"Soaring gas prices in the run-up to Memorial Day, which usually has the most expensive gas of the year, have contributed to a notable increase in drive-offs at gas stations and convenience stores. Although no statistics have been collected, industry officials say the increase is striking in contrast with a pronounced decrease after many states passed laws defining gas theft as a prosecutable crime."

Second, good news, a recent decision by a DC judge has ordered the city to stop charging underage drinkers as criminals:

"The decision by Judge Zoe Bush was a victory for lawyers representing dozens of people who have been charged with underage possession of alcohol, only to have their cases thrown out because various judges found that criminal charges were unwarranted.

"Police and prosecutors, who had been averaging up to 15 criminal cases a week, said the threat of arrest was a deterrent. But the plaintiffs, many of them college students, said the arrests were unsettling experiences that left them with undeserved criminal records.

"Instead of being given citations akin to traffic tickets, as would happen were they charged with a civil violation, the plaintiffs were arrested and taken to police stations, where they were photographed, fingerprinted and often held for several hours.

[...]

"Elsewhere in the region, the legal consequences of underage possession vary. In Maryland, it is generally treated as a civil offense, according to the state attorney general's office. In Virginia, it is more apt to be handled as a criminal offense, authorities said.