U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge has been appointed to a powerful House committee.

The Lillington Democrat was appointed late Wednesday night to the Committee on Ways and Means, which plays a key role in federal legislation on taxes and health care.

He will be the first North Carolinian to serve on the committee since 1984, and the first Democrat since Rep. Robert Doughton's stint ended in 1953.

"Serving on the Committee on Ways and Means will allow me to work closely on the issues that are directly affecting North Carolina families during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression," Etheridge said in a statement.

The committee oversees issues as diverse as Social Security, unemployment benefits and Medicare and has sole jurisdiction over tariffs and other methods of raising revenue. It played a key role in the 2008 Farm Bill.

Etheridge, a former state schools superintendent, says he will work on providing federal support for local school construction, keeping taxes low, expanding health care and ensuring trade agreements are fair.

President Bush signed into law an effort by Rep. Bob Etheridge to protect small farms in North Carolina.

The 2008 Farm Bill included a provision that required farms to at least 10 base acres in order to receive certain subsidy payments in a few programs, Barb Barrett reports.

But the interpretation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture was for only farms with 10 base acres — a trait not found as often in small-farm states such as North Carolina.

Etheridge's office said Congress attended for those who own several small farms to be able to aggregate their land to get to the 10-base-acre requirement. His office says 16,000 farms in the state could be affected.

Etheridge, a Lillington Democrat, filed a bill suspending the rule. Congress will need a more permanent fix by the end of next year, according to Etheridge's office.

The campaign of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Wednesday it was making a major effort in North Carolina because of the alignment of the issues and because of an unprecedented get-out the vote effort.

"The people want out of this war and they want some changes in the econony," Democratic Gov. Mike Easley said during an Obama campaign teleconference. "It's going to be very difficult for the people of North Carolina to vote for the status quo rather than change, which is where we are right now."

The Obama campaign said they have so far opened 16 offices across the state, spent more than $2 million in TV ads, and registered thousands of new voters, Rob Christensen reports.

"We are in striking distance," said Patrick Gaspard, the Obama national political director said of North Carolina.

The Obama campaign seemed to be reaching out to blue collar workers, who tended to vote for Hillary Clinton in the May primary.

The Obama campaign said it would emphasize rising gas prices, manufacuring jobs lost through unfavorable trade deals and John McCain's opposition to the Farm Bill.

The Obama campaign said it planned to organize every precinct in the state. The campaign said it would focus on voter registration between now and the Oct. 10 deadline.

They noted that since January, Democrats had picked up 169,635 new voters, while Republicans had gained over 51,542.

Barack Obama is still courting those Hillary Clinton voters.

A campaign blueprint for North Carolina released today indicates that Obama is working to expand his base of supporters here to include many of the blue-collar white voters he didn't win in the primary.

On the issues, the presentation leans heavily on effects of the poor economy on the textile industry and farming, attacking John McCain over a farm bill and support for free trade. 

Rising gas prices, the other major issue listed, are a more generic Obama issue that amplifies the economic attack.

Free trade has been a major theme for Democratic challenger Larry Kissell, although it hasn't gotten traction in other parts of the state in large part because of the largely Republican makeup of other textile-heavy districts. 

Several congressional members from the North Carolina delegation are expected to be appointed this afternoon in the U.S. House of Representatives to help shape the final version of the controversial Farm Bill.

Among them are U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, chairman of the subcommittee on general farm commodities and risk management, the panel that wrote a significant chunk of the bill. His subcommittee handles issues surrounding crop insurance, cotton and soybeans, among other issues, Barb Barrett reports.

Also expected are U.S Rep. Robin Hayes, the ranking minority member on the livestock, dairy and poultry subcommittee. That panel would address issues facing the massive hog and poultry industry in the state.

U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, who leads the subcommittee on specialty crops, rural development and foreign agriculture, could also be appointed.

Specialty crop farmers, a growing segment in North Carolina and the Triangle, hope to be included in the farm bill for the first time.

The farm bill is scheduled to run out April 18. It is a massive piece of legislation that serves as the framework for the nation’s agricultural and food support program. Outside of farm subsidies, it provides a budget for food stamp programs, rural economic development and aid to food banks.

Once named, members of the conference committee will meet behind closed doors with appointees from the U.S. Senate to merge the House and Senate versions of the bill.

* U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole backs Sen. Richard Burr's bid to become the policy chair for Senate Republicans, saying it would be good for North Carolina. (N&O)

* At N.C. Farm Bureau's annual meeting, Dole says that Farm Bill is problematic, argues agricultural sector needs "a reliable immigrant worker program" now. (News 14)

* At national meeting, state Reps. Phillip Frye and Pryor Gibson push interstate crackdown on the use of cash grants and tax credits to lure businesses. (AC-T)

* GOP gubernatorial candidate Fred Smith's wife Ginny to campaign for him at Al-Pam Republican Club's annual Christmas banquet in Plymouth. (GDR)

North Carolina lost 2.4 million acres of open space in the past 20 years.

And it will lose another 2 million acres over the next two decades if development continues at its current rate, according to a report by Environment North Carolina. (N&O)

The state is also losing farmland, including about 1,000 farms in 2005.

"The average age of farmers is getting up in the high 50s, and about the only retirement plan they've got is the land — to sell it," said a fifth-generation farmer in Leicester. (AC-T)

Advocates of land preservation used the report as part of their argument for the legislature to put a $1 billion bond referendum before voters this fall.

Rep. Lucy Allen, a Louisburg Democrat who is sponsor of the bond bill, noted that it would have competition from other budget needs, but she said it is urgent.

"There are going to be no second chances," she said. "As a former school board member and former mayor, I have many times heard people say, 'Yes, we need to do that but now is not the time.' ... I will tell you, there will not be another chance like we have right now to do this." (AP)