Economic figures released this spring by the federal government show Roanoke's per-capita personal income rising slower than others in the country.

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the average personal income of those in the Roanoke metropolitan statistical area rose, on average, 4.3 percent a year from 1996-2006 to $33,693.

It's now ranks 133rd of the nation's 363 MSAs. The national average is $36,714.

In 1996, Roanoke's per capital personal income was $22,998, ranking it 125th. The national average rose more than 5 percent a year over the sane time.

Slow and steady growth, Roanoke's economy continues to show. Does that concern you at all?

An innovative program in Blacksburg, Virginia Tech's Center for Real Life Kitchen Design, is here to help. In August, the center will hold its Explore Your Dream Kitchen workshop.

Here's what participants will learn at the workshop, according to a Tech press release:

* To plan a kitchen that meets the needs of you and your family;
* About the principles of a well-designed kitchen;
* About new technologies in the home and the latest in kitchen appliances;
* To plan a universally-designed kitchen to meet changing needs and abilities;
* To plan a kitchen that is a safe and healthy part of your home; and
* About new kitchen products and materials

The Center for Real Life Kitchen Design, which includes six fully operational kitchens, opened in 1998 and then reopened in 2007 after renovations and upgrades.

It was fascinating, and you can read a full report in tomorrow's paper by Duncan Adams.

The chamber lined up a good cast of characters for the four-hour event, including economist Christine Chmura discussing the regional economy, Virginia Tech's Sean McGinnis talking about "green" business practices, Franklin County Director of Commerce and Leisure Services Scott Martin talking excitedly about development, and Roanoke City Councilwoman Gwen Mason leading a panel about sustainable business practices.

While it was all very educational, especially for a newcomer to Roanoke like me, I was kind of tickled about one thing: many of the attendees to the conference that focused on environmental consciousness left their paper cups and plastic water bottles behind.

I wonder if they were being recycled?

Unemployment rates across the region and state dropped dramatically in April, according to figures recently released from the Virginia Employment Commission.
More than 1,000 people left the unemployment rolls in the Roanoke metropolitan area, dropping the unemployment rate to 3.3 percent from 4.0.
In the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro, unemployment dropped by more than 600 people to 3.7 percent from 4.5 percent
Statewide, unemployment dropped to 3.3 percent in April from 3.9 percent in March.

Passenger traffic dropped 15 percent during in April at Roanoke Regional Airport, when the figures are compared with those of a year ago.
Total passengers came in at 50,339 last month, down from 59,438 in April 2007, according to the airport’s monthly report released Tuesday.
Airport spokeswoman Sherry Wallace said it is possible economic conditions have reduced business travel.
But the other consideration is that April 2007 passenger traffic was abnormally high, she said. Both spring break and Easter fell in April 2007 while, this year, both fell in March. In addition, countless additional travelers used the airport in April 2007 due to the Virginia Tech shootings.
“We were expecting some drops, maybe not so much so soon,” Wallace said. “Aviation can be cyclical. Things do happen.”

Sales of used homes in the Roanoke region fell to 337 units in April, down 23 percent from a year earlier.
The report by the Roanoke Valley Association of Realtors reflects continued market softness that began more than a year ago.
Monthly sales — measured by real estate closings of deals involving a real estate agent — have been off on a year-over-year basis for 14 months.
The average price of used homes sold stood at $199,350 in April, down from $204,218 a year ago.

At the same time, a new record was set for gasoline prices at the national level. This is from the Associated Press:

Gas prices jumped nearly 3 cents overnight to a new national record of nearly $3.65 a gallon Thursday, while oil prices paused from their own climb to record highs and succumbed to mild profit-taking. At the pump, the average price of a gallon of regular gas nationwide rose 2.7 cents to a record $3.645, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Diesel prices also rose, adding 0.9 cent to match a record national average of $4.251 a gallon.

Luna Innovations will unveil its first-quarter earnings after the market closes today and will discuss the results with analysts via conference call at 5 p.m. The company's annual shareholders' meeting in next Thursday in D.C.

Advance Auto Parts, meanwhile, plans to have its annual shareholders meeting at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center next Thursday morning, and will release its first-quarter results on May 16.

Here is more info from Reuters:

U.S. railroad car maker FreightCar America Inc said on Thursday that it would take a charge of $20 million to $24.5 million after an arbitrator ruled that it was liable for back pay and benefits to workers at a Johnstown, Pennsylvania, factory that it said in December 2007 it intends to close. It said the charge would reduce first-quarter results by $1.11 to $1.32 per share. The Chicago-based manufacturer earlier this month reported profit for that period of $1.1 million, or 10 cents per share. Workers at the factory represented by the United Steelworkers of America are covered by a collective bargaining agreement that runs through May 15. The ruling found FreightCar responsible for back pay and benefits to more than half of the workers at the plant, the company said. When FreightCar disclosed plans to close the 390-worker unionized facility, saying it would move functions performed at that factory to Danville, Illinois, and Roanoke, Virginia.

