Sticker Shock: Houston Chronicle

So I went in to purchase my Sunday papers like any other Sunday. Went up to the cash register to skim through my newspapers, to make sure all of the inserts are there (believe me, it's worth your time to do this). My usual cashier tells a new cashier what I'm doing.. As my usual cashier is ringing me up, the new cashier proceeds to tell him that the price of the Sunday paper is going up. He looks at the newspaper, doesn't see a price at all, charges me the usual $2 per newspaper. As I finish paying the new cashier brings the sign shown below & I am beyond shocked. They didn't ease in there just a little. No sir! They just gave it to us! Going up one whole dollar. With the whole couponing craze, one has to wonder.. Was this price increase already in the works? OR, are they just jumping on the bandwagon because there's been a significant increase in newspaper sales? Any thoughts? I'd love to hear them..