Comparison Budget • Gas prices are cutting deep into our pockets with no sign of dropping anytime soon. The prices vary around the CSULB campus depending on which way you turn. Right: The Vons gas station by the Traffic Circle offers unleaded at $2.73 with a discount of three cents for Vons club members. Another low-price station is the Arco located at the corner of Atherton and Bellflower. Their unleaded gas also runs around $2.73 but without the additional three cent discount. If you find yourself driving down Palo Verde, the Shell station offers its unleaded fuel at $2.78. Above: The 76 station on Palo Verde and Stearns offers their unleaded fuel at $2.85. Tracey Roman / Summer Forty-Niner

News

• New director to improve Long Beach
  Patrick West, current city manager of Paramount, is preparing to take the reins of Long Beach and turn the city into the jewel of Southern California.
  
• Loneliness in freshmen may lower healthiness
  NORFOLK, Va. (U-Wire) — Freshman year of college can be a difficult time. First-year students are faced with balancing classes, outside jobs and sometimes children.
  
• College students targets for credit-card companies
  SALT LAKE CITY (U-Wire)—With all the new financial responsibilities incoming freshmen have to worry about, they are encouraged to learn financial responsibility early, especially when it comes to credit cards.

• News in a few
  

Opinion

• Our view: Release sparks memories of shooting
  A wise man from an age still in recent memory once spoke of dreams for a better America in the symbolic shadow of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
  
• Grief over friend teaches life lesson
  This summer I had to do one of the hardest things a person our age can do. I had to say goodbye to a loving heart and an infectious smile. I had to bury a friend.
  
• Christian rights group unfounded in protests
  According to an Associated Press article, “Christian-Rights Group Sues Over Posters,” the Rutherford Institute is suing the York County School Board over the removal of Christian-related posters from Spanish teacher William Lee’s classroom at Tabb High School in Richmond, Va.
  
• A look at the bright side of life
  EUGENE, Ore. (U-Wire)—Sometimes, it really does seem like it’s the end of the world. Iran just announced its plan to ignore nations’ pleas and restart a nuclear program; 48 percent of the American public thinks President George W.Bush is an honest man; New York Gov. George Pataki vetoed a bill to dispense emergency contraception without a prescription; and if London can be hit by terrorists, anyone can be hit by terrorists.

Diversions

• Tibbie's provides dinner, '40s entertainment at Queen Mary
  For those looking for something to do in Long Beach, or even to plan a date night, Tibbie’s at the Queen Mary is the place to go.
  
• Keith big in Devore
  Toby Keith’s Big Throwdown Tour 2 lived up to its name: big. During the show at the Hyundai Pavillion last Saturday, there were pyrotechnics, numerous No. 1 hits and a huge crowd left begging for more.
  
  
• Pennywise treats fans on a trip to Catalina Island
  Pennywise formed back in 1988. Many things have happened to the band and in the world since those days.