Gas prices nationwide drop for 25 days in a row

     Gas prices nationwide fell for the 25th day in a row on Monday, bucking their usual mid-summer trend of rising steadily.
     It's welcome news for penny-pinching consumers bemoaning the high price of oil and making life-style changes to accommodate having less money in their piggy-banks every month.
     The average price of a gallon of gasoline in San Bernardino and Riverside counties was $4.08 on Monday.
     That's down from a peak of $4.61 on June 22, but higher than the now-envied $2.90 locals paid one year ago.
     "Usually, summer travel kicks (prices) up a little more," said Jeffrey Spring, spokesman for the Automobile Cub of Southern California. "We usually put on a few more miles for summer travel."
     Not this summer.
     Monthly Federal Highway Administration data shows that vehicle travel dropped almost 4 percent when comparing May 2007 to May 2008.
     Also, the state's Board of Equalization recently said that Californians purchased 2.2 percent less gas in April of this year versus one year ago -- about 28 million gallons less.
     --matthew.wrye@inlandnewspapers.com