MORNING HEADLINES | Drivers are finally starting to see some relief at the pump after months of high-dollar fill-ups. But even with prices falling below $4 for the first time since March, gas is still 25% more expensive than it was last year.
A gallon of gas in the United States now sits at an average of $3.999, according to motor club AAA. Prices fell overnight after President Donald Trump signed an agreement with Iran calling for, among other things, Tehran to dilute its stockpile of enriched uranium and waive U.S.-backed sanctions on the country.
In South Carolina, gas is a little cheaper, costing an average $3.58 per gallon. But fluctuations remain across the country, with gas averaging as high as $5.64 per gallon in California.
The decline in gasoline follows a fall in price for oil, which fell to about $80 per barrel of U.S. benchmark crude on Monday. That compares to $67 per barrel before the start of the war in Iran and the peak $120 per barrel reached during the conflict.
Experts say it may take weeks or even months for oil to start flowing through the Strait of Hormuz again, which carries a fifth of the world’s crude oil. In addition, refineries typically pay for crude oil a month or more in advance, so even after oil prices drop, they won’t immediately be processing cheaper products.
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In Friday’s issue of the Charleston City Paper
CP OPINION: S.C. gets head start on nation’s 250th. “Sunday, June 28, marks the kickoff for honoring and celebrating South Carolina’s vitally important support for liberty 250 years ago. On that day, more than 400 brave souls thwarted powerful British warships in the Battle of Sullivan’s Island and kept alive the zeal for change from a monarchy.”
CP COVER STORY: Close-up with Quintin Washington. Seven days a week, 41-year-old Quintin Washington, delivers food to residents around Charleston. But five days a week, he’s doing something else, too. He conducts interviews across the city that made him one of Charleston’s local celebrities. So far, he’s broadcast more than 3,200 discussions on YouTube over 14 years.
CP NEWS: Oral histories advance effort to create Upper King Street district. The children of the men and women who sold things like wallets, watches and wigs along Upper King Street are sharing stories of how their Jewish and African American ancestors built one of America’s iconic commercial districts.
CP NEWS: School bus driver numbers look good this year, CCSD says. The Charleston County School District (CCSD) has put a lot of time and resources in recent years into closing staffing shortages at its more than 80 school locations.
CP FOOD: Puerto Rican cuisine shines at pop-ups. Puerto Rico–born Orlando Pagán, a James Beard Award semifinalist and executive chef at Spring Street’s Wild Common, brings his heritage into everything he does at the Michelin-starred restaurant.
CP ARTS: New list makes for great summer reading. The June 11 announcement of the first slate of authors inked for 2026 Charleston Literary Festival is a stone-cold, spine-tingler of bold-faced, bookish names.
CP MUSIC: Of Montreal brings eclectic indie pop to Pour House. The neo-psychedelic project Tame Impala consists of singer/songwriter Kevin Parker. The dark acoustic folk of Iron and Wine is created by Samuel Beam. And one could even argue that Trent Reznor IS Nine Inch Nails, regardless of who else plays with him.
In recent headlines
Proposed park would highlight history of S.C.’s Rosenwald schools. A school that opened 100 years ago for Black children in the Lowcountry could become part of a proposed, multi-state national historical park that connects the remaining structures where tens of thousands of students were educated in the Jim Crow South.
Charleston restaurants, hotels turn America’s 250th into experience. The state’s Revolutionary War history is becoming a summer tourism attraction as hotels and restaurants across the city roll out special America 250-themed experiences designed to capitalize on growing interest in the nation’s founding story.
Section of Savannah Highway a step closer to seeing traffic relief. It comes at a cost. The city of Charleston is buying two West Ashley properties, which brings the Savannah Highway Intersection Project one step closer to happening, but not everyone is happy about the change.
Around town
Our online events calendar has scores of events around the Lowcountry every day, making it the most detailed calendar of what’s happening in the area. Just click on “Events” above at right under the black toolbar. You’ll be amazed at what you find.
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