2000:
  Marathon Closes Littleton Office; Natural Gas Rate Hikes and Demand Spikes; El Paso Energy Consolidates
• August 2000:
  State Doesn’t Pay Fuel Taxes and Still Complains About Prices; Safeway and Sam’s Club Add Gasoline; High Prices Don’t Hurt Tourism; Drive-Offs Jumping; Durango Drilling
• June 2000:
  Tenderfoot Total Gas Station; Agro Vegetable Motor Oil; Oil Commission Controversy; Grand Junction Robbers; Leyden Natural Gas Storage
• September 1999:
  Refinery Problems Bring Gasoline Shortages; Gunfight at Diamond Shamrock Station; Colorado Springs Utilities Takes U.S. Army to Court; Soybean Motor Oil
• April 1999:
  Cub Foods Adds Pumps; Gas Producers Hit Hard; Customers Could Choose Gas Supplier; Pioneer Museum
• February 1999:
  UST Renovations and Inspections; Service Station Incentives; Inland Resources Buys Flying J Assets; Low Crude Prices Bring Layoffs; Cast Iron Gas Mains Being Replaced