How the world (according to CNN) sees us.

CNN/Money once again have published the "top 100 places to live" list, broken down by numerous factors. Small cities, large cities, medium-sized.. et. al.

And Roanoke is not on the list.

But it does not stop us from taking a look at the city's profile.

Shall we?

Financial	City stats	Best places avg.
Median family income (per year)	$49,283	$93,075
Family purchasing power (annual, cost-of-living adjusted)	$38,490	$107,483
Sales tax	5.00%	6.57%
State income tax rate (highest bracket)	5.75%	5.17%
State income tax rate (lowest bracket)	2.00%	2.43%
Auto insurance premiums (Average for the state)	$1,576	$1,791
Job growth % (2000-2007)	-7.05%	18.72%

Ok - so some of those are things which we have no control over - the income tax and such.

Want to see something we do?

Leisure and culture	City stats	Best places avg.
Movie theaters (within 15 miles)	13	51
Restaurants (within 15 miles)	601	4,094
Bars (within 15 miles)	19	408
Public golf courses (within 30 miles)	41	316
Libraries (within 15 miles)	22	89
Museums (accredited by AAM; within 30 miles)	2	13
Ski resorts (within 100 miles)	5	33
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts)	0.9	1.5

Suddenly, we no look-a so good.

I could go on, but I'm sure CNN would sue me for reposting all the data.

(This data courtesy CNN/Money, thanks for not being litigious.)

I guess we could over-analyze this and point fingers and everything else. Or we could just decide to do better.

But is that really an option?

One last one

I know it's still not a great shot, but when you realize the lights are on 220/581 - and the little red glow to the left there is the fire - that will give you an idea as to how high the flames were at that moment. Then imagine them 6 times higher, which is how high they were in the fireball shots below.

And those flames were originating roughly 30-60 feet below the roadway.

8600 gallons of fuel, and all that you see burning here are the pressure relief valves and the twin 125 gallon tanks the truck has.

See you in the morning, when the smoke will still be drifting off into the sky.