Gasoline prices on the Vineyard have hit record highs this summer, with the cost of premium gasoline now topping three dollars a gallon at some stations - well above both the state and national averages.

As of Tuesday, Tisbury Shell and Edgartown Mobil both were charging $3.04 per gallon for premium gasoline. Regular gasoline prices still hover a few cents shy of the three dollar mark, averaging $2.89 per gallon at the Island's nine stations. The Menemsha Shell has the lowest price for regular gas on the Island, at $2.82.

That's the cost of doing business for landscaper James Hayes now that gas prices have soared beyond $2.50 a gallon. Every five days, he swallows the steep price to keep his GMC 4X4 truck on the road. He charges it and reminds himself that as a small businessman, he can write it off at the end of the year.

Manuel Suza just ordered a fill-up at deBettencourt's gas
station in Oak Bluffs and only had to shell out $1.66. No wonder he was
still smiling.

His rig barely uses any fuel, but it comes with a price. It's
a moped, and he's riding the thing in 35 degree weather. That
explains the thickly-insulated coveralls and ski gloves.

Mr. Suza is one of a handful of hearty Islanders who rely on a
vehicle that would hardly win a popularity contest on the Vineyard.

As home heating costs continue to squeeze consumer budgets, the
blame game also escalates.

Homeowners fault the weather - here and elsewhere - as
home heating fuel originally intended for the Northeast is diverted to
the Midwest and other regions where last summer's heat and this
winter's single-digit temperatures have spiked the demand.