Kathy Hedberg/Lewiston Tribune columnizes: "A person could be tempted to become skeptical about why gas prices jump up and down with such wide variations from one part of the country - or the state - to another. Last week we were told the reason gas prices in Idaho are up nearly 20 cents a gallon more than in the rest of the country is because of financial troubles at a Utah oil refinery. Some guy in Salt Lake City bounced a check and now we here in Idaho have to pay the price. I never realized the petroleum business was that fragile. But, then, I began to wonder the last time there was a big bump in price and we were told the oil company manager's grandma had died and he shut down the plant to attend her funeral. Oil distribution, it seems, is like a virus. Somebody sneezes and everybody within hundreds of miles comes down with the flu. More here.

Question: If you were to make an educated guess, how do you think that gas prices REALLY are set in the various parts of the state, region, and country?