Tesoro

It's a big week for energy news in California. The state's average for a gallon of regular gasoline jumped 23 cents over the past week to $4.083, leapfrogging a handful of Midwest states to regain its all too common rank as the nation's second most expensive place for motor fuel. The biggest influence was last week's fire at Chevron Corp.'s Richmond refinery in Northern California, which is the state's third biggest and an important source of fuel for Southern California. At full capacity, the Richmond refinery can produce 243,000 barrels of fuel a day. The parts of the refinery that were unaffected by the fire are operating, but Chevron has not disclosed how much gasoline and diesel fuel it is currently able to make.

Tesoro Corp. won federal and state clearance for its purchase of BP's Carson refinery, Arco stations and other assets for $2.4 billion, an acquisition that would further concentrate the state's fuel-making capacity into only two players - Tesoro and Chevron Corp. The twin actions Friday were immediately blasted by consumer advocates as a disaster for California consumers, who already pay some of the nation's highest gasoline and diesel prices. Tesoro and Chevron would control more than half of the refining business in California, which the activist groups contend would allow the two companies to influence what customers pay at the pump.

Four workers were killed and three others critically burned Friday when an explosion tore through a Tesoro oil refinery in Anacortes, Wash., the latest in a series of troubling refinery accidents that have touched off a nationwide inquiry. "We're very concerned," said Daniel Horowitz, spokesman for the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, which is dispatching an investigative team to the scene of the accident 70 miles north of Seattle. "Our agency investigates only the most serious oil and chemical accidents across the country.

State and federal authorities cleared the way Friday for Tesoro Corp. to buy BP's Carson refinery, the Arco brand and other assets, and the Texas oil giant agreed to California restrictions on prices, jobs and retrofits to protect the environment. The $2.5-billion deal, cut in the aftermath of the BP oil drilling disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, could be completed as early as June 1. Under the deal with the California attorney general's office, Tesoro agreed to maintain the 1,000 jobs at its Wilmington refinery for the next two years.

A three-hour fire at the Tesoro oil refinery in Wilmington pushed wholesale gasoline prices up almost 21 cents a gallon Friday. Retail prices were expected to rise by a nickel or more in the coming days, depending on the amount of damage at the facility and the production declines that could result. As of Friday afternoon, the severity of the fire was still being assessed and the refinery was operating at reduced levels, Tesoro officials said. "Before this fire, the price was about to drop like a rock," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service in New Jersey.

With apologies to Texas and Florida, there's a 10-mile stretch in south Orange County that has as much if not more football talent than those two states. The competition among Santa Margarita, Tesoro and Mission Viejo high schools for landing that talent is fierce. "You could probably put a pin in the middle and probably within three or four miles of that point, you'd be able to touch each of the three schools, and it's truly amazing, the football success," Santa Margarita Coach Harry Welch said.

GAME OF THE DAY No. 21 Rancho Santa Margarita Tesoro (14-3, 1-0) at Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley (11-6, 0-1) Tonight, 7. Why it matters: Tesoro is considered the favorite to win the South Coast League, but the Titans are still adjusting to the loss of point guard Matt Bailey, who broke his foot on Dec. 30 and will be sidelined the rest of the season. Football players Cody Wittick, Brett Gudim and Robbie Picazo have gotten into basketball shape for Tesoro, which has one of the top centers in Orange County in 6-foot-8 Chris Manresa.

Armed with a full tank of gas, a press pass, a video camera and a good night's sleep, I set off last weekend on a prep football adventure to watch five games over three days. So much driving and so much fun, even if it was exhausting. Day 1 First stop was Palos Verdes High, located in one of the most picturesque neighborhoods in the world. I stopped on the side of the road and looked out at Bluff Cove and saw a calm, soothing Pacific Ocean. What a great way to lower stress by standing on the side of a cliff and watching sailboats cruise by. Off to the Palos Verdes-Narbonne game I went.

Proposition 23, the oil industry sponsored initiative to suspend California's greenhouse gas law , was touted early on by environmentalists as a "David vs. Goliath" battle. "Its our slingshot vs. their oily club," said Steve Maviglio, a spokesman for opponents. But in the end, Proposition 23 failed by a stunning 61% to 39%, giving heart to national environmental leaders and signaling the advent of new players in eco-politics: high-tech entrepreneurs, mainly based in Silicon Valley, who see clean energy as an economic investment.

If anyone remains unconvinced about the magic of sports competition, here's the story of how three baseball players from rival high schools in southern Orange County became best friends. Austin Saenz of Mission Viejo, Kris Paulino of Tesoro and Kyle Hunt of Capistrano Valley got together last November with family and friends and signed letters of intent to Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine and Nevada, respectively. "It was kind of surreal," Hunt said. "I've always dreamed of signing a D1 letter and playing baseball, and I'm sure they had the same dreams.

