personally i would take the job at the local college, especially with the cost of petrol so high. i would have travel costs high at the top of the list of things up for consideration, its also a longer contract to start with.
u dont say if ur likely to get more than 6 months on your rolling contract., and this other job has already been postponed by a week, that would sound alarm bells ringing to me, although there is prob a perfectly good reason for the delay.
Good luck with your decision.