Across the Valley, gas prices dropped by four cents this week to an average of $3.19 a gallon, according to a AAA East Central's Gas Price Report released Tuesday. One year ago this week, the average price was about the same,

State gas prices rose for the second consecutive week and reached an average of $3.04 per gallon of regular fuel on Monday, up from last week's price of $3.03 per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.