Sorry, folks (all six of you).

I've been on the road since Thursday working on some stories you'll see in the next couple months. I can't tell you where I've been or what I'm working on, but let me say it will be well worth your time when these pieces are ready to go on television.

In the meantime, let's talk gas prices.

I've heard from a couple of you asking why the gas price in St. Louis is higher than the price in other parts of the state.

Well, there are a couple factors at work here.

First, St. Louis has a bit of a smog problem. That's why the 4Warn Weather Team puts together those color-coded Air Quality Forecasts... and that's why we put a special, cleaner-burning "summer blend" gasoline into our cars. The amount of this "summer blend" gas is pretty limited, so it comes at a premium price.

Then there's the price of land. Real estate in St. Louis is more expensive than in other parts of the state. You pay for that, too.

Figure in property taxes and additional sales taxes.

That makes St. Louis-style gas about 30 to 40 cents a gallon more expensive than other parts of the state.

Here's a good explainer website.

On a gas-related note (and a hint as to where I'm lurking these days)... this morning, I paid $3.75 a gallon to fill up my car with mid-grade gas. Full-serve gas was going for a mind-blowing (and hyphenated-word-use-inducing) $4.15!

On another gas-related note, I wish I had paid closer attention to the price of gas before and after BP shut down that oil field in Alaska. But I'm sure there are no shady gas station owners out there who would pump up the price of gas that they've already paid for. I'm just sure of it, I tell ya.

Haven't seen it that high since Hurricane Katrina drove up the prices last September.