GAS PRICES SOAR; Local average price for unleaded nears record.

Byline: BOB LANG AND JONATHAN MAZE Of The Post and Courier Staff

Charleston-area gas prices have entered near-record territory after soaring 19 cents per gallon in the past month - and another increase is expected soon. The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties is $1.50, according to a survey completed Monday by American Automobile Association Carolinas. That's below the national average of $1.62 a gallon according to AAA and $1.67 according to the Lundberg Survey. Yet the price is approaching the highest recorded average in the Lowcountry, $1.53 on June 28, 2000, said AAA Carolinas spokeswoman Jacquie …