Locals’ summer plans? Staying close to home

LYNN – Staycations seem to be the plans for area residents this summer.”I’ll wait until next year,” Charles Long said Wednesday as he talked about deferring a summer trip in favor of paying bills.He is not alone: Denny Patrizzi is contemplating summer days on Revere Beach rather than out on the road as spending worries keep him close to home. With more than 500,000 people losing jobs in May alone and gas prices climbing, consumers like Patrizzi are keeping a tight grip on their wallets and checkbooks.”With gas prices going up 30 cents in the last week it is going to be tough: I’ll be going to places that are more local,” said Ian Fass.When crude prices were heading toward $150 per barrel last year, many energy analysts believed the booming economies of China and India would support energy prices globally even as Western nations slipped into recession.That did not turn out to be the case and there is little tangible evidence to suggest that the rapid rise in energy prices can be sustained for long this summer.That would be good news for some consumers as far as energy prices go. Utility bills and gasoline prices are far below last year’s levels, though the plunge has come at the cost of millions of jobs.Oil prices pushed to new highs for the year Monday on a weak dollar and new data suggesting manufacturing in China has strengthened. Both of those factors helped send energy prices to record highs last summer.The data out of China shows how much economic news from across the globe can effect pocketbooks in the U.S. Mindful of Americans’ worries about rising gas prices and uncertain jobs, the National Park Service is looking for ways to lure Americans concerned about saving money into parks across the country.Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Tuesday that entrance fees at 147 national parks and monuments – including the Grand Canyon and Yosemite – will be waived on three weekends this summer. The weekends are June 20-21, July 18-19 and August 15-16.”During these tough economic times, our national parks provide opportunities for affordable vacations for families,” Salazar said at a news conference at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. “I encourage everyone to visit one of our nation’s crown jewels this summer and especially to take advantage of the three free-admission weekends.”Most Americans live less than a day’s drive from a national park, Salazar said. Last year, national parks attracted more than 275 million visits, generating an estimated $10.6 billion for local economies and supporting more than 213,000 jobs, he said.For the Park Service, the free weekends will mean a loss of an estimated half-million dollars a day from entrance fees that range from $3 to $25. A total of 147 parks and monuments charge entrance fees; the nation’s other 244 parks are already free.Kendra Barkoff, a spokeswoman for Salazar, said the lost revenue should be more than offset by an increase in park tourism. Many tour operators, hotels, restaurants, gift shops and other vendors near national parks will offer other discounts and special promotions on the free weekend dates, she said.The waiver applies only to entrance fees and does not affect charges for camping, reservations, tours or concessions, Salazar said.(Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.)