U.S. Sen. Richard Burr has $3,461,445 in his campaign account.

Burr has received more than $3 million in contributions since 2007, according to federal campaign finance records. Of that amount, $1.4 million came from individual contributions and $1.2 million came from political action or other committees.

Contributors include the Associated Builders and Contractors ($5,000), a Bank of America PAC ($5,000), a Federation of American Hospitals PAC ($5,000), Thomas Mann of Raleigh, chairman of GE Insurance ($2,000), Duke Energy President James Rogers of Charlotte ($2,400) and Jerry Smith, CEO of Le Bleu water company ($2,400).

Previously: Democrat Kenneth Lewis who is running against Burr has $184,000. 

I DID IT: A dying inmate is having a hard time convincing the right people he committed a Raleigh murder. Craig Taylor says he, and not Greg Taylor (no relation) killed a woman. Greg Taylor's case recently went before the Innocence Inquiry Commission, which found reason to believe Greg Taylor shouldn't be locked up, partly because Craig Taylor knew specific details about the murder.

But Craig Taylor has confessed to other murders and officials say he is confessing to murders because he is dying. (N&O)

THIRD PARTIES GET ANOTHER SHOT: The state Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a state law that forces third political parties to collect tens of thousands of signatures to get on North Carolina's ballot. But the court's split decision means the case will likely be heard again. (AP)

A LITTLE BIT MORE: Duke Energy has pared down a rate hike request in a compromise with regulators. If the N.C. Utilities Commission agrees, a 7 percent hike would be phased in over two years. (Char-O)

Duke Energy and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have a contract under which the utility would build a mini-wind farm and the university would study it.

A recent UNC study suggested a test wind energy farm in Pamlico Sound, Lynn Bonner reports.

The contract allows several ways for the company to get out of building the windmills, including if the project's cost exceeds $35 million. The university and the company can mutually agree to end the contract if opposition to the project is too intense.

The university will be able to study topics such as hurricane resistance and turbine-animal interactions.

A provision in the state budget allows the company to recoup its windmill costs by charging customers.

Duke Energy is offering to pay for the wind turbines planned as part of the alternative-energy demonstration project in Pamlico Sound, but the state will let the company make the money back by passing along the cost to customers.

The state and the University of North Carolina are working on a contract that would have Duke Energy build up to 3 windmills, at a cost of about $12 million each, while allowing the university to study the operation, Lynn Bonner reports.

The budget bill sets out $300,000 in federal stimulus money for the study, and says the contract must be finished by Oct. 1.

The budget bill says the state Utilities Commission must establish an annual rider for the company to recover its costs when the company applies for it.

North Carolina's electricity providers say poop-to-power isn't ready for prime time.

Progress Energy, Duke Energy and other providers have asked state regulators to delay and modify a 2007 state law that requires them to generate a minimum amount of energy from pig or chicken waste. The law, designed to promote renewable energy and efficiency, requires utilities to begin getting some energy from pig and chicken litter by 2012.

Is Duke Energy's CEO on the short list?

A Washington Post article this morning lists Jim Rogers as a potential member of President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet: 

There's no shortage of names floating for energy secretary, a job where the majority of the workload in the past has been dealing with nuclear waste, nuclear weapons handling and the various nuclear laboratories. Even so, a cast of luminaries have been mentioned, including Duke Energy executive Jim Rogers, former Energy Department official Dan Reicher, former top Clinton White House environmental aide Kathleen McGinty, FedEx chairman and Republican backer Fred Smith, New Jersey utility chief executive Ralph Izzo, and Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.).

Note: The Fred Smith mentioned above is not the former gubernatorial candidate. 

Hat Tip: Facing South

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue will hold an economic roundtable in Charlotte Tuesday.

The event will be chaired by Charlotte Bobcats owner Bob Johnson, Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers, Bank of America executive Cathy Bessant and UNC-Charlotte Chancellor Dr. Phil Dubois. It will be moderated by UNC-Chapel Hill professor Ferrell Guillory.

It is the first in a series of roundtables Perdue has planned.

After an overview of current local, state and national economic conditions, the group will have a roundtable discussion with Perdue.

The roundtable will take place at 10 a.m. at UNC-Charlotte's Harris Alumni Center. 

A week after losing his bid for governor, seven-term Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory said he's not ready to talk about his future plans.

"I'm going to go through some real soul-searching on what my next career steps are with regard to both public sector and private sector work," he said in his office Monday, during one of a series of meetings he held with reporters. "I was hoping not to do that."

McCrory said he would not rule out running for office — including another bid for the mayor's seat — but said he would focus on city work, reports Julia Oliver of The Charlotte Observer. He also said he had "repair work" to do at home after 10 months on the campaign trail.

McCrory quit his job at Duke Energy to focus on the governor campaign, and his wife, he said, wants him to, "like everyone else, pay the mortgage." He said he wouldn't "close the door" on running for public office. But he said he wouldn't announce his decision on the mayor's race until the holiday
season.

"I think there's still a calling for me to get involved in public office," he said.

McCrory's major focus now is on Charlotte's concerns, he said. On the top of his list is retaining Charlotte's jobs, he said, noting that he had been working with Wachovia and Wells Fargo in recent days as they work out a merger likely to involve job cuts.

He also said he would initiate a re-examination of the city budget as it has been affected by a declining economy.

"I think we need to reexamine the whole budget," he said. "We already have a hiring freeze. I think we're going to have to make more difficult decisions."

McCrory said he was also looking forward to spending more time with his family. He said he has planned a vacation with his wife to celebrate their 20th anniversary and her birthday.

"I've got a lot of repair work to do, because I haven't been home for 10 months," he said.

Laura Leslie wonders about one of Pat McCrory's lines.

As noted previously, the Republican gubernatorial candidate has said at a number of debates that plumbers, information technology workers and floor installation workers make more than he does.

In a post on Hunter's Tavern, the WUNC reporter questions the numbers behind that:

Again, he argued that many mechanics and wood floor installers make more money than he does. That may be the case in some instances, but overall, I’ve been wondering whether it's true.

If Salary.com is any indication, maybe not. The site says 85% of mechanics who work in McCrory's own zip code (28209) make less than $31,000 a year. The average salary for a flooring installer in the Charlotte metro area? About $40K. Even the best-paid plumbers in 28209 only average $51K.

We don’t know what McCrory made at Duke Energy before he quit earlier this year — he hasn’t made that info public. But even without that, his part-time mayor's salary plus expenses is $39K. His house is valued at $487,000. I don’t know many mechanics, but the ones I do don't own houses worth nearly half a million dollars.

Leslie says it "may not be realistic" to argue that a mechanic, floor installer or plumber is going to out-earn a former Duke Energy executive and mayor.

How much does Pat McCrory make a year?

The Republican gubernatorial candidate has twice referenced his own salary at recent debates when arguing that the state's education system should focus more on technical training.

At a debate on WRAL recently, McCrory said that plumbers working on his house make more than he does. And at an education debate at the SAS Institute today, he said information technology workers made more.

After today's debate, Dome asked McCrory how much he makes.

"Right now, I'm making $39,000 a year — that's my mayor's salary," he said.

McCrory resigned his job as a recruiter for Duke Energy in Charlotte before filing to run for governor in the Republican primary. He said he and his wife are living off of savings.

He would not reveal his most recent salary at Duke.

"I'm not going to get into my salary, but let me put it this way: I'm middle class. I'm not a wealthy individual," he said, drawing a contrast with Democrat Beverly Perdue.

"You don't see myself lending my campaign any money," he said. "My opponent can lend herself a million dollars. I cannot."