Tobacco Avenue

Gas prices in Richmond rose to an average of one pound of ground beef today, up from Friday’s high of a quart of milk, three bananas and a roll of generic-brand paper towels, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

“Before long, Richmonders should not be surprised if they see a gallon of gas soaring to two packs of Keebler E.L. Fudge Double Stuffed cookies, or even an 8-inch DiGiorno Rising Crust Pizza with all the toppings,” said AAA spokeswoman Kristeen Carswell.  “I personally paid a Gap drawstring skirt and half a pair of Steve Madden sandals to get to Baltimore and back just the other day.”

The ground-beef price jump was the largest of its kind since early April, when a gallon of gas averaged one-third of a DVD or two-and-a-half songs downloaded from iTunes.  AAA’s Carswell warned consumers to be wary of scams that offer a full tank of gas in return for a first-born child, noting such transactions are becoming all the more common.