Q: Days before Christmas, gasoline in our area was selling for $2.99 a gallon. Earlier this month it was selling for $3.27 a gallon. What happened to cause such a great and sudden increase? — Lynn Hammond, Hickory Flat

A: Georgia gas prices were below the national average in December and recent increases "reflect some wholesale price increases over the past month," Gregg Laskoski, a senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, told Q&A on the News. He said Georgia's average price for gas has increased 10 cents a gallon in the past month, which is "not indicative of what's happening nationally." Laskoski said the national average declined by seven cents a gallon in the past month.

Q: Who do we contact regarding people using their disabled parking sticker who are not handicapped? I would like to report this kind of abuse. — Susan Levy, Smyrna

A: You can report potential violations to your local law enforcement agency, a spokesman with the Georgia Department of Public Safety told Q&A on the News in an email. If you're on private property, you can report the violation to the security officer, if one is provided. There also are smart phone applications (or apps) that provide software to take photographs and record data and send it to the proper law enforcement agencies. These include Parking Mobility (ParkingMobility.com) and HandicappedFraud.org.

Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).

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