National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $3.155; Month Ago: $3.072; Year Ago: $2.187. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $3.270; Month Ago: $3.222; Year Ago: $2.434.

“The rise in oil prices has mainly been caused by the freezing polar vortex hitting the U.S., firing up heating demand, and spurring concern about a potential impact on oil production and trade,” said Jens Naervig Pedersen, an analyst at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen. Oil has risen for two years running as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia led a coalition of oil producers in cutting output. Prices have also been boosted by stoppages at pipelines in the U.K. and Libya. However, they are now at levels that are expected to help U.S. shale producers ramp up drilling, unlocking more crude and undermining OPEC’s efforts. Click Read More below for additional information.

The Diplomat, a venerable outpost on the South Florida coast, has been refreshed and relaunched with the help of the Korn Design team. Principal Denise Korn says that her primary goal was to bring back the mystique and ethos of a bygone era, and reintroduce it as a vibrant hub and destination. Her solution is to a combination of “owning the beach” in the new name, The Diplomat Beach Resort, and reinjecting the entire property with a sense of “something new under the sun.”