Crenshaw (6-1, 2-0) vs. Dorsey (4-3, 2-0) at Rancho Cienega Park, 7 p.m. (Time Warner Cable Channel 101, midnight): A year ago, Crenshaw lost to Dorsey, 7-6, in a Coliseum League game. The Cougars have no sympathy for Dorsey, which has struggled to stop the run and pass this season. "We're hoping in our last couple of games we've gotten some of our problems solved," Dorsey Coach Paul Knox said. Crenshaw will turn to its top two athletes, Mossi Johnson and Dominique Hatfield, on both sides of the ball.

Conner Manning threw four touchdown passes, but it was a pass he caught that he'll remember most in Lake Forest El Toro's 41-31 victory over Rancho Santa Margarita Tesoro on Friday night at Trabuco Hills High. Manning hauled in an eight-yard pass from Jacob Furnari for the decisive score on a halfback option play with 4:54 remaining and the Chargers, ranked 17th in the Southland by The Times, stayed in contention for the South Coast League title. "It was a great call, a great throw, great blocking and I just had to catch it," said Manning, who completed 14 of 27 passes for 281 yards, including a 23-yard scoring strike to Blake Murphy on fourth down that clinched the win with 1:51 left.

As California gasoline prices set fresh records daily, consumer advocates are gearing up to fight the sale of the low-cost Arco brand and its Carson refinery to a Texas company not known for its cheap fuel. Some experts are calling the proposed $2.5-billion sale to Tesoro Corp. of San Antonio the biggest shift in California's petroleum business in decades. Activists say the deal, announced in August, would reduce competition and possibly raise prices for motorists, and they will ask state and federal regulators to reject it. The transaction is drawing fire now - with California's average gasoline price at a record $4.671 a gallon Tuesday, according to AAA - because it would leave 51% of the state's refining capacity in the hands of just two companies: Tesoro and Chevron Corp.

Armed with a full tank of gas, a press pass, a video camera and a good night's sleep, I set off last weekend on a prep football adventure to watch five games over three days. So much driving and so much fun, even if it was exhausting. Day 1 First stop was Palos Verdes High, located in one of the most picturesque neighborhoods in the world. I stopped on the side of the road and looked out at Bluff Cove and saw a calm, soothing Pacific Ocean. What a great way to lower stress by standing on the side of a cliff and watching sailboats cruise by. Off to the Palos Verdes-Narbonne game I went.

Championship teams find ways to win on off nights, and Tesoro, ranked No. 4 by The Times, was hardly looking like a Pac-5 title contender Friday night. No. 17 Newhall Hart outplayed the Titans for more than 40 minutes. "It was an ugly game from the start," Tesoro Coach Brian Barnes said. Then, with the game on the line, Tesoro's offensive line started to pound the Indians, inspiring running backs Nate Tago and Parker Wells to sacrifice their bodies and fight for every yard.

N ewhall Hart (0-0) at Rancho Santa Margarita Tesoro (1-0), 7 p.m. — Hart is ranked No. 1 in the Northern Division and has enjoyed a talent surge after struggling against top teams in recent years. Sophomore receiver Trent Irwin is a rising standout. The Indians intend to play two quarterbacks, sophomore Brady White and junior Connor Wingenroth. Tesoro returns 17 starters, led by veteran quarterback Matt Adam and hard-charging running back Nate Tago. The pick: Tesoro. Corona Centennial (0-0)

Alicia Rivera was supposed to meet me at the Wilmington Senior Citizen Center, but when she spotted red flaring and thick black smoke pouring out of refinery smokestacks and moving across nearby neighborhoods, she got distracted. Rivera is a detective, a rabble-rouser, a crusader, and she's fighting to defeat the oil company-sponsored November ballot proposition that would delay implementation of California's innovative global warming act. And when she spotted what could be a violation of environmental regulations by a refinery, she pulled off the road in her battered Toyota Celica to take pictures with her phone.

The fight over Proposition 23 , a November ballot initiative to suspend California's global warming law, turned ugly this week, with personal attacks and emotionally charged rhetoric on both sides. In a conference call with the news media Thursday, former Secretary of State George Shultz, co-chairman of the campaign against the initiative, warned of the danger to national security from dependence on oil imports, noting that part of "this money is undoubtedly slopping over into the hands of terrorists.

Texas oil giant Tesoro Corp. said it will spend $2.5 billion to buy a sprawling refinery in Carson and other assets -- including the Arco brand -- from rival BP. The move would leave most of California's gasoline production in the hands of just two companies: Tesoro and Chevron Corp. The deal would greatly boost Tesoro's presence in the region. The San Antonio company already has agreements with more than 1,200 stations nationwide that sell its gas under the Shell, USA Gasoline and Tesoro brands.