There’s no escaping the pain at the pump. California drivers are again waking up to higher prices. AAA puts today’s new average at $6.43 a gallon, up two cents overnight and only one penny away from a record set in June. That means the state is on track hit its highest price ever this week. It comes just as the first gas rebate checks are about to go out this Friday. The governor calls petroleum producers and refineries “greedy oil companies.”