The state's unemployment rose to 3.9 percent in March, up from 3.8 percent in February and 2.9 percent last March, according to the Virginia Employment Commission. State officials blamed the rise of the past year (which amounts to nearly 41,000 more unemployed statewide) to a drop in construction employment because of a slow housing market and labor unrest at Midwest factories that led to local layoffs at suppliers. The strike at the Volvo plant in Dublin did not affect the results, as state law prevents unemployment benefits going to striking workers.

Locally, unemployment in the Roanoke metro rose to 4 percent (from 3.9 in February and 3.0 in March 2007). A similar increase took place in the Christiansburg-Blacksburg-Radford metro, where unemployment rose to 4.5 percent (from 4.4 in February and 3.9 last March).

WASHINGTON - The bruised economy limped through the first quarter, growing at just a 0.6 percent pace as housing and credit problems forced people and businesses alike to hunker down. The country’s economic growth during January through March was the same as in the final three months of last year, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The statistic did not meet what economists consider the definition of a recession, which is a contraction of the economy. This means that although the economy is stuck in a rut, it is still managing to grow, even if slightly. Many analysts were predicting that the gross domestic product (GDP) would weaken a bit more — to a pace of just 0.5 percent — in the first quarter. Earlier this year, some thought the economy would actually lurch into reverse during the opening quarter. Now, they say they believe that will likely happen during the current April-to-June period.

Have you talked about a recession without understanding the definition (two consecutive quarters of GDP drop)? Take three steps back.

Everyone seems to think Roanoke remains insulated from such problems. Do you still believe it?

This is from RealtyTrac, the nation's leading provider of information on foreclosures:

RealtyTrac® (realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its Q1 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 649,917 properties during the first quarter, a 23 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 112 percent increase from the first quarter of 2007. The report also shows that one in every 194 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the quarter. RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of foreclosure and bank-owned properties, with over 1 million properties from nearly 2,500 counties across the country, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal. “Foreclosure activity in the first quarter increased on a year-over-year basis in 46 out of the 50 states and in 90 of the nation’s 100 largest metro areas, demonstrating that most regions of the country are seeing more foreclosures,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “In some areas there are also some unusual, non-market factors impacting the foreclosure numbers. For example, the city of Philadelphia in late March issued a temporary moratorium on all foreclosure auctions for April, and the city has since adopted a program that will delay foreclosure proceedings on owner-occupied properties until the owners have met face-to-face with lenders to attempt a loan workout plan that would prevent foreclosure.

NEW YORK - Warren Buffett, the world's richest person, said on Monday the U.S. economy is in a recession that will be more severe than most people expect. Buffett made his comments on CNBC television after his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. agreed to invest $6.5 billion in the takeover of chewing gum maker Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. by Mars Inc. in a $23 billion transaction. "This is not a field of specialty for me, but my general feeling is that the recession will be longer and deeper than most people think," Buffett said. "This will not be short and shallow."

From the Associated Press today:

CHICAGO - A person close to the negotiations says United Airlines and US Airways are in very advanced talks with the expectation of announcing within two weeks that they are combining. The two carriers have stepped up their talks after Continental Airlines Inc. caught United off guard by deciding not to pursue a deal with the Chicago-based carrier. The source asked Monday not to be named because of the sensitive nature of the talks.

A combination of United and USAirways would carry more than 50 percent of the traffic out of Roanoke, using March traffic numbers (55 percent). Any potential impact on Roanoke would be months away, but analysts expect more activity before Bush leaves office.

WASHINGTON - President Bush said tax rebates will start going out Monday, earlier than previously announced, and should help Americans cope with rising gasoline and food prices, as well as aid a slumping economy. Democrats said they were glad the rebate checks were about to go out, but suggested that multinational oil companies were not among the businesses the stimulus package was originally designed to help. “Starting Monday, the effects of the stimulus will begin to reach millions of households across our country,” Bush said Friday in remarks on the South Lawn of the White House.

The checks were originally scheduled to go out next Friday, May 2. So we're not getting too much of a break here.

What are you spending yours on? My family's loot (hopefully $1,800) will be used on college savings for our two boys. Not exactly what the Prez and Congress have in mind, I'm afraid.