Friday August 3, 2007 FEATURES BP responds to furor over permit to allow more discharges Thousands are protesting a permit that allows BP's refinery in Whiting, Ind., to discharge more pollutants into Lake Michigan. Protestors said July 30 that they plan to present petitions to Indiana's governor, according to news reports. BP said its refinery "does not, and will not, release sludge into the lake and its treated water discharge is not toxic." (Full Story) NATO and White House oppose hike in federal tobacco tax As a part of its strategy to oppose higher cigarette and tobacco taxes, the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) said, it has sent letters to all 535 U.S. Senators and U.S. Congressmen plus every state governor, attorney general, commissioner of revenue and state legislative leader informing them that the proposed cigarette and tobacco tax increases would lead to reduced sales and a loss of cigarette and tobacco tax collections for their respective state. Moreover, NATO said it warned officials that since the annual Master Settlement Agreement payments are based on annual cigarette sales volumes, a reduction in cigarette sales would result in lower MSA payments to the states. (Full Story) Sign up for a FREE subscription to NPN, the magazine that has been reporting news and trends in the petroleum and convenience store industry since 1909. SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT Get The Data That Drives The Petroleum & Convenience Industry Today! To order your print copy or CD version of the 2006 NPN MarketFacts edition, please click here NEWS ITEMS Texas posts gas dispenser violations online for consumers to see The Texas Department of Agriculture is posting results of gas station inspections on its Web site, so consumers can see which stations around the state failed their recent gas pump inspections, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples announced July 31. (Full Story) L.A. Times: Local and global reputation of Tesco differ In California, Tesco is cultivating an image as a socially responsible grocer, but the firm's new Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market chain, due to open this fall, is a far cry from the Tesco flagship stores in Britain, which are more like Wal-Mart in size, selection and controversy, according to an Aug. 2 article by Jerry Hirsch in The Los Angeles Times. (Full Story) EIA: gasoline price falls 8 cents The U.S. average retail price for regular gasoline dropped 8.2 cents last week to hit 287.6 cents per gallon as of July 30, 2007, which is 12.8 cents lower than last year, according to the Aug. 1 edition of "This Week in Petroleum," published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). (Full Story) Mark VII launches direct operations in New England Mark VII Equipment Inc., Arvada, Colo., announced July 31 that it has begun to directly sell and service Mark VII equipment in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. (Full Story) High's of Baltimore to install self-serve technology from Radiant Systems Radiant Systems, Inc. and High's of Baltimore, Inc. announced an agreement July 31 to deploy multiple Radiant customer self-service kiosks in more than 50 of the mid-Atlantic retailer's 82 High's Dairy Stores. (Full Story) Oil prices set record high, then fall as investors take profits Oil prices fell August 1 as traders took profits after the front-month crude futures contract closed at a record price on expectations that U.S. crude inventories fell last week, the Associated Press reported. (Full Story) In Massachusetts: Gulf Oil will put name on turnpike stations Gulf Oil LP will begin switching 11 gas stations it operates along the Massachusetts Turnpike from Exxon to its own Gulf brand this month, according to an Aug. 1 article by Peter J. Howe in The Boston Globe. (Full Story) Gilbarco holds inaugural Retail Systems User Conference "Orchestrate your retail technology: Get the most from your Gilbarco technology investment" was the theme at Gilbarco's inaugural Retail Systems Users' Conference, July 16 - 19 at the Pinehurst Resort, Pinehurst, N.C. (Full Story) Florida reports progress in compliance with generator law Florida authorities have been cracking down on gas stations along hurricane evacuation routes that are required to have the capacity for emergency power in event of a storm, WJHG-TV, an NBC affiliate in Panama City, Fla., reported July 30. (Full Story) Report: Wawa, Sheetz, Hess wage price war; independent operators lose For five weeks, motorists in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley enjoyed some of the cheapest gas prices in the nation as warring sellers Wawa, Sheetz and Hess slugged it out in a battle to undercut each other's price, according to a July 28 article by Matt Assad and Daniel P. Sheehan of The Morning Call, a newspaper in Allentown, Pa. (Full Story) A look at gas-station operators' profit margins Convenience-store owner David Malik earns about as much on a can