With troubles at BP's Alaskan operation and oil prices gushing above $77 a barrel - and prices at the pump likely to follow in the next few days - now may be the worst time for a ballot initiative likely to increase consumers' fuel costs. Prop. 87 would impose a new tax on California oil production of $200 million to $380 million a year - the exact amount isn't clear - until a total of $4 billion is reached to fund research into alternative fuels. Prop. 87's Web site insists that it “makes it illegal for oil companies to raise...