Gas costs hurting

San Fernando Valley motorists are used to paying higher gas prices during the summer, but the pain at the pump hits with a harder punch this year. Laura Nelson in the Daily News.

Not only are customers having to reach deeper into their pockets as the average price nears $3 a gallon, they're finding less cash in their wallets as the recession lingers.

"Gas is cheaper than it was last year, but the economy is bad, and together the two are pretty bad," said restaurant worker Rod Perez, filling up his Honda Civic at a Shell station in Woodland Hills. "It's rough for people right now."