Here’s a Refined Idea for California

The obvious answer to who should buy the Shell refinery in Bakersfield is the state of California (“Lockyer Seeks a Buyer for Shell Refinery,” May 27).

Shell should be willing to sell the plant for pennies on the dollar, given that the company has no further use for it. And since state officials seem to know how a refinery should be run, I’m sure they can do an excellent job running it.

With state ownership of the refinery, the whole profit motive is removed. Who knows what the consumer will have to pay for a gallon of gas? With an efficiently run state-owned refinery, I’ll bet that the price of gas drops to $1.50 a gallon, maybe even $1.25.

Let’s give the state officials a chance to prove they know what they are talking about. I can hardly wait!

Jerre Reimers

Simi Valley

What a waste of our money. The bottom line is that it’s Shell’s refinery. For all I care Shell can make it into a park and charge admission so kids can climb on the old pipes.

We need to get off the drug called oil.

Mike Hoblinski

Burbank