of Coke as he does on a typical 10-gallon purchase of gas, Ángel González reported July 30 in The Seattle Times. (Full Story) Illinois towns, and a Congressman, say they will fight BP plan Mayors from eight communities joined U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) on July 30 in announcing plans to fight the proposed discharge of more ammonia and industrial waste into Lake Michigan by the BP oil refinery in Whiting, Ind., according to an article by Susan Kuczka in The Chicago Tribune. (Full Story) Tesco to open 3 stores in Avondale, Arizona A British invasion is on in Avondale, Ariz., as the city prepares to welcome three grocery stores owned by Tesco, Britain's largest retailer, according to a July 26 article by David Madrid in the Arizona Business Gazette. (Full Story) In Massachusetts: $600,000 penalty against gas station owners Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley obtained a $600,000 judgment against the owners and operators of four gas stations in Medford and Malden, according to a July 26 press release issued by the AG's office. (Full Story) Factor announces new customers for its software Factor, a division of W.R. Hess Company, announced the addition of six companies during its second quarter. (Full Story) Illinois considers raising cigarette tax by 75 cents per pack Illinois lawmakers may look to hike state cigarette taxes by 75 cents a pack, to raise money for long-awaited road projects and school construction, according to a July 26 article by Stephanie Sievers for Quad Cities online. (Full Story) In Texas: stiff cigarette tax raking in millions Cigarette sales in Texas are down nearly 22 percent since a $1-a-pack tax increase took effect six months ago, according to a July 26 article by Janet Elliott in The Houston Chronicle. (Full Story) OPW overfill prevention valve certified by California regulators OPW Fueling Components announced July 23 that its OPW 71SO Vaportight Overfill Prevention Valve received Phase I Vapor Recovery System certification (VR-102-H) from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on May 24, 2007. (Full Story) PRODUCT OF THE WEEK Titan Composite Hoses Deliver Ease of Handling and Superior Performance Titan's Midflex Composite hoses provide superior performance and offer a flexible material transfer solution for a myriad of processing, transportation, loading/unloading, and bulk transfer applications. Midflex Composite hoses are offered in a full range of sizes from 1" to 10" I.D. and are designed to meet the critical requirements of the chemical and petroleum fluid handling markets. Titan Midflex hoses are manufactured from the highest quality materials to protect against the aggressive media often found in today's marketplace and feature a durable dual wire construction that delivers ease of handling and a superior bend radius. All Composite hoses are externally swaged or crimped in-house with a selection of custom fabricated end fittings, and pressure tested to 1-1/2 times the rated working pressure to ensure a leak-free assembly and operator safety. Titan's Composite hoses are designed to safely handle a wide range of petroleum and chemical products in ship to shore, rail car, tank truck, marine, refinery, bottom loading, vapor recovery, pharmaceutical, and in-plant transfer applications. Titan Industries www.titanindustries.com CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2007 Hispanic Retail 360 Summit Westin Park Central Hotel Dallas, Texas August 1-3 (646) 654-7452 www.nacsonline.com Mississippi Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association 2007 Convention and Trade Expo Ross Bridge Resort Birmingham, Ala. August 1-4 (601) 353-1624 www.mspetroleum.com   Colorado Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association Convention and Trade Show Snow King Resort Jackson Hole, WY August 4-7 (303) 422-7805 www.cwpma.org NACS Leadership Executive Program Cornell University Ithica, N.Y. August 19-23 (800) 966-6227 www.nacsonline.com   AWMA Distribution Summit & Business Exchange Ritz-Carlton Buckhead Atlanta, Ga. Sept. 10-13 (800) 482-2962, ext. 642 www.awmanet.org Pacific Oil Conference and Tradeshow Grand Sierra Resort and Casino Reno, Nevada. September 17-20 (916) 646-5980 www.petroshow.com   For a complete list of industry events, go to NPN's calendar web page.  Published By NPN Group |  © 2007 NPN Group | All Rights Reserved For more information on NPN MarketPulse, contact: Gary Bevers, group publisher M2MEDIA360 Retail Distribution Group Ph: 832-444-7675 Fax: 800-430-3446 Keith Reid, editor-in-chief M2MEDIA360 NPN Group Ph: 630-739-0280 Fax: 630-739-0321 This newsletter is protected by United States copyright and other intellectual property laws and may not be reproduced, rewritten, distributed, re-disseminated, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast, directly or indirectly, in any medium without the prior written permission of M2MEDIA360.

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