A coalition of corporate, energy and agriculture leaders presented a report Monday projecting that North Carolina could eventually reap $577 million a year from offshore drilling along the state's coast.

Members of the Southeast Energy Alliance made their case for drilling as lawmakers try to cope with a nosedive in state revenue.

"States along the Gulf Coast already get this money," said Larry Wooten, president of the N.C. Farm Bureau. "Why shouldn't we?"

The group's dollar figures, though, depend on the accuracy of federal estimates of oil and natural gas deposits and whether corporations choose to drill off the North Carolina coast.

"Any revenue estimates are wishful thinking under any scenario," said Molly Diggins, state director of the Sierra Club. "Nobody knows if North Carolina has commercially recoverable deposits off the coast."

The alliance contends that offshore drilling eventually could create 6,700 jobs and boost the state's economy.

The federal government is moving toward allowing new drilling leases, but states would have to agree to allow drilling off their coasts. Gulf states currently share royalties from federal leases, but the figures are modest: about $25 million shared among four states last year. (N&O)

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan was sworn in Tuesday.

The Greensboro Democrat, one of the election season's unlikeliest candidates, became the second woman and the first Democrat since John Edwards to represent North Carolina.

Shortly before the ceremony, she joined fellow senators on the floor in her seat, next to freshman Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania.

With office assignments not yet made, she remains in a cramped space in the basement of the Dirksen building, where she held a reception for visitors.

Stopping by the office reception were North Carolina residents and lobbyists, including representatives from the Farm Bureau, the Sierra Club and Womble Carlyle, a Winston-Salem law firm.

Hagan has requested spots on the armed services and banking committees. (N&O) 

Dan Besse also objects to a Hampton Dellinger ad.

The candidate for lieutenant governor called Dome this afternoon to say he thinks the recent ad by his rival for the Democratic nomination is not accurate in its claim of support from environmental groups.

"Who's the only Democrat for lieutenant governor ... backed by civil rights and environmental groups?" a narrator asks in the ad. 

As the narrator speaks, the following words scroll beneath images of Dellinger: "Endorsed by 5 of 6 Major Civil Rights Groups" and "Endorsed by People's Alliance."

Besse notes that the state's two major environmentalist groups, the N.C. chapter of the Sierra Club and the Conservation Council of North Carolina, have endorsed him, not Dellinger.

The People's Alliance is a Durham group that works on a number of progressive issues, including social and economic justice, education and the environment. 

Previously: Pat Smathers objects to Dellinger ad. 

Few candidates this season have made as much use of online videos as Dan Besse, who is running for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

This ad touts his recent endorsement by the Sierra Club, which Dome failed to mention earlier this week.

The Sierra Club of North Carolina has endorsed Janet Cowell.

Cowell, a state senator from Raleigh, is running for the Democratic nomination for state treasurer.

"Janet Cowell will bring the same pragmatic decision-making to the office of State Treasurer that led her to sponsor environmental initiatives," said Chris Dowdle, chairman of the Sierra Club's political committee.

He cited her work on bills requiring electronics recycling, protection of drinking water reservoirs and energy conservation in government buildings.

The Sierra Club has 20,000 members in North Carolina. 

The Sierra Club is holding a gubernatorial forum on water policy.

The environmentalist group has invited the four major Republican and two major Democratic candidates to a forum at Griffith Theater at Duke University on March 25 from 1 to 4 p.m. They hope to hold two forums for each party.

Co-sponsors include the League of Municipalities, the N.C. Association of County Commissioners, the N.C. Rural Center and the CCNC. 

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue is making changes to her political staff.

Justin Guillory of Democratic firm Public Policy Polling will be joining the gubernatorial campaign's communications and research staff.

He announced on his (now former) blog that he would "try to stay connected" with the blogging community and the polling firm. N.C. Sierra Club employee Tom Jensen is taking over his old job.

Meantime, Perdue's finance director, Peter Reichard, will be scaling back his duties to deal with his daughter's illness, said spokesman David Kochman.

"We're hoping to still have him as active as he can be," Kochman said.

In addition, Perdue pledged to make unspecified staff changes in response to a recent article about omissions from her campaign finance reports.

A Senate committee approved a measure Tuesday that would allow billboard owners to cut more trees around their signs, over the objections of two state agencies and environmental groups.

Billboard owners would be allowed to remove trees and shrubs 375 feet 250 feet in front of billboards, up from 250 feet. Removing more trees would give drivers more time to see the ads, Lynn Bonner reports.

The industry has agreed, as part of the proposal, to an increase in their annual permit fees and to increased penalties for illegal cutting. The state departments of transportation and environment and natural resources opposed the bill.

The proposal comes on the heels of the state Department of Transportation discovering about 50 instances of illegal tree cutting around billboards since October, amounting to about $750,000 in lost greenery. DOT has asked the State Bureau of Investigation to look in to the illegal cutting. Discovering tree-cutting culprits is difficult because, usually, there are no eyewitnesses.

Christa Wagner, lobbyist for the state's Sierra Club chapter said giving billboard owners permission to cut more trees is "a reward for bad behavior."

The bill now goes to the Senate Finance committee.