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:

• August 2010:
  Breeze Thru Car Wash in Fort Collins; Rocky Mountain Car Wash Association New Officers; "Smash and Grabs" On the Rise; Robber Returns to Bradley's Service Station For More Thefts; Preservationists Try To Save Johnson's Corner Station; Grand Junction Shell Convenience Store Moves and Expands; Two Men Attempt a Stick Up — With a Stick
• June 2010:
  Loaf 'N Jug Acquires Four Sinclair Stations; Skyline Develops New Pricing Software; Kum & Go Acquires Boulder Sinclair; Castle Rock Gasoline Leak; Sundrop Fuels Producing Syngas; First E85 Blender Pump Opens; Nick's Quick Oil and Lube Offers Re-refined Oil; Gasoline Prices on the Rise; Littleton Auto Repair Adds Gasoline, Quick Lube; Greeley Residents Protest Carwash; Shell Opens Station in Fort Morgan; Cannabutter Cookies Lead to Arrest
• April 2010:
  Legislature Kills Measure to Allow Beer and Wine Sales; Candy and Soda Tax Enacted; Price of Gasoline on the Rise; Maverik Building Convenience Store in Fruita; Man Run Over By His Own Car at a Car Wash; Dog Stolen From Convenience Store; Carwash-Dogwash Opened in Colorado Springs; Group Seeks CNG Stations on Western Slope
• February 2010:
  C-Stores Seek Ballot Measure to Allow Beer and Wine Sales; Colorado Governor Proposes Taxes on Candy and Soft Drinks; Kum & Go Opens In Idaho Springs; Rudy's Country Store Planned for Colorado Springs; Evergreen Car Wash; Gasoline Prices Drop; Fire House Car Washes Collect Toys for Charity; Businessman Helps C-Store Employee and Wins Lottery; Driver Crashes into Highlands Ranch Diamond Shamrock; Police Arrest Suspect in 1977 Kidnap and Murder of a 7-Eleven Clerk
• December 2009:
  Southern Colorado Gasoline Prices Skyrocket; 7-Eleven Owners Protest Credit Card Fees; Griffin Fast Lube Acquires 23 Jiffy Lubes; Five E-85 Stations Open In Pueblo; Lube and Latte Opens in Denver; Historic Building Houses Carwash in Silverton; Shoplifting Suspect Sues Police; 7-Eleven Thief Returns Money; Mini Mart Shooting Shuts Aurora Schools; C-Store Robber Caught After Police Follow Tracks in the Snow
• October 2009:
  Colorado Eliminates Retailer Compensation for Collecting Sales Tax; Phillips 66 Clerks Win Lotto Jackpot; The Wave Carwash in Westminster; Residence Inn Gives Gas Cards; Woman Who Launched FBI Search Will Not Be Charged; Smoker Robs 7-Eleven of Cigarettes
• September 2009:
  Driver In Station Accident Aided By Victim's Parents; Car Wash Adds Pet Wash in Steamboat Springs; Recession In Colorado; Grand Junction To Alow New Maverik; Hub Diner and Car Wash Allows Cruisers; Murdered 7-Eleven Clerk's Body Returned to Ethopia; Car Wash Developer Charged with Fraud; Thief Caught When He Returns to Rob Again; New Age Beverage of Denver; Bubbles Express Car Wash Donations
• August 2009:
  General Wesley Clark On Ethanol; ShortStop Expands Prepaid Card Program; Ice Bagging Machines; Steamboat Springs C-Store; Safeway Wants To Add Station in Estes Park; Butanol; Smokeless Tobacco Tested in Denver; Finish Line Car Wash; Police Arrest 7-Eleven Murder Suspect
• June 2009:
  Gasoline Station Accident Kills Student; Suncor Energy Signs Deal to Supply Shell Stations in Colorado; Smoker Friendly Hits 100 Location Milestone; 7-Eleven Clerk Murdered; Black Forest Store Becomes Ponderosa Market & Deli; Women Rob Loveland and Colorado Springs C-stores; ConocoPhillips Pledges $4 Million To Colorado School of Mines
• April 2009:
  Bill To Allow Beer in C-Stores Killed in Committee; Kum & Go Opens Store In Brighton; Street Price of Gasoline Rises; State Revenue From Lottery Falls; Driver Causes Spill of Gasoline in Snowmass; Man Steals Trash Truck From Convenience Store; Arvada Thong Robbers Sentenced; Man Threatens Clerk With Star Trek Weapon; Biodiesel Plant Planned In Fort Morgan
• February 2009:
  Street Price Falls 29 cents in Denver; Ethanol Production Slows; 7-Eleven Moves Ahead With Franchise Plans; Boulder Sinclair Converts To Convenience Store; Smoker Friendly Expands Distribution; Tracinda Purchases Shares of Delta Petroleum
• December 2008:
  Fast Break Employees Accused of Dumping Diesel Fuel; Two New Grand Junction Carwashes; Aspen Residents "Hurting" America; Falling Fuel Prices Help Musicians; Colorado State Nabs Biofuels Grant; Colorado-Wyoming Marketers Call For The End of Fuel Market Manipulation; Gasoline Prices Declining; Sunday Liquor Sales Devastate Convenience Store Profits; Senate Candidate Calls For Pricing Investigation; Crook Loses Money In Robbery Attempt; 7-Eleven Drives Coffee Sales With Cup "Vote"; Rain and Leaking Seal Leads to Engine Failures In Bayfield; Montrose Station Sells E85 for 85 Cents Per Gallon; Construction Begins On Fort Morgan Biodiesel Refinery
• October 2008:
  Tank n' Tummy Partners With Wallace Oil To Offer Gasoline; Kum & Go Sells 21 Locations, Builds New Sites In Loveland and Brighton
• September 2008:
  Colorado Begins Sunday Liquor Sales; High-End Carwash Opens in Arvada; Man Steals Credit To Buy Gasoline; Two Longmont 1st Stop Stations Selling E85; MyGallons.Com Attracts Attention; Denver Bus and Rail Ridership Is Up But Service Is Down; Colorado Resorts Offer Free Gasoline; Lottery Player Sues Texaco
• August 2008:
  High Fuel Prices Bring Spike In Bike Sales; Prices Too High For Idaho Springs Station Dispensers; Water in Fuel Supply; Gasoline Station Construction At A Halt; Silverthorne Convenience Store Delivers Meals; Gang Members Problem At Denver Station; Man Sentenced For Hate Crime Assault; Crimes in Boulder and Castle Rock; Arvada Thong Robbers; Power Blackout in Gunbarrel; Tornado Hits Greeley, Windsor; Dietician Pleased at 7-Eleven Offerings; Man Tries To Pay for Gasoline With Bag of Pennies
• June 2008:
  Liquor Stores May Sell Alcohol on Sundays, Devastating Convenience Stores; Fuel Prices Set Colorado Record; Police Sergeant Makes Biodiesel; Colorado Springs Tops Biodiesel Use List; Colorado Station Numbers Falling; Colorado Springs C-Store Opens Without Fuel; Pie Thief Caught For Felony Theft; Fuel Thief Leads Police on High-Speed Chase
• April 2008:
  Bill To Allow C-Stores To Sell Beer And Wine Is Killed; Gasoline Prices Increase; BroEnergy Files Chapter 11; ConocoPhillips To Build Clean Fuel Research Center; Granby May Annex C-Store Site; Two Full-Service Gasoline Stations Left in Colorado Springs; Glo Express Opens in Arvada; Carwash Business Spotty; Station Attendant Helps Kidnapped Woman and Children; Man Stabbed at Loaf "N" Jug gasoline station
• February 2008:
  Colorado Has Lowest Retail Gasoline Price in U.S.; Motor Modern Markets; Upscale Stop 'n Save in Divide; Biodiesel Offered in Telluride; Boulder 7-Eleven Land Sold to Developer; Gas Stop Requires $7.00 Purchase; Chump Change Bandit; Convenience Store Thieves Indicted; 7-Elevens Offer New Year's Hot Beverages; Longmont Station Art
• December 2007:
  Firsthand Convenience Stores Converted to 7-Eleven Brand; Colorado Gasoline Prices On The Rise; Demand for E85 Increasing; Two Western Convenience Stores Add E85 Pumps; Alan Drake Celebrates 30th Anniversary with Kwik Stop; Safeway to Brand Gasoline to Valero in Frisco; Halloween Thief Thwarted at Diamond Shamrock; Fallout From 7-Eleven Racial Tensions
• October 2007:
  C-Stores Caught in Alcohol Sting; Gasoline Prices Fall, Then Spike; Gasoline Price Signs; Whole Foods Tests Grab-And-Go Offerings; Bailey Convenience Store To Close; San Juan Biodiesel Building New Biodiesel Refinery; Peter Marketing Opens E85 Station in Longmont; Teen Robs Same Carwash Three Times in One Month.
• September 2007:
  Racial Tensions Lead to Gunfire at 7-Eleven; Counterfeit Bills Caught At C-Store; Thief Steals Entire Register From Gasoline Stations; Gasoline Station Thieves; Proposed OSHA Regulation Would Limit Ammunition Sales; Politican Works the Pumps at Cenex Station; Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Lead to Fall in Gasoline Taxes; Sinclair Station in El Jebel To Be Razed; Former Carwash Owner Returns to Save Colorado Springs Wash.
• August 2007:
  Fallout Begins from New Below-Cost Law; Average Gasoline Prices Fall; 97 Percent of Dispensers Accurate; 7-Eleven Converted to Kwik-E Mart; Dog Stolen Along With SUV At a Shell Station.
• June 2007:
  Colorado Gasoline Prices Rise Above the National Average; Bill to Allow Below-Cost Gasoline Sales Signed into Law; Ethanol Supply Concerns; Biodiesel from Algae; Woman Arrested As Knife-Wielding Station Thief; Caddis Flies Boost Car Wash Use
• April 2007:
  Bill Allowing Retailers To Sell Gasoline Below Cost Moving Through Legislature; Power Failure Shut Down West Side of Suncor Energy U.S.A. Refinery; DEA Revokes Over-The-Counter Drug Licenses; Golden Considers Car Wash Tax; E85 Coalition To Open More Stations; Snowmass Not Subsidizing Its Only Gasoline Station; Three Indicted in Convenience Store Theft Ring
